Conceptions of effective mathematics teaching within a cultural context: perspectives of teachers from China and the United States

This study investigates Chinese and U.S. teachers’ cultural beliefs concerning effective mathematics teaching from the teachers’ perspectives. Although sharing some common beliefs, the two groups of teachers think differently about both mathematics understanding and the features of effective teaching. The sample of U.S. teachers put more emphasis on student understanding with concrete examples, and the sample of Chinese teachers put more emphasis on abstract reasoning after using concrete examples. The U.S. teachers highlight a teacher’s abilities to facilitate student participation, manage the classroom and have a sense of humor, while the Chinese teachers emphasize a teacher’s solid mathematics knowledge and careful study of textbooks. Both groups of teachers agree that memorization and understanding cannot be separated. However, for the U.S. teachers, memorization comes after understanding, but for Chinese teachers, memorization can come before understanding. These differences of teachers’ beliefs are discussed in a cultural context.     

Motivational beliefs and cognitive processes in mathematics achievement, analyzed in the context of cultural differences: a Korean elementary school example

The relations among students’ motivational beliefs, cognitive processes, and academic achievement were investigated. A 51-item questionnaire together with a mathematics achievement test was administered to 459 fifth graders in Korean elementary school mathematics classrooms. Results indicated that, in general, students’ cognitive processes related closely to competence beliefs, task values, and achievement goals, and more importantly their success or failure in mathematics achievement was closely linked to competence beliefs, performance-avoidance goals, and persistence strategies. Positive evidence of performance-approach goals was observed in math learning relative to task goals. As expected, performance-avoidance goals turned out to be detrimental to students’ math learning. These findings are generally congruent with the motivational theories and support the position that students should be encouraged to adopt task goals and actively involve themselves in math class activities. However, it also behooves us to recognize the potential benefits of performance-approach goals in different cultural contexts, such as the Korean elementary school math classrooms.     

Selection as contract to teach at the student's level. Experiences from a South African mathematics and science foundation year

The selection of students is a critical issuecurrently facing South African higher educationinstitutions. The identification and selection ofdisadvantaged students with the potential to succeedin mathematics- and science-based study is aparticularly pressing problem. The new South Africanhigher education law requires that selection is donein a fair and transparent manner. Selection has to befollowed by adequate support for selected students tosucceed in their study programmes. Issues of accessare closely coupled to issues of retention andsuccess. The research results discussed in this paperillustrate how these issues can be successfullyaddressed and how selection fairness and effectivenessmay be optimised under the constraints of selectionefficiency. An optimal solution can be found bydeveloping test specifications and selection cut-offvalues based on the teaching programme for which theselection is done. The resulting close fit betweenselection testing and teaching after selection leadsto a reasonable expectation of success for selectedstudents in the study programme. Under suchconditions, selection can be seen as a contract toteach at the student's level.     

Two teacher quality measures and the role of context: evidence from Chile

This research examines empirically the relationship between two measures of teacher quality: one based on professional standards and a second one using teacher value-added estimates. It also studies the extent to which teacher observable characteristics, such as teacher training variables, are associated to better performance on either of these measures and whether any of these two assessments is able to effectively measure teacher quality isolated from the effect of the context where teachers work. Context in this article is defined as any variable that is not under the direct control of the teacher but plays an important role on student learning and we believe is captured by school and municipal variables. The study uses hierarchical linear models and information from national and standardized assessments from Chile, specifically from the municipal education sector. Results show a small correlation between the two measures of teacher quality, in the lower end of results from previous studies conducted in the USA, and suggest that there is only a limited relationship between both measures of teacher quality. Teacher initial education type and professional development were statistically associated only to the standard-based measure of teacher quality. Context (both the school and municipal levels) plays an important role in the teacher effect measure, and in the standard-based measures, therefore, we conclude that neither of these measures are context-free. We expect that these results will contribute to the discussion about how to best measure teacher quality and how to evaluate teacher performance both in Chile and other parts of the world.     

Sorcery and SSCEP: the cultural context of an educational innovation

The paper highlights the relative neglect by educational planners of a socio‐cullural analysis of the context surrounding the implementation of educational reforms designed to promote rural development in Third World countries. An examination of the sociological and anthropological literature pertaining to both village culture and rural development in Papua New Guinea suggests that there are powerful cultural constraints on schools leavers applying practical skills learned in school on their return to the village. These are exemplified by a discussion of the role of sorcery, the subordinate position of youth, and the divergence between planners’ and villagers’ priorities, and are illustrated with reference to the Secondary Schools Community Extension Project (SSCEP).     

后现代语境下狼形象的文化解读

在异彩纷呈的后现代语境下,作为食肉动物的“狼”频频出现于艺术领域。该形象改变了传统文化中单一的文化内涵,呈现出多元化发展的态势:从残忍、贪婪、狡诈的代名词到人类内在精神依托的艺术文化符号;从为人忽视的可憎形象到消费社会倍受欢迎的文化亮点;从主体理性桎梏的对象到艺术解构的对象。     

Philosophical education and cultural relevance: discipline-affirmation in the context of the knowledge economy

The following paper proposes a discipline-affirming response to the challenge facing higher education in the context of the knowledge economy. It resists the drive to reduce the value of a humanities based education to the mere production of skills and instead affirms the substantial body of knowledge of specific disciplines. It uses as its model the degree programme in Philosophical Studies at Newcastle University in order to show how a discipline-affirming approach to learning has the advantage of not only developing and making students aware of educational skills that can contribute to the knowledge economy, but doing so without downgrading the worth of the knowledge and concepts of the students' discipline. The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate that a learner involved in a personalised, object-based project will not view the acquisition of knowledge as merely a means to an end and also be able to communicate the value of the knowledge gained to laypeople.     

Epistemic profiles and self-regulated learning: Examining relations in the context of mathematics problem solving

Relations were examined between epistemic profiles, regulation of cognition, and mathematics problem solving. Two hundred sixty-eight students were sampled from undergraduate mathematics and statistics courses. Students completed inventories reflecting their epistemic profiles and learning strategies, and were profiled as rational, empirical, or both. Based on their profiles, 24 students participated in two problem-solving sessions. Episodes were coded for planning, monitoring, control, use of empirical and rational argumentation, and justification for solutions. For both self-reported metacognitive self-regulation and regulation of cognition during problem solving, students profiled as rational had the highest self-reported mean and actual frequency of regulation of cognition compared to students profiled as predominantly empirical. Moreover, students profiled as predominantly rational correctly solved more problems than the other two groups. Finally, students’ approaches to problem solving were consistent with their epistemic profiles. Relations are discussed in the context of various theoretical frameworks.     

Culturally responsive teaching in the context of mathematics: a grounded theory case study

In this grounded theory case study, four interconnected, foundational cornerstones of culturally responsive mathematics teaching (CRMT), communication, knowledge, trust/relationships, and constant reflection/revision, were systematically unearthed to develop an initial working theory of CRMT that directly informs classroom practice. These cornerstones were found to interact in unique ways. Results have implications for teachers of mathematics who aim to become more culturally responsive, mathematics teacher educators and supervisors, and school administrators who seek to promote equity in mathematics.     

Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context: Lessons learnt from reforms in Ghana

Early notions of life skills in Africa did not take into account the importance of a flexible and portable set of skills that would enable youth to adapt to changes in the world of work and lay the foundations for productive well-being and behaviour. Rather, life skills education in many secondary education curricula in Africa started with an emphasis on developing specific technical vocational skills considered essential for employability or self-employment. Using Ghana as an example, this paper shows how secondary education curriculum reformers recommended shifts that embraced a new interpretation of life skills focused on 21st-century skills. This gradual move also reflected the difficulty that secondary education in general has had in networking with the world of work to provide work experience that would lead to the development of work-related skills and enhance employability. The author’s main argument is that although the reconceptualisation of life skills in secondary education to reflect 21st-century skills is a welcome shift in the African context, this needs to be accompanied by reforms in teacher education. Classroom teaching and learning need to be adapted in a fundamental way in order to ensure that youth fully benefit from the inclusion of 21st-century life skills in secondary education curricula. Such reforms must include pedagogical practices which nurture communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills.     

文化强国语境下高等教育科研教学互动研究

建设文化强国需要大量适应时代需要的创新型人才。因此,从事高等教育的教师,在教学实践中展开对科研教学互动研究,主动开展有利于创新型人才培养的教育教学改革,倡导以学生为主体的人才培养新模式,如此必将会不断提升学生自主创新能力。     

全球化背景下文化发展的世界化和民族化

全球化的发展,必然会带来文化在全球范围内的大规模交流与互动,由于经济基础对文化的决定作用和文化的相对独立性,全球化背景下文化的发展既在相互吸收和借鉴中走向世界化,又在自觉和创新中彰显个性,世界化和民族化是全球化背景下文化发展的主要方向.     

Reproduction: the role of cultural factors and educational mediators

To understand the processes of reproduction in education one must not only take account of the resistances of subordinated groups, but also of the counter‐resistance which develops in response to these. Proponents of resistance theory have tended to ignore the responses of powerful groups to emerging resistances. Two major reasons are suggested for this, one being the failure of reproduction theorists to take cognisance of unique cultural and political contexts within which reproduction takes place, and the other being the lack of attention given to educational mediators. Taking the case of Irish second‐level education, it is shown how unique cultural, historical and political forces contribute to the development of counter‐resistance. In particular, it is suggested that the post‐colonial status of the country is central to understanding the reproduction processes within it. The paper also highlights the inadequacy of defining the parameters of the reproduction debate in terms of an interplay of interests between social classes and the State alone. While the State and social classes are key actors in the educational site, so are educational mediators, viz. those who manage and administer educational services on a day‐to‐day basis. It is proposed that educational mediators (whose character varies from one society to another) are often powerful agents of counter‐resistance.     

新形势下的学校社会工作

学校社会工作的使命是促进学生与其所处环境的和谐共处,可通过传统治疗武、学校变迁式和社区学校式等模式实施学校社会工作。     

Emotional autonomy and perceived parenting styles: relational analysis in the Hong Kong cultural context

Three hundred and seven teacher education students of a Hong Kong university were administered two questionnaires, one measuring emotional autonomy (EAS) and the other measuring perceived parenting styles (PAQ) of their parents. It was found that the Hong Kong teacher education students tended to be autonomous and they characterized their parents as authoritative instead of authoritarian. In addition, the emotional autonomy scale was positively related to authoritarianism, but negatively related to authoritativeness and permissiveness of parenting. Emotional detachment instead of autonomy seemed to be a more appropriate meaning of EAS for the interpretation of results. Implications were drawn for future research including development of an improved instrument in measuring emotional autonomy to study its associations with perceived parenting styles of young people across cultures.     

文化耦合视角下官产学研资一体化的创新模式研究

产学研结合是建立国家创新体系的主要途径和发展方向.从文化视角看,产学研合作的实质是异质性文化系统的耦合.追求最大程度的文化共享是文化耦合机制的根本所在.在实践层面通过对多种领域文化的耦合,构建以市场为导向,以政府调控为关键,以大学、科研院所的创新为原动力,以企业为主体,以资金为保障的官产学研资一体化创新模式,以求在新起点上对我国产学研合作的深入发展有所裨益.     

Searching for evidence of curricular effect on the teaching and learning of mathematics: Lessons learned from the two projects

The two research projects described and discussed in the special issue provided much needed longitudinal empirical data to show the curricular influence on classroom instruction and student learning outcomes. The findings have helped to advance our understanding of whether the reform curricula can bring about positive changes in classroom instruction and student learning outcomes and how such changes might be sustained. In this article we synthesize the results from the two studies and discuss several lessons learned from the projects about investigating and understanding curricular effects on the teaching and learning of mathematics.