‘Before I realised they were all women… I expected it to be more about materials’: Art,Gender and Tacit Subjectivity

This article discusses a critical discourse analysis research activity undertaken with a group of undergraduate primary trainees with an art specialism. The research activity involved the use of two contrasting texts discussing the work of Karla Black, Becky Beasley and Claire Barclay. The article explores how the positioning of the two texts affected the student teachers’ ability to engage effectively with ‘women's art’ on a personal and critical level, revealing some highly subjective views and raising questions around intertextuality; particularly how an individual's understanding of contexts, meanings and histories can inform collective interpretation and highlight existing subjectivity. The article subsequently identifies that although students were keen to talk about careful selection of texts, the benefits of using multiple sources and the risks of intertextual and ‘subliminal’ contamination, they were unable to reflect critically upon their own gendered reading of the texts. It concludes that this may well be a signifier of the problem – that the student teachers did not really see a problem at all.     

比较新旧教材把握最新课改--浅谈新旧物理教材的差异性

在新一轮普通高中课程改革中,国家教育部选取广东、海南、山东、宁夏四省作为首批高中课程改革的实验区,从2004年9月起,广东省普通高中高一学生将全面使用按照新课程标准编写的新教材.而此时,最需要适应新课程的是教师.教师要重新学习,理解新课程的理念、教学方法,重新备课、制作课件.由于新课改要求普通高中的课程由必修和选修两部分构成,实行学分制,并且国家教育部批准全国各地60套普通高中实验教材编写立项,因此,这次课程改革与以往有着很大的差异性.为了能较好把握这次课改的理念,本文就经全国中小学教材审定委员会2004年初审通过的即将投入使用的物理人教版新教材、广东版新教材必修1部分和与之对应的2003年版的旧教材内容加以比较,以期对即将使用新教材的教师有所帮助.     

The ‘yes … but’ dilemma: implementing inclusive education in Emirati primary schools

The Ministry of Education (MOE) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched the ‘School for All’ inclusive education initiative in 2010. This article investigates the implementation of this initiative in three primary schools from stakeholders’ perspectives. Using a multiple case study approach, data were collected over a full school year from interviews, observations and documents. Findings revealed uneven progress in five areas: staff training and development, school structures, support services, assistive technology and community awareness. The study identified improved access to mainstream classrooms and growing awareness among stakeholders as emerging good practice. However, serious challenges remain regarding teacher training, exclusionary practices, the lack of specialised support services and misguided policies. This study contributes to the evidence‐based research on inclusion in the UAE with some emphasis on Islamic principles, cultural beliefs and the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability in promoting every child's right to an education.     

Research-teaching nexus: The new answer to the old question

The study tests 3 research hypotheses on the teaching-research nexus using the administrative data of the HSE University in Russia for 7 years. We confirmed the hypothesis that a lower classroom teaching load is associated with higher research output. Undergraduate courses have a relatively higher negative effect, especially on the probability of producing research output at all. A higher concentration of teaching in some semesters or quarters looks rather ineffective as a way to stimulate higher research productivity. Only a moderate share of English-taught classes (about 20% of the teaching load) is associated with higher research output and only for publications in good international journals. The empirical part of the study is based on zero-inflated Poisson and zero-inflated negative binomial models. This study comes to contribute to the development of literature discussing a mechanism and possible implications in teaching load composition as an essential part of the academic contract.     

1 + 1 = 3…Synbiotics: Combining the Power of Pre‐ and Probiotics

ABSTRACT: One of the core competencies in the IFT Education standards for students is to achieve competency in communications skills (that is, oral and written communication, listening, interviewing, and so on). According to the IFT guidelines, by the time students graduate, they should not only be able to search for and condense information but also be able to “communicate technical information to a nontechnical audience.” The Education Division of IFT sponsors an annual writing competition for undergraduate students to bring attention to and promote the development of communication skills. The short essays can be on any technical subject or latest development in the food science and technology field that may be important to the consumer. The article must be written in a nontechnical language such that someone reading a local newspaper could also understand it. Due date for submissions is typically the 1st week in June every year. More information on eligibility, rules, submission, and judging criteria will be posted on IFT's Education Division website. Monetary prizes are awarded to the authors of the top 3 articles, and the winning entry is published in the Journal of Food Science Education (JFSE) each year. JFSE is pleased to publish this year's winning entry submitted by Mary Scourboutakos from the Univ. of Toronto.     

‘The falcon cannot hear the falconer …’. The Pedagogical Turn and the Negative Space of Irish Art Education

Current education policy discourse in Ireland, as elsewhere, is replete with reference to innovation, creativity and enterprise. Meanwhile, the ‘pedagogical turn’ is a dominant motif in current discourse in art practice, curating and critique, in Ireland and internationally. This article firstly considers some of the implications of the ‘turn’ as a concept in art and education. In that context, it goes on to address changing patterns of curriculum design, development and reform in Ireland. Next, it describes the evolution of Irish education policy over the past decade in the context of global experiences. The particular experience of art education in Ireland is then considered in the light of the curriculum culture and the wider policy discourses already identified. Finally, some implications of the Irish experience are addressed, in terms of art practice at the edges of art education, and art education at the edges of education practice.     

The Contribution of the Competency-based Approach to Education for all in Cameroon

Taking place in a context where national policy is concerned about Education for All (EFA), where the educational provision to satisfy political, economic and social demands for a changing world falls well below the minimal requirements, and where international organizations demand signs of more significant progress, this article presents in an analytical manner the contribution made by the competency-based approach to EFA in Cameroon. In fact, the introduction of this approach in an effort to tackle primary school repetition led to remarkable results including not only an improvement in classroom practice with teaching/learning experiences that take into account the principles of the competency-based approach within the provision of remedial teaching, but also by the significant positive contribution towards the achievement of EFA in general and a more effective and equitable school in particular. This analysis ends with a presentation of the implications of the widespread introduction of these positive effects. Original language: French J.C. Bipoupout (Cameroon) Doctorate in Educational Sciences. National education inspector at the Ministry of Basic Education. Lecturer in Educational Sciences at the University of Yaoundé 1, after more than two decades of teaching in primary, secondary and teacher training establishments. Since 2001, member of the Multilateral Pool of French-speaking educational sciences experts of the Organization Internationale de la Francophonie. He contributed to the development of the competency-based approach in Cameroon and in other countries. Currently engaged in research on the pedagogy of integration. E-mail: bebey1260@yahoo.fr.     

The Kindergarten Child: What Teachers and Administrators Need to Know to Promote Academic Success in all Children

This article describes kindergarten from the perspective of the whole child. Specifically, it reviews current research on best practices to improve children’s math and language arts competencies, memory skills, and the role of kindergarten in beginning science. It also describes the social experiences children have in kindergarten with respect to their academic success. Similarly, it reviews the impact of emotional competence on school success. This article then reviews research describing three major influences on children’s kindergarten adaptation and success (i.e., transition, parental involvement, retention). The article concludes with a discussion of full-day kindergarten programs and their potential for improving the chances of all kindergarten children, especially low-income and ethnic minority children, for success in school.     

The role of democracy in the university: The university and its old members

In this paper the question of just who constitutes the membership of the university is explored. The paper canvasses the obvious answers: the students, the faculty, or both; the various administrators and staff above a certain level or with special responsibilities; and finally those who have passed through and out of the university doors—its old members. If to be a member is to have rights and obligations, then what if any are the obligations of the old members? This turns out to be a complex question. The analysis in the paper suggests that old members should be a third concern in our time for the universities and the pursuance of such a concern may offer many genuinely democratic supports for the university. The practical problem of how to extend the university's embrance to include its old members remains.