Education in China and America

My little brother is six years old, in his first grade. Yesterday, he gave Mum a letter from his teacher. "I got a red card today. Could you     

Science Teacher Education in Brazil: 1950–2000

This paper analyzes the most significant events occurring in Brazil’s educational, social and political areas over the last half century, viewed against a background of relevant worldwide events. The hypothesis presented here is that the relations between the country’s educational policies, the demands of the various segments of academia, and the public school system have always been strained. This strain has contributed positively to the evolution of academic knowledge and production, to the design of more modern curricular projects by institutional authorities, and to the initial recognition of the specific construction of school knowledge by the school system itself. However, the interaction of these major institutions lacks a crucial element—one that would lead to an effective change in the education of science teachers and produce a positive impact on Brazil’s schools—namely, the wholehearted participation of science teachers themselves. With this analysis, we intend to contribute by offering some perspectives and proposals for science teacher education in Brazil.     

Changes and Trends in Environmental Education (1970–75)

The authors surveyed 15 secondary school teachers in 5 states about how they designed and implemented long-term stream monitoring in their classrooms and the problems and benefits they encountered. The authors surveyed students involved in the stream monitoring projects to obtain their perspective. Teachers reported that stream monitoring provided real-world application of concepts discussed during class and offered an interdisciplinary learning experience for students.     

University–industry relations in Bolivia: implications for university transformations in Latin America

This article examines the implications of how academics respond to the debate on the production of knowledge and its transfer to the productive sector, for the transformation of Latin American universities. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 349 lecturers from Bolivian public universities, which inquired into aspects of university–industry relations (UIR). Although the results indicate that lecturers are in favour of relations with firms, there are several barriers to such relationships, such as lack of institutional support, generally unfavourable atmosphere in universities, and an industrial structure comprising few firms in knowledge-intensive sectors and firms with low absorptive capacity. In the context of Bolivia, unlike what occurs in developed countries, UIR have been configured around scientifically unimportant activities—technological support and internship schemes to place students in firms—which has had a negative effect on the consolidation of research, an academic activity, to which lecturers devote little of their time. The results of our study show the tensions that exist in efforts to change the university model; there is a reluctance to intensify the commercialisation of research results, and a lack of enthusiasm for introducing complex relationship mechanisms, such as the creation of hybrid structures.

Temperature in Science Textbooks: Changes and Trends in Cross-National Perspective (1950–2000)

This study explores the way the concept of temperature was presented in lower-secondary science textbooks in France, Poland and England at the end of the 1950s and in the 2000s. I draw on history of science, history of education and book history to analyze different treatments of an apparently-similar scientific concept with regard to national contexts and diachronic change. Thus I include a presentation of the contexts in which the textbooks I study are published, and I analyse textbooks content revealing different approaches to present the notion of temperature. I argue that these results show that textbooks are valuable sources to investigate public representations of science and their shift over time, and I conclude by stressing the parallel of this evolution with change in everyday relationship with science and scientific instruments.     

Inequities in Early Care and Education: What Is America Buying?

This article examines the relation between the quality of child care program and family income through a regression analysis of 99 child care centers in Boston. Once this relation is established, a categorical analysis of high-, middle-, and low-income programs demonstrates in concrete terms for policymakers the differences between programs. For example, teachers in programs that served upper-income families received 25% more in salary than teachers in programs that served predominantly low- and moderate-income families. The implications of these findings are discussed and placed in the context of existing governmental policies that support lower quality care.     

敦煌学编年(三)(1950—1975年)

19506月17日,西北军政委员会文教部派赵望云、张明坦代表西北大区文化部,接管了国立敦煌艺术研究所,改名为敦煌文物研究所,隶属中央文化部文物局,常书鸿仍任所长,所内设美术、考古、总务三个组。还派古建专家来莫高窟勘察设计,国家拨专款抢修了唐宋木构窟檐。王重民编《敦煌曲子词集》出版。此书是1940年编成,著录曲子词212首,是我国第一部敦煌俗文学作品词曲的专集。1950年7卷1期《国学季刊》发表了向达的《西征小记》(1957年收入《唐代长安     

Education reform in New York City (2002–2013)

In 2002 Michael Bloomberg took office as Mayor of New York City and, over the next 12 years of his administration, oversaw a series of sweeping reforms in order to ‘fix’ the broken education system which he believed he had inherited. This paper details the key policy reforms in New York City’s public school system during this period, assessing the extent to which the reforms were successful and what can be learnt from a policy perspective for other urban education systems. It outlines the radical programme of school closure, structural reform, and the introduction of new measures of accountability and autonomy, concluding that reform in New York City can be grouped into four categories: leadership; structure and schools; accountability; and teachers. While a lack of targeted evaluation means that it is not possible to prove causation, it nonetheless shows that there is a correlation between this set of reforms and the fact that by 2013 New York City’s performance on national tests placed it amongst the best urban school districts in America when compared with other cities serving similar populations.     

Jewish Religious Education in the USSR (1928–1971)

A plethora of articles have appeared in recent years supporting the rationale for Holocaust education. The articles written by eminent scholars are well documented with convictions that are profoundly sincere.     

The formation,development and contribution of the New Ideals in Education conferences, 1914–1937

This paper seeks to explore the development, impact and contribution made by the New Ideals in Education conferences, which were held between 1914 and 1937. In particular, it will examine how the group emerged from the English Montessori Society and forged an identity of its own based on the thoughts and ideas of its two major protagonists: Edmond Holmes and the Earl of Lytton. This was especially manifest in its commitment to a form of non-partisanship that sought to be inclusive as possible towards those agitating for liberty within the classroom. The paper will also examine the profound impact played by the First World War, whose events were a catalyst not merely for impelling the group to discuss and showcase practice but also how this could be applied in the reconstruction process. In so doing it will chart the evolution of the New Ideals movement, which fizzled out just prior to the Second World War.     

The education of Spanish entrepreneurs and managers: Madrid and Barcelona business schools, 1950–1975

ABSTRACT

For some time now, images in science have been an object of study in the history of science. The multiple roles that images play in scientific practice have been recognised and discussed. However, little attention has been given to science related images in educational contexts. The case of geology is all the more relevant because it is considered that it has a specific visual language that is intrinsic to its own constitution as a science. This work aims to contribute to counter this situation through the analysis of geology-related images present in textbooks for Portuguese secondary education in the period between 1836 and 1974. Temporal limits correspond to the creation of secondary education in Portugal and to the end of the Estado Novo. For this period, five textbooks were chosen and their images analysed. The place of geological subjects in the context of science teaching in Portuguese secondary education was also traced. The interpretation of the results shows that images present in textbooks had other purposes besides introducing students to the typical visual language of geology. In fact, one of their main intentions was to “shape” the student’s mind into a “rational way of thinking”.     

Inequality of opportunity for educational achievement in Latin America: Evidence from PISA 2006–2009

We evaluate how far away six Latin American countries stand from a normative goal of equality of opportunity for educational achievement in PISA 2006–2009. We work with alternative characterizations of types: gender, school type (public or private), parental education, and their combinations. Following Checchi–Peragine's (2010) non-parametric method, we find that inequality of opportunity for educational achievement in Latin America ranges from less than 1% to up to 25%, depending on the year, the country, the subject and the specification of circumstances. These magnitudes are substantial with respect to what is found in comparator countries. Parental education and school type prove to be important sources of inequality of opportunity, contrary to gender. By means of sensitivity analyses, while most results show small to moderate variation in terms of magnitudes, in ordinal terms (rankings) they remain quite stable. Brazil stands out as the most opportunity-unequal country of the sample.     

Mother's Day in America(初三适用)

Mother蒺sDayiscelebratedintheUSA.It蒺salsoaholidayinsomthercountries.ItisonthesecondSundayinMay.Itisadaytothaothers.Onthatdaymothersusuallyreceiveflow鄄rsandcards.Onthecards,childrenwillwriteThanks,Mom”,“Tothebestmotherintheworld”,BestwishesforMother蒺sDay”andsoon.Wheredoestheideafortheholidaycomerom?WeshouldthankMissAnnaM.Jarvis.Sheroughtuptheideaofhavingsuchaday.ShelivednwestVirginia.HermotherdiedonMay9,1905.Shehadadeeploveforhermother.Shewroteetterstosomeimportantpersons.Inhe…     

Uniquely Similar or Similarly Unique? Education and development of teachers in Europe

Teacher education is at present being re-shaped in some, mainly Anglophone, countries by a variety of policies. Although some of the same trends are discernible in mainland Europe, other inheritances and perspectives are also evident. The present paper focuses on five European trends in the education and development of teachers: professionalism, inheritances, research, feminisation and globalisation. It is proposed that "Anglophone" policies (which are equated with neo-liberalism) and "European" policies (which are equated with social democracy) have different emphases and priorities, though, in turn, are shaped by specific national cultures and histories. At the same time, shared concerns are evident across nations, policies, cultures and histories--hence the question posed in the title of the paper as to whether teacher education in different countries is "Uniquely Similar or Similarly Unique?".     

Brain disease and the study of learning disabilities in the Netherlands (c. 1950–85)

This paper discusses the role brain disease has played in the discourse and practices of child scientists involved in the study of learning disabilities and behavioural disorders from the 1950s up to the mid-1980s, particularly in the Netherlands as part of a developing international scientific community. In the pre-ADHD era, when child sciences established themselves as academic fields of study and special education expanded quickly, brain-related psychiatric labels like “minimal brain damage” (MBD, later “dysfunction”) were often used for inattentive or hyperactive children. These diagnoses seem to have contributed to the academic status of the developing field of study by connecting neurological research into brain dysfunction with the study of learning problems and their treatment. The increasing differentiation between medical and educational research provided opportunities for those who focused on the development of American-style treatment such as behaviouristic conditioning. By 1980, more than a decade after their Anglo-American colleagues had done so, Dutch child scientists had finally lost confidence in the unspecific and overinclusive MBD label. Its popularity among the larger public, as well as concern about the rapidly growing number of diagnoses, continued to stimulate demand for more research into the nature of learning disabilities and methods of remedial teaching.