Critical Thinking and Educational Ideal

Critical thinking, as an educational trend, has been much discussed and proposed nowadays. In this paper, an analysis is made on the gap between our present educational practice and educational ideal from three different aspects, that is, the content, the manner and the one-sidedness of our teaching. It＇s observed that there is still a long way to go in order to realize our educational ideal and critical thinking, and critical pedagogy should be widely promoted and applied so as to foster well-educated people in its true sense. A conclusion is finally reached that education is the core no matter what theories and concepts are proposed and adopted.     

Introduction to Canadian Educational System

海外的生活是不是对你来说既神秘又新鲜,好奇的你是否想领略一下海外生活的一点一滴呢?从这一期起,我社驻加拿大特约作者将向你们一一展示海外学习、生活的真实图景!也欢迎大家鸿雁传书,与我们的特约作者亲自交流内心的感受吧!     

Remarks on the paper “Educational Reform: Implications for Educational Psychologists”

The article, Educational Reform: Implications for Educational Psychologists, by Benton and Hoyt is an example of the consequences of asking the wrong questions to the right question. Educational psychologists do, indeed, have a vested interest in the current debate over reform in education, particularly teacher education. The data that Benton and Hoyt chose to dissect, however, completely omitted the substantial body of information where educational psychologists have special expertise. The elaborate factor analysis reformed by Benton and Hoyt simply confirms that if one starts with flawed data, no amount of statistical manipulation will lead to a valid conclusion.     

Communicative Approach and Educational Success

The quality and benefit of college English teaching is .to some extent,decided by what methodologicalo approach it employs.The current teaching syllabus adopts the communicative approach,which is well established as the dominant theoretical model in college English teaching.This paper tries to discuss these characteristics and explain why the model.procedure and links of college English teaching in the classroom are so vital to improve the language and communicative abilities of students.The teaching methods cannot and should not be fixed,It is restricted by the English levels and learning strategies of students,and by the academic quality and teaching ideas of teachers.A good teacher is such and flexibly to help his students attain the goal that syllabus demands.     

Educational Technology and English Instruction

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Communicative Approach and Educational Success

The quality and benefit of college English teaching is, to someextent, decided by what methodological approach it employs. The current teachingsyllabus adopts the communicative approach, which is well established as thedominant theoretical model in college English teaching. This paper tries to discussthese characteristics and explain why the model, procedure and links of college English teaching in the classroom are so vital to improve the language and communicative abilities of students. The teaching methods cannot and should not be fixed. It is restricted by the English levels and learning strategies of students, and by the academic quality and teaching ideas of teachers. A good teacher is such and flexibly to help his students attain the goal that syllabus demands.     

Educational Thoughts on "Three

With simple, light touches but deep philosophical thought, this article analyses the problems in China's education, and at the same time, it probes into the problems of effectiveness of educational theories and methods from the considerations of THREE as the basic starting point.     

Solar Village—Educational Initiative for Kids

Energy use in a human community increases to a great extent where these are of a natural population increase. On another hand, technology advances very fast and fuel has an important role in the technological society. Air pollution during burning fuel to create energy forces the human community to look for a new source of energy. The new source must not be finite and must not make air pollution. This source is solar energy. In this educational initiative a model of a solar village, which uses only solar energy, is built. This project turns the school into an agreeable place and makes pupils like to come to it.     

开放教育资源（ Open Educational Resources ）

情境示例 巴特利特博士是一所小型私立学校的历史教师，他学术研究的重．点是美国的民族关系和公民权利运动、几年来，他一直饶有兴趣地研究美国的劳工运动，而且他听到一些学生提到希望能上一门这方面的课程、、由于不确定自己是否有足够的时间和专业知识来构建这样一门课程，巴特利特向在线的教育资源寻求帮助．．在找到的材料中，他发现有一门关于劳工关系的完整课程，看起来就是他需要教的那门课的样子、这个资源是免费的，包括阅读材料、参考书目、评估办法和课题样本，而且来自一所很有威望的学校开发的课程库之中     

Regional Differences in Higher Educational Choice?

This paper examines geographical differences in choice of field in higher education. Formerly, educational attainment differed considerably between rural areas and urban centres. Today these differences are pretty much offset. What kind of education students from different geographical areas pursue is however less well known. This article examines this question. It analyses data from public administrative registers on the entire Norwegian population born between 1955 and 1983. It finds that people who have grown up close to a university more often study at a university, whereas people who have grown up near a university college more often study at a university college. Corresponding differences are found in the choice of educational field.     

Educational research: Which way now?

The British Educational Research Association (BERA) was established 44 years ago, in 1974, at the height of the postwar expansion of education, and at the onset of a long period of controversy and reform of education that has continued ever since. The presidential address for 2017 looks back to reflect on the birth and early years of BERA, on its founding principles and the circumstances in which it grew. It does so to identify the ideals that motivated and helped to shape the nascent organisation, and to ask how relevant and useful these are at a very different time, charting our future in the twenty‐first century. More broadly, this address moves beyond an institutional history and a history of ideas, to contribute to a social history of educational research based on a wide range of documentary and archival evidence. In considering our past, we must attempt to resist an uncritical and functional approach in favour of a critical and reflective outlook that is alert to unresolved issues and problems, no less than it is to success and progress in our collective endeavours. This is necessary partly in order to reconstruct our historical experience in a robust manner, but also to address our present situation in an effective way. In 1977, the historian Brian Simon framed his presidential address to BERA around the key question ‘Educational research: which way?’ Forty years on, we can appraise how BERA has approached this question, and also ask at the same time: which way now?     

Aspects of Educational Delivery within Sino-Foreign Educational Alliances: Is This the Real Key to Success?

The topic of educational alliances undertaken between Sino-foreign universities remains a contentious and much debated matter. This is an area of considerable and often very busy activity with a high rate of failure and frustration—yet, also one of reward, mutual satisfaction, and achievement. This paper evaluates a key aspect of these alliances often overlooked in research: educational delivery activities and projects that form the heart and core of alliances. The paper notes that the development and delivery of a range of programs beyond just degree or part degree courses but of research, seminar, and ancillary activities, lies at the very core of a successful alliances, particularly if these activities can be undertaken in a manner that melds two very different cultural and educational worlds, and in a way that can contribute to the Chinese students' sense of well-being and ability to take part in the globalization of the emerging Chinese market economy.     

What should Educational Institutions be for?

In this article, I respond to the work of Gert Biesta regarding the question of what education should be for. He maintains education ought to be oriented towards the ‘good’ rather than measurement, accountability and efficiency. While sympathetic to such claims, I nonetheless question his avowal that discussion of the purposes of education needs to entail reflection upon tripartite processes of qualification, socialisation and subjectification. I also argue that the concept of subjectification presented by Biesta is elusive. He says educators cannot plan to produce it in students. He also suggests there is an unhelpful surplus of reason in education that constrains possibilities for subjectification. According to Biesta, education partly reproduces ‘rational communities’ that stifle the emergence of human uniqueness and inhibit persons from challenging accepted social orders. In response to this, I argue there is currently a deficit rather than a surplus of reason in education concerning the common good. Following MacIntyre, I claim that educational institutions should support students to learn how to think for themselves and act for the common good. I conclude that such utopian thinking about the purposes of education may be needed, now, more than ever.     

Educational model for environmental‐cognition development

Environmental education (EE) is an holistic educational approach the main goal of which is to develop the students’ environmental cognition, as compared to the disciplinary approach which develops a compartmentalized cognition. Environmental cognition is defined as a reciprocal relationship, comprising knowledge, understanding, sensitivity, perceptiveness and imagination with regard to the environment as well as responsibility and motivation to make environmental decisions. A conceptual model was constructed for this purpose comprising three stages: sensing the environment and generating questions; analysing and then synthesizing a system presentation of the environment, thereby focusing upon the inter‐relatedness and interdependence of environmental components; and environmental problem‐solving.

The model was implemented for training EE teachers and for EE curriculum development. Both of which may enhance the inclusion of EE within the formal educational system.     

Is Diversity Necessary for Educational Justice?

In this article William New and Michael Merry challenge the notion that diversity serves as a good proxy for educational justice. First, they maintain that the story about how diversity might be accomplished and what it might do for students and society is internally inconsistent. Second, they argue that a disproportionate share of the benefits that might result from greater diversity often accrues to those already advantaged. Finally, they propose that many of the most promising and pragmatic remedies for educational injustice are often rejected by liberal proponents of “diversity first” in favor of remedies that in most cases are practically impossible, and often problematic on their own terms. New and Merry argue that schools that are by geography and demography not ethnically or socioeconomically diverse still can successfully confront the obstacles that their students face in creating a life they have reason to value.