Educational research for development—Contributions and challenges

Abstract

The study was designed to assess changes in farmers' knowledge of farmer seed production through schools (FSPSs) in Vietnam. A set of 25 questions covering five technical areas of the seed production process was used for pre and post knowledge testing at 12 FSPSs in the provinces Binh Dinh, Nam Dinh, Nghe An and Dong Thap. The main findings show an overall increase in farmer's knowledge scores after attending the FSPS. FSPS-farmers with low scores on the pre-field school test (ex-ante) scored much better on the post field school test. Gender had no effect on the test scores. Binh Dinh province had significantly higher mean scores on the post field (ex-post) school test compared to farmers in Nam Dinh, Nghe An and Dong Thap provinces. The increase in knowledge score is linked to the application of good practices learned in the field school as farmers who applied good quality seeds, low seed rates and the transplanting method showed a large increase in scores. The results of this study indicate that the tests provide insight into the knowledge gaps.     

Educational media for teacher training—an introduction

For the last ten years or so the authorities in many countries have been becoming increasingly aware of the value of audio-visual media for teacher training in both the initial and the later phases. But while these media are used to speed up the training of new teachers, to extend the scope of their subjects, or to refresh their scientific and academic knowledge, it is for the benefit of those actively employed in the teaching of students that the full-scale schemes, using systematically-applied audio-visual media, have been conceived and developed.     

Kids Use PlayStation for High-tech Homework

Software gamesodd a new challengeto math,language.     

The Jewish Educational System—A Plea for Organic Unity

This article analyzes the career commitments and retention patterns among graduates of the DeLeT program (Day School Leadership Through Teaching) who were prepared for day-school teaching at Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Employing t-tests to analyze survey responses, we identify factors that shape and support teachers' career commitments to Jewish day schools. Our findings suggest that those who stay in Jewish day school teaching are likely to do so because of more commitment to the Jewish community, greater perception of effective teacher preparation experience, and better school support in comparison to those who leave teaching in this setting. These findings are consistent with a multi-layered understanding of teachers' lives and career commitments, which is illustrated in the interaction between person, program, and setting.     

Safety Tips for Kids on the lnternet

千万不要把姓名、家庭住址、学校名称或电话号码等与自己身份有关的信息作为公开信息提供给聊天室或公告栏等。如果事先没有征求家长或监护人的意见，千万不要向别人提供自己的照片。     

Educational model for environmental‐cognition development

Environmental education (EE) is an holistic educational approach the main goal of which is to develop the students’ environmental cognition, as compared to the disciplinary approach which develops a compartmentalized cognition. Environmental cognition is defined as a reciprocal relationship, comprising knowledge, understanding, sensitivity, perceptiveness and imagination with regard to the environment as well as responsibility and motivation to make environmental decisions. A conceptual model was constructed for this purpose comprising three stages: sensing the environment and generating questions; analysing and then synthesizing a system presentation of the environment, thereby focusing upon the inter‐relatedness and interdependence of environmental components; and environmental problem‐solving.

The model was implemented for training EE teachers and for EE curriculum development. Both of which may enhance the inclusion of EE within the formal educational system.     

Is Diversity Necessary for Educational Justice?

In this article William New and Michael Merry challenge the notion that diversity serves as a good proxy for educational justice. First, they maintain that the story about how diversity might be accomplished and what it might do for students and society is internally inconsistent. Second, they argue that a disproportionate share of the benefits that might result from greater diversity often accrues to those already advantaged. Finally, they propose that many of the most promising and pragmatic remedies for educational injustice are often rejected by liberal proponents of “diversity first” in favor of remedies that in most cases are practically impossible, and often problematic on their own terms. New and Merry argue that schools that are by geography and demography not ethnically or socioeconomically diverse still can successfully confront the obstacles that their students face in creating a life they have reason to value.     

What should Educational Institutions be for?

In this article, I respond to the work of Gert Biesta regarding the question of what education should be for. He maintains education ought to be oriented towards the ‘good’ rather than measurement, accountability and efficiency. While sympathetic to such claims, I nonetheless question his avowal that discussion of the purposes of education needs to entail reflection upon tripartite processes of qualification, socialisation and subjectification. I also argue that the concept of subjectification presented by Biesta is elusive. He says educators cannot plan to produce it in students. He also suggests there is an unhelpful surplus of reason in education that constrains possibilities for subjectification. According to Biesta, education partly reproduces ‘rational communities’ that stifle the emergence of human uniqueness and inhibit persons from challenging accepted social orders. In response to this, I argue there is currently a deficit rather than a surplus of reason in education concerning the common good. Following MacIntyre, I claim that educational institutions should support students to learn how to think for themselves and act for the common good. I conclude that such utopian thinking about the purposes of education may be needed, now, more than ever.     

Remarks on the paper “Educational Reform: Implications for Educational Psychologists”

The article, Educational Reform: Implications for Educational Psychologists, by Benton and Hoyt is an example of the consequences of asking the wrong questions to the right question. Educational psychologists do, indeed, have a vested interest in the current debate over reform in education, particularly teacher education. The data that Benton and Hoyt chose to dissect, however, completely omitted the substantial body of information where educational psychologists have special expertise. The elaborate factor analysis reformed by Benton and Hoyt simply confirms that if one starts with flawed data, no amount of statistical manipulation will lead to a valid conclusion.     

International Migration for Educational Purposes——A Study of Chinese Students Studying for a Master Degree in the UK

This study was initiated by dramatic increase of international migration for educational purpose. The paper aims to investigate the reasons behind Chinesel students’ choice of studying in the UK from two different aspects of ’push’ factors and ’pull’ factors.The study was carried out among Chinese students studying in the university of Bristol, Cardiff University the University of Edinburgh. Both questionnaire and interview were used in data collection. The general findings showed that students’ study destination choice was influenced by ’push’ factors from students’ home country and ’pull’ factors from the host country.     

Is Educational Adequacy Adequate for Just Education?

In this article I raise three objections to Debra Satz's adequacy approach to education. I argue that her approach fails to see education as a positional good that opens the door to more inequalities. Second, I argue that her concept of adequacy for equal citizenship misses an essential part of students’ educational experience beyond their citizenship statues. Last, I argue that Staz's approach fails to answer crucial practical questions about how to distribute extra resources when the adequate level is already met. Finally, I provide an alternative view that is sensitive to the fact that education is a positional good, based on an active and more inclusive account of citizenship, and conditioned to limit inequalities to be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged.     

Thinking Over of the Orientation for Educational Technology

This paper tries to address the reference point for orientation of Educational Technology and starts to draw an orientation for the synthesis and applies subject-Educational Technology, which belongs to the education and remains the features of Technological layer. We take a further look and find that this subject is existing at the cross part of education and technology by which we can draw the boundary of the subject as Educational Technology. Then we discuss the significance of how and why we have to correct the orientation for Educational Technology, and by doing that we can do good things to construct the concept of Educational Technology and cultivate more qualified technological personnel in this area so that we can get more benefits from the practice of Educational Technology.     

Finding an Educational Perspective for Object‐Oriented Development

The object‐oriented model has become exceedingly attractive as the best answer to the increasingly complex needs of the software development community. The initial boasts regarding quality, reuse, concurrency, and scalability are now being substantiated by documented software development experience. It is certainly appropriate, then, for educators who teach computer science (the current preparation for emerging software developers) to examine where object‐oriented development best fits into the computer science curriculum. How much of the paradigm‐‐language, analysis, design, management‐‐ought to be addressed? At what level in an undergraduate program are object‐oriented techniques appropriate? What are the risks involved? How is the object‐oriented approach effectively taught?.     

Computer‐Mediated Communication: A Tool for Reconnecting Kids with Society

Abstract

Schools isolate students from society; instructional strategies often isolate students from one another. Computer‐mediated communication (CMC) brings students together as they work col‐laboratively with peers and adults in different sectors of the society. This article summarizes three studies that demonstrate the positive effect of electronic networking on students' reading and writing skills and their interest in meaningful educational activities. The data is used to argue for a reassessment of the relationship of students to society, and a role that CMC can play in the shifting relationship.