Constructing inclusive education in a neo‐liberal context: Promoting inclusion of Arab‐Australian students in an Australian context

School systems are a major social change agent capable of challenging social inequalities and economic disadvantages. Yet, while schools in Australia are being confronted with increasingly culturally diverse populations as well as an increasing focus on student retention, this transformative role is increasingly being played out in a broader educational context that has been found to replicate rather than challenge patterns of social inequality. Successive governments in Australia have responded to this context with a raft of policy initiatives. This paper, based on three‐year longitudinal research undertaken in the city of Melbourne, outlines this policy context and introduces the theoretical approach that underpins its innovative approach to managing cultural diversity in educational institutions. It argues for, and presents, a multidimensional model for managing cultural diversity in schools, one that provides the tools for transformative practices to be undertaken to effect positive change in school environments for the benefit of all students.     

Preparing future citizens for post ‘Chernobyl’ Ukraine: A national calamity brings about reform of science education

This paper responds to the challenge of how educational research might be practised in a contemporary world that is no longer necessarily organised by nearness and unity. Focusing on ethnography, it argues for what a multi-sited imaginary contributes to research in the field of education. By giving prominence to the notion of multi-sited ethnography as it has been developed by the anthropologist George Marcus this paper shows how ethnography conceived this way is now necessary in educational research. By bringing together recent concepts from anthropology with educational ethnography, it provides an analysis and reconstruction of how to go about doing ethnography in a world that is characterised by partial connections. To highlight the contributions to education of this research imaginary the paper provides an example of how to approach a specific research topic in this field. In sum, this paper makes a unique contribution to educational research by providing an ethnographic approach for the study of contemporary educational lives.     

Cultural Transmission and Inter-generational Interaction

A number of educationists have attacked the concept of cultural transmission as being unable to cover adequately the complex process of interaction that takes place in education. This attack poses a serious challenge to educational research, which generally assumes that cultural transmission has an important place in the educational process. Should this assumption prove to be unfounded, the foundations of educational research would be undermined. This article defends the concept of cultural transmission against the three main criticisms that have been levelled against it, and concludes that it remains a valuable one for educational researchers.     

Collaboration for Inclusion: Practitioner Perspectives

Collaboration as a cornerstone of effective school inclusion is an idea that has high theoretical currency among many scholars in the areas of special education and educational leadership. The challenge for educational practitioners is to find ways to implement high-quality special education programs collaboratively amid the public call for school efficiency and accountability. Accordingly, the primary purpose of the qualitative research project reported in this article was to examine inherent challenges in the implementation of school inclusion programs in ten public schools in North Louisiana over a three-year period. Data collection methods included participatory observation, semi-structured interviews with nine teachers and three principals in four schools, two focus groups, and a document search. The findings revealed the critical and challenging role of the principal for establishing collaborative cultures for successful school inclusion. Additionally, special education teachers and general education teachers experienced intrapersonal and interpersonal value conflicts in the pursuit of educational equity amidst a climate of school accountability.     

Cultural Transmission and Inter-generational Interaction

A number of educationists have attacked the concept of cultural transmission as being unable to cover adequately the complex process of interaction that takes place in education. This attack poses a serious challenge to educational research, which generally assumes that cultural transmission has an important place in the educational process. Should this assumption prove to be unfounded, the foundations of educational research would be undermined. This article defends the concept of cultural transmission against the three main criticisms that have been levelled against it, and concludes that it remains a valuable one for educational researchers.     

以科学的方法研究学习：连接CSCL的研究与实践

自上个世纪80年代以来,计算机支持的协作学习（CSCL）迅速成长为一个跨学科的、充满生机的研究领域,在以科学方法研究学习方面产生了积极影响,并形成了一个国际化的研究共同体。作为一种有望用于实践教育变革的创新学习模式,计算机支持的协作学习也面临着将理论研究成果与教育实践相连接的挑战。从历史角度看,CSCL研究领域的这种趋势是必然的,正如CSCL2011年会主题所展示的,在CSCL领域所开展的研究,需要通过与实践的连接体现其意义和价值。因此,有必要从连接实践的角度对计算机支持的协作学习研究进行新的解读,试图将其视为一种社会性实践,并通过文献的回顾,发现对这种社会性实践如何加以分析,以及如何对这种社会性实践活动进行设计。     

The politics of educational transfer and policymaking in Egypt

For the past two centuries, western modern education has informed education policies and practices in Egypt. However, few researchers have analyzed the historical or current politics of educational transfer in this country. This article investigates the ways in which foreign transfer has influenced Egyptian education, both historically and currently. It concludes that current Egyptian education is a product of inappropriately adapted foreign transfers coupled with domestic interest in spreading education with little attention to its quality. Egypt has recently received considerable support from the international community and has been influenced by global educational discourses. Yet, its educational reforms have met little, if any, success as they have been introduced into a system with characteristics that are historically ingrained and resistant to change, and into a contested context of competing interest groups and a climate of mistrust. The result is a disoriented education system full of problems.     

Prospective Primary Teachers' Understanding of Climate Change, Greenhouse Effect, and Ozone Layer Depletion

Climate change is one of the most serious global environmental problems and for that reason there has been lately a great interest in educating pupils, the future citizens, about it. Previous research has shown that pupils of all ages and teachers hold many misconceptions and misunderstandings concerning this issue. This paper reports on research concerning student teachers' perceptions about aspects of climate change as well as about greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion. The aim of this research is to take findings into account for teaching student teachers about these issues. An open-ended questionnaire was used in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their thought. From their answers it appeared that these students believe that climate change is under way and base their beliefs on their own experience. They are unaware of the proper actions to be taken for slowing down the climate change, they also hold the misconception that ozone depletion, acid rain, and pollution in general are conducive to climate change. They confuse greenhouse effect with ozone depletion as far as the mechanisms through which they occur is concerned and the causal compounds. By taking into account these research findings the possible implications for teaching are discussed and some suggestions for more effective teaching are made.     

Conceptualizing climate change in the context of a climate system: implications for climate and environmental education

Today there is much interest in teaching secondary students about climate change. Much of this effort has focused directly on students’ understanding of climate change. We hypothesize, however, that in order for students to understand climate change they must first understand climate as a system and how changes to this system due to both natural and human influences result in climatic and environmental changes and feedbacks. The purpose of this article is to articulate a climate system framework for teaching about climate change and to stimulate discussion about what secondary students should know and understand about a climate system. We first provide an overview of the research on secondary students’ conceptions of climate and climate change. We then present a climate system framework for teaching about climate and climate change that builds on students’ conceptions and scientific perspectives. We conclude by articulating a draft conceptual progression based on students’ conceptions and our climate system framework as a means to inform curriculum development, instructional design, and future research in climate and environmental education.     

Education responses to climate change and quality: Two parts of the same agenda?

Increasing attention to climate change and the current global economic crisis has underscored the need for approaches to education that equip and empower people of all ages to deal with uncertain environmental, economic and political futures. A range of educational and research initiatives already exist which could support this aim, however, policy and discussion continue to focus on technical solutions or ‘knowledge transfer’ without seriously engaging with the content of education. This paper suggests that education responses are needed which attend to provision of both appropriate educational infrastructure and relevant knowledge and skills. It also explores the connections between education for sustainable development (ESD) and education quality, and argues that these frameworks already support potentially effective education responses to climate change.     

Classroom behavioural climate in inclusive education – a study on secondary students’ perceptions

Previous studies pointed out that dealing with difficult behaviour is perceived by teachers as a major challenge in inclusive settings. However, research on the students' perception of the classroom behavioural climate (CBC) is rare. Therefore, this study aims to examine students’ perceptions of CBC and to identify predictors of CBC as well as associated variables. The sample consists of 650 German students from secondary schools (5th-9th grade) of whom 83 students are diagnosed with special educational needs (SEN). CBC was measured via four subscales (‘students’ possibilities to study and concentrating on teaching’, ‘disruptive behaviour’, ‘physical and psychological safety’ and ‘caring for the physical environment’). Results show significant differences in students’ perceptions of CBC between students from different school tracks. Furthermore, gender (being male) and SEN (having a) predict the perception of ‘physical and psychological safety’. Additionally, social inclusion, emotional experience as well as teacher support and care are associated with CBC. Accordingly, a positive CBC is important for the successful implementation of inclusive education: while diversity in classrooms is a challenge for behavioural climate, poor behavioural climate may also pose specific barriers to learning for some students with SEN and thus is a general challenge for equity in inclusive classrooms.     

Addressing research at the intersection of academic literacies and new technology

Academic literacies research has significantly informed educational practice across a range of disciplines. But this influence has largely been through a focus on genres of written language. The growth of new information and communication technologies demands a broader view of academic literacy and how it now informs situations of learning. This challenge is discussed in relation to a number of characteristics associated with computer-based communications, including representational diversity, non-linearity and new conceptions of authorship and responsibility. It is argued that educational practice must recognise new demands on reading these new forms as well as new divides and disillusionments associated with them. However, there are also new opportunities to be seized for learner participation in the creative process. Finally, examples are recruited to argue for research in this area that is both more ecological and more developmental in orientation.     

Biology students and training for physics teaching

There has been an increasing emphasis upon the concept of ‘time on task’ within the educational research community, especially in the USA. The idea that the amount of time which children spend ‘on task’ influences their learning has certain attractions in the current educational and economic climate. In this paper it is argued that the research base of the time on task research is suspect and educationally barren. Finally, it is suggested that the notion of time on task is a proxy for the notion of ‘attention’ and that information contained in methods texts is more subtle and relevant to the needs of the class teacher than the findings emerging from time on task research.     

The Leadership of Transition: Correction, Conciliation and Change in South African Education

This paper focuses on educational leadership in the context of social transition to post-apartheid democracy in South Africa. Transitional leaders manifest behaviours, attitudes, values and strategies that are deeply related to the contexts within which they work. Social norms and political climate may not be supportive of educational leaders wishing to rise to the challenge of unplanned transition; however this paper focuses on leaders who take up this challenge. Narratives of three educational leaders, two white and one black, provide an understanding of the complexities and challenges involved in bringing about change that goes against the grain of social, community, or institutional expectations. Five common strands that bind the narratives of the three leaders are revealed. These commonalities are: a sense of moral purpose, a sense of human frailty, a sense of racial inclusion, a sense of political complexity, and a sense of personal growth. In conclusion, seven propositions that may form the building blocks for new ways of thinking about leadership in post conflict societies are presented.     

Researching Race Within Educational Psychology Contexts

In this article, we question why race as a sociohistorical construct has not traditionally been investigated in educational psychology research. To do so, we provide a historical discussion of the significance of race as well as present current dilemmas in the exploration of race, including an examination of the incidence and prevalence of race-related constructs in top educational psychology journals. As a means of expanding educational psychology's use of race as a sociohistorical construct, we introduce the concepts of race-focused and race-reimaged constructs. We end the article with suggestions for how we can begin exploring race as a sociohistorical construct in the field of educational psychology, including the need to challenge traditional paradigms and embrace culturally relevant methodologies.     

关于民族地区外语教学改革的思考

人类正处在一个瞬息万变的信息时代。语言作为人类最重要的信息载体正受到前所未有的重视和关注。因此，21世纪我国的外语教学将面临新的挑战，这也为民族地区外语教学的发展提供了千载难逢的机遇。要有效提高本地区外语教学水平，必须改变传统的教育观和人才观。     

Educational leadership and change: structural challenges in the implementation of a shifting paradigm

A great deal of research has been conducted regarding leadership and change. The impact of this research has not been limited to academe, but rather, government policy in different jurisdictions has been directly impacted by developments into collegial forms of leadership. While the positive correlation between leadership and change has been widely acknowledged, this article argues that a disconnect has emerged between the theory and practice signifying that the efficacy of change remains hampered by structural constraints and subjective factors that result in unpredicted outcomes. To explore this thesis, the fundamentals of educational leadership theory, our ability (or inability) to manage change and an analysis of the difficulties faced by leaders as they move from theory to praxis are examined.     

Government Policy and School Development

The last 10 or 15 years of this century have been a time of great challenge as well as considerable excitement for educational systems around the world. Governments everywhere have been embarking on substantial programmes of reform in an attempt to develop more effective school systems and raise levels of student learning and achievement. We see in these policy initiatives an unfortunate paradox that inhibits them from realising their aspirations. The community of educational change researchers and practitioners has finally begun to learn something about how ongoing improvement can be fostered and sustained in schools. However, government policy on education has not taken adequate account of this knowledge about school development, with the result that an enormous potential source of synergy has been lost and student learning continues to lag behind its potential. Our argument in this article is that as a consequence of this gap government efforts to improve schooling are less effective than they might be and that many school improvement efforts have to swim against the current of government regulation. Following our analysis of this central irony in educational policy, we go on to outline an approach that would be more likely to help governments achieve their educational objectives by building policy initiatives more explicitly on the knowledge base of school development.     

Educational Research and Policy-Making

Among West European countries, Sweden is most advanced in coordinating educational policy-making with systematic research. The intellectual as well as the political climate in Sweden during the past twenty-five years has proved auspicious for the application of the behavioral sciences to social planning, and particularly to education. A prominent leader in this development — which has produced far-reaching reforms in the school system — has been Professor Torsten Husén. He directs the Department of Educational and Pyschological Research, School of Education, University of Stockholm, and is widely known as Chairman of the International Educational Achievement Study Group.