VII: Educating for citizenship and employment in Australia

Abstract

There is a long held belief in the teaching profession—a belief approximating the status of folklore—that when a teacher stays in a school for an extended amount of time, the enthusiasm for the job wanes and becomes less effective, turning into the ‘living dead’, awaiting retirement. In this folklore, then, teacher mobility is positioned as desirable—with positive outcomes for the profession and for students. Two recent studies and faculties in NSW government schools, however, suggest to us a need to problematise the notion of teacher mobility as an automatically desirable aspect of the profession. We think these studies suggest a greater degree of complexity around the issue of teacher mobility than simply viewing the ‘over stayer’ as a cynical quasi‐retiree or ‘shell back’. In fact, these studies of teachers who achieve outstanding outcomes in the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) and of faculties and programs achieving outstanding outcomes in years 7–10, suggest that length of time in a school may be directly correlated with outstanding outcomes (by underpinning a range of other factors probably more directly causative of those outcomes).     

Educating for citizenship—the emerging relationship between religious education and citizenship education

The introduction of citizenship education to school in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious education's demise. This article reports findings of a school‐based study of the early implementation of citizenship education and its impact on religious education. It discusses those findings in the context of the current debate about the future relationship between the two subjects, noting a similar ambivalence toward citizenship education among religious education heads of department, as there is among religious educationalists. The discussion includes an examination of the Crick Report, noting its lack of interest in religious education, and argues that its conceptualization of citizenship leaves it open to two quite different broad interpretations of what might be meant by an education for citizenship, one of which religious education practitioners appear to endorse and associate with religious education, and one of which they reject and associate with citizenship education.     

Consensus projects: teaching science for citizenship

In the first part of this article it is argued that knowledge of social aspects of science are of importance and relevance for science education for citizenship. The focus is on the importance of debate, criticism and evaluation of knowledge claims, within the scientific community. Knowledge of the nature and the limits of science are necessary as tools to interpret and debate statements with a science dimension occurring in debates over socio-scientific issues. The second part of this article presents a teaching model for engaging students in thoughtful decision-making on controversial socio-scientific issues. The main features of the teaching model are the evaluation and criticism of knowledge and opinions and the establishing of a consensual conclusion that includes a recommended action. Using the consensus project model implies an introduction to important social aspects of science concerning evaluation and validation of knowledge claims.     

Educating for Immortality: Spinoza and the Pedagogy of Gradual Existence

This article begins with the question: What is it to live? It is argued that, from a Spinozistic perspective, to live is not an either/or kind of matter. Rather, it is something that inevitably comes in degrees. The idea is that through good education and proper training a person can learn to increase his or her degree of existence by acquiring more adequate (as opposed to confused) ideas. This gradual qualitative enhancement of existence is an operationalization of Spinoza's quest for immortality of the mind. While Spinoza's idea of immortality differs from the traditional Christian account of the immortality of the soul in some key respects, it nevertheless concerns a form of immortality of the mind albeit grasped from a strictly naturalistic standpoint. And as such it is clear that we are faced with not only a philosophical and metaphysical problem of some magnitude but that we have come up against an educational problem that is rarely addressed. The educational problem, emanating from this, concerns the tension between Spinoza's necessitarianism and the overall goal of education. Why educate people at all if their lives are already predetermined? In addressing these problems, this article marks an attempt to present a pedagogization of the degrees of existence in Spinoza. To this end, it is argued that (1) the imitation of affects is key to understanding Spinoza in an educational setting and; (2) that teaching, in a Spinozistic context, involves the act of offering the right amount of resistance.     

Keeping company: Educating for online friendship

The possibility of online Aristotelian virtue friendships via social network sites continues to be raised by philosophers, but as yet this has not been positioned within the realm of children or adolescents, who are known to be amongst the largest users of social media. Governmental agencies across the globe still struggle to define the boundaries of online usage for children, often depending on school-based curricula highlighting ‘safe-guarding’ online or some form of character education. This, however, often leaves the philosophical thinking behind virtual relationships as incompletely addressed in educational theory, policy and practice, despite there being some very real difficulties for children. Utilising the insights of Aristotle on friendship, I offer a view that may hold potential for a philosophically based policy. I outline three different ways this philosophical literature could have implications for education and indicate the types of policy that each might entail. I will contend that there are three distinct stakeholders here that can be identified as having a significant role to play in what we should do: the schools themselves, educational researchers and policy writers. Finally, I suggest ways in which research, policy and practice might link together.     

Educating for Commitment: Insights from Postmodernity

Abstract

Secular pluralism in contemporary culture and current theological divisions within churches have important implications for Christian education. This paper addresses the question of how religious commitments can be made and convictions held outside of polarizing and exclusionary understandings of truth, and without the presence of uncontested doctrines. What habits, practices and dispositions should Christians cultivate in this context? It brings resources from postmodern theology and philosophy into conversation with the Anglican tradition, in order to propose ways that Christian education can foster faith commitment in the midst of pluralism and disagreement.

The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.—W. B. Yeats, The Second Coming

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.—Rumi     

Freeing Speech: Proverbial Wisdom and Faith Formation as Liberation

It is crucial to recover the practice of seeking and refining ways to speak of faith. Certain sayings, idioms, maxims, and proverbs constituting wisdom from various cultures help shape a faith that is liberative, particularly evident in undervalued and dominated cultures. This article examines proverbial wisdom and the patois of the street to address how we find within this a source of theological insight. It explores the intersection of linguistics and Christian theology in order to develop a concrete approach for religious education toward appreciating and appropriating cultural wisdom.     

Knowledge about the mind: links between theory of mind and later metamemory

This longitudinal study combined, in a single study, different aspects of children's knowledge about mental phenomena and thus could investigate relations among the development of language, theory of mind, and later metamemory. In total, 183 German children were tested at ages 3, 4, and 5. Each time of testing included a set of theory-of-mind tasks, a battery of language development, and additionally, at Time 3, a set of metamemory questions. The findings demonstrate strong relationships between children's language abilities and their theory of mind (both first- and second-order false beliefs). Moreover, both theory-of-mind and language competencies significantly predicted later metamemory, with their relative contribution changing over time. Language may influence metamemory developmentally both directly and indirectly (through theory of mind).     

Education for citizenship: a model for the future government of education

This paper considers models for the future government of education. It is proposed that choice will reflect dominant values about the future purpose, role and organization of education in a context of structural change in economy and society. Three models are discussed: one seeking to strengthen the government from the centre, another to strengthen the institution, while a further model argues for stronger local government of education. Conclusions propose that while effective government will require the virtues of each model, an extension of local democracy and citizen participation provides the best conditions for a learning society over the next decade.     

Educating the Sceptic: Sextus Empiricus and Education

Inspired by the major part of scepticism in recent philosophy of education, one of the sources of scepticism in classical antiquity is reconstructed in view of its educational consequences. It is the scepticism of Sextus Empiricus, one of the most elaborate and consistent forms on record. Its major characteristic is the suspension of judgement on all issues that cannot be settled without any possible objections, while maintaining the classical definition of truth. Suspension of judgement leads to tranquillity, an untroubled condition of the soul. From this radical sceptical view, more recent views that are sometimes called sceptical, like anti‐foundationalism, relativism and anti‐realism, must be considered dogmatic. Despite of that, Sextus’ scepticism does not forbid teaching and education, because it allows participation in common life as long as truth‐claims are avoided. It is also not necessarily conservative, as common life can be revolutionary. However, it becomes paradoxical whenever one tries to teach non‐sceptics to adopt the sceptic way, because then an appeal to principles or truth‐claims seems unavoidable.

     

Educating Teachers for the Information Era

Abstract

This paper seeks to summarize efforts made by the Faculty of Education of the University of Macau to inculcate computer literacy in teachers in Macau in preparation for the information era. Based on one programme of study proposed by the National Research Center for Computers in Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, the paper summarizes the course objectives, as well as the concepts and skills required to ensure sustainable development of information technology in China. To educate teachers throughinformation technology, it is envisaged that two kinds of activities are required: (1) construction of web‐based learning environments, (2) multimedia courseware authoring.