Data-driven assessment of teacher candidates during their internships in deaf education

Deaf education teacher training programs have received criticism for graduating students with gaps in knowledge and skills required for specific placements. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires that accredited programs engage in self-study, and NCATE guidelines require programs to collect valid, reliable evidence of teacher candidate performance and candidates' effect on student learning. In the present study, an ecobehavioral assessment computer program, MS-CISSAR (Mainstream Code for Instructional Structure and Student Academic Response), was used in evaluations of 8 teacher candidates during internship experiences. Results were mixed. Some of the instructional arrangements, teaching behaviors, and student responses resembled those found in studies using in-service teachers as subjects; however, some data revealed a need for changes in instruction. Data gathered with MS-CISSAR could be added to evaluations to help training programs meet NCATE requirements for evidence on teacher candidate performance and candidates' effect on student learning.     

Right-and left-brain approaches to death education

Some recent advances in the understanding of brain function are considered in terms of their potential impact on death education. The notion of right- and left-brain cognitive styles is examined in terms of the pedagogic impact it may have on an individual's capacity to understand and therefore be educated on the subject of death. The idea that the human brain (mind?) relates to death in two diametrically opposed ways is discussed and a holistic death educational format is proposed based on the synthesis of these two oppositional styles.     

The social justice implications of privatisation in education governance frameworks: a relational account

This paper explores the social justice implications of two, ‘linked’, governance developments which have been instrumental in reshaping many education systems throughout the world: the ‘privatising’ and ‘globalising’ of education (Klees, Stromquist, & Samoff, 2012 Klees, S., Stromquist, N. and Samoff, J., eds. 2012. A critical review of the World Bank’s education strategy 2020, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.  [Google Scholar]). We argue that such education governance innovations demand an explicit engagement with social justice theories, both in themselves, and as offering an opportunity to address issues of social justice that go beyond the re/distribution of education inputs and outputs, important though these are, and which take account of the political and accountability issues raised by globalising of education governance activity. To do this we draw upon Iris Marion Young’s concept of ‘the basic structure’ and her ‘social connection model’ of responsibility (Young, 2006 Young, I. M. 2006. Taking the basic structure seriously. Perspectives in Politics, 4: 91–97. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]a,b) to develop a relational account of justice in education governance frameworks.     

Addressing the wicked problem of quality in higher education: theoretical approaches and implications

This article explores the wicked problem of quality in higher education, arguing for a more robust theorising of the subject at national, institutional and local department level. The focus of the discussion rests on principles for theorising in more rigorous ways about the multidimensional issue of quality. Quality in higher education is proposed as a wicked, ill-defined problem that is under-theorised yet associated with high stakes policy-making and funding, particularly at the macro national level. Theoretical frameworks informing the quality debate in higher education are explored before proposing four sensitising concepts as potential vehicles for enhancing theory-building around quality in higher education. The article concludes by considering practical implications for governments, universities and departments grappling with the complex suite of problems associated with defining, theorising, measuring and demonstrating quality in higher education.     

从管理到治理:高校党建引领高等教育治理现代化

历史实践证明,党的建设融入高校管理体系为建构我国社会主义高等教育体制起到奠基作用,为高等教育的健康发展提供了基本保障.长期以来,党的建设为我国高等教育治理现代化开新局、出新策、发新力,走出了一条中国特色高等教育治理的新路,成为高校治理现代化的核心组成部分.面向未来,党建引领高等教育现代化要着眼于人、着手于人,围绕"用好人""管好人""育好人"三个方面开展工作,确保高等教育治理方向正、规矩好、风气清.     

How to reconcile the multiculturalist and universalist approaches to science education

The “multiculturalist” and “universalist” approaches to science education both fail to recognize the strong continuities between modern science and its forerunners in traditional societies. Various fact-finding practices in indigenous cultures exhibit the hallmarks of scientific investigations, such as collectively achieved rationality, a careful distinction between facts and values, a search for shared, well-founded judgments in empirical matters, and strivings for continuous improvement of these judgments. Prominent examples are hunters’ discussions when tracking a prey, systematic agricultural experiments performed by indigenous farmers, and remarkably advanced experiments performed by craftspeople long before the advent of modern science. When the continuities between science and these prescientific practices are taken into account, it becomes obvious that the traditional forms of both multiculturalism and universalism should be replaced by a new approach that dissolves the alleged conflict between adherence to modern science and respect for traditional cultures.     

义务教育均衡发展的社会资本障碍及其政府治理

The balanced development of compulsory education, with a focus on the goal of educational equality, is both a matter of policy orientation and a practical educational issue. At present, people are mostly concerned with the unbalanced state of development of compulsory education, its causes, and issues regarding its administration. Various modes of production, policy choices, and institutional arrangements during different periods have been the practical, historical causes of differences in regional compulsory education, differences between urban and rural areas, and differences between schools. A direct consequence of the unbalanced development of compulsory education has been the emergence of irregularities in school selection. During the process of school selection, the strength of family and school social capital is increasingly influential, and it has increasingly negative effects: circumventing the policy of going to school near home, aggravating differences between families because of family and school social capital, and therefore damaging the prospect of educational equality. On this account, we present a constructive proposal for government policy to reduce the detrimental effects of social capital by means of reasonable policy choices and institutional arrangements. With prerequisite balanced allocation of school resources for compulsory education, the government reduces the role that family and social capital play in school selection and constructs a benignly competitive environment wherein school social capital works to placate social issues aroused by the intervention of the social capital of families and schools in school selection. __________ Translated by Zhang Lin from Beijing Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban) 北京师范大学学报 (社会科学版) (Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Sciences)), 2008, (2): 24–32     

常州科教城师资共享治理模式研究——基于网络化治理

政府、私营部门、非政府组织和公民作为网络化治理的共同参与主体、承担着各自的职能。信任机制、协调机制、互动机制和适应机制共同构成了网络治理的运行机制。构建常州科教城师资共享网络化治理模式的关键因素在于:凝聚治理主体的共识、转变科教城管理机构的职能、建立师资共享信息化平台、培育多元化师资共享治理主体并构建常州科教城绩效评价体系。     

Towards multidimensional approaches to early childhood science education

In this forum paper, I respond to issues raised by Kristina Andersson and Annica Gullberg in their article titled What is science in preschool and what do teachers have to know to empower children? (2012). I seek to continue the discussion begun with Andersson and Gullberg’s paper, by further exploring the questions they introduce to guide their paper: “What is science in preschool?” and “What do teachers have to know to empower children?” In particular, I elaborate on the value of drawing on multiple perspectives and different epistemological frameworks, and I argue for the need for a reconceptualized notion of science as a school discipline; one that acknowledges the multifaceted ways in which young children engage in science.     

Multimodal approaches to reflective teaching and assessment in higher education

Reflection is not a new concept in the teaching of higher education and is often an important component of many disciplinary courses. Despite this, past research shows that while there are examples of rich reflective strategies used in some areas of higher education, most approaches to, and conceptualisations of, reflective learning and assessment have been perfunctory and inconsistent. In many disciplinary areas, reflection is often assessed as a written activity ‘tagged onto’ assessment practices. In creative disciplines, however, reflective practice is an integral and cumulative form of learning and is often expressed in ways other than in the written form. This paper will present three case studies of reflective practice in the area of Creative Industries in higher education – Dance, Fashion and Music. It will discuss the ways in which higher education teachers and students use multimodal approaches to expressing knowledge and reflective practice in such a context. The paper will argue that unless students are encouraged to participate in deep reflective disciplinary discourse via multi-modes then reflection will remain superficial in the higher education context.