Can children and young people learn from atheism for spiritual development? A response to the National Framework for Religious Education

The new National Framework for Religious Education (RE) suggests, for the first time in national advice on agreed syllabuses, that atheism can be included in the curriculum alongside world religions. This article counters objections to the inclusion of atheism in RE and argues that children and young people can learn from atheistic beliefs and values for their spiritual and moral development. It explores the idea of atheism as ‘faith’ and illustrates atheism’s spiritual and moral potential through examples of writing from Bertrand Russell and Jean Paul Sartre. The article concludes that RE (preferably under a new name) can continue to be a valuable curriculum subject, provided it responds to the non‐statutory guidance of the new framework by offering a broader, more inclusive spiritual education which includes positive accounts of atheistic beliefs. Indeed, it is contended that without this change schools can not fulfil their legal obligation to provide opportunities for spiritual and moral development to all pupils.     

Access to postsecondary education: can schools compensate for socioeconomic disadvantage?

While access to postsecondary education in Canada has increased over the past decade, a number of recent studies demonstrate that youth from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are vulnerable to some degree of exclusion from postsecondary education. These studies tend to emphasize the lack of financial resources and social capital as the main sources of this vulnerability. Our paper employs multilevel framework to explore the extent of the impact of schools on access to postsecondary education, especially for youth from disadvantaged background. Our analyses revealed that: (1) for youth with similar financial constraints who attend schools with relatively similar quality, those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds who attend schools with high concentration of low SES students are particularly vulnerable to exclusion from university education, and (2) a substantial portion of the SES effect operate through the impact of high school academic achievement and postsecondary education expectation on access to postsecondary education.     

Who intends to learn and who intends to leave? The intention to leave education early among students from inclusive and regular classes in primary and secondary schools

ABSTRACT

Early school leaving is a serious problem for individual students, especially for students with special educational needs (SEN). This study tests predictors of early school leaving, using data collected among 1,047 students from 60 inclusive and regular classes in primary and secondary schools in Austria with 4th- and 7th-grade students aged 9–11 and 12–14 years. Multilevel regression analyses show that higher school wellbeing and a more positive student–teacher relationship reduce the intention of both 4th and 7th graders to leave school early. Additionally, for 7th graders, having a migrant background and more individualised instruction are predictors of a greater intention to leave school early. School grade, gender, socioeconomic background, SEN, social integration, class climate, school setting (regular class vs. inclusive class), and the heterogeneity of the class composition had no impact on the intention to leave school early.     

Why should i learn to read? Motivations for literacy acquisition in a rural education programme

Motivation in recent years has come to be looked at as one of several key factors influencing learning and teaching in formal as well as in informal education. This paper looks at motivation for literacy acquisition and underlines the complexity of motivational factors, expressed in different historical strands: political; economic/functional; religious.The need to consider various motivations in literacy programmes and approaches has become more and more recognized, not only on a practical but increasingly on a more theoretical level. Holistic approaches and institutional collaboration become important.A growing Zairian literacy programme constitutes the basis of this paper which enquires into grassroots level motivations on the part of participants and local leaders. The programme is multilingual, its approach touches various motivations and its structures are linked to churches. In the light of these parameters the most prevalent aspects of motivation turned out to be those building self-esteem.The paper concludes that the structures in to which a literacy programme is inserted, its goals and philosophy are largely responsible for the building of motivation, as they—at least in the programme evaluated—provide the framework where the newly acquired skills can be applied. Thus, in this programme a link is demonstrated between the delivery of literacy and the development of motivation. A wider application of these skills may require collaboration between the various institutions interested in the target population and their educational advancement.     

From education for peace to education in conflict: changes in UNESCO discourse, 1945–2015

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the global education community has focused significant attention on the promotion of education in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, embodied in the growth of a new sub-field called Education in Emergencies. This article points out the surprising distinction of this new sub-field from the more established and closely related field of peace education. It examines United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) documents for insight into the changing global ideas that have facilitated the shift in focus from peace to conflict. Empirically, we draw on a quantitative content analysis of more than 450 UNESCO documents published between 1945 and 2015. We find that education for peace remains a constant, if evolving, concern in these texts, but that a powerful emphasis on individual rights has shifted the discursive focus away from inter-state relations and towards the educational needs of young people. In the documents, conflict is now theorised as a threat to education and peace is re-envisioned not just as the desirable outcome of education, but also as its pre-condition. We show how this ideational transformation has re-cast an expansive array of conflicts, natural disasters, and other emergencies as threats to education.     

Teachers’ views on spirituality for adolescents in high schools across countries

Based on a study of 1689 high school teachers across 132 high schools in 12 countries, this paper discusses their views on spirituality for high school adolescents. In general, they favoured spirituality for adolescents and its inclusion in the curriculum. Specifically teachers from European countries, US, Canada and Australia attested the relational consciousness aspect of spirituality, which enabled adolescents to form and preserve meaningful social relationships and build their altruistic potential. Log regression analysis showed that spiritual assessment of adolescents was perceived as comprehending their spiritual starting point, specifically by those from European countries, US, Canada and Australia. Further, they perceived spirituality as an integral part of the moral science and value education curriculum, with the main curricular objective as cultivating adolescents’ spiritual sensibilities and mindfulness. The study provides the nuances of such as curriculum on spirituality in the high schools in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude components.     

Secondary agricultural education from a “learning to learn” perspective

Abstract

This article argues the importance of adopting a “learning to learn” perspective in secondary agricultural education: school organisational development should take place in the perspective of active learning by students. Three factors affecting innovation processes are discussed: school policy-making capacity, school in-service training policy, and professional orientations of teachers. Moreover, a program to support schools for secondary agricultural education while implementing a “learning to learn” approach is presented. The implementation process is tuned to the individual teacher and teacher coaching and in-service training are provided. In this respect, the need for school management and school policy reflecting a clear educational perspective is stressed: fostering the quality of students' independent learning should take a central position on all levels in the school. Therefore, the school organisation as a whole should become a “learning organisation”.     

What is Philosophy for Children? From an educational experiment to experimental education

Abstract

Philosophy seems to have gained solid ground in the hearts and minds of educational researchers and practitioners. We critique Philosophy for Children as an experimental programme aimed at improving children’s thinking capacity, by questioning the concept of critique itself. What does it mean when an institutional framework like the school claims to question its own framework, and what is the consequence of such a claim for thinking, in education, philosophy and the child? Implications for the concept of critical thinking follow.     

Teacher preparation for vocational education and training in Germany: a potential model for Canada?

Germany's vocational education and training (VET) and corresponding teacher-education programmes are known worldwide for their integrated framework. Government legislation unifies companies, unions and vocational schools, and specifies the education and training required for students as well as vocational teachers. Changing from the Diplom programme model to the Anglophone Bachelor and Masters degree model has raised concerns for VET teacher preparation. It is within this context that we explore Germany's VET teacher-education system and current academic debates. We further investigate challenges in the development of Canada's VET teacher-education programmes and suggest some policy borrowing from the German model.     

The preparation of pre-service student teachers’ competence to work in schools

Competence to work in schools is an important dimension of professional competence, although it is often a neglected dimension of teacher development. This article reports a qualitative study that examined student teachers’ learning experiences in initial teacher education (ITE) in relation to competence to work in schools. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 student teachers on an undergraduate ITE programme in Hong Kong. The findings of the study show that competence to work in schools is characterised by student teachers’ deep contextualised learning. In addition, it offers a deeper understanding of this competence in the ITE context by identifying its three facets, namely understanding of the micro-political realities of schools, social capital building and social strategies. The study provides insights for ITE and schools to support student teachers’ development of their competence to work in schools, including the design of ITE curricula, ITE processes and co-curricular activities in undergraduate studies. Moreover, it suggests the importance of developing schools as growth-fostering and positive micro-political sites for ITE fieldwork and teacher induction.     

From inclusion to access： Paradigm shifts in special education

From the Salamanca Statement in 1994 to the Dakar Framework in 2000, UNESCO （United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization） has spearheaded an international movement for acceptance, equity and access in the education of students with disabilities. Inclusion, mandated in Salamanca, is considered the first step. Today, the focus is upon the identification and implementation of educational models that ensure access. This article discusses paradigm shifts taking place in special education in schools of the United States that respond to the ideals set forth in these statements： cultural competency, universal design for learning and collaborative models of assessment and instruction. Practices discussed here can provide guidance for educators worldwide as they strive toward the goals of Salamanca and Dakar.     

From schools to Higher Education – neoliberal agendas and implications for autonomy

Neoliberal agendas have acted to limit the agency of groups and of individuals through both the imposition of boundaries and through setting up rigorous systems of accountability which together act to codify behaviours. Such systems do not so much remove freedom as influence conceptions about the alternatives available. In this article we outline the English educational policy context and the pressures placed upon first primary schools and then Higher Education establishments, considering the extent to which accountability and an emphasis on the needs of the individual impact on leadership behaviours in schools and upon academic freedoms in Higher Education. Boundaries to individual or group agency are explored drawing together lessons about the limits on professionals in these two situations.     

From nature deficit to outdoor exploration: curriculum for sustainability in Vermont’s public schools

Children today are spending less time than ever outdoors, contributing to a culture of environmental apathy and separation from the natural world. In the growing field of environmental education, teachers are challenged to introduce the outdoors into their curriculum. In Vermont, some public school teachers have successfully implemented environmental education into their practice in a variety of interesting ways. This paper analyzes a series of teacher interviews and observations in Vermont public schools to identify successful strategies and pedagogies being utilized for environmental education. Several common themes emerged from this study, including place-based education, hands-on exploration, and free choice learning.     

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.     

Priorities for primary education? From subjects to life-skills and children's social and emotional development

To what needs and purposes should the primary curriculum be chiefly directed in the coming decades? In a first step towards revising the primary curriculum, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) invited responses to an open online call to ‘have your say’ on priorities for primary education. Respondents were asked to share their views in 100 words or less. Six priorities for primary education were identified across the 960 responses. These focused on developing children's life-skills; communication skills; well-being; literacy and numeracy skills; motivation and engagement; and their sense of identity and belonging. Across the priorities, there is recognition that skills learned in the primary years are related to one another and the extent to which children develop these is likely to have wide-ranging effects on their future experience as learners. Findings call for a revision of traditional, content-based curriculum subjects towards a better alignment with the needs of today's primary school children beginning with a more explicit focus on life-skills, and children's social and emotional development. Finally, we note the common ground across early childhood, primary and post-primary sectors and highlight the potential to align our values and vision for children and young people's education from the earliest years through adulthood.     

Improving mathematics education in colombian schools: ‘Mathematics for all’

This paper concentrates on the suitability of the current mathematics curriculum in Colombia, and establishes priorities for change and development. It starts with an analysis of the current situation, and draws on literature from the international mathematics education community to propose ways of improving mathematics teaching by taking into account the needs of the learner as the basis for curriculum planning and development.