Mathematics in English education 1860–1914: Some questions and explanations in curriculum history

Sherlock Holmes. Look at those big isolated clumps of buildings rising up above the slates, like brick islands in a lead coloured sea.

Watson. The Board Schools.

Holmes. Lighthouses, my boy! Beacons of the future! Capsules, with hundreds of bright little seeds in each out of which will spring the wiser, better England of the future.

     

The professionalisation of teaching: teacher training and education reform in Austria, 1867–1914

This article examines Austria’s efforts to reform teacher education during the period of the Dual Monarchy, 1867–1914. It offers insight into the role of teachers in Austrian society and how this role changed over time. It demonstrates that, during this period, teaching became an institutionalised and professionalised occupation. This process of professionalisation brought teachers firmly under state control, leading to conflict between teachers and the Austrian educational bureaucracy. This process also led to the development of a robust network of teachers’ associations to represent the interest of Austrian teachers and to contribute to their professional development. This article utilises documents from the Austrian educational bureaucracy, printed curriculum and pedagogical journals to illustrate that Austrian teacher training reforms offer crucial insight into the development of public education in the late nineteenth century.     

A tale of two logics: social reproduction and mobilisation in university access in Quebec, 1945–2000

The 2012 Quebec students’ protests against university tuition fees fostered a debate on access to higher education in Quebec, and specifically on the Quebec ‘educational lag’. Using census data, we show that degree-holding is the same among Quebec French-speaking and Ontario English-speaking populations. Using event history analysis, we show that, during the second half of the twentieth century, university access increased at a different rhythm in each province and, within each province, within socio-linguistic groups. Quebec current education policy should not focus on the ‘educational lag’, which past policies have helped make up for, but on inequality in university access.     

A tale of two schools: educating Catholic female deaf children in Ireland, 1846–1946

This paper discusses the contributions of the Dominican Sisters and Sisters of Mercy in running schools for female deaf children in Ireland during the period 1846 to 1946. The schools were established as part of an attempt to educate Catholics in the Catholic faith and provide literacy to female deaf children. In assuming the challenge of educating deaf girls, the sisters adopted a method of teaching and learning through signed language of which they had little prior knowledge. While the history of the schools is contextualised as a central narrative of this paper, the religious orders’ attempt to educate deaf children effectively is examined in the context of teacher role models and sign language pedagogy. This paper argues that the work of the Mercy and Dominican sisters should be recognised for its contribution to the education of female deaf children, whose needs would otherwise have been neglected.     

A comparative study of culture-loaded Words in teaching

people' perception,evaluation and attitude are different among races,so there is cultural--difference.And vocabulary,especially culture-loaded words,can reflect this kind of difference when it relates to values,religions,life styles and stereotypes,while the ordinary words,such as “book,pen” etc,always only have the perceptive meaning.For example,when a child from the Anglo-American world learns the word “dog”,he will normally learns the cultural meaning of it: the dog is “man's best friend”,and he will like dogs,as the saying “love me,love my dog”.But a child brought up in the Chinese culture would be taught that the dog is a dirty and dangerous animal.So people who have been initiated into the culture which is associated with their mother tongue,are naturally inclined to interpret things with their own culture fervencies.As with teaching,teachers should not just make students master language points and grammars,but also irrigate the culture background of English and Chinese words.     

From one generation to the next: teachers and teaching in the German colonies in South Russia 1804–1914

Among the ethnic groups that composed the population of the Russian Empire, one unique group was that of the Ethnic Germans (Volksdeutschen) who had immigrated to Russia since the second half of the eighteenth century. Over the years, there had been a change in the process of the settlers’ assimilation as an outcome of their geographical dispersion. This article focuses on Ethnic Germans who were living in the colonies along the coasts of the Black Sea and in Bessarabia. These settlers managed to preserve their ethnic uniqueness until First World War, in part because of the central role their teachers and schools played in their communities. The teachers were not only agents of knowledge, but also had spiritual‐religious roles and were in charge of imparting their unique heritage. An examination of the social origins of the teachers reveals that many of them followed in their fathers’ footsteps when choosing an occupation. Hence, it was common that teachers who taught in a certain colony and its surroundings for dozens of years belonged to the same family. The fact that the profession was passed on from one generation to the next as well as marriages between teachers’ families and getting teaching positions on this basis had implications beyond the professional‐pedagogical domain. This guaranteed the teachers’ loyalty to their heritage, their authority in the community and the sense of sharing fate with its members. It was a significant factor in the preservation of the German colonists’ ethnic heritage in the face of the increasing Russification of the educational system in their colonies as of the last quarter of the nineteenth century.     

A Prelude to the Rise of Sport: Ante-bellum America, 1850–1860

This paper analyzes the Olympic dilemma from the perspective of social psychology. Specifically, the contact theory is applied to the interaction of organizers, athletes, and spectators at the Olympic Games. The literature investigating the relationship between interaction and the development of positive feelings among participants is reviewed and, where possible, hypotheses based upon the contact theory are developed. Finally, changes are suggested in the Olympic format which would increase the opportunities for positive outcomes from interaction.     

Foster Watson: 1860–1929

ABSTRACT

Michael Young’s work is central to debates about knowledge and the school curriculum. In recent years he has renounced his early argument that school subjects represent the ‘knowledge of the powerful’, arguing instead that access and equality for all students are dependent on ensuring that all get access to ‘powerful knowledge’. This paper provides an interpretation of Young’s work.     

A Blend of Romanism and Germanism: Experimental Science Instruction in Belgian State Secondary Education, 1880–1914

A case study of secondary experimental science instruction in Belgium demonstrates the importance of cross-national communication in the study of science education. Belgian secondary science education in the years 1880–1914 had a clear internationalist dimension. French and German influences turn out to have been essential, stimulated by the fact that Belgium, as a result of its geographical position, considered itself as the centre of scientific relations between France and Germany, and as actually strengthened by its linguistic and cultural dualism in this regard. This pursuit of internationalist nationalism also affected the configuration of chemistry and physics as experimental courses at Belgian Royal State Schools, although the years preceding WWI are usually characterized as a period of rising nationalism in science, with countries such as Germany and France as prominent actors. To what extent did France and Germany influence Belgian debates on science education, science teachers’ training, the use of textbooks, and the instalment of school laboratories and teaching collections?     

A tale of two worlds: the interstate system and world society in social science textbooks, 1950–2011

There is a great and longstanding divide in visions of the international arena. Some assert that states are the most relevant actors in international politics, and others emphasise the importance of non-state actors as vehicles through which shared ideas and identities are enacted. Typically, cross-national scholarship adopts one of these positions and seeks to support the attendant theoretical claims; our approach is entirely different. We treat these varied conceptions of the international arena not as antecedent explanatory frameworks, but rather as outcomes to be explained in their own right. To this end, we draw on data consisting of 539 high-school social science textbooks (history, civics, social studies, and geography) from 73 countries published between 1950 and 2011, coded to shed light on how the international arena is discussed in national education systems. We use multilevel modelling to determine how characteristics of textbooks and countries are linked to different visions of the international arena. Stronger national emphases in books promote a vision of the interstate system, as does a country’s level of democracy. Emphases on world society emerge particularly in recent decades and in books and countries most exposed to educational and social globalisation. Our findings provide initial support for arguments that world society and the interstate system are distinct, leading to multiple forms of inequality in the international arena.     

Competing views of teaching in a school–university partnership

This case study examines how differing views on the teacher's role in school reform affected the work of a school–university partnership. The school district and the university had a history of partnerships and shared common general goals. Yet, as the partnership progressed, conflicting perspectives about teaching and the purpose of professional development became evident and created dilemmas that influenced the nature of the work. We provide background information about each partner, describe the two views, and examine how the differing perspectives influenced the goals and activities of the partnership. This study highlights the complex issues embedded in school–university collaboration.     

A charity school in the nineteenth century: Old Swinford hospital school, 1815–1914

The University in Society. Edited by Lawrence Stone. 2 vols, pp. viii, 642. Princeton University Press. London: Oxford University Press, 1975. £4.75 each.

Education for National Efficiency: the contribution of Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Edited by E. J. T. Brennan. Pp. 208. London: The Athlone Press, 1975. £5.00.

Microteaching: A Programme of Teaching Skills. By G. Brown. Pp. 163. London: Methuen, 1975. £7.00 hardback, £3.60 paperback.

Heinrich Pestalozzi. Father of Modern Pedagogy. By Robert B. Downs. Pp. 147. Boston, Mass.: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1975. $7.50 (10% higher outside U.S.).

Authority and Organization in the Secondary School. By Elizabeth Richardson. Pp. 146. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Education Ltd., 1975. (Schools Council Research Studies). £2.25.

An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Education. By Vernon Mallinson, University of Reading, 4th ed. London: Heinemann, 1975.

The Sociology of Educational Ideas. By Julia Evetts. Pp. via, 168. London: Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1973. £2.50.

Class, Culture and the Curriculum. By Denis Lawton. Pp. ix, 124. London: Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1975. Cloth £3.00. Paperback £1.25.

Ideology and the Imagination. By Fred Inglis. Pp. 244. London: Cambridge University Press, 1975. £4.90 hard cover. £2.00 paperback.

Handbook on Curriculum Development. By Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Pp. 179. Paris: OECD, 1975. £2.80.

Looking at Innovation: two approaches to educational reasearch. P. Sheldrake and S. Berry. NFER Publishing Company Ltd., 1975.

The Sciences, the Humanities and the Technological Threat. Edited by W. Roy Niblett. Pp. xiv, 168. London: University of London Press, 1975. £3.80.     

A critique of the teaching standards in England (1984–2012): discourses of equality and maintaining the status quo

This study presents a critical analysis of the state-prescribed teaching standards from 1984 to 2012 in order to reveal discourses of equality imbued within. Critical discourse analysis and critical race theory are employed to explore and explain how the discourses of equality are shaped by the prevailing political ideology of the state. Up to 2007, the analyses revealed the gradual emergence of two seemingly incompatible discourses: recognition of the difference within notions of appropriacy of curriculum input vs. the assertion of a homogenised knowledge valid for all. It is argued that because this tension remained unexamined in the documents, damaging assumptions of deficit were obscured, thereby effecting a failure to critique the hegenomic norms against which such deficit was assumed, with the ultimate effect of maintaining the status quo of inequitable outcomes. The standards of 2012 also operate to maintain the status quo, but do so far less discretely. Here homogeneity appears overtly approved through an overarching assimilationist agenda. Deficit is now more openly articulated as attached to those who need to assimilate. The paper concludes with ideas for an alternative transformative teacher education.     

Independent teaching work to cooperative teaching: A new paradigm introduced in the Portuguese educational system (1894–1895)

With this article we intend to fill a large gap that exists in the field of educational research – examining the history of teaching. We chose a critical historical moment that initiated the great labour transformation in the exercise of the teaching profession. In this context, we investigated the pedagogical benefits introduced by the Portuguese educational system by the class regime promulgated in the 19th century with the reform that introduced the class system, enacted in the nineteenth century.

This change is a landmark in the history of teaching. We tried to study what had changed in the workplace to realise the division of teaching. How did teachers relate to each other and to their work in each working system? What social links are required by each of the working systems and what implications do they have for how teachers behave? What place (role) does the teacher play in the production chain? What skills (competences) are required in their working position?

The system change that was enacted in the nineteenth century created a new division of labour that called for dynamic labour, diametrically opposed to the traditional and established practice. This curriculum revolution not only brought new demands in teaching but also had consequences in terms of professional identity. From that point forward, being a teacher no longer had the same reference, “if you know – you do it well”. This has radically changed. Being a professional in education is no longer a purely individual act involving inter-subject intervention. They now have to act inter-individually with the intention of being multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary. They have to break through subject boundaries and dualities. The professional skills required by the job in the new employment scheme launched a new challenge in learning (teacher training) and in the exercise of the profession. Reflection on the new type of qualifications is still necessary and remains to be explored. Are the educational workers aware of this?     

Student evaluation of teaching: the use of best–worst scaling

An important purpose of student evaluation of teaching is to inform an educator’s reflection about the strengths and weaknesses of their teaching approaches. Quantitative instruments are one way of obtaining student responses. They have traditionally taken the form of surveys in which students provide their responses to various statements using item-by-item agree/disagree ratings. Previous research has identified shortcomings of such rating scales, including response bias and the associated lack of discrimination amongst the items evaluated. In this paper, best–worst scaling is proposed as a novel method for quantitative teaching evaluation. The way in which best–worst scaling can be used in this context is illustrated in three different applications. Two applications demonstrate how it can be used for evaluations in a small-size classroom environment. The third application is a broader evaluation of university courses on a larger scale. In comparison with conventional rating scales, the best–worst scaling approach enables better highlighting of the differences between evaluation items. In doing so, it can provide enhanced guidance to educators in their reflection about their teaching. Moreover, implementation and analysis of a best–worst scaling evaluation is relatively straightforward, which establishes it a feasible method for teaching practitioners and researchers.     

A teaching–learning sequence on a socio-scientific issue: analysis and evaluation of its implementation in the classroom*

This study examines the effectiveness of a teaching–learning sequence (TLS) to improve the understanding of the influences and interactions between a technology (mining) and society. The aim of the study is also to show the possibility of both teaching and assessing the most innovative issues and aspects of scientific competence and their impact on the understanding of the nature of science. The methodology used a quasi-experimental, pre–post-test design with a control group, with pre–post-test differences as the empirical indicators of improved understanding. Improvements were modest, as the empirical differences (pre–post and experimental–control group) were not large, but the experimental group scored more highly than the control group. The areas that showed improvement were identified. The paper includes the TLS itself and the standardized assessment tools that are functional and transferable to other researchers and teachers.     

The role of the teaching headteacher: A question of support?

This article reports findings from a study of 100 headteachers of very small Scottish primary schools. The main aim of the research was to follow up a sample of those schools that had participated in a larger study of all small schools in Scotland in 1996 to explore the role of the teaching headteacher. Evidence for this follow up study was collected from a postal survey and from interviews in nine case study schools. The research found that although the dual role of the teaching headteacher remained largely unchanged, pressures have increased while the available support is still perceived to be inadequate.     

The role of history in teaching science — A case study

One of the most interesting aspects of late-nineteenth-century France was the extraordinary interest the public expressed in science. Its adulation of Pasteur was only one of the many manifestations of this interest. It was also expressed in the widespread popularity of scientists as public figures and in the increasing public and private financial support of science. While popularity of science was created in the general public by fiction and by the various international world fairs held in Paris, it was strongest and most important in the middle classes.This paper examines one of the key methods used to stimulate bourgeois interest in science in France during the Second Empire and early Third Republic (1852–1895): the campaign to create ascience vulgarisée, a popularized science. While a number of different approaches used by these popularizers are examined, the article concentrates on the science writings of Jules Michelet and Jules Verne, both of whom were immensely successful in creating a favorable climate of opinion for French science. The article concludes by suggesting how such an approach could be modernized and utilized in order to create greater scientific literacy and a similar acceptance by the public today.     

Ambassadors of the Swedish nation: national images in the teaching of the Swedish lecturers in Germany 1918–1945

This article analyses the teaching of Swedish language lecturers active in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. It shows the centrality of literature and literary constructions and analyses images of Swedishness and the Swedish nation present in the teaching material of that time in relation to the national image present in Swedish schoolbooks. The importance of language teaching to the transfer of knowledge regarding foreign countries is also discussed, in this case the knowledge and images of Sweden that were transferred to German students via their lecturers.