For Example? A Philosophical Case Study of Some Problems When Abstract Educational Theory Ignores Concrete Practice

In Philosophy of Education we frequently argue for or against different educational theories. Yet, as I illustrate in this analysis of two articles, in order to maintain the abstract theoretical distinctions, we are liable to ignore the concrete details of practice, caricature the theories we reject and make false distinctions. The two articles that I analyse, one from Golding and one from Boghossian, grapple with the pedagogical theories of transmission teaching, constructivism, pragmatism and Socratic pedagogy, in the context of dialogical philosophy teaching. As a result of my analysis, I first present three examples where the authors have rejected abstract theories based on arguments that I show to be strawmen: These theories would not or could not be adopted in practice. Then, I present two examples where the authors attempt to make distinctions between educational theories which seem sound in the abstract, but which turn out to be false distinctions if we consider the details of concrete practice. My conclusion is that, in these two articles, abstract educational theory is prone to problems when it ignores concrete practice. Although I am presenting a case study, and do not argue that my conclusion is generalisable, I do suggest some reasons why this conclusion might apply more widely to Philosophy of Education. My recommendation is that we be more discerning in our treatment of educational theories and more mindful of the educational practices that they entail. We should acknowledge the practical similarities between different abstract theories rather than forcing caricatured distinctions.     

论孔子朴素的教育公平理念

“有教无类”实质上是一种朴素的教育公平理念。它同样具有教育公平的特征．即规律性、客观性、相对性、动态性和永恒性特征．这些特征反应在“有教无类”的历史进步性和历史局限性两个维度之中。“有教无类”为19世纪教育公平概念的正式提出提供了一个早期的、从理论层面到实践层面的有益尝试．对我国今天的教育改革和发展仍有启发意义。     

The Role of Informal Assessment in Teachers’ Practical Action

This research informs two questions; in what ways do teachers distinguish between children, and, how do these perceived differences relate to the provision for learning made for children in practice in classrooms? A sample of three teachers of 5‐7 year‐olds had their classroom action videotaped. The technique of stimulated recall was used to collect data on teachers’ thinking on action as taped. Findings were that all three teachers made considerable distinctions at the conceptual level between the children. They did not make distinctions at the level of planning activities and in providing materials, nor were there significant differences in interaction patterns between each teacher and their target children. The study raises a number of questions relevant to understanding life in classrooms and to the improvement of practice.     

Disciplinary approaches to assessment

Change in assessment practice in higher education tends to lag behind pedagogical change. Thinking about assessment practice is, in part, related to disciplinary thinking. In this study, 27 faculty members from a broad range of disciplines were interviewed about their conceptions of assessment to help understand the distinctions and priorities of four main categories of disciplines. We uncover why university instructors may be resistant to changes in assessment practice if they perceive them not to support their disciplinary priorities.     

Belief, Knowledge, and Science Education

Epistemological questions about the nature of knowledge and belief underlie many of the controversial issues fundamental to research and practice in science teaching and learning. In an effort to bring some clarity to questions of knowledge and belief embedded within science education research and teaching, we first describe the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief in both philosophy and educational psychology, each of which have shaped the various definitions employed within science education. This discussion is followed by an examination of the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief employed by three groups of science educators: the traditional distinctions of the foundationalists that are co-opted by researchers focusing on teacher thinking/cognition, the nonfoundational epistemology of the fallibilists and the evolution educators working from this framework, and the radical constructivists who react to and attempt to move past the limitations of these other positions. In this analysis, we explicate the different ways in which knowledge and belief are understood and operationalized in a broad spectrum of research, we describe the theoretical and philosophical assumptions underlying these approaches, and we explore the important areas of contention (both theoretical and empirical) surrounding each of these distinctions.     

英汉辞格之对比

论及中英文辞格的异同，旨在提醒英语专业学生不仅注重英文修辞的学习，而且注重中文辞格的回忆及学习，以便在文学欣赏和实际翻译应用中得心应手，而且对日后的工作实践也大有裨益。     

Foreword: a century of vocationalism

Several writers have argued that educational research should be educative; in the sense of being geared directly to improving educational practice. This is proposed on a variety of grounds--from appeals to the meaning of the word 'educational', through claims about the very nature of all social inquiry, to arguments that there is a need for a practical form of educational research that is distinct from social scientific work. This article suggests that while these arguments point to important distinctions among types of research, they do not formulate those distinctions soundly; and a more effective formu lation will be attempted. Moreover, in conclusion, it will be argued that research cannot be educative, only informative.     

从词汇意蕴看英汉文化的差异

从语言的社会功能看，英汉化差异在词汇层面上往往体现得最为突出，涉及面也最广。本通过分析不同名词在英汉两种语言中所蕴含的意义，从词汇意蕴层面探讨了英汉化的差异，指出化词在很大程度上反映了不同民族、不同时代人们的化心理、审美情趣和时代风尚。同时，通过对英汉词语中词汇空缺现象、词义的联想和化意象差异以及词语的语义和化内涵不等值现象的分析，阐述了深刻理解英汉词语的化内涵在翻译实践中的重大意义。     

教育分类、能力本位与广义的职业能力培养——纪念孟广平同志逝世两周年

孟广平同志在职教研究领域的贡献主要体现为,从教育分类角度提出技术教育与职业教育的区别与联系,对我国学习CBE的理论与实践进行了科学总结,明确了学校教育与培训在职业能力培养中的分工,并提出新形势下培养学生广义职业能力必须加强通用基础,提供终身教育与培训。这些观点对于现今职业教育理论研究与实践仍有重要指导意义。     

EFL教学环境中运用交际型英语教学的原则

交际型英语教学在英语作为第二语言（ESL）的教学环境中取得成功的同时,却在英语作为外语（EFL）的教学环境中遇到了很多困难。本文指出上述两种不同的语言教学环境在教师水平、学生学习动机、态度和学习方法上都存在着很大的差异,正是这些差异的存在要求我们以正确的态度看待交际型英语教学．将这一先进的教学模式与我们的教学实际结合起来。     

Eliminating the confusion over the EdD and PhD in colleges and schools of education

This article argues that despite an absence of distinctions in implementation, there are perceived and actual differences between the Ed.D. and Ph.D. degrees in education. Failure to make the distinctions in administering the degrees has caused confusion among faculty in other fields and within graduate schools. The article suggests that all doctoral degrees in education be changed to the Ph.D. with two tracks-one for scholars of practice and one for scholarly practitioners.In addition to his professional interests in administration and program development, he teaches and conducts research in educational gerontology and instructional methods. This article describes the dilemma of having two doctoral degrees in the field of education. The Ph.D. degree with two tracks is suggested as the solution.     

Theoretical and Experiential Knowledge in Teacher Education

The author analyses the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education by means of a grid, constructed from two traditional distinctions of knowledge made in philosophy. It is argued that the experiential knowledge of that and how underlies all education, but that it must be expanded by mediated knowledge of that and how. This knowledge originates from scientific research. In order to understand the epistemic nature of research‐based knowledge, intending teachers must learn methods of inquiry and apply them to research questions which they themselves have posed. Secondly, the application involves putting the theoretical and thinking models of teaching into practice in classroom teaching. As a concrete example, the author reviews how theory and practice are integrated in the Finnish system of teacher education.     

厘定教师和校长专业发展中的若干基本概念

教师和校长专业发展概念在全球范围内的提出还不到半个世纪,进入我国的研究领域也不过是近一二十年的事情,但发展至今,教师和校长专业发展不仅仅在理论层面成为显学,而且在实践层面也呈现出活跃多元的样态。要对教师和校长专业发展概念有比较准确的理解,保持研究的科学性,首先需要厘定其中相关概念的联系与差别。     

中西方财富创造机制认识的历史探究

财富问题是贯穿文明时代经济实践始终的根本问题,中西方在财富创造机制的认识路径、理论范式上大相径庭,两种认识论各有利弊。取长补短地将中西方对财富创造的认识运用于我国的社会主义经济建设的实践中,有助于我们认识和解决发展过程中带来的问题。     

The high cost of ‘efficiency and effectiveness’ in Australia

In its recent review, the Australian Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission made a series of recommendations regarding the rationalisation of the provision of external studies. Here, Mavis Kelly, of the School of External Studies and Continuing Education at the University of Queensland, argues that these recommendations will serve to maintain the distinctions between distance and face‐to‐face education, while greater convergence in practice and further development of integrated modes of provision are what is really needed.     

葛梯尔反例与实践确证的知识论

葛梯尔反例吹响了挑战知识的传统三元定义(JTB)的号角。现有的方案虽然提出了一些有意义的观点,但都未能完满解决葛梯尔问题。实践确证的知识论把"实践"纳入知识根据的范围,区分了主观根据与客观根据,厘清了信念与知识的根本区别,合理地回答了葛梯尔反例引发的一系列重大问题,为进一步研究认知逻辑打下了基础。     

黔东方言特征词五十题

黔东方言,总体上说都属于西南官话,但内部有差异。到底有何差异,语音上的分区常常显得不得要领,而利用方言特征词,能为区分方言与方言之间的差异提供较为可行和较为科学的依据,弥补历来凭借语音标准区分差异的不足。     

试论文学语言与非文学语言区别的实质

传统观点在论及文学语言与非文学语言的区别时，大多是罗列二者在表现形式上的不同。文章认为，仅罗列二者表现形式上的不同并不能揭示出这两种语言的实质。一段文字是不是文学语言，关键看它是处于何种语境中。即使同一段文字。当它处在文学语境中的时候。它就具有了文学语言的性质，当它处在非文学语境中的时候，它就不具有文学语言的性质。因此，文学语言与非文学语言区别的实质是语境的区别。     

英语介词的宏观教学法

英语介词的学习是整个英语学习阶段的一个重要部分，但在介词教学的理论和实践中都存在着满足于不分次序的具体介词用法的传授的缺陷。本从一般介词和小品词，简单介词和复杂介词，介词的基本用法和抽象用法，以及度和频率这些基本概念出发，阐述了英语介词教学中宏观的次序问题，以期为介词教学提供指导。     

论日语汉译中人称代词的加译

无论是语法上还是文化上,日语和汉语之间都存在着各种各样的差异。日语人称代词的总数量要比汉语多,但是使用频率却远远低于汉语、日语的授受动词、被动句、谓语、敬语体系、行文结构以及汉日语言语法、句式的构造差异是造成这种差异的主要原因。这是与日本文化、日本人处理人际关系的习惯密不可分的。在翻译活动中,可以用认知语言学的基本规律来指导翻译实践,超越语言原有的构造和含义,从人类的认知角度、文化特征等更高的层次来进行翻译,达到翻译的最终目的。