Aspects of Intercultural Education and Curriculum Decision‐making

This article presents an analysis of intercultural education from the viewpoint of the dynamics of agenda building as a political process. In this analysis, particular attention is given to the theoretical and ideological assumptions on which the concept of intercultural education is based. The author contends that the employment of this concept serves the purpose of issue containment within the arena of conflict where educational policy alternatives are determined.

     

Representation in Academic Decision‐Making

This study of academic decision‐making in a CAE indicates that there was very little attempt by academic staff to exercise influence on major committees other than through the formal decision‐making machinery. There was no evidence that formal channels were blocked and it is perhaps for this reason that staff did not use their association as an alternative. It seemed from the data that academics with elected representatives were dominated by an elite of non‐elected senior academics. This domination was based on what might be termed the process signs of power rather than the ability of the members of the elite to achieve their own objectives. On the major committee consisting largely of non‐elected representatives there seemed to be two competing elites with one dominant group exercising control through initiating structure rather than the more overt signs of processed power.     

Science Curriculum Material Development through a Teacher‐Industrialist Partnership: industrialists’ perceptions of their role

This paper focuses on a curriculum development project involving a team of teachers and industrial technologists (ITs) in the creation of lesson materials for secondary school science classes in Swaziland. The study documents the ITs’ perceptions of their role in this process, and the factors in their background and the project programme contributing to changes in these perceptions. Data have been collected through interviews, and observations and tape recordings of group discussions at different stages of the project. Findings show that although all ITs initially perceive themselves as information providers, during the stage of drafting lesson materials a majority of them take on the role of co‐creator, with a minority adopting the role of resource person or advocate. Triggers for such shifts in perceptions are discussed.     

Interactive Teacher Decision‐making—still a basic skill?

A general common sense model of interactive teacher decisions is presented. The model assumes that the teacher wishes to choose actions that are appropriate to the situation and to the goals of her teaching. The decision process is thought to include perception, judgement and choice of behaviour from the teacher's behavioural repertoire, but as a result of the immediacy of classroom situations and the teacher's limited information processing capacity, the process may be partly unconscious and the decisions seem spontaneous. The process is affected, consciously or unconsciously, by knowledge variables and emotional variables. Interactive teaching is viewed as consisting of a series of such situations. Research on teacher decision‐making in simulated classroom situations is recommended. It is suggested that teacher education should include discussion of classroom situations and training in interactive decision‐making and the value of such programmes should be studied.     

On the Change of Teacher＇s Function in the Curriculum Reform of Artistic Design

面对高职高专艺术设计课程教学改革发展的迅猛趋势,最急需解决的是教师的角色定位和职能转换等问题。教师是办学的根本,是教学改革的原动力,必须持续关注和解决艺术设计专业教师队伍中存在的：专业教师的成员结构与教学状态问题;专业教师的教学能力与定向培养问题;专业教师的知识状态与智力结构问题;专业教师培训与考核机制建立问题;以及专业教师必须面对与解决的系列新要求与老问题等。     

Towards a More Authentic Science Curriculum: The contribution of out‐of‐school learning

In many developed countries of the world, pupil attitudes to school science decline progressively across the age range of secondary schooling while fewer students are choosing to study science at higher levels and as a career. Responses to these developments have included proposals to reform the curriculum, pedagogy, and the nature of pupil discussion in science lessons. We support such changes but argue that far greater use needs to be made of out‐of‐school sites in the teaching of science. Such usage will result in a school science education that is more valid and more motivating. We present an “evolutionary model” of science teaching that looks at where learning and teaching take place, and draws together thinking about the history of science and developments in the nature of learning over the past 100 years or so. Our contention is that laboratory‐based school science teaching needs to be complemented by out‐of‐school science learning that draws on the actual world (e.g., through fieldtrips), the presented world (e.g., in science centres, botanic gardens, zoos and science museums), and the virtual worlds that are increasingly available through information technologies.     

The Impact of Teacher Classroom Practices on Student Achievement during the Implementation of a Reform‐based Chemistry Curriculum

Evidence of a gap in student understanding has been well documented in chemistry: the typical student holds an abundance of misconceptions. The current expectation is that educational reform will foster greater student achievement via inquiry teaching within classrooms. Using assessments involving both conceptual and algorithmic knowledge of gas behaviour, gas laws, and phase changes in chemistry, this study aims to determine the relationship between inquiry teaching and student achievement. The topics were tested in the context of a unit from a reform‐based curriculum that features inquiry, hands‐on activities, and cooperative learning. This curriculum provides step‐by‐step guidance for each lesson in the teacher materials, in order to promote quality inquiry teaching. Two schools were involved in this study, with two high school chemistry teachers from each school. Each teacher participated in professional development and implemented this curriculum with sufficient training and guidance to develop reform methods. Student achievement was found to positively correlate with the use of inquiry teaching about the assessed concepts, regardless of teacher experience or school context.     

Decision‐Making in Future Science and Technology Curricula

Summaries

English

In this article, the author argues in favour of a decision‐making orientated science and technology curriculum for secondary school students. To achieve this, the curriculum should (i) expose students to open‐ended problems within their natural setting, (ii) provide students with real decision‐making situations and (iii) involve them in scientific‐technological social actions, e.g. in community institutions or industrial plants.     

Alain and The Making of a Non‐Conformist

Abstract

One of the great teachers of our time was the French essayist and philosopher Emile Chartier, better known to countless thousands of devoted admirers simply as Alain. Following in the steps of La Chalotais, Rousseau, Jules Ferry, and Durkheim, Alain believed passionately in the importance of moral education as a fundamentally secular enterprise. We neglect it, he wrote, at our peril. In the introduction to this article an attempt is made to outline briefly some of the reasons for the remarkable influence which he had upon several generations of French men and women. In the second part I have attempted a critical assessment of his views on how morality should be approached in the atmosphere of a secular school. In particular, I have considered his views on the teaching of education for citizenship, social ethics, sociology, literature and good manners. Finally, I have sought to elicit from the study some of the most significant implications for the teaching of moral education in our own schools and have concluded with a plea that there be no doctrinaire limit set to the kinds of subject areas which could in theory illuminate the nature of morality and contribute to the formal teaching of moral education in the classroom.     

Teacher self‐regulation: examining a multidimensional construct

This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to assess the multidimensional nature of teacher self‐regulation. A nine‐factor structure was proposed: goal setting, intrinsic interest, performance goal orientation, mastery goal orientation, self‐instruction, emotional control, self‐evaluation, self‐reaction, and help‐seeking. Through a series of confirmatory factor analyses with different samples, this nine‐factor structure was supported. Reliability estimates were also satisfactory. Further validation evidence was provided through canonical correlation analysis between teacher self‐regulation and teachers’ sense of efficacy. Results indicated that the Teacher Self‐Regulation Scale can be utilised as a valid and reliable instrument to assess teachers’ self‐regulatory strategies.     

Developing High Quality Decision‐Making Discussions About Biological Conservation in a Normal Classroom Setting

The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio‐scientific issue that is often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development. The foundation for citizens’ understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education. This research focuses on decision‐making discussions about biological conservation issues among 131 15–16‐year‐old students, to address two main research questions:

1. Can peer group decision‐making discussions, in a normal science lesson setting, help develop students’ personal reasoning in relation to conservation issues?

2. Are there features common to high quality discussions about conservation which might be readily identified by classroom teachers?

Findings indicate the positive value of students taking part in these short decision‐making discussions guided by a structured framework and as part of their normal science classroom activities. Students increase their quality of personal reasoning, and modify their solutions to the issues. The study begins to uncover features about students both as individuals and as members of discussion groups, which can be associated with high quality decision‐making about conservation issues, and which teachers might realistically identify. The work calls for the need to cultivate these features and to integrate them appropriately with learning about the scientific concepts that underpin the theory and practice of conservation management. Such integration will facilitate the development of teaching strategies for dealing effectively with the complex topic of biological conservation; not just in terms of science content, but also in terms of how students are expected to engage with the issues.     

Industry‐related Work in Initial Teacher Education: a decade of development

Abstract

In the last decade, against a background of growing links between industry and schools, industry‐related work in teacher education has undergone a considerable expansion, in terms of numbers of courses, of time devoted and of numbers of students involved. Influences on this expansion have included the initiatives of individuals, the work of link organisations, course criteria in OES circulars, a spreading conviction of the relevance of industry‐related work to the personal and professional development of teachers, the stimulus of networks and partnerships of institutions and industries and the work of specific externally‐funded projects, including Industrial and Commercial Perspectives in Initial Teacher Education (ICP) and Enterprise Awareness in Teacher Education (EATE). During this period there has been a ‘conceptual shift’ in the idea of industry‐related work to include enterprise capability, as well as economic and industrial understanding; in tune with this shift, the accent in courses has been increasingly placed on practical experience and negotiated investigational activities.