Creating technology-enriched classrooms: implementational challenges in Turkish education

This paper provides an overview of the status of educational technology in Turkey. In the face of severe social and economic challenges, many developing nations, including Turkey, are looking to education as a potential remedy. Recognizing that in an increasingly technology-dependent world, information and communications technology skills and knowledge are critical in order to compete in the global marketplace, Turkey is firmly committed not only to improving its education system, but also to incorporating the use of educational technologies into the instructional strategy and curriculum used in schools. This is a critical initiative because, as research shows, technology-enriched educational environments can provide students with significantly expanded learning opportunities, which are linked with increased levels of academic achievement. However, like many other developing countries, Turkey is struggling to overcome a number of serious barriers to full technology integration at the classroom level, the most significant of which is non-compliance on the part of teachers. With respect to technology use in education, teachers are consistently failing to utilize technological tools for instruction purposes, for a variety of reasons. Turkey must address these reasons in order to ensure that the agenda of technology adoption into schools, an enormously expensive undertaking, does not fail.     

Incidence of violence in Turkish schools: A review

The present article deals with the incidence of violence cases inTurkish schools. A review of research based on published research reports andunpublished M.Sc. and Ph.D. dissertations is presented and basic lines of researchare discussed. Special emphasis was placed upon culturally specific issues,besides the culturally determined attitudes of parents and teachers. The need for anationwide system for the prevention of violence and corporal punishment wasemphasized.     

东地中海地区局势对土耳其外交政策的影响分析

在过去的数十年间,东地中海国家土耳其、塞浦路斯和以色列之间外交关系的不断升温预示东地中海地区强权政治时代的到来。在这些国家中,土耳其以其在地区层面上不断上升的自信和地区称霸的野心使其成为在地区政治中有着重要影响力的国家。随着经济和社会的发展,土耳其在诸如塞浦路斯海洋开发权的争议问题的解决上发挥着越来越大的作用,同时,土耳其的政治家和外交官们更加关注土耳其在解决地区问题上的角色,当面对地区竞争和挑战时,土耳其应该正视其世俗的穆斯林民主政体和作为一个负责任地区大国的角色,而不仅仅是对别国进行敌视。只有与竞争对手进行合作和建设性的对话,实行更为温和、平衡的外交政策,才有助于其实现地区强国的梦想。     

Successful implementation of information and communication technology integration in Malaysian public schools: An activity systems analysis approach

This multiple-case study drew upon Engeström's (1987) activity theory (AT) to understand the conditions and explain the systematic contradictions that facilitate successful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in schools. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis from one primary and one secondary public school in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were carried out with nine participants, including principals, ICT coordinators, and teachers. Findings revealed three conditions that led to successful ICT integration: 1) types of ICT tools in the school, 2) rules and regulations in the school that shape the ICT culture, and 3) division of labour within the school community. The findings indicate that school stakeholders must work together to resolve tensions introduced by systemic contradictions in different activity systems, which shape school ICT culture. The study aims to enrich the discourse on ICT integration by assisting school stakeholders to reflect on their own ICT integration strategies.     

Leadership,partnerships, and organizational development: exploring components of effectiveness in three full-service community schools

Full-service community schools are viewed as an approach to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for underserved student populations. The realization of these goals, however, is not guaranteed. According to Richardson’s (2009) research-based model of highly effective community schools (HECS), the effectiveness of full-service community schools depends on 3 interrelated components: leadership, partnerships, and organizational development. This qualitative case study uses the HECS model to examine different levels of effectiveness among 3 full-service community schools in an urban district in the eastern United States. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of Richardson’s model for practice and research.     

Exploring organisational stratification and technological pedagogical change: cases of technology integration specialists in Hong Kong international schools

An international school may make organisational choices that divide the school by curriculum, grade-level, language and location. This article explores how a school’s organisational stratification impacts how the school supports changing teaching and learning practices through technology. The article draws from case data of technology integration specialists at international schools in Hong Kong. A variety of organisational sections and responses to imbalances in technological pedagogical support between sections are presented. The findings highlight how stratification may not only act as an appropriate valve for change and facilitate intercultural exchange through technology but also perpetuate existing inequalities within and between schools.     

新一代综合教务管理系统技术体系的设计与实现

教务管理信息化建设是高校教育教学改革的重要支撑。随着高校信息化建设的逐步深入以及高校教学管理理念的不断变革,基于信息集成的新一代综合教务系统建设需求日益增长。文章结合清华大学综合教务管理系统的建设实践,提出了新一代综合教务系统的系统架构、建设技术及运行技术,为高校新一代综合教务管理系统的建设提供了参考。     

Engaging with Bourdieu’s theory of practice: an empirical tool for exploring school students’ technology practice

ABSTRACT

This article presents Bourdieu’s theory of practice as a tool for exploring school students’ technology practice in empirical research. The authors provide educational technology researchers with an accessible introduction to the theory of practice. They then detail the conceptual, methodological and analytic application of the theory of practice in two educational technology studies. The application of the theory in the two studies highlights the potential of the sociological framing for informing a robust critical research agenda and understanding the circumstances that can contribute to digital inequalities. Practically, knowledge gained through theoretically informed research is critical for researchers, governments, schools and teachers in working to overcome digital inequalities.     

Educational technology on a turning point: curriculum implementation in Flanders and challenges for schools

In this essay, we state that establishing technology curricula by national governments causes a shift in the policy actions of educational technology support: from a technical rationale with a main focus on funding and resources to a pedagogical rationale with a main focus on student competencies. We illustrate our point of view by describing the formal educational technology curriculum recently administered by the government in Flanders. This curriculum is written in terms of attainment targets and has clear implications on the nature of educational technology which is no longer dependent on teachers’ individual efforts or willingness, but is becoming compulsory at the school level. Furthermore, we present two levers that facilitate the integration process of educational technology in general and the realization of technology curricula in particular. Technology coordinators should act more as curriculum managers and change agents, and schools should jointly establish a technology policy plan.

Pedagogical intersectionality: exploring content,technology, and student-centered learning through a problem based/project based approach

ABSTRACT

A narrative case study exploring the course design and implementation of a capstone undergraduate course for future teachers taught with a lens of pedagogical intersectionality, an integration of K-12 history-social science content, advocating for students, and technology. Four undergraduate students’ perspectives on the taught concepts of culturally sustaining pedagogies, universal design for learning and social justice through multimodal approaches resulting in the creation and facilitation of a digital one-day lesson (DODL) that incorporates course tenets and use of technology. Data was collected from course surveys, reflections, DODL lesson plan, and DODL Post microteaching reflections. Themes generated from the data sources were personal learning experiences, cultural respect and acknowledgement, pedagogical growing pains, fatigue, and synthesis occurring in DODL. Collaborators responded to student comments and reflected on course design and goals to foster independent learning of course tenets. Future research will involve additional analysis of subsequent sections of the course based on feedback and reflective modifications learned through this project.     

Operationalising pedagogical content knowledge research in technology education: Considerations for methodological approaches to exploring enacted practice

Like many areas of curricula internationally, technology education has encountered difficulties in achieving continuity between the rhetoric of prevailing policy and the reality of enacted practices. In technology education, the conceptually oriented nature of curricular goals is theorised to play a significant part in influencing this relationship. One way in which investigations of this relationship have been approached is considering the application of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) frameworks as a mechanism to understand the interaction of teachers’ knowledge and enacted practices. However, understanding from the philosophy of technology, and the technology education literature, suggests that technology education treats knowledge differently to many other disciplines. As a result of this, the interactions between teachers’ beliefs and knowledge are theorised to play a more significant role in influencing enacted practice in technology education. Building on this perspective, this article considers the need to investigate the roles of teachers’ knowledge and beliefs, and the interactions between these, in the investigation of enacted practice. Further to this, the article problematises the potential for a dominance of exploratory research, though acknowledging the need for research within different paradigms; a common frame of reference is advocated. In advocating a more holistic approach to investigating enacted practice, and the factors which may influence teachers’ enactment of teaching practice, it is envisioned that this article takes a step towards methodological coherence regarding the study of enacted practice in technology education.     

Restructuring reforms in Turkish teacher education: Modernisation and development in a dynamic environment

The paper examines the effectiveness of recent reforms in teacher education in Turkey, specifically the restructuring of programmes in university faculties of education. It first, briefly, sets the reforms of the 1990s in an historical context, prior to the 1997 Act which increased the length of compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years, and the 1998 restructuring of faculties of education. It considers the national need for the restructuring of teacher education and the issues involved. The thrust of the paper is a study of how teacher educators across the country perceive both the changes and their effect on the quality of teacher education, methodology as a discipline, school partnerships, and relationships with the Ministry of National Education.     

信息技术与高中语文课程整合的教学设计初探

信息技术与学科课程整合是目前教育界探究的热门话题之一,整合的模式和方法也有很多种。在正确理解课程整合内涵的基础上,阐述了信息技术与高中语文课程整合的内涵及其特点,并对信息技术与高中语文课程整合的教学设计方法进行了探讨。     

Instructional technology: A tool or a panacea?

It is time to recognize that educational technology cannot be considered a panacea for educational reform. Technology, when properly used, can be a very effective tool for improving and enhancing instruction and learning experiences in the content areas. However, incorporation of electronic tools, such as computers and videodiscs, into classrooms must be accompanied by systemic change in the educational process. Successful utilization of technology depends on how we provide teachers with the necessary environment for training, tools for instruction, and technology evaluation skills. This paper examines some of the misuses of technology and then explores the appropriate use of technology in the context of current educational reform. The focus is on the integration of technology in the educational process that provides a learning environment allowing discovery and creativity through the use of computer visualizations. The teacher is seen as the essential element, requiring a solid foundation in the general applications of technology, and the ability to evaluate and select systems that are effective and efficient for specific applications.     

Teachers ’ conversations about civic education: Policy and practice in Australian schools

Civic education has been a priority for many countries in the Asia Pacific region over the past decade. Governments of different persuasions have recognized the need to provide stability and cohesion in their societies. This has been particularly so at a time when globalization and other forces threaten to fragment the nation state and co-opt its citizens into broader realms of allegiance and commitment. Policy makers have not been slow to come up with new directions for civic education in the school curriculum and the literature now abounds with examples from different countries. Yet missing from this flurry of policy development has been recognition of the role that teachers play in constructing civic education programs at the school level. In the end, it is teachers in classrooms who determine how centralized polices are understood and implemented. Drawing on a sample of Australian teachers, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the role that teachers play in constructing and reconstructing civic education policy in schools and classrooms. Interviews conducted with teachers in four Australian States/Territories have revealed that teachers ’ personal views of civics are more likely to influence them than external policies, their focus is more on citizenship than formal civics programs and that they are reluctant to develop programs where civic knowledge is formalized and disciplined based. The research reported in this paper was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The views expressed are those of the authors and not the ARC.     

Policy and practice: the changing nature of special educational provision in schools

Carol Vincent (a former teacher in London primary and special schools, now a lecturer in Special Education at the Open University), and Jennifer Evans, Ingrid Lunt & Pam Young (from the London Institute of Education) draw on data collected in a recent research project, which studied the effects of LMS on the funding and organisation of specials education services and resources, to provide a snapshot of some recent developments in special education provision.     

信息技术与教育教学深度融合的理论与实践

信息技术与教育的深度融合既是教育信息化的核心内容,也是实现教育信息化的途径和方法。本文从信息技术与教育教学融合的基本路径分析入手,对融合特点的分析、基本内容的设定、契合点与实践应用等4个方面进行了深入研究与探讨,对指导信息化条件下的教学改革有一定参考价值。     

Faculty integration of technology in teacher preparation: outcomes of a development model

This article reports on a faculty development model that uses a variety of approaches and strategies to help faculty restructure their curricula and effectively model technology integration for their students. A multifaceted model, funded in part by the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) initiative, was implemented at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The model included training, technical and collegial support, access, and incentives. Questionnaires and qualitative data indicated substantive changes in faculty expectations and assumptions regarding technology as well as increases in faculty and student technology skills and the degree to which faculty members integrate technology into their curricula. The model helped to facilitate the collaborative efforts of a cadre of faculty to model and integrate technology throughout their teacher preparation programs.     

服装设计与工程专业毕业设计实践教学的研究

针对高等教育服装设计与工程专业培养目标, 结合惠州学院服装系连续十六年的毕业设计教学实践经验, 就服装设计与工程专业毕业设计的实践教学模式进行了研究, 并提出了建议性方案。     

Integration in Italian schools: teachers' perceptions regarding day-to-day practice and its effectiveness

Italy is famous for having the highest percentage of students with disabilities attending ‘the school for all’ (integration). However, in recent studies, the reality of integration seems to be more complex. Integration has reached some important goals (e.g. longer school careers), but while the Italian school system envisages the full participation of all students in normal class activities, there are various problems with the way in which integration is managed day-to-day. This study has two aims: to ascertain the extent to which the Italian legislation on integration is applied in practice and to assess the effectiveness of integration in terms of reaching the learning and social development objectives for students with disabilities and the class as a whole. The article describes the data collected though an online questionnaire compiled by 3230 Italian school staff members, mostly teachers. First, it shows that the integration experience of most of the students with disabilities takes the form of partial participation in class activities. Reasons for it are hypothesised. Second, the teachers' level of satisfaction with the learning and social skills of both students with disabilities and the class is generally positive. A although by no means outstandingly so.