Danish and Finnish PISA results in a comparative, qualitative perspective: How can the stable and distinct differences between the Danish and Finnish PISA results be explained?

The research project presented in this article was designed to provide a better understanding of the stable and significant differences in the PISA results between two otherwise very similar Nordic welfare states, Denmark and Finland. In the PISA studies, Finnish students repeatedly achieve the highest Nordic (and partly worldwide) scores in e.g. reading, science and math, while Danish students score lower. Even though Denmark has one of the world’s most expensive educational systems, the OECD ranks the Finnish school system as the world’s best both in terms of quality and equity (OECD 2004). The basic research question is why these differences continue to persist. The case study methodology was mainly inspired by Kirsti Klette’s classroom research (Klette 2003) which involves both interviews and observations. Thus, the overall design could be labeled mixed methods (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie Educational Researcher, 33(7): 14-26, 2004). Five regular public schools in each country were sampled for the comparative classroom studies. The basic theoretical approaches follow Hundeide’s theory of pedagogical communication and relations (2003) and Csikszentmihalyi’s flow-theory (1992). Both this study and statistical studies (S?rensen 2008) show that the difference in the Danish and Finnish PISA results mainly consists in the relatively better score by the lowest scoring 25% of the Finnish pupils compared to the lowest scoring Danish quartile. The results of this study point to a number of possible classroom related reasons why the Finnish school system can produce a better outcome for the lowest scoring quartile of pupils. These reasons are presented and discussed in the article. The study underlines the need to focus more on good classroom management in Denmark—and recommends further international, comparative research in order better to understand the huge differences shown in large scale international programmes such as PISA, PIRLS and TIMMS. The study also reveal the need for more knowledge about inclusive classroom practices, the use of teacher assistants and free, healthy school meals for all pupils.     

Students' conceptions of chemical change

One hundred high school chemistry students who had completed a unit on chemical change were given a written instrument in which they were shown three oxidation-reduction reactions and were asked to explain them. Eleven students representing a range of achievement levels were chosen for more intensive clinical interviews in which they explained their responses, evaluated the quality of their responses, and compared them to other hypothetical responses. Interview results revealed that students commonly experienced difficulties at three different epistemological levels: 1. Chemical knowledge. Most students failed to invoke atoms and molecules as explanatory constructs, even though they had been emphasized in their chemistry course. Some students also listed “substances” such as heat, cold, or decay as reactants or products. 2. Conservation reasoning. Many students could not predict or explain mass changes in the chemical reactions. Their most common problems included (a) a tendency to treat chemical changes such as rusting as physical changes in form or state, and (b) failure to understand the role of invisible (in this case gaseous) reactants or products in the reactions. 3. Explanatory ideals. Many students demonstrated a preference for explanations based on superficial analogies with everyday events (e.g., rusting is like decay) over explanations based on chemical theories. Only one of the 11 students interviewed demonstrated mastery of the unit's contents at all three levels. Results of this and other research indicate a need for substantial revision in chemistry teaching practice.     

An Examination of Effective Practice: Moving Toward Elimination of Achievement Gaps in Science

This longitudinal study of middle school science teachers explored the relationship between effective science instruction, as defined by the National Science Education Standards (NRC in National science education standards. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996), and student achievement in science. Eleven teachers participated in a three year study of teacher effectiveness, determined by the LSC Classroom Observation Protocol (Horizon Research, Inc. in Local Systemic Change Classroom Observation Protocol. May 1, 2002) and student achievement, which was assessed using the Discovery Inquiry Test in Science. Findings in this study revealed the positive impact that effective science teachers have on student learning, eliminating achievement gaps between White and Non-White students. Case studies of three teachers, both effective and ineffective explore the beliefs and experiences that influence teachers to change, or not to change practice. This study provides justification for teaching science effectively to narrow achievement gaps in science and provides insight to stakeholders in science education as to how to support teachers in becoming more effective, through addressing existing teacher beliefs and providing experiences that challenge those beliefs.     

Constructing knowledge: An effective use of educational technology for teaching Islamic studies in the UK

The 21st century as a digital age is characterized by the increased accessibility of information and knowledge through the medium of sophisticated technological tools. The main aim of this article is to show how educational technology can be used effectively to help students construct knowledge when teaching Islamic studies in the UK. The first part of this paper summarizes the differences between information sharing and knowledge construction with reference to the essence of knowledge as Aristotelian ‘episteme’ (theoretical knowledge) and technê (practical knowledge: know-how); and the extent which the former process is created by the use of Information Technology (IT) while the latter is enhanced by Educational Technology (ET). The second part explores how ET can be used effectively to ‘provide training in critical and creative thinking skills of students’ as an integral part of producing useful tools and generating practical benefit during their learning process (Felder et al. 2000, p. 26; Callaos 2009, p. 3). The third, then, explains why a student centred and research-based teaching is preferred to traditional research-led method in order to support the construction of knowledge. The paper concludes by presenting some reflections and limitations on how effective use of ET and research-based teaching can help students to become critical thinkers while studying Islam and Middle Eastern politics as part of international politics curriculum in the UK.     

USING AN ENHANCED CONFLICT MAP IN THE CLASSROOM (PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT) BASED ON LAKATOSIAN HEURISTIC PRINCIPLE STRATEGIES

Researchers have shown that most students resist changes to their core beliefs by offering auxiliary hypotheses at the first sign of the development of conceptual change. Studies have viewed student reaction to discrepant events as an important clue in helping researchers understand not only the structure of alternative concepts (Niaz, Science & Education, 7(2):107 – 127, 1998) but also the nature of scientific concepts. The main objectives of this research were the following: (a) to consider prudently the conflict map of Tsai (International Journal of Science Education, 22(3):285 – 302, 2000); (b) to initiate and develop an enhanced conflict map based on Lakatosian ethodology, which could help science teachers and students resolve conflicts that occur in the explanation of natural phenomena; (c) to examine the effectiveness of the enhanced conflict map; and (d) to discuss these implications in science education. Specifically, this study used two freshman classes from the Department of Electronics and one class of Astronomy majors from C. National University, South Korea, to investigate how scientific concepts change after selecting the modern physics field (Photoelectric effect), which is included in the Physics and Astronomy courses. Modern physics has led to the so-called Lakatosian heuristic principle or methodology, a useful framework that includes scientific philosophy and science history as study strategies. “Enhanced conflict maps” are suggested for use to consistently show all the study processes.     

Dynamics of change: decentralised centralism of education in Singapore

Many countries are introducing major educational changes to prepare their students to meet the challenges in a knowledge economy and enhance the country’s competitive edge. This paper discusses recent educational changes in Singapore using the framework of decentralised centralism proposed by Karlsen (2000). The paper explores the dynamics of change in the initiation, content, levels and simultaneity of the decentralisation process in Singapore since 1997. The paper further analyses the ideological roots of the decentralisation policy through a discussion of the tension between the functionalist and liberal forms of education in the Singapore context. The discussion adds to existing literature on the tensions and challenges faced by countries in their attempts to introduce educational changes in their countries.     

When Simple Harmonic Motion is not That Simple: Managing Epistemological Complexity by Using Computer-based Representations

Many real-world phenomena, even “simple” physical phenomena such as natural harmonic motion, are complex in the sense that they require coordinating multiple subtle foci of attention to get the required information when experiencing them. Moreover, for students to develop sound understanding of a concept or a phenomenon, they need to learn to get the same type of information across different contexts and situations (diSessa and Sherin 1998; diSessa and Wagner 2005). Rather than simplifying complex situations, or creating a linear instructional sequence in which students move from one context to another, this paper demonstrates the use of computer-based representations to facilitate developing understanding of complex physical phenomena. The data is collected from 8 studies in which pairs of students are engaged in an exploratory activity, trying to understand the dynamic behavior of a simulation and, at the same time, to attribute meaning to it in terms of the physical phenomenon it represents. The analysis focuses on three episodes. The first two episodes demonstrate the epistemological complexity involved in attempting to make sense of natural harmonic oscillation. A third episode demonstrates the process by which students develop understanding in this complex perceptual and conceptual territory, through the mediation (Vygotsky 1978) of computer-based representations designed to facilitate understanding in this topic.     

Effect of a Problem Based Simulation on the Conceptual Understanding of Undergraduate Science Education Students

A study of the effect of science teaching with a multimedia simulation on water quality, the “River of Life,” on the science conceptual understanding of students (N = 83) in an undergraduate science education (K-9) course is reported. Teaching reality-based meaningful science is strongly recommended by the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996). Water quality provides an information-rich context for relating classroom science to real-world situations impacting the environment, and will help to improve student understanding of science (Kumar, 2005a; Kumar and Chubin, 2000). The topics addressed were classes of organisms that form river ecosystem, dissolved oxygen, macroinvertebrates, composition of air, and graph reading skills. Paired t-test of pre- and post-tests, and pre- and delayed post-tests showed significant (p < 0.05) gains. The simulation had a significant effect on the conceptual understanding of students enrolled in a K-9 science education course for prospective teachers in the following areas: composition of air, macroinvertebrates, dissolved oxygen, classes of organisms that form a river ecosystem, and graph reading skills. The gain was more in the former four areas than the latter one. A paired t-test of pre- and delayed post-tests showed significant (p < 0.05) gains in the water quality and near transfer subsets than the dissolved oxygen subset. Additionally students were able to transfer knowledge acquired from the multimedia simulation on more than one concept into teachable stand-alone lesson plans.     

Master’s Students’ Experiences in a Multicultural Counseling Role-Play

This study examined the experiences of master’s students in regard to their participation in a multicultural role-play and review process (Jencius et al. 2004). Whereas the literature has supported the use of role-plays as a multicultural training technique (Alvarez and Miville 2003; Vazquez and Garcia-Vazquez 2003), there is a distinct lack of information on the actual role-play experience itself. The data analyzed from participants’ reported experiences about their student counselor and student client roles in this study offers valuable feedback to those who teach multicultural counseling. Participants reported qualitatively different experiences based on which particular role they held.     

Constructing a New Vision: Undoing Gender through Secondary Education in Honduras

This article presents results from a qualitative study on how the Honduran secondary education programme, Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT), attempts to “undo gender” (Deutsch 2007: 122) by encouraging students to rethink gender relations in their everyday lives in a way that reflects their increased consciousness of gender equality. My findings suggest that SAT increased women’s gender consciousness and this heightened their desire for change in the domestic sphere. In some instances, women were able to negotiate a new sharing of responsibilities with their spouses. There are several features of SAT that make it a transformative innovation in education: (1) gender is mainstreamed into the curriculum; (2) gender is linked with the larger concept of justice; (3) students engage in reflection, dialogue and debate; (4) teachers are given the opportunity to reflect critically on their understanding of gender in professional development sessions; and (5) it emphasises that undoing gender requires change among individuals and in social structures such as the family.     

Class, Identity, and Teacher Education

This paper explores the possibilities of working with White, working-class teacher education students to explore the “complex social trajectory” (Reay in Women’s Stud Int Forum 20(2):225–233, 1997a, p. 19) of class border crossing as they progress through college. Through analysis of a course that I have developed, Education and the American Dream, I explore political and pedagogical issues in teaching the thousands of teacher education students who are the first in their families to attend college about social class. Arguing that faculty in teacher education too often disregard the significance of deep class differences between themselves and many of their students, I propose that teacher education include coursework in which upwardly-mobile students (a) draw upon their distinctive perspectives as class border-crossers to elucidate their “complex social positioning as a complicated amalgam of current privilege interlaced with historic disadvantage” (Reay in Women’s Stud Int Forum 20(2):225–233, 1997a, p. 25) and (b) complicate what Adair and Dahlberg (Pedagogy 1:173–175, 2001, p. 174) have termed a cultural “impulse to frame class mobility as a narrative of moral progress”. Such coursework, I suggest, has implications for the development of teacher leaders in stratified schools. The paper draws upon the literatures on social class and educational attainment, on the construction of classed identities in spite of silence about class in public and academic discourse, and on pedagogies for teaching across class differences.     

Unmasking the Inequitable Discipline Experiences of Urban Black Girls: Implications for Urban Educational Stakeholders

There is a large body of research examining the discipline experiences of Black males (Lewis et al. in Souls: A Critical Journey of Black Politics, Culture, and Society, 2009; Skiba et al. in The Urban Review, 34, 317–348, 2002); however, less is known about the types of behavioral infractions Black female students exhibit and the discipline sanctions imposed for Black girls for such infractions. As a result, the purpose of this study is to examine the type of discipline infractions exhibited by Black female students enrolled in an urban school district and to explore whether the pattern of discipline infractions and sanctions imposed for Black girls disproportionately differs from all female students, but more specifically White and Hispanic females. Results suggest that Black girls are overrepresented in exclusionary discipline practices and Black girls reason for discipline referrals differs significantly from White and Hispanic girls. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided for urban educational stakeholders.     

Teaching Environmental Education through PBL: Evaluation of a Teaching Intervention Program

If our chosen aim in science education is to be inclusive and to improve students’ learning achievements, then we must identify teaching methodologies that are appropriate for teaching and learning specific knowledge. Karagiorgi and Symeo (2005) remind us that instructional designers are thus challenged to translate the philosophy of constructivism into current practice. Thus, research in science education must focus on evaluating intervention programs which ensure the effective construction of knowledge and development of competencies. The present study reports the elaboration, application and evaluation of a problem-based learning (PBL) program with the aim of examining its effectiveness with students learning Environmental Education. Prior research on both PBL and Environmental Education (EE) was conducted within the context of science education so as to elaborate and construct the intervention program. Findings from these studies indicated both the PBL methodology and EE as helpful for teachers and students. PBL methodology has been adopted in this study since it is logically incorporated in a constructivism philosophy application (Hendry et al. 1999) and it was expected that this approach would assist students towards achieving a specific set of competencies (Engel 1997). On the other hand, EE has evolved at a rapid pace within many countries in the new millennium (Hart 2007), unlike any other educational area. However, many authors still appear to believe that schools are failing to prepare students adequately in EE (Walsche 2008; Winter 2007). The following section describes the research that was conducted in both areas so as to devise the intervention program.     

Adaptation of Kirkpatrick’s four level model of training criteria to assessment of learning outcomes and program evaluation in Higher Education

Assessment of educational effectiveness provides vitally important feedback to Institutions of Higher Education. It also provides important information to external stakeholders, such as prospective students, parents, governmental and local regulatory entities, professional and regional accrediting organizations, and representatives of the workforce. However, selecting appropriate indicators of educational effectiveness of programs and institutions is a difficult task, especially when criteria of effectiveness are not well defined. This article proposes a comprehensive and systematic approach to aligning criteria for educational effectiveness with specific indicators of achievement of these criteria by adapting a popular organizational training evaluation framework, the Kirkpatrick’s four level model of training criteria (Kirkpatrick 1959; 1976; 1996), to assessment in Higher Education. The four level model consists of reaction, learning, behavior and results criteria. Adaptation of this model to Higher Education helps to clarify the criteria and create plans for assessment of educational outcomes in which specific instruments and indicators are linked to corresponding criteria. This provides a rich context for understanding the role of various indicators in the overall mosaic of assessment. It also provides Institutions of Higher Education rich and multilevel feedback regarding the effectiveness of their effort to serve their multiple stakeholders. The importance of such feedback is contextualized both in the reality of stakeholder pressures and in theoretical understanding of colleges and universities as open systems according to the systems theory (Katz and Kahn 1966). Although the focus of this article is on Higher Education, core principles and ideas will be applicable to different types and levels of educational programs.     

The future of educational change: system thinkers in action

In addressing the future agenda of educational change, this paper advances the notion of sustainability as a key factor in developing a new kind of leadership. This new leadership, if enduring, large scale change is desired, needs to go beyond the successes of increasing student achievement and move toward leading organizations to sustainability. Currently, there is a lack of development of leaders toward system thinking. An argument is made for linking systems thinking with sustainability in order to transform an organization or a system. In order to accomplish this goal, it is necessary to change not only individuals but also systems. The way to change systems is to foster the development of practitioners who are “system thinkers in action.” Such leaders widen their sphere of engagement by interacting with other schools in a process we call lateral capacity building. When several leaders act this way they actually change the context in which they work. Eight elements of sustainability, which will enable leaders to become more effective at leading organizations toward sustainability, are presented. Within the explication of the eight elements, prior research is considered, difficulties are surfaced, and challenges are issued to change contextual conditions in order to effect large scale, sustainable educational change.Adapted from an address at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, 2004.     

On negotiating White science: a call for cultural relevance and critical reflexivity

This article is a response to Randy Yerrick and Joseph Johnson’s article “Negotiating White Science in Rural Black America: A Case for Navigating the Landscape of Teacher Knowledge Domains”. They write about research conducted by Yerrick in which videos of his teaching practice as a White educator in a predominately Black rural classroom were examined. Their analysis is framed through Shulman’s (1986) work on “domains of teacher knowledge” and Ladson-Billings’ (1999) critical race theory (CRT). Although we appreciate a framework that attends to issues of power, such as CRT, we see a heavier emphasis on Shulman’s work in their analysis. We argue that a culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) framework has the potential to provide a more nuanced analysis of what occurred in Yerrick’s classroom from a critical lens. Thus we examine Yerrick and Johnson’s work through the five main CRP components (as defined by Brown-Jeffy and Cooper 2011) and ultimately argue that science educators who want to promote equity in their classrooms should engage in continuous critical reflexivity, aid students in claiming voice, and encourage students to become not only producers of scientific knowledge but also users and critics of such knowledge.     

Improving course evaluations to improve instruction and complex learning in higher education

Recent research has touted the benefits of learner-centered instruction, problem-based learning, and a focus on complex learning. Instructors often struggle to put these goals into practice as well as to measure the effectiveness of these new teaching strategies in terms of mastery of course objectives. Enter the course evaluation, often a standardized tool that yields little practical information for an instructor, but is nonetheless utilized in making high-level career decisions, such as tenure and monetary awards to faculty. The present researchers have developed a new instrument to measure teaching and learning quality (TALQ). In the current study of 464 students in 12 courses, if students agreed that their instructors used First Principles of Instruction and also agreed that they experienced academic learning time (ALT), then students were about 5 times more likely to achieve high levels of mastery of course objectives and 26 times less likely to achieve low levels of mastery, according to independent instructor assessments. TALQ can measure improvements in use of First Principles in teaching and course design. The feedback from this instrument can assist teachers who wish to implement the recommendation made by Kuh et al. (2007) that universities and colleges should focus their assessment efforts on factors that influence student success.     

Doctoral Student Satisfaction: An Examination of Disciplinary, Enrollment, and Institutional Differences

Previous research suggests that it is the department, not the graduate school that bears the greatest responsibility for doctoral students’ progress and success (Ehrenberg et al., Doctoral education and the faculty of the future (pp. 15–34). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009) dictating the need to examine and understand how doctoral students experience their education at the department level. In the present study, we analyzed the NAGPS’ 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey (NDPS) data in an effort to understand the differences in the satisfaction levels of doctoral students (current, recent graduates, and former) across various academic disciplines (e.g. social sciences, humanities, engineering) and different institutional types (e.g. research extensive and research intensive). Employing both traditional (ANOVA) and item-level (Rasch Rating Scale Model) analyses we found that although overall satisfaction with doctoral experiences appears to be equivalent/similar across multiple disciplines, student satisfaction within disciplines varied significantly and consistently with respect to specific academic experiences.