Teachers' views of forgiveness for the resolution of conflicts between students in school

This study investigated teachers' views of forgiveness and institutional pardon for conflict resolution at schools. We asked, "Should teachers endorse student resolution of interpersonal conflicts at school by asking for forgiveness and forgiving?" "Considering that students' conflict led to behaviours that violated norms in the school, should schools pardon students' misconduct if students effectively used forgiveness for interpersonal conflict resolution?" Finally, "Is an internal and autonomous orientation for forgiveness related to social harmony or interpersonal ethics of care?" Fifty-three participants answered a background information questionnaire and two dilemmas. Findings showed that teachers endorse forgiveness as social expectation, a humanitarian, moral response to conflicts at conventional levels. Teachers do not endorse institutional pardon because they do not perceive forgiveness as being related to resolving social issues. Opposition to forgiveness and pardon was supported by authoritarian, discipli narian views of education.     

Migrant worker children: Conceptions of homelessness and implications for education

In this paper the authors draw from interviews with young migrant workers to problematize the question "What is a home?" The argument is made that once we acknowledge alternative images of "home" and the values and priorities that follow, policies and services for migrant workers and their children might take different forms than are currently configured. Migrating, or becoming "homeless," is a choice these families make to maintain their family structure. For these people homed-homeless is not a dichotomy. Rather, the operative word is family. The structure of the family is analyzed as a lifeworld (Habermas, 1984, 1987), or system of values and experiences that defines choices and ways of acting. Importantly, migrant workers travel as families and often as extended families. The unit of the family is assumed. Tensions arise when an individual member of the family questions the assumption of everyone working together for the family unit. When the family decides to break the unit, for example by sending a child away so he/she can attend school, the unit suffers as well as the individual. The sense of power that many assume is located in the home - a particular physical space - is also located in the family and the relationships among persons the word family implies. Social policies and institutions often disregard this distinction. 1     

Teacher Accommodation of Academic Language During Head Start Pre-Kindergarten Read-Alouds

Abstract

Little analytical scrutiny has been devoted to teacher accommodation of academic language at the early childhood level, despite being a critical school-level factor to consider when addressing at-risk learners’ academic needs. The present study investigates how fifteen Head Start teachers support three components of academic language during whole-class read-alouds of narrative storybooks: academic vocabulary, conceptual knowledge, and complex syntax. Pairing a corpus-based analysis of linguistic features and content analyses of teachers’ extratextual utterances, we describe teachers’ strategies for accommodating at-risk children’s early experiences with linguistically and syntactically complex texts. Our findings indicate that teachers simplified the language of the texts to accommodate student need, while also providing examples of academic talk through defining terms and providing conceptually-rich talk. Although teachers provided rich support for academic vocabulary, less accommodation was made for complex syntax. Practical and theoretical implications are addressed.     

从《白鹿原》看女性自我解放意识的觉醒

陈忠实的长篇小说《白鹿原》,以陕西关中平原上素有＂仁义村＂之称的白鹿村为背景,细腻地描写了一帮男权代表人物和被他们压迫的女性的恩怨纠纷。在这个男尊女卑的男权社会里,女性受到残酷的压迫,她们被当作＂货物＂和＂工具＂,甚至被异化为男性的帮凶,生活和生命都遭受严重摧残,整个白鹿原也在男权意识的统治下上演出一幕幕的女性悲剧。然而残酷的压迫也必将带来人们的觉醒,在女性的反抗中,我们终于看到了女性走上真正自由、独立的道路希望。     

Taking the risk to engage in race talk: professional development in elementary schools

Developing public education where every child has the right to learn requires that teachers pay attention to and engage in race talk – open discussion about race, social construction of race, and racism. While it is clear that children engage and reflect critically about these aspects of race even at a young age, teachers rarely engage in race talk with them. In this study, an African-American preservice teacher and a White teacher educator explore how African-American, Polynesian, and White in-service teachers, participating in Courageous Conversations professional development, address or avoid race talk in their elementary schools through the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and what risks they take when they do. Findings, through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, demonstrate that (1) racism was observed and/or experienced by all teachers in elementary schools; (2) lived racial experiences impacted teachers’ approach to conversations about race; (3) creating an open space was crucial for race conversations; (4) Courageous Conversations provided a ‘new language’ to talk about race; and (5) administrative support facilitated more attention to race. Findings indicate the road to greater equity in schools requires more professional development about race talk in elementary schools.     

《文心雕龙·隐秀》风格说辨正

在对《文心雕龙·隐秀》篇的研究中,有一类颇具影响的意见是将"隐秀"看作不同的风格类型:一是"隐"与远奥的风格相近或相通;二是"秀"与新奇的风格接近;三是认为"隐秀"与"风骨"属于刚柔对立的关系,"隐秀"是阴柔的风格。从《文心雕龙》原文所述可知,"隐"、"秀"、"隐秀"都不是风格类型,而是刘勰受汉代京房《易》学影响所作的美学探讨。"隐秀"这一美学命题,是刘勰主张的写作之美与写作策略的重要范畴。     

On the elephant in the room: toward a generative politics of place on race in academic discourse

Abstract

In our conceptual essay, we draw on an exchange between a White scholar and a group of panelists on Critical Race Theory at an international conference. Taking up this exchange as our point of departure, we work in dialectical and multidimensional ways between the essentialized politics of place on race and critical anti-essentializing foundations in recent Critical Race Feminism and Critical White Studies’ literatures. Working the dialectics and multidimensionality of the place that race makes in academic discourse, we recognize and ethically work through the essentialized politics of place in advancing anti-essentializing understandings of race. In articulating these anti-essentializing understandings, our conceptual essay drives at the notion of a generative politics of place on race in academic discourse. A generative politics of place holds essentialized realities and anti-essentializing foundations of race in dialectical and multidimensional tension for teaching, learning, and discussing race in local, national, and international contexts.     

Beyond "cool" and "hip:" engaging the question of research and writing as academic Self-woman of color Other

This article presents a self-reflexive analysis of the situatedness of the author and her work - research and writing - as a woman of color in the academy. The author critically examines self-reflexivity in relation to her research by drawing on her lived experiences as academic Self-woman of color Other, first as an international doctoral student and now as a junior faculty member. Drawing on critical and feminist perspectives, she argues that such self-reflexivity allows for an openness which eliminates the apparent dichotomy of Self-Other and offers new spaces for re-presenting difference(s). In particular, she construes her writing as a self-renewing site of activism and resistance to Othering and her teaching as praxis and self-assessment. She concludes that cutting-edge research and writing, when rigorously self-reflexive, are beyond "cool" and "hip," allowing us to maintain integrity and agency as educators and researchers.     

韩愈故里问题研究综述及相关思考

由于史书记载不一,关于韩愈故里学界一直存有争议。流行的看法主要有四种：＂昌黎说＂、＂邓州南阳说＂、＂孟县说＂和＂修武说＂。从目前研究现状来看,支持＂孟县说＂和＂修武说＂者较多。故里之争背后是经济利益的博弈,文化搭台、经济唱戏,这本无可厚非,自有其合理性和积极作用;只是,文化搭台的前提要尊重历史,不能局限于地域之争。历史研究要跨越地域观念,以求实求真为原则。     

The Indian and the researcher: Tales from the field

Conducting research in "native" communities is difficult. This article examines the tensions faced by an Indigenous researcher attempting to balance his identity as an Indian with his identity as an academic. Relying on field journals and personal experiences of change, the researcher explores how his attitudes toward the research participants and theories of authenticity changed over a period of time. Ultimately, there must be a way for Indigenous people to conduct rigorous research and maintain their Indigenous sense of self.     

Turbulence in St. Louis County: School Transfers,Opportunity Hoarding,and the Legacy of Brown

ABSTRACT

In the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregated schools unconstitutional, and the process of school desegregation fell mostly to Black children. For over 35 years, Black families in St. Louis City have been using school transfers to cross boundaries in order to send their children to higher performing, predominately White schools in suburban St. Louis County in search of “a better education.” Relying on turbulence theory and Critical Race Theory (CRT), this study uses a media framing analysis to examine how newspaper articles described school transfers to the broader public between 2007 and 2017. Findings indicate that the articles described Black and White school districts as being affected by varying levels of turbulence and conflict. Findings also outline examples of opportunity hoarding by White schools and districts. The original focus of the Brown case was the lack of equitable resources in Black schools, and this study reignites questions about exclusion, privilege, and the choices made by Black families to receive educational equity.     

Learning to Produce Knowledge - the Contribution of Mentoring

This paper is a discussion of mentoring in the context of knowledge productivity in organisations. Links are made between the perspective of organisations as knowledge productive, the theory of situated learning and the developmental strategy of mentoring as a basis for arguing that mentoring has a distinctive contribution to make to organisations whose success is dependent upon being knowledge productive. Learning at work is conceptualised in terms of a corporate curriculum, an inclusive concept which recognises the diverse ways in which people learn in an organisational environment. In particular, learning in and through a mentoring relationship is viewed as contributing to a person's ability to be knowledge productive.     

Inquiry-Based Learning and the Art of Mathematical Discourse

Abstract

Our particular flavor of inquiry-based learning (IBL) uses mathematical discourse, conversations, and discussions to empower students to deepen their mathematical thinking, building on strengths of students in the humanities. We present an organized catalog of powerful questions, discussion prompts, and talk moves that can help faculty facilitate a classroom focused on mathematical discourse. The paper brings this discourse alive through classroom vignettes and explores various teacher moves and their impacts. The mathematical theme of the classroom investigations, Maypole dance patterns, stems from the learning guide “Discovering the Art of Mathematics: Dance.” Both authors are part of the NSF-funded project “Discovering the Art of Mathematics,” which provides IBL materials for mathematics for liberal arts courses, see www.artofmathematics.org.     

Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Academic Achievement Among African American Students

Abstract

The authors of this cross-sectional study used surveys based on the noncognitive model of W. E. Sedlacek and C. G. Brooks (1976) to determine psychosocial factors associated with African American students' high school achievement Psychosocial variables explored included community service, academic motivation, social support, and students' methods of handling unfair treatment. Results showed that after gender and absenteeism were controlled for, only the method of handling unfair treatment was positively associated with grade point average (GPA), p < .05. Those findings suggest that students who talk to others about being treated unfairly instead of keeping it to themselves are more likely to have higher GPAs; the findings also have important implications for individuals involved in the counseling and education of high school students. Sedlacek and Brooks's model provides an effective guide for predicting academic achievement and for developing programs to improve academic achievement among students of color. Further research is needed into psychosocial factors and their effects on academic achievement.     

Making practical work work: using discussion to enhance pupils’ understanding of physics

Background: Practical work is widely seen as a necessary part of a good physics education, but convincing evidence that it impacts positively on pupils’ learning is scarce. Recent work suggests the use of talk and discussion might hold the key to making practical work more educationally productive.

Purpose: The research question that this study aims to answer is: Can the use of targeted discussion improve learning through practical work?

Sample: The study took place in a medium-sized (700-pupil, Years 7–13 (ages 11–18)) mixed-gender independent (fee-paying) day school in southern England. It is academically selective and public examination results are above the national average. The activities were carried out with three teaching groups (n = 73) with a fourth being used occasionally for comparison purposes (giving n = 97).

Design and methods: Pupils were given a number of practical tasks – some from the usual scheme of work, some devised for this project – and given specific time to discuss with a partner the various aspects of the practical such as predictions, devising methods, problem-solving, conclusions or explanations of phenomena. Questionnaires and booklets were used to gather pupil responses. Some audio recording and analysis of pupil-pupil discussion was also done.

Results: There was evidence from booklets pupils filled in during the practical that prescribing the use of discussion at various points in a practical task led to improved outcomes, particularly on the more cognitively challenging tasks. In particular, discussion was seen to turn incorrect responses into correct ones much more frequently than the reverse. In a later exam, pupils who had participated in the discussion activities performed better than a control group on questions which directly related to practical concepts, but performed similarly on the remaining exam questions.

Conclusion: Evidence gathered suggests a more nuanced pattern than that reflected in previous literature: that discussion during practical work can impact positively on pupils’ understanding of ideas related to practical work, but does not necessarily have a positive impact on their wider understanding.     

Performance and perceptions of distance learners in cyberspace

Abstract

This study compared the performance and perception of cyber‐learners to that of traditional learners. A study of several hundred undergraduate students taking an introductory economics course at the University of California suggests that cyberlearners learn as well as, or better than, traditional learners regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, academic background, computer skills, and academic aptitude and that they do so with a high degree of satisfaction. CD‐ROM‐based lectures, electronic testing, threaded electronic bulletin boards, and online discussion rooms all appear to be effective instructional technologies. The CD‐ROM‐based lectures that simulated the traditional classroom experience were regarded as being both the most essential and most enjoyable instructional medium.     

Examining the Effects of Stress and Campus Climate on the Persistence of Students of Color and White Students: An Application of Bean and Eaton’s Psychological Model of Retention

The current study examined the effects of stress and campus climate perceptions on the persistence decisions of students of color and White students using Bean and Eaton’s (2000) Psychological Model of College Student Retention. A sample of first-year students (N = 1,491) at a predominantly White research university were survey enduring their second semester and their enrollment status was subsequently tracked after 2 years. Path analysis was conducted on the sample of students of color (n = 548) and White students (n = 943). Results indicated models that explained 27 % of the variance for students of color and 44 % of the variance for White students in persistence after 2 years of college. Among the initial 37 variables included in the models, 17 had significant direct and indirect effects on students’ of color persistence including observing racism on campus, having comfortable academic interactions, stress related to the academic environment, and feelings about the campus environment. For White students, 13 variables had significant direct and indirect effects on persistence, including having opportunities for diverse peer interactions and comfortable academic interactions, stress related to the social environment on campus, and feelings about the campus environment. The discussion highlights the usefulness of the Bean and Eaton model for examining retention for students of color and White students.     

Teachers interacting with students: an important (and potentially overlooked) domain for academic development during times of impact

ABSTRACT

This article is situated in the context of an intensified discourse within which academic developers are being asked to provide evidence of impact, and argues that theoretical models currently used are imprecise and fail to capture the variation in outcomes from professional development activities. Through reference to previous research on how teachers' thinking can be described in relation to various thinking-zones, and how teachers notice and respond to signs of student learning, we suggest a more fine-grained perspective. Furthermore, we argue that improved models for design and evaluation of professional development might prove crucial for academic development as a profession.