Can We Integrate Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Science Education?

The main objective of this paper is to emphasize the importance ofintegrating qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in scienceeducation. It is argued that the Kuhnian incommensurability thesis (a majorsource of inspiration for qualitative researchers) represents an obstacle forthis integration. A major thesis of the paper is that qualitative researchershave interpreted the increased popularity of their paradigm (researchprogramme) as a revolutionary breakthrough in the Kuhnian sense. A review ofthe literature in areas relevant to science education shows that researchersare far from advocating qualitative research as the only methodology. It isconcluded that competition between divergent approaches to research inscience education (cf. Lakatos, 1970) would provide a better forum for aproductive sharing of research experiences.     

Plotting Effective Narrative Writing with 10-year-old Children: an action research study[1]

It is a recurring complaint that practitioner-focused action research is under-represented in the literature. This article is written as an accessible account of an action research collaboration aiming to improve learning outcomes. It reports a teacher's innovation in regard to children's narrative writing strategies and evaluates the responses of the children to the changed processes of learning, and their prior and subsequent written work. It offers one approach to research-based professional practice and reflects on the viability of such approaches.     

Quality assurance,the educational standards debate,and the commodification of educational research

ABSTRACT

The idea of quality assurance dominates educational discourse at the present time. This is reflected in the emphasis placed on test and examination results, inspections and school performance indicators. It is argued in this article that this is not simply an attempt to legitimate traditional conceptions of knowledge. It is also an attempt to construct a new narrative of knowledge. School effectiveness research is an example of this as it applies a performativity criterion to educational research methodology. The article concludes by suggesting that action research may be subordinated to the logic of performativity, and as a result is less able to fulfil its proper purpose which is to create the conditions for innovative experiments in education.     

浅析新晋本科警察院校科研建设的方法与途径

对新晋本科警察院校科研建设进行了研究,认为科研作为高校的三大职能之一,不仅是学校科研水平和实力的基本体现,也是学校教育教学的重要延伸和拓展,因此,其对学校具有举足轻重的影响和作用。但新晋本科警察院校自身科研基础较为薄弱,无法满足本科教育的基本需要,因此,必须采取多种举措,不断加强自身的科研建设,不断增强科研实力和水平。     

Action research,stories and practical philosophy

This collaborative piece written by a philosopher/action researcher and an action researcher/philosopher explores the use of practical philosophy as a tool in action research. The paper explores the connection to be made between what we refer to, roughly, as ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ (while never losing hold of either). The connection is made around ideas of ‘practical philosophy’ and social justice. The authors suggest that ‘practical philosophy’ might develop as a ‘philosophy in human practices’. It begins from the understanding that philosophy is rooted in social practice, with philosophy in educational practices being rooted in educational practice. The paper goes on to explore the use of ‘little stories’ as a way into the diversity of significant particularities. Finally the links are drawn with action research. It is argued that the process of reconceptualisation is itself an action that will make a difference as part of a series of action research cycles.     

Implications of academic literacies research for knowledge making and curriculum design

This article explores the issue of what academic literacies research can bring to the study of knowledge and curriculum in higher education from a theoretical perspective and by means of illustrations from a work in progress academic literacies research project in the natural sciences. It argues that reading and writing are central to the process of learning in any discipline and that discipline specialists need to take this into consideration when planning their curricula. It also considers what knowledge means in the context of academic literacies research and how this conception of knowledge may differ from the knowledge structures researchers’ concern with knowledge as an object with its own properties. It comes to the conclusion that academic literacies research with its ethnographic-type exploration of social practice and theorisations of knowledge in the knowledge structures research can complement one another because each field of enquiry brings a lens that the other lacks.     

Action research as a practice‐based practice

Action research changes people’s practices, their understandings of their practices, and the conditions under which they practice. It changes people’s patterns of ‘saying’, ‘doing’ and ‘relating’ to form new patterns – new ways of life. It is a meta‐practice: a practice that changes other practices. It transforms the sayings, doings and relating that compose those other practices. Action research is also a practice, composed of sayings, doing and relating. Different kinds of action research – technical, practical and critical – are composed in different patterns of saying, doing and relating, as different ways of life. This paper suggests that ‘Education for Sustainability’, as an educational movement within the worldwide social movement responding to global warming, may be a paradigm example of critical action research.     

“课例研究”:本土经验及多种形态(下)

在我国的"课例研究"推进中,明显存在以日本"授业研究"为标杆的倾向。本土经验或被遗弃、或被遮蔽,本土强有力的"课例研究"被自我边缘化。我国"课例研究"具有多种形态,如"课例"作为研究成果的表达形式、"课例"作为研究对象"、课例"作为所研究问题的载体、作为研修内容或研修方式的"课例研究"等。发掘、弘扬本土经验,尤其是从本土经验中提炼针对本土教育教学问题的行之有效的研究方法,具有十分重要的意义。     

THEORY,METHOD AND PRACTICE OF NEUROSCIENTIFIC FINDINGS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

This report provides an overview of neuroscience research that is applicable for science educators. It first offers a brief analysis of empirical studies in educational neuroscience literature, followed by six science concept learning constructs based on the whole brain theory: gaining an understanding of brain function; pattern recognition and consciousness; mind maps, mnemonics and other learning devices; concrete multisensory experience; higher-order creative reasoning via a multimedia-infused environment and positive emotion in educational settings. It is vital to the future of results-based education that discoveries regarding the cognitive learning process are taken into consideration when designing instruction. This research offers science educators neuroscience-backed information as a foundation to develop results-oriented curricula and teaching methods. Future research could further extend an empirically driven education system.     

基于GIS的区域生态安全评价——以江苏徐州市为例

生态安全是区域可持续发展的核心问题,是国家安全和社会稳定的一个重要组成部分．本研究以徐州市为例,采用压力-状态-响应模型,选取18个评价指标,构建了生态安全评价体系;然后运用相关数学方法得到安全指数,并运用多层次分析法,确定各个指标的权重,对徐州市的各个县市进行了分区综合评价．研究表明：新沂市生态处于较安全状态,丰县生态处于危险状态,其它县市处于预警状态．     

亚里士多德的教研同一观初探

亚里士多德在进行传授知识的同时，注重教学研究。他的讲稿也是优秀的论文集。这样，亚氏就将教学与研究统一起来。而且，事实表明：研究的深入推进了教学的发展。亚里士多德教学与研究上的突出贡献在希腊历史上是颇为少见的，其独特的教研方法也正是我们今天实施素质教育改革所迫切需要学习的。     

From Vocational College to New University: The Research Profile and Development Needs of Academic Staff in a Period of Transition

Prompted by the provision of special funding for research development from the Department of Employment, Education and Training, an analysis of the research status and development needs of staff one network member of a newly amalgamated University was undertaken. It was found that many staff were without research‐based qualifications and had limited research experience. Teaching and curriculum development were dominant activities, the latter being particularly so in some of the newer disciplines. It was felt by many that there was a lack of institutional support for research by senior management in general and in some faculties in particular, as people in those positions took time to adjust to the changing climate of expectations in the transition from College to University. Specific research skills needing development were identified, including submission writing, statistical data analysis and reporting research. The availability of time and money for research were, predictably, seen as critical. In a conclusion unanticipated at the commencement of the study, the emergence of a widely recognised and supported research ethos was perceived as perhaps the most significant element to contribute to the development of research in a new university.     

Inclusive Inquiry: Student–teacher dialogue as a means of promoting inclusion in schools

This article traces the development of Inclusive Inquiry, a new approach to the promotion of inclusion in schools. It explains how this builds on a programme of research carried out by the authors over a period of 20 years. Central to the approach is dialogue amongst teachers and their students about how to make lessons more inclusive. This involves children becoming researchers who learn how to use research techniques to gather the views of their classmates, as well as observing lessons. The approach was refined as a result of a 3-year action research study carried out with a network of eight secondary schools, in three European countries. It was then trialled in 30 primary schools, in five European countries. In each country a team of university researchers supported, recorded and analysed the action research as it occurred, using observations, interviews and surveys. The article provides an analysis of the impact on the thinking and practices of teachers, and on the attitudes and engagement of students in learning. It is argued that Inclusive Inquiry is an approach that facilitates dialogues that can lead to transformations of practices and thinking, and the development of inclusive schools. Some of the challenges involved in using the approach in schools are identified.     

“课例研究”:本土经验及多种形态(上)

在我国的"课例研究"推进中,明显存在以日本"授业研究"为标杆的倾向。本土经验或被遗弃或被遮蔽,本土强有力的"课例研究"被自我边缘化。我国"课例研究"具有多种形态,如"课例"作为研究成果的表达形式、"课例"作为研究对象"、课例"作为所研究问题的载体、作为研修内容或研修方式的"课例研究"等。发掘、弘扬本土经验,尤其是从本土经验中提炼针对本土教育教学问题的行之有效的研究方法,具有十分重要的意义。     

Work-Based Knowledge,Evidence-Informed Practice and Education

ABSTRACT:?

This paper starts from an examination of an epistemological framework that underpins practice in particular educational contexts. It examines work-based knowledge, relating this to practitioner research and evidence informed practice. This is followed by an exploration of arguments that call for increased rigour in educational research as well as the use of systematic reviews. The paper examines tensions within educational research located in particular institutional contexts which draw upon ‘post-modern’ conceptualisations of practice, setting these against research concerned with generalisability that veers towards traditional positivist claims. The paper concludes by suggesting that such arguments readily fold back into a conservative empiricism and a more appropriate position should be based upon dialogue across a range of constituents. However, such a notion needs to recognise social antagonism as well as aspirations towards the deepening of notions of social justice.     

Education for Sustainable Development and retention: unravelling a research agenda

This paper considers the question of what education for sustainable development (ESD) research might signify when linked to the concept of “retention”, and how this relation (ESD and retention) might be researched. It considers two different perspectives on retention, as revealed through educational research trajectories, drawing on existing research and case studies. Firstly, it discusses an ESD research agenda that documents retention by focusing on the issue of keeping children in schools. This research agenda is typical of the existing discourses surrounding Education for All (EFA). It then discusses a related ESD research agenda that focuses more on the pedagogical and curricular aspects of retention, as this provides for a deeper understanding of how ESD can contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning within a wider EFA retention agenda.     

大学与企业联合研究机构管理模式的探索

大学与企业共建联合研究机构已经成为国内一流研究型大学融入“以企业为主体、市场为导向、产学研相结合的技术创新体系“的重要方式,如何规范其建设和管理以实现大学与企业的互利双赢,已经成为大学迫切需要解决的问题.本文结合清华大学的经验,提出从功能定位、权益责任、组织机构和过程管理四个方面加强对联合研究机构管理的思路,并介绍了清华大学在此思路下形成的基本管理模式,将为高等学校以联合研究机构的形式进一步推进产学研合作提供有益借鉴.     

Working with students as co-researchers in schools: a matter of inclusion

The research reported in this paper focuses on the process of involving students as co-researchers in schools. The study involved a process of collaboration with two secondary schools in an economically deprived city in the north East of England. Use was made of a framework for developing inclusion that emerged through earlier work. The framework has students' voices at its centre. Through an analysis of the research process, factors that are important when involving students as co-researchers in schools are discussed. The understandings gained through the study have implications for future research. It is argued that such approaches, which place students at the heart of the research process, can be viewed as a matter of inclusion.     

A reconnaissance study as a sine qua non factor for status quo change among senior phase technology teachers

ABSTRACT

This article is based on a preliminary action research (AR) study conducted with selected schools in Limpopo. It intends to report on the progress made and research problem identified during the reconnaissance/preliminary study. The aim of this preliminary research is to ascertain whether the findings conform to the main research question of the overall research. The study focused on senior phase Technology teachers at four identified schools, who are teaching grades 8 and 9 in Limpopo. This investigation entailed the administering of a questionnaire, conducting interviews and engaging in an observation activity. This was a small-scale study, for fact-finding purposes, before the main rollout of AR commences. It was evident from the study that teachers lacked capacity to teach Technology as a subject. The teachers lacked Technology pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) and were not confident in engaging with practical activities, in their assessment of the learners and with compiling Technology learning programmes. These identified challenges serve as the main drive of the study. It is imperative to engage in an emancipatory paradigm or critical theory as a way to intervene in the challenges faced by Technology teachers.     

The ethical dimension of teacher practical knowledge: a narrative inquiry into Chinese teachers’ thinking and actions in dilemmatic spaces

Previous research concerning teacher practical knowledge has revealed its epistemological foundations, content structure and research methodology, but little research examines its ethical dimension. Based on a four-year project in China, this study probes the ethical dimension of an experienced teacher’s practical knowledge, explicated in a dilemmatic but teachable moment. Narrative inquiry is used as both a research method and a representational form to reveal the teacher’s ethical decisions and actions in the nested macro–meso–micro dilemmatic spaces. It is found that the teacher’s practical knowledge is embedded in a complicated web of meanings, and tapestried by her compromise to the national policies, her negotiation with the school governance and her caring for her students with diverse backgrounds. The ethical dimension of her practical knowledge provides her a vital power to carry out her educational practice. It is advocated that an ‘ethical turn’ for research and practice in teacher professional development is needed, so as to authorize teachers’ professionality reflected in their roles as humanity cultivators and transformative intellectuals. Moreover, under the global educational reform context since late 1990s, this article can be seen not only as a case from China, but also has implications for other countries in the world.