Toward a Wonderland of comparative education

ABSTRACT

The publication of Noah & Eckstein's Toward a Science of Comparative Education (1969, Macmillan, NY) marked the beginning of an increasingly narrow research trajectory in comparative education, claiming a universality for Western knowledge and privileging scientific rationality in research. Juxtaposing the ‘science’ to Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, such comparative education relegated more-than-human worlds and spiritual domains of learning – and being – to our collective pasts, personal childhood memories, or imaginations. How can we reorient and attune ourselves toward a Wonder(land), rather than a Science of comparative education exclusively, opening spaces for multiple ways of making sense of the world, and multiple ways of being? How can we reanimate our capacity toengage with a more-than-human world? Based on the analysis of children’s literature and textbooks published during various historical periods in Latvia, this article follows the white rabbit to reexamine taken-for-granted dichotomies – nature and culture, time and space, self and other – by bringing the ‘pagan’ worldviews or nature-centred spiritualities more clearly into focus, while reimagining education and childhood beyond the Western horizon.     

Robots of the future

Robots are a subset of “smart structures” — engineered constructs that can “think” and adapt to the environment. Robots can work even in environments not conducive to humans (e.g. areas with high levels of nuclear radiation). Intelligent robots will find a large range of applications in defence and nuclear industries, as also other scientific, technological, and commercial applications. Robotics is therefore a strategically important field of research. The question is: How smart or intelligent can the robots become? The answer is that perhaps there is no readily-conceivable upper limit. In fact, there is a strong section of opinion that, within the present century itself, robots will overtake humans in practically all aspects of mental and physical capability, and they will then evolve further at a rapid rate, with or without our help. Expert opinion is bound to be divided when we look too far into the future. Some scientists think that there is nothing much that we can do to control or prevent the inevitable and fast evolution of machine intelligence.     

Impact of European projects on engineering education

Various European programmes represent invaluable help and source of experience for universities in Central and Eastern Europe. Being an emerging university that was established just 8 years ago, we welcomed the chance to be involved in numerous projects that introduced us to the area of European cooperation. Last summer two very interesting projects concerning our university were finished (in terms of financing from the sources mentioned above) and so it is a good occasion to evaluate the progress of our international co-operation in the last 3 years and to look forward towards further development of our established links. The first project was financed by The British Know How Fund and its aim was to bring together the University of Hull, UK, and the Faculty of Informatics and Management UHK in Hradec KrÁlové (FIM). The second project, called INSYPA, was a Joint European Project within the frame of the TransEuropean Mobility Programme for University Studies (Tempus). Both projects were extremely fruitful for us but so different one from another that we think it might be interesting to compare them. The contribution describes our original plans, their development, evolution of our partnership, the problems which arose and were solved. The main stress is given to expertise obtained, methods of assessment, persistent links and their influence on our integration to EU educational and research programmes.     

School Chemistry: An Historical and Philosophical Approach

Since at least the eighteenth century scientific knowledge (then natural philosophy) was produced in groups of experts and specialists and was transmitted in schools, where, future experts and specialists were trained. The design of teaching has always been a complex process particularly in recent years when educational aims (for example, teaching scientific competence to everyone, not just to experts and specialists) present significant challenges. These challenges are much more than a simple reorganisation of the scientific knowledge pre-determined by the existing teaching tradition for different educational level. In the context of chemical education, the new teaching approaches should bring about not only the transmission of chemical knowledge but also a genuine chemical activity so as to ensure that students can acquire chemical thinking. Chemistry teaching should be revised according to contemporary demands of schooling. In order to move forward towards new teaching proposals, we must identify the genuine questions that generate ‘chemical criteria’ and we should focus on them for teaching. We think that a good strategy is to look for those criteria in the philosophy and history of chemistry, from the perspective of didactics of science. This paper will examine the following questions: (1) How can school science be designed as a world-modelling activity by drawing on the philosophy of science. (2) How can ‘stories’ about the emergence of chemical entities be identified by looking at the history of chemistry? (3) How can modelling strategies be structured in school chemistry activities?     

How a Deweyan science education further enables ethics education

This paper questions the perceived divide between ‘science’ subject matter and ‘moral’ or ‘ethical’ subject matter. A difficulty that this assumed divide produces is that science teachers often feel that there needs to be ‘special treatment’ given to certain issues which are of an ethical or moral nature and which are ‘brought into’ the science class. The case is made in this article that dealing with ethical issues in the science class should not call for a sensitivity that is beyond the expertise of the science teacher. Indeed it is argued here that science teachers in particular have a great deal to offer in enabling ethics education. To overcome this perceived divide between science and values it needs to be recognised that the educative development of learners is both scientific and moral. I shall be using a Deweyan perspective to make the case that we as science teachers can overcome this apparent divide and significantly contribute to an ethics education of our students.     

Explicating <Emphasis Type="Italic">mathematical concept</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">mathematicalconception</Emphasis> as theoretical constructs for mathematics education research

Mathematical understanding continues to be one of the major goals of mathematics education. However, what is meant by “mathematical understanding” is underspecified. How can we operationalize the idea of mathematical understanding in research? In this article, I propose particular specifications of the terms mathematical concept and mathematical conception so that they may serve as useful constructs for mathematics education research. I discuss the theoretical basis of the constructs, and I examine the usefulness of these constructs in research and instruction, challenges involved in their use, and ideas derived from our experience using them in research projects. Finally, I provide several examples of articulated mathematical concepts.     

Closing address

Now that the present international Conference is about to end, I wish to express my heartiest congratulations to the European Society for Engineering Education for organizing their work so remarkably well. I also wish to express my thanks for having been invited to wind up your discussions. You made an excellent choice of theme when you decided to study an engineer's training in an economic and social context. How could one, in fact, remain indifferent to the profound scientific and technical changes that have, during these last decades, affected the whole world? How could one be insensitive to the prodigious technological evolution that will, to be sure, upset our way of life in the next few years? But also, how can we not realize that the transformations that have forged contemporary civilization are essentially due to the engineer's work, thanks to whom the fruits of scientific progress have been mastered to an extraordinary degree.     

Proteus Rising: Re‐Imagining Educational Research

The idea that educational research should be ‘scientific’, and ideally based on randomised control trials, is in danger of becoming hegemonic. In the face of this it seems important to ask what other kinds of educational research can be respectable in their own different terms. We might also note that the demand for research to be ‘scientific’ is characteristically modernist, and thus arguably local and temporary. It is then tempting to consider what non‐modernist approaches might look like. The purpose of this article is to sketch a case for one particular reaction against modernist thinking: romanticism. How might our understanding (apprehension, sense) of education be changed by readmitting the insights and perspectives of romanticism? And, crucially, what confidence could we have in educational research that was thus inspired and that took the ‘romantic turn’?     

“具体化”管理方法提升生物学研究生科研及论文质量

虽然我国研究生教育的数量上去了,但质量仍然堪忧。导师如何指导研究生是提高培养质量的决定性因素,以科研实验具体化为基础,通过科研方法透彻化、实验结果反馈技术及时化提高研究生的科研实践水平,通过平时收集素材,经常进行小结,并学会各种写作技巧来强化科研写作训练,这些“具体化”的管理方法可提高生物学研究生的科研及论文质量。     

The Importance of History and Philosophy of Science in Correcting Distorted Views of ‘Amount of Substance’ and ‘Mole’ Concepts in Chemistry Teaching

The knowledge of historical facts can help teachers and students to correctly appreciate a variety of scientific theories. It is important to be aware of the evolution of the basic concepts, particularly the ones our students find very abstract and therefore difficult to understand. Historical knowledge of chemical concepts will allow us to understand their difficulties and make them easier to teach successfully. In this paper we answer the following research questions: what was the historic and sociologic context in which chemical equivalent, mole and its magnitude amount of substance were introduced to science? How the lack of historic knowledge in science teaching contributes to the presence of distorted views of science and hampers meaningful learning?     

‘Whoever does not write is written’: the role of ‘nature’ in post‐post approaches to environmental education research

While McKenzie mentions in passing her concern about anthropocentrism and human oppression of the natural world, she is mostly silent about the role of ‘nature’ in post‐post approaches to environmental education research. If one takes feminist poststructuralist ideas about voice and representation seriously, surely the place of ‘nature’ in environmental education research must be interrogated? Is there space for ‘nature’ in multivocal representations of research? How might our own polyvocality include our experiences of our animality? How might we assess the legitimacy of such representations? What are the limits and possibilities of post‐post approaches to environmental education research when ‘nature’ is taken into account?     

英语专业本科翻译教学中语用能力的培养

学生在英汉翻译时缺乏语用意识,导致语用失误,进而影响翻译质量。因此,如何在翻译教学中培养学生的语用能力是一个亟待解决的问题。可从以下几个方面着手进行：⑴翻译教学中增加中西方文化对比,增强学生的语用意识;⑵强调翻译中语境因素的影响;⑶在翻译实践中加强语用能力的培养,通过比较不同译本,引导学生发现语用失误,并进行改正。     

Scaffolding Preservice Science Teachers' Evidence-Based Arguments During an Investigation of Natural Selection

In this qualitative case study, preservice science teachers (PSTs) enrolled in their advanced methods course participated in a complex, data-rich investigation based on an adapted version of the Struggle for Survival curriculum. Fundamental to the investigation was the use of the Galapagos Finches software and an emphasis on giving priority to evidence and constructing evidence-based arguments. The questions that guided the research were: (1) What is the nature of the scientific arguments developed by PSTs? (2) How do PSTs go about constructing scientific arguments (emphasis on processes and strategies)? (3) In what ways do the scaffolds embedded in the Galapagos Finches software influence the development of PSTs arguments? Two pairs of PSTs were selected for in-depth examination. The primary sources of data were the electronic artifacts generated in the Galapagos Finches software environment and the videotaped interactions of both pairs as they investigated the data set, constructed and revised their arguments, engaged in peer review sessions, and presented their arguments to the class at the end of the unit. Four major patterns emerged through analysis of the data. First, using the software, PSTs consistently constructed claims that were linked to evidence from the investigation. Second, although PSTs consistently grounded their arguments in evidence, they still exhibited a number of limitations reported in the literature. Third, the software served as a powerful vehicle for revealing PSTs knowledge of evolution and natural selection. Finally, the PSTs approach to the task had a strong influence on the way they used the software.     

Deepening the exchange of student teaching experiences: implications for the pedagogy of teacher education of recent insights into teacher behaviour

How can teacher education seminars be arranged in such a way that theory is integrated with student teachers’ practical experiences? In order to study this key question, we first present a theoretical framework on the sources of teacher behaviour, and discuss its implications for practices within teacher education. Next, we describe our development research study, which led to the identification of three approaches that can help to integrate student teachers’ experiences with theory. We introduce a five-step procedure characteristic of all three of them illustrating each approach with real-life examples of interventions and their effects.     

Promoting inclusive education, civic scientific literacy, and global citizenship with videogames

In this response to Yupanqui Munoz and Charbel El-Hani??s paper, ??The student with a thousand faces: From the ethics in videogames to becoming a citizen??, we examine their critique of videogames in science education. Munoz and El-Hani present a critical analysis of videogames such as Grand Theft Auto, Street Fight, Command and Conquer: Generals, Halo, and Fallout 3 using Neil Postman??s (1993) conceptualization of technopoly along with Bill Green and Chris Bigum??s (1993) notion of the cyborg curriculum. Our contention is that these games are not representative of current educational videogames about science, which hold the potential to enhance civic scientific literacy across a diverse range of students while promoting cross-cultural understandings of complex scientific concepts and phenomenon. We examine games that have undergone empirical investigation in general education science classrooms, such as River City, Quest Atlantis, Whyville, Resilient Planet, and You Make Me Sick!, and discuss the ways these videogames can engage students and teachers in a constructivist dialogue that enhances science education. Our critique extends Munoz and El-Hani??s discussion through an examination of the ways videogames can enhance science education by promoting inclusive education, civic scientific literacy, and global citizenship.     

Undergraduate geoscience education research: Evolution of an emerging field of discipline-based education research

Discipline-based education research (DBER) conducted by faculty within geoscience departments can address identified needs in undergraduate geoscience education. This study explores the evolution of undergraduate geoscience education research (GER) from 1985 to 2016, primarily in terms of the types of published research and secondarily in terms of the insights this literature offers on the evolution of GER as a scholarly discipline. Stokes’ (1997) quadrant model of research types is used as a theoretical framework for the former and Kuhn's (1970) model of disciplinary paradigm for the latter. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach to a systematic literature review of 1,760 articles is utilized. The period 1985–2000 is characterized by proto-research as evidenced by the abundance of instructive and informational education articles rather than research articles. From 2000 to 2011, GER underwent a growth period characterized by the presence of applied, use-inspired, and pure basic research. The period 2011–2016 appears to be a period of relative steady-state conditions in the normalized number of GER publications per year. Existing gaps in knowledge about geoscience education, the evident unfamiliarity with education and social science research methodologies among authors of GER articles, and efforts to build consensus about what GER is and how to conduct it suggest that GER is preparadigmatic or at a low paradigm state. That is, GER is an immature discipline as far as the evolution of a discipline goes. A path forward is proposed for the continued evolutionary growth of GER. This study provides new perspectives on the emergence of GER as a discipline that can be used as a basis for studies on cross-disciplinary DBER comparisons.     

高等师范院校教育科研工作探析

高等师范院校教育科研工作的开展与提高，一要统一思想，提高认识。为教育科研兴校战略提出可靠的依据；二要树立意识，营造氛围，创造条件，为教育科研建好路，搭好桥；三要强化管理，健全制度，做好组织、队伍建设和选题工作；四要用“经营”的思想来从事教育科研项目的组织和研究；五要建立科学、公正、合理的利益分配机制；六要增强服务意识，各级管理、服务部门为教育科研做好保驾护航工作。     

Asia Pacific science education in a knowledge society

Science education, since the end of the nineteenth century has been a formal vehicle to ensure the perpetuation of scientific knowledge necessary for general scientific literacy and the creation of a society of scientists. However, since then, beliefs about knowledge and knowing have changed from science being described as being just a pile of chronologically documented facts, through the dynamic growth of scientific knowledge as explained by Kuhn in his Structure of Scientific Revolutions, to the present twenty-first century concept of knowledge societies by which new scientific knowledge is being interpreted. Science education perspectives in relation to teacher education and pedagogies need to be frequently revisited. Indeed, many nations in the Asia-Pacific region are doing just that. How then is the teaching and learning of scientific knowledge in the region? This article will review and compare research related to science achievement, quality of science education and approaches to teaching science in the Asia-Pacific region in particular five nations, in an attempt to answer this question.     

Fostering scientific reasoning in education – meta-analytic evidence from intervention studies

Scientific reasoning skills are not just for researchers, they are also increasingly relevant for making informed decisions in our everyday lives. How can these skills be facilitated? The current state of research on supporting scientific reasoning includes intervention studies but lacks an integrated analysis of the approaches to foster scientific reasoning in primary through secondary education. This meta-analysis evaluates effect sizes taken from 30 interventions in experimental and quasi-experimental studies and shows a medium mean effect of interventions on scientific reasoning. Interventions successfully facilitate scientific discovery, scientific argumentation, or nature of science in all age groups. Moderator analyses show that interventions set in constructive and interactive learning activities yield positive effects but do not differ substantially. Although the meta-analysis is limited by the number of studies included, we can conclude that scientific reasoning can successfully be facilitated and we show which characteristics are beneficial in educational interventions.     

Inquiry-based science education: towards a pedagogical framework for primary school teachers

Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has been promoted as an inspiring way of learning science by engaging pupils in designing and conducting their own scientific investigations. For primary school teachers, the open nature of IBSE poses challenges as they often lack experience in supporting their pupils during the different phases of an open IBSE project, such as formulating a research question and designing and conducting an investigation. The current study aims to meet these challenges by presenting a pedagogical framework in which four domains of scientific knowledge are addressed in seven phases of inquiry. The framework is based on video analyses of pedagogical interventions by primary school teachers participating in open IBSE projects. Our results show that teachers can guide their pupils successfully through the process of open inquiry by explicitly addressing the conceptual, epistemic, social and/or procedural domain of scientific knowledge in the subsequent phases of inquiry. The paper concludes by suggesting further research to validate our framework and to develop a pedagogy for primary school teachers to guide their pupils through the different phases of open inquiry.