Higher education in a vacuum: stress and reform in Ecuador

Ecuadors higher education system mirrors that of other Latin American countries in its many internal and external stresses. It also provides an opportunity to view a reform process occurring in a vacuum of central government influence and authority, one whose direction is largely set by the universities in response to perceived stresses. Those stresses arise from the differentiation of the system in the last decade, questions about the role of higher education in Ecuador, and the absence of governmental direction. Changes in higher education in Ecuador must be examined in the context of higher educations role in development. The paper notes the case for the importance of higher education and the new theoretical support for higher education that endogenous growth models provide. It then examines the self-generated reform process which is occurring in Ecuador in the areas of teaching, of student access and of university finance. The final issue addressed is the relation between these changes, with their important implications for transforming the higher education system, and the development needs of Ecuador. There are many positive elements to the reform process which will contribute to development. However, until the government policy vacuum is filled, their potential benefit will remain only partially realized.     

Sumak kawsay: Social Empowerment through Participatory User‐Centred Design in Ecuador

The aim of this article is to direct the social design debate to constructivist approaches to design education in the Global South. This article provides insight into the process of participatory user‐centred design involving Ecuadorian third year graphic design students and cocoa cultivators of limited resources in Ecuador. The students and cacaoteros become codesigners of a brand identity for the farmers’ association by means of an extensive review of literature on cocoa cultivation and commercialisation in Latin America, in‐depth interviews with community members on the traditional farming practices of cocoa growing communities in Northern Ecuador and the data collected from the students’ participation in and observation of the lifestyle within the community. This article illustrates the ‘wicked’ problems faced by these design students and the relevance of their experience to the study of social design practices and design education in developing countries.     

Transport sector training in Ecuador

In less developed countries, like Ecuador, there is often a lack of adequately trained professionals working in the transport sector, particularly in the public authorities. This paper reports on the achievements of a project, supported by the British Overseas Development Administration, which has established a postgraduate programme in transport planning and engineering at the Catholic University of Ecuador in Quito. This initiative has already produced a substantial body of trained professionals equipped with the technical skills needed to tackle Ecuador's transport problems and the ability to recognise and develop appropriate policies and programmes. Additionally, the project is helping to create a self-sufficient Centre for Transport Research based in Quito.     

传统社区资源动员与农民有组织抗争——对东南沿海农村抗争性集体行动的一种解释框架

目前农村所发生抗争性集体行动都具有依靠社区自身资源动员的特征。通过对发生在福建沿海地区三起抗争性集体行动案例分析,认为传统社区乡族文化再利用是当前农村抗争性集体动动的重要资源,乡村老年协会等草根组织则发挥组织与带动作用,这是一种传统社区资源动员模式。为预防农民有组织抗争,需要引导农民走依法抗争之路。     

The effect of extracurricular activities on academic performance in secondary school: The case of Azerbaijan

Extracurricular activities play an important role in the school lives of students. To understand this effect, the authors of this article consider public schools in Azerbaijan and analyse the effect of extracurricular activities on students’ academic performance. They conducted a study investigating three groups of extracurricular activities: sports, fine arts and student clubs. For data on academic performance, they used results of a centralised state school examination which assesses students in two subjects: language of instruction (either Azerbaijani or Russian) and mathematics. The results of this study show that some extracurricular activities have a positive effect on students’ academic performance, while others show no effect. Moreover, the authors consider the number of different extracurricular activities a student takes part in and analyse the significance of this number in predicting student success.

     

灵山县农村节庆体育活动的现状及发展

采用实地调查、访谈调查和查阅文献资料等方法对广西灵山县农村节庆体育活动的开展现状和发展变化过程进行研究,发现农村节庆体育活动从建国初开始兴起,到上世纪80年代得到普及性的开展,并于上世纪80年代末开始大面积衰落,至现在只有少数的村镇能坚持开展,提出了发展和推广农村节庆体育活动要转变观念、落实具体措施的对策.     

新农村建设背景下的农村音乐教育研究——以绵阳市四十七所中小学调查为例

本文在对四川省绵阳市的四十七所乡镇初中和小学的音乐教育进行抽样调查的基础上,分别对农村义务教育阶段音乐教育的管理、师资和学生三个方面进行了研究,认为应该强化音乐教育学科地位,加大对农村中小学音乐教育基础设施投入,形成有效的乡镇音乐师资培训和进修体系,研究并修正适应乡镇中小学音乐教育的教学内容和教学形式,鼓励乡镇中小学师生积极参与到社区文娱活动,形成农村社区、学校和音乐教育师资培养单位联动体系,使乡镇中小学音乐教育不仅成为农村居民音乐教育资源,也成为农村社区文娱活动的主力,为新农村建设作出贡献。     

Cognitive processing and the development of concepts by deaf students

An examination of experimental learning models revealed that they all refer to the critical component of processing. The authors define processing as an activity that is employed to encourage students to reflect, describe, analyze, and communicate in some way that which was recently experienced. The authors describe a cognitive processing hierarchy and show how it relates to the characteristics of hearing-impaired students. They also share techniques for designing and leading processing activities.     

Including children with special educational needs in the Literacy Hour: a continuing challenge

This paper reports on a study to examine whether the framework for teaching the Literacy Hour can provide an inclusive learning environment for pupils with special educational needs. Carol Miller, Penny Lacey and Lyn Layton, all members of the Inclusion, Special Education and Educational Psychology Group in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, used a survey and case studies to provide examples of organizational strategies and activities in literacy teaching. The authors go on to evaluate the extent to which these approaches promote inclusion in the Literacy Hour. They conclude that, while most children were included, some were engaged in alternative activities which were, in reality, focused on the development of communication skills. The authors close their article with a call for further research.     

高中地理课“活动”探究——以湘教版必修一“活动”调查为例

目前太原市地理学科选用的是湘教版的教材,这套教材最大的特点就是活动多,其中必修一有69个探究活动项目。如此多的活动,教师不可能全部在有限的上课时间内完成,如何取舍、改编,以取得较好的活动教学效果,这是每个地理教师非常关心的问题。文章通过对必修一的研究及在教学实践的基础上归纳出了教材中活动教学的九种类型,再根据目前活动教学开展存在的一些困难,提出了对于教师在活动教学的开展时的一些建议。     

The perceptions of knowledge and learning of Amazonian indigenous teacher education students

This study focuses on the perceptions of knowledge and learning by indigenous students in an intercultural bilingual teacher education programme in Amazonian Ecuador. The study framed within postcolonial and critical theory attempts to create a space for the indigenous students to speak about their own views through the use of photography and researcher-respondent discussions. We found that the students conceptualised knowledge and learning primarily through their everyday domestic life rather than through their experiences of schooling which appears to play a secondary role.     

“You have to know the past to (blog) the present:” Using an Educational Blog to Engage Students in U.S. History

In this study the authors investigate whether a whole-class educational blog could facilitate culturally relevant instruction and authentic intellectual work in U.S. history. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed that included student comments posted to an educational blog, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews. Based on the analysis, the authors determined four major findings: (a) Students were able to engage in historical analysis while working in the blog environment when it was focused on a single source and included a hard scaffold; (b) when students situated the activities in relevant cultural experiences, they were able to better use their prior knowledge;(c) a variety of affordances related to blogging encouraged and supported students as they completed their work; and (d) the blogging activities were constrained by the limits of students’ literacy and historical skills, and the limits of technology.     

Public and private school efficiency and equity in Latin America: New evidence based on PISA for development

Using the recent PISA for Development (2017) learning survey, we offer new evidence on whether there is a private–public schools efficiency gap in Latin America and the role of distinct barriers and inequality on efficiency. We obtain school efficiency scores using Data Envelopment Analysis from 705 schools in four countries – Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay. We find that the private schools efficiency is 0.88 whereas it is lower for public schools (at 0.82). Thus, there is a positive efficiency gap for private schools, with the lower efficiency in public schools may be explained by the additional obstacles they face (such as higher prevalence of student work). However, there is a greater scope in public schools of boosting efficiency by decreasing inequality and the provision of remedial classes. Whole sample results seem to be driven by two countries: Ecuador and Paraguay.     

上海大学生发展研究(2002-2003)

本报告为2002-2003年上海大学生发展研究的主要发现。本研究采用社会学抽样和问卷方法，全面调查了上海大学生的学习、课余兼职、网络经历、人际交往、社团生活等情况，以及他们关于职业、宗教、政治、社会时事、价值、人生等观念状况，旨在提供关于上海大学生生存方式与价值观念的图景；提供对此观察描述的初步分析；从而启发对深化高等教育改革和改善大学生思想政治工作的更深入的思考，增进全社会对大学生的理解和关心。     

Cooperation Through Movement Education and Children’s Literature

This article demonstrates evidence-based practice that integrates movement education with children’s literature, in order to promote cooperation among Bengali kindergarteners, from an urban public school in Midwestern USA. First, the authors argue the need for this integration based on limitations of previous scholarship. Second, authors present their developmentally and culturally appropriate conceptual framework based on Bhavnagri and Samuel’s research, along with the theory of cooperation and schema development. Third, children’s understanding of cooperation concepts (helping, turn taking, sharing, dividing labor, negotiating, coordinating, exchanging information, and perspective taking) embedded in literature are analyzed. Concomitantly, children demonstrated same cooperation sub-skills during four movement activities related to the stories. Fourth, authors reflect that cooperation was successful because activities met Johnson and Johnson’s guidelines of high social interactions, high emotional involvement, and effective communication. Finally, the authors recommend that integration of cooperation and movement education is beneficial for educational programs in diverse settings.     

The strategic role of public relations in creating the competitive advantages of private higher education in Poland: The example of the school of banking in Poznan´

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the key role of public relations in increasing the competitive advantages of higher education institutions. It identifies and describes the mechanism of the shift in interest from advertising to public relations that results from the increasing complexity of the environment of a private higher education institution. Moreover, the authors conduct an analysis of the main target groups of public relations activities, referring to the conceptual model of the “two markets” according to which a private higher education institution “sells” access to education to potential candidates and then “sells” its graduates on the labour market. The practical example of the marketing and public relations activities undertaken by the authors at the School of Banking in Poznan´ since 1994 are presented and elucidated.     

Effects of extracurricular activities on postsecondary completion for students with disabilities

The authors focused on participation in extracurricular activities as a way of improving the educational outcomes of children with disabilities. Regarding students in the general population, adolescent involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to have a positive association with school involvement and adolescent self-esteem, academic achievement, and adolescent development. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study dataset, the authors conducted logistic regression analyses to examine the relationship between participation in high school–sponsored extracurricular activities and postsecondary degree completion for students with disabilities. Findings show a statistically significant association between postsecondary degree completion for students with disabilities and extracurricular activity participation, including extent and type of extracurricular activity. Students with disabilities who participate in high school extracurricular activities may have increased likelihood of completing a postsecondary degree. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.     

Intercultural education and curricular diversification: the case of the Ecuadorian Intercultural Bilingual Education Model (MOSEIB)

Thirteen Ecuadorian indigenous nationalities follow the Intercultural Bilingual Education Model in Ecuador (MOSEIB). This paper analyses the present situation of MOSEIB, the challenges to it and future prospects. First, in order to understand how MOSEIB today has relieved the intercultural tensions of the past it is necessary to look at the history of Ecuadorian education. Second, in order to explore the particular characteristics of the MOSEIB model and the challenges of implementing intercultural education in non‐intercultural societies we ask how and to what extent the intercultural education policies and practices in Ecuador differ from those developed in other Latin‐American countries. Third, we consider curricular diversity, seeking to clarify how the MOSEIB curricula relate to the reality of the Kichwa indigenous nationality and its communal environment, rituals and agricultural schedules. We conclude with comments on future prospects and remaining challenges to the establishment of a truly intercultural society inside a multicultural country.     

如果亚马孙雨林消失会发生什么

<正>The mightiest rainforest in the world is shrinking at an alarming rate. If it disappears altogether, the effects on our planet will be devastating1.The Amazon, a vast swath of tropical2rainforest that straddles3parts of Bolivia,Columbia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana,Peru, Surinam, Venezuela. But most of all, at 60percent, Brazil, has been losing the battle against     

Software for managing complex learning: Examples from an educational psychology course

Inquiry-based instruction including problem-, project-, and case-based methods often incorporate complex sets of learning activities. The numerous activities run the risk of becoming disconnected in the minds of learners and teachers. STAR.Legacy is a software shell that can help designers organize learning activities into an inquiry cycle that is easy to understand and pedagogically sound. To ensure that classroom teachers can adapt the inquiry activities according to their local resources and needs, STAR.Legacy was built upon four types of design principles: learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered. We describe how a STAR.Legacy constructed for an educational psychology course helped preservice teachers design and learn about effective inquiry-based instruction. This work was supported by grant #R305F60090 from the Department of Education. The authors thank the educational psychology students for their contributions to this paper and Amy Ryce for her editorial talents.