Meeting the challenge of human rights education: the case of Hong Kong

Since 1 July l997 Hong Kong has become a Special Administrative Region under the Peoples Republic of China. There is a difference in the interpretation of human rights between East and West. Even before the change of sovereignty human rights education was not an important element in the Hong Kong school curricula. The hidden curriculum is not supportive of human rights education either. During the United Nation Decade for Human Rights Education (1995–2005), Hong Kong people are torn between the dichotomy of liberalism-communitarianism over human rights. This paper examines the attitude about human rights of the Hong Kong Chinese people and the issues of human rights in Hong Kong schools, thereby throwing light on the prospect of human rights education in its relationship to education reform taking place in Hong Kong. The conclusion is that Hong Kongs education reform proposals already embody the spirit of human rights and they have laid the foundation for the development of human rights education.     

Meeting the challenge of educational disadvantage: a case-study

The author, a primary school headteacher and poet, offers some personal and practical advice for developing the use and joy in poetry within the classroom. He selects, as a form of case study, ideas and examples from his own school and from his work in other LEAs. The article also provides an extremely useful list of resources for teachers which will enable them to support their teaching of poetry and language skills.     

International research on computers in education

Since 1987, International Co-ordinator of the IEA Computers in Education Study; was national project coordinator for the IEA Second International Mathematics Study and Second International Science Study (1980–85). Co-author of several published studies on the Second International Science Study as well as The Implemented and Attained Mathematics Curriculum: A Comparison of Eighteen Countriesand The Use of Computers in Education Worldwide.     

Meeting the highly qualified teachers challenge

The moulding of the future of a nation depends on the teachers and the education they provide in schools. Research evidence from the US. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) confirms this to be the case. Quantitative analysis of data indicates that measures associated with pre-service teacher preparation are by far the strongest correlates of student achievement (Darling-Hammond 2000). The research report of Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy (2001) also suggests a strong relationship between teacher preparation and teacher effectiveness. Other research studies similarly indicate that differences in teacher quality are the most crucial for student achievement when compared with variables such as class size, streaming, or the amount of homework (Anderson & Helms 2001; Mendro 1998; Powell & Anderson 2002; Rivkin, Hanushek & Kain 2001; Saunders & Horn 1994; Strong & Tucker 2000) as possible contributory factors. In the pursuit of improved student achievement, we therefore need to examine seriously the role of teacher variables, ranging from teacher qualifications and their subject matter knowledge, to what motivates them to take up teaching as a career and as a consequence, how they teach in classrooms.     

Affordances and constraints of computers in science education

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, computers in science teaching were seen as a panacea for many problems plaguing the domain. While considerable research has been done to determine cognitive achievements of students who interact with computers during their science learning, more basic questions have not yet been addressed. This study was designed to investigate how computers and a modeling software contributed to students' interactions and learning in a physics course. The interpretations focused on the microworld as a tool that supported but also limited students' sense-making activities. First, the computer microworld contributed in significant ways to the maintenance and coordination of students' physics conversations. Second, the computer environment (a) was sometimes “unready to hand” so that students spent more time learning the software rather than physics, and (b) limited the interactions within groups. It was concluded that while computer environments have some potential as learning tools, they also limit interactions in significant ways, rendering them less than ideal for everyday classroom use. With the use of software … students can be provided with the necessary tools and experiences to practice the investigative skills used by scientists and mathematicians… [Students] can pursue specific topics of their own interest and deal with this information in sufficient depth to construe personal meaning to various concepts. (Barman, 1993, p. viii) In educational applications, user interface design has received little attention, despite the fact that the interface is particularly important for educational software… This concern goes much deeper than the nebulous concept most often represented by the buzz phrase, ‘user friendliness.’ (Jackson, Edwards, & Berger, 1993b, p. 414) © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Meeting the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the classroom

Contemporary early childhood teachers are facing new challenges as children who test HIV positive or who have AIDS enter the classroom. Providing appropriate health care and educational programs for these children is a major concern of teachers. This article presents a brief discussion of guidelines and issues that might be addressed in an in-service for teachers in general education to prepare them for a student with HIV or AIDS in their classrooms.     

Civics education in transition: the case of Japan

This chapter describes the study as it was conducted in Japan in three schools: a public, a private, and a university school in Sapporo City, Hokkaido prefecture. The results suggest that the civic education curriculum in all of the schools is based on that outlined in the Courses of Study published by the Ministry of Education. In addition to Civics classes, the curriculum includes school events and student council activities. With regard to the development of civic values, the analysis suggests that in the public and the private school, the implicit values encountered in everyday school life have a greater impact on students than do the explicit values outlined in the school precepts or civic education curriculum. In the university school “acting with decency” is regarded as important, both explicitly and implicitly.     

Special needs in further education: the challenge of inclusive provision

ABSTRACT

Educational provision and practice is being radically changed in England and Wales and the introduction of the 1988 Education Reform Act is having a significant impact on all aspects of school and post‐school provision. This paper considers some of the developments relating to further education including the issue of inclusive education and the position of special needs coordinators during a time of extensive change.     

Creativity: a challenge for contemporary education

ABSTRACT

In this essay, I comment on the objective of cultivating creativity in general and in schools in particular. I start by tracing the historical origin of this objective, then discuss a select set of relevant issues, including what can be considered the best practices for achieving this. I conclude by contemplating the potential for globalisation of this objective, and the portability of general pedagogies and specific approaches to cultivating creativity between different educational systems.     

Post-colonial science education: the challenge of negotiating researcher positioning

In this paper, I describe a methodology that I employed, and resultant methods that I designed, to facilitate a Critical Discourse Analysis exploring perspectives on Western modern science as a school subject discipline in a given Caribbean context. Using specific themes from post-colonial theory, I sought to engage with some of the viewpoints presented by key stakeholders in secondary science education in the research setting. This paper reports on the methodological framework for the research study, illustrating some of the philosophical challenges encountered during the development of the research methods. Specifically, I discuss the tensions associated with the pursuit of researcher legitimacy, the use of ‘scientific’ methods of inquiry in a work that seeks to be decolonizing, and the challenge of stimulating conversation about a topic for which participants might not possess readily formulated opinions. My response to these challenges resulted in methods that utilized a unique adaptation of Stephenson's Q methodology. Although these tensions are far from being fully resolved, the approach outlined helps contribute to our understanding of the complexities of negotiation that can occur when conducting research of this nature.     

日本社区教育活动特征及启示

日本是当今世界仍在实行社区教育制度的少数几个国家和地区之一,日本的社区教育与"社会教育"概念具有相似之处。大约400年前,日本的社区教育开始萌芽,自江户时代(1603年)起日本社区教育最早出现了"石门心学"和"报德教"的结社教育。至今日本的社区教育在基础理论研究,尤其是在理念提炼和深化方面,达到了相当高的水平。探讨日本社区教育实践,学习和借鉴其成功经验,有助于我国社区教育的改革与健康发展。