The Social background to teaching in the united states: An English assessment

ABSTRACT

Since 9/11 the European Court of Human Rights (the European Court) has raised anew the question of the relationship between religion and public education. In its reasoning, the European Court has had to consider competing normative accounts of the secular, either to accept or deny claims to religious liberty within Europe's public education system. This article argues that the trajectory on which the term ‘secularism’ had been used by the European Court pointed increasingly towards secular fundamentalism. This study is located at the cutting edge of religion, education and the law and builds on previous work in the field (Arthur, 1998 Arthur, J. 1998. British human rights legislation and religiously affiliated schools and colleges. Education and the Law, 10(4): 225–236. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 2008 Arthur, J. 2008. Learning under the cross: legal challenges to ‘cultural-religious symbolism’ in public schools. Education and the Law, 20(4): 337–349. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). It examines, through extensive research of legal cases, the most important developments of the usage of secular and secular education in modern discourse and explores the background to these concepts. Unless otherwise stated, religion in this article shall refer to the Christian tradition because Christianity has been the historical context for the development of the concept of ‘secular’ in Europe. The paper outlines three models of secular education before moving on to scrutinise how the European Court has understood and evaluated various legal cases before it on the interaction between secular States, public education and notions of religious symbolism and influence. The paper will discuss the significance of the European Court's reasoning and decisions for public education within a secular State context and offer some conclusions on the implications of these decisions. It examines the legal principles that underpin the European Court's supervision of the State's role in the provision of education. It focuses on the chimeric goal of neutrality and highlights the risks attached to the use of an ideological conception of secularism that could lead potentially to the complete removal of the religious as a vital cultural and intellectual dimension of public education.     

Student selection and admission to higher education:Policies and practices in the Asian region

Student selection and admission for higher education in the Asian region are matters of concern at a time when there is rapid growth in enrolments and mounting pressure for changes, and when public funds are unable to match demands for expansion. This paper provides a broad review of policies and practices in developing and newly industrialised countries of the Asian region, paying particular attention to access, selection, the admission process, equity and links to the labour market. It attempts an evaluation and provides suggestions for policymakers.     

Honoring our donors: A survey of memorial ceremonies in united states anatomy programs

Many anatomy programs that incorporate dissection of donated human bodies hold memorial ceremonies of gratitude towards body donors. The content of these ceremonies may include learners' reflections on mortality, respect, altruism, and personal growth told through various humanities modalities. The task of planning is usually student‐ and faculty‐led with participation from other health care students. Objective information on current memorial ceremonies for body donors in anatomy programs in the United States appears to be lacking. The number of programs in the United States that currently plan these memorial ceremonies and information on trends in programs undertaking such ceremonies remain unknown. Gross anatomy program directors throughout the United States were contacted and asked to respond to a voluntary questionnaire on memorial ceremonies held at their institution. The results (response rate 68.2%) indicated that a majority of human anatomy programs (95.5%) hold memorial ceremonies. These ceremonies are, for the most part, student‐driven and nondenominational or secular in nature. Participants heavily rely upon speech, music, poetry, and written essays, with a small inclusion of other humanities modalities, such as dance or visual art, to explore a variety of themes during these ceremonies. Anat Sci Educ 7: 219–223. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Professional development to support principals' vision of science instruction: Building from their prior experiences to support the science practices

The implementation of science reform must be viewed as a systems-level problem and not just focus on resources for teachers and students. High-capacity instructional leadership is essential for supporting classroom science instruction. Recent reform efforts include a shift from learning about science facts to figuring out scientific phenomena in which students use science practices as they build and apply disciplinary core ideas. We report findings from a research study on professional development (PD) to support instructional leaders' learning about the science practices. After participating in the PD, the instructional leaders' familiarity with and leadership content knowledge of the science practices significantly improved. Initially, principals used their understandings from other disciplines and content neutral visions of classrooms to make sense of science instruction. For example, they initially used their understandings of models and argument from ELA and math to make sense of science classroom instruction. Furthermore, some principals focused on content neutral strategies, like a clear objective. Over the course of the PD workshops, principals took up the language of the science practices in more nuanced and sophisticated ways. Principals' use of the language of the science practices became more frequent and shifted from identifying or defining them to considering quality and implementation in science classrooms. As we design tools to support science, we need to consider instructional leaders as important stakeholders and develop resources to specifically meet their needs. If the science feels too unfamiliar or intimidating, principals may avoid or reframe science reform efforts. Consequently, it is important to leverage instructional leaders' resources from other disciplines and content neutral strategies as bridges for building understanding in science. We argue that the science practices are one potential lever to engage in this work and shift instructional leaders' understandings of science instruction.     

Policies for inclusive education practices in teacher education in the United Kingdom and France

Implementation of any inclusive policy is dependent on longstanding conceptions, beliefs, and public discourses on schooling, learning, and including children in mainstream schooling. The adoption of inclusive education in education policies in France and the United Kingdom requires discursive support to reshape the meaning and content of teachers' work, duties and practices. Although inclusive education is widely debated, analyses of the variations in policy narratives promoting inclusive teaching in Europe are lacking. This article reports on comparative and international analysis of discourses and policies for empowering teachers for continuous professional development and inclusive school practices. The analysis focuses on an exploration of varieties of articulations, resources, and conceptual dynamics in the UK and France. These elements are discussed within the broader scheme of the teaching profession, with reference to the inclusive education paradigm.     

论科学发展观与统一战线工作

树立和落实科学发展观是贯彻落实"三个代表"重要思想的具体体现,是全面建设小康社会的必然要求。学习好、贯彻好、落实好"科学发展观"重要的是要准确把握、理解其丰富的基本内涵和精神实质。本文首先对科学发展现的基本内涵和精神实质进行了分析和阐述,然后从科学发展观对蜕一战线工作的重要意义和统一战残在落实科学发展观方面肩负的重要责任两个方面进行了系统的分析和阐述。     

我国中小学教师职业规范政策研究

党和国家一直高度重视中小学教师职业规范建设。我国中小学教师职业规范的内容,始终包含"思想政治素质""职业道德规范""个人品德修养"三个方面。近年来,我国的教师职业规范建设呈现出从工具本位转向教师本位、从提倡到提倡与禁止并重、日益注重规范的针对性、科学化、国际化等特征,形成了教育、宣传、考核、激励、监督、惩处、保障七方面的实施机制。注重地方性、校本性教师行为规范细则的制订,加强政策实施效果的评估,强化师德教育中的以能养德,是中小学教师职业规范建设应该关注的方向。     

把握教师专业发展特征在实践中提高教师的专业化水平

从全面把握教师专业发展的基本特征入手,分析影响教师专业发展的内在因素和外部条件,探讨基于教育教学实践促进教师专业发展的基本策略,以进一步提高中小学教师的专业化水平。