Christian Education AS A THEOLOGICAL DISCIPLINE AND METHOD1

These seven articles, which are on the same theme as the forthcoming National Convention, are presented here to provide background “thinking of the Convention.”

We are indebted to the authors for their informative and helpful statements.

The papers and seminar reports of the National Convention will be published in the March‐April 1958 issue of RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

—The Editorial Committee     

Embedding resilience within the tertiary curriculum: a feasibility study

Mental health problems can significantly impact on the ability of university students to both meet their individual potential and contribute positively within society. This study evaluates the feasibility of embedding a strength‐focused resilience‐building seminar within a university curriculum. Participants were 247 students enrolled in an undergraduate psychology subject. The Staying on Track seminar, consisting of six building blocks for resilience, was delivered within a normal lecture period. Students completed post‐measures on satisfaction and usefulness, as well as follow‐up reflective journals entries noting changes made as a result of seminar participation. The seminar received high scores for satisfaction and 90% of students reported at least one of the six building blocks as being useful to them. Satisfaction also translated into self‐reported positive behaviour change for many students. Implications for the role of curriculum‐based resilience‐building programs within universities are discussed.     

Why distance education can be cheaper than conventional education

In conventional universities geared to the lecture, seminar, and tutorial, there is a clear and almost linear relationship between staff and student numbers, and it is this relationship that is the primary determinant of cost. Media‐based distance education, however, changes the production function of higher education. This change occurs not where media is used to supplement the teachers’ role — this merely increases total costs, but where it is used as a substitute for teachers. In essence, capital replaces labour, offering to the educationalist what Leslie Wagner {1982: ix) has described as ‘a mass production alternative to the traditional craft approach’.     

THE AGING POPULATION AS A CHALLENGE FOR THE HELPING PROFESSIONS: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON A RECENT CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM

This article reviews a recent continuing education program held at the University of Western Australia, Perth. The program addressed some of the crucial issues facing professionals in the field of aged services and comprised a one‐day seminar and a series of workshops. It was hosted by the Department of Social Work and Social Administration over a six‐week period and examined a wide range of issues in gerontological social work practice.     

Towards Partnership in Teacher Education in Northern Ireland—an unfinished story

This paper was presented at the Gargnano seminar. It presents an analysis of the reform of teacher education in Northern Ireland from 1992 to 1995. It points to similarities and differences with developments in England and Wales and describes in detail the debate on partnership teacher education up to June 1995. The focus of the paper is on policy development in N.I. and on the interactions between the main players involved in advising government and implementing policy. The positions taken up by the Government, the HE institutions, the schools and the Northern Ireland Teacher Education Committee are described. The approach taken by the University of Ulster in the planning and delivery of social work training in N.I. is used as an exemplar of partnership building worthy of examination by the teaching profession. The paper concludes with a short section (written in September 1996) which brings the reader up to date on some major developments, including a “step back from the brink”.     

European Dissertation Summaries

Over the past decade, Donald Schön's conceptualization of professional practice as reflection‐in‐action has gained wide currency. This paper reports on a seminar, based on Schon's ideas, to assist elementary teachers in making Science a more significant part of their instructional programmes. A detailed analysis of the efforts of two of the experienced teachers involved points to problems related to: (i) the efficacy of reflection‐on‐action in facilitating reflecting‐in‐action; (ii) disjunctions between conceptual and action components of teachers' frames; and (iii) the role of substantive teacher intervention in assisting children in learning to use non‐common‐sense ways of knowing such as Science.     

What are Finnish Teacher Educators’ Conceptions about the Teaching of Problem Solving in Mathematics?

The aim of this study was to determine Finnish teacher educators’ conceptions about problem solving, the teaching of problem solving and the prerequisites they feel its teaching requires. Teacher educators’ conceptions were collected with two questionnaires within a two‐part seminar on problem solving which was held in 1986 and 1987. Analysis of the resulting percentage tables yielded some information about the teacher educators’ conceptions about the teaching of problem solving. The highest level of consensus was obtained for statements that reflect an open‐minded approach to teaching. The consensus was lowest for the statement which stated that mathematical formalism should be stressed.     

Evaluations and the Forgetfulness of Pedagogical Relations: Remarks on Educational Authority

In this essay, Christiane Thompson addresses the question of evaluative practices, particularly student evaluation of teaching (SET), and their effects with respect to pedagogical relations in the university setting. In the first part of the essay, Thompson draws on Michel Foucault's analysis of power to show how university teaching has come to be defined according to notions of obligation, accountability, and assurance. The forgetfulness of pedagogical relations that results from the increasing use of SET prompts Thompson to rethink the significance of pedagogical relations in the second part of the essay. Referring to the notion of “educational authority” and Foucault's framework of power, Thompson argues that education is about the continuous re‐institution of pedagogical relation to the other. In the final section, Thompson reflects upon the professor's “authority” in terms of constituting a “community of inquiry”: specifically, the seminar is interpreted as a pedagogical setting that implies a different “being‐with” than SET suggests. She concludes by considering what possibilities and limitations the seminar setting offers and how we can discuss this issue (by means of evaluative practice).     

TRANSFORMATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE

Because of the fundamental importance of science in economic, social, and cultural development, and because the structures supporting science have been weakened by the transition process in the countries of eastern and central Europe, various strategies are needed to relaunch science on a new basis. The activity of UNESCO in general, and of ROSTE, its Regional Office of Science and Technology for Europe, in particular, is described with regard to this problem. Among other actions, a seminar was held in 1992 on Organizational Structures of Science in Europe. A more recent UNESCO initiative calls for a wide discussion of the role and place of science in the contemporary world. The holding of the Academies in Transition international workshop fits well into the scope of this initiative.     

The Restructuring of Academic Work: Themes and Observations

The objective in this paper is to provide an overview of the key themes that can be identified by looking across the contributions to this special issue, and highlight a number of the important observations that emerged during the seminar in which these papers were originally presented. The seminar, which took place in Berlin in October of 2005, was organized by UNESCO‐CEPES in collaboration with the Observatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum and the German Commission for UNESCO.     

Phonemic Segmentation. An Important Subskill in Learning to Read: II

Abstract: Skjelfjord, V.J. 1987. Phonemic Segmentation. An Important Subskill in Learning to Read: II. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 31, 81‐98. The order of difficulty of positions and the segmentability of phoneme categories are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that phonemes are functioning units in the perception and production of speech, and data are presented based on the hypothesis that phonemes are not such units. Data on the connection between skill in phonemic analysis and synthesis and skill in reading nonsense words are presented. A short discussion of data indicating that phonemes are not units in the perception and production of speech is given. The final version of the program for teaching phonemic segmentation is described.     

A comment on ‘Class,gender and science teaching processes’ by R. G. Hacker‡

Summaries

English

Proceeding from a historical review of physical geography, an outline of the present concerns of this discipline and its position among other earth sciences is presented. This is followed by a discussion of the aspects of physical geography which are significant in relation to the school curriculum. In the final section the predominantly physical‐science oriented RCF‐Project lesson units Boden (Soil) and Wasser (Water) are described. They show that the most important educational task of physical geography today is to convey to pupils a general insight into geoecological relationships as a basis for ecologically responsible awareness and action.

     

Beginning Elementary Science Teachers: Developing Professional Knowledge During a Limited Mentoring Experience

The professional development project reported on in this paper, the Beginning Elementary Science Teachers' (BEST) project, was based on the premise that the first years of elementary science teaching can be very important in the development of long-term quality science teaching. Specifically, we report on project experiences that allowed 13 beginning teachers to interact with experienced teachers in a university seminar and during school visits. Results show that these limited mentoring experiences can support the development of professional knowledge and discussion centers on factors that facilitate knowledge growth. Conclusions are presented that compare benefits of these limited mentoring experiences to those reported to be achieved in long-term mentoring programs.     

Connected Thinking

Tony Webster, former Director of Education in Tameside, describes the origins of the ‘connected thinking project’. He goes on to list a number of key questions that were identified in relation to ‘values education’, ‘thinking skills’, ‘emotional intelligence’ and ‘ICT’. The aims, form and contributions to a seminar which sought to identify areas for continuing work and further research are described. Several of those who contributed to the seminar have written papers for this special issue of the journal. Tony Webster concludes his paper by listing the research and other action deemed necessary to take the work forward.     

Enterprise,Economic and Industrial Awareness: making the links in initial teacher education ‐‐ two case studies

Abstract

Two case studies of work in initial teacher education provide the stimulus for a discussion of the incorporation of enterprise, economic and industrial issues within student programmes’. The first case study describes a seminar at Manchester University where these issues are introduced to students within the constraints of a 36‐week PGCE course. The second describes IT‐INSET activities undertaken by primary BEd students from Edge Hill College of Higher Ecucation.

A number of issues are raised, not least of which is the need to overcome student concerns about the incorporation of the National Curriculum cross‐curricular themes into teaching. The conclusion reached is that much work remains to be done and some possible future developments are examined.     

Curriculum Evaluation Using a Seminar Interaction Analysis Schedule

A modification to the Flanders’ Interaction Analysis Categories to code student‐to‐student discussion allows meaningful analysis of seminar transactions. Examples are given of the use of the coding system in two seminar groups in teacher education. It is suggested that the system has a value in contributing to the evaluation of teaching.     

Mathematics in Education and Industry

ABSTRACT

The view that education has a role to play in resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland is examined, first by looking at the notions of reconstructionism and cultural pluralism. The religiously segregated school systems are then examined, and the various attempts at intervention are described under the headings, ‘Curriculum change’, ‘Integration’, and ‘Inter‐school co‐operation’. Finally a new research and development project called Inter‐school links is described.     

The Pupil's Experience of School Organization

The paper is concerned with the development, validation and use of management competencies; the focus is upon the position of heads within the maintained‐schools sector. Issues germane to competencies and their usage are discussed, as are the criteria to be met for competencies to have applicability to the education sector. The generation of management competencies for heads through a national job analysis involving some 255 heads is described. Headteacher management competencies are presented, and practical alternatives for their use discussed. Finally, a working framework is developed of how competencies generated for senior educational positions stand in relation to competencies which are applicable in other occupational sectors.     

An Insight into Professional Identity Formation: Qualitative Analyses of Two Reflection Interventions During the Dissection Course

The professional behavior of future doctors is increasingly important in medical education. One of the first subjects in the curriculum to address this issue is gross anatomy. The Tuebingen Medical Faculty implemented a learning portfolio and a seminar on medical professionalism during the dissection course. The aims of this research project are to get an overview of how students form a professional identity in the dissection course and to compare the content of both their oral and written reflections on the course. A qualitative analysis was conducted of the oral and written reflections on the dissection laboratory experience. This study was conducted during winter term 2013/2014 with a cohort of 163 participants in the regular dissection course. Written reflection texts (from n = 96 students) and audio recordings from four oral reflection seminar discussions (with n = 11 students) were transcribed and deductively categorized with Mayring’s qualitative content analysis method. Both qualitative analyses show that students reflected on many topics relevant to professional development, including empathy, respect, altruism, compassion, teamwork, and self-regulation. Quantitative analysis reveals that students who attended the oral reflection wrote significantly more in their written reflection than students who did not. There is, however, no difference in the reflection categories. Reflection content from students corresponds with categories derived from existing competency frameworks. Both the seminar (oral reflections) and the learning portfolio (written reflections) present excellent opportunities to foster professional development during anatomy education; the key is using them in conjunction with the dissection course.