TRANSFORMING COLIABORATION BETWEEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND ONE EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

Abstract

For 10 years a group of early childhood teacher educators in Oregon have been developing a portfolio articulation system that students can take with them as they move through the educational sequence from high school through university. This article reports on the group's efforts to determine content of such a portfolio and how those contents should be scored. The group based their recommendations on commonalities among programs and samples of students’ work. The article also describes the contents of an articulation portfolio which includes evidence of and scores for the student's ability to observe and record children's behavior, plan for instruction, develop a philosophy of early childhood education and teach children. In addition, there is discussion of what was learned during this lengthy enterprise including the realization that articulation needs to respond to what students know and are able to do, not what courses they have taken. Readers are also given information on how to obtain a copy of the portfolio guidelines.     

Pedagogical Thinking in a Student's Mind: A conceptual clarification on the basis of self‐determination and volition theories

This article suggests that educational psychology should pay more attention to the role of the curriculum when the optimal motivation to learn in school is considered. The curriculum frames the teaching‐studying‐learning process in school. This fact has several implications on the motivation to learn in school. After the child starts school, his or her motivation to learn seems to change from an intrinsic motivation to an extrinsic motivation. To develop pedagogical thinking in a student's mind means that the student must become acquainted with the aims and goals of the curriculum, assimilate them into his or her integrated sense of self and, thus, fully accept them as their own. If this succeeds, it will have positive effects on the student's motivation at school and especially on the motivation to study and learn. The concept of pedagogical thinking in a student's mind is analogous to the concept of teacher's pedagogical thinking. Based on previous studies, this article provides an example of how joint‐planning can offer a learning environment that promotes students' pedagogical thinking and the internalisation of the aims and goals of the curriculum in school. This article calls for new theoretical syntheses and research programmes that better take into account the normative nature of learning and teaching in school.     

National Cultural Values and Their Role in Learning: A comparative ethnographic study of state primary schooling in England and France

This ethnographic study attempts to define English and French cultural and educational values in primary school. It is maintained that pupil attitudes to education are derived from pupils' sociocultural backgrounds and that pupil attitudes predispose pupils to learning. Pupils interpret both what and how they learn through the medium of the culture to which they belong. English and French educational values are identified through classroom observation, teacher discourse and pupil perceptions. The comparative approach allows the contrastive characteristics inherent in each country's culture to emerge. It is argued that pupil understanding of such educational values as authority, thought or 'la pensee', control over learning and educational goals and how to achieve them are related to national culture and that they have an effect on pupil motivation. The paper is both an example of and an exploration into how culture may affect learning. It suggests that cultural values are more significant for learning than pedagogical styles as it argues that underlying educational values give meaning to styles of pedagogy.     

The Significance of Myth for Environmental Education

Philosophers of education have argued that in order for Environmental Education's goals to succeed, students must form bonds and place attachments with nature. Some argue that immersive experiences in nature will be sufficient to form such attachments. However, this may not be enough, requiring other means of motivating them for environmental stewardship. Here, I explore the role the imagination could play for helping (re)enchant students’ perception of themselves‐in‐relationship‐with nature which could support the work these educators are already doing. I explore philosophical, psychological, and pedagogical domains to begin developing a holistic vision of what imagination could contribute for human‐environmental flourishing. Philosophically, I build from Martha Nussbaum's work that stories imaginatively shape our understanding of ourselves and the world, arguing that story—namely, myth—may have a unique power to enchant student's moral and ethical imaginations. I attempt to synthesise Michael Bonnett's rich ‘primordial’ phenomenology with what some mythologists identify as ‘implicit myth’—both of which are drawing attention to the human‐environmental interrelationship. Psychologically, I posit that if myth of this kind can develop a human‐environmental imagination in students, it may serve to create conditions to motivate students to act for environmental stewardship. Pedagogically, I close by identifying authors who seem to embody this primordial and mythic way of being in the world, arguing that studying their writings may help educators and students cultivate this human‐environmental imagination. I draw particular attention to Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poetry for exemplary inspiration and guidance.     

Student‐directed learning strategies to promote the progress of students with intellectual disability in inclusive classrooms

Student‐directed learning strategies involve teaching students to modify and regulate their own behaviour. Teaching students to self‐regulate behaviour has been identified as one means of promoting self‐determination, and promoting and enhancing self‐determination has become a valued outcome internationally. In addition, however, student‐directed learning strategies could prove important for including students with disabilities in general education classrooms by reducing the student's dependency upon others in the classroom setting. Four students with intellectual disability were supported to select an educational goal on which they wanted to work and were taught to self‐monitor their progress toward that goal in general education classrooms. Their progress toward the goal was evaluated through data collection activities and by using the Goal Attainment Scaling process. In general, students achieved their self‐selected goals. The potential contribution of student‐directed learning strategies to inclusion and promoting self‐determination are discussed.     

Effectiveness of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test with Seventh-Grade Pupils

Abstract

This is an exploration of college students’ motivations that affect their performance, and that might eventually provide educators with suggestions for program modifications. S's were 343 women's college freshmen. Student responses to the author's College Assessment Inventory gave information on eight student motivational variables. Students’ perceptions of meaningfulness of daily college tasks were positively related to overachievement, with r=.22, significant at .001 level. Field of interest (liberal arts and professional), relevance of college to the student's future goals, and warmth of interpersonal relations predicted voluntary dropout, with chi-squares significant beyond the .05 level. A combination of liberal arts, low on future goals, and low on warmth resulted In a 55 percent chance of a student's staying and a 41 percent chance of voluntarily dropping. A professional field" high on future goals, high on warmth combination indicated an 82 percent chance of staying and a 10 percent chance of voluntarily dropping. Further explorations seem called for, but practical applications are not yet warranted.     

A learning model for enhancing the student's control in educational process using Web 2.0 personal learning environments

In recent educational literature, it has been observed that improving student's control has the potential of increasing his or her feeling of ownership, personal agency and activeness as means to maximize his or her educational achievement. While the main conceived goal for personal learning environments (PLEs) is to increase student's control by taking advantage of Web 2.0 tools and technologies, there is not a robust learning model available to achieve it. This contribution focuses on proposing a learning model built upon self‐regulated learning and student's control theories and concepts, and supported by the learning affordances of Web 2.0 tools and technologies for enhancing student's control by developing and applying Web 2.0 PLEs.     

Effective Dutch School Improvement Projects

This article describes 2 effective school improvement projects in primary education. In The Netherlands, there is a long history of failing innovations in education. The 2 programmes are selected because they are known to be effective. They have almost the same goals (strengthen the school's capacity for managing change, improving teachers' capacity to adapt instruction to student's needs, and prevent and reduce disadvantage, especially in reading and arithmetic) and theoretical background (a balanced mix of the school and class effectiveness knowledge and the concepts of school improvement). They use, however, partly different strategies for school improvement. The characteristics (aims, theory, design, implementation, improvement, outcomes) of both programmes are described. These data are used to discuss what lessons are learned for effective school improvement.     

THE DETERMINATION OF THE ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS TO THEIR UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

It is shown that it is as necessary to gauge a student's interest in and respect for what he is learning as it is to examine his skills and knowledge. Definitions of beliefs, attitudes, disposition and motivation are given in an attempt to determine what it is that should be measured, and finally two measurement methods are proposed ‐‐ systematic observation and the Consequences Questionnaire. The uses of each are discussed and it is argued that the latter, while not yet a refined instrument, is worthy of further development.     

“A Fantasy of Untouchable Fullness”: Melancholia and Resistance to Educational Transformation

The progressive language of growth and development that informs our shared ideal of the educated subject also informs the curricular structure of schooling, in which new learning builds upon established knowledge and students' development depends upon their desire to take on those identities associated with various achievements of knowledge. Each re‐creation of the student's identity requires a new production of the student's former identity as an uneducated self — a negative statement of the self‐overcome, fashioned in the language of the curriculum. But what of those objects of attachment or aspects of the child's identity that can neither be integrated in the student's educated identity nor accounted for as a recognizable lost object of childhood? In this essay James Stillwaggon argues that considering the student subject in terms of its melancholic attachments offers some alternatives to thinking of student identity primarily in terms of its progressive learning function. Julia Kristeva's treatment of melancholia as “asymbolia,” or against the representational function of language, is especially significant to this discussion, as it highlights the melancholic's resistance to the most basic educational purpose, namely the further engagement of the subject in language.     

Exploring an experiential learning project through Kolb's Learning Theory using a qualitative research method

Experiential learning pedagogy is taking a lead in the development of graduate attributes and educational aims as these are of prime importance for society. This paper shows a community service experiential project conducted in China. The project enabled students to serve the affected community in a post-earthquake area by applying their knowledge and skills. This paper documented the students’ learning process from their project goals, pre-trip preparations, work progress, obstacles encountered to the final results and reflections. Using the data gathered from a focus group interview approach, the four components of Kolb's learning cycle, the concrete experience, reflection observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation, have been shown to transform and internalise student's learning experience, achieving a variety of learning outcomes. The author will also explore how this community service type of experiential learning in the engineering discipline allowed students to experience deep learning and develop their graduate attributes.     

The Use of Reflective Journals in Initial Teacher Training

The intention of this article is to examine the role of reflective journals in Initial Teacher Training courses, and, in particular, how they can enable students to develop critical independence for professional self-appraisal. It explores the value of journal writing in the process of learning about teaching by reproducing an edited extract of one PGCE (Post-Graduate Certificate in Education) student's course journal, and by offering both a student's and a tutor's perspective of the significance of the journal.     

Educational Equality: Luck Egalitarian,Pluralist and Complex

The basic principle of educational equality is that each child should receive an equally good education. This sounds appealing, but is rather vague and needs substantial working out. Also, educational equality faces all the objections to equality per se, plus others specific to its subject matter. Together these have eroded confidence in the viability of equality as an educational ideal. This article argues that equality of educational opportunity is not the best way of understanding educational equality. It focuses on Brighouse and Swift's well worked out meritocratic conception and finds it irretrievably flawed; they should, instead, have pursued a radical conception they only mention. This conception is used as a starting point for developing a luck egalitarian conception, pluralistic and complex in nature. It is argued that such a conception accounts for the appeal of equality of opportunity, fits with other values in education and meets many of the objections. Thus, equality is reasserted as what morally matters most in education.     

Proposing a framework to assess Internet usage in university education: an empirical investigation from a student's perspective

University administrators are continuously investing in Information Technology (IT) to support learning and help deal with educational budget cuts. Instructors are increasingly making their teaching materials available on the Internet. While administrators and instructors would like to make the Internet an effective educational tool, they need to understand what their students’ attitudes towards using it are. Since the use of the Internet in university education is still in its early stages, many issues regarding its use have not been fully addressed. This study was conducted to provide a better understanding of how the Internet is used in university learning from a student's perspective. Our research framework is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, Technology Acceptance Model, and IT Diffusion Process Model. We use a survey conducted among university students to explore these issues. Research findings provide some useful insights for university administrators and educators.     

Dilemmas of Prescriptive Practices and Perceived Alignment in Program Implementation

This paper studies the early implementation of a school improvement effort in two high schools. We examine what explains variation in the teacher adoption of program practices. Our findings highlight the tension between encouraging immediate adoption of program practices and the longer term goals of schoolwide culture change. We find that highly structured practices and those that are already aligned with teachers' extant beliefs and classroom practices can be implemented with little preexisting capacity. These conditions could also lead to more consistent and quicker initial adoption. However, this type of implementation might not encourage sufficient understanding of program goals and may inhibit the diffusion of practices into the school culture. Findings highlight dilemmas associated with program practices when the goal is to bring educational reforms to scale.     

Coping and Identity Development in College Students

Bases upon developmental theory and empirical evidence it is argued that most college students develop "normally." They change and grow gradually during the college years, becoming more independent and mature in psychological , social, and intellectual areas. Effective coping is part of this progressive development during late adolescence and early adulthood, but an identity crisis is not found to be an expectable event. Coping helps us to solve problems which are realatively difficult and challenging or to accept unchangeable circumstances. We are forces to behave in new ways and often feel better and stronger as a result. College coping is explored in terms of the more general factors in human adaptation and the specific mechanisms and processes actually used by college students. Key mechanisms include: information, competence, use of the past, humor, predictability, control, self-observation, flexibility, and stability. Parents play an important role in each student's support system during college. They need to grant independence to their students, to become informed about college life, and to remain supportive and confident of positive college outcomes. The emotional bond of student and family is critical to student development, and students usually maintain this continuity with family values even if they have experimented with different alternatives during college.     

The upward Brain drain and a myth

Abstract

A recent article on education in China succeeded in giving a fresh tweak to the arguments concerning whether aptitude or achievement testing is more likely to promote equality of educational opportunity. In ‘The Diploma Disease’ Ronald Dore expounded the view that aptitude testing is to be preferred for selection purposes on the grounds that it gives more weight to ‘innate potential’ (his term) than does achievement testing which produces results more affected by quality of schooling, an influence which is all too variable, especially in emerging countries. Although shot through with considerable ambivalence, Dore's view could still be instrumental in persuading educational and political authorities in those countries that aptitude testing will do what he says it will do ‐ ‘make for greater equality of educational opportunity and be more effective in mobilizing all available talent’. And even if these authorities have never set eyes on Dore's book, there is sufficient evidence that some of them are acting as if they had taken Dore's view on board for it to be worth re‐opening the question. It is argued here that Dore's position cannot be supported.     

Pupil participation and the home–school relationship

Schools are required to develop policies and practices in line with the principles of both partnership with parents and pupil participation. However, there is increasing recognition of the potential tensions that may exist between these two principles. This paper reports on a study that aimed to explore the question of how schools might develop their home–school relationships in ways that enhance rather than constrain pupil participation. It focuses on the perspectives of children aged 6 to 16 years (with and without special educational needs), parents and teachers concerning children's involvement in decision-making at home and at school, and their participation within the home–school relationship. The findings highlight the need for schools to develop a coherent view of what active participation means for children and a vocabulary to communicate about this not only with pupils and staff across the whole school, but also with parents. They demonstrate that there is scope for two-way support between parents and teachers in relation to the promotion of children's involvement in decision-making both at home and at school. Further, they illustrate the complex and evolving three-way partnership between parent–child–teacher that is central to the home–school relationship. While it is acknowledged that children may rightly wish to keep a distance between aspects of home and school life, it is argued that there is a need for schools to give explicit consideration to the place of pupil participation within the home–school relationship.     

Factors related to a college student's career optimism and their perception of career services

A student's expectation for a positive outcome for their future career development is referred to as career optimism. Career Services, a common university department, utilizes the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to understand how students form career interests and make educational and vocational choices. Then Career Services can assist students in finding a career that matches their interests. We hypothesize that students' perception of the assistance provided by the Career Services department when the SCCT is applied, impacts the student's career optimism. In addition, we hypothesize, and results support, that different factors, such as a student's chosen major, impact student perception of Career Services and career optimism.     

Shifting positions in physical education – notes on otherness,sameness, absence and presence

Currently, ethnographic interest in leadership is relatively sparse. This paper's focus derives from research about integrating diversity in leadership, and how some leaders are included and excluded from organisational influence in Further Education. Specific interest is in methodological opportunities to research leadership as observed behaviours in sensitive contexts of diversity. Three issues are foregrounded. Firstly, it is argued that notwithstanding the importance of interviews and biographies, research without observation underestimates the significance of whether what leaders do in relation to diversity is what they say they do. A second issue lies in considering whether data collected over seven months during intensive two-day case site visits, might legitimately be labelled ethnography. Thirdly, the ethical issues in defining and researching the diverse characteristics of actual and potential leaders are considered. Conclusions confirm a need to research leadership ethnographically not least to prevent critical perspectives about leadership, diversity and equality being air-brushed from studies of educational administration.