The Interplay between Habitus,Social Variables and Occupational Preferences

European researchers have recently introduced Bourdieu’s habitus theory and research methods into the research field of career development. The advantage of Bourdieu’s theory is to overcome the theoretical problems that in this field have resulted from overemphasis on individual aspects of career development at the expense of social aspects. The habitus concept allows for the dichotomy between the individual and the social dimensions to be overcome. The research reported here looks at the interplay between habitus, social variables and career preferences but in a younger age group than has previously been studied. It also wonders whether habitus groups exist in the relatively homogenous population of Iceland at a relatively young age, i.e., before divergence in the educational system. Analyses resulted in five habitus groups being formed on the basis of endorsement of cultural and leisure activities. Furthermore, the five groups differed both in terms of sex composition and — importantly — of preferred future occupations. It was concluded that habitus groups form readily and have important implications for research and practice within the field of career counselling. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An Account of a Teacher's Perspective on Learning and Teaching Mathematics: Implications for Teacher Development

This report presents an account of one teacher's mathematics teaching and a perspective that underlies his teaching. Nevil was a fifth grade teacher participating incurrent mathematics education reforms in the United States. Through the account, we make distinctions about teachers' thinking and practice that can inform teacher education efforts. We constructed an account by analyzing four sets of classroom observations and interviews. We observed that Nevil decomposed his understandings of the mathematics into smaller components and connections among those components. He created situations that he believed made those components and connections transparent and attempted to elicit those connections from the students. This account illustrates a practice that is different both from traditional practice and the type of practice that we would envision as a goal for teacher development. We contribute two important aspects of mathematics teacher development from traditional to reform-oriented teaching. In particular, we describe teachers' perspectives – assimilatory structures that constrain and afford (a) the sense they make of professional development opportunities and (b) their potential learning in teacher education settings. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Social work and social care: the struggle for knowledge

This article, written in the context of the redefinition of public service professionalism, and the roles of public service professionals by government policies and market interventions, examines the role and implications of the new movements of welfare state service users for professional practice, knowledge and analysis. Its particular focus is the field of social work and social care. It raises questions about the nature, purpose and social relationships of research, the credibility and claims of different knowledges, and the relationship between direct experience, research and knowledge. This article argues that currently a hidden battle is taking place in the context of social care between traditional sources of knowledge and service users' knowledges. It sets out ways of enabling the equal inclusion of service users and their knowledges, and suggests that this is likely to be supportive of progressive understandings of professionalism and public service, as well as contributing to more appropriate, rights-based approaches to policy and practice in public service occupations     

高职院校楹联文化教学方法刍议——以湖州职业技术学院为例

在高职院校开展楹联文化教学,是一项具有原创性与挑战性兼具的教学改革与实践活动。为了寻绎最为有效的楹联文化教学方法,湖州职业技术学院进行了多方面的探索与试验,并积累了一系列经验。文章以湖州职业技术学院为个案,重点阐述了适合高职院校楹联文化教学的五种方法：着力夯实高职学生古典文学与传统文化素养;以《联律通则》为导向,规范楹联鉴赏与创作;体现人文性与职业性相统一的教学思想;积极创设多样化的学生楹联学习及才艺展示平台;用课程论文深化高职学生学习楹联的理性认知。     

Contextualising the notion of ‘belief enactment’

For more than 20 years, belief research has been based on the premise that teachers’ beliefs may serve as an explanatory principle for classroom practice. This is a highly individual perspective on belief–practice relationships, one that does not seem to have been influenced by the increasingly social emphases in other parts of mathematics education research. In this article, I use the notions of context and practice to develop a locally social approach to understanding the belief–practice relationships. It is a corollary of the approach taken that the high hopes for belief research with regard to its potential impact on mathematics instruction need to be modified.     

A framework for research into Australian middle school practice

As a new reform in Australian education, middle schooling has been gaining momentum. The rationale behind middle schooling is to bridge the traditional primary-high school gap and provide a more developmentally appropriate educational experience for young adolescents. Middle schooling in the USA has gone through a “boom-to-bust” cycle and is currently undergoing a “reinvention” as research on practice and reporting of research on practice has, in the most part, been ad hoc and piecemeal. If Australian middle schools are to avoid the boom-to-bust-to-reinvention cycle experienced in parts of the USA (Beane 2001), then a more systematic approach to researching practice is required. Research-based criteria for systematic study and improvement of middle school practice have been identified as (a) acceptance as part ofplanning alternative practice, (b)effectiveness as part ofimplementing alternative practice, and (c)sustainability as part ofevaluating alternative practice.     

Teacher education as democratic public sphere

Being a proficient and professional teacher in Australia and similar countries is one of the most difficult and complex occupations imaginable. All teachers are confronted with carefully analysing the mix of socio-economic and cultural factors that present and design appropriate learning strategies that engage all students. Within this context, the following essay considers the purpose and structure of initial teacher preparation and possible changes to more traditional arrangements. It advocates a new type of school-university partnership where reflective cycles of practice-theory establish a close relationship with knowledge for all participants and where personal practice is the necessary condition of learning. Schools and classrooms are theorised as democratic public spheres where participants pursue understanding of serious issues for equity and the public good. Implications of partnership and public sphere for a new form of educational practice are discussed.     

Construction of life-practice moral education based on traditional Chinese morality with life connotation

The actual effect is a big problem in current school moral education. By analyzing the problems in the theory and practice of the current school moral education, the author points out that the reason is that, for a long time, the meaning of morality has been dissimilated, and moral education is considered as a kind of knowledge input and neglecting it is the life-style of human beings. By exploring the meaning of morality in the traditional Chinese culture, the author fully affirmed the rich life connotation both in the dynamic conversion between Tao and virtue and in the Taoist saying “Great virtue is growth”. In the article, the author suggests that nowadays, we should reconsider and understand the moral connotation in traditional culture and explain the traditional morals in a modern way. It is also necessary to construct a new moral education system such as a “life-practice” model. __________ Translated from Journal of Educational Studies, 2005 (5)     

Educational wisdom and intellectual teachers are called on by the times

Currently, there is lack of educational wisdom in classroom teaching. Educational wisdom is a kind of quality of good education, representing a free, harmonious, open and creative status of education. The educational wisdom of intellectual teachers is the outcome of the close integration of educational science and art. It is also the result of teachers’ long-term practice, reflections and the comprehensive expression of teachers’ capacities. The shackles of traditional teaching systems, the utilitarianism orientation of teaching reforms and educational research and the habitual mode of teachers’ practice have affected the formation of teachers’ educational wisdom. To get rid of the dilemma, it is necessary to reconsider the significance and the value of teaching, to show due concern with teachers’ practice, to weaken the utilitarianism orientation of teaching reforms and educational research and to arouse teachers’ professional feelings and enthusiasm for learning. Translated from Jiaoyu Yanjiu 教育研究 (Educational Research), 2005, (2): 50–57     

地方高校表演特色专业建设探索

随着人民群众文化追求的日益丰富,社会对高素质戏剧表演人才的需求与日俱增。地方院校表演专业要提高人才培养的适应性,其关键是制定体现表演职业特点的专业质量标准,推进基于表演职业需要的特色课程建设,强化教师—演员型师资队伍的建设,构建具有现代化水准的表演实训条件和环境。     

多模态网络自主学习对英语应用能力影响的实证研究

在英语教学改革的潮流下,基于多模态网络教学环境的氛围,以改革传统的教学模式为目的,为提高英语教学效果和学生的英语应用能力,课题组在实践基础上构建网络自主学习模式并应用于教学实践。经过实证分析,此模式对于学习者英语应用能力提高具有显著相关性。     

情境建构主义维度下的ESP教学

传统的英语语言知识的教学已经不再适合特定的真实职业和岗位环境对语言能力的要求。文章融合了建构主义理论及情境教学法的观点和主张,结合专门英语（ESP）理论,分析了情境建构主义角度下的专门英语教学应采取的措施及现实意义。     

Re-thinking skill through a new lens: evidence from three Australian service industries

The purpose of this paper is to provide another perspective on the problematic nature of the concept of skill and in particular a tendency to place a lower value on certain types of job in the service sector than those in other industries. Qualitative research was conducted in three service industries in Australia, comprising interviews with key industry stakeholders, case studies in two companies for each of four occupations, and validation by a forum of industry experts. We present evidence of the existence of substantial levels of skill in occupations which are traditionally considered low-skilled. The data are utilised to create a new model which represents factors which contribute to perceptions of skill in occupations. The analysis extends and deepens current understanding of aspects of skill, primarily, but not only, building on social construction theory to posit a new model for analysing skill. New factors are added to the analysis of skill in occupations. The project was exploratory and covered only four occupations in three industry areas. The method could be utilised in a broader-scale project. The paper is designed to contribute to debates on the nature of skill and also has policy and practical implications in the fields of human resource practice and training.     

Cultural and organisational issues facing online learning communities of teachers

Collegial sharing and reflection about practice has been widely suggested as an effective form of teacher professional learning. Information and communications technology (ICT) has the potential to foster this professional learning through online community environments. Whilst the potential of self-sustaining online teacher communities to support professional learning through reflective sharing of practice is recognised, the journey to realising this potential is not straightforward. This paper identifies two key aspects of school culture that are acting as barriers on the journey—schools do not adequately value collegial reflective sharing of practice, and classroom teachers do not use online communications tools as an integral part of their professional practices. The paper suggests a framework for maximising participation in online teacher communities.     

Called To Do Meaningful Work: A Blessing or a Curse?

ABSTRACT

Two groups of people are particularly inclined to mention a calling when talking about their work motivation: those who are spiritual (because the concept of calling originated in the religious realm) and those in serving occupations (such as hospitals, schools, and nongovernmental organizations). Because Christian professors are in both groups, the concept of calling is likely to emerge. In this article, I trace the development of calling as a concept of work motivation from its traditional religious origin to its daily use in organizational scholarship. Several positive sides of callings are described, as well as the potential downsides that come with high aspirations. At the end of this exploration, I conclude with three practical suggestions for Christian professors and educators who live out a calling.     

论司法会计人员的职业道德

职业道德是从事一定职业的人在工作或劳动过程中所应遵循的、与其特定职业活动相应的道德原则和行为规范。司法会计作为一项具有极强专业技能特点的职业,有着区别于其他职业特有的职业道德原则和行为规范,司法会计人员应坚守诚信、客观、公正、独立以及廉洁的职业道德规范,更好的为司法实践服务。     

Professional education as a structural barrier to lifelong learning in the NHS

The concept of the learning society is analysed in relation to the healthcare sector and various occupations within it. It is maintained that although traditional boundaries have been blurred or eroded in the workplace in recent years, there remains strong opposition to this erosion on the part of many healthcare professions. This professional demarcation is particularly illustrated by the educational arrangements for various healthcare occupations, where it has prevented recognition of any overlap in the initial education and training of these groups. The resulting educational boundaries are argued to be incompatible with the concept of a learning society, as well as holding negative consequences for the provision of health care. Suggestions are made for a new approach to health care education.     

Producing Engineers

Abstract

Engineering lies at the heart of industry, it is essential to acquire sufficient numbers of properly trained people in order that economic revival can be maintained. Yet cultural bias and demography threaten this goal. This article examines what is meant by the term ‘engineer’ and relates it to the concept of professional status, a recognition of which has become in tegral to the problem of attracting a large number of good quality recruits. Yet it is an over‐emphasis upon this ideology which has also harmed the ability of the engineering occupations to provide access to training for many potential engineers. The article posits the view that at a time when developments are taking place elsewhere to obtain a more demographically representative spread of recruits into various occupations, engineering has actually become more elitist.

The paper proceeds to place these regressive tendencies within the framework of Government policies and private sector aspirations, arguing that a combination of market forces and central direction will compel the professional authorities to broaden access on terms chosen by those outside of the engineering occupations. The framework for this can be found within the National Council for Vocational Qualifications, the Engineering Industry Training Board, and the needs and intentions of employers and Government.     

Professional ethics professional ethics for technology

Conclusion Professional ethics express what a professional society is about. They are an emblem to focus on, to support, to identify with and to advocate for. Our Code expresses who we are, what we do, and shows how our profession functions for the good of all. Our areas of work are related specialties. Those who are unqualified have the potential to do harm. Although ethics is a word with multiple connotations, what professional ethics are about is sociological. Professional ethics are always a matter of work and who is qualified to perform what task for which clients. Professional ethics should ultimately be for the benefit of those who are served by those who labor in professional occupations. Our Code reflects our profession’s relationships with the larger society and, it is anticipated, the present update will be officially adopted by our affiliated professional organizations and state affiliates.