Printing in the public schools

An important hallmark of American teacher education has been its integral role in 4-year or comprehensive colleges and universities for the past 100 years. In more than 1,100 colleges in the United States, teacher education is offered as one of many baccalaureate or graduate-level programs. The preparation of elementary and secondary and special and vocational teachers is offered as an integral part of comprehensive or university-based programs. Today that situation is threatened by a number of factors that are separating teacher education from its traditional place in American higher education. These factors include (a) the inability of campus-based teacher education programs to keep pace with the accelerating demands and expectations of policymakers, (b) alternative preparation programs that are proliferating and gaining credibility, (c) resource constraints that are pervasive and real, (d) teacher shortage conditions that demand a response, (e) new forms of professional development that invite separation from university Inservice Education of Teachers (INSET) courses, (f) widespread development of professional development schools (PDSs), and (g) a commitment to assess teacher candidates separate from and outside the university. Without responses to these factors, Ed Schools are likely to see this separation accelerate and could experience the relocation of teacher education off the campus and to a variety of other providers. Preserving the unique role that teacher education plays as an essential part of American higher education is a major challenge. The factors just cited are reinforced by a host of public policy and academic initiatives that are causing teacher education to be dispersed and deinstitutionalized and "reembedded in other sites and spaces" (Hargreaves, 1995, p. 7). Reinforcing this relocation are the efforts of college faculty and Ed School "reformers" who are creating 100% field-based programs or recentering teacher education in PDSs. Those new field- or school-based entities enforce the idea of embedding teacher education in entities away from and often separate from universities. A hostile fiscal and policy environment adds to the potential for relocation and poses significant consequences for Ed School faculty in the United States.     

Examining activity-based learning (ABL) practices in public basic schools in the northern region of Ghana

Background: Ghana has been the testing ground for many teaching and learning initiatives over the past 15–20 years. These initiatives, largely funded by donors, have sought to improve learning by introducing and reinforcing valuable teaching skills, materials and approaches, most of them child-friendly, learner-centred and involving activity-based learning (ABL). However, a problem in Ghana, also true of other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is that whereas efforts over the past few decades have improved access to basic education in both pupil enrolment rates and teacher numbers, educational quality as measured by standardised test scores in key subject areas remains rather low.

Purpose: This article reports on an aspect of a DfID (Ghana) – sponsored research project which examined how the quality of teaching and learning in Ghanaian basic schools could be improved through the utilisation of ABL pedagogy. The current article examines three overarching themes relative to ABL pedagogy, namely how participants conceptualise ABL; ways in which ABL practices reveal themselves in classrooms; and challenges of ABL practices in Ghanaian schools.

Sample: Participants (comprising representatives of Colleges of Education, District Directors and frontline Deputy Directors of Education, headteachers and teachers) were drawn using purposive sampling technique from eight schools from within four districts of the northern region of Ghana.

Design and Methods: A case study approach was adopted for the study. Data collection took the form of semi-structured interviews, focused group discussions and observation of ABL practices and lessons in selected schools. Data analysis was undertaken using a ‘processual analytical approach’ with the view to catching realities of ABL practices in the Ghanaian educational setting.

Results: Our analysis reveals that whereas the literature on ABL emphasises multi-tasking and group work as essential ingredients of ABL pedagogy, the respondents conceptualised this as meaning pupils working on the same activity-related tasks at the same time in groups. Similarly, we found that, ideally, ABL practices reveal themselves through classroom practices such as display of pupils’ work in classrooms, organisation of the seating arrangements of pupils in groups, use of teaching and learning materials, formative assessment and activity-oriented lessons among others. However, in almost all the schools and classrooms we visited, these essential ingredients were missing owing to congestion and lack of furniture and logistics.

Conclusions: We conclude against the backdrop of our findings that ABL techniques can be utilised more effectively in Ghanaian schools if its practices are initially promoted in model schools, for lessons to be learned, and then scaled-up as expertise is established in these model schools.     

Social capital practices as adaptive drivers for local adjustment of new public management in schools

New public management (NPM) reforms have typically undermined teachers’ autonomy, values, and status in society. This article questions whether such reforms automatically have these outcomes or whether and how possibilities for local adjustment of such reforms may prevent negative outcomes. Drawing on empirical case studies from two Danish municipal schools and the concept of organisational social capital, we investigate how two reform initiatives – ‘student plan-based school–home collaboration’ and ‘teamwork’ – were locally adjusted into collaborative practices. The analysis demonstrates surprising local adjustments of the reform initiatives, while also revealing some ambiguities. The results demonstrate that some reform initiatives can lead to new collaborative leadership and management practices in schools that solve the central school leadership and management tasks of coordination and planning. This indicates that collaborative leadership and management practices may emerge from NPM reforms, and that such practices can prevent negative outcomes of such reforms.     

Financing desegregation in the Yonkers public schools

The Yonkers public school district is under a federal court order to desegregate its schools. Accordingly, the district has developed and implemented a detailed desegregation plan that will cost up to $170 million over a five-year period. However, there are various constraints on school district financing that could affect the plan. The Board of Education in Yonkers, which is appointed by the mayor, is fiscally dependent on the city. Thus, the school district budget must be approved by city officials. Also, because Yonkers appears to be a wealthy district, it receives less wealth-equalized state aid than other large-city districts. Given these circumstances, in addition to increase in state and federal aid, other measures to assist the district should be explored. Note: The opinions expressed in this paper are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the New York State Education Department.     

Extraordinary conversations in public schools

This article reviews two ethnographic studies in which "disruptive pedagogies" are engaged in public schools, designed to enable youth to work across categories of difference toward a grounded sense of social critique and participation. Respectfully challenging/extending the premises of reproduction theory, it is argued that educational researchers not only need to theorize the means of (re)production by which public schools insure class, race, ethnic and gender stratification, but also to theorize how counter-hegemonic moments in school, in which educators undertake disruptive pedagogies, affect social consciousness and community.     

Students' preferences for discipline practices in schools

Data on pupils' perceptions of the classroom discipline techniques of “good” teachers are compared for Australian, U.S., and Norwegian pupils. The results indicate remarkable similarity in the pupils' preferences.     

Speech correction in Wisconsin public schools

The character of Reagan's rhetoric and the response to it can be explained by its narrative form. The dominance of narrative in Reagan's discourse and the nature of the narrative form combine to differentiate the perspective of Reagan's supporters and his opponents. Three characteristics of narrative form—a story‐based truth, an emphasis on morality, and a grounding in common sense—explain the way in which narrative affects political judgment. The analysis reveals the power of narrative form and, in contrast to the assertions of some narrative theorists, its fragility and moral limitations.     

Vocal English in our public schools

ON DECONSTRUCTION: THEORY AND CRITICISM AFTER STRUCTURALISM. By Jonathan Culler. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982; pp. 307. Paper $8.95.

FEROCIOUS ALPHABETS. By Denis Donoghue. New York: Columbia University Press, 1984; pp. 211. Paper $7.95.

LITERARY THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION. By Terry Eagleton. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983; pp. 244. Paper $9.95.

CRITICISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE. By Frank Lentricchia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983; pp. 173. $15.00.

REPRESENTING KENNETH BURKE. Edited by Hayden White and Margaret Brose. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982; pp. 175. $14.95.     

Grade retention: Current decision‐making practices and involvement of school psychologists working in public schools

Research examining student outcomes (e.g., achievement, adjustment) after grade retention reveals that it does not result in long‐term improvements for students; however, grade retention continues to be used as an intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine retention decision‐making practices, as well as school psychologists' knowledge, beliefs, and opinions regarding retention. Actual and ideal roles of school psychologists in grade retention decisions were also examined. Participants included 250 school psychologists randomly selected from the membership of the National Association of School Psychologists. Results revealed that the decision to retain is a subjective one, typically made by a team. Responding school psychologists did not support retention and found the research moderately applicable to practice. However, most school psychologists indicated that they were not centrally involved in decision making. Findings also revealed a desire among school psychologists for increased involvement in developing and/or implementing programs aimed at improving performance and consulting on the effects of retention. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Competition and the quality of public schools

A growing body of empirical research has provided provocative evidence that competition from private schools improves student achievement in neighboring public schools. However, this uniform conclusion has been based on fundamentally different empirical specifications. This study examines the importance of these different specifications by presenting new evidence on the relationship between public school quality and competition from private schools. This evidence is based on a unique data set that contains consistently defined high school graduation rates for the unified school districts in 18 states. The results indicate that empirical strategies which rely exclusively on ordinary least-squares (OLS) can lead to misleading inferences because of omitted variables bias and the simultaneous determination of the demand for private schools and public school quality. Nonetheless, two-stage least-squares (2SLS) estimates indicate that competition from private schools does have a positive and statistically significant impact on the high school graduation rates of neighboring public schools.     

English language teaching in public primary schools in Mexico: the practices and challenges of implementing a national language education program

Over the past 15?years, many state governments in Mexico have initiated local programs to introduce English at the primary school level. In 2009, the Mexican Ministry of Education formalized the Programa Nacional de Inglés en Educación Básica (PNIEB) as part of the national curriculum, based on the argument that increasing the number of English speakers in Mexico is necessary for the country to be globally competitive and to follow the trend in other developing economies of augmenting English instruction in public education. This paper focuses on the implementation of PNIEB and the state programs that preceded it. The authors document the practices and challenges associated with the program based on data collected from interviews with the main stakeholders involved (students and parents, teachers, school principals, and program coordinators) and from classroom observations. The total data-set consisted of over 200 interviews and classroom observations spread over several years from 2008 to 2012. Several challenges are described, including the development of materials, the role of English in relation to other subject areas, and the training of teachers who often speak English but have uneven formal preparation. The status of the teachers, both as second-class citizens within the schools and the instability and irregularities with their contracts, was identified as the most significant challenge to the successful implementation of the programs.     

小学数学实践活动的特点

实践活动课程以综合、开放、灵活多变的教学内容与形式,改变了传统教学中重学科知识而轻综合应用、重抽象思维而轻实践技能等不良倾向,有利于学生主体性的发挥。《数学课程标准》(实验稿)明确地将“实践与综合应用”作为与“数与代数”、“空间与图形”、“统计与概率”相并列的学习领域,其目的是增强学生应用数学的意识,提高学生的实践能力,为今后更有效地进行高水平的实践活动打好基础。本文着重谈谈小学数学实践活动的特点。数学实践活动是学生在教师引导下,在已有知识体验的基础上,从所熟悉的现实生活中发现、选择和确定问题,主动应用知…     

The responsibility for the public schools 1

Collaboration between a metropolitan university's college of education and urban and suburban school districts is described via an initiative to support dissemination of effective elementary practices across 7 districts. The effort focused on the creation of 4 booklets that described best practices as identified through the research-based literature. Parent involvement, literacy instruction, multiage classrooms, and brain-based learning were the areas targeted for attention. Two conferences to share the information were also a part of the plan for dissemination. Trust and camaraderie evolved as faculty members, teachers, and administrators worked together to create a product and share it with their colleagues.     

试论公立学校的转制

本文主要对公办学校转制的目标、基本思路、及需注意的问题进行分析及阐述。     

Denominational schools and public schooling

The author argues that the critical question in determining whether denominational schools should receive public funding is: Does the school provide an education in accordance with publicly accepted criteria for that concept and in accordance with the dominant values in society? A public system of schooling has itsraison d'être in the need to provide a common understanding. This is not incompatible with acceptance of private schools, nor, despiteprima facie oddity, is there anything incoherent about the idea of providing state funding for private schools. So far as denominational schools go, therefore, the conclusion is that they are deserving of state support provided that they do not promote values and beliefs antithetical to the larger community, and, specifically, that they do not engage in the anti-educational practice of indoctrination.