A critique on the developing of Literacy in New Concept English (book 3)

This essay reviews some literature in literacy development and language teaching and establishes some principles forthe evaluation of the literacy skills focused in a programme and its textbook. Furthermore, it describes and critiques some approachestaken to the development ofliteracy in NCE (book 3) and also proposessome solutionsto their weaknesses.     

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.     

Hands-on history: towards a critique of the ‘everyday’

The modern Turkish state and society have been greatly influenced by reforms of the education system. Second Constitutional Period reforms can be viewed as the preparatory stage of Republican reforms and a time when many of the later reforms were planned and given limited application. In this way both periods contributed to the foundation of modern Turkey. The innovations pioneered by Late Ottoman intellectuals stemmed from various origins, mostly European positivists and materialist philosophers. American pragmatism was added as an ideological source during the foundation of the Republic. It can be observed that ideological trends took root from Ottoman times according to the degree that intellectuals were affected by them. In this paper, the ideological origins of educational reforms during the Second Constitution Period have been studied in relation to the influence of European philosophers on Ottoman intellectuals of the time and their ideological environments. Late Ottoman intellectuals were found to have been largely affected by France’s positivism, German’s materialism and Comte, Durkheim, Büchner and Spencer. The paper reveals how modern Turkey’s educational philosophy parameters have been shaped by these intellectuals’ ideas.     

The Call of the Wild(Ⅵ)

5更艰苦的工作离开道桑镇30天后,队伍回到了斯开格威。他们筋疲力尽。巴克瘦得只剩50公斤,别的狗也是瘦骨伶仃。他们并没有生病,只是需要一个长长的休息。但是在斯开格威还有堆积如山的信等着运到北方。所以人们买了更强壮的狗,以前的狗因为对工作没有用,被卖掉了。两个美国人,哈尔和查尔斯,连同挽具买下了巴克和他的队伍。查尔斯大约40岁左右,浅色的头发,有一双水汪汪的蓝眼睛。哈尔20岁上下,皮带上别着一把闪光的大枪和一把大刀。这两样比任何东西都能显示他的幼稚。这两个人显然对北方和那里艰苦危险的生活茫然无知。他们把狗带回凌乱的帐篷,有一个女人正等在那里。她是查尔斯的妻子,哈尔的姐姐,叫玛尔赛蒂。巴克冷眼瞧着他们拆掉帐篷,把所有的东西都放到雪撬上。他们不懂得如何把东西有条理地安置好。而且更糟的是,每一次刚把东西放到雪撬上,玛尔赛蒂就动手移开它。所以他们常常不得不把东西搬下来重新开始。3个男人走上前看到这情景,笑了起来。“你们放在雪撬上的东西太沉了,”其中一个人说道,“你们干嘛不把帐篷留在斯开格威?”“没有帐篷我们怎么活下去呢?”玛尔赛蒂问道,向空中挥挥双手。“春天来了,天气不会再冷啦。”“我可不能没有帐篷。”她答道,帮着查尔...     

A critique of the expectancy formula approach: Beating a dead horse?

The expectancy and severe discrepancy formulas, like those originally considered by the US. Office of Education (1976), provide the oldest but least defensible method of quantifying academic discrepancy. A logical and mathematical analysis reveals that all variations of this approach have several major weaknesses. First, the expectancy formulas themselves are predicated upon the very questionable assumption that achievement follows a straight line growth pattern, which raises questions about the accuracy of the resulting severe discrepancy values. Second, when discrepancy values are obtained by multiplying the expected values by a fractional constant, the approach is necessarily biased in the direction of applying a more stringent underachievement criterion for older and brighter children. Third, the formulas employ a grade equivalent scale that results in inconsistencies, one being that fewer arithmetic problems are identified. Finally, the expectancy approach does not consider errors in measurement or regression effects, and consequently produces serious identification errors. A variation of the expectancy approach involving a discrepancy ratio between obtained and expected achievement has the previously mentioned limitations, except the bias, and it produces scores that cannot be easily interpreted.     

The Call of the Wild (Ⅰ)

《野性的呼唤》讲述的是一条狗的故事。巴克本是一条养零处优的狗,但被人拐卖,从此踏上了艰难的行程。残酷的野外生活使巴克学到了如何保护自己,如何在激烈的竞争中处于不败之地,狼的野性在他的身上逐渐恢复。历经磨难的巴克被好心的桑托收留。正当他们开始过上平静生活的时候,桑托却不幸被印第安人杀害。愤怒的巴克闯进印第安人的营地咬死了凶手。孤独的巴克终于告别了人类加入到狼群的行列。     

The Call of the Wild(Ⅶ)

第二天早上,巴克带领狗队沿街出发了。他们走得很慢,因为在旅途开始前他们就很疲惫了。巴克已经从道桑来回往返了两次,他不想再跑了。他观察了查尔斯、哈尔和玛尔赛蒂,他看出他们对所有的事情都手足无措。而且,随着时间一天天过去,他发现他们学不会任何东西。他们花掉半个夜晚准备晚上的休息;然后又花了半个早晨才准备停当起程。而真正起程后,他们经常不得不停下来,因为有些东西从雪撬上滑落下来,有一阵子他们每天只走20公里,有时只走10公里。他们起程时就没有足够的狗食。现在他们的给养用得太快了。哈尔给狗加餐因为他想让他们更加卖力地拉车。玛尔赛蒂也总是多给狗食物,因为她可怜他们。但是他们需要的不是食物,而是休息。很快,哈尔发现他们只走了去道桑的四分之一的路,却吃掉了一半的食物,他不得不减少给狗的食物。少给狗食物容易办到,但是却无法让他们跑快。达布在离开斯开格威后一路都拉得很卖力,但是他的腿受了伤。他的腿伤越来越厉害,直到最后哈尔不得不杀了他。那6条新狗,由于饥饿和辛苦而病弱不堪,很快就死掉了。哈尔、查尔斯和玛尔赛蒂开始旅行时高高兴兴,但现在他们疲惫、暴躁又沮丧。查尔斯和哈尔为每件事争吵不休,每个人都自觉比别人干活干得更卖劲。玛尔赛蒂...     

The Call of the Wild(II)

2.The law of club and toothBuck’s first day at Dyea Beachwas terrible.Every hour there wassom e new,frightening surprise.There was no peace,no rest—onlycontinual noise and m ovem ent.And every m inute there was danger,because these dogs and m en were not town dogs and m en.Theyknew only the law of club and tooth.Buck had never seen dogs fight like these dogs;they werelike wolves.In a few m inutes he learnt this from watching Curly.She tried to m ake friends with a dog,a big one,although n…     

The Call of the Wild(Ⅲ)

3.T he w ild anim alThe wild anim al was strong in Buck,and as hetraveled across the snow,it grew stronger and stronger.A nd as Buck grew stronger,he hated Spitz m ore andm ore,although he w as careful never to start a fight.B ut Spitz w as always show ing his teeth to Buck,trying to start a fight.A nd B uck knew that if he andSpitz fought,one of them w ould die.The fight alm ost happened one night w hen theystopped by Lake Laberge.There w as heavy snow and itw as very cold.The lake w as …     

The Call of the Wild(IV)

4.新的头犬“喏,我说什么来着?巴克是员真正的战将,棒极了。”第二天弗朗索瓦斯发现斯皮兹不见了,而巴克浑身是血时说道。“斯皮兹打起架来真像狼一样狠。”佩诺特说,一边察看着巴克身上的伤痕。“巴克抵得上10条狼。”弗朗索瓦斯回答说,“我们可以走得快些了。斯皮兹不在了,麻烦也没有了。”弗朗索瓦斯开始给狗套挽具。他需要一条新的头犬,并觉得索拉克斯最合适不过了。但是巴克却扑向索拉克斯,抢了他的位子。“瞧瞧巴克!”弗朗索瓦斯说,笑了起来。“他杀了斯皮兹,现在他又想做头犬了。滚开,巴克!”他拉开巴克,想再次套上索拉克斯。索拉克…     

Sites for Power and Knowledge? Towards a critique of the virtual university

Traditional discourses emanated from sites where agents of knowledge received their professional formation. Postmodernists suggest that the principle that the acquisition of knowledge is indissociable from personal formation is becoming obsolete and that the nature of knowledge cannot survive the information technology revolution unchanged. We examine these propositions with reference to a qualitative study of university staff who were developing and using World Wide Web (WWW) courses. The interview material supports the view that the WWW exemplifies a weakening of the framing of knowledge, has an elective affinity with the individual indulgence of postmodernism and is not effectively controlled through the community of science. Yet the WWW is parasitic on the project of modernism. Its user-friendly surface conceals extreme underlying complexity. The project of reducing professional training to the telematic transmission of an organised stock of knowledge is shown to be ultimately incoherent because it ignores the crucial need for implicit understanding and skill.     

Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Éxamen Geronto-Psychomoteur (P-EGP)

ABSTRACT

Aging involves concomitant and interrelated changes in sensory, motor, and cognitive function. There is a decrease in psychomotor skills—such as balance, spatial orientation, mobility, and motor coordination—visible in increased difficulties performing daily instrumental activities (e.g., self care and domestic activities). The absence of valid psychomotor instruments for the elderly population to be used by psychomotor therapists can be identified as one of the reasons why there is a scarce research in this area. Currently, in Portugal, psychomotor therapists do not have any specific, validated scale within the psychomotor domain built and/or adapted to guide psychomotor interventions with the elderly population. Therefore, the aim of this study was the translation, adaptation, and validation of the Portuguese version of the Éxamen Geronto-Psychomoteur (P-EGP) in a population of 497 elders, aged between 60 and 99 years, with and without dementia. Results of the study are presented and discussed in terms of the reliability and validity of P-EGP. The results demonstrate that P-EGP appears to be a valid and reliable assessment of psychomotor skills for the elderly population in Portugal. Practical implications and future directions of research are also discussed.     

Critique of the article by Visser and Jehan (2009): ‘ADHD: a scientific fact or a factual opinion? A critique of the veracity of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’

This article seeks to evaluate and take further the discussion put forward by Visser and Jehan (Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 14, no. 2: 127–40). It begins by focusing on the biomedical discourse, its dominance in the academic and professional literature and why the existence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a medical category is questionable. This is followed by a discussion of other discourses including the sociological discourse and the bio-psychosocial discourse. The importance of multi-professional approaches in the identification, assessment and management of ADHD is highlighted, followed by an examination of what part the educational environment might play with regard to behaviours associated with ADHD. Attention is drawn to the need for continuing research and debate on this evolving concept.     

A critique of the Capability Approach’s potential for application to career guidance

In this article, we provide a balanced critique of Sen’s Capability Approach (CA) with reference to its potential to inform career guidance theory and practice. There are varying understandings and interpretations of the CA. Some see capabilities as universal, whilst others favour a more relativist view. The CA is also vulnerable to misunderstanding. Critiques based on misunderstanding are easily dismissed, so our focus is on substantive conceptual and practical critiques. Three main challenges are explored: conceptual debates about the nature of freedom and justice; limitations arising from the disciplinary origins of the CA; and challenges in operationalising the CA.

     

Emancipation,equality and education: Rancière's critique of Bourdieu and the question of performativity

Jacques Rancière's work has had significant impact in philosophy and literary theory, but remains largely undiscussed in the field of education. This article is a review of the relevance of Rancière's work to education research. Rancière's argument about education emerges from his critique of Bourdieu, which states that Bourdieu reinforces inequality by presuming it as the starting point of his analysis. What is at stake is the question of performativity, and the means by which discourse has effects. This debate has implications for considering the basis of claims to truth in literary and social science discourse. Parallels are drawn between Judith Butler's and Rancière's portrayal of the relationship between discourse and subjection, as well as their attention to discursive ‘imitation’ in making inequality representable. The article concludes with a discussion of the problematic which Rancière's work suggests for education research.     

What's the Future of Paper Books(节选)

<正>The word"book"used to be so simple.We are all familiar with the feeling:craving the smell of a well-worn book,the weight of it in the hands;all of our favorite books are on shelves,and we want to see them every day.However the emergence of the e-book brings in a heated discussion:what’s the future of paper books?Will they be replaced,even disappear in the future?I agree with Michael Agresta,a senior writer living in Los     

A critique of John Hattie’s theory of Visible Learning

In this paper, I work out a five-stringed criticism of John Hattie’s theory of Visible Learning. First, I argue that the theory is a theory of evaluation that denies education as such. Second, I show that there are problems with the dependent variable, learning, i.e. the effect of a given intervention. Thirdly, I show that Hattie's theory belongs to the radical constructivist paradigm. Thus, the problems of constructivism, i.e. problems of normativity and the outside world, walks directly into Hattie’s concept of teaching, resulting in a double breakdown of the essence of teaching. Fourth, I argue that Hattie’s concept of feedback has a centralizing trend which ultimately has the potential to transform the country’s educational activities into a big hierarchical and data-driven organism. Finally, I show that Hattie’s reference to Karl Popper’s theory of “three worlds” is based on a highly problematic reading, where Popper’s objective world is reduced to a subset of a radical subjectivity.