Reviews of research in rural schools and their communities: Analytical perspectives and a new agenda

This chapter responds to the research questions posed in the introductory chapter on the status and nature of educational research on rural schools and their community relationships. Drawing on the national reviews, we discuss the quality of the research focusing on its themes and questions, theoretical perspectives, and research design and methodology. The conclusions indicate substantial hiatuses, and call for greater use of the local voice, the life-world perspective, longitudinal and comparative studies, and multiple purposively sampled case studies. Internationally, while first-hand sources on the cultural contributions of rural schools exist, these must be accessed before documentary studies of central policies over-write such history. Finally, a new research agenda is formulated.     

Reviews of research on rural schools and their communities in British and Nordic countries: Analytical perspectives and cultural meaning

This introduction presents the case, and sets the scene, for five reviews of research on rural schools and their communities, arguing that educational research in this field is relatively rare, and decreasingly visible despite the significant population of the world's children who live in rural communities and attend rural schools. After considering various interpretations of ‘rural’, of the purpose and function of rural schooling, and of the relationship between school and community, we present three basic research questions with relevance for researchers of schools and communities, rural and urban, the world over, and raise more specific questions which are addressed in the reviews themselves and pursued in the closing chapter. Finally we introduce the research reviews and justify our selection of British and Nordic countries, where, despite geographical proximity, there are wide thematic and methodological disparities in rural schools’ research.     

Distance teaching in small rural primary schools: a participatory action research project

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study is to identify and examine the distance teaching practices of four teachers in three small, rural primary schools in Finland – small in the sense that the schools consists of between 20–50 pupils and between 3–12 teachers. The schools have experienced a decline in pupil numbers, thus, they are not able to employ teachers full-time. The participating teachers imagined distance education as one solution to extend the classroom and faculty. Practice architectures is used as a theoretical and analytical framework to answer the question ‘What cultural, material, and social discourses constitute the development of the practice around distance education in small, rural primary schools?’ The data consists of interviews with and video blogs by the teachers recorded during 2016–2017. The implications are that cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements surrounding distance education are intertwined in small schools. Architectural arrangements enabled flexible solutions when developing distance education. The same arrangements proved to be material and cultural constraints as the teachers had many responsibilities in their everyday practice and support from the faculty was sometimes lacking. The teachers felt constrained by the technology and communicating with pupils at a distance meant they had to develop new teaching strategies.     

Responding to students' needs in special schools in Ireland and England: findings from two schools

As more students with special educational needs attend mainstream schools, it is critical that the role and operation of special schools be examined. This article reports on two case studies, one special school in England and one in Ireland, which formed part of a national review of the role of special schools and special classes in Ireland. Two students, in each case study school, were shadowed and observed during two‐day visits by the research team. These students, and everyone belonging to them, were interviewed and relevant documents were analysed. Findings are discussed in terms of responding to students' needs through: organization of teaching and learning, curriculum, leadership, specialist staff, collaboration and links outside the special school. The implications are considered with reference to research, policy and practice and the authors conclude that the evidence provides support for maintaining the special school as an integral part of the continuum of educational provision for students with special educational needs.     

河南农村中小学教师结构性问题分析及对策

教师队伍结构问题,是教师队伍建设的核心问题。当前,河南农村地区中小学教师队伍结构正处于重要的转型时期。从整体上看,河南农村教师队伍呈现出结构层次不断提升和结构关系不断优化的良好发展态势,但同时也存在中小学教师编制过剩和实际短缺、教师年龄结构不合理、学科结构失衡及职称结构偏低等问题,加强河南农村地区中小学教师队伍建设仍任重而道远。     

Digital inclusion in Chile: Internet in rural schools

This paper analyzes the teacher's contribution to improving digital inclusion in Chilean rural schools, using a multidimensional definition of the digital divide. Data was obtained from interviews and surveys applied to teachers and students from 145 rural schools. Results show that teachers function as gatekeepers. They do not teach students how to use ICT explicitly, but when teachers have high expectations, skills and technology access, this leads to conditions for students learning how to use ICT. Finally, the data contributes to a better understanding of the new role that teachers and schools play in rural areas in terms of social and symbolic integration.     

贵州农村小规模学校师资建设调查分析--以黔东南州四个县为例

开展2013年贵州省教育改革发展研究招标课题“贵州省农村小规模学校教学质量保障机制研究”调查研究过程中发现,农村小规模学校发展存在诸多的问题,主要是教职工满编与不够用的矛盾,教师知识文化与教育素质缺失,农村学校教师有机会培训与不能去培训矛盾以及师资影响学校各学科开设齐全等问题.以黔东南的某四个县为例深入分析这些问题并提出思考建议.     

School context and instructional capacity: A comparative study of professional learning communities in rural and urban schools in China

This study examines the teaching gap between rural and urban schools in China from the perspective of teacher professional learning communities (PLCs). Drawing on in-depth interviews with 36 primary school teachers, the study finds striking disparities between rural and urban schools in the working of Teaching and Research Groups (TRGs). These disparities in TRGs result in divergent patterns of instructional capacity building in rural and urban schools. The evidence shows that teaching and teachers are strongly shaped by the school organizational context. It suggests that strengthening school-wide PLCs is an important way of narrowing the rural-urban teaching and learning gaps.     

谈中学化学教师实验教学研究能力的培养

基础教育改革要求中学教师具有教学研究能力。中学化学教师应具备化学实验教学研究的能力。本文就如何培养中学化学教师实验教学研究能力，以及化学实验教学研究的一般方法进行了探讨。     

高校教学师生互动形式浅论

目前,我国高校在教学方法上仍大多采用以教师讲授为主的形式,学生对教学的参与不够,积极性、主动性没有能被充分调动起来,从而造成了某种程度上教与学的隔离与脱节。本文试图对造成这种状况的原因进行一些分析,并着重就师生互动的具体形式进行了一些探索,以期建立师生互动的良性机制,在一定程度上提高高校教学的质量与水平。     

防范办学风险:政府和民办高校的责任

民办高校快速发展的背后存在着风险隐患,这既有其自身的原因,也有难以克服的外部原因。在防范和化解办学风险的过程中,应充分发挥政府和民办高校的作用。政府的职责是以公共治理为指针,进一步完善民办高等教育法规政策,加强对民办高校的宏观调控;民办高校的职责则是加强学校制度建设,提升办学品质。     

Science education: innovation in rural and remote Queensland schools

Outside its heavily-populated south-eastern corner, Queensland is a huge administrative area with many small, remote communities that can be separated by hundreds of kilometres of dirt road, or, in other areas, not accessible by road. In this study, parents, students and teachers in nine schools from rural and regional Queensland were interviewed about their perceptions of school science. Teachers, parents and students defined remoteness by reference to their social ties, as well as the social capital and resources they drew on to teach science meaning that not only did different groups differ in their interpretations of remoteness; different teachers in similar circumstances also responded differently. Science teachers’ responses to remoteness were related to their perceptions of school-community communication and their perceptions of their freedom to innovate. Teachers who felt that remoteness gave them more freedom and recognised opportunities to utilise their environment created innovative and relevant science programmes. Teachers who felt their remoteness gave them less freedom felt isolated from the community were less likely to innovate.     

Teacher training and transitions in rural Indonesian schools: a case study of Bogor,West Java

As one of the world's largest and most diverse countries, Indonesia faces an enormous challenge as it seeks to upgrade the skills and knowledge of its widespread primary teacher workforce. This challenge is even more acute in remote rural areas, where practising teachers require specialized training to work in classrooms with children of different ages and grades. Yet, due to their remote locations, these teachers have little access to training opportunities, and teacher educators have few opportunities to assess their needs. To explore training needs and instructional strategies employed by rural teachers, we conducted a case study of nine rural schools in the district of Bogor, West Java. We interviewed headmasters and teachers in these schools, instructors at a major Indonesian university, and a district official. We found that while rural teachers generally consider their training to be helpful, they receive little guidance to help them manage and teach large multigrade classes. As a result, pedagogical practices and perspectives vary across nine schools in the same rural district. At the same time, a growing number of “contract teachers” in these schools has reduced the number of multigrade classrooms while increasing the need for training of novice teachers in rural schools.     

浅谈农村小学语文教师的语文素养及其提升策略

文章以文献研究的方法梳理了语文素养的内涵,得出语文素养包含人文素养、语文知识、语文技能等内容。同时,文章分析了农村小学语文教师群体存在的问题：语文教师群体结构不良、语文素养内涵不足、缺乏竞争压力和自我发展意识,进而提出提升其语文素养的策略：将年轻高学历毕业生充实到农村教师队伍中、对现有教师进行适当的在职培训、建立合理的考核与退出机制,保障高素养教师从事农村语文教育。     

Perspectives of teachers on differentiated teaching in multi-cultural South African secondary schools

South African teachers encounter numerous challenges in the creation of differentiated activities to include diverse learner needs in effective teaching and learning. These challenges include the inability to identify learning barriers and adapt the curriculum, teaching and assessment methods according to the learning styles and readiness levels of learners. The study aimed to explore secondary school teachers’ (n = 262) perspectives on the implementation of differentiated instruction in public secondary schools (n = 27), using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results indicated that teachers cannot always assist their learners when they need them; show them how to solve problems; or allow learners to work on their own. In addition, various limitations, such as inadequate teacher training, large class sizes, workload, undisciplined learners, lack of resources and parental involvement, second language instruction, inadequate support services and socio-economic barriers contribute to the use of teacher-centred methods. The study recommends that intervention programmes in the form of workshops on how to create differentiated activities should be prioritised in the professional development of teachers.     

浅议高职高专师资培养培训途径

通过对目前高职高专师资队伍现状的分析,指出高职高专师资队伍中存在的问题,提出了建立教师资格认定机构,构建高职高专研究生学历师资培养渠道,加强对在职教师进行培训及充分发挥高职高专师资培训基地的作用等建议。     

Changes in outdoor learning in primary schools in England, 1995 and 2017: lessons for good practice

ABSTRACT

Outdoor learning provides memorably relevant learning and authentic, contextualised opportunities to extend classroom-based education. This research draws on empirical data from surveys involving teachers in primary schools in England in 1995 and 2017 (n=61 and n=40 respectively). The evidence illustrates that schools are continuing to use their playgrounds and day visits as locations for practice. Teacher expertise had decreased by 2017 but the major challenges and barriers to implementation of time and expense remain similar in both years. Teachers no longer see outdoor ‘education’ as a subject in its own right but within the physical education curriculum although Early Years Foundation Stage practitioners report an enabling curriculum for outdoor learning. The research identifies the strength of teachers’ values and beliefs, an open approach to curriculum interpretation, the importance of suitable locations, a culture of risk benefit and positive initiatives as key ingredients for successful outdoor learning in primary schools.     

宁德市中小学体育教师现状调查与分析

体育教师是实施《新课程标准》的关键要素之一.采用问卷调查法,对中小学体育教师现状进行调查与分析,了解宁德市中小学体育教师基本情况、教学和科研等状况,发现存在的问题.调查结果表明,宁德市中小学体育教师在专业思想、任职资格、学历和学位层次、专业技能、现代教育技术应用能力、科研能力等方面存在不足.     

农村中小学师资状况低下问题研究

改善农村中小学师资状况,促进农村中小学教师队伍专业化的不断发展是提高农村中小学教育质量的关键。目前我国农村中小学师资状况比较低下而且面临着诸多问题,因此,政府和教育相关部门要采取相应的政策来改善农村中小学师资状况,促进农村中小学教育的发展。     

The use of research and theory in English language teaching in Botswana secondary schools

The purpose of this study was to establish the usage of research and theory in the teaching of English language in secondary schools in Botswana. Altogether 100 questionnaires were administered in 19 secondary schools. The results of this study indicate that teachers rarely ever refer to language research in their teaching. Less value was also placed on the theoretical information acquired during training. The respondents indicated that their teaching is essentially based on utilizing their teaching experience and individual creativity.