Here and now: the attendance issue in Indigenous early childhood education

Concern about poor school attendance and participation, particularly of Indigenous children, is a key issue in Australian education; however, strategies to address this issue have been piecemeal and have met with limited success. While much has been written about the issue of school attendance, little attention has been given to absenteeism in early childhood education or its effects at this level. Drawing on data from a longitudinal ethnographic study of Indigenous children in early childhood education in an Australian city, this paper examines the impact of intermittent attendance on the academic, social and personal wellbeing of young Aboriginal children. Explanations for non‐attendance, particularly in the non‐compulsory pre‐school, are considered, and the efficacy of current policy trends to coerce parents to deliver children to school by withholding welfare income is challenged. It is argued that because absenteeism in the Indigenous context is part of the broader complex of social exclusion and disadvantage, policy‐makers and service providers, such as the school, are presented particular challenges involving the balancing of competing principles.     

Language Attitudes and Community Engagement: Diwan–The Breton Immersion High School Through the Eyes of Its Pupils

This article is based on long-term participant observation and interviews with pupils and graduates of the Diwan immersion high school in Brittany, France. With reference to the theory of communities of practice, this article shows how the education in the Breton immersion school can influence a knowledge of the minority language and the young peoples’ engagement with the protection of the Breton language. This article presents the social and cultural capital received through the learning of the Breton language; the distinction between Diwan pupils and people from outside the community; and the gradual formation of a collective new Breton-speakers identity. The sociolinguistic prognostic shows that in a few dozen years the only Breton speakers will be Breton learners. The use of Breton depends thus on having knowledge of it and on finding a community in which this language acts as the benchmark for the creation of a Breton identity.     

Readiness for school of children having attended language immersion kindergarten in their teachers' and parents' opinions

In multicultural societies, much attention is given to children's language learning possibilities. In Estonia, the early language immersion programme for kindergarten children was started in the year 2000. The programme, while considered to be successful, has raised the question of whether the children participating in it are adequately prepared for school. The objective of the present study is to observe the readiness for school of those children who have participated in the early language immersion programme, taking into consideration the objectives of the curriculum and their teachers' and parents' assessments. The method of this study was a questionnaire employed over a three-year period (2009–2011) involving the teachers and parents of those children who were beginning their primary school education. The results of the study revealed that, according to the assessments of their teachers and parents, the readiness for school of the children having completed the early language immersion programme was very good. Data prove that language immersion programmes provide children with enough preparation to make a smooth transition from kindergarten to school life.     

流动儿童的集体自尊及其与学校归属感的关系

为考查流动儿童集体自尊的特点及其与学校归属感的关系,选取719名流动儿童进行问卷调查.结果发现:(1)流动儿童的集体自尊存在显著的性别差异,女生的总体集体自尊、成员资格自尊水平显著高于男生;(2)小学阶段流动儿童的总体集体自尊、私密性集体自尊、公众性集体自尊水平显著高于初中阶段的流动儿童;(3)流动儿童转学次数越多,其总体集体自尊和私密性集体自尊水平越低;(4)流动儿童集体自尊与学校归属感显著正相关,具体体现在学校环境、教师行为、学校投入、同伴关系和学校融入;(5)流动儿童学校归属感对集体自尊具有显著的正向预测作用,预测力为36.4％.     

First Nations,Métis,and Inuit education: The Alberta initiative for school improvement approach to improve indigenous education in Alberta

The education of minority students is of considerable interest within the literature. Ensuring that all children receive quality programming and that they successfully graduate from school is of concern for parents, educational stakeholders, and society alike. In Canada, the indigenous populations of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students have fallen significantly short of acceptable graduation rates. In an attempt to address this issue, results from 16 selected projects funded by the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) that focused upon FNMI Education will be discussed. A comprehensive review of the projects suggests that by involving Aboriginal parents and Elders in meaningful ways and by focusing upon Aboriginal language, culture, and history not as an “add-on” but an integral part of Canadian history and culture, Aboriginal students are more likely to remain in school.     

Beyond cultural competence: transforming teacher professional learning through Aboriginal community-controlled cultural immersion

ABSTRACT

This paper problematises the concept of cultural competence in teacher professional learning arguing instead for opportunities to develop critical reflexivity in the ongoing construction of a pedagogical cultural identity. In the Aboriginal context within Australia, this research study demonstrates how attaining cultural knowledge, understandings and skills is most effective when professional learning is delivered by local Aboriginal cultural knowledge holders. This research study analyses the New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Connecting to Country cultural immersion programme for local communities and schools. A mixed methods approach, analysing quantitative and qualitative data from questionnaires and interviews, highlights the significant impact this experience has on teachers in building relationships with local Aboriginal community members. Teachers reported learning new knowledge about local Aboriginal people, culture, history and issues that challenged their assumptions, personal and collective positioning and pedagogical approaches to teaching Aboriginal students. Implications from the study identify the significance of privileging Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing in order to realise culturally responsive schooling and empower teachers as critically reflective change agents in their schools. It further identifies the need for significant human and financial investment so that all teachers can engage with this authentic and potentially transformative professional learning experience.     

Curriculum,pedagogy, and the Cambridge Primary Review: a response to R.J. Campbell

Year after year, the interest in early learning of the state language by non-Estonian children has increased. In Estonia, the course has been directed that non-Estonian learners have to reach functional bilingualism by the time they leave basic school and thus to become competitive in labour and education markets in Estonia. The objective of the present study is to explain – based on the teachers’ assessments – meeting the objectives of the curriculum at the end of the kindergarten period and at the first stage of basic school by the children having participated in the early language immersion programme. The method of this study was a questionnaire. The results of this study showed that the children having been taught by the language immersion methods were well prepared for school, and their knowledge, linguistic skills and the capacity of self-expression were appropriate for their age in both languages.     

Children's Personal Prerogative in Home and School Contexts

The present study examined young children's conceptions of personal prerogative in the contrasting contexts of home and school. The central question was whether young children have a stable conception of the personal which underlies their responses to regulations in varying contexts. Interviews concerning conceptions of the personal domain were conducted with 37 middle class first grade children. The children were aware of continuities and discontinuities in personal prerogative at home and school as highlighted by their understandings of conventions at school. They identified areas of prerogative at school, but were aware of the conventionalization of some personal issues. They considered school to be the more restrictive place. Despite some willingness to cede authority to teachers for many personal issues, the children reserved rightful decision locus for themselves. They were noncommittal as to whether prerogative should be narrowed at school. They attempted negotiations in both settings, despite less success at school. The children had a conception of personal prerogative which extended over both home and school contexts. Results have implications for classrooms responsive to children's development of autonomy. The study was limited largely to white middle class children, however it raises questions which could have implications for a much broader range of children. Further studies on prerogative in contrasting contexts considering class and ethnic differences may also yield implications for classroom practice which is child and culture sensitive.     

中学体育教师职业倦怠与社会支持、自尊的关系研究

本文以中学体育教师为研究对象,采用集体施测的方法,运用教师职业倦怠问卷、自尊量表和社会支持评定量表,对244名被试的职业倦怠水平与社会支持、自尊的关系进行了研究。结果发现:1)女性中学体育教师职业倦怠水平显著高于男性体育教师;2)不同年龄的中学体育教师在职业倦怠总分、情绪衰竭、成就感降低等水平上并无显著差异;3)学历不高的中学体育教师的成就感降低水平显著高于学历较高的中学体育教师;4)中学体育教师的自尊与职业倦怠三个维度均呈显著负相关;5)自尊可以作为社会支持影响中学体育教师职业倦怠水平的中介变量。     

Effects of parental verbal aggression on children's self-esteem and school marks.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to distinguish the effects of verbal aggression from those of physical aggression and investigate whether parental verbal violence has negative effects on children's self-esteem and academic achievements. METHOD: One hundred and forty-four 10-year-old children completed the Harter Self-perception Profile for Children questionnaire and a questionnaire concerning their mothers' and fathers' verbal aggression towards them and their use of physical punishment. The researchers used school records to obtain the subjects' marks in French (their native language) and Mathematics. RESULTS: Six children had never been the targets of either verbal aggression or physical punishment. Thirty-four children had been subjected to both types of aggression. Verbal aggression alone was found to be in significant negative correlation with three of six components of self-esteem. Verbal aggression alone was also found to be in significant negative correlation with French marks. In addition children who had been subject to greater verbal aggression had lower self-esteem and lower marks in French than children who had been subject to lesser verbal aggression. They were also significantly negatively affected in a fourth component of self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: Parental verbal aggression alone as separate and distinct from physical punishment contributes to lowering children's self-esteem and school achievements. Given the extent of the use of verbal aggression by ordinary parents the authors suggested a need for parent education on the topic of positive methods of child rearing.     

加拿大土著中等教育之变量研究:基于宏观与微观视角

多元文化政策和各项土著教育政策的实施促进了加拿大土著教育的良性发展。然而,根据最近统计数据,与非土著学生相比,土著在学习态度,学业成绩、出勤率和稳定学习等诸多方面均表现出极大的差距。根据雅塔.卡努教授对土著学生所做的教育调查报告的结果展开了深度思考,从土著文化与课程的有机融合,到宏观结构政策的积极配合,这两种变量对土著学生取得学业成功至关重要,缺一不可。     

How bilingual is bilingual? Mother-tongue proficiency and learning through a second language

In a bilingual context, the mother tongue plays a key role in a child's social and personal development, in education and in second-language learning. There is a complex relationship between these three areas. Support for children receiving education through a second language is often in the form of additional learning opportunities in the second language. However, first-language competence has been shown to affect learning in the second language. This paper looks at pre-school migrant children in a bilingual context and investigates the nature of the children's bilingualism. Findings show that they do not have the same level of mother-tongue competence as children brought up in their country of origin. The paper goes on to consider the reasons for these differences in mother-tongue competence and possible responses. The paper concludes that for these children, nursery education in the mother tongue could raise levels of competence in the second language and increase wider educational opportunities, as well as contributing to mutual respect, social cohesion and harmony. There is a complex relationship between mother-tongue development, children's self-esteem, educational opportunities and second-language learning. This paper considers how this complex relationship affects groups of children in four European contexts: Turkey, Norway, Germany and Austria.     

对语言教育幼小衔接的思考

语言教育作为幼小衔接的一部分,对儿童的可持续发展和终身学习有重大意义,对儿童能否实现从幼儿园到小学的顺利过渡有重要影响。幼儿园语言活动和小学语文教育有许多差异。目前幼小语言教育衔接的情况并不乐观。幼儿园和小学应共同承担幼小衔接的责任,和家长密切合作,共同实现幼小语言教育的顺畅衔接。     

The influence of collaborative language learning on cognitive control in unbalanced multilingual migrant children

In this study, (N62) 5- to 6-year-old English monolingual and unbalanced multilingual children attending public primary school education in Scotland became involved in collaborative Narrative Format (Taeschner, 2005) modern language activities in Spanish, both at school and at home. These activities were redesigned and adapted to serve as a quasi-experimental tool to provide a highly structured and intense linguistic input. The main purpose was to explore whether cognitive advantages previously found in balanced bilinguals and second-language-learning monolingual children involved in language immersion programmes could be extended to different types of beginning language learners in a non-immersion context. Depending on the monolingual vs bilingual ratios of children in the classroom, we distinguished between homogeneous groups (characterised by a ratio of 95% of first-language English-language monolinguals) and heterogeneous groups (children from both Scottish and migrant homes in roughly equal proportions). Using a standard task of early cognitive control, we found not only that unbalanced multilinguals perform above chance but also that there was a developing trend of enhanced performance for monolinguals learning languages in the heterogeneous groups. This suggests that not only the length of exposure and intensity of input but also the social classroom environment where children develop their language skills may also play an important role in the effects of bilingualism on executive functions.

     

Revitalising Indigenous Languages in Homogenising Times

The world's linguistic and cultural diversity is endangered by the forces of globalisation, which work to homogenise and standardise even as they segregate and marginalise. Here, I focus on the struggle to conserve linguistic and cultural diversity among Indigenous groups in the United States. Native languages are in drastic decline. Yet even as more Native American children come to school speaking English, they are likely to be stigmatised as 'limited English proficient' and placed in remedial programmes. This situation has motivated bold new approaches to Indigenous schooling that emphasise immersion in the heritage language. This article presents data on these developments and their impacts on students' self-efficacy and school performance, analysing these data in light of critical theory and current knowledge in the field of bilingual education. Indigenous language reclamation efforts must not only confront a legacy of colonialism, but also mounting pressures for standardisation and English monolingualism. I conclude with an examination of these power relations as they are manifest in the struggle for Indigenous self-determination and linguistic human rights.     

基于MQI评估系统的大班数学集体活动质量分析及其启示

数学是学前儿童学习和入学准备的重要领域,也是学前教育质量监测的重要方面。MQI评估系统作为一种评估数学课堂教学质量的框架,体现了最新数学教育观念,突出了数学的学科特性和认知要求,强调儿童的主动参与和生成性的教学过程,可同时对教师的教和儿童的学进行评估。本研究使用MQI评估系统对我国幼儿园大班数学集体活动的质量进行考察,结果表明除数学意义建构和数学语言之外,数学丰富度领域各维度表现水平不高;教师对儿童行为进行处理和反馈的水平较低;大多数活动片段中不存在数学表达和语言上的错误及不严密性问题;儿童参与有意义的解释或者提问和推理较少,参与活动的认知要求不高。幼儿园大班数学集体活动质量受到集体教学中"教"与"学"的关系、教师对数学领域知识和儿童数学发展目标的认知、教师评价儿童数学思维的能力及师幼互动技巧、教师培训与考核的侧重点等因素的影响。我国学前教育界应重视数学教育活动的过程性质量,关注儿童数学学习过程性能力的发展,并应在借鉴MQI评估系统的基础上开发适合我国幼儿园数学教育实践的质量评估系统。     

论新课程的初中语文知识观

针对应试教育下初中语文知识观的误区,本文研究了新课标的理念,对初中语文知识观进行了新的界定和价值评估,明确了语文知识是陈述性知识、程序性知识和策略性知识的整合,是语文素养的有机构成部分,初中语文知识教学要由传授学生知识转变到培养学生能力上来。     

The programmers’ collective: fostering participatory culture by making music videos in a high school Scratch coding workshop

We highlight ways to support interest-driven creation of digital media in Scratch, a visual-based programming language and community, within a high school programming workshop. We describe a collaborative approach, the programmers’ collective, that builds on social models found in do-it-yourself and open source communities, but with scaffolding structures that support students’ learning. We analyze the work of a class of high school student collectives engaged in programming music videos as part of a collaborative challenge in the online Scratch community. Our multi-level analysis focused on students’ learning specific programming concepts, effects of collaborative and task design on learning, and their personal reflections on collaboration and media creation. We address how these overlapping collaborative experiences point to the value of “nested collectives,” or multiple levels of designed-for collaboration. We also highlight a needed shift from a focus on computation to computational participation, highlighting the innately social aspects of media creation.     

生涯规划的重构:从系统论视角看高中生涯规划教育

自古“入仕为官”即可光耀门楣。当代社会父母对子女更是寄予厚望。当代父母虽并非仅以子女“入仕为官”为荣,但对职业的选择根深蒂固。尽管学业繁忙、升学竞争激烈,但生涯规划教育在当下教育体系中仍难以占有份额。从系统论的视角重构高中生涯规划教育,有助于学生个体的发展,从而促进学生的全面发展。