‘They’ve got all the knowledge’: HIV education,gender and sexuality in South African primary schools

Drawing on data derived from two socially contrasting primary schools in Durban, this paper focuses on how gender and sexuality feature in the teaching and discussion of HIV/AIDS. A detailed analysis of two ‘life‐skills’ lessons in the two schools shows that, despite the social differences between the schools, discussions of gender and sexuality remain muted. Discourses of childhood innocence make it difficult for teachers to provide comprehensive knowledge of sex, sexuality and gender in the primary school ‘life‐skills’ lessons. Implications for teacher training are suggested briefly in the conclusion.     

Mathematics education as a ‘design science’

Mathematics education (didactics of mathematics) cannot grow without close relationships to mathematics, psychology, pedagogy and other areas. However, there is the risk that by adopting standards, methods and research contexts from other well-established disciplines, the applied nature of mathematics education may be undermined. In order to preserve the specific status and the relative autonomy of mathematics education, the suggestion to conceive of mathematics education as a design science is made.Revised and extended version of the paper Mathematikdidaktik als design science, published inJournal für Mathematikdidaktik 13 (1992), 55–70. I am indebted to Jerry P. Becker, P. Bender, H. Besuden, W. Blum, E. Cohors-Fresenborg, Th.J. Cooney, L. Führer, H.N. Jahnke, A. Kirsch, G.N. Müller, H._Chr. Reichel, H. Schupp, Ch. Selter, H.-J. Vollrath, J. Voigt, G. Walther and H. Winter for critical remarks to earlier drafts.     

Language of learning and teaching in schools: an issue for research in mathematics teacher education?

Most countries in Africa have introduced the use of local languages as the language of learning and teaching for the first few years of schooling. Meaning that for the first few years of learning, learners learn mathematics in their local languages. In response to this, most research has focused on the challenges of using local languages in multilingual mathematics classrooms in schools. Not much research focuses on how the teacher educators prepare the prospective teachers to teach mathematics in multilingual classrooms. To further knowledge in the area of multilingualism in mathematics education, I, in this paper, present an analysis of the literature on multilingual teacher education in Africa. Specifically, I look at what it is that governments in interested countries are doing in teacher education programs in response to the introduction of local languages in schools. From the literature examined, I found that although there is awareness in a number of countries of the need for multilingual teacher education, not much has been done in order to train mathematics teachers on how to use local languages in the classroom. I therefore recommend that, for those countries that have implemented or planning to introduce the use of local languages in schools, some reforms should also take place in teacher education programs in terms of training the prospective teachers how to teach in local languages.     

The significance of ‘participation’ as an educational ideal in education for sustainable development and health education in schools

This article examines the significance of the concept of participation for teacher meaning-making processes in education for sustainable development and health education. In Scandinavian public schools, education for sustainable development and health education focus on a wide palette of societal problems rather than on narrow curricula. Drawing on selected reviews of research literature on education for sustainable development and health education, Lacanian psychoanalysis provides inspiration for our analysis of the concept of participation, and how it is positioned and enacted in these fields of practice. Essentially, we argue that the concept of participation has a dual nature: it serves both as an educational ideal and as a teaching strategy. We also explore how the failure to achieve the ideal of ‘true’ participation may serve a positive purpose for the teacher; the acknowledgement that participation is not always as genuine as desired establishes a pedagogical situation where ideals of engaging pupils through true participation can continue to exist side by side with clear signs of a less consequential participation.     

Popular histories: ‘education’ and ‘entertainment’ in information books for children

UK government policy has increasingly emphasized the importance of learning in the home; and commercial publishers have not been slow to respond. There is now a growing market in popular information books targeted at parents and children. This article provides an analytical case-study of four such books on a common historical theme: ancient Rome. It addresses three main issues. First, it considers the epistemology or historiography of these texts, particularly in relation to their use of sources and their implicit view of what history (as a subject) is. Second, it discusses the pedagogic style of the texts, as reflected in their mode of address to the reader and their use of narrative and expository language. Finally, it considers the balance between ‘education’ and ‘entertainment’ and the implications of using popular cultural genres as a means of representing the past.     

‘Come in with an open mind’: changing attitudes towards mathematics in primary teacher education

Background: The relationship between attitudes and behaviour has led to a focus on the role played by attitudes in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Purpose: This paper reports on an investigation into student teachers’ self-reported attitudes towards mathematics in the context of a mathematics education programme. The programme had been developed by the authors in response to a new, reformed four-year undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) for primary teachers in Ireland. The authors aimed to use the feedback to evaluate and develop the course further.

Sample: We report on the attitudes of 345 pre-service primary teachers enrolled in a four-year undergraduate ITE programme. 281 of these participants had matched survey data before and after participating in the mathematics education programme.

Method and Design: Four evaluation criteria were used as a conceptual framework for the evaluation of the mathematics education programme. A multi-method approach was taken in investigating the students’ attitudes to mathematics by using a scale as a quantitative measure of attitude alongside open-ended survey items that provided qualitative insights into changes in attitudes.

Results and conclusions: Results from the survey data suggested overall that the participants’ attitudes towards mathematics were more positive after they had experienced the mathematics education programme. Overall, the written responses suggested that according to self-reportage, participants perceived that participation in the mathematics education programme had affected their attitudes towards mathematics positively. Comments indicated that the ‘small group’ tutorial structure was particularly well received and was associated with opportunities to actively engage, explore, interact and reflect. Suggestions offered by the participants will be used to inform planning and development of the mathematics programme.     

Selecting schools for closure: theory and practice in ‘rational’ planning

For more than a decade, LEAs have been under pressure to close schools. During this period the scale of contraction in school provision has been substantial but has nevertheless lagged behind DES expectations. This paper is concerned with the selection of schools for closure or amalgamation and examines in detail the procedures adopted and the proposals advanced in one LEA. While existing evidence suggests that the selection of schools for closure has generally been less than rational, the case selected is an example of what has been officially described as ‘strategic planning’ and ‘good practice’. Policy statements, criteria for selecting schools, and the characteristics of schools earmarked for closure are compared to assess the relationship between theory and practice. In practice, the criteria cited by the LEA were generally not capable of strict application. In addition, unstated criteria, notably school size, appear to have been significant. Thus, the LEA's proposals did not correspond directly to its own stated policy. Further, the extent to which the procedure adopted by the LEA conformed to notions of rational planning was limited. Current legislation is likely to reduce still further the ability of LEAs to produce rational schemes of contraction.     

Pre-service versus in-service mathematics teachers’ opinions of mathematics reform in post-primary schools in Ireland

A new approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics has been introduced on a phased basis in post-primary education in Ireland. As part of the OECD PISA 2012, a survey was undertaken of in-service mathematics teachers in Ireland, with the aim of gathering data on the opinions of teachers about this reform. Here, a modified version of the survey was distributed to pre-service teachers immediately before and after a four-month teaching placement to ascertain if there were differences in the views expressed by pre-service and in-service teachers in relation to the teaching and learning of mathematics, and also if there were differences expressed by the pre-service teachers before and after their placement in post-primary schools. Analysis of the results showed considerable levels of agreement between all groups, with some exceptions in relation to confidence in teaching the reformed curriculum, emphasis on various teaching and learning activities, and usage of ICT in the classroom.     

Universal basic education in Nigeria: availability of schools’ infrastructure for effective program implementation

This paper examines the availability and adequacy of schools’ infrastructural facilities for implementation of the Universal Basic Education program in Nigeria. Adopting the ex post facto design, the researchers used existing school data on physical facilities, including a survey of key stakeholders in the education sector. Data analysed revealed inadequacy of physical facilities for effective implementation of the UBE program. It was accordingly recommended that government at the national, state and local levels show better commitment to the implementation of the Universal Basic Education program.     

Mathematics teachers’ values about teaching mathematics

Not much is known about mathematics teachers’ values, and no assessment tool is available for measuring these to get more insight into their perspectives. The goals of this study are to construct the Mathematics Teachers’ Values Questionnaire (MTVQ) and to determine mathematics teachers’ values about teaching mathematics using the MTVQ. In order to do this, data have been gathered for exploratory factor analysis (n = 637) and confirmatory factor analysis (n = 573) while developing the instrument, and a proportional stratified random sample has been formed consisting of 2226 Turkish middle and high school mathematics teachers working at schools that provide more religious education than other middle and high schools. Five components have been extracted: relevance (C1), practice (C2), information and communications technology (ICT; C3), teaching approach (C4), and consolidating (C5). One result of the study reveals the mathematics teachers emphasize the least ICT value and the most consolidating value.     

HIV/AIDS education in schools: the ‘unassembled’ youth as a curricular project

This paper describes the ways in which administrative structures of the state, techniques of self-government, and practices of social relations exist within HIV/AIDS curricular discourses, a critique enabled by a Foucauldian analytical frame. We argue that youth have been singled out as a particularly risky lot and are therefore prime candidates for HIV/AIDS education. We situate HIV/AIDS education as a method of neoliberal governmentality concerned with regulating the categories of health, risk, and disease in relation to youthful identities. Our aim is to expose the ways in which scientific savoir, values, freedom and restraint work in tandem and hold the potential to shape youthful lives in meaningful ways. We further hope to unmask a certain kind of politics of knowledge that goes, for the most part, unquestioned, because it is linked to normalized ideas about sexuality, morality, individual responsibility, risk, and health.     

History of mathematics in secondary school teachers’ training: towards a nonviolent mathematics education

In the context of mathematics teachers’ training, the concept of dépaysement épistémologique (epistemological disorientation) emphasizes that the contact with the history of mathematics, particularly with the use of original sources, pushes aside commonplace students’ perspectives about the discipline and offers them a critical look towards mathematics’s historical, social and cultural aspects. Conceptually supported by the theory of objectivation, an emergent sociocultural theory in mathematics education, this study describes the dépaysement épistémologique lived by future mathematics teachers engaged in the reading of historical texts. A phenomenological approach allowed us to clarify various meanings associated with students’ lived experiences and a dialogical perspective provides a way to get these meanings in tension through a polyphonic narration. Our reading of this polyphonic narration suggests that dépaysement épistémologique associated with the reading of historical texts encouraged empathy from students towards the authors and their future learners, opening up the possibility for a nonviolent mathematics education.     

Improving mathematics results: does teachers’ academic optimism matter? A study of lower secondary schools

Educational effectiveness research has provided evidence about the importance of teacher beliefs and attitudes for teaching and learning. This study builds on the concept of academic optimism, which combines 3 aspects of a teacher’s professional creed: self-efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis. The study explores the functioning of the collective and individual measures of academic optimism in the Czech environment and studies its impact on students’ outcomes. The analyses are based on pilot data from 39 schools, 325 teachers, and 1,316 Grade 9 students and on the data from the Czech Longitudinal Study in Education (CLoSE), covering 163 schools, 1,469 teachers, and 4,798 students. The individual measure was selected for further studies based on 2-level confirmatory factor analysis. Two-level structural equation modelling showed a significant impact of a school’s academic optimism on students’ achievement even after controlling for prior achievement and socioeconomic status at both the student and the school level.     

Student perception of assessment practices: towards ‘no loser’ classrooms for all students in the ethnic minority schools in Hong Kong

As part of a wide-scale education reform, Hong Kong schools have been focusing on the creation of ‘no loser’ classrooms that support learning for all students (Education Commission 2000). This article examined both groups of ethnic minority and Chinese students’ perception of assessment practices and the extent to which classroom practice is consistent with preferred assessment practices. The 11 items of assessment practices list, developed by Brown et al. (2009a), were used to investigate the perceptions of 1,518 student respondents from 15 primary and secondary schools, in which a large number of ethnic minority students were accommodated. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the respondents in the group from secondary schools viewed teacher-dominated assessment as the most important assessment practice in the model examined (Brown et al. Learning and Instruction, 19(2), 97–111, 2009b) whereas those in the primary group considered teacher-student interactive assessment as the most important practice. Also, three perceptions of assessment practices of ethnic minority students were confirmed: teacher-dominated, student-centred and teacher-student interactive. Amongst them, the most preferred one was the teacher-student interaction assessment practice. Finally, the implications of the creation of a no loser classroom for all students are discussed.     

The implementation of ‘Education for Citizenship’ in schools in Scotland: a research report

Changes in society and government have increased concerns of low participation and involvement by people, especially the young, in the political process and decision-making. As a result, citizenship has become a focus of recent curriculum developments in many countries. In Scotland, ‘Values and Citizenship’ has been made one of the Scottish Executive's national priorities for education and is linked to the major national initiative, ‘Education for Citizenship’. This is seen as encouraging pupils to make informed choices and decisions and to take action, individually and as part of the community. More recently, A curriculum for excellence 3–18 (SEED 2004 Shucksmith, J. and Spratt, J. 2001. Education for citizenship in Scotland: An analysis of responses to the consultation paper, Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen.  [Google Scholar]) placed promoting responsible citizenship at the heart of the curriculum. This article reports on the extent to which a sample of Scottish schools was making progress towards developing education for citizenship, the strategies they developed and the barriers encountered in this implementation. It compares progress and developments in Scotland to the model devised in a longitudinal study for citizenship in England (Ireland et al. 2004 Ireland, E. and Kerr, D. 2004. Making citizenship education real: Learning from current approaches in schools. Teaching Citizenship, 9: 20–25.  [Google Scholar], 2006 Ireland, E., Kerr, D., Lopes, J., Nelson, J. and Cleaver, E. 2006. Active citizenship and young people: Opportunities, experiences and challenges in and beyond school, London: DfES.  [Google Scholar]).     

Failing intercultural education? ‘Thoughtfulness’ in intercultural education for student teachers

This paper proposes a rethinking of intercultural education in teacher education, arguing that discussion of the intercultural education of student teachers tends to have the following two gaps: one, such discussion tends to overlook student teacher education as a context for teaching intercultural education, and two, it tends to ignore the self of the teacher educator. This paper aims to address both gaps. In doing so, the first task of the paper is to analyse student teacher education critically, as a structural, ideological context for intercultural education; the second task of the paper is to rethink the pedagogical relationship between a student teacher and a teacher educator, considering the self of the teacher educator in particular. The paper concludes by suggesting ‘thoughtfulness’ as a fruitful idea for the intercultural education of student teachers.     

‘Capitalizing on sport’: sport,physical education and multiple capitals in Scottish independent schools

This paper draws on a research study into the existence and use of different forms of capital – including social, cultural and physical capital – in three independent schools in Scotland. We were interested in understanding how these forms of capital work to produce and reproduce advantage and privilege. Analysis is framed by a multiple capitals approach drawing on and developing the work of Putnam and especially Bourdieu. We suggest that sport plays a role with important effects for strong bonding and for the production of symbolic capital in the form of branding by each school.