Educational Foundations for Environmental Effectiveness

The paper combines findings from three sources: an international workshop on the environmentally educated engineer, research on the characteristics of the effective engineer and an early-level undergraduate course for civil engineers which aims at laying down an educational foundation for the education of environmentally effective engineers. The main findings are that there is a need for a more general education for some engineers, that an ability to understand and deal with complex systems is a key element for environmental effectiveness, that there is no correlation between engineering effectiveness and the degree of educational attainment, and that the characteristics of effective engineers can be learnt, but are not normally taught in engineering institutions.     

Teacher policy: a framework for comparative analysis

This article outlines a framework for analysis of teacher focused policy studies within an international and comparative perspective. Using the notion of the professional life cycle of teachers, the article examines examples of key empirical studies that illustrate the impact of policy on addressing such issues as teacher recruitment, education, selection, retention and development. The article concludes that the framework is useful in identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the conceptualization and design of teacher focused policy and studies, and gives recommendations for the design of rigorous studies to inform future policy in this area.

A methodological framework for practice-based research in networked learning

This paper presents a methodological frameworkfor practice-based research in the field ofnetworked learning, based on the author'sapproach to carrying out a case studyevaluation of a networked professionaldevelopment initiative for information servicesstaff in higher education. The theoreticalcase for the framework is made with referenceto principles associated with constructivistprogramme evaluation as well as withinterpretivist and critical traditions inaction research. The purposes and politics ofthis approach, and the question of validationcriteria for claims about its effectiveness forbuilding theory, as well as for evaluating andimproving practice, are discussed. Issues todo with using computer-mediated communicationas a medium for participatory research are alsoraised. An overview is given of the way thisresearch approach was implemented in practice(including the use of a combination of on-lineand face-to-face data collection methods) andsome methodological issues that arose in thecourse of carrying it out are highlighted. Thepaper concludes by suggesting that as amethodology for evaluating, theorising andimproving practice, `networked action research'also offers an approach to pedagogical design,most obviously in the context of networkedprofessional development for educators andlearner support staff.     

英国教育现代化的文化透视

文化传统是教育现代化的基础,其合理内核能促进教育现代化的进程.英国是一个历史悠久.文化传统十分深厚的国家,其教育现代化与文化传统之间存在着复杂的、潜在的、深层次的本质联系.通过对英国民族文化传统的解读,考察英国教育现代化的路径,从而阐明其教育现代化与文化传统之间的内在逻辑关系.     

A validation framework for science learning progression research

This article provides a validation framework for research on the development and use of science Learning Progressions (LPs). The framework describes how evidence from various sources can be used to establish an interpretive argument and a validity argument at five stages of LP research—development, scoring, generalisation, extrapolation, and use. The interpretation argument contains the interpretation (i.e. the LP and conclusions about students’ proficiency generated based on the LP) and the use of the LP. The validity argument specifies how the evidence from various sources supports the interpretation and the use of the LP. Examples from our prior and current research are used to illustrate the validation activities and analyses that can be conducted at each of the five stages. When conducting an LP study, researchers may use one or more validation activities or analyses that are theoretically necessary and practically applicable in their specific research contexts.     

A research framework for creative and imitative reasoning

This conceptual research framework addresses the problem of rote learning by characterising key aspects of the dominating imitative reasoning and the lack of creative mathematical reasoning found in empirical data. By relating reasoning to thinking processes, student competencies, and the learning milieu it explains origins and consequences of different reasoning types.

A theoretical framework for research into environmental education

The essential question in environmental education is the individual's relationship to his environment, including both that part of his environment which is natural and that part which is man-made. The nature of this relationship is manifested in the way in which the individual acts with regard to his environment and by what choices and decisions he makes in order to come to terms with it. The crucial factors in these decisions are his values, which at the same time represent his cognitive, socio-emotional and ethical development. As an interdisciplinary subject, environmental education draws attention to the technique of examining matters from a variety of viewpoints. Since the consequences of man's decisions regarding his environment are apparent both in the sphere of human life and in the world of nature, these decisions involve ecological and economic, social, political, aesthetic and ethical considerations. Environmental education contains both cognitive and affective aspects, the association between which is examined on the basis of the theoretical premises established in this paper.

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Zusammenfassung Die wesentliche Fragestellung in der Umwelterziehung betrifft die Beziehung des Einzelnen zu seiner Umwelt sowohl zur natürlichen als auch zur von Menschen geschaffenen. Die Art dieser Beziehung zeigt sich in der Handlungsweise des Einzelnen im Hinblick auf seine Umwelt und in den von ihm gewählten Wegen und gefällten Entscheidungen, die ihm ein angemessenes Verhalten ermöglichen. Die ausschlaggebenden Faktoren für diese Entscheidungen sind seine Werte, die gleichzeitig seiner kognitiven, sozio-emotionalen und ethischen Entwicklung entsprechen. Als interdisziplinärer Lernbereich weist die Umwelterziehung auf das Verfahren hin, Umweltfragen von einer Vielzahl von Standpunkten aus zu betrachten. Da die Konsequenzen aus den Entscheidungen der Menschen in Bezug auf ihre Umwelt sowohl im Bereich menschlichen Lebens als auch in der Welt der Natur sichtbar sind, schließen diese Entscheidungen ökologische und ökonomische, soziale, politische, ästhetische und ethische Überlegungen ein. Umwelterziehung enthält ebenso kognitive wie affektive Aspekte, deren Zusammenhang auf der Basis theoretischer Prämissen, die in diesem Artikel begründet werden, überprüft wird.

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Résumé La question essentielle dans le domaine de l'éducation relative à l'environnement porte sur la relation de l'individu avec son environment qui comprend à la fois la partie naturelle de cet environnement et celle provenant de la civilisation. La nature de cette relation se révèle dans la façon dont l'individu agit avec son environnement ainsi que dans les choix qu'il fait et les décisions qu'il prend pour s'accorder avec. Les facteurs décisifs pour ces décisions sont ses valeurs qui représentent en même temps son développement cognitif, socio-émotionnel et éthique. En tant que matière interdisciplinaire, l'éducation relative à l'environnement attire l'attention sur la façon d'examiner les différentes questions en partant d'une quantité de points de vue. Puisque les conséquences des décisions de l'homme concernant son environnement sont visibles dans la sphère de la vie humaine comme dans le monde de la nature, ces décisions impliquent des considérations écologiques, économiques, sociales, politiques, esthétiques et éthiques. L'éducation relative à l'environnement comprend des aspects cognitifs et affectifs dont le rapport est examiné sur la base des prémisses théoriques présentées dans cet article.

     

和谐:一种文化思维和教育视野

和谐不仅是当代中国社会的价值取向,也是传统中国的文化精神。在经历了一个历史的发展过程之后,和谐价值观所包蕴的和谐思维凸现了整体、辩证、对话、融通、公正和人文等诸多特征,它们为素质教育研究与实践打开了新颖的却又是历史的视窗。素质教育是中国传统文化的组成部分,必须用中国的文化精神和思维方式来构建素质教育的文化理念与行为路径。     

Women,educational management and the third world: A comparative framework for analysis

The comparative under-representation of women in senior levels of administration in schools and colleges is posed as a possibly international problem. Explanations are sought and some evidence suggested in three interlocking areas. Individual sex role learning relates to differences in career mapping, qualifications, unionisation and attitudes towards job application. Organisational constraints refer to possibly discriminatory practices concerning the sexual division of labour in schools, promotion, and notions of ‘leadership’. Finally, a discussion of societal power relations focusses specifically on the economy of the family and women's dual roles. Each area engenders different policy implications for increasing female participation in management.     

Economic Viewpoints in Educational Effectiveness: Cost-effectiveness Analysis of an Educational Improvement Project

Cost-effectiveness analysis is not only important for decision making in educational policy and practice. Also within educational effectiveness research it is important to establish the costs of educational processes in relationship to their effects. The integrated multilevel educational effectiveness models provide opportunities to conduct more refined cost-effectiveness analyses than were carried out in the past. A cost-effectiveness analysis of an educational improvement project in Indonesia illustrates that combining the knowledge base and methodology of educational effectiveness research and cost-effectiveness analysis provides fruitful possibilities for future theoretical and practical developments in both approaches.     

教学视导有效性研究

教育主管部门以科学发展观为指导,促进了教育教学质量的提高。但是,在视导过程中也存在一些不容忽视的问题。 一、教学视导的误区及问题     

The instructional gestalt: A conceptual framework and design for educational research

Summary The argument is advanced in this paper that the pattern of educational investigation wherein comparisons are made between so-called “ experimental” and “ conventional” instructional procedures tends to be defective on three counts: the criteria are often inappropriate or contaminated; the assumptions of homogeneity within and independence between “ experimental” and “ control” conditions are met only when these conditions are very grossly conceived; and the results reflect masking and cancellation effects, thereby revealing relatively little about what transpires in an instructional setting. The Instructional Gestalt is proposed as a methodological framework for educational research focusing upon the interactive nature of learner, instructor, and environmental and course variables constituting the instructional setting. Data generated by explorations within this framework can lead to the formulation of hypotheses which, if subsequently supported empirically, can become principles for inclusion in a theory of classroom learning. The nature of investigations proceeding from the Instructional Gestalt framework was clarified by presentation and discussion of an illustrative study. Since this illustration was only a representation in miniature of the larger investigation, the generalizations about teaching-learning suggested by it are of limited scope and subject to change. Nevertheless, these generalizations do indicate the kinds of hypotheses resulting from studies within the Instructional Gestalt framework. This paper summarizes the rationale underlying research on the Instructional Gestalt proceeding under a grant from the Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Portions of this rationale have been presented at the annual meetings of the American Psychological Association in 1961 and 1962.     

A framework for conducting research on collaborative teacher education

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for conducting research on teacher education programmes that practise collaboration between special and general education faculty to advance inclusion. Such a framework can establish a common language for collaborative teacher education and provide a structure for conducting research on individual programmes as well as cross-site comparisons. It is based on the assumption that collaboration represents a robust, systematic integration of special and general education across all aspects of the preservice curriculum. The proposed framework includes three collaborative program models and five programme dimensions.     

A New Study on Educational Effectiveness in Secondary Schools in Flanders: An Introduction

As an introduction to the articles of Opdenakker, Van Damme, De Fraine, Van Landeghem, and Onghena (2002) and Van Landeghem, Van Damme, Opdenakker, De Fraine, and Onghena (2002) in this issue, we give some background information on a new study on educational effectiveness in secondary schools, and on the variables measured in that study that are relevant to the 2 articles mentioned. We conclude with some information on the system of secondary education in Flanders.     

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.