Production frontier estimates of scale in public schools in California

Empirical estimates of production frontiers and average production functions, performed here for selected public elementary school districts in California for 1976–1977 and 1977–1978 show the existence of increasing returns to scale, although the frontier estimates specify lower values of the overall scale economy. This lends support to the hypothesis of an optimal school size model, where schools operate in the region of increasing returns to scale subject to the limit of availability of the student population. Some policy implications of the results are also briefly analyzed.     

The public schools as a work environment

This study examined the perceptions of elementary and secondary school teachers, and school board members, of the school as a work environment. The Work Environment Preferencess Scale, an instrument based on Weber's components of bureaucratic organizations, was administered to all the teachers and board members of a small Maine school district. Board members, then secondary teachers, preferred bureaucratic organization and principles. Implications for education are discussed.     

Online discussion in schools: Towards a pedagogical framework

In this paper, we draw on Bernstein's [1996. Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique. London: Taylor and Francis] notion of framing of pedagogical communication to propose a framework for use in specific literacy contexts. Here, we illustrate how this framework has emerged from an examination of text response online discussions in the English/Language Arts curriculum in primary and secondary school contexts ostensibly concerned with the development of critical literacies. We focus on the selection of the literary texts and the prompts around those, the pacing and sequencing of the discussion, and the way in which responses are negotiated online. Using this framework in two specific contexts, we find that the more mediated, but less interactive framing in one institutional context tends to support the development of desired critical literacy practices, while the less mediated but more interactive framing of the online discussions in the second context is less supportive of such literacy practices. We suggest that this analytical framework could be adapted for use in a range of online contexts in order to make more visible the extent to which the intended forms of literacy are realised and which interactional affordances are exploited in the process.     

Exploring organisational stratification and technological pedagogical change: cases of technology integration specialists in Hong Kong international schools

An international school may make organisational choices that divide the school by curriculum, grade-level, language and location. This article explores how a school’s organisational stratification impacts how the school supports changing teaching and learning practices through technology. The article draws from case data of technology integration specialists at international schools in Hong Kong. A variety of organisational sections and responses to imbalances in technological pedagogical support between sections are presented. The findings highlight how stratification may not only act as an appropriate valve for change and facilitate intercultural exchange through technology but also perpetuate existing inequalities within and between schools.     

Pre-service teachers' pedagogical learning during practicum placements in special schools

This paper discusses the pedagogical learning of some South African pre-service teachers during a practicum in ‘special’ schools. Besides promoting their understanding of diversity, these pre-service teachers noticed aspects of pedagogy that had been less visible to them during previous practicum sessions in ‘mainstream’ schools. An analysis of focus group interviews, Facebook posts, and journal entries suggests that their attention was drawn to the value of multiple representations of core concepts, lesson pacing and behavior management in responding to learning differences. Observing and teaching in special schools enabled some tacit aspects of their developing practice to become more explicit.     

Extraordinary conversations in public schools

This article reviews two ethnographic studies in which "disruptive pedagogies" are engaged in public schools, designed to enable youth to work across categories of difference toward a grounded sense of social critique and participation. Respectfully challenging/extending the premises of reproduction theory, it is argued that educational researchers not only need to theorize the means of (re)production by which public schools insure class, race, ethnic and gender stratification, but also to theorize how counter-hegemonic moments in school, in which educators undertake disruptive pedagogies, affect social consciousness and community.     

Printing in the public schools

An important hallmark of American teacher education has been its integral role in 4-year or comprehensive colleges and universities for the past 100 years. In more than 1,100 colleges in the United States, teacher education is offered as one of many baccalaureate or graduate-level programs. The preparation of elementary and secondary and special and vocational teachers is offered as an integral part of comprehensive or university-based programs. Today that situation is threatened by a number of factors that are separating teacher education from its traditional place in American higher education. These factors include (a) the inability of campus-based teacher education programs to keep pace with the accelerating demands and expectations of policymakers, (b) alternative preparation programs that are proliferating and gaining credibility, (c) resource constraints that are pervasive and real, (d) teacher shortage conditions that demand a response, (e) new forms of professional development that invite separation from university Inservice Education of Teachers (INSET) courses, (f) widespread development of professional development schools (PDSs), and (g) a commitment to assess teacher candidates separate from and outside the university. Without responses to these factors, Ed Schools are likely to see this separation accelerate and could experience the relocation of teacher education off the campus and to a variety of other providers. Preserving the unique role that teacher education plays as an essential part of American higher education is a major challenge. The factors just cited are reinforced by a host of public policy and academic initiatives that are causing teacher education to be dispersed and deinstitutionalized and "reembedded in other sites and spaces" (Hargreaves, 1995, p. 7). Reinforcing this relocation are the efforts of college faculty and Ed School "reformers" who are creating 100% field-based programs or recentering teacher education in PDSs. Those new field- or school-based entities enforce the idea of embedding teacher education in entities away from and often separate from universities. A hostile fiscal and policy environment adds to the potential for relocation and poses significant consequences for Ed School faculty in the United States.     

Developing pedagogical practices in Myanmar primary schools: possibilities and constraints

This paper presents the findings of a baseline study of pedagogic practices used by Myanmar primary teachers in the teaching of mathematics and Myanmar language at Grades 3 and 5. The main purpose of the baseline study was to inform the design of teacher education programmes and allow for subsequent evaluations of interventions designed to improve the quality of primary education. It found that the majority of observed lessons (n = 728) used a transmission model of teaching in which the teacher often used a chalkboard and/or textbook to transmit recipe knowledge for recall and there was little variation across the teaching of mathematics and Myanmar language at Grades 3 and 5. Drawing on evidence from the baseline, the paper explores the training needs of primary teachers in Myanmar in the light of proposed reforms to teacher education at the pre- and in-service stages.     

Imagining pedagogy in public space: visions of cultural policies and practices in a city in transformation

This paper reports on a research project completed with graduate students of the adult-education programme at the Leuven University in Flanders, Belgium. The research focused on cultural policies and practices in urban contexts that try to facilitate the learning of democratic citizenship in non-formal settings. In the first part we introduce some theoretical notions regarding the relationship between artistic practices in public spaces and pedagogy. The question here is how artistic interventions in urban environments can have an educative effect on people who participate in such experiences. In the second part we interpret some of the changes that take place in the urban context of a provincial city in Flanders and the related cultural policies and practices with the help of the theoretical concepts on public spaces and pedagogy.     

Speech correction in Wisconsin public schools

The character of Reagan's rhetoric and the response to it can be explained by its narrative form. The dominance of narrative in Reagan's discourse and the nature of the narrative form combine to differentiate the perspective of Reagan's supporters and his opponents. Three characteristics of narrative form—a story‐based truth, an emphasis on morality, and a grounding in common sense—explain the way in which narrative affects political judgment. The analysis reveals the power of narrative form and, in contrast to the assertions of some narrative theorists, its fragility and moral limitations.     

Vocal English in our public schools

ON DECONSTRUCTION: THEORY AND CRITICISM AFTER STRUCTURALISM. By Jonathan Culler. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982; pp. 307. Paper $8.95.

FEROCIOUS ALPHABETS. By Denis Donoghue. New York: Columbia University Press, 1984; pp. 211. Paper $7.95.

LITERARY THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION. By Terry Eagleton. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983; pp. 244. Paper $9.95.

CRITICISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE. By Frank Lentricchia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983; pp. 173. $15.00.

REPRESENTING KENNETH BURKE. Edited by Hayden White and Margaret Brose. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982; pp. 175. $14.95.     

Effective integration of ICT in Singapore schools: pedagogical and policy implications

This paper examines and analyses where and how information and communication technologies (ICT) are integrated in Singapore schools to engage students in higher-order thinking activities. Taking the activity system as a unit of analysis, the study documents the actual processes and sociocultural elements that engage students in higher-order thinking. By employing methods such as observations, focus group discussions with students, and face-to-face interviews with teachers, ICT-coordinators and principals, an account of how the activity systems within and between classrooms, and the schools are generated. Based on the analysis of the data from 10 schools, issues in the learning environment are discussed: Necessary (classroom management and orienting activities) and sufficient conditions (scaffolding activities and supporting school policies) for effective ICT integration in the classroom. The account also highlights the constraints of time and lack of knowledge and experience in the contexts that the teachers are working under, and how these constraints are addressed by supporting school policies in the larger sociocultural setting of the school. This account provides a sample of pedagogical and sociocultural issues that are discussed over the course and at the end of the project. Like a good guidebook, the study sensitizes the audience to what is likely to happen given a particular objective, constraint, or design.     

在中学化学教学中培养学生的公众化学素质

本站在社会对公众科学素养要求的角度，介绍了作对中学化教学的一些看法，着重阐明作为基础教育的中学化学应着力培养学生的公众化学素质，并讨论了培养公众化学素质的内容与途径。     

Four trajectories of rectors in Mexican public universities

Although rectors of Mexican public universities play an important role in their institutions, we know very little about them. This article first describes the different election processes in Mexican public universities for selecting a rector. These varied processes reveal the ambiguity of the concept of “autonomy” as applied to rectors, focusing on the role and possible influence of public authorities despite the formal prohibition of such interference in the law. Second, the article presents a typology of four typical career trajectories for rectors before they are elected, analyzing their educational, academic, professional, administrative, and political backgrounds. These different paths to the position of rectors in different types of institutions have implications for public policy and university autonomy.     

Financing desegregation in the Yonkers public schools

The Yonkers public school district is under a federal court order to desegregate its schools. Accordingly, the district has developed and implemented a detailed desegregation plan that will cost up to $170 million over a five-year period. However, there are various constraints on school district financing that could affect the plan. The Board of Education in Yonkers, which is appointed by the mayor, is fiscally dependent on the city. Thus, the school district budget must be approved by city officials. Also, because Yonkers appears to be a wealthy district, it receives less wealth-equalized state aid than other large-city districts. Given these circumstances, in addition to increase in state and federal aid, other measures to assist the district should be explored. Note: The opinions expressed in this paper are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the New York State Education Department.     

Teaching writing in Brazilian public high schools

Reading and Writing - Writing skills are crucial for high school students’ academic, social, and professional success in Brazil. Developing the ability to write, however, is a demanding...