Life skills for ‘real life’: How critical thinking is contextualised across vocational programmes

Background: This article presents an analysis of how critical thinking is contextualised in everyday teaching in three vocational education and training (VET) programmes: Vehicle and transport, Restaurant and management, and Health and social care.

Purpose: The main question addressed is: What knowledge discourses permeate different VET-contexts, and hence what kinds of opportunities for critical thinking do they offer students?

Method: The qualitative analysis draws on data from a four-year ethnographic project exploring learning processes that can be characterised as civic education in Swedish vocational education. The analysis presented here used data collected during 85 days of observations of teaching in six VET classes, interviews with 81 students and 10 teachers, and collected teaching material. To explore why some contextualisations provided more opportunities and encouragement for critical thinking than others, we applied Bernsteinian concepts of ‘horizontal and vertical knowledge discourses’ and ‘discursive gaps’.

Findings and conclusions: Overall, teaching that was observed focused primarily on ‘doing’. However, in all three programmes, the analysis identified that there were also situations that touched upon critical thinking. Three major themes were identified: critical thinking related to ‘Personal experiences’, ‘The other(s)’ and ‘Wider perspectives’. It appeared that the frequency and nature of such situations varied with the knowledge discourses permeating the programme. Furthermore, we discuss the manifestations of critical thinking in relation to the wider context of what Bernstein refers to as pedagogic rights; individual enhancement, social inclusion and development of the competence and confidence to participate in political processes.     

Integrated or inclusive education versus interactive education: the need for a new model

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to stimulate informed and critical debate, the nature and pedagogical implications of ‘integrated education’ and the more recently proposed ‘inclusive education’ are examined, and an alternative model, described as ‘interactional education’, is proposed and evaluated. Because of the political and economic implications of these three approaches, it is suggested that the appropriate forum for discussion is one which is Pan‐European.     

Location-based smartphone games in the context of environmental education and education for sustainable development: fostering connectedness to nature with Geogames

Abstract

Geogames are complex location-based games for smartphones and they are part of a critical discussion within the community of environmental education. The aim of the study is to asses if smartphone games are suitable to foster connectedness to nature and if there are differences between a complex Geogame and a less-demanding treasure hunt. For this purpose, two established scales are used in a pre-post-test-design: the inclusion of nature in self (INS) and the disposition to connect to nature (DCN). Furthermore, the game-related enjoyment was controlled. The results reveal a significant increase of the INS for both game formats, with the strongest effect for the former more nature distant subjects. The DCN-scale shows a similar tendency but not a significant gain. Between the game formats, no significant difference is detectable. So, the main effect seems to be the location-based activity in nature guided by smartphones, not the complexity of a Geogame.     

A Teacher Who Left His Mark

Abstract

Discussion of the nature of critical thinking and the ways in which it can be enhanced has increased in recent years among social work educators, and yet little is known about the impact of MSW education on the critical thinking of students. This paper examines the nature of critical thinking, presents an adult cognitive developmental model, the Reflective Judgment Model (King &; Kitchener, 1994), which holds promise for enlarging social work's understanding of critical thinking and examines approaches to teaching which enhance critical thinking. The Reflective Judgment Model focuses on the development of assumptions about knowledge and the process of knowing as development occurs through adulthood. Specific implications for creating classroom and field learning environments are detailed, including characteristics of effective teachers and of effective assignments.     

(De)coloniality and South African academe

ABSTRACT

The colonial nature of South African universities remains a source of debate among students and academics. Decolonization as rethinking academic institutional practices seems less controversial; the specificity of how to decolonize the academia is the core of divergent arguments and contesting ideologies. Consequently, many suggestions and methods for the decolonization of South African universities have been proffered. Although some of these suggestions are pertinent, a critical question about what should South African academe decolonize from needs to be engaged. This requires a critical, theoretical and intellectual discourse of coloniality in order to rethink the academia in South Africa. Drawing from Anibal Quijano’s critical discourse of coloniality of power, this paper (re)visits the nature of coloniality, explores approaches to decolonization and situates these understandings to the academia in postcolonial South Africa. A polycentric approach to decolonization is supported with a goal of decolonization as innovations.     

The Internationalisation Agenda: a critical look at the conceptualisation and rationalisation of internationalisation in public universities in Ghana

Abstract

Using postcolonial theory, this paper discusses the conceptualisation and rationalisation of internationalisation in some universities in Ghana. The paper is based on a study conducted to critically examine internationalisation in three public Ghanaian universities. It is argued that although internationalisation is a major concept at the universities, there are different nuances in how it is perceived and conceptualised there. There are also differences in its rationalisation. These different nuances are presented as internationalisation models at the universities. This paper argues for the need of a critical debate of internationalisation, one that is not perceived in the dominant neoliberal way but that emphasises diversity, and that is defined to suit the specific context of Ghana.     

Inclusive and democratic practices in primary school classrooms: A multiple case study in Spain

ABSTRACT

Background: In order to offer all students the opportunity to progress and grow to their full potential, teachers must positively recognise and value the different expressions of diversity of all the class members. One of the biggest educational challenges that teachers face today is how to address classroom practices from a truly inclusive and democratic perspective.

Purpose: The main aim of this study was to explore, in a Spanish context, how primary school teachers articulate and implement inclusive and democratic practices in their classrooms.

Design, sample and methods: The methodological design of this study was situated within a qualitative research approach. A multiple case study structure, comprising three case studies, was utilised. Data collection was carried out via interviews, classroom practices inventories, scientific observation and analysis of documentation. The study was carried out over three academic years and had three phases. Data were analysed thematically.

Findings: In the three cases analysed, the analysis identified different possibilities in terms of the implementation and articulation of pedagogical differentiation (the structures, content, process and product) and democratic classroom management (collaborative culture, a shared leadership, democratic participation and school linked to environs).

Conclusions: The analysis highlights the need to support the formation of a critical citizenship within inclusive contexts, as well as the need to develop a sense of belonging to the educational community.     

Learning from the Past: An account of an oral history project for students in an early childhood teacher education program

Engagement of student-teachers with the community of practice they are entering is central to the formation of their identity as an educator. This paper outlines a teaching and research project that enabled early childhood student-teachers to gain insights into the field through interviewing past teachers and reflecting on their practices. In the process, students became aware of the complexities of their chosen profession, alternative teaching practices and different ways of relating with families. Their responses indicated that the experience had an impact on their identity with the profession, their learning about the nature of history and their understanding of research processes.     

The Communicator's Role in Resource Decision–Making

Abstract

The experience of 8 teenage participants of a 12-day adventure trip was investigated through participant observation and semistructured posttrip interviews. The teen participants conceptualized nature as a place out there—a reality fundamentally different and removed from their home reality of civilization. The teens understood nature as undisturbed, natural, unfamiliar, without people or human material development, relaxing, not busy, and with a sense of freedom. The teens strongly suggested nature does not exist at home. It appears that, with this construction of nature, the teens felt diminished motivation to take care of their home environment.     

High school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs,self-efficacy in learning physics and attitudes toward physics: a structural equation model

Background: There are some theoretical evidences that explain the relationships between core beliefs (i.e., epistemological beliefs) and peripheral beliefs (self-efficacy in learning) in the literature. The close relationships of such type of beliefs with attitudes are also discussed by some researchers. Constructing a model that investigates these relationships by considering theoretical and empirical evidences can empower researchers to discuss these relationships more comprehensively.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships among Turkish high school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs, self-efficacy in learning physics and their attitudes toward physics.

Sample: A total of 632 high school students participated in this study; however, 269 female and 229 male (a total of 498) high school students’ data were used.

Design and methods: Three distinct instruments that measure scientific epistemological beliefs, self-efficacy in learning physics and attitudes toward physics were combined into a unique questionnaire form and it was distributed to high school students. To explore the relationships among these variables, structural equation modeling was used.

Results: The results showed that scientific epistemological belief dimensions uncovered by the nature of knowing (source and justification) significantly and positively related to both self-efficacy in learning physics and attitudes toward other important physics dimensions. Additionally, self-efficacy in learning physics significantly and positively predicted attitudes toward multiple physics dimensions (importance, comprehension and requirement). However, epistemological belief dimensions related to the nature of knowledge (certainty and development) did not have significant impact on self-efficacy in learning physics or attitudes toward physics.

Conclusions: This study concludes that there are positive and significant relationships among Turkish high school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs, self-efficacy in learning physics and their attitudes toward physics.     

Determinants of university students’ attendance

ABSTRACT

Background: Attendance of university students at their timetabled teaching sessions is usually associated with higher levels of educational attainment. Attendance is usually considered to reflect students’ level of engagement with their course and to be critical to student success; despite the potential for technological alternatives, lectures and other face-to-face sessions still tend to be the primary method of teaching at university.

Purpose: Here we review studies which have investigated these determinants of attendance in order to gain a better understanding of whether – and how – Higher Education Institutions are able to improve attendance rates.

Sources of evidence: Electronic databases (e.g. ERIC, Web of Science) were used to identify articles exploring attendance in Higher Education settings.

Main argument: Some of the most debated determinants of attendance are reviewed: teaching issues (e.g. quality, style and format); effects of university expectations and policy (e.g. mandating attendance, awarding grades for attendance); scheduling issues; provision of materials online; and the effects of individual factors arguably outside of the Higher Education Institution’s control (e.g. finance, student employment, student demographics and psychological factors).

Conclusions: It is suggested that, although some individual factors influence student attendance and are arguably out of the control of HEIs, it is possible for them to facilitate attendance through adjustments to aspects of degree delivery such as attendance policies and monitoring, timetabling and style of teaching. Implications for policies on the recording of lectures, curriculum design and student term-time working are also discussed. Future research on student attendance should include longer and larger studies which simultaneously consider a range of influences; examining both inter- and intra-individual variability and different types of teaching sessions.     

The Teacher–Learner Relationship: Considerations for Social Work in the Digital Age

ABSTRACT

In light of a rapidly changing educational landscape, this paper will discuss the implications of online education for the teacher–learner relationship, which is a critical aspect of academic and professional development for the social work student. As technology revolutionizes relationships, how will we ensure the intra-and interpersonal nature of social work education? The pursuit of accessible and flexible educational opportunities presently driving social work education threatens to undermine this important alliance. The centrality of relationship is discussed here in the context of current trends in distance learning. Relational-Cultural Theory and Transactional Distance Theory are posited to provide evidence for the significance of relationship in learning.     

Mathematical Flexibility: Aspects of a Continuum and the Role of Prior Knowledge

Abstract

Psychologists and mathematics educators have long viewed flexibility as critical to students’ mathematical development. In this paper, we focused on the multidimensional nature of flexibility to better understand how preference, knowledge, and use of effective methods for solving algebra problems are related. In Study 1, we identified research-based aspects of flexibility with algebra and assessed students on them following a two-step equations unit. Results indicated that certain aspects of flexibility develop prior to others and that prior knowledge of algebra plays a significant role in that development. Study 2 confirmed and elaborated on these results using a larger sample size. Implications for theory and for supporting flexibility in classrooms are discussed.     

MovementScapes as ecomotricity in ecopedagogy

ABSTRACT

This elaboration of an ecopedagogy in movementscapes aims to present an empirically informed account of the concept of ecomotricity as manifested in the living body interacting in/with nature (human-and-other-than-human). This interaction is ludic (where pleasure or joy/happiness gives meaning to the lived experience) and ecological (ecosomaesthetic-environmentally ethical-ecopolitical) and provides for revitalized and animated ecopedagogical practices (and research). Critical examples and insights are presented as praxical evidence of how the ecophenomenological and ludic essence of ecomotricity challenges individuals in particular movementscapes to question their ways of being-in-the-world as a form of ecobecoming potentiality. This step towards the (de)(re)construction of environmentally oriented outdoor experiential learning in moving body-time-space relationalities is, potentially, significant to overcoming some of the ontological limits to rational change too often uncritically presumed pedagogically regarding human-nature relations.     

Embodied experiences: Critical insights from Dewey for contemporary education

ABSTRACT

Background: Reflecting increased cross-disciplinary interest in the significance of the body in education, this paper considers that a greater appreciation of John Dewey’s conceptualisations of experience and habit would benefit contemporary theory- and practice-related concerns.

Sources of evidence and main argument: The paper draws upon pragmatist-informed epistemological insights into the nature of experience and the habitual body from John Dewey. In doing so, the paper highlights how embodied experiences could become more central to realising a diverse range of educational goals. These include contexts where students appreciate that embodied learning practices can play a reconstructive part in shaping their identity, as well as the culture and school environments they share with others.

Conclusion: The paper concludes by exemplifying and critiquing some conceptual possibilities which recognise the benefits of intensifying bodily experiences and cultivating related habits in everyday contemporary schooling.     

Entering the Fray: The role of outdoor education in providing nature-based experiences that matter

Abstract

This article draws on different bodies of knowledge in order to review the potential role of outdoor education in providing nature-based experiences that might contribute to sustainable living A pragmatic perspective is adopted to critique what outdoor education is,and then what it might be. Phenomenology is used to challenge the belief that there is a causal relationship between activities and learning outcomes but foremost to consider what it is to be in nature in the first place. Aspects of both realism and social constructionism are presented as essential to environmental philosophy and the concomitant, but contested, relationship between people and planet. Through these multiple realities the moral significance of nature emerges not only as a theoretical consideration but as a practical one too. In this way I challenge dualisms that provide stumbling blocks to practice and celebrate instead pluralistic thinking where starting points are based on real-life work settings where theory and practice can emerge together through place-specific solutions.     

Reflections on the Umbrella Movement: Implications for civic education and critical thinking

Abstract

The 2014 Umbrella Movement was one of the most significant social and political events in recent Hong Kong history. This paper offers some initial reflections on the connections between the movement and broader issues related to civic education, critical thinking, and theories of education. First, it is suggested that the movement closely resembles a form of civic education known as ‘action civics,’ offering an alternative pedagogy that might encourage more authentic civic participation. Second, the movement raises questions about how the teaching of critical thinking can be made more practically relevant to modern citizenship. Third, the deep political polarization associated with the movement indicates that civic education and critical thinking training need to pay attention to cognitive biases that affect political ideology. Finally, the Umbrella Movement reflects the failure of democratization in Hong Kong and coincides with increasing political pressures on the local education system. We discuss how political reality connects to issues about democratic education, critical pedagogy, and the idea of political neutrality in education.     

The history of education in the 1980s

ABSTRACT

This paper uses Basil Bernstein’s work on pedagogic discourses to examine a largely neglected facet of the history of vocational education – the liberal studies movement in English further education colleges. Initially, the paper discusses some of the competing conceptions of education, work and society which underpinned the rise and fall of the liberal studies movement – if indeed it can be described as such. The paper then draws on data from interviews with former liberal and general studies lecturers to focus on the ways in which different variants of liberal studies were, over time, implicated in inculcating certain forms of knowledge in vocational learners. Whilst it is acknowledged that liberal and general studies always represented contested territory and that it was highly variable both in terms of content and quality, the paper argues that, at least under certain circumstances, liberal studies provided young working-class people with the opportunity to locate their experiences of vocational learning within a critical framework that is largely absent from further education today. This, it is argued, can be conceptualised as an engagement with what Bernstein described as ‘powerful knowledge’.     

Critical Thinking

Abstract

The process of critical thinking enables students to explore, analyze, and evaluate problems, theories, and interventions from divergent views and varying frames of reference. It requires a certain amount of skepticism and curiosity that will reflect upon accepted doctrines and protocols, in order to ascertain their credibility and utility in working with clients. This article presents the obstacles to acquiring critical thinking skills, as well as different strategies that can be utilized by educators to enhance its development and active usage. A theoretical construct and cognitive schema of learning describe the mechanisms of constructing meanings from experiences and advancing to critically assessing broader concepts. In this context, the importance of being introduced to new, empirically-based knowledge and critical thinking in substance abuse courses and practice is discussed, followed by an evaluation of students' advancing critical thinking skills.     

Imagining the shaping of reflective deliberative education leaders: The devil is in the detail

Abstract

In this article we critically engage with some of the challenges and issues pertaining to the implementation of the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership following a national agreement by the national Department of Education, provincial education departments and several universities. The rather idealised vision of the programme to provide learning opportunities to promote quality education in South African schools through the development of a corps of education leaders who apply critical understanding, values, knowledge and skills to school leadership and management in line with the vision of democratic transformation seemingly meshed with our own approach to the development of leadership. However, consequent to the planning, budgeting and implementation of this school leadership programme we realised that realities posed serious challenges. In this paper we narrate how it became increasingly clear how “the devil is in the detail”.