Brazilians Speak Out About their Schools: implications for teacher education

Abstract

This is the second of two papers reporting a large scale investigation of the beliefs students, parents, and instructional staff hold about desirable 1st level schooling and teaching in Brazil. The unique perspectives of each of the three groups are presented along with selected differences and similarities and their implications for Brazilian teacher education. The analyses and interpretations explore the meanings underlying some of the more disparate patterns of belief. The contributions that knowledge of the school‐related world can make to programs for the preservice and inservice education of teachers are stressed.     

Homeschooling in Brazil: A Matter of Rights or a Political Debate?

ABSTRACT

This article presents an analysis of the right to education in Brazil in light of the growing number of Brazilian families practicing homeschooling. The debate is recent in Brazil. Here we present an analysis of international literature on homeschooling, Brazilian literature on the right to education, and an appraisal of lawsuits against Brazilian families for teaching their children at home. In light of truancy regulations and the evolution of a right to education in Brazil, homeschooling creates legal and political challenges.     

Environmental education research in Brazil: some highlights from theses and dissertations

Abstract

This article discusses an analysis of abstracts of Brazilian theses and dissertations on environmental education from a database organised and maintained by a group of researchers in the EArt Project (www.earte.net). In presenting extracts of key trends in this dataset, our aim is to provide a snapshot of the many possible approaches to, and histories of, Brazilian environmental education research. The data also allow us to raise some questions that explore possible ‘blank spots’, ‘blind spots’ and ‘bald spots’ in Brazilian research on environmental education. Given the temporal development of the research field since the 1980s, we illustrate these ‘spots’ by exploring data related to epistemological and methodological diversity, from the viewpoint of knowledge areas as well as the graduate programmes that have been developing research on environmental education. Finally, we draw a picture of the methodological trends that have been privileged by Brazilian researchers, and pose questions as to what is needed in shaping an agenda for research on environmental education in Brazil into the future.     

Narratives of learning communities in environmental education

Abstract

This article introduces the core concepts that emerged from five environmental education action research studies conducted by a group called Learning Communities in Environmental Education, Science and Mathematics (CEAMECIM) from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG) in the south of Brazil. The studies focus on teacher education processes in learning communities involving teachers, researchers and environmental educators, and the critical writing and reading texts of classroom recordings to problematise participants’ teaching practices. CEAMECIM used action research cycles to examine narratives of educational action, narratives from teachers concerning their development as environmental educators, and narratives of their development of a sense of belonging, with a particular focus on critiquing social models that are based on hierarchies and individuality. From this analysis, we propose a new perspective on being and learning how to become a learning community, crystallised by the belief that ‘we are more when we are together’.     

Divine Intervention

This paper focuses on teacher education policy in Portugal and Brazil over the last decade, and it discusses its implications for teacher professionalisation and professionalism. It identifies the emergence of competing discourses arising from policy texts and other formal documents related to teacher education, both initial and in-service, issued in both countries. It is argued that the intertwined concepts of professionalisation and professionalism, which play a central role in most recent policy documents, entail different meanings in different contexts. Although similar orientations can be identified, particularly in regard to a new rhetoric emerging in the educational field, it is also evident that different ways of operationalising the concepts of professionalisation and professionalism have been put into place.     

The living university in relation to popular classes in Brazil. A critical analysis of higher education policies

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the relationship between university and popular classes as an alternative to the privatist tendencies of higher education policies, as well as science and technology, in Brazil, in this period of transition from the neo-developmental project to the deepening of counter-reforms, which started in the 1990s. The subject is developed from bibliographical and documental research (Brazilian legislations), besides testimonies from Brazilian researchers who have worked together with family farmers, smallholders, settlers, and recyclable material collectors that are organised in cooperatives and associations. Our analyses are structured in dialogue with the hypothesis of dysfunctionality of the university. A review of higher education and science and technology policies is carried out and considered in regard to inclusion and the relationship with the popular classes. Our focus is on the first decade of the twenty-first century, a brief period of neo-developmentalism that ended with the deepening of the current counter-reforms. Initially, it is analyzed the higher education. Then, it is discussed the trends in Science and Technology policy. This is followed by analyzes of the relationship between university and popular classes, an alternative that is carried out contradictorily. It is concluded that the University recreates itself by contributing to popular classes.     

Philosophy of Science in the Science Teacher Education Curriculum

Summaries

English

The purpose of this article is to promote awareness of a growing body of literature concerned with the relationship between the epistemology of science and school science education, and to stimulate debate concerning the role such epistemological considerations should play in the professional training of science teachers. First of all, a rationale is provided for the inclusion of the epistemology of science and its relationship to school science education as an essential component on the professional training of all science teachers. This is followed by a review of existing resources for use in science teacher education curricula, and suggestions for new resource material. Finally, a possible curriculum for inclusion in science teacher education programmes is presented.     

Changing Teachers' Thinking Through Critical Constructivism and Critical Action Research

Abstract

This paper studies attempts to change teachers' thinking towards a construc‐tivist perspective within science education. The contexts surrounding the research are important: ideas of critical constructivism, critical action research and the work of Paulo Freire are brought to bear on teacher education in Recife, northeastern Brazil. A professional development course was designed to explore with secondary science teachers some elements of constructivist thinking, and to shape action research projects within their own classrooms. The course design is described, along with some of the responses of the participants both during and after they undertook their projects within their secondary schools. The responses highlight the tensions of trying to innovate with ‘non‐traditional methods’ within traditional situations, the advantages and drawbacks of ‘freeing up’ classroom discussion and authoritative teaching.     

Environmental education research in Brazil

Abstract

This Editorial to the current collection provides a brief historical, cultural, regional and contemporary picture of environmental education research in Brazil. Its main purpose is to offer readers a short background and orientation to the collection, and in so doing, illustrate how its contributions relate to some wider tendencies, trends and issues in environmental education, as well as to different locales of research and knowledge generation in the country. Of particular note for environmental education in Brazil are: the effects of social and political backdrops and issues, the unique environments on which environmental education is grounded, and how environmental education research, in turn, may echo or influence particular educational and public policies.     

“I never thought this could be for me”: aspirational capital,identities, and political engagement among first-generation college students in São Paulo

ABSTRACT

Today, young adults from lower-income backgrounds are pursuing educational trajectories that would have been distant dreams for their parents. In many Global South countries, this expansion has followed a neoliberal logic in which private universities purport to provide students skills and increased earning capacity, and employers the necessary human capital to compete in global markets. This article examines these processes in Brazil, where federal policies have contributed to a dramatic growth in private, for-profit higher education in recent years. Building on ethnographic research in São Paulo’s expansive peripheries, our analysis examines three inter-related themes: higher education and life aspirations; intersectional identity construction; and political/community engagements. We argue that while neoliberal ideologies and policies are a key component of Brazilian higher education, many first-generation college students actively – and critically – challenge everyday oppressions and create new life possibilities in the context of enduring inequalities.     

Teacher education budget cuts in Romania and the US: points of contrast and comparison

Background

Budgets for teacher education programmes have been substantially reduced as a result of the global economic crisis.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare the teacher education budget cutting processes and procedures for universities in Romania versus one university in the United States.

Sample

The data were collected from six Romanian universities that all have teacher education programmes. These universities represent the range of higher education quality in the country as indicated by their publication rates. Data from these universities were compared with those from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). UNR is the flagship university in the Nevada System of Higher Education, and Nevada has been harder hit by the recent global economic crisis than any other state in the United States and cuts to teacher education there have been substantial.

Design and methods

Data about the budget cutting processes and decisions in the teacher education programmes of six Romanian universities were collected through an electronic survey. These data were compared with the processes and decisions made at the UNR.

Results

The budget cutting processes in Romania were less transparent, and involved less input from stakeholders such as faculty and staff. Most decisions were made at a higher level of authority in Romania, and cuts in Romania were more likely to be across the board rather than more strategically targeted as they were in Nevada.

Conclusions

These differences are discussed in terms of the historical legacy of structures and policies in Romania, and the resistance to reform inherent in those structures and policies.     

One decade of environmental education research in Brazil: trajectories and trends in three national scientific conferences (ANPEd,ANPPAS and EPEA)

Abstract

This article discusses the scientific research work on environmental education presented during the last decade in three Brazilian conferences: the meetings of the National Association of Graduate Research on Education (Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Educação, ANPEd), the National Association of Graduate Research on Environment and Society (Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Ambiente e Sociedade, ANPPAS), and the Environmental Education Research Meetings (Encontros de Pesquisa em Educação Ambiental, EPEA). It analyzes the authors, institutions, and regions whence the studies came from, as well as their main research subjects. Our findings indicate the prevalence of women in all academic degree segments; of PhD holders and candidates; of professors in public higher education institutions located in the Brazilian Southwest and South regions; and of environmental education in formal teaching as the main subject in all three conferences. Based on these results, we discuss how this body of research relates to the development of Brazilian academic and educational policies, and indicate some of the challenges involved in building a research tradition in this field, in close dialogue with the arduous political and pedagogical path of environmental education in Brazilian schools.     

Compatibility and Complementarity of Classroom Ecology and Didactique Research Perspectives in Physical Education

ABSTRACT

A large diversity of theoretical frameworks exists in the physical education literature. This article focuses on two of those frameworks to examine their compatibility and their complementarity. The classroom ecology paradigm concentrates on the balance between three task systems, two vectors, and programs of actions proposed by the physical education teacher and negotiated by students. The didactique research program studies the teaching and learning processes using the concepts of didactic contract and didactic milieu that focus on how the knowledge content emerges within teacher and students’ joint action. The article underlines the complementarity and the compatibility of the two frameworks when analyzing teaching and learning in physical education. It argues that the gray areas left by the classroom ecology paradigm could be filled with the insights of the didactique research program. A concise example of how the two frameworks have already been utilized is presented.     

Issues and trends in teacher education in international perspective

Abstract

Many education systems worldwide have undergone major reforms over the last two decades or more. Educational reform cannot take place without major consequences for teacher education. This article focuses on the way teacher education has responded to education reform in two countries, namely the United States of America and England. In the former, the reform efforts were widespread but each endeavour was guided by different priorities. In particular, the trend towards Professional Development Schools has been viewed as encouraging but ultimately their success must be measured by longitudinal research over a period of time. In England the reform movement can be described as a shift towards school-based training of teachers with schools as the lead partners in educating novice teachers. The experience of these countries has particular relevance for the South African education system. It shows that what is needed is a revitalisation of research on teacher education. Successful teacher education institutions and programmes share distinct features, inter alia, a clear shared vision of good teaching, well-defined standards of practice and performance, intensively supervised practical experiences, and strong relationships between training institutions and reformminded local schools.     

Research: an insight on how it is valued by Portuguese and English teacher educators

ABSTRACT

The quality of how teachers are being prepared is seen as a priority in the twenty-first century and engagement with research is often considered a crucial element of initial teacher education programmes. Institutional and national contexts have an impact in the way research is valued. This paper investigates the perspectives of Portuguese and English teacher educators towards the value given to research in initial teacher education. Interviews were completed with teacher educators working within different kinds of higher education institutions—university, polytechnic and teaching-led university. Results suggest that research has a significant presence and relevance in all cases but is valued differently     

Student Evaluation in Co‐operative Learning: teacher cognitions

Abstract

This paper concerns recognition of the authority of teachers’ personal practical knowledge. An Australian teacher reports on her three‐and‐a‐half‐year collaborative study with a Canadian junior high school teacher. The research follows a line of research on teacher knowledge (Elbaz, 1983; Clandinin, 1986; Connelly & Clandinin, 1988; Clandinin & Connelly, 1995) informed by Dewey's (1938) philosophy of education based on experience. Narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990) is the methodology guiding the study. A summary of five papers on teacher knowledge emerging from the study is presented. These papers show how the research knowledge is constructed as the researcher and collaborating teacher examine their narratives of experience as a means to articulating their understandings of curriculum and teacher knowledge. This dissertation research argues for recognition of teachers’ personal practical knowledge as knowledge and for recognition of collaborative research as educative for teachers. The implications of this research concern teachers authoring their development and the ways in which teachers’ knowledge is systemically denied.     

Gender issues in early childhood science and technology education in Australia

Science and technology education within the early childhood field has received the minimum of attention by the general research community. As a result, early childhood educators have had to look to their better established colleagues in the primary and secondary fields, where some research information is currently available. Early childhood practitioners in Australia have little information available to guide them in the implementation of recently introduced technology curricula.

In this paper, the findings of a research study investigating conceptual change during the teaching‐learning process of young children is presented. The results indicate the need to show caution in the introduction of technology education within the early childhood area. Three issues are reported. Firstly, the need to define a more useful mediating role for the teacher in the process of teaching technology within a constructivistic model. Secondly, the need for technology to be introduced in a socially contextualized manner. Thirdly, the sex‐role stereotyping that becomes evident when the former two are not addressed.     

A Contemporary Study of Teacher Planning in a High School English Class

A case study of a contemporary secondary school English teacher is presented and compared with prior research about teacher planning. Drawing on his rich content knowledge, this teacher's long-range pre-active planning is his major form of planning when he develops interconnected themes for the course, selects literature, and develops curriculum materials for it employing technology. Because this case differs substantially from prior research, a call is made for more studies of teacher planning.