Tallebudgera: A First Experience in Environmental Education

Abstract

The environment as an issue has been prominently before the public for almost two decades. Yet the question of how much the public knows about their environment or about environmental issues has seldom been considered in the research literature. Using data from a statewide survey, this paper examines the general level of public environmental knowledge and analyzes the sociodemographic characteristics correlated with such knowledge. The results indicate that public environmental knowledge remains painfully low, and that the major correlates of environmental knowledge are education, income, and sex. The need for the development of environmental knowledge scales that can be applied across a variety of research is discussed.     

Environmental Education in Rural Central Himalayan Schools

Abstract

This article describes an experimental environmental education course in rural schools in India's central Himalayas. The course was designed to introduce environmental and livelihood issues into mainstream curriculum. The Uttaranchal Environment Education Centre initiated this program in 1987 with the help of national and state departments of education. This practical course focuses on land degradation, which is the region's major environmental problem. Students learn how to manage their village ecosystem to ensure maximum sustainable productivity. Currently, 1,000 teachers in 530 schools offer the course to approximately 68,000 students.     

Twenty Years of General Education in China: Progress,Problems, and Solutions

Abstract

General education is a subject with rich contents and that is highly contested in the field of higher education studies. It has been highly praised for its core concepts such as broad educational targets, liberating educational objectives, and balanced educational content. Looking back at the course of general education in China over the past 20 years we can find “top-down” cultural quality education (文化素质教育) and “bottom-up” general education (通识教育) have formed two stages with clear “characteristics,” with the first decade being mainly cultural quality education, and the most recent decade having had general education gradually enter the mainstream and reveal native qualityistics. This change has led the practice of general education to turn from being government led to university autonomy, and also reflects the increasing depth of Chinese exploration into general education. China’s practice of general education still faces problems with integrating major-based professional education and general education, and must adopt suitable solutions.     

Factors Influencing Nursing Students’ Intention to Practice Sexuality Education in their Professional Work

Abstract

Sexuality has an essential part in human lives and can be affected by changes in one’s health status. Since the nursing profession delivers holistic care for patients, nurses must have the knowledge and skills to deliver care concerning sexuality. Evidence from the professional literature demonstrates that nurses do not address sexuality care consistently, mainly due to different factors such as lack of knowledge, skills, and cultural attitudes. This study’s purpose was to learn about the factors that affect nursing students’ willingness to grasp the nurse’s role as a sexuality educator in practice prior to establishing a specified course in sexual education for BSN students. A quantitative study was conducted in a college at the center of Israel, with a convenience sample of nursing students in a BSN program (n?=?214). The research tool was a questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of nursing students to practice sexuality education in the future. The study’s approach was based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicated that self-efficacy is the main mediator between attitudes and intentions. There is a need to reinforce nursing student’s self-efficacy on the subject to increase their intention to practice it in the future.     

Institutional Problems and Solutions of General Education in Chinese Universities

Abstract

Embedding general education in the Chinese university education system is a considerably complex systemic project, and a lack of institutional arrangements beneficial to general education has always been a key barrier in implementation. Currently, the main institutional restricting factors for university general education include substantial major-based education systems, scattered credit management systems, lack of a distributive elective system with interdisciplinary integration, and a vertically segmented course management system. In the process from popularizing to deepening general education, Chinese universities must move from imitating and transplanting toward local construction; establish the new ideal of undergraduate general education; focus on building featured, university-based fundamental general education curricula; and seek out a path that suits the institutional environment of Chinese universities.     

人文教育与师范英语文学课程的改革

文章阐述了人文教育的内涵,在外语教师教育中的重要地位以及与文学课程的内在关系,提出了文学课程改革的思路,包括文学课程的内容、形式、方法和手段。认为文学课程能否体现人文精神取决于教学方法,不能把文学课仅仅作为知识课和语言学习的手段,而应该在文学课程中尽可能体现人文方法,培养学生的人文精神和创新思维能力。     

教学实务:大学通识教育的重要环节

以讲授的《历史世界的呼唤》课程为例,说明通识教育课程的设计及其教学实务。介绍课程讲授主题,分析课程之设计原则:基本性、主体性、思考性,说明本课程之班级经营与教学方法,提出教学的反省,指出如何使大学课程有助于学生生命之向内反省,这是对教师的挑战。     

An Environmental Education Program for Teacher Trainers in Finland

Abstract

Finland's Ministry of Education sponsored the development of an environmental education (EE) course for practicing educators of teachers. One to 3 persons from each teacher training unit at various universities and training schools attended a tutor training session, during which a course for other teacher trainers was developed. The course focused on personal development and curriculum development. Tutors used distance education with some locally arranged contact teaching to teach the course. Tutors also led local study groups. Teacher trainers who attended the course learned and applied new teaching practices and produced new model lessons. They also reflected on their personal environmental philosophy and gained in environmental knowledge. Preliminary evaluation of the program indicated that high-quality learning experiences occurred. This 2-step distance education model could be used for large-scale implementation of EE for in-service teacher training.     

Building bridges between global concepts and local contexts: implications for inclusive education in Nepal,Sri Lanka,and Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on the implications of participation in an Australian Award Short Course Awards programme for inclusive educators from South Asia. Seventeen educators from Nepal, three from Bangladesh, and one from Sri Lanka participated in the short course in Brisbane, Australia with a follow up component in Kathmandu, Nepal. The aim of the short course was to provide a platform for sharing knowledge of inclusive education as a global concept, and how such knowledge could then be implemented in the local context. While in Brisbane, participants completed a Return to Work Plan (RWP) indicating how they anticipated applying their new knowledge in their respective workplaces. Data were collected both pre- and post-programme with follow-up individual interviews and focus groups once they returned to their home countries. Findings revealed that participants gained a broader understanding of inclusive education and ‘diversity’ that counter the perception of inclusion as restricted to only a specific area of ‘special education’. For many participants, work habits changed as they applied their learning to include a greater range of diversity in their home countries. While the initial impact appeared localised, there were positive indications for longer-term sustainability. This research may assist other educators from developing countries to maximise the benefit of participation in similar short course programmes.     

Teacher expectations in a university setting: the perspectives of teachers

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to investigate the bases of teacher expectations in higher education. The first author interviewed 20 university teachers from an English-as-a-foreign-language course, exploring their expectations for the first-year undergraduates in their classes. The grounded theory method was adopted to analyse the data that had been collected. The results showed that for this sample of 20 teachers, student characteristics were important contributing factors to their expectations in the teachers’ university settings. The factors the teachers considered important included students’ (a) prior academic achievement, (b) motivation, (c) study skills, and (d) academic discipline. Also, teacher characteristics were found to be another major source of these university teachers’ expectations, including teachers’ (a) past teaching and learning experience and (b) teaching self-efficacy. The findings suggested that the bases of teacher expectations in higher education may differ from those at the elementary or secondary school level.     

The Decline and Elimination of PETE: Implications for Doctoral Education

ABSTRACT

In this article, we will explore the current landscape of teacher education programs in general, and specifically, physical education teacher education (PETE) from the national level down to the local level. Furthermore, we will explore the impact that the elimination of undergraduate PETE programs can have on PETE doctoral programs, including the teaching, research, and engagement of their faculty. We present ideas for preparing doctoral students for their future higher education roles that may or may not include the preparation of future physical educators.     

Integrating Technology in Physical Education Teacher Education: A Socialization Perspective

ABSTRACT

Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs are encouraged to develop teachers capable of delivering technology integrated learning experiences. Technological pedagogical content knowledge provides a framework for integrating technology into teacher education programs. Occupational socialization theory describes an educator’s recruitment, training, and socialization in the teaching profession. The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for helping preservice physical educators develop technological pedagogical content knowledge that is grounded in occupational socialization theory. We specifically recommend a four-phase approach to help preservice teachers (a) build their knowledge and learn to value technology in physical education, (b) observe and explore through instructor modeling and integration, (c) experiment and collaborate with mentoring and scaffolding, and (d) discover through innovation and utilization. These suggestions acknowledge the sociopolitical aspects of learning to teach with technology and implications are discussed along with the need to help preservice teachers transfer technology integration into their professional careers.     

Revising General Education Math Courses with Partner Discipline Input

Abstract

The authors describe working with partner disciplines during the process of updating mathematics courses for the general education quantitative literacy requirement. The conversations resulted in significant changes to the business calculus course and a rich listing of applications to be incorporated into the college algebra course from technical fields such as industrial design, exercise science, and building science.     

Vicarious Education,Dialogue Education and Self-Efficacy among Indian Female Students in a Diversity Management Course

Abstract

Teaching, learning and assessment methods for teaching students about diversity should be transformative and achieve lasting changes in students’ attitudes and behaviours towards diverse individuals. Therefore, dialogue education in the teaching and learning of an undergraduate course in diversity management at a higher education institution was considered as an alternative to existing practices. This article reports on a mixed method study that was conducted to gather data from students over a period of three years. The results of the study indicated that the majority of students did well with the dialogue approach to education except for a small underrepresented group of Indian females: they experienced low levels of self-efficacy in class discussions and presentations, thereby preventing them from benefitting from the educational opportunity offered.     

对通识教育课程师资培养的思考

通识教育是大学教育的重要组成部分,本文阐述了通识教育的意义和概念,对目前国内高校通识教育现状和教学中存在的问题进行了分析,认为目前通识教育存在着重视不够、研究不够、师资不足、管理不到位、教学效果不好等问题。作者认为通识教育对课程教师的专业知识底蕴、人格魅力、创新能力和学习提高能力提出了新要求,应该从政策支持、建立教学联合体、教师人格魅力的培养、新教学方法的学习、健全教师教学效果评价体系等几方面促进通识教育师资的培养。     

Building a Competency-Based Curriculum in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

The focus on competency in social work education makes the development of a competency-based curriculum critical. This article describes an approach to curriculum building taking into account the integration, coherency, and integrity of such a curriculum. A presentation of how performance outcomes are fundamental to the relationship between the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standard competencies and the assignments designed to assess their attainment is presented. A demonstration of how the alignment of the components of a course reveals integrity in the curriculum is portrayed. How these aspects coalesce to build a competency-based curriculum is illustrated, and how this curriculum fulfills accreditation requirements is presented. The article concludes with the benefits and a cautionary note on this approach to curriculum building in social work education.     

Structure and development of pre-service physics teachers’ professional knowledge

ABSTRACT

Teachers’ professional knowledge is considered one of the most important predictors of instructional quality. According to Shulman, such professional knowledge includes content, pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge. Although recent research shed some light on the structure of the dimensions of professional knowledge, little is known how teacher education impacts pre-service physics teachers’ professional knowledge. In an effort to address this issue, we examined the content, pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge of N?=?200 pre-service physics teachers enrolled in different years of teacher education at 12 major teacher education universities in Germany. We used structural equation modelling (1) to examine the relations amongst pre-service physics teachers’ content, pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge, (2) to explore how the three kinds of knowledge and their relations differ across different stages of teacher education and (3) to identify factors affecting the level of each component of professional knowledge. Our findings suggest that content, pedagogical content and pedagogical knowledge represent distinct types of knowledge. Furthermore, our findings show that in the first years of professional education, pedagogical content knowledge is more closely related with general pedagogical knowledge while in later years, it is more closely related with content knowledge, suggesting that it develops from a general knowledge about teaching and learning into knowledge about the teaching and learning of specific content. Finally, beyond school achievement and years of enrolment as predictors, we find in particular the amount of classroom observations to have a positive impact on the professional knowledge of pre-service physics teachers.     

The Impact of Supply and Demand on Doctorates in Physical Education Teacher Education: The Future of the Profession

ABSTRACT

Quality preparation of doctoral students is a key to the survival of physical education teacher education. Past research has revealed a shortage of students graduating with a doctoral degree in physical education and a general reluctance of teachers to leave their jobs to pursue an advanced degree. As the number of universities preparing new physical education teacher education assistant professors decreases, those in the profession are concerned for the future of teacher education. Unlike other professions that prepare more doctoral students than the market can accommodate, this is not the case for physical education teacher education doctoral programs. This article will provide summary information on supply and demand, which will be used to identify trends and recommendations for the future. This article will explore the status of doctoral programs in the United States and whether university programs will be able to prepare a sufficient number of professors to replace the aging physical education teacher education professoriate.     

Social Work in Higher Education: Internships in Opportunity Programs

ABSTRACT

Field education is essential to the development of professional social workers. Despite the significant overlap in social work’s and higher education’s missions and values, there is a scarcity of social work internships specifically in higher education settings. The placement of social work interns in institutions of higher education provides a setting where they can develop new knowledge and skills and increase their capacity to support college students toward academic success. This conceptual article discusses the role of social work in higher education and provides a model social work internship in an opportunity program, including its creation, development, challenges, outcomes, and future direction.