Take-home video for adult literacy

In the past, it has not been possible to teach oneself to read at home, because learners could not read the books to teach them. Videos and interactive compact discs have changed that situation and challenge current assumptions of the pedagogy of literacy. This article describes an experimental adult literacy project using video technology. The language used is English, but the basic concepts apply to any alphabetic or syllabic writing system. A half-hour cartoon video can help adults and adolescents with learning difficulties. Computer-animated cartoon graphics are attractive to look at, and simplify complex material in a clear, lively way. This video technique is also proving useful for distance learners, children, and learners of English as a second language. Methods and principles are to be extended using interactive compact discs.

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Zusammenfassung In der Vergangenheit war es nicht möglich, sich selbst in Heimarbeit lesen beizubringen, da die Lernenden die Lehrbücher nicht lesen konnten. Videos und interaktive Compact discs haben diese Situation geändert und gegenwärtige Meinungen zur Pädagogik der Alphabetisierung herausgefordert. Dieser Artikel beschreibt ein experimentelles Erwachsenenalphabetisierungsprogramm, das Videotechnologie anwendet. Arbeitssprache ist Englisch, aber das Grundkonzept gilt für jedes alphabetische oder syllabische Schreibsystem. Ein halbstündiges Zeichentrickvideo soll Erwachsenen und Jugendlichen mit Lernschwierigkeiten helfen. Computeranimierte Zeichentrickgraphiken sind attraktive Lernmittel, die komplexes Material klar und lebendig vereinfachen. Diese Videotechnik dient auch Fernlerndenden, Kindern und Lernenden mit Englisch als Zweitsprache. Methoden und Prinzipien müssen durch den Gebrauch von interaktiven Compakt Discs erweitert werden.

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Resumen Durante el pasado, no ha sido posible el autoaprendizaje de la lectura en el hogar, ya que los lectores no estaban en condiciones de leer los libros de enseñanza. Ahora, los videos y los discos compactos interactivos cambiaron esta situación, creando un desafío para los conceptos corrientes de la pedagogía de alfabetización. Este artículo describe un proyecto experimental de alfabetización de adultos mediante el uso de tecnología de video. El lenguaje utilizado es el inglés, pero los conceptos básicos son aplicables para cualquier sistema de escritura alfabética o silábica. Un video de dibujos animados de media hora de duración puede ayudar a los adultos y adolescentes con dificultades de aprendizaje. Las gráficas animadas por computadora son atractivas para el espectador y simplifican materias complejas de un modo claro y ameno. Esta técnica de video también está mostrando su utilidad para el estudio a distancia, para la instrucción de niños y para el aprendizaje del inglés como segunda lengua. Los métodos y los principios también se pueden ampliar mediante la utilización de discos compactos interactivos.

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Résumé Jusqu'à présent, il n'était pas possible d'apprendre à lire seul chez soi, puisque les apprenants ne pouvaient pas lire les manuels d'enseignement. La vidéographie et le disque compact interactif ont modifié cette situation et remettent en cause les principes courants de la pédagogie de l'alphabétisation. L'article décrit un projet expérimental d'alphabétisation des adultes qui exploite la technologie vidéo. La langue utilisée est l'anglais, mais les concepts de base peuvent être appliqués à tout système d'écriture alphabétique ou syllabique. Un dessin animé sur vidéo d'une demi-heure se propose d'aider les adultes et adolescents éprouvant des difficultés. Les graphiques animés par électronique sont agréables à regarder et illustrent de façon claire et vivante les matières complexes. Cette technique vidéo se révèle également utile pour les apprenants à distance, les enfants et pour l'enseignement de l'anglais en seconde langue. Les méthodes et principes d'utilisation de disques compact interactifs restent à développer.

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Equity issues in local resourcing of education: Community financing of primary schools in Bhutan

Community financing is an important source of supplementary funds for education, particularly where governments are unable to meet all the needs of their peoples. While this is widely recognised, little empirical research has been conducted on the topic. This paper analyses patterns in Bhutan. It observes that until the 1990s few resources for education were provided by communities, but that the scale of financing has increased during the present decade. The paper notes that although communities have in general responded positively to government calls for local inputs, local resourcing has some problematic aspects. The paper focuses particularly on issues of regional, rural/urban and socio-economic equity, and shows how discussion of Bhutanese experiences contributes to the international literature.

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Zusammenfassung Finanzierungen über die Gemeinde sind eine wichtige Quelle der Bezuschussung von Bildung, besonders dort, wo Regierungen nicht in der Lage sind, den Bedürfnissen der Bevölkerung gerecht zu werden. Obwohl dies weitreichend bekannt ist, gibt es kaum empirische Studien zu diesem Thema. Dieser Artikel befaßt sich mit der Situation in Bhutan. Es wird festgestellt, daß die Gemeinden bis zu den 90ern kaum Gelder für die Bildung zur Verfügung stellten, daß aber der Rahmen der Finanzierung in diesem Jahrzehnt gestiegen ist. Der Autor beschreibt, daß trotz einer allgemein positiven Antwort seitens der Gemeinden auf Forderungen der Regierung nach lokalen Finanzbeiträgen, Probleme hinsichtlich lokaler Finanzierungen bestehen. Insbesondere befaßt sich der Artikel mit Themen über regionale, ländliche und städtische und sozialökonomische Gleichheit und zeigt, wie die Diskussion über die Erfahrungen in Bhutan zur internationalen Literatur beiträgt.

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Resumen La financiación a través de la comunidad es una fuente importante de recursos adicionales para la educación, particularmente allí donde los gobiernos son incapaces de satisfacer todas las necesidades de sus habitantes. Si bien este es un hecho ampliamente conocido, existen muy pocos estudios empíricos sobre este tema. El trabajo analiza los modelos existentes en Bhután y observa que hasta los años noventa, eran pocos los recursos financieros provistos por las comunidades, mientras que durante la década actual han aumentado estos niveles de financiación. El estudio observa que, a pesar de que las comunidades, en general, han respondido de forma positiva a las llamadas del gobierno a realizar inversiones locales, la creación de recursos locales tiene algunos aspectos problemáticos. El trabajo se concentra particularmente en problemas de equidad regional, rural/urbana y socioeconómica, demostrando cómo la discusión sobre experiencias bhutanesas presta su aporte a la literatura internacional.

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Résumé Le financement communautaire représente une source importante de fonds supplémentaires pour l'éducation, en particulier quand le gouvernement ne peut répondre à tous les besoins de la population. Bien que ce fait soit largement reconnu, il n'existe que peu de recherche empirique sur le sujet. Cet article analyse différents modèles existant au Bhoutan. Il constate tout d'abord que jusque dans les années 90, les communautés ne fournissaient qu'une faible partie des ressources de l'éducation, mais que cette forme de financement a augmenté au cours de la dernière décennie. Il relève également qu'en dépit de la réaction généralement positive de la part des communautés envers l'incitation du gouvernement à un financement local, ce modèle présente néanmoins des difficultés. L'article se concentre d'autre part sur les questions d'équitabilité entre régions, entre villes et provinces et entre niveaux socioéconomiques, et révèle que la discussion sur les expériences du Bhoutan contribue à enrichir la littérature internationale.

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Reliability and validity in qualitative research within education in Africa

This article discusses the problems of validity and reliability in qualitative research within education and relates this discussion to Africa. A main concern is the posing of the right research questions. The article attempts to bring into focus the voice of Africans, showing that the African researcher knows his/her environment better than any expatriate and will be more likely to ask the right questions provided that s/he is allowed to ask them and is not forced to work with questions of concern to Western donors, and provided that s/he trusts her/his own experiences and uses those to form concepts instead of merely transferring concepts formed in the West and based on experiences in the northern hemisphere. It argues for the need of secondary research to reanalyze from an Afro-centric viewpoint many of the accounts written by Western travellers and anthropologists. It further argues for the use of an autobiographical approach to secure data of high ecological validity. Validity is looked at as a more important concept than reliability and a mixing of qualitative and quantitative methods argued for.

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Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel befaßt sich mit Problemen der Gültigkeit und zuverlässigkeit der Qualitativen Forschung innerhalb der Bildung in Bezug auf Afrika. Ein Hauptanliegen ist die richtige Fragestellung hinsichtlich der Forschung. Der Artikel versucht die Stimme der Afrikaner in den Vordergrund zu stellen und zeigt damit, daß afrikanische ForscherInnen ihr Umfeld besser als irgendein Außenstehender kennen und somit mit größerer Wahrscheinlichkeit die richtigen Fragen stellen. Dies setzt voraus, daß sie die richtigen Fragen stellen dürfen und nicht gezwungen sind, für westliche Geldgeber richtig erscheinende Fragen zu stellen. Eine weitere Voraussetzung ist, daß sie ihren eigenen Erfahrungen trauen können und sie für die Ausarbeitung von Konzepten nutzen, anstatt im Westen erstellte und auf Erfahrung in der nördlichen Hemisphäre basierende Konzepte weiterzugeben. Der Artikel befürwortet die Notwendigkeit einer zweiten Untersuchung, um vom afrikanischen Standpunkt aus die zahlreichen Berichte neu zu analysieren, die von westlichen Reisenden und Anthropologen geschrieben wurden. Weiterhin wird für die Sicherstellung von Daten hochwertiger ökologischer Gültigkeit die Anwendung eines autobiographischen Ansatzes empfohlen. Gültigkeit wird gegenüber der Zuverlässigkeit als wichtigeres Konzept angesehen und sowohl qualitative als auch quantitative Methoden gemeinsam befürwortet.

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Resumen Este artículo se ocupa de los problemas de la validez y fiabilidad del estudio cualitativo dentro de la educación y relaciona esta discusión con Africa. Uno de los temas principales es el planteamiento de los interrogantes de investigación correctos. El artículo pone su énfasis central en la voz de los africanos, mostrando que el/la investigador/a africano/a conoce mejor su entorno que cualquier otro extranjero o expatriado, y que es más probable que formule las preguntas correctas, siempre que esté autorizado/a a hacerlo y que no se vea obligado/a a trabajar con asuntos que conciernen a los donantes occidentales, y siempre que él o ella confíe en sus propias costumbres y experiencias para formar los conceptos, en lugar de transferir meramente conceptos formados en el mundo occidental y basados en experiencias del hemisferio norte. Aboga por la necesidad de la investigación secundaria a efectos de analizar desde un punto de vista afrocéntrico muchos de los informes escritos por viajeros y antropólogos occidentales. Además, sostiene la aplicación de un enfoque autobiográfico para asegurar datos de alto valor ecológico. El trabajo considera que la validez es un concepto más importante que la fiabilidad, y aboga por la mezcla de métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos.

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Résumé Cet article aborde les problèmes soulevés par la validité et la fiabilité de la recherche qualitative en éducation et remplace la question dans le contexte du continent africain. Un point important concerne la juste formulation des questions qui feront l'objet de recherches. L'auteur tente de faire entendre l'opinion africaine en exposant que le personnel de recherche africain connaît mieux son environnement que toute personne expatriée et qu'il sera plus susceptible de poser les questions appropriées, à la condition qu'on lui permette de les poser et qu'il ne soit pas obligé de travailler sur des questions qui importent aux commanditaires occidentaux, à la condition aussi qu'il se fie à ses propres expériences et les mette á profit pour former des concepts, au lieu de se borner à transférer ceux établis par l'Occident, et qui se fondent sur des expériences vécues dans l'hémisphère nord. Il démontre donc la nécessité d'une recherche secondaire pour procéder à une nouvelle analyse d'un point de vue africain de nombre de récits écrits par des voyageurs ou anthropologues occidentaux. Il plaide également pour le choix d'une approache autobiographique pour protèger des données d'une importante validité écologique. La validité est posée comme concept plus important que celui de la fiabilité, et il est conseillé d'appliquer conjointement des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives.

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Nine years in the journal

An analysis of the contents of nine volumes of the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling has been attempted in this article. The publications have been organized under fifteen headings. Two topics were analyzed more thoroughly: Theories and models of counselling and Country studies, presented by scholars of the countries studied.     

The decline of the modern paradigm in education

The education system is widely perceived to be functioning poorly, and this paper argues that there is in fact a deep crisis caused by the gap between the system and the changing world that surrounds it. Post-modern conditions stress the production of information rather than the productivity of land or capital, and a relativistic world-view rather than adherence to a fixed religion or ideology, which in turn gives rise to pluralism and shifting social frameworks. At the same time, the pursuit of Truth is no longer seen as the highest goal in life, and the possession of proof of education is no longer a guarantee of access to the Good Life. Educational institutions are dysfunctional because they remain wedded to outmoded parameters in their aims, activities, structures, methods and perceptions of their clientele. Through a wide-ranging review of recent conceptual debate and assessment of social trends, the paper explores the implications of radical contemporary changes in the parameters: the search for a new paradigm of education has only just begun.

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Zusammenfassung Das Bildungssystem wird weitgehend als unzulänglich betrachtet, und dieser Artikel argumentiert dahingehend, daß es in der Tat eine tiefgreifende Krise gibt, die durch die Kluft zwischen dem System und der sich ändernden Welt um es herum ist. Postmoderne Bedingungen legen eher Wert auf die Erstellung von Informationen als auf die Produktivität von Land oder Kapital. Man zieht eine relativistische Weltanschauung einer festgelegten Religion oder Ideologie vor, die wiederum Pluralismus und sich ändernde soziale Rahmenbedingungen fördert. Gleichzeitig wird die Suche nach der Wahrheit nicht länger als oberstes Ziel im Leben angesehen und der Besitz von Bildungsnachweisen ist nicht länger eine Garantie für ein gutes Leben. Bildungsinstitutionen funktionieren nicht mehr, weil sie in ihren Zielen, Aktivitäten, Strukturen, Methoden und Wahrnehmungen ihrer Zielen, Aktivitäten, Strukturen, Methoden und Wahrnehmungen ihrer Zielgruppen mit unzeitgemäßen Normen verknüpft sind. Mittels eines weitreichenden überblicks über jüngste Debatten über Konzepte und die Einschätzung sozialer Trends, untersucht der Artikel die Auswirkungen radikaler zeitgenössischer Anderungen der Normen; die Suche nach einem neuen Paradigma der Bildung hat gerade erst begonnen.

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Resumen Hay una percepción general de que el funcionamiento del sistema de educación es deficiente, y este trabajo sostiene que, efectivamente, se produce una profunda crisis causada por la brecha existente entre el sistema y el mundo cambiante que lo rodea. Las condiciones postmodernistas ponen énfasis en la producción de informaciones más que en la productividad de la tierra o del capital, y en una óptica del mundo relativista más que en la adhesión a una religión o ideología fija, lo que por su parte da origen al pluralismo y a sistemas sociales cambiantes. Al mismo tiempo, la busca de la Verdad ya no es considerada como la meta más importante en la vida, y la titularidad de pruebas de formación ya no garantiza el acceso a la Buena Vida. Las instituciones de la educación muestran una disfunción porque aún se atienen a parámetros obsoletos en cuanto a objetivos, actividades, estructuras, métodos y percepciones de su clientela. A través de una amplia reseña de debates conceptuales recientes y de la valoración de tendencias sociales, el trabajo explora las implicaciones que los cambios radicales contemporáneos tienen en los parámetros; la busca de un nuevo paradigma de educaión solamente acaba de comenzar.

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Résumé Le système éducatif a la réputation largement répandue de mal fonctionner, et l'article expose qu'il existe en effet une crise profonde due à l'écart entre le système d'éducation et le monde en évolution qui l'entoure. Les conditions de vie post-modernes font passer au premier plan la production de l'information à la place de la productivité de la terre et du capital, et une vision du monde relativiste remplace l'adhésion à une religion ou une idéologie fixe, qui à son tour engendre le pluralisme et la modification des structures sociales. Parallèlement, la recherche de la vérité n'est plus le but suprême dans la vie, et la détention d'une preuve d'éducation n'est plus une garantie d'accès à une vie réussie. Le dysfonctionnement des institutions éducatives réside donc dans leur attachement obstiné à des modèles périmés quant à leurs objectifs, leurs activités, leurs structures, leurs méthodes et leur vision de la clientèle. Sur la base d'une vaste étude sur le récent débat conceptuel et une évaluation des tendances sociales, l'article analyse les conséquences des changements radicaux contemporains sur ces modèles: la recherche d'un nouveau type d'éducation ne fait que commencer.

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Making connections: the logical structuring of hypertext documents

The results from an experiment analysing hypertextual semantic linking is reported. In the study participants are asked to describe logical relationships between related, semi-related and unrelated paragraphs of text. It is concluded that existence and themes of relationships are (as expected) fairly consistently recognised, however, specific relationships do not readily fall into natural predicate like statements. Purely thematic relationships, or a palette of available relationships might be the more practical approach. Further work on dynamic linking in hypertext documents is also reported. Dynamic linking eliminates some of the problems associated with a mismatch between the mental models of authors and readers and allows the readers to construct their own hypertexts from linear documents. This approach offers useful data on logical connectivity in hypertext documents but also represents an alternative to conventional hypertext authoring and reading.     

Quality assurance and women in higher education

This paper examines a range of positive and negative consequences for women of Quality Assurance (QA) initiatives in one Australian university. Drawing on Foucaults concepts of governmentality and power/knowledge, it is argued that the popular repressive hypothesis of power via governmentality hides a positive and potentially productive dimension of power. Following recent work by feminist political theorists, my claim here is that a corporatist managerial discourse such as QA can be used strategically for a politics of transformation in the interests of women. The paper begins with an outline of the parameters of debate about and critiques of the QA agenda in the Australian higher education sector, and highlights some potentially negative consequences for women in terms of their structural location in the university. An overview of QA audit processes then leads into a closer examination of one universitys response to QA initiatives. The culture and management style of this regional university was significantly transformed from an informal and pastoral model to one with open systems of accountability and performance targets built around equity issues. In that regard, it is argued, equity target groups including women, became the visible focus of the development and implementation of new systems designed to bring equity into the mainstream. In closing, I argue that in this particular university, the new managerialism of QA was indeed a panoptic mechanism of making visible: productivity, equity groups, procedures and outcomes. But in an institutional context where open systems were lacking and womens contributions invisible and undervalued, the QA agenda brought new opportunities not only for women but for other groups previously marginalised and silenced.     

Lexical priming of nonword spelling in the regular orthography of Italian

In pronounced contrast to English, Italian orthography contains extremely regular sound-to-spelling correspondences and therefore Italian words could, in principle, be spelled perfectly correctly using nonlexical phoneme-to-grapheme conversion rules alone. If this were so, then there should be no lexical influence upon nonword spelling. However, the present experiment reports lexical priming effects for two inconsistently spelled segments in Italian words: Italian participants were more likely to spell the nonword tece as TECIE if they had just heard the word specie rather than pece and were more likely to spell the nonword cuodo as QUODO if they had heard the word quota rather than cuoco. These results suggest that Italian, despite its regular orthography, is not spelled purely nonlexically. It is argued that a dual-route model of spelling production can be applied to Italian.     

Classroom control: Some cybernetic comments on the possible and the impossible

The application of basic cybernetic laws and information processing principles to the classroom situation suggests that traditional and modern teaching methods, regarded as control systems, are equivalent in terms of efficiency. As control structures, they embody different principles and are not decomposable. Examination of these principles reveals that the two methods are radically incompatible, in the sense that techniques developed in the one cannot be transferred to the other without dislocation of the system as a whole. Attempts to modernize the traditional method, or to formalize the modern method are ill-conceived. Such mixed methods violate basic laws of information and control, and cannot work. It is suggested that many of the problems underlying the Great Education Debate are a consequence of the impossible state of affairs created by the widespread introduction of mixed methods.     

Collective Identity and the Burden of “Acting White” in Black History,Community, and Education

After more than 15 years of comparative study of minority education, I concluded that I would have to study two additional factors, namely collective identity and cultural frame of reference to more fully explain the variability in minority school performance. In 1986, I published an article with Signithia Fordham on how oppositional collective identity and cultural frame of reference or oppositional culture contributed to Black students' school performance. Many critics have misinterpreted the joint article and even constructed a different thesis of oppositional culture than the one we proposed in the joint article. The thesis is that Black students do not aspire to or strive to get good grades because it is perceived as acting White. Furthermore, they have translated my cultural–ecological theory into an oppositional culture theory. I am writing this paper to correct the misinterpretations of the joint article in order to advance scholarship on the subject. I begin by explaining the meaning of collective identity and distinguishing it from other concepts of identity. Specifically, I summarize the evolution of oppositional collective identity and cultural frame of reference or oppositional culture among Black Americans and discuss the Black experience with the burden of acting White in the contemporary United States. Finally, I suggest some continuity between Black historical and community experiences with the burden of acting White, as experienced by Black students.     

Fairy-tale Retellings between Art and Pedagogy

In this article, it is shown how authors of fairy-tale retellings have incorporated ideas of feminist literary criticism into a fictional form. As such, these retellings display the tension between the pedagogic and aesthetic aspects of all childrens literature. Jane Yolens Sleeping Ugly is chosen as a case study: although it can be argued that the book serves as a mouthpiece for the ideology of the emancipation movement formulated in Marcia Liebermans key text Some Day My Prince Will Come, it is suggested that Sleeping Ugly teaches children to read against a texts authority and as such undermines its own didactic potential.Vanessa Joosen (1977) has a Masters degree in English and German Literature from the University of Antwerp, and an MA in Childrens Literature from the University of Surrey Roehampton. In 2003, she received an FWO scholarship to fund her PhD at the University of Antwerp. She researches the interaction between fairy-tale retellings and criticism on fairy tales in the period from 1970 to 2000. Recent publications include Translating Dutch into Dutch in Signal 100, and an article on Belgian childrens books in Peter Hunts International Companion to Childrens Literature.     

Austrian graduates in education and their jobs: An empirical analysis of the occupational distribution of university graduates

The author reports on an empirical research project which investigated the occupational distribution of Austrian PhD's who graduated in education. Nearly 50% of the graduates interviewed are employed in the occupational fields universities and teachers' training. On the contrary new occupational fields which may be estimated as potential job-areas in consequence of international experience (like social work, further education, special education for the handicapped, vocational traning, etc.) employ a very small number of graduates. No manifest unemployment could be found. However about 20% of the graduates are over-qualified for their jobs ——most of them working in the occupational field schools. The article concludes with some suggestions for the development of the educational graduates' curriculum by emphasizing elements of orientation for the students (concerning their motives for studying and their professional expectations) and application of educational knowledge.     

The relationship between attributes of a children's radio program and its appeal to listeners

An approach was developed to investigate the link between attributes of a children's radio program and children's judgments of appeal. Program tapes were divided into 28 segments and were rated for the presence of 30 attributes. Through multidimensional scaling analysis, attributes were organized into six clusters of Superattributes on the basis of their co-occurrence across the 28 segments. Superattributes were labeled and assigned scores that reflected the degree to which each was present in the 28 segments. A sample of 42 children 8–12 years old listened to the test tapes and provided a written judgment of their interest in the program at each segment. Results revealed that the Superattributes Instruction, Intro Talk, and Jokes were negatively associated with children's interest, while Popular Music was positively correlated with interest. In planning programs and understanding the effects of radio on children, designers and researchers should pay special attention to those formats in radio programming that are familiar to children, especially popular music and instructional material.     

Policy communities,issue networks and the formulation of Australian higher education policy

Governments in most western countries consult extensively with clientele groups in the process of formulating higher education policy. The nature of these consultative mechanisms, in turn, influences the manner in which decisions are made, and the substance of policy outcomes. This article explores the changing style of government-interest group interaction in Australia over the decade 1985–94 and how these changes have effected the way policy is determined. It is argued that Australia has gone through three phases over that time. Until 1987 policy was formulated by a stable policy community. From 1988–90, when a number of major reforms were introduced, this framework was replaced by a brief period of state direction. During the early 1990s a new environment characterised by unstable issue networks emerged.     

The decline of the nation-state and the education of national minorities

Many forces are shifting the role of the nation-state and altering our fundamental understanding of how it should function. The author argues that the transplanted European model of the nation-state has become dysfunctional, creating national minorities, serving as an ideological cloak for various forms of oppression and opposing forms of education that would promote diversity of languages and cultures. The decline of territorial sovereignty under the forces of globalization, the move to supranational forms of organization and the emergence of sub-national areas of economic and social development (often city-regions) provide a new range of opportunities for development of minority schooling.

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Zusammenfassung Viele Kräfte verändern die Rolle des Nationenstaates und ändern damit auch unser grundsätzliches Verständnis zu dessen Funktion. Der Autor argumentiert, daß das übertragene europäische Modell des Nationenstaates außer Funktion gesetzt und damit nationale Minderheiten geschaffen wurden. Somit besteht ein ideologischer Deckmantel für verschiedene Arten von Unterdrückung und Widerstand gegen Erziehungsarten, die eine Vielfalt der Sprachen und Kulturen fördern würden. Der Verfall territorialer Unabhängigkeit unter den Kräften der Globalisierung, die Bewegung hin zu einer supranationalen Form der Organisation und die Schaffung regionaler Gebiete wirtschaftlicher und sozialer Entwicklung (oft Stadtbezirke) bieten neue Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten hinsichtlich der Schulbildung für Minderheiten.

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Resumen Son muchas las fuerzas que están cambiando el papel que desempeña el estado-nación y que alteran nuestro concepto básico de cómo este debería funcionar. El autor argumenta que el modelo europeo trasplantado del estado-nación se ha vuelto disfunctional, creando minorías nacionales y sirviendo de manto ideológico para encubrir diferentes formas de opresión y de oposición a una educación que intenta promover la diversidad de lenguas y culturas. El ocaso de la soberanía territorial bajo las fuerzas de globalización, el cambio hacia formas de organización supranacionales y el surgimiento de sectores subnacionales de desarrollo económico y social (frecuentemente en regiones urbanas) proveen un nuevo tipo de oportunidades para el desarrollo de una educación escolar de minorías.

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Résumé De nombreuses pressions modifient le rôle de l'Etat-nation et transforment notre conception fondamentale de son fonctionnement. L'auteur expose que le modèle européen d'Etat-nation qui a éé transposé dans d'autres régions est maintenant atteint de dysfonctionnement, car il crée des minorités nationales, sert de prétexte idéologique à différentes formes d'oppression et fait obstacle à des modèles d'éducation qui encourageraient la diversité des langues et des cultures. Le déclin de la souveraineté territoriale sous la pression de la mondialisation, l'évolution vers des formes d'organisation supranationales et l'apparition de concentrations régionales du développement éconnomique et social (souvent en tant que régions urbanisées) constituent de nouveaux stimulants pour l'élaboration d'une scolarité adaptée aux minorités.

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Some aspects of the individual-difference modelling of causal attribution

A review of some contemporary studies based on an individual-difference model of student learning is presented. The exploratory fitting of conceptual models of student learning to atypical individual-similarity data structures is discussed, and an experimental categorisation procedure for producing such structures is outlined. Insofar as the features of some established conceptual models of student learning do not fit such atypical structures, either by virtue of their conceptual parsimony, or their underlying conceptual assumptions, the fitting of a locus model to such structures is explored. It is argued that, within the student experience of learning framework, conceptual models of student learning need to incorporate such additional dimensions of variation if such models are to be employed in individual-difference studies of student learning.     

Growth in mathematical understanding: How can we characterise it and how can we represent it?

There has been a variety of approaches to the study of mathematical understanding, and some of these are reviewed before outlining the background to the model we are proposing for the growth of such understanding. The model is explained in detail and illustrated with reference to the concept of fractions. Key features of the model include don't need boundaries, folding back, and the complementarities of acting and expressing that occur at each level of understanding. The theory is illustrated by examples of pupils' work from a variety of topics and stages. Finally one of the practical applications of the theory, mapping, is explained in some detail.     

Towards Total Quality Management in Higher Education at Aston University—a case study

The theme of Quality has been embedded in Aston University's strategic plans for long term success during a decade of change brought about by the national policy to restructure the British Higher Education system. The philosophy and techniques of Quality Management have been applied as a means of ensuring continuous improvement and progress towards Aston's mission to be a leading technological university. The strategic plan has led to major projects including academic restructuring to ensure that departments cover disciplines consistent with the mission, and the provision of a high quality support infrastructure. The plan for growth is rooted in the concepts of understanding who the customers are, in understanding their needs and serving them well. The formation of a Quality Council has marked a further stage in the realisation of an integrated Quality Management programme. The purpose of the Council is to review the University's processes and Critical Success Factors in order to identify key areas for improvement. An extensive education and training programme has been launched and there has been experimentation with the vital Quality Management technique of Quality Function Deployment.     

Sensing the Impact of Elementary School Science Reform: A Study of Stakeholder Perceptions of Implementation,Constructivist Strategies,and School–Home Collaboration

This case study of a midwestern school districts reform effort explored the treatment fidelity of the Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature (Science PALs) project. Data were collected from the perspectives of three stakeholders: students, school district, and parents. Students and school district supervisors perceptions indicated that teachers were implementing predicted curricular and instructional features promoted by the Science PALs project. Students perceptions of their current teachers classroom performance did not parallel the supervisors perceptions of the teachers implementation. Parents perceptions and comments indicated a high level of satisfaction with the implemented features. Collectively, the three perspectives suggest that the Science PALs project was successful in changing the classroom practices of K–6 teachers involved in the professional development. The results of this study appear to support the findings of other recent studies that indicate the need for extended professional development and support to fully implement changes in elementary school science instruction.     

Fallibilism and the Use of History in Mathematics Education

The use of history in mathematics teaching depends, either implicitly or explicitly, on some view of the rationale of mathematical development. We suppose that changes in mathematics are made for good reasons, which are simultaneously clarified and tested in the process. Therefore, philosophically comprehended accounts of historical developments are relevant means of conveying to learners the rationale of mathematical concepts and precepts. As a case in point, it will be shown how the genesis and development of complex numbers can be explained on - hence supports - a fallibilist model of trials and tests. The educational implications of this quasi-experimental approach are briefly discussed.