A longitudinal study of conceptual change: Preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of moon phases

This research consists of a longitudinal study of 12 female elementary preservice teachers' conceptual understanding over the course of several months. The context in which the participants received instruction was in an inquiry‐based physics course, and the targeted science content was the cause of moon phases. Qualitative research methods, including observations and interviews, were used to investigate and describe participants' conceptual understanding over time. Participants were interviewed on their understanding of the cause of moon phases before instruction, 3 weeks after instruction, and again in delayed post‐interviews several months after instruction. Patterns and themes in the participants' conceptual understanding were identified through constant‐comparative data analysis. Consistent with results reported earlier, participants who had instruction that included recording and analyzing moon observations over time and psychomotor modeling of changes in moon phases were very likely to hold a scientific conceptual understanding shortly after instruction. The present study indicates a majority of participants continued to hold a scientific understanding six months or more after instruction. However, some participants reverted to alternative conceptions they had shown during the pre‐interview. These results are interpreted utilizing contemporary conceptual change theory. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 303–326, 2007     

Framework and operationalisation challenges for quantitative comparative research in higher education

The increasing availability of data on higher education systems, institutions and their members creates new opportunities for comparative research adopting a quantitative approach. The value of future studies crucially depends on the capability to recognise and address some major methodological challenges existing in quantitative comparative research in higher education. The higher education context presents in fact specific features that can hinder comparisons, and political and social processes occurred in recent decades further enhanced complexity. This article aims to discuss key challenges that are currently met in quantitative comparative research in higher education while developing the conceptual framework and in research operationalisation, to discuss possible solutions and the value of configurational and multilevel analytical approaches in identifying meaningful objects of comparisons, to take into account the complexity of the higher education context and in identifying causal relationships.     

A futile search for values and pedagogy? A discursive analysis of the marketing messages of branch-campuses in higher education hubs

Higher education has become a key strategy for the economic development of certain city-states that are positioning themselves as higher education hubs, recruiting both students and foreign providers. This article presents the findings of a research study that examined the online messages of foreign branch-campuses in education hubs (Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore). The project adapts and expands on Fairclough’s notion of critical discourse analysis to include virtual discursive space in order to understand how foreign providers address context, and what values are central to their programming, as they construct their virtual presence in new locations. The findings identify that the dominant themes on institutional websites reflect key issues facing higher education, including quality, leadership, international connections and technological advancement. The paper concludes with a conceptual framework that assists institutions in moving beyond these themes to re-consider context in their overseas operations.     

Comparing England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: The case for 'home internationals' in comparative research

The differences among the four education systems of the UK are often perceived as a nuisance by comparative researchers. This paper argues that they are also an opportunity. It describes the four systems and summarises their similarities and differences. It then presents five reasons for giving 'home international' comparisons a more prominent role in comparative research. These are, respectively: their potential contribution to theoretical debates; specific differences among the four systems, which touch on core problems of educational research; the practical value of home international comparisons; their potential for policy learning; and the relative ease of conducting them.     

Conceptual and procedural approaches to mathematics in the engineering curriculum: views of qualified engineers*

The research interest underpinning this paper concerns the type of mathematical knowledge engineering students may acquire during their specialised education in terms of the conceptual and procedural dimensions of doing and using mathematics. This study draws on interviews with 25 qualified engineers from South Africa and Sweden regarding their views on the role of mathematics in engineering education, with special focus on the conceptual and procedural aspects of mathematical knowledge. A thematic analysis of the interview data led to the identification of two main themes. According to the conceptual view a predominantly conceptual approach is needed and valued more than procedural skills, while the balanced view emphasises a balance of conceptual understanding and procedural fluency as well as links between them. It is suggested that the mathematical education of engineers would need to be more conceptually oriented to prepare for the demands at the workplace.     

The research environment of universities

Part‐time study is one of the foci of the widening participation agenda in the UK. The experiences of part‐time students, however, have received remarkably little attention from scholars, especially in a comparative context. This paper explores existing historical data going back over a decade to identify the main themes of part‐time experience at a number of UK higher education institutions and how it compares and contrasts with the full‐time experience. The surveys use the Student Satisfaction Approach. The main themes emerging from institutional survey data over time are the work/family/study balance, assessment and feedback, access to learning and catering resources, and students' financial situation. There is sometimes a question of identity, but unlike many studies of part‐time student experience, which focus on aspects of disadvantage, social, and cultural capital, the data for this paper indicate that many part‐time students have a sense of themselves as being ignored or at worst marginalised in contemporary higher education.     

Continuing education and the universities in Britain: The political context

The starting point for this paper is the current ambition in Norway and other countries to increase the rate of entry into higher education of mature students. Intransigency amongst suppliers of higher education on entry standards means that any such increase must involve a greater preparedness amongst adults to pursue access to higher education via participation in higher secondary education. The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of the preparedness of adults, or lack of it, to pursue access to higher education through participation in the examination‐based higher secondary education (HSE) for adults. In doing so we must confront the general underutilization of theory in research into participation in adult education coupled to the failure by researcher and theoretician alike to acknowledge the heterogeneity of the field. The article develops a conceptual framework of perspectives on participation in HSE for adults within which the core perspectives are derived from the prevailing theoretical approach to understanding participation in adult education, viz. the motivation‐barriers paradigm. We argue, however, that these perspectives are ultimately only of intermediary status, and that a conceptual framework that does not include their major causal antecedents would be overly reductionist. The framework contains therefore perspectives of a sociological character that not only shed light on the development of the necessary motivation for participation in HSE for adults, but that also seek to account for the structural forces that hinder participation.     

Three Decades of Implementation Research in Higher Education: Limitations and Prospects of Theory Development

The article adopts a comparative approach to review three periods of theory development in research into higher education policy implementation. Given the conceptual affinity between Cerych and Sabatier's 1986 seminal study into higher education policy implementation and public policy implementation theory, the field of public policy is chosen for reference and comparison. The article argues, first, that the underlying characteristics of higher education research such as sector‐isolatedness, application drift and sensitivity to political agendas hindered the development of sector‐specific theories of policy implementation. Second, this gap in theory formation started to be narrowed from the late 1990s onwards, due to critical reappraisal of the 1986 study and due to limited utilisation of mid‐range theory concepts conceived within or related to the public policy field. It is through the utilisation of such public policy theory that higher education implementation research may reach a more mature stage.     

On the importance of comparative research: the case of folkbiology

If our goal as researchers is to understand the range and complexity of human conceptual development, increased attention to comparative research is essential. I draw on research in the domain of folkbiology-commonsense understandings of plants and animals--to argue that several lines of comparative research are needed to understand the acquisition of folkbiology in particular and conceptual development in general. First, comparisons are needed between children and adults within a given society. It is impossible to understand the process of conceptual development without a detailed look at adult endstates in a domain. Second, comparisons are needed between adult endstates in different contexts. For a complete understanding of conceptual development we must understand the range of variability of adult conceptual systems. Finally, comparisons are needed among children developing in different contexts. Such research complements comparative work on adults and would serve to distinguish between universal and particular patterns of development and thus to inform and constrain accounts of conceptual development.     

Explanatory accounts in international and comparative higher education research

Developing plausible explanations rooted in theory and supported by evidence is a challenge for comparative higher education studies. The purpose of this article is to consider how comparative studies in higher education might develop accounts that allow the research community to enhance explanatory power. Higher education studies can advance explanations about what is happening and why, as well as interpret the meaning of occurrences by drawing broadly on realist scholarly traditions. Rather than prioritising a methodology, the field should prioritise essential questions and address them with all appropriate empirical tools. Avenues for explanatory research include bounded case studies, multi‐method investigations into specific phenomena, mechanism‐based approaches and macro‐social analysis.     

BLACK POWER AND BLACK STUDENTS IN KANSAS CITY

In this research I examined the enactment of liberatory pedagogy, a teaching practice that promotes equity for all learners, from the uniquely informative perspective of young women majoring in mathematics and elementary education. It is grounded theory that seeks to understand the role of personal identity and social location in learning and teaching. I collected data over a two-year period, following two young women from the final semester of their teacher education program to their first teaching positions. Three distinct influences inform the conceptual framework of this study: (a) the underrepresentation of women in mathematics; (b) the devaluing of elementary teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge; and (c) the marginalization of the education major and pedagogical knowledge. I ask research questions regarding the type of preservice education these women experience and how it informs their enactment of liberatory pedagogy. Themes among the findings include coping with being a stranger in both lands, the desire to know oneself as a learner, and enacting liberatory pedagogy as beginning inservice teachers.     

Comparative higher education: potentials and limits

Research on higher education is an object-focussed area based on a broad range of disciplines. The institutional base is often shaky and diverse. Various characteristics, notably the blurred distinction between the scholar and the reflective practitioner, contribute to considerable tensions, though research on higher education enjoys substantial public attention.Interest in comparative research on higher education grew in recent years and was reinforced by the community of higher education researchers in Europe. As it can be conceptually and methodologically demanding and fruitful, the growing interest could serve as a stimulus for enhancing a common identity and a growing quality. However, few comparative research designs represent the ideal type of setting a research agenda of clearly defined hypotheses to be tested, and if they do so, the study mostly turns out to be too simplistic due to disregard of the complex context. Rather, most comparative projects are exploratory and most productive in providing unexpected insight.In addition, comparative research faces many problems of a practical nature. Costly research seems to be granted sufficient funds only if it addresses issues of current political concern. Language barriers and limits of field knowledge often lead to a poor provision of information. International collaborative research teams tend to be vulnerable due to, among others, a heterogeneity of schools of thoughts, spiralling costs and different work styles.The author argues that comparative studies on higher education are most fruitful in destroying conceptual reasoning based on narrow experience; they are a gold mine for the early stages of conceptual restructuring. They are indispensible for understanding a reality shaped by common international trends, reforms based on comparative observation, growing trans-national activities and partial supra-national integration in higher education. Comparative projects can be regarded as theoretically and methodologically most promising if they are based on a semi-structured research design, whereby the strengths of various conceptual approaches in explaining the phenomena are analysed and the researchers systematically deal with the fact that the project is likely to generate surprising information requiring to restructure the initial conceptual framework.     

Culture as inter- and intra-personal mediator: considering the notion of conceptual porosity and its connection to culture as a concept

This study reports a collective case study of five science education graduate students to highlight the role of culture as an influential component within their conceptual understandings of urban science education. Conceptual change theory was used as a theoretical framework to explore the negotiations that five graduate students experienced during a semester-long ‘Urban and Multicultural Science Education’ course geared toward increasing conceptual complexity (i.e., the ways students make connections between concepts). Negotiation—the way these students’ adopted, resisted, or considered new inter-conceptual complexity—was studied through how these learners activated and applied their understandings. Findings support that culture influenced the development of conceptual complexity for the themes studied by increasing the permeability of concepts to connect to one another—coined here as conceptual porosity. This complexity is represented through the inter-conceptual connectivity that developed temporally during learning experiences. Implications for these findings are discussed, as well.

     

Reconceptualising moderation in asynchronous online discussions using grounded theory

This article reports a grounded theory study of the moderation of asynchronous online discussions, to explore the processes by which tutors in higher education decide when and how to moderate. It aims to construct a theory of e‐moderation based on some key factors which appear to influence e‐moderation. It discusses previous research on the definition and practice of e‐moderation, and then describes the study, which involved four e‐moderators working in two different university contexts. Key themes on e‐moderation, which emerged using a grounded theory approach, are discussed. It proposes a framework for e‐moderation and suggests that as a facilitative activity, it should be sufficiently contained within a ring‐fenced learning arena. Factors outside and inside the ring‐fence that appear to influence e‐moderation and their implications for future theory development and validation are discussed.     

Changing our minds: a commentary on ‘Conceptual change: a discussion of theoretical, methodological and practical challenges for science education’

This paper begins with a consideration of some important themes dealt with in the paper by Treagust and Duit. These include the relationship between research on conceptual change and educational practice, the significance of emotion and identity in the process of conceptual change, and role of cognitive conflict in motivating change. I then argue that the authors implicitly assert the importance of spoken dialogue as a motor for conceptual change, but do not give it the proper, explicit recognition that it deserves. I first use their own data of transcribed talk to make this point, and then go on to elaborate my case by drawing on other research. Talk amongst students and teacher–student talk are both considered. My conclusion is that while more empirical research is needed to understand how dialogue is involved in conceptual change, available evidence shows very clearly that the role of talk and social interaction is so significant that it cannot be ignored. It is therefore necessary for theoretical accounts to deal with both social (i.e. communicative) and cognitive aspects of conceptual change.

论数据挖掘对比较教育研究的影响

教育数据挖掘是综合运用数学统计、机器学习和数据挖掘的技术和方法,对教育大数据进行处理和分析,通过数据建模,来预测个体未来的学习趋势。其应用领域主要包括个体的知识与行为建模以及学习趋势分析。纵观我国比较教育研究近些年的研究趋势,逐渐将数据挖掘纳入其研究方法之一,这使得比较教育学有了更加广泛的研究队伍。对数据挖掘与运用的趋势对比较教育学科本身也带来了挑战,因为数据的可获取性与公共性巩固和加强了实证主义跨国比较与研究,而忽略了地方的社会文化背景,导致比较教育研究的"去情境化"以及"过于简化"。有鉴于此,比较教育学者应该充分把握研究对象的社会、文化环境,不应该让单一研究范式过度主导自己的思维。     

Comparative Education in a Microcosm: Methodological Insights from the International Schools Sector in Hong Kong

Many studies in the field of comparative education take national education systems as the basic unit of analysis. The present paper has been conceived within this tradition, but has a different angle of approach. It focuses on 47 international schools in a small territory. Some of the international schools were grouped into larger systems but others were free-standing institutions. The focus of the paper thus lies at an intersection between cross-national and intra-national comparisons. It makes methodological observations on the nature of comparisons that are possible within such a microcosm, and on the conceptual lessons that can be derived from such analysis.     

Comparative Education in a Microcosm: Methodological Insights from the International Schools Sector in Hong Kong

Many studies in the field of comparative education take national education systems as the basic unit of analysis. The present paper has been conceived within this tradition, but has a different angle of approach. It focuses on 47 international schools in a small territory. Some of the international schools were grouped into larger systems but others were free-standing institutions. The focus of the paper thus lies at an intersection between cross-national and intra-national comparisons. It makes methodological observations on the nature of comparisons that are possible within such a microcosm, and on the conceptual lessons that can be derived from such analysis.     

中国比较教育研究发展:质性研究路径选择

本文提出中国比较教育研究发展的质性研究路径选择议题,着重讨论了其合理性、必要性、制度保障等内容.文章重点讨论了中国比较教育研究中比较的不充分性问题,具体表现为:比较单位的整体性和局部性之间的矛盾,对象国之间教育优势和劣势的比较认知差距,比较单位的历史性和当代性之间非一致性,比较单位的文明性和现实性之间的落差,比较单位实践论和认识论之间的不可通约性,比较单位的本体论和价值论之间的不可调和性,比较单位之间的时间错位性,比较教育学者的研究身份在本土性和他国性的研究对象选择上的分隔性,比较教育理论建构的中国力量不足.进而论证中国比较教育研究发展的质性研究路径选择的必要性,并提出中国比较教育研究发展的质性研究路径选择的制度保障的建议.     

Politics,knowledge and objectivity in sociology of education: a response to the case for ‘ethical reflexivity’ by Gewirtz and Cribb

The present article examines the relationship between political values and social research, with particular reference to the case for ethical reflexivity in sociology of education put forward by Gewirtz and Cribb. It is argued that their case for such reflexivity is flawed by conceptual imprecision and over‐determination of the links between value commitments, knowledge and the political implications of research. Drawing on a case study of a controversy in sociology of education, combined with a more discriminating conceptual analysis of political values in social research, it is suggested that the Gewirtz–Cribb ‘manifesto’ for routine ethical reflexivity may be inefficient and impractical. An alternative way of thinking about political reflexivity in sociology of education is offered, as are some possible avenues of philosophical resolution between the main protagonists of the longstanding debate on ‘what to do about values’ in sociology of education.