An African-centred approach to land education

Approaches to environmental education which are engaging with place and critical pedagogy have not yet broadly engaged with the African world and insights from Africana Studies and Geography. An African-centred approach facilitates people’s reconnection to places and ecosystems in ways that do not reduce places to objects of conquest and things to be exploited for profitability and individual gain. Such an approach offers effective critiques of settler coloniser perspectives on the environment and deeper understandings of the relationship between worldview and ecologically sensitised education. Through examples from Africana Studies and Geography, this article provides an introduction to how an African-centred approach can contribute to the development of a Land Education perspective and improve college-level environmental education.     

个别化学习在开放教育中的创新途径

个别化学习作为开放教育的崭新学习模式，在入学、教学、媒体与管理等几个方面都适应了学员个体性的学习需求。它是激发学员创新能力、自主学习能力的重要手段，也是构建学习化社会，实施素质教育的有效途径。     

Synergism in education: An innovative approach to practice teaching supervision

The problem of effective teacher education is central to the pressing needs of Nigerian education at all levels. Scholars have identified many of them, including the general problems relating to the supervision, guidance, and evaluation of student-practice teaching.The purpose of this essay is briefly to describe an innovative approach undertaken by the Imo State School Board (Nigeria), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to resolve some of the problems identified. The underlying assumption is that the student teachers' internship is best conducted with closer collaboration, supervision, and guidance of the teachers.The study employed a theoretical framework synergism in education which integrated earlier studies by both American and Nigerian scholars. The concept of synergism has been defined as the combined healthy action of all elements of a system.Application of the theory showed how the State Ministry of Education, the State School Board, the Teacher Training Colleges and the Nigeria Union of Teachers of Imo State collectively resolved in 1980 the problems of inadequate supervisory personnel, high cost of student-teaching internship, and poor student assessment and evaluation.With the synergetic supervisory process, the functions of planning, changing, and decision-making about instructional improvement are shared, with a certain degree of power equalization, among the student teachers, supervisors, co-operating teachers, and the school executives.

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Zusammenfassung Die Gewährleistung einer effektiven Lehrerausbildung ist zentraler Bestandteil der drängenden Probleme, die sich dem nigerianischen Erziehungswesen auf allen Ebenen stellen. Viele dieser Probleme sind von Wissenschaftlern identifiziert worden, einschließlich der Aufsicht, Beratung, Aus- und Bewertung der praktischen Lehrerausbildung.In dem vorliegenden Aufsatz soll ein innovativer Ansatz umrissen werden, der von der Schulbehörde des Staates Imo (Nigeria) in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Erziehungsministerium gewählt wurde, um einige der erkannten Probleme zu lösen. Hierbei wurde die Annahme zugrunde gelegt, daß das Referendariat am besten in möglichst enger Zusammenarbeit mit, und unter Aufsicht und Anleitung von Lehrern durchgeführt werden sollte.Bei der Studie wurde als theoretischer Bezugsrahmen der Synergismus in der Erziehung angewendet, der vorangegangene Studien von amerikanischen und nigerianischen Wissenschaftlern miteinander verband. Der Begriff der Synergie ist definiert worden als ein gesundes Zusammenwirken aller Elemente eines Systems.Unter Anwendung der genannten Theorie konnte gezeigt werden, wie das Erziehungsministerium, die Schulbehörde und die Lehrergewerkschaft in Staat Imo sowie die verschiedenen Lehrerausbildungsinstitute die Probleme angingen. In Jahre 1980 wurden so Probleme wie unzulängliche Aufseher, hohe Referendariatskosten und mangelhafte Bewertung der Referendare gemeinschaftlich gelöst.Mit dem synergetischen Aufsichtsprozeß werden die Funktionen des Planens, Veränderns und Entscheidens über Unterrichtsverbesserungen durch ein in gewissem Maße ausgeglichenes Kräfteverhältnis zwischen Referendaren, Aufsehern, kooperativen Lehrern und Schulleitern aufgeteilt.

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Résumé Parmi les besoins pressants de l'éducation au Nigeria, la problématique d'une formation efficace des enseignants occupe une place centrale à tous les niveaux.L'objet de cet essai est de décrire brièvement une approche innovative entreprise pour résoudre certains des problèmes identifiés par le Bureau d'Education de l'Etat d'Imo en collaboration avec le Ministère Fédéral de l'Education. L'hypothèse sous-jacente est que les programmes de formation des élèves-maîtres sont mieux menés lorsqu'ils bénéficient d'une collaboration étroite, d'une supervision et d'une orientation de la part des enseignants.Le cadre théorique employé dans cette étude est constitué par lesynergisme en éducation qui englobe les études entreprises par des spécialistes aussi bien américains que nigériens. Le concept desynergisme est défini ici comme la combinaison de l'action bénéfique de l'ensemble des éléments d'un système donné. L'application de cette méthode a permis de voir combien le Ministère Fédéral de l'Education, le Bureau de l'Education, le Collège de formation des enseignants et l'Union syndicale des enseignants de l'Etat d'imo, ont, en 1980, collectivement résolu le problème de l'inefficacité de la supervision du personnel, celui du coût élevé de la formation des maîtres et celui lié à l'insuffisance de l'évaluation des élèves.Dans le cadre de ce processus synergétique de supervision, les fonctions de planification, changement et prise de décision sur l'amélioration de l'instruction sont prises en charge avec un certain degré d'égalité dans le partage du pouvoir par les élèves-maîtres, les superviseurs, les autres enseignants collaborant à la formation et l'administration scolaire.

     

An intercultural approach to challenging issues in Northern Ireland teacher education

This paper reports action research intended to advance intercultural learning and pedagogy within teacher pre‐service education. Northern Ireland (NI) student teachers returning from teaching abroad and students from abroad training in NI shared views upon pedagogical practices, identified features supportive of inclusive teaching and assessed the potential of teacher intercultural learning. Experience of teaching abroad acted to challenge, but in some cases also to affirm, teacher dependence upon professional authority, independent pupils' learning and associated forms of control in classrooms. A majority of student teachers appeared encouraged by their experience of teaching abroad to experiment with pedagogies supportive of a negotiated and more inclusive curriculum and involving more cooperative learning in classrooms. Without significantly greater intercultural experience in NI teacher education, in the selective nature of NI schooling and in the control of subject disciplines under the NI statutory curriculum, sustained use of more transformative pedagogies is considered problematical in NI schools.

Cet article retrace une recherche‐action mise en oeuvre afin de promouvoir l'apprentissage interculturel et sa pédagogie. Des étudiants nord‐irlandais en formation initiale, rentrant de stage pratique à l'étranger, et des étudiants d'autres pays, effectuant un stage en Irlande du Nord, ont partagé leurs points de vue sur des pratiques pédagogiques, ont identifié des aspects encourageant l'éducation à l'altérité et ont évalué le potentiel d'apprentissage interculturel du professeur. L'expérience d'enseigner à l'étranger a mis ces étudiants au défi, mais dans certains cas a aussi renforcé la dépendance de l'enseignant à l'égard de l'autorité, du travail individuel de l'élève et du maintien de la discipline dans la classe. Cette expérience a encouragé la majorité de ces futurs professeurs à faire l'expérience des pédagogies développant un programme scolaire négocié et un apprentissage fondé sur la collaboration dans la classe. Sans réformes majeures, l'application intensive de ces pédagogies a été considérée comme problématique pour les écoles nord‐irlandaises.

Dieses Papier berichtet über Aktionsforschung mit dem Ziel der Förderung von interkulturellem Lernen und Pädagogik im Bereich der Lehrerausbildung. Nordirische Studierende, die aus einem Auslandslehrpraktikum zurückkehren und ausländische Studierende, die in Nordirland ausgebildet wurden, tauschten Eindrücke über pädagogische Praktiken, identifizierten Merkmale welche ?inclusive teaching“ unterstützen und bewerteten das Potential für interkulturelles Lernen in der Lehrerausbildung. Die Lehrerfahrung im Ausland bewirkte eine Herausforderung, in manchen Fällen aber auch eine Bestätigung der Abhängigkeit der Lehrenden von Autorität, der Arbeit von einzelnen Schülern und Schülerinnen und der Kontrolle im Klassenraum. Die Mehrzahl der Lehramtsstudierenden wurde durch ihre Erfahrung ermutigt mit einer Pädagogik zu experimentieren, die verhandelte Curricula und gemeinschaftliches Lernen unterstützen. Ohne weitgehende Reformen wurde der Einsatz dieser Pädagogiken in den Schulen Nordirlands als problematisch betrachtet.

Este estudio informa sobre investigaciones prácticas para potenciar la pedagogía y el aprendizaje interculturales de los docentes. Los estudiantes de Magisterio de Irlanda del Norte que vuelven de su periodo de prácticas docentes en el extranjero y los estudiantes extranjeros de prácticas en Irlanda del Norte comparten puntos de vista sobre prácticas pedagógicas, identifican áreas de apoyo para una enseñanza global y evalúa el potencial del aprendizaje intercultural. La experiencia de las prácticas en el extranjero sirvió de reto, pero en algunos cursos también reforzó la dependencia del docente en la autoridad, en el trabajo personal de los estudiantes y en el control del aula. La mayoría de los estudiantes de prácticas se sintieron animados a experimentar con pedagogías de negociación de contenidos curriculares y de aprendizaje colaborativo. Sin reformas importantes, el uso continuado de esta pedagogía se considera problemático en las escuelas de Irlanda del Norte.     

The Buddhist approach to education: an alternative approach for sustainable education

This article is based on research undertaken as part of a study of sustainable school design in Thailand. Since school design solutions are inevitably affected by educational theory and practice, in the search for appropriate building solutions, it has been necessary to review Thai educational theories and practices that relate to the sustainability approach. Recently, there have been several attempts at the international level to respond to sustainability concepts and practices in both educational and architectural fields. These have included changes to the physical building through the introduction of techniques like passive solar cooling, and curriculum changes such as the use of native plants in the school grounds for science teaching. In Thailand, sustainable practices in both fields appear to be in their infancy. This article aims to explore one current Thai educational practice that presents the possibility of responding to sustainability concepts via culturally sensitive education. The practice is based on the three Buddhist principles of learning: sila sikkha (moral conduct); samadhi sikka (mind training); and panna sikkha (wisdom development). In this holistic approach, the principles are practised simultaneously and can be applied to many dimensions, including personal, family, school and communal levels, to cultivate responsive sustainable living practices for the learners. Because the majority of Thai people are Buddhists, this approach may be an alternative way of developing sustainable education in Thailand. It also presents a way to apply local knowledge to promote sustainable ways of living in particular contexts. This may be the first step in the development of sustainable school design in Thailand and could become an integrated part of the country's sustainable systems.     

Navigating plurilingual learning: An inclusive education approach

Language experiences and linguistic knowledge of teenage migrants can be valuable resources for their continued language learning. Yet, home languages and existing plurilingual skills are often framed as obstacles to learning that tag young migrants as at risk of school failure in the context of monolingual education systems. This article draws on a comparative education study carried out in Aotearoa New Zealand and France in 2017–2019, observing young migrants' use of their languages in classroom learning. A total of 42 secondary students from a mix of asylum-seeker, refugee, and migrant backgrounds participated, originating from 22 different countries and speaking 24 different languages. All of the students were in their first year of schooling in New Zealand or France at the time of the study. Findings draw on observations of how students made use of their existing knowledge of languages to (1) access learning in the language-of-schooling, (2) learn interactively through their home languages, and (3) navigate unfamiliar styles of teaching and learning, thus engaging with the unknown and developing behaviours for successful learning. Patterns across the cohort show that young migrants are adept at drawing on their existing language resources in learning. This suggests a re-framing of success at school as not only outcomes, but also as defined by effective learning processes that young migrants put in place. As a result, this study suggests ways that teachers can work inclusively with young migrants through their languages, to support processes of learning that could lead to better educational outcomes.     

Comparative physical education: An international scientific approach

The article describes the growth of research on various topics and ideas in a relatively new field — comparative physical education and sport — since the end of World War II. The field is closely related to comparative education. This is also true as regards its history, definition, aims, etc., and its methodology. Physical educators on the one hand have therefore borrowed methods from comparative educators, and on the other hand have tried to work out their own approaches. Examples of the latter are mentioned. A brief review of the literature is included.

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Zusammenfassung Der Artikel beschreibt die seit dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges zunehmende Forschung im Hinblick auf verschiedene Themen und Vorstellungen auf einem relativ neuen Gebiet, der vergleichenden Leibes- und Sporterziehung. Das Gebiet ist mit der vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft eng verknüpft. Das gilt ebenso für seine Geschichte, Definition, Ziele usw. und für seine Methodik. Sporterzieher haben sich daher einerseits Methoden vergleichender Erziehungswissenschaftler bedient, andererseits haben sie versucht, eigene Ansätze herauszuarbeiten. Für letzteres werden Beispiele angegeben sowie eine kurze Besprechung der Literatur.

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Résumé Cet article décrit le développement de la recherche sur divers thèmes et idées dans un domaine relativement nouveau — celui de l'éducation physique et du sport comparés — depuis la Seconde guerre mondiale. Ce domaine est étroitement lié à celui de la pédagogie comparée. C'est également vrai en ce qui concerne son histoire, sa définition, ses objectifs, etc. et sa méthodologie. Les practiciens d'éducation physique ont donc d'une part emprunté les méthodes des maîtres partisans de la pédagogie comparée et essayé d'élaborer leurs propres approches d'autre part. Quelques-unes de ces approches sont mentionnées. Une brève liste de la littérature sur ce thème est incluse.

     

An onto-semiotic approach to the analysis of the affective domain in mathematics education

ABSTRACT

A subject of growing interest in mathematics education is the affective domain and its effects on the teaching and learning processes, giving rise to different models of its components and conditioning factors. In this paper, we apply the ontological and semiotic categories from the Onto-Semiotic Approach (OSA) to research in mathematics education, to build an inclusive and systematic model to consider affective situations, practices, objects and processes, as well as the corresponding dualities: personal – institutional, ostensive – non-ostensive, extensive – intensive, unitary – systemic, expression – content. The dynamic character of affects (emotions, attitudes, beliefs and values) and their relations with the epistemic, cognitive, interactional and resources is modelled by the didactical configuration and didactical trajectory notions, theoretical tools which include the affective sub-configuration and sub-trajectory as key components. Another result obtained from this work is the revision of the indicators of affective suitability proposed in previous works.     

An ecosystemic approach for understanding inclusive education: An Indian case study

India is currently faced with the formidable task of fulfilling its commitment towards Education for All. This paper presents findings of a multi-level study, which explored the various meanings, and efforts towards inclusive education in an Indian context. Using an ecosystemic framework, it discusses the many complex ways in which efforts have been influenced by international developments and socio-cultural factors within the national context. This paper discusses the emergence of inclusive education, as being about the education of children with disabilities. It places specific focus on exploring the impact that narrowly constructed notions of “ability” and “disability” have on efforts undertaken at the government and school level. The paper concludes by arguing for a need to understand inclusive education, not only in terms of new terminology, policies and legislations, but also by critically examining the beliefs and values that underpin its developments.     

Re-imagining learning through art as experience: An aesthetic approach to education for life

Abstract

This paper investigates what it may mean to re-imagine learning through aesthetic experience with reference to John Dewey’s Art as Experience (1934). The discussion asks what learning might look like when aesthetic experience takes centre stage in the learning process. It investigates what Dewey meant by art as experience and aesthetic experience. Working with Dewey as a philosopher of reconstruction of experience, the discussion examines responses to poetic writings and communication in learning situations. In seeking to discover what poetic writing (as art) does within the experience of a reader and writer it considers three specific learning situations. Firstly there is an examination of a five-year old child’s experience of shared communication through the story of Horton the Elephant. Secondly there is an account of the responses of an 11-year-old child to poetry in a 1950s classroom setting, and later reconstructions of those experiences by the child as adult. Thirdly, the paper extends to intensive writing with 12 to 13-year-old children. The focus is on the process of learning via acts of expression as aesthetic experiences. Through art as experience the child develops perceptions that recover a coherence and continuity of aesthetic experience in art as in everyday life.