Why is the Use of Films in the ESL Literature Class a Good Idea?

In the 15th century,Johannes Gutenberg introduced mechanical movable type printing to Europe,causing an explo sion of knowledge that changed the world.This new way of printing enabled the masses to be exposed to works of literature that would have been inaccessible to them previously.The rapid development of technology in the 21st century presents educators with similar opportunities to expose an ever-widening circle of students to previously inaccessible works of literature.Although controversial with some,the use of films in the ESL literature classroom is one such opportunity.This paper aims to show that the use of films in the ESL literature classroom is a good idea because it is inexpensive,effective in developing listening,speaking,reading and writing skills,exposes students to authentic cultural information,helps students to absorb English,and develops the habit of reading for pleasure.Finally,some tips on the effective use of film in the ESL literature classroom are given.     

Connecting Teacher Beliefs to the Use of Children’s Literature in the Teaching of Mathematics

This article presents examples that illustrate how teachers use childrens literature in the teaching of mathematics. The examples are related to four curriculum ideologies that have influenced mathematics education in the USA for the last 75 years. It discusses why it is relevant to help teachers understand the ideological positions that influence their use of childrens literature during mathematics instruction, summarizes the four ideological positions, and presents results of a study of how teachers ideological positions relate to their use of childrens literature in the teaching of mathematics. The study examines two research questionsCan an instructional tool be developed that will highlight for teachers the different ways in which they and others use childrens literature to teach mathematics? and Can that instructional tool stimulate teacher discussion and reflection about their own beliefs and the ideological nature of the instructional environment in which they learned (as students) and teach (as teachers)? Study results indicate that both questions can be answered in the affirmative.     

Should We Use a Capital Framework to Understand Culture? Applying Cultural Capital to Communities of Color

Social science research on communities of color has long been shaped by theories of social and cultural capital. This article is a hermeneutic reading of metaphorical capital frameworks, including community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge. Financial capital, the basis of these frameworks, is premised on unequal exchange. Money only becomes capital when it is not spent, but is instead invested, manipulated, and exploited. Metaphorical capitals have been criticized as imprecise, falsely quantitative, and inequitable. Some research assumes that, rather than reinforcing economic class, metaphorical capital somehow nullifies class or replaces economic capital. Yet marginalized students, by definition, have been excluded by dominant culture. Compared to low socioeconomic status (SES) students of color, high SES students have a wealth of capital, in all forms. Metaphorical capital conjures the economic worldview of capitalism, imposing a capitalist, market-based worldview. Frameworks of metaphorical capital use neoliberal vocabulary, arguably endorsing capitalism's hegemony. The supposed metaphorical capital is not capital at all; by presenting it as capital, researchers’ goals become inconsistent with their own theoretical frameworks. There may be better ways to theorize culture. This article concludes by proposing four frameworks—possibilities that interpret culture without relying on capital.     

What underlies the shift to a modality of partnership in educational development cooperation?

This paper situates the philosophy and politics of partnership in educational development cooperation in the context of wider epistemological and axiological shifts in contemporary social theory. Partnerships in development cooperation are also considered in the light of the alleged failure of international development assistance, a claim that has received much attention with the publication of, among others, William Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good (2006) and of Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa (2008). Partnership as a development strategy offers one response to these claims, but if shared development objectives and policies, shared ownership, shared decisions about where aid is targeted, shared rights, shared responsibilities, and shared implementation strategies still leave the education development community facing challenges as big as ever, it might be time, the paper concludes, to consider whether the concept of partnership has not been expanded too far as a modality in development cooperation.     

Transformative Education? A Philosophic-Augustinian Response to the 2010 Albertan Reform Initiatives in “Inspiring Education”

The Alberta Government’s 2010 “Inspiring Education” reform proposals claim to be “transformational” in nature. This paper examines these proposals in light of ancient philosophy and various among the world’s wisdom traditions. Drawing particularly on the philosophic reflections of St. Augustine in his Confessions, it argues that the proposals are neither new nor “transformational,” but part of a long and problematic educational lineage that has its roots among the ancient sophists. As an alternative to the Alberta proposals and “sophist-icated” education, this paper advocates for the incorporation of philosophic or contemplative elements into the school day during which both teachers and students might learn the genuine meaning of school as schole through the practice of pursuing wisdom.     

The Necessity of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in the Schools∗

The shift in the demographic data highlights the growth in minority, second language learner, and economically disadvantaged student populations that traditionally have been underserved in public schools (Marshall and Oliva 2006 Marshall, C. and Oliva, M. 2006. Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education, Boston: Pearson.  [Google Scholar]). The purpose of this discussion is to explore the leadership praxis of four female secondary school leaders faced with challenges of social justice, democracy, and equity in their schools. The principals could be characterized as stewards of social justice in their school communities.     

Beyond the GRE: Using a Composite Score to Predict ?the Success of Puerto Rican Students in a Biomedical ?PhD Program

The use and validity of the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE) to predict the success of graduate school applicants is heavily debated, especially for its possible impact on the selection of underrepresented minorities into science, technology, engineering, and math fields. To better identify candidates who would succeed in our program with less reliance on the GRE and grade point average (GPA), we developed and tested a composite score (CS) that incorporates additional measurable predictors of success to evaluate incoming applicants. Uniform numerical values were assigned to GPA, GRE, research experience, advanced course work or degrees, presentations, and publications. We compared the CS of our students with their achievement of program goals and graduate school outcomes. The average CS was significantly higher in those students completing the graduate program versus dropouts (p < 0.002) and correlated with success in competing for fellowships and a shorter time to thesis defense. In contrast, these outcomes were not predicted by GPA, science GPA, or GRE. Recent implementation of an impromptu writing assessment during the interview suggests the CS can be improved further. We conclude that the CS provides a broader quantitative measure that better predicts success of students in our program and allows improved evaluation and selection of the most promising candidates.     

Academic Staff Involvement and Openness to Diversity in International Educational Organisations: Is There a Moderating Effect of Shared Language?

Joint work among academic staff is important for solving the ever‐increasing number of complex tasks that are becoming part of everyday activities in higher education. At the same time, diversification and internationalisation may challenge collaboration processes and communication demands. Speaking a shared language consistently could be a way of overcoming problems. Hence, this study focuses on the effect of shared language among academic staff on the relation between academic staff involvement in work processes and openness to diversity. This study draws on data from 489 Danish academic staff members in science departments of three universities. Results show positive associations between academic staff involvement and all openness‐to‐diversity variables (openness to informational, linguistic, value and visible diversity). Shared language had a positive effect on openness to surface level types of diversity (linguistic and visible) but no effect on openness to deep‐level types of diversity (informational and value).     

Using Children’s Literature in the Middle School Science Class to Teach Nature of Science

Science & Education - In this study, we report the results of the content analysis of preservice middle school science teachers’ own written science storybooks and middle school female...     

Conveying a Stance of Religious Pluralism in Children’s Literature

Religious discrimination is a global concern, as social dissonance and devastating violence result from religious intolerance. In order to develop socially competent, global citizens and create a peaceful society, religious diversity must be explored in public school classrooms; yet it remains a controversial and seldom addressed topic. Children’s literature that conveys religious pluralism can help teachers start this crucial conversation. A content analysis of 14 religiously pluralistic texts was conducted to understand how children’s authors enact a pluralistic stance. Findings indicate that fiction authors employ five main archetypes to express messages of religious pluralism: the questioner, one truth believer, counterpoint character, atheist, and coach. Both fiction and nonfiction authors confront issues of religiously disguised violence, provide educational information about religious beliefs and practices, emphasize commonalities between religions, maintain an assertive and respectful voice when describing religious beliefs, and highlight the existence of multiple spiritual paths. Implications of these findings for classroom practice are discussed.     

Introduction to the Issue: Exploring Affect in Children’s Literature

Children's Literature in Education -     

Fostering the “Intercultural Reader”? An Empirical Study of Socio-Cultural Approaches to EFL Literature

The work presented here is a qualitative study of socio-cultural approaches to literary texts in a selection of upper secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in Norway. The article explores opportunities and challenges related to the fostering of competent “intercultural readers” in foreign language (FL) educational contexts by examining how notions of interculturality are implicated in the teaching materials and classroom discourse. The analysis indicates that the examined text interpretation processes rely on a complex interplay between literary texts, tasks and classroom participants in such respect. Two particular strands of the analysis, pertaining to how issues of intertextuality and the emotional dimension of literary reading play a role in the data, are highlighted. The article concludes by discussing the didactic implications of findings.     

Interpreting the Rules: Language and Transformation in a Boys’ Comprehensive

This essay emerges from my position as a new trainee teacher, entering my first school, a school as unique and also as typical as any. What struck me was the complexity of the school's culture (and counter-cultures). Language was revealed as a site of resistance, a clash between staff and pupils at the point of instruction; a reluctance to read or write; an unanticipated response to text. This resistance was often shut down, yet it must at some level be meaningful. Indeed, it was often clearly communicated to me by the boys' complaints about having to read the texts prescribed to them, or indeed in the depth of the creative responses, particularly to visual images, that many of them displayed when given the opportunity to write in class. This suggests the need for a broader understanding of the way language is used, the different registers employed by pupils in interactions in the classroom; and, for me in my new role as teacher, the challenge of how to harness those moments which enable students to explore expression in ways they find meaningful.     

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.     

Exploring the Popperian Framework in a Pre‐service Teacher Education Program

The study reported in this article is derived from a critical analysis of the work of 28 pre‐service teachers enrolled in the course “Teaching elementary language arts” in a Bachelor of Education concurrent program in a southern State university. The pre‐service teachers were taught how to use an innovative knowledge‐building framework based on the ideas of the philosopher of science, Karl Popper. Two samples of pre‐service teachers’ writing were analyzed to provide evidence of whether they support the occurrence of growth and development of professional knowledge. This study provides some indication of Popper’s framework potential as an effective critical analysis framework for achieving this goal.     

The Translation Diversity of Qiu Si—in the Perspective of Fuzzy Linguistic

Fuzziness is universal in all human language in the world.It provides the literature works with inexhaustible beauty and charm.Chinese classical poetry is characterized by its suggestive,subtlety and implicitness.Therefore the author tries to study the fuzziness of Ma Zhiyuan’s Qiu Si and its translation from the perspective of fuzzy linguistics.     

Literature Review of “Huainanzi” in the Late 30 Years in China

文章从《淮南子》自身的文本研究、所蕴含的思想研究以及与其他典籍关系的研究这三个方面对1979年以来的其国内研究现状做了概括性归纳,总结了三十多年的阶段性成果,并据此指出当前《淮南子》研究存在的不足之处,进而提出进一步研究的初步构想。