Aboriginal non-attendance at school: Revisiting the debate

Non-attendance at school among significant numbers of Aboriginal students has been officially recognised as a major problem since at least the mid 1980s. This article reviews the findings from recent literature on non-attendance within the context of a case study in Perth, Western Australia. Data for the study was obtained from a questionnaire of service providers and district-wide statistics on non-attendance. From this data the following have been identified: the various forms of non-attendance, causal factors associated with non-attendance, and limitations in service provision. Implications relating to policy development are also discussed.     

Revisiting a student-oriented curriculum in the Nigerian secondary school system

Abstract

The increasing gap between what students learn and what they remember has agitated the minds of educators in recent times. The apparent gap is that teaching tends to be more theoretical than practical. For instance an apparent absence of relevant instructional materials, skilled vocational education personnel and the current lack of awareness on the part of policy makers on the advantages of pragmatic education, constitute current obstacles to the actualisation of pragmatic student-oriented secondary school education curriculum in Nigeria. However, this paper therefore, describes methods by which secondary school education can be made more functional through the introduction of more practical learning schemes which shall ultimately equip graduates with revenue generating and life skills. Fifty teachers and 150 students were randomly selected for the study from formal and non-formal secondary schools in Calabar Metropolis and Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State of Nigeria. Ex-post facto design was adopted. A 16 item questionnaire constructed on a modified four-point Likert-type scale was used for data collection. The data was analysed using simple percentages, independent t-test and a One-way analysis of variance. The findings revealed that, the schools lack adequate instructional materials and adequately trained vocational education teachers. Based on this, it was recommended among others, that a student-oriented curriculum be implemented in line with the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Education For All (EFA) and Universal Basic Education (UBE). Also more practical skills-oriented education and vocational education teachers should be employed to train the students on the development of functional literacy skills.     

Reasoning patterns inhibiting school effectiveness: The case of the fallacy of bifurcation

School functionaries, including principals, often argue that, given the limited resources available to them, schools are obliged to choose between an academic-instrumental orientation and a social-cultural-expressive one. Trying to attend to these two orientations simultaneously, they conclude, would cause failure in both. It is safer, therefore, to stick to only one of them. In most cases, the academic orientation prevails, in line with the social expectations prevalent in the achievement spirit characteristic of the Western world. The validity of this argument is the focus of analysis in this essay. Conceptual arguments, as well as empirical evidence, are provided to disprove such reasoning, as contaminated by the “fallacy of bifurcation” and as falsely depicting reality. Dealing only with academics obstructs tapping the personal human resources (competencies, capabilities, motivations, etc.) of the entire student population. Numerous students feel “out,” not belonging to the culture of the school; consequently, many dissociate themselves from school goals and norms, and school effectiveness is inhibited. The conclusions of this analysis are important for any school management. They are, however, vital for minority-populated and for multiethnic or multicultural ones.     

论职业学校组织结构与效能

当前,职业教育出现的问题很大程度上根源于职业学校的效能低下。其主要原因之一是职业学校组织结构不合理。因此,应该重视对职业学校组织结构的改革和建设,使其为提高职业学校效能服务。     

中专办学如何直面WTO

加入WTO,中专办学面临严峻挑战,我们应努力做到"八要"转变教育观念;创新办学体制;调整专业结构;改革教学方法;抓好教材建设;加强思想政治工作;强化教师队伍建设;狠抓学校内部管理.     

加强职业指导提高职校学生综合素质

本文阐述了职业学校开展职业指导工作的必要性，职业指导对提高学生综合素质的重要意义，介绍了怎样结合职校各项教育教学工作进行职业指导的方法。     

职业学校办学模式的探讨

随着知识经济、经济全球化的到来和职业教育改革步代的加快，社会对人才的需求提出了更多更新的要求，这就要求职业学校必须进行多样化办学，依据经济发展的需要和自身的实际进行办学模式的探索。     

依法治校营造高职院校管理新常态

在中国共产党的十四届三中全会上首次提出了"依法治国"的理念,这表明了我国中共中央要把社会主义新中国建设成为法制社会的决心。而在学校领域,我们也要彻底的贯彻中共中央依法治国的决心,就形成了依法治校的理念,依法治校要求各级学校单位,改变以往的管理观念,用法治来实现社会主义新中国的依法治校,它要求各级单位以人为本,以法为依据,营造出民主平等的学校管理的新常态,而在各级学校中高职院校又是社会主义新青年走向社会的第一步,所以更要彻底的贯彻依法治校的理念[1]。     

Incorporating a vocational component into a school psychological evaluation: A case example

Vocational assessment services increasingly are being provided to handicapped secondary school students as a result of recent federal legislation. This article describes the need for such services and describes a vocationally oriented psychological evaluation completed on a handicapped adolescent by a school psychologist. The relevance of traditionally derived school psychological assessment data in vocational programming, the value of expanding assessment batteries to include vocationally specific assessment techniques, and the writing of vocationally oriented psychological reports are discussed.     

谈职业指导课程的内容

职业学校开设职业指导课，全面、深入、系统地对学生进行职业指导，是我国教育体制和劳动就业制度改革的必然要求，是职业教育面临的一项紧迫任务，也是当前贯彻落实素质教育的重要举措。     

中职生如何增强法制观念

依法治国是我国的基本国策,而法制教育则是依法治国的一项重要内容。应当说,在中职学生中强化法制教育,增强其法制意识与法制观念,则是实施依法治国战略的根本性工作。根据当前中职生法律观念现状,提出了增强中职生法制观念的主要途径。     

关于中职学校计算机网络教学的思考

目前,随着教育改革的不断深入,网络教学成为了一种新的教学模式,它把多媒体教学和网络有效的联系在一起,改变了以往传统的教学模式。本文通过分析计算机网络教学对中职院校的影响,提出了一些应注意的问题。     

如何培养中师学生学习哲学的兴趣

中师哲学课,有利于帮助学生树立正确的世界观、人生观和价值观,促进学生健康成长。但哲学课内容比较抽象,理论性较强,如果缺乏一定方法和技巧,就激不起学生学习的兴趣。这就要求教师在教学中运用史鉴、笑话、俗语、漫画、寓言等激发学生的学习兴趣。     

如何培养中师学生学习哲学的兴趣

中师哲学课,有利于帮助学生树立正确的世界观、人生观和价值观,促进学生健康成长.但哲学课内容比较抽象,理论性较强,如果缺乏一定方法和技巧,就激不起学生学习的兴趣.这就要求教师在教学中运用史鉴、笑话、俗语、漫画、寓言等激发学生的学习兴趣.