Making Way for Technology Education

This paper discusses two major issues confronting any attempts to make technology education an integral part of the school curriculum. The first issue has to do with the lack of agreement—stemming from its diverse origins—regarding the core concepts, instructional strategies, and student outcomes that should comprise technology education. Characterizations of eight different approaches are provided. The second issue concerns the relationship of technology education to the existing school curricula, specifically, the science curriculum and vocational education. The historical connections between science and technology are discussed, and the argument is made that the traditional second-class position of technology in the school curriculum needs to be remedied in favor of making science and technology equal curricular partners. Vocational education, too, needs to be modernized to move from narrow skills training to education for the technological work place.     

The Status of Physical Education Curriculum Theory

Although too few physical education scholars have given priority to the formulation of curriculum theory, genuine progress has been made in the past quarter of a century. Recent efforts in physical education theory building are reviewed within the overall context of general curriculum theory and in historical perspective. Special attention is focused on relationships between curriculum and instruction. A selected model for physical education curricular decision-making illustrates the process of relating a physical education curriculum theory to general curriculum theory, the need for adaptation to differing value orientations, and the nature of the impact of curiculum theory on instructional decisions.     

Issues in Assessment,Enterprise and Higher Education: the case for self‐peer and collaborative assessment

The debate surrounding assessment in education and the tensions it has caused is based upon conflicting ideologies in society. Enterprise in Higher Education and other initiatives have raised the awareness of staff to these issues and caused many of us to rethink the way in which we educate students. Changing the structure of assessment has enabled us to start adopting methods which are more student centred and appropriate to the demands of employers in particular and society as a whole more generally. There is a strong case for adopting a, more collaborative approach which breaks away from traditional norms and, while assessing students’ abilities in a summative sense, helps them to develop an awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in a formative way.     

科学发展观:一种人学的读写

民生问题成为党的十七大报告的一大焦点,引起了千万群众的积极关注。科学发展观为民生问题的解决提供了理论上的根据,也提出了实践上的要求。把民生问题放在更加突出的位置,是科学发展观的内在要求,也是马克思主义人学在具体历史实践上的体现。以人学视角解读科学发展观,有利于深入贯彻落实科学发展观,推动科学发展、促进社会和谐。     

A Perspective on the Intended Science Curriculum in Iceland and its ‘Transformation’ over a Period of 50 Years

In recent decades, a consensus has emerged among educators and scientists that all compulsory school students need good science education. The debate about its purpose and nature as a school subject in an emerging information society has not been as conclusive. To further understand this, it helps to examine how the science curriculum has transformed and what forces have shaped it as a core curricular area over time. This article sheds light on the transformation of the science curriculum for compulsory schools in Iceland in force from 1960 to 2010. Using criteria based on curriculum ideologies regarding the function of learners, instructors and subject matter in the learning process and the orientation of content and product versus process and development, it offers findings from content analysis of the intended science curriculum. The official curriculum was studied and conceptualised as it has evolved over time. The curriculum developers appear to have been striving for a compromise between conflicting views, resulting in what the authors of this article conceive as a ‘kaleidoscopic quilt’ of ideas over the period studied.     

Human capital theory,the diversity of societies and the problem of quality in education

Taking off from the “human capital theory” vs. “screening theory” debate, the paper seeks to distinguish at least ten different causal strands which potentially enter the explanation of the commonly observed correlation between earnings and educational qualification. Debates on this issue are commonly vitiated by two factors: (i) the failure to distinguish between mechanisms which operate in fluid market situations and those which operate in bureaucratized economies with administered careers, (ii) the assumption that there can be a universally valid answer to the question “Why do earnings and certificates correlate?” Various institutional and historical factors cause considerable differences in the relative importance of the ten linking mechanisms in different countries. Of the greatest importance is one general difference between early and late developers. Schools in developing countries are generally less effective in fostering the sort of mental attitudes and abilities which conduce to economic development chiefly because, for a variety of reasons, schooling is more examination-oriented than in richer countries. These crucial aspects of the quality of education are too often overlooked, presumably for reasons which have to do with the nature of the economics and educational professions.     

英国中小学课程政策的影响因素分析

制约和影响英国中小学课程政策的因素十分复杂.然而,纵观英国课程改革和发展的历史进程,我们仍能发现,英国中小学的课程政策和各项改革措施无不受到英国实用主义的教育历史与文化传统、社会经济发展、主流政治意识形态、杰出政治家和教育家的关键作用以及其他欧盟国家和美国课程思想等因素的制约和影响.     

与历史上“农民起义”相纠结的几个问题

一段时间以来,无论是在史学界还是在文学界,对中国历史上的"农民起义"都陆陆续续地产生了一些"新论"。面对这些"新论",本文从四个方面——"农民起义"的发生是否具有必然性的问题,起义者首领的身份、性格及"借用"问题,关于农民起义是否推动历史前进与发展的问题,农民战争与国之内外矛盾的处理问题进行分析和"辨正",旨在揭示我们在探讨历史问题时必须拥有客观和公正。     

In search of the public and the private: Philosophy of education in post-war Japan

The focus of this paper is on Japanese philosophy of education in the post-war period. We begin with a historical account, concentrating on developments in ideas and their interrelation with policy, and then go on to discuss aspects of the contemporary scene. Central to our concerns here are the ways in which there has been an impoverishment of the public and private realms, especially with the collusion of private and national interests under the sway of neo-liberal and neo-conservative ideologies. We conclude our discussion by identifying some current trends in Japanese philosophy of education, highlighting ways in which new developments in the subject may lay the way for restoring and enhancing the relationship between the private and the public.     

The Interrelation of D,V, T,and P Scores

Evaluating changes in student competencies and attitudes in studies of foreign political systems and ideologies is a problematic but important issue in research on social science instruction. This article outlines a set of instructional objectives on Policy Making in Communist Party States (PMCPS) and presents the results of an empirical evaluation based upon data gathered from nine classes taught on the subject of communist political systems. The study determined how and when students memorized and comprehended certain pieces of information, the extent to which they were able to successfully apply, analyze, and synthesize this information, and finally, how the learning process influenced beliefs and values toward selected communist states and issues involving socialism and communism.     

美国数学顾问专家组总结报告简介及思考

新近发表的美国数学顾问专家组总结报告基于大量的严谨教育研究成果,概括了数学课程、学习过程、教师和教师教育、教学实践、教学资料、教学评估以及研究政策和机制等方面的重要发现,特别强调了代数学习的重要性。总结报告将对美国的数学教育发展产生积极影响,值得我们加以研究和借鉴。     

莎士比亚战争意识之滥觞

莎士比亚多部英国历史剧的主题之一就是战争问题。剧作家将英法百年战争和玫瑰战争作为贯穿其多部历史剧情节的主线,这明显阐释出剧作家的战争意识,而这一切皆可追溯到中世纪神学思想和文艺复兴时期人文主义思想中的战争观念对剧作家的双重影响以及剧作家对史料的研读和思考。     

Information,Instruction, and Learning: A Hypermedia Perspective Originally published in 1991, PIQ 4.3

Hypermedia as defined by Osgood (1987) is a tool for linking nonlinear information presented in the form of graphics, animation, video, and sound. One important question for instructional designers regarding hypermedia is how it can be used as an instructional or learning tool that enhances rather than inhibits learning. Creating hypermedia applications is a quick and easy alternative to creating courseware with older authoring systems and languages which took many hours to learn. This ease of application creation, combined with a tremendous increase in information available to our society, has resulted in a proliferation of hypermedia databases in school, university, and industry settings that is gradually moving into homes. Many of these databases are simply information media. This paper identifies important issues related to classifying a hypermedia-based information system appropriately. Based on a discussion of these issues, a call for systematic research which clarifies the role that hypermedia-based information systems can and should play in an instructional or learning environment is set forth.     

学媒论争启示录——对“学习与媒体大辩论”的新思考

"学习与媒体大辩论"是整个世界教育技术学术史上的一个重大事件,作者站在教育技术发展的历史长河中对这场大论战的因由与背景进行了新解读,在对这场大论战之来龙去脉的追溯中刻画了其问的一波三折,探讨了其后隐藏的深层意涵及其在教育技术思想史上的地位,认为它在实质上是一场对媒体比较研究的大批判和总清算,而背后隐藏着的则是"媒体派"与"学习派"两大阵营在斗争中走向融合的这一历史事实.     

The significance of constructivist classroom practice in national curricular design

Evidence of the value of constructivist theory in the classroom is especially important for educational practice in areas of poverty and social challenge. Research was undertaken in 2010 into the application of constructivist theory on instructional design. The findings of this research are particularly relevant to the current curricular crisis in South Africa which threatens to side-line constructivist priorities and return learners to rote learning from textbooks. The findings are situated here within the national debate over curricular design and instructional models. Placing instructional design within the larger context of national pedagogical contestation provides important evidence of the central role of Freirean imperatives for South Africa’s educational future. This article indicates that a constructivist framework, when pertinently arranged, provides holistic and sustainable procedures for knowledge creation. The findings from the research project showed that, in an environment conducive to learning, learners become self-motivated and better able to master the next phase of the curriculum. As a result of the constructivist framing, participants grew into strategic and effective learners who took responsibility for their own learning. These findings add weight to the call for reconsideration of constructivist foundations in national curriculum design.     

Curricular Reform,Constantly Changing Values and Consequences for Teacher Education

In many European countries revised notions of learning and the dynamic nature of knowledge have brought about changes in teaching in primary education. The new views of learning, together with profound social changes, have similarly created pressures for curricular reform. This paper examines the repercussions of extensive curricular reform for teacher education, especially with respect to what can be done to develop teachers’ didactic skills and capabilities for curricular planning. The latter calls for profound skills and a sensitivity in following the changes taking place in society, and also the ability to discuss the values towards which the concrete goals of the teaching should be directed. In order to convey such skills successfully, teacher education itself should clarify its position on its didactics and its philosophy. Didactics should not be simply a matter of communicating facts, but rather the emphasis in this respect should be shifted towards philosophical content, leading to the skills of independent thinking.     

教学设计与技术的未来

技术的运用必须是在有效学习的前提下进行的;否则,技术革新只能成为一种神乎其神的东西;教学设计与技术的历史演变、现状困惑和未来发展都提示着我们必须从社会、技术和人的协调关系中加以探讨。     

Information,Instruction, and Learning: A Hypermedia Perspective

Hypermedia as defined by Osgood (1987) is a tool for linking nonlinear information presented in the form of graphics, animation, video, and sound. One important question for instructional designers regarding hypermedia is how it can be used as an instructional or learning tool that enhances rather than inhibits learning. Creating hypermedia applications is a quick and easy alternative to creating courseware with older authoring systems and languages which took many hours to learn. This ease of application creation, combined with a tremendous increase in information available to our society, has resulted in a proliferation of hypermedia databases in school, university, and industry settings that is gradually moving into homes. Many of these databases are simply information media. This paper identifies important issues related to classifying a hypermedia–based information system appropriately. Based on a discussion of these issues, a call for systematic research which clarifies the role that hypermedia–based information systems can and should play in an instructional or learning environment is set forth.     

走向纵深的区域史研究——以安涛《中心与边缘:明清以来江南市镇经济社会转型研究》为例

为重建中国历史的描述,社会史学做出了很大的成绩,而且日益向区域化、纵深化发展。江南区域史研究显然处于社会史研究的领军位置。然而无论什么样的新倡导,都不能简单套用现成理论来剪裁中国史实,而是要真正走向纵深去获得更加真切的历史认识。这要求史家怀有历史意识和问题意识,把区域问题置于长时段的历史变迁中加以考察,从而获得有价值的历史感悟与启示。同时史家必须怀有强烈的历史责任感,关心社会发展,这样才能做好区域史研究,为当地社会认识自我提供贯通性的历史思考,同时引领区域社会发展,提升当地的社会史研究。安涛博士以金山县为观察点的江南市镇"中心与边缘"问题研究,可说是区域史研究极具典范性的贯通古今的尝试,其问题从历史中来,又向历史中解答,真正是走向了纵深,从而也关照了区域史研究碎片化的担忧与责难。     

Good DreamsBad Dreams: Text Selection and Censorship in Australia

This essay looks at recent debates about text selection and censorship in Australia. Our aim is to point beyond the terms in which the censorship debate has been conducted in the mass media, and to prompt reflection on how texts are used in English classrooms. We shall raise questions of language and cultural identity in secondary English teaching, arguing the need for a culturally inclusive curriculum that is responsive to the attitudes and values of secondary school students.