Responding to students' needs in special schools in Ireland and England: findings from two schools

As more students with special educational needs attend mainstream schools, it is critical that the role and operation of special schools be examined. This article reports on two case studies, one special school in England and one in Ireland, which formed part of a national review of the role of special schools and special classes in Ireland. Two students, in each case study school, were shadowed and observed during two‐day visits by the research team. These students, and everyone belonging to them, were interviewed and relevant documents were analysed. Findings are discussed in terms of responding to students' needs through: organization of teaching and learning, curriculum, leadership, specialist staff, collaboration and links outside the special school. The implications are considered with reference to research, policy and practice and the authors conclude that the evidence provides support for maintaining the special school as an integral part of the continuum of educational provision for students with special educational needs.     

The governmentality of reconciliation: adult education as a community relations technique in Northern Ireland

Despite a successfully negotiated peace agreement in Belfast in 1998, tensions between different community groups continue to exist in Northern Ireland. This situation creates a governmental need to find solutions to problems such as segregation, inter- and intra-group violence and other forms of sectarian antagonisms. On the one hand, this is attempted by disciplinary measures such as ‘peace walls’ and an increased presence of state powers such as police and armed forces. On the other hand, community relations discourses remain a common refrain in Northern Ireland with their focus on a ‘conduct of conduct’ approach. In this article, I seek to understand adult community education through community relations initiatives and designated anti-sectarian courses as a governmental technology in Northern Ireland designed to change technologies of the self. The article highlights the possibilities for a way forward inherent in this approach and links community relations to broader contexts of policy developments in Northern Ireland.     

美国与北爱和平进程的历史考察

北爱问题实际上与美国关系密切,通过对爱裔美国移民和美国政府两个层面的考察,着重分析克林顿政府以来美国对北爱政策的转变过程及其产生的深刻影响,试为理解纷繁复杂的北爱问题提供一个新的视角。     

Developing partnership with parents in special schools: parental perspectives from Northern Ireland

From the 1960s, the development of home–school relationships in special schools has become increasingly important, culminating in the current official understanding of parents as partners. This paper traces the development of the relationship, setting out the challenges to partnership development from professional perspectives within education. A professionally located investigation was undertaken into parental experiences and perspectives to identify factors inhibiting and promoting effective partnerships. Using a mixed-methods approach, the views were explored of parents with children attending a special school in Northern Ireland. Findings strongly indicated the need for educators to pursue and engage with the views of parents, and to recognise the emotional context of these relationships at an interpersonal and organisational level, so that home–school relations can be realigned to support partnership. Implications are set out that will be instrumental in achieving this reconfiguration between the current official understanding of parents as equal partners and actual practice in some schools.     

Training and accrediting a school staff as mentors: experience of a primary school in Northern Ireland

Arrangements for initial teacher education in Northern Ireland are different from England and Wales in three major respects. Firstly, no formal contracts exist between Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and schools for the training of student teachers. Secondly, no financial resources are transferred from the HEIs to the schools to assist with supporting student teachers while on school placement. Thirdly, the competence framework has been designed to identify the distinctive contribution which schools make to the training process. The amount of time student teachers spend in schools, however, is the same as that in England and Wales but no formal training has been provided for schools to enable them to undertake the new and additional responsibilities which the competence framework implies. This paper describes an initiative in which the whole staff in a primary school in Belfast participated in a programme of Mentorship Training which was provided and accredited by the University of Ulster. The programme which comprised two modules was offered at postgraduate level and was designed to assist the teachers to develop a more structured and systematic approach to supporting and training student teachers and newly qualified teachers. On completion, the programme was evaluated and the findings are reported in this paper.     

Some attitudinal aspects of foreign language learning in northern Ireland: Focus on gender and religious affiliation

Abstract

This paper discusses some aspects of foreign language learning within the divided school system of Northern Ireland. It is argued that an improvement of foreign language learning must be seen in a socio‐cultural context whereby a change in attitudes to languages in general, including Irish, may lead not only to a balanced interest among girls and boys in the language classroom, but also to a more tolerant approach to the cultural differences among the Catholic and Protestant communities.     

北爱尔兰义务教育阶段新课程的内容与特色

1999年北爱尔兰开始实施课程改革,2007年颁布了法定的课程。本文从课程的理念和目标、学习领域、能力与技能、教学评价等方面概述了北爱尔兰义务教育阶段新课程的主要内容,总结出了其新课程的特色,即注重课程的平衡,密切联系社会生活,为了学习的评价。     

Learning 'Peace Talk' in Northern Ireland: Peer Mediation and Some Conceptual Issues Concerning Experiential Social Education

Experiential learning is often seen as a central component of social education and pastoral programmes such as peer mediation; but the precise nature of experience as an educational, social and pedagogic/cultural process in schools is complex. This paper uses the notion of experiential learning to explore the impact of a peer mediation programme in a transforming integrated school in Northern Ireland. The programme was intended to mainstream the involvement of pupils in the process of creating a more integrated school ethos and was implemented by youth workers working as members of the school staff.
The paper begins with a review of the theoretical basis of experience as educational. This is followed by an interpretative review of the results of a survey of pupils' attitudes to peer mediation and semi-structured interviews with pupils and school and project staff about their perception of the impact of the programme on ideas of social learning. One issue is the extent to which developing pupils' capacity for interactive dialogue can be seen as an experiential process, like learning a foreign language – hence 'peace talk'. Another is the process by which the perception of peer mediation training as 'experiential' constituted an enabling 'pedagogic discourse' which legitimized the programme for teachers and affirmed its beneficial impact on pupils.     

浅谈校地合作办学下的校园文化建设

校地合作办学整体办学时间短,机制尚不完善,校园文化建设对校地合作办学的持续发展有着不可替代的作用。本文主要从校园文化的内涵、重要性以及对校地合作办学校园文化建设的几点思考和建议进行论述。     

略论浙北教会学校的作用

教会学校是中国半殖民地半封建社会的产物,它的产生和发展与外国资本主义的对华侵略紧密联系在一起,它是西方帝国主义国家侵略中国的重要组成部分。但是,教会学校的创办客观上也促进了浙北教育的近代化,为近代中国培养了一批科学技术人才和其他方面的人才,推动了中国教育和科学技术的进步,其中的教会女学还起到了开化中国妇女思想的作用。     

The emergence of a national policy on teacher education in Ireland

The development of the Irish system of education was, not unlike all critical aspects of Irish identity, fundamentally shaped by its relationship with its colonial neighbour. Prior to Independence in 1922, the system of education promoted was a fundamental part of a strategic effort to ensure cultural assimilation and political socialisation. Control over the education system facilitated the systematic erosion of the native language and culture and the reproduction of colonial values. Following Independence, the system of education promoted was a response to what was perceived as centuries of political, economic, cultural and linguistic domination. However, whether prior to or post‐Independence, the pedagogical was often marginalised at the expense of the political. This article focuses on an aspect of Irish education policy which has largely escaped the focus of scholars to date: teacher education policy. It examines the ideological basis underlying the development of a national policy on teacher education from 1831.     

浅谈计算机在中小学图书馆管理中的作用

在中小学图书馆管理中计算机的应用改变了传统的管理方式 ,极大地提高了工作效率 ;同时随着光盘介质的充分利用 ,也极大地丰富了馆藏文献和利用文献的方式 ;计算机网络的建立 ,对于文献资源的利用与共享提供了可能 ;在此基础上 ,计算机辅助教育教学 ,使中小学图书馆的服务功能得到了进一步的强化。     

The face of digital literacy for Muslim teenage girls: a comparative study of Bradford Muslim girl schools

This paper is grounded in a qualitative approach, to call forth the views of Muslim teenage girls on their access and use of learning technologies for inclusive educational practice. The 45 Muslim teenage girls, aged 14–19 years old, from three British Muslim girls schools participated in this empirical study. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection and the data were analysed using template analysis, matrix analysis, and cross-case analysis. The pupils had strong aspirations that learning technologies and computers should support their learning and attainment, but their access and use to supporting technologies was mixed. It was found through a comparative analysis of the data that all the Muslim teenage girls that entered Muslim schools felt secure and performed competently. Furthermore, the educational success of School A was attributable to educational norms and values relative to the provision of digital resources and skilled teaching staff. The educational experiences of School B and School C were more variable due to access to digital technologies, provision of digital contents and skilled teaching staff. Furthermore, this research study seems to highlight a marked difference between the Muslim School environment and the social context of teenage girls outside the educational setting.     

大中学校写作教学一体化改革探讨

写作教改实行多年,“伪文体”、“伪议论文”写作教学顽症至今仍难根治,原因大体在于认识不够、衔接不力。写作教学应实行大中学校一体化改革,中学语文写作教学应立足于学生基础文体素养与理性思维的培养,大学中文写作教学应进一步强化专业性文体写作教学,以巩固提高中学阶段所培育的文体素养和理性素养。     

Induction needs of a group of teachers at different career stages in a school in the Republic of Ireland: Challenges and expectations

This study examines the induction needs of a group of teachers at different career stages working in a socially disadvantaged secondary school in the Republic of Ireland. 44 teachers participated in the study, 11 of whom were student teachers, 11 of whom were newly qualified teachers and 22 of whom were experienced teachers returning to the school after an extended career break (4) or new to the school having previously worked in a different school (18). Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative techniques, including 44 questionnaires and nine semi-structured interviews, this study examines how a school-based induction programme can best accommodate the needs of a diverse group of teachers at different career stages.     

论中小学管理中教师的职能

教师职能既是研究的弱点,又是实践的难点。中小学管理中教师职能研究可以完善教育管理理论和教师理论,改进教师教育,提升学校管理效能。教师的基本职能是由常规工作规定的,特别职能是由非常规工作规定的。就教师职能的一般分析,包括基于道德层面的为人师表、法律层面的教书育人、系统层面的承上启下和过程层面的责其始终等四种职能。就实践看,我国中小学教师职能在指导思想上必须强化示范、指导和自治职能,弱化规范、指令和监督职能。     

浅谈传统玩具在中小学科学教学中的应用

中国传统玩具是中华民族传统智慧的结晶。合理地运用传统具,可以培养学生的观察、思维和创新能力,促进学生主动学习、探索。本文对传统玩具进行了分类,并结合具体的课程,探讨了在中小学科学教学中的应用。