“Schooling and the acquisition of knowledge”

Instructional Science -     

Christian Privilege and the Promotion of “Secular” and Not-So “Secular” Mainline Christianity in Public Schooling and in the Larger Society

Using the conceptual organizers of Young's (1990) Young, I. M. 1990. Justice and the politics of difference, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.  [Google Scholar] “faces of oppression,” and Hardiman and Jackson's (1997) Hardiman, R. and Jackson, B. 1997. “Conceptual foundations for social justice courses”. In Teaching for diversity and social justice, Edited by: Adams, M., Bell, L. A. and Griffin, P. 16–29. New York: Routledge.  [Google Scholar] “levels of oppression,” this essay investigates the concept of domination and subordination, Christian privilege, and the subtle and not-so subtle promotion of Christianity in public schooling and in the larger United States society. The author explores a number of areas related to Christian privilege and religious oppression, and provides a historical foundation to illustrate the roots and legacies of Christian hegemony and privilege within a United States context.     

Lifelong Learning Between “East” and “West”: Confucianism and the Reflexive Project of the Self

Current theory, policy, and practice of lifelong learning are strongly influenced by ideas about the transformations that are taking place in contemporary societies. One influential set of ideas emphasizes that because of the rapid changes that are taking place in the (late-) modern world and because of the erosion of traditions, there is a constant need for individuals not only to learn new skills and knowledge in order to be able to adjust themselves to the changes, but also to reflexively (re)construct one’s self. Anthony Giddens has referred to this as the “reflexive project of the self.” It thus becomes a lifelong learning task. In this paper we raise some critical questions about Giddens’s views and their implications for lifelong learning. On the one hand we show, using ideas from Charles Taylor, that the construction of the self does not necessarily have to be understood in the reflexive and individualistic terms suggested by Giddens. With Taylor we argue for the importance of the social, moral, and intersubjective dimensions of the construction of the self. Against this background we then discuss ideas from Confucianism that also highlight the social, moral, and intersubjective dimensions of understanding the self. The latter view is not simply a theoretical option but actually continues to influence the ways in which a large part of the world population views their lives and their selves. Both for theoretical and practical reasons we therefore suggest that there is a need to take a broader outlook on what the personal dimensions of lifelong learning in contemporary society might look like.     

A Comparison Between the Audiolingual Approach and the Communicative Approach in Second-Language Teaching

通过分析,比较《听说法》和《交际法》两种外语教学法的理论根据、教学原理和可能的教学技巧,我们发现两种教学法都有自己的优缺点;因此我们应根据我们设置的课程目的和可利用的时间来选择使用两种外语教学法。     

Socialization into a Civilization: The Dewey–Kaplan Synthesis in American Jewish Schooling in the Early 20th Century

This historical study focuses on how John Dewey's theory of education as socialization and Mordecai Kaplan's theory of Judaism as a civilization together served as an ideological base and pedagogical framework for the creation of “progressive,” “reconstructed” American Jewish school programs in the early 20th century (1910s–1930s). In the main, progressive Jewish educators no longer conceived of Jewish education merely as a program of religious education designed to impart the ways and dictates of Judaism. Rather, Jewish education was conceptualized as a total program of socialization designed to prepare children for active and intelligent participation in American Jewish life.     

“Useless Schooling” or “Hopeless Schooling”: An Ethnographic Study of Lower-Class Rural Parents’ Perceptions on the Value of Schooling

Abstract

Based on the data collected in a one-year long fieldwork in Zhong, a county located in middle part of China, this article reconsiders the concept of “useless schooling,” which was proposed in recent studies on the perceptions of value of education among lower-class rural residents in China. It calls for a understanding of those changes in the macro social structure, which becomes increasingly stratified, and the emerging patterns of educational opportunity structure in the era of social transformation, and argues that this is the base for the understanding lower-class rural parents’ perceptions on the value of schooling. This article employs Bourdieu’s concept of “habitus” and conceptualizes the process of how lower-class rural residents form their value on school education as a process of structural factors being internalized into individual dispositions. Based on the data collected, this article proposes to use the concept of “hopeless schooling” to capture their perceptions on the value of school education. It emphasizes that the emerging education opportunity structure and differentiated chances of social mobility by different social groups have gradually been transformed into a stratified pattern of “expectations” for education and social mobility, and proposes the need to examine the ongoing solidification of social structure in this period of transformation.     

Situating the ‘beyond’: adventure-learning and Indigenous cultural competence

In 2010, an Indigenous Elder from the Wiradjuri nation and a group of academics from Charles Sturt University travelled to Menindee, a small locality on the edge of the Australian outback. They were embarked upon an ‘adventure-learning’ research journey to study ways of learning by creating a community of practice with an Elder from the Ngyampa/Barkandji nation. This article first explores the implications of this innovative approach to transformative learning for professional development and for teaching and learning practice. It then reflects on the significance of location for pedagogic approaches aimed at closing the education gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians in universities.     

“Seeing the Light”: A Cognitive Approach to the Metaphorical in Picture Books

Picture books, as both sophisticated aesthetic objects and literary texts, provide the ideal site for critically examining how values and ideology are transmitted to children. How the child reader might be affected by the process of reading a picture book—that is, how he or she might be moved emotionally and potentially gain new insights about the world—is of interest to scholars and educators alike. This article draws upon cognitive literary theory as a conceptual frame through which to explore the cognitive and emotional affect that reading may have upon children. “Reader response” and “cultural criticism” are approaches to literature that seek to understand how readers interact with texts. Cognitive theory, when applied to literature, builds on these discourses by focusing on why reading fiction might cause the brain to produce emotional and cognitive responses in readers. As metaphors are a feature of language and of thought, a study of the metaphorical in picture books aptly lends itself to the theoretical framework offered by cognitive literary theory. Drawing on examples from four picture books produced for children, broadly correlating to different developmental stages, this article examines the role of metaphor in encouraging skills in decoding and creative thinking. Talking to children about visual metaphor or metaphorical expression introduces them to a feature of language and thought that provides a conceptual frame for richer understanding and expression of ideas. Examining how the metaphorical operates in picture books thus takes us a step closer to understanding how the process of reading affects children and enriches their lives.     

Compulsory Schooling‐‐the Critical Dimension to Work and Learning in the New Millennium

This article discusses the need to better match education to the needs of redefined work. It considers some of the attitudes and personal characteristics required in the new millennium and holds that these should be imparted through compulsory schooling. It further considers the appropriateness of skills training, vocational education, and employment strategies in the changing arena of business; the impact on the Twenty‐First Century learner of internationalization and globalization; and current as well as potential innovative learning experiences and opportunities. International business and learning examples are cited.     

Comparison of the Late Qing Dynasty＇s Early Overseas Education in the U. S. A and Europe and Its Contemporary Inspiration

清末早期的留学教育对中国近代化的起步具有重要意义。留美教育是留欧教育展开推动的基石,留欧教育是留美教育某种程度上的改进和延续。然而,不同的历史背景使得留美与留欧教育有各自鲜明的特色。文化背景不同的倡导者,越来越具体细化的留学目的及其准备工作,在中国近代化建设中不同角色的担当等都值得我们分析研究。当下,留学浪潮此起彼伏,跟风留学、低龄留学等现象成为大众焦点,各种国际班和形式多样的出国方式也给中国的留学教育事业带来许多新问题。本文通过对清末早期留美与留欧教育的比较,一则使读者对两次留学教育的具体情况有一个全面的体认;二则通过分析,取长补短,并结合当今一些留学现象给出指导建议。     

Authenticity in teaching and teachers’ emotions: a hermeneutic phenomenological study of the classroom reality

This study probed the conceptualization of authenticity in teaching and its link to teachers’ emotional life through critical emotional praxis because emotions are integral to discovering who we really are (McCarthy, E. D. 2009. “Emotional Performances as Dramas of Authenticity.” In Authenticity in Culture, Self, and Society, edited by P. Vannini, and J. P. Williams, 241–255. London: Ashgate). The participants were 20 Iranian university teachers. Data were collected using interviews, field notes, and observation and were analyzed through the lens of hermeneutic phenomenology. The results revealed that authenticity in teaching consisted of themes of being one’s own self, horizon of significance, and contestation resulted from the sense of responsibility, authentic relations, and de-constructive thinking which confirmed the dialogical nature of authenticity. The emotions connected to authenticity in teaching were Transition-Anger, love, and caring indicating that authenticity in teaching was a practice toward socially just teaching.     

Drop Out and “Disconnected” Young Adults: Examining the Impact of Neighborhood and School Contexts

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) this study compares if and how neighborhood effects on the likelihood to drop out and be “disconnected” from school and work in young adulthood change when schools are taken into account. As widely documented, I find that neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with dropping out, but this effect is mediated by schools with high numbers of Latino or Black students. I find neighborhood socioeconomic status is not associated with being disconnected, yet, attending schools with high numbers of Black students is. This research draws attention for the need to account for neighborhood and school effects simultaneously to better understand contextual effects and to more carefully conceptualize how neighborhood and schools work together to produce these outcomes disproportionately impacting racial and ethnic minorities.