A bridge between seminar and university: the English Department at Oranim College, 1971–2001

The issue of the ‘best’ type of teacher education currently under discussion led us towards a historic‐ethnographic study dealing with the teacher education approach of the English Department which existed at Oranim Academic College of Education in the years 1971–2001. Seven teachers and former Heads of Department were interviewed, as well as the college president, and written material was collected from different sources. The data were analysed using the grounded theory approach. The findings show that this teacher education program was unique in that it was built on a balanced integration of the seminar‐based and the university‐based approaches to teacher education. This allowed the department to place the process of construction of pedagogical content knowledge in the centre, together with the acquisition of discipline‐based knowledge. This combination of academic and professional‐based approaches within a university framework was proven to be not only possible, but very successful.     

A cross-cultural study on the influence of cultural values and teacher beliefs on university teachers’ information and communications technology acceptance

This study examined how cultural values and teacher beliefs influence Chinese and Spanish university teachers’ acceptance of ICTs by combining Hofstede’s cultural values theory with technology acceptance theories. Four hundred and twenty-five university teachers from China and 385 teachers from Spain participated in the study. The proposed research model was tested by using samples from both countries and the multigroup analyses were performed to test moderating effects of cultural variables. Results confirmed the validity of the model in both samples and the effects of cultural values on the adoption of ICTs, and significant differences were observed between the two samples.

     

The Buddhist Institute at Phnom Penh,the International Council of Women,and the Rome International Institute for Educational Cinematography: intersections of internationalism and imperialism, 1931–1934

This article explores the intersection of aspects of imperialism and internationalism in discussion of cinematography at the League of Nations, at the International Council of Women (ICW), and as they played out in the imperial, national and local flows around educational cinematography in the work of Suzanne Karpelès at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It focuses on the 1931 ICW cinematograph conference organised by Laura Dreyfus-Barney at the League’s Rome International Institute for Educational Cinematography (IIEC) and on the IIEC’s 1934 cinematography congress, when Dreyfus-Barney fed Karpelès’ ideas about educational film into the congress. The article looks at the notion of rapprochement (of nations) within internationalism as this became articulated at both the League and the ICW with notions about mentalities within imperialism. It also traces the intersection of rapprochement and mentalities in Karpelès’ promotion of educational cinematography from her base in Phnom Penh. The article concludes that various elements around the cinematic at the League, the ICW and at Phnom Penh illustrate articulations of internationalism in the domains of nationalism and imperialism as well as articulations of the national and imperial in the domain of the international.     

On paper,on air,on screen: ‘teledidactics’ and education at the margins, 1920–1950

In this paper, I examine the provenance of distance education or ‘teledidactics’ in Australia. I take as my case studies the New South Wales Correspondence School and the School of the Air and suggest that their emergence was underpinned by a desire on the part of educational and broadcasting bureaucrats to increase the equity of school provision by addressing the problem of educating remote populations. I argue that this problem was ultimately solved by drawing on elements of the medial ecology (as theorised by Friedrich Kittler) that emerged circa 1900 and that the machines associated with this ecology underpinned the realisation of educating such populations.     

A case study of a formative assessment practice and the effects on students’ self-regulated learning

The study investigates one mathematics teacher’s implementation of formative assessment and its effects on students’ self-regulated learning (SRL). A questionnaire administered before and after the eight-month long intervention shows a significant effect, compared to two control classes, on students’ motivational beliefs involved in SRL. Qualitative data shows a notable enhancement of the students’ SRL behavior in the classroom. Analysis of the teacher’s implemented formative assessment shows a practice integrating several aspects of formative assessment, and provides empirical evidence of what formative assessment with large effects on students’ SRL may look like and how it fits with models of SRL development.     

Relationships among loneliness,communication competence,and career success in a state bureaucracy: A field study of the ‘lonely at the top’ maxim

This field study investigates associations among loneliness, career success, and communication competence in an effort to account for the finding of Bell, Roloff, Van Camp, and Karol (1990) that individuals who occupy low positions in organizational hierarchies may be more prone to loneliness. Subjects were 182 employees at a state government agency. Each subject's level in the organization was assessed by assigning him or her to one of five ordinal categories, ranging from Clerical (Level 1) to Director (Level 5). In addition, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale and a measure of communication competence were completed. Hypothesis 1, which predicted a negative relationship between organizational level and loneliness, was supported for male subjects only. The second hypothesis, which anticipated a positive correlation between organizational level and communication competence, was again supported only for males. The third prediction that loneliness would be inversely related to competence received strong support for both sexes. The final hypothesis predicted that the inverse relationship between level and loneliness expected in Hypothesis 1 would become positive when controlling for baseline differences in communication competence between higher‐and lower‐positioned employees. No evidence was found that greater communication competence among employees at higher organizational levels masked a real tendency for career success to be accompanied by more loneliness. These results are discussed in terms of gender differences in the interface of work life and personal relationships.     

Structural relationship between learners’ perceptions of a test,learning practices,and learning outcomes: A study on the washback mechanism of a high-stakes test

The study aimed to explore the washback mechanism on learning by investigating the structural relationship between learners’ perceptions of a test, learning practices, and learning outcomes via structural equation modeling. The participants in this study included 3105 Chinese senior high school students. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used in the analyses of the data. This study found that learners’ perceptions of test validity, impact, and importance affected their learning practices in different ways and to different degrees. The research results also showed that four types of English learning practices had significant, positive, but differential effects on learning outcomes. The effect size was partly associated with the frequency of engagement with each learning practice. Based on the findings, some implications and suggestions were drawn for learners, teachers, test designers, and test authorities.     

ESD and lifelong learning: a case study of the Shangri-la Institute’s current engagement with the Bazhu community in Diqing,China

International Review of Education - This article argues that ESD should be integrated into lifelong learning and provides an example of how this might be done. It draws on a case study of a joint...     

ESD and lifelong learning: a case study of the Shangri-la Institute’s current engagement with the Bazhu community in Diqing, China

This article argues that ESD should be integrated into lifelong learning and provides an example of how this might be done. It draws on a case study of a joint project between the Shangri-la Institute and the Bazhu community in Diqing, southwest China, to analyse a community-based approach to Education for Sustainable Development and assess its implications for lifelong learning. The article examines the different knowledge, skills and values needed for ESD across the life span and asserts the need for these competencies to be informed by the local context. The importance of linking ESD with local culture and indigenous knowledge is emphasised. The article goes on to propose methods for integrating ESD into lifelong learning and underscore the need for learning at the individual, institutional and societal levels in formal, non-formal and informal learning settings. It calls for institutional changes that link formal, non-formal and informal learning through the common theme of ESD, and establish platforms to share experiences, reflect on these and thereby continually improve ESD.     

Living Animals in the Classroom: A Meta-Analysis on Learning Outcome and a Treatment–Control Study Focusing on Knowledge and Motivation

Prior research states that the use of living animals in the classroom leads to a higher knowledge but those previous studies have methodological and statistical problems. We applied a meta-analysis and developed a treatment–control study in a middle school classroom. The treatments (film vs. living animal) differed only by the presence of the living animal. Both treatments were based on the self-determination theory. More than 400 pupils filled in pre-test, post-test and two follow-up-tests (with a delay of 6–8 weeks and 7–8 months). After each lesson, pupils rated the lesson on a short intrinsic motivation scale. In the meta-analysis, we found that the living animal treatments significantly scored better than a control group, but not when comparing living animals with alternative treatments. In the treatment–control study, both treatments led to a significant increase in knowledge but there were no differences between film and living animal treatment. Pre-test and previous grading had a significant influence on post- and both follow-up tests. In the mouse lesson, pupils of the living animal group showed higher values in interest and competence and lower values in pressure. Interest and competence correlated positively with achievement, while pressure correlated negatively.     

A Comparative Analysis of Heroism in American Literature in 19th and 20th Centuries-Heroic Styles in Moby Dick and The Old Man and the Sea

In American literary history,two ocean novels,Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea,have always been comparatively studied.Much research focuses on the two protagonists,Ahab in Moby Dick and Santiago in The Old Manand the Sea,to praise their heroic spirit,which is shared with other commonly acknowledged heroes.However,unique heroic characteristics of Ahab and Santiago which are tinged with the time flavor are commonly neglected.Enlightenment,which took on different facets in the 19th and 20th centuries,and American social development in different stages contributed a lot to the forming of the two heroic styles.In conclusion,Ahab and Santiago,in the sense of the affirmation of one’s value and the defence of their dignity,are heroes,and meanwhile,their heroic behaviors are adapted to the whole atmosphere of a specific time stage.     

In‐service expectations,accreditation, sanctions and incentives: Some reflections on a recent study visit to the USA

Abstract

Competence‐based education has been the topic of considerable criticism recently. The purpose of this article is to argue that much of it is more justifiable as a critique of the particular format in which it is currently presented than of its underlying principles. A detailed critical analysis of the MCI materials in Management Education is presented, in order to show how many of the problems raised by these documents have been resolved in an alternative format for competence‐based education devised by the ASSET Programme, a competence‐based degree level qualification is social work, recently developed by the author and a colleague from Essex Social Services Department.     

Students’ Quality Control Circle: a case study on students’ participation in the quality control circle at the Faculty of Business and Management

A pilot study on students’ participation in Students’ Quality Control Circle (SQCC) was carried out by the researcher at the Faculty of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM), Shah Alam, Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to identify the importance of the Quality Control Circle (QCC) to students and hence use it as a basis of consideration for the inclusion of the SQCC as a subject in the future. Participants for the pilot study comprised students from the Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) majoring in International Business, Part Two since they have had prior exposure to studies on Total Quality Management. The students who participated did so on a voluntary basis. The process of SQCC took nearly a year since it was undertaken outside the students’ normal class hours. The students sent their report on the SQCC project which was subsequently published to the First International Conference on Students Quality Control at Lucknow, India in the same year. Feedback from the students who took part in the SQCC indicated that it was a suitable learning process and that it could be adopted as a subject. It is hoped that this will be taken up so that the students will be better prepared to face the challenges of working life after their graduation. This paper traces the researcher's experience as the facilitator for the SQCC and to present the feedback on the pilot study on the SQCC. It is recommended that a survey be made on the acceptance by potential employers on students equipped with QCC skills.