Hypothetical Moral Situations

Abstract:

Hypothetical moral situations are often used by teachers and researchers in order to simulate real‐life moral problems. This article draws some logical distinctions between different types of moral conflict and the different types of question that can be asked about them. It is suggested that this approach must have serious limitations if it is assumed that there is a direct and straightforward connection between hypothetical and real‐life moral judgments, as the former necessarily lack the situational features of the latter.     

Hong Kong pre-service early childhood teachers’ attitudes towards parental involvement and the role of their family relationship quality

ABSTRACT

Teachers’ attitudes towards parental involvement play an important role in the ways they approach children’s families. This study examined Hong Kong pre-service early childhood teachers’ attitudes towards different types of parental involvement strategies and investigated whether these attitudes were related to the quality of relationships within their own family. Data were collected from 163 Hong Kong pre-service early childhood teachers via questionnaire. Results showed that engaging families in school decisions was perceived as the least important and feasible. The pre-service teachers also felt least confident in implementing it. There were, however, discrepancies in the perceived levels of importance, feasibility and confidence towards other types of parental involvement strategies. The levels of cohesion and expressiveness in pre-service teachers’ own families were positively related to their attitudes towards some types of parental involvement strategies. These findings suggest that teacher educators should take pre-service teachers’ family experiences into consideration when preparing them to work with children’s families.     

Public Reason and Child Rearing: What's a Liberal Parent to Do?

The ways in we raise and educate children can appear to be at odds with basic liberal values. Relationships between parents and children are unequal, parents routinely control children's behaviour in various ways, and they use their authority to shape children's beliefs and values. Whether and how such practices can be made to accord with liberal values presents a significant puzzle. In what follows I will look at a recent and sophisticated attempt to resolve these tensions offered by Matthew Clayton in his book Justice m Child Rearing in the context of general account of the proper limits of parental authority. I argue that Clayton is unsuccessful in ways that point to fundamental and pervasive questions about the place of liberal values in child rearing and education that remain unanswered.     

Morality in parents’ stories of preschool choice: narrating identity positions of good parenting

This article aims to contribute to our understanding of how moral aspects of parents’ choices of preschool play a part in the processes of marketisation and privatisation of childcare in Sweden. The paper explores parents’ narratives of preschool choice as moral claims of parental identities. The analysed data are based on a study of how parents make sense of their preschool choice during life-story interviews. Our results point out good parenting as having to do with making distinctions between what is ‘good and bad’ and ‘right and wrong’ regardless of whether the choices concern preschools or the behaviour of preschool teachers and parents. Culturally available discourses become visible through the making of these distinctions in ways that ultimately point to the subject position of parents as particular choosers as related to a prevailing discourse of parental responsibility.     

Books,Teachers, and Committees‐‐a Comparative Essay on Authority in Science Education

Summaries

English

In this essay, Professor Peter Fensham examines the respective roles of books, teachers and committees as source and authority of scientific information in the context of school science education. In his comparative analysis of recent curriculum development trends in the USA, England and Australia, he detects significant differences in what is accepted in the different countries as ‘authority about science knowledge’ and argues that these differences emerge from the different historical, political and economic development of the three apparently similar countries.     

Opting Out of Local Authority Control ‐Using the Education Reform Act to Defend the Comprehensive Ideal: a case study in educational policy implementation

ABSTRACT

This paper is based on an insider account of the process by which a secondary school, Stantonbury Campus, Milton Keynes, England, used the 1988 Education Reform Act to opt out of local authority control in order to preserve its egalitarian comprehensive character. Using the legislation in this way effectively reversed many of the assumptions surrounding the notion of Grant Maintained Status, in particular that such schools would be selective, traditional in character and seeking to leave Labour LEAs. In describing how and why Stantonbury's governing bodies engaged in a struggle to leave the control of their local education authority, the case study suggests that the direction and development of state educational policy may often lead to unforeseen outcomes and consequences. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates that educational change does not conform to a purely rational model and that it is significantly influenced not only by ideology but also by human agency and meaning. The current state of the debate about comprehensive schools and educational standards is subjected to a critical examination, partly by using the vehicle of a TV documentary made at Stantonbury in 1990, just after the school opted out. The television programme and its associated press coverages serve to indicate the extent to which not only politicians but also the media have produced a situation in which there are many similarities between left wing and right wing policies on education. Indeed differences of opinion over the advisability of opting out as a policy are one of the few remaining divisions between the two sides. The paper concludes by asking what the future holds for opted out schools should the Labour Party be returned to power in Britain.     

The Relationship between the Concepts of ‘Pastoral Care’ and ‘Authority’

Abstract

The term ‘pastor’ clearly has a religious origin and is thought of in connection with providing spiritual sustenance. Such provision must be seen in relation to some concept of authority since the pastor's job could otherwise not be done.

It is likely that the connotation of a pastor in the religious sense has been carried over to the schools, especially when it is considered that schools are traditionally structures of authority.

What is necessary is to insist upon the conceptual link between ‘pastoral care’ and ‘authority’ explicitly, so as to judge the final appropriateness of ‘pastoral care’ in schools.     

Friendship,Intimacy and Humor

Abstract

A review of the literature in philosophy in the past 20 years indicates that relatively little has been written on the connection between friendship, intimacy and humor. This article is intended to begin to address the neglect of this topic among philosophers by focusing on some interesting aspects of the relationship between friendship, intimacy and humor. The author begins his analysis by examining the different types of friendships while highlighting the characteristics of the particular kind of friendship that involves intimacy. The second part of this article discusses the concept of intimacy, which has not received much attention among philosophers. Next, the author takes a close look at the issue of humor while distinguishing it from both joking and laughter. He then moves to the heart of this article, which focuses on the question of: how can humor enhance intimacy in friendship? In the final part of this article, the author briefly outlines some educational implications that can be gleaned from the analysis of the relationship between friendship, intimacy and humor.     

Large-scale change and survival of school principals in Turkey

ABSTRACT

Turkey possess one of the most vibrant educational systems in the World. This study specifically aims at revealing Turkish school principals’ perceptions about the large-scale changes imposed by the Ministry of Education and the strategies they follow for coping with these changes. The study was designed as a generic qualitative study. Twenty principals from different schools at different levels were identified through snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of them. The decoupling between change interventions and the needed change, inappropriate change implementation process, the passive role of the school principals in the design phase of change interventions are some of the major challenges that school principals encounter. The passivity of the principals during design phase put them into a state of reluctant activeness to find out resources, create readiness and adopt a mediating role between top authority and the teachers in order to implement the imposed changes.     

A strategic view of parent participation

Partnership and parental participation are terms which have featured frequently in discussions of educational matters in recent years. Their exact meaning and implications, however, are problematic. This paper seeks to move towards a strategic understanding of parental participation and in doing this addresses several themes: the concept of participation; contrasting perspectives on parental participation; the development of ‘welfare state’ rationality; the growth and significance of collective consumption and with this the development of the consumer‐citizen; and strategies towards consumer weakness. Tackling consumer weakness, it is argued, requires radically changing (or re‐casting) the relationship between consumer‐citizens and producers. It is suggested that education is a sphere which is particularly fruitful for the investigation and development of such a policy.

The themes discussed in the paper suggest an alternative approach or framework for education and participation is required and this is briefly outlined. The paper concludes with proposals for promoting collective parental involvement and influence; in particular, a scheme for a national representative body for parents, which is both government‐funded and accountable to local associations of parents, is put forward.     

‘Safer to Trust Much than to Trust Little’: Moral Education at Thring's Uppingham

Abstract

In 1987 Uppingham School celebrates the centenary of the death of its best known headmaster, Edward Thring. When Thring arrived at the Rutland market town in 1853 he inherited a small country grammar school of purely local renown, but by the time of his death in 1887 Uppingham was a thriving public school of national reputation. As the school flourished, so too did the headmaster's standing, and in the decade before his death he was a much consulted authority on educational matters. Thring's contributions to educational theory and practice are numerous, but it is in the field of moral education that his influence has lasted longest. This paper examines that contribution.     

Bernstein and the Middle Class

This paper explores Basil Bernstein's insights into education and social class, and in particular the relevance of his work for understanding the British middle class. Bernstein is one of the few sociologists of education to recognise and explore differences and tensions within the middle class. We begin by exploring some of the influences of Bernstein's theorisation of social class in general, and outline his main ideas on the relationship between the middle class and education in particular. We then examine the relevance of his work for research on education and middle-class differentiation through drawing on data from our 'Destined for Success' project. This project traced the educational biographies of 300 young men and women from the beginning of their promising educational secondary school career to their mid-twenties. We argue that the distinctive dispositions and orientations of the 'new' and 'old' middle class proposed by Bernstein are evident within parental preferences for types of school, processes of student engagement and, ultimately, differentiated middle-class identities.     

Comparing Multi-Informant Assessment Measures of Parental Monitoring and Their Links With Adolescent Delinquent Behavior

Objective. Parents’ poor monitoring of adolescents’ whereabouts and activities is commonly linked to adolescents’ increased engagement in delinquent behaviors. Yet, different domains of parental monitoring (parental monitoring behaviors versus parental knowledge) and reports from multiple informants (parent versus adolescent) may vary in their links to delinquent behavior. Design. Seventy-four parental caregivers and 74 adolescents completed survey measures of parental monitoring and knowledge, and adolescents completed self-report surveys of delinquent behavior. Results. We observed low-to-moderate magnitudes of correspondence between parent- and adolescent-reports of parental monitoring behaviors and parental knowledge. Adolescent self-reported delinquent behavior related to parent and adolescent reports of parental monitoring behaviors and parental knowledge, with adolescents who self-reported engagement in delinquent behaviors evidencing lower levels of parental knowledge and higher levels of poor monitoring compared to adolescents who did not self-report engagement in delinquent behaviors. Adolescent self-reported engagement in delinquent behaviors evidenced stronger links to parental monitoring when based on adolescent reports of monitoring (relative to parent reports), whereas stronger links held between adolescent self-reported delinquent behavior and parental knowledge when based on parent reports of knowledge (relative to adolescent reports). Conclusions. Links between monitoring and adolescents’ delinquent behavior vary by the kind of monitoring measure completed as well as the informant completing the measure. These findings inform measurement selection in research and clinical assessments of parental monitoring and adolescent delinquent behavior.`     

Reviewers

Abstract

The growth in importance of performance assessment in education over recent years has been linked with a concern to ensure that the service represents ‘value for money’. To date the absence of a satisfactory analytical framework has meant that questions of ‘effectiveness’ and ‘efficiency’ have been kept separate. An additional problem has been that, whilst there are many different outcomes which are appropriate for education authorities to pursue, conventional models handle these only one at a time.

In this paper we use data on the 96 English LEAs to show how an underlying model allows authorities to be compared in terms of ‘efficiency’ when facing different environmental circumstances and utilising different resource inputs. The technique of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is first described in the context of an explanatory model, and then the results of applying this to the English LEAs are presented.

As distinct from a league table’ analysis, DEA gives some indications of where improvements are to be sought. It allows for ‘trade‐offs’ between outputs of different types and provides a small but distinct peer group of ‘efficient’ authorities to which an ‘inefficient’ LEA can be compared.

The efficiency measure used is ‘relative efficiency’ which arises from comparing the actual performance of an inefficient authority with that of others which can be used to model its environmental circumstances and resource inputs.

A number of case studies are described. The limitations of the technique, and the caution required in interpretation, are discussed.     

An anatomy of authority: the Bologna and ASEM education secretariats as policy actors and region builders

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats’ technocratic appearance and administrative routines, and argues that they are transnational policy actors in their own right. By drawing on principal-agent theory and the concept of ‘authority’, it offers an alternative framework for understanding the various forms of authority. The case studies generate three important insights. First, it shows how the secretariats derive their authority from the tasks delegated by states, the moral values and social purpose they uphold, and the expertise they possess. Second, it compares how the different governance structures of the Bologna and ASEM education processes impact on the secretariats’ authority. Third, it highlights how the secretariats exercise their respective authorities and exert their discernible influence at different stages of higher education policy-making and region-building processes.     

“语法三个世界”研究及修辞关联

本文以吕叔湘先生的著名例句为例,阐述了面向语言信息处理的"语法三个世界"研究的基本内容和"句位"、"句位识别"及"内外信息结构"等概念,揭示了"他的老师当得好"的歧义指数和语言成因,进一步说明了语法研究三个世界理论与三个平面理论之间的区别和联系,以及与修辞研究的关联点.     

Rethinking the role of the academy: cognitive authority in the age of post-truth

ABSTRACT

The concept of ‘post-truth’ is here explored within the context of education and educational technology. Contemporary political discourse is often characterised by a polarisation of political belief and scepticism about scientific and expert authority has become commonplace. We explore tensions between democratic and technocratic impulses in describing changes that are taking place in the way that authority typically operates in higher education. We analyse changing notions of academic authority to understand some of the implications for the practice of teaching, learning and administration. We argue that technocratic, administrative authority increasingly supplants cognitive authority and subject expertise. One result of increased emphasis on performative/administrative authority is the nature of authority both within the academy and the wider public sphere is changed. We examine the implications for pedagogy, curriculum and academic practice, suggesting that performative approaches to criticality, openness, truth and transparency offer potential routes to new constellations of cognitive authority.     

CRITICAL LISTENING AND THE DIALOGIC ASPECT OF MORAL EDUCATION: J.F. HERBART'S CONCEPT OF THE TEACHER AS MORAL GUIDE

In his central educational work, The Science of Education (1806), J.F. Herbart did not explicitly develop a theory of listening, yet his concept of the teacher as a guide in the moral development of the learner gives valuable insight into the moral dimension of listening within teacher‐student interaction. Herbart's theory radically calls into question the assumed linearity between listening and obedience to external authority, not only illuminating important distinctions between socialization and education, but also underscoring consequences for our understanding of the role of listening in educational relations. In this inquiry, Andrea English argues that critical listening in teaching contributes to the moral education and development of the learner. To do this, she examines Herbart's view of the teacher's task as a moral guide in the realm of moral education. English contends that reexamining Herbart's theory of education (a theory that is, for the most part, no longer discussed in Anglo‐American educational philosophy) can productively inform our understanding of moral education in democratic and pluralist societies.