Coming to Grips with Radical Social Constructivisms

This essay distinguishes two broad groups - psychological constructivists and social constructivists - but focusses upon the second of these, although it is stressed that there is great within group variation. More than half of the paper is devoted to general clearing of the ground, during which the reasons for the growing acrimony in the debates between social constructivists and their opponents are assessed, an important consequence of these debates for education is discussed, and an examination is carried out of the radical social constructivist tendency to make strong and exciting but untenable claims which are then backed away from (a tendency which is documented by a close reading of the early pages in Bloors classic book). The last portion of the essay focuses upon social constructivist accounts of the causes of belief in science - the more radical of which denegrate the role of warranting reasons, and which give an exalted place to quasi-anthropological or sociological studies of scientific communities.     

Constructivist Metaphors of Learning Science

Based on an analysis of a fundamental distinction between metaphors of finding versus making for the obtaining of new knowledge, a number of constructivist positions in education are discussed and criticised, taking account of earlier criticism particularly by Suchting and by Matthews. Constructivist claims which are denied include the claim that we have no direct access to the world, and the claim that communication is inherently meaningless. What is valuable in constructivism, namely the insistence on active learning, on respect for the pupils own thinking, and on the high priority needed for ideas taught to make sense to pupils, together with the reminder that science is a human product, is important to retain without its additional and ill-founded philosophical baggage.     

The non-education of Kurds: A Kurdish perspective

Educational provision in Kurdistan (embracing parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey) violates most of the language-in-education requirements of international law. The same is true for Kurds in diaspora in most parts of the world. Linguistic and cultural genocide is attempted, with the tacit complicity of the West. The future of Kurdish education depends to a large extent on the political situation in the Middle East. Political solutions are needed before educational problems can be tackled. Within international law, a new interpretation by the UN Human Rights Committee of Article 27 in the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN 1986) might give grounds for hope for the future.

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Zusammenfassung Bildungsmöglichkeiten in Kurdistan (einschließlich Teilen Irans, Iraks, Syriens und der Türkei) entsprechen nicht den internationalen Forderungen zur Sprachpolitik in der Bildung. Das gleiche gilt für Diaspora Kurden in den meisten Teilen der Welt. Mit stillschweigender Übereinkunft des Westen wird der linguistische und kulturelle Massenmord angestrebt. Die Zukunft der kurdischen Bildung hängt größtenteils von der politischen Situation im mittleren Osten ab. Bevor jedoch das Bildungsproblem gelöst werden kann, braucht man politische Lösungen. Innerhalb des internationalen Gesetzes könnte eine neue Auslegung des Artikel 27 im Internationalen Convent über zivile und politische Rechte (UN 1968) durch das Menschenrechtskommittee der Vereinten Nationen Hoffnung für die Zukunft bringen.

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Resumen La educación prestada en Kurdistán (que comprende partes de Irán, Iraq, Siria y Turquía) viola la mayor parte de las exigencias que el derecho internacional establece en cuanto a la educación en la lengua correspondiente del individuo. Esto también rige para los kurdos, que se encuentran en la diáspora, en muchas partes del mundo. Con ello se intenta un genocidio cultural, con la complicidad tácita del mundo occidental. El futuro de la educación kurda depende en gran medida de la situación política de Oriente Medio. Se requieren soluciones políticas que permitan abordar los problemas de la educación, Dentro del derecho internacional, puede dar lugar a esperanzas una nueva interpretación que el Comité de Derechos Ilumanos de las Naciones Unidas hizo del artículo 27 en el Convenio Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos (UN 1986).

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Résumé Les formes d'enseignement dispensé au Kurdistan (partagé entre l'Iran, l'Iraq, la Syrie et al Turquie) violent la plupart des exigences envers les langues dans l'enseignement établies par le droit international. La même constatation est valable pour la diaspora kurde disséminée sur la quasi-totalité de la planète. Il ya a en fait tentative de génocide linguistique et culturel, avec la complicité tacite de l'Occident. L'avenir de l'éducation kurde dépendant dans une large mesure de la situation politique au Moyen-Orient, les problèmes pédagogiques ne peuvent être abordés que si la situation politique est résolue. Dans le adre du droit international, une nouvelle interprétation de l'article 27 de la Convention internationale des droits civils et politiques par le Comité des droits de l'hommes (ONU 1986) pourrait donner un nouvel espoir pour l'avenir.

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Occupational interests of Barbadian adolescents

A sample of 850 adolescents in the Caribbean island of Barbados indicated their general interest in 90 locally available occupations which were designated male, female or either sex in accordance with judgements of present employment of the sexes in these positions, and named up to three jobs for which they had particular preference. Results showed sex to have a pervasive influence on both general interest and particular job choice, although both males and females were most strongly attracted to modern sector, mid/high status managerial positions. Implications for career guidance in schools, and for further research, are discussed.     

The decline of the modern paradigm in education

The education system is widely perceived to be functioning poorly, and this paper argues that there is in fact a deep crisis caused by the gap between the system and the changing world that surrounds it. Post-modern conditions stress the production of information rather than the productivity of land or capital, and a relativistic world-view rather than adherence to a fixed religion or ideology, which in turn gives rise to pluralism and shifting social frameworks. At the same time, the pursuit of Truth is no longer seen as the highest goal in life, and the possession of proof of education is no longer a guarantee of access to the Good Life. Educational institutions are dysfunctional because they remain wedded to outmoded parameters in their aims, activities, structures, methods and perceptions of their clientele. Through a wide-ranging review of recent conceptual debate and assessment of social trends, the paper explores the implications of radical contemporary changes in the parameters: the search for a new paradigm of education has only just begun.

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Zusammenfassung Das Bildungssystem wird weitgehend als unzulänglich betrachtet, und dieser Artikel argumentiert dahingehend, daß es in der Tat eine tiefgreifende Krise gibt, die durch die Kluft zwischen dem System und der sich ändernden Welt um es herum ist. Postmoderne Bedingungen legen eher Wert auf die Erstellung von Informationen als auf die Produktivität von Land oder Kapital. Man zieht eine relativistische Weltanschauung einer festgelegten Religion oder Ideologie vor, die wiederum Pluralismus und sich ändernde soziale Rahmenbedingungen fördert. Gleichzeitig wird die Suche nach der Wahrheit nicht länger als oberstes Ziel im Leben angesehen und der Besitz von Bildungsnachweisen ist nicht länger eine Garantie für ein gutes Leben. Bildungsinstitutionen funktionieren nicht mehr, weil sie in ihren Zielen, Aktivitäten, Strukturen, Methoden und Wahrnehmungen ihrer Zielen, Aktivitäten, Strukturen, Methoden und Wahrnehmungen ihrer Zielgruppen mit unzeitgemäßen Normen verknüpft sind. Mittels eines weitreichenden überblicks über jüngste Debatten über Konzepte und die Einschätzung sozialer Trends, untersucht der Artikel die Auswirkungen radikaler zeitgenössischer Anderungen der Normen; die Suche nach einem neuen Paradigma der Bildung hat gerade erst begonnen.

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Resumen Hay una percepción general de que el funcionamiento del sistema de educación es deficiente, y este trabajo sostiene que, efectivamente, se produce una profunda crisis causada por la brecha existente entre el sistema y el mundo cambiante que lo rodea. Las condiciones postmodernistas ponen énfasis en la producción de informaciones más que en la productividad de la tierra o del capital, y en una óptica del mundo relativista más que en la adhesión a una religión o ideología fija, lo que por su parte da origen al pluralismo y a sistemas sociales cambiantes. Al mismo tiempo, la busca de la Verdad ya no es considerada como la meta más importante en la vida, y la titularidad de pruebas de formación ya no garantiza el acceso a la Buena Vida. Las instituciones de la educación muestran una disfunción porque aún se atienen a parámetros obsoletos en cuanto a objetivos, actividades, estructuras, métodos y percepciones de su clientela. A través de una amplia reseña de debates conceptuales recientes y de la valoración de tendencias sociales, el trabajo explora las implicaciones que los cambios radicales contemporáneos tienen en los parámetros; la busca de un nuevo paradigma de educaión solamente acaba de comenzar.

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Résumé Le système éducatif a la réputation largement répandue de mal fonctionner, et l'article expose qu'il existe en effet une crise profonde due à l'écart entre le système d'éducation et le monde en évolution qui l'entoure. Les conditions de vie post-modernes font passer au premier plan la production de l'information à la place de la productivité de la terre et du capital, et une vision du monde relativiste remplace l'adhésion à une religion ou une idéologie fixe, qui à son tour engendre le pluralisme et la modification des structures sociales. Parallèlement, la recherche de la vérité n'est plus le but suprême dans la vie, et la détention d'une preuve d'éducation n'est plus une garantie d'accès à une vie réussie. Le dysfonctionnement des institutions éducatives réside donc dans leur attachement obstiné à des modèles périmés quant à leurs objectifs, leurs activités, leurs structures, leurs méthodes et leur vision de la clientèle. Sur la base d'une vaste étude sur le récent débat conceptuel et une évaluation des tendances sociales, l'article analyse les conséquences des changements radicaux contemporains sur ces modèles: la recherche d'un nouveau type d'éducation ne fait que commencer.

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The impact of scienceware and foundations on students' attitudes towards science and science classes

In this paper, we describe changes in students' ideas about science classes, attitudes about science, and motivations for studying science, in a classroom designed to support projectbased science learing. Using a survey designed to provide a measure of students' attitudes towards science classes and science, we have compared students enrolled in a traditional high school biology course, with students enrolled in an integrated, project-based science course called Foundations I. Survey responses were analyzed to look at differences between and within two groups of students over the course of one school year. In general, the results of this study suggest that providing students with opportunities to collect and analyze their own data in science classes results in a change in students' ideas about science classrooms. Foundations I students' increased tendency to agree with statements about using information, drawing conclusions, and thinking about problems, implies a change in their understanding of what it means to do science in school. These students, in contrast to students in the traditional Biology course, no longer describe their science experience as one of memorization, textbook reading, and test taking. Instead they see science class as a place in which they can collect data, draw conclusions, and formulate and solve problems.     

Scientific Understanding: Lacey's ‘Critical Self-Consciousness’ Seen as Echoes of J.D. Bernal

From a consideration of the nature of scientific understanding and the control of nature Lacey proposes a set of criteria by which the reform of science teaching might be guided. He uses the term critical self-consciousness to describe the development of learner's appreciation of the character of scientific activity, its applications, and the choices citizens face in society. By this latter he means responsible participation, presumably in the debates surrounding the character of scientific activity, its applications, and the choices inherent in these. In this paper I show that Lacey's vision of the schooling of science through the development of critical self-consciousness has been articulated by others at different epochs, and probably from different ideological perspectives. Knowledge of these will help Lacey in his search for an education in science which promotes citizens' participation rather than alienating them from decision-making in society.     

Idealisation and Galileo’s Pendulum Discoveries: Historical, Philosophical and Pedagogical Considerations

Galileos discovery of the properties of pendulum motion depended on his adoption of the novel methodology of idealisation. Galileos laws of pendulum motion could not be accepted until the empiricist methodological constraints placed on science by Aristotle, and by common sense, were overturned. As long as scientific claims were judged by how the world was immediately seen to behave, and as long as mathematics and physics were kept separate, then Galileos pendulum claims could not be substantiated; the evidence was against them. Proof of the laws required not just a new science, but a new way of doing science, a new way of handling evidence, a new methodology of science. This was Galileos method of idealisatioin. It was the foundation of the Galilean–Newtonian Paradigm which characterised the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, and the subsequent centuries of modern science. As the pendulum was central to Galileos and Newtons physics, appreciating the role of idealisation in their work is an instructive way to learn about the nature of science.     

From Conant's Education Strategy to Kuhn's Research Strategy

The seminal influence of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions on the history, philosophy, and sociology of science illustrates how changes in pedagogical demands can significantly alter patterns of research. Kuhn's book was honed as a teacher in the General Education of Science curriculum designed by Harvard President James Bryant Conant, to whom Structure is dedicated. The courses targeted non-scientists who would have to make policy decisions in the dawning Atomic Age, where science would play an increasing role, despite the public skepticism generated by the atomic bomb (which Conant administered). Conant wanted these future policymakers to be connoisseurs of science who understood problematic Big Science as continuing the basic mindset of culturally valued Little Science. This partly explains why Kuhn presented science as following the same stages, regardless of the specific science and period under discussion. I consider three other senses in Conant's curriculum left its imprint on Kuhn's research practice: the use of case histories to manufacture the internal/external history distinction; the invention of the historiographical mirage known as normal science; the application of the incommensurability thesis to create a more receptive attitude to past scientists.     

Women in higher education

The high level of admissions of women into higher education in Japanis analysed in the context of examining revised views about the highereducation of women resulting from changes in the traditional view of therelationship between higher education and social values. Despite the shiftin womens educational expectations, there is still clear evidence that agender track continues; typically men congregate in four year institutionswhilst women focus on Junior Colleges and on particular courses of studydeemed to be appropriate for women. The gender track is furtherdemonstrated by detailed studies of the Junior College and the WomensCollege. Womens employment opportunities are shown to have been affected byrestrictive attitudes of employers which tended in the past to impose onwomen particular modes of employment. The reasons for the emergence of achange in these attitudes in the latter part of the 1980s are explored andthe impact of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1986 is examined. Thearticle concludes by considering the wider implications for women, both inthe work-place and in society more generally, of these developments. It isnoted that highly educated Japanese women tend to hold more conservativevalues and may see their education as an expression of their social statusrather than a way of increasing their earning power. The recentestablishment of a number of courses in Womens Studies may well have aninfluence upon future developments in ideas about women and higher educationin Japan.     

Sensing the Impact of Elementary School Science Reform: A Study of Stakeholder Perceptions of Implementation,Constructivist Strategies,and School–Home Collaboration

This case study of a midwestern school districts reform effort explored the treatment fidelity of the Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature (Science PALs) project. Data were collected from the perspectives of three stakeholders: students, school district, and parents. Students and school district supervisors perceptions indicated that teachers were implementing predicted curricular and instructional features promoted by the Science PALs project. Students perceptions of their current teachers classroom performance did not parallel the supervisors perceptions of the teachers implementation. Parents perceptions and comments indicated a high level of satisfaction with the implemented features. Collectively, the three perspectives suggest that the Science PALs project was successful in changing the classroom practices of K–6 teachers involved in the professional development. The results of this study appear to support the findings of other recent studies that indicate the need for extended professional development and support to fully implement changes in elementary school science instruction.     

Career Development and the Needs of Young College-Educated Females in Taiwan

This interpretive study examined the lived experiences of young college-educated Taiwanese women employed as clerical workers. Using hermeneutic phenomenology as the research methodology, the study explored the meanings of the participants lived experiences. Systematic text analysis of the data revealed various experiences and expectations. Experience themes identified in the study were: (a) bored and busy; and (b) disrespected and mistrusted. Major expectation themes revealed are: (a) career dreams and aspirations; and (b) desire for meaningful work. The study emphasised the importance of career development education in young Taiwanese women. The experiences of Taiwanese female clerical workers as recorded in the study reflected a need for career development, which might provide insightful information for career development scholars and practitioners.     

Counsellor education and the future: Cautious sailing

The future remains always elusive and yet by examining the present, some hints of what is to come may be seen by the discerning. In this article, six existing social forces (the baby boom, the new woman, the silicon chip, disenchantment, the monetary system and the increased tempo of modern life) are reviewed as well as some of the implications of these forces for counselling education programmes. The hope is that such an examination will help counsellors and counsellor educators to be better prepared for the future and therefore better able to influence it.University of Alberta     

Is Christian Education Compatible With Science Education?

Science education and Christian education are not compatible if byChristian education one means teaching someone to be a Christian. Onegoal of science education is to give students factual knowledge. Even whenthere is no actual conflict of this knowledge with the dogmas ofChristianity, there exists the potential for conflict. Another goal ofscience education is to teach students to have the propensity to be sensitiveto evidence: to hold beliefs tentatively in light of evidence and to rejectthese beliefs in the light of new evidence if rejection is warranted by thisevidence. This propensity conflicts with one way in which beliefs are oftentaught in Christian education: namely as fundamental dogmas, rather than assubject to revision in the light of the evidence.     

The concepts of science in Japanese and Western education

Using structural linguistics, the present article offers an impartial frame of reference to analyze science education in the non-Western world. In Japan, science education has been free from epistemological reflection because Japan regards science only as effective technology for modernization. By not taking account of the world-view aspect of science, Japan can treat science as not self-referential. Issues of science education are then rather simple; they are only concerned with the question of how to, and answers to this question are judged according to the efficiency achieved for modernization.Science, however, is a way of seeing nature. This word is generally translated into Japanese as shizen which has a totally different connotation and therefore does not lead to an understanding of the Western scientific spirit. Saussure's approach to language is used to expose the consequences of the misinterpretations that spring from this situation. In order to minimize or prevent these misinterpretations, it is emphasized that science education should be identified with foreign language education in the non-Western world.     

Whitehead and a new look at teaching elementary science

If Whitehead is right, science teachers who try to increase student interest by making the science they teach more pure and by covering more material are going about their work in just the wrong way. Science, for purposes of precision in measurement, translates the dynamic world of feeling and force, of causal efficacy (for example, the San Francisco earthquake), into a static representation spatialized and given presentational immediacy (for example, the Richter scale). But notice that the Richter scale isn't very interesting (even as abstract art) apart from its connection, via symbolic reference, to the earthquake. Such reference is essential to give both a sense of reality and a feeling of interes to the subject, but it makes the science less pure, and it takes more time to cover the material. An example of teaching pure and impure formal logic is given as a case study.     

Intuitive rules: A way to explain and predict students' reasoning

Through our work in mathematics and science education we have observed that students react similarly to a wide variety of conceptually unrelated situations. Our work suggests that many responses which the literature describes as alternative conceptions could be interpreted as evolving from common, intuitive rules. This paper describes and discusses one such rule, manifested when two systems are equal with respect to a certain quantity A but differ in another quantity B. We found that in such situations, students often argue that Same amount of A implies same amount of B. Our claim is that such responses are specific instances of the intuitive rule Same A—same B. This approach explains common sources for students'; conceptions and has strong predictive power.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Education and schooling

An analysis of the concept of education has been thought necessary by philosophers of education in the past in order to provide a measuring stick against which the genuineness and quality of purportedly educational activities and educated people could be gauged. R.S. Peters and John Wilson have both offered new analysis of education and it is here argued that each fails: Peters' because it will allow too much to count as educational and Wilson's because it will permit too little. The author's position is that the concept of education is too vague to admit of precise characterization, hence further analysis is futile. In its place is offered an analysis of the concept ofschooling. Schooling is less vague and can be divided intotypes of schooling each of which provides criteria for establishing the genuineness and quality of educational activities and educated people.

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Zusammenfassung In der Vergangenheit wurde eine Analyse des Erziehungsbegriffs von Erziehungsphilosophen für nötig gehalten, um einen Maßstab zu schaffen, anhand dessen Echtheit und Güte von beabsichtigten erzieherischen Aktivitäten und der Ausgebildeten abgelesen werden könnte. R.S. Peters und John Wilson haben beide eine neue Erziehungsanalyse vorgeschlagen, und der Autor legt dar, daß eine wie die andere fehlschlagen: Peters Analyse, weil sie erlaube, zu viel zum Erzieherischen zu zählen und Wilsons, weil sie zu wenig gestatte. Der Autor meint, daß der Erziehungsbegriff viel zu ungenau ist, um abgrenzende Beschreibung zuzulassen, und daher weitere Analyse vergeblich ist. Stattdessen wird eine Analyse des BegriffsSchulung vorgeschlagen. Schulung ist weniger ungenau und kann in zwei Schulungstypen unterteilt werden, welche beide Kritieren liefern, zur Feststellung von Echtheit und Güte der erzieherischen Aktivitäten und der Ausgebildeten.

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Résumé On pensait autrefois que l'analyse du concept de l'éducation présentée par les philosophes de l'éducation était nécessaire à l'élaboration d'une échelle de mesure d'après laquelle on pouvait apprécier l'authenticité et la qualité des activités pédagogiques visées et des personnes instruites. R.S. Peters et John Wilson ont présenté l'un et l'autre une nouvelle analyse de l'éducation et l'on démontre dans cet article que les deux échouent: celle de Peters parce qu'elle prend trop en considération l'aspect pédagogique, celle de Wilson pas assez au contraire. L'auteur pense que le concept de l'éducation est trop vague pour permettre une définition précise, ce qui rend tout autre analyse futile. On offre donc à la place une analyse du concept de l'instruction. L'instruction est moins indéfinie et peut être divisée entypes d'instruction, chacun pouvant fournir les critères de détermination de l'authenticité et de la qualité des activités pédagogiques et des personnes instruites.

     

“Without Contraries is no Progression”: Dust as an All-Inclusive, Multifunctional Metaphor in Philip Pullman's “His Dark Materials”

Drawing on John Milton's Paradise Lost and on motifs found within Gnostic mythology and the poetry of William Blake, this article explores Philip Pullman's reworking of the Judeo-Christian myth of the Fall. At the centre of this investigation is Dust: a conventional metaphor for human physicality inspired by God's judgment on humanity. This article suggests that Dust is re-presented in the trilogy in a more positive manner through the development of Milton's metaphor of the dark materials into a substance in which good and evil, and spirit and matter—conceptual opposites that form the basis of religious dualism—coexist.     

The cultural grid: A framework for multicultural counseling

The Cultural Grid suggests a structure for interpreting a person's behavior in the context of culturally learned expectations. When two persons' expectations are similar, but their behaviors are dissimilar, cross cultural misunderstanding is likely to result. When their expectations are dissimilar, the result is likely to be a personal misunderstanding even though their behaviors are similar. This article introduces a framework for differentiating personal and cultural differences in the interview which is essential for appropriate multicultural counseling. The alternatives are to allow apparent and obvious cultural differences to mask underlying personal differences or to incorrectly assume that two persons who appear culturally similar are having a personal disagreement.