WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING SCIENCE? AN ANALYSIS OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

ABSTRACT:  The paper explores the current rationale for primary science in England with a focus on how competing perspectives arising from perceptions of educational ideology and policy discourse have helped to shape current practice. The aim will be to provide a conceptual understanding of this by focusing specifically on how policy has influenced practice. In particular it will consider the way in which discourse and policy text have contributed to the emergent rationale for primary science which in many ways reflects conflicting influences, views and policies. Data were collected over a year from a regional survey and from four case-study primary schools. The findings suggest that teachers in primary schools face tensions between promoting both an educational and a political rationale for learning primary science. The paper will conclude by suggesting that the justification for primary science should be based on what we already know about how children learn science as well as helping them to develop an understanding of science and how it influences and is intrinsically linked to the needs of society.     

THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL FACTORS ON THE FORMATION OF THE SPANISH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 1809–1814

A comprehensive account of education loses a great deal of its value if, apart from the correlative pedagogical angle, the public aspects connected to its institutional nature are not examined as well. However, while the economic and social aspects of education have gained relevance over the past few years, little attention has been paid to the political factors which affect education so far.

Manuel de Puelles emphasizes the importance of political factors in the birth of national education systems and their influence on the formation of a liberal State. This hypothesis is applied to Spain, both to the Josephine and liberal model of relationship between the State and education. Moreover, the author points out the unique and somewhat ambiguous character of the Spanish liberal project as regards the relationship between the State and education.     

THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH‐‐II

Recent work aimed at involving parents more in the teaching of reading by encouraging parents to hear their children read school reading books at home has created a great deal of interest. But to what extent does it depart from normal school practice?

Little is known about schools’ attitudes to parental involvement in home‐based, as opposed to school‐based, educational activities. Therefore a study was made of a sample of 16 infant and first schools. Interviews were carried out with head teachers, all teachers of seven‐year‐olds, and some of their pupils. It was found that whilst there was general support for the idea of parental involvement in the teaching of reading this stopped short of helping parents hear their own children read at home. An examination of the schools’ practice suggested that at present comparatively few children regularly take school reading books to read at home.     

THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH‐‐III

A structured interview was conducted individually with 310 Canadian kindergarten children selected as a representative sample of pupils in their community. The interview had four parts: I Recognition of acts of reading and writing; II Concepts of the purposes of reading and writing; III Concepts of features of printed materials; IV Visual perception (similar to one part of the Frostig Test). Most children achieved near perfect scores on Part IV. Part I was slightly more difficult. Part II was considerably more difficult and Part III was the most difficult of all. It is concluded that teachers should be more concerned about the development of these linguistic concepts than visual perception.     

AN EVALUATION OF THE LITERARY MERIT OF“THE DECEIVERS”

TheDeceivers"byJohnMistheisanimagiMyaccountofhOwtheThmcultoftheIndtangoddes3Xili(TheDes1royer)wassfnashedthroUghtheeffortSofthecellthelcharacfor,WllianlSang.Thellovel'sftethDgiscolonialIndiaintheygnr1825,Whnthecountryw1sruledbytheBrihshEastIndiaCompallylik(3aprivatefiefdom.SangisasoldierbyPrOhaion,buthasbeen1secondedtOtheCompanyastheCollectOrofMidhy3Instrict.Inthisro1e,heisresponsiblefortheadrnirusthehonofnahveaffairs,Ulecollectionofthes,andforallasPectSoflawarIrlorderwithintbatdi…     

AN ALTERNATIVE TO AURAL REHABILITATION FOR THE OLDER HEARING‐AID USER: AN EDUCATIONAL MODEL USING SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

Over 6 million older Americans are hearing impaired. Many of them are facing the decision to seek help through hearing aids. Once the decision has been made and amplification is obtained, a program of aural rehabiliation can facilitate adjustment to the hearing aid and foster more successful communication. Unfortunately, the number of professionals trained to provide rehabilitative services to hearing‐impaired persons are few relative to the number of persons who need these services. This paper describes a model for delivering aural rehabiliation services through providers trained by audiologists certified by the American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association. After being trained, staff at senior centers, nursing homes, and state or local agencies who deal with either hearing impairment or aging could serve as program providers. The model program consists of four phases: education, desensitization, rehabilitation strategies, and responsibility training.     

OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE LAWS AND THE CREATION OF EDUCATIONAL NEEDS: A NEW ROLE FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES?

The authors describe how growing state occupational license laws that require candidates to pass pencil and paper examinations create a large demand for education. In building contracting, insurance, and real estate, for example, that demand often is met by profit‐seeking examination preparation schools. The paper reports research from a large sample of applicants of the more than 20,000 each year who take the California contractors’ license examination. Some prepared for the examination, which is primarily business and law, through examination preparation schools, while others prepared on their own. Results show that while those who attended a license‐preparation school were somewhat less advantaged than those who prepared on their own, they had a somewhat higher probability of passing the examination. The paper also reports, however, that a large minority of license candidates were dissatisfied with their method of preparation, often expressing a need for a more comprehensive educational program in business and law, rather than in rote drill offered by many license schools. Added evidence is presented suggesting the need for more thorough preparation of license candidates that could result in greater social equity, indicating an important role for public community colleges in meeting this emergent demand.     

THE IMAGE OF THE HUMAN BEING IN ISLAMIC AND “SECULAR HUMANISTIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT

Our moral awareness directs our attention to salient ethical cues. This article discusses how mistaken presumptions about the ways faith can inform moral awareness can cloud our understanding of the role of religious convictions in public discourse. The article then explores how an understanding of the dynamics of moral awareness can enable people to ground their moral outlooks in their faith commitments while at the same time remaining open to dialogue with people of other faith commitments so that they are able to discuss moral issues in the religiously diverse public places (the public squares) of our global, postmodern age.     

WHAT SHOULD WE TEACH AS CONTROVERSIAL? A DEFENSE OF THE EPISTEMIC CRITERION

Abstract There is an emerging consensus that to teach something as controversial is to present it as a matter on which different views are or could be held and to expound those different views as impartially as possible. This raises an important normative question that has yet to receive the attention it deserves from educational theorists: how are we to decide which topics to teach in this way? The answer suggested by Robert Dearden is that we should apply the epistemic criterion: a matter should be taught as controversial when contrary views can be held on it without those views being contrary to reason. In this essay, Michael Hand aims to defend that answer. In the first part of the article he revisits Dearden’s rather thin and unsatisfactory justification for the epistemic criterion and attempts to mend its deficiencies. In the second part, Hand examines an alternative to the epistemic criterion in the area of moral education, an alternative he labels the political criterion, and explains why he thinks we should reject it.     

PUTTING CONTEXT IN CONTEXT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE EVIDENCE FOR THE BENEFITS OF ��CONTEXTUALISED�� TASKS

The professional literature in mathematics education is replete with calls to use tasks that are ‘authentic’, ‘relevant’ and related to ‘real life’ and the ‘real world’. Such activities are frequently advocated for their potential to motivate and engage students, but evidence of their ability to do so is rarely presented. This paper examines evidence in relation to the effectiveness of context problems in achieving their intended purposes and thereby contributing to enhanced student participation, engagement and achievement in mathematics education. It is argued that context problems are not a panacea and that categorising problems as contextualised or de-contextualised is less helpful than the consideration of more salient aspects of tasks that impact on their effectiveness. Such aspects also relate to the purposes for and affordances and limitations of particular tasks in relation to the purposes they are intended to serve, along with attention to the contexts in which students learn mathematics. Examples of theoretical and empirical programs built on these considerations are reviewed in terms of their potential to enhance participation, engagement and achievement in school mathematics.     

STUDENT COMPARISONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES AT THE TWO‐YEAR COLLEGE AND THE UNIVERSITY: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Student evaluations of instruction were obtained from two groups. Students in the first group were “reverse transfer” students (N = 97) who completed their freshman year at a university and then transferred to a two‐year college for their sophomore year. Students in the second group were “early transfer” students (N = 78) who completed their freshman year at a two‐year college and then transferred to a university. All students had one year of attendance at a two‐year college and one year at a university. The purpose of the study was to analyze the ratings of both groups of students with regard to their academic experiences at the university and at the two‐year college. An adaptation of the Student Instructional Report (SIR) was used to obtain ratings on overall college experiences from all students at the end of their sophomore year. The findings revealed: (1) considerable similarity of ratings given to the two‐year college and the university, (2) differences between ratings of early transfer and reverse transfer students, and (3) generally high ratings for both the two‐year college and the university.