A categorisation of school rules

The aim of this paper is to investigate and describe the content in school rules by developing a category system of school rules, and thus making the logic behind different types of rules in school explicit. Data were derived from an ethnographic study conducted in two primary schools in Sweden. In order to analyse the data, grounded theory methodology was adapted. The analysis resulted in a category system of school rules, containing the following main categories: (a) relational rules, (b) structuring rules, (c), protecting rules, (d), personal rules and (e) etiquette rules. In the light of this categorisation, more consciously pedagogical and professional work with rules can be conducted. The category system can counteract vagueness and unreasonableness, as well as highlighting the content, logic and functions of different school rules.     

The resurgence of everyday experiences in school science learning activities

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Science education can be alienating for students, as it is apart from the mundane world with which they are familiar. Science education research has...     

Exploring the boundary between school science and everyday knowledge in primary school pedagogic practices

This paper explores the different ways that primary school teachers in Uganda navigate the boundary between school science and everyday knowledge in the context of a centrally mandated curriculum innovation. The paper is based on a study of the pedagogic practices of 16 teachers in eight Ugandan primary schools that were selected on the basis of having a track record of either high or low academic achievement in the public primary school‐leaving examination. The official primary school curriculum in Uganda prescribes that science be taught in an integrated form, including integration between science subject knowledge and everyday knowledge. The strategies that teachers in the study adopted in relating science to everyday knowledge was a key feature that differentiated between pedagogic practices in the high‐performing and low‐performing schools. In high‐performing schools, teachers recruited everyday knowledge as a resource for learning science as a specialised discourse; whereas in the low‐performing schools, acquiring everyday knowledge was viewed as an end in itself. The paper, then, considers the implications of differences in teachers' pedagogic strategies for the kinds of knowledge to which learners are given access.     

Self-made school and the everyday making in Buenos Aires slums

Abstract

A governmentality ethnographic approach is adopted to examine the everyday making of school in Buenos Aires slums. By addressing events at the intersection of the life of school and of the neighborhood, in this article we problematize schooling – how it is put together and the tensions that beset it on a daily basis. The notion of the self-made school is proposed as a way to delve into how management society calls on the population to manage itself. We identify micro-procedures that take the shape of silent struggles to turn the school/neighborhood into a place to live. As a hypothesis, we propose that school is produced at the intersection of everyday struggles and the struggle for the everyday in the context of the precarization of life in the age of management. From a methodological standpoint what are at play are not dichotomies, but rather the stickiness and tension of daily practices.     

Working with rules: lived democracy in school

This study focuses on an attempt by a Swedish secondary school teacher to fashion a more participatory education situation by involving his students in deciding the rules for their group work. Five group sessions were video recorded and examined using a conversation–analytic approach. The findings show a complex interplay between democratic and undemocratic elements in the interaction between the teacher and the students, as well as among the students themselves. Throughout the material, the students often reconnected to the democratic discourse of the teacher and employed it for various purposes. This also meant that the students’ work with the assignment was sometimes set aside. However, because it can be assumed that the students pick up new democratic competencies as they partake in the sessions, the teacher's participatory agenda can still be defended. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research.     

Primary school pupils' ability to see scientific problems in everyday phenomena

Conclusion Although the experiments reported here are only a beginning to the research needed, the results obtained so far suggest that some teachers and some curriculum planners have overlooked factors in their consideration of problem solving as a learning method in primary school science. There appear to be teachers who have rejected this approach prematurely because many of the problems children suggest when they are first introduced to this method of working are not sound starting points for investigation. Curriculum palnners, on the other hand, do not appear to have given serious consideration to the fact that some subject matter provides a better starting point for pupil problem solving than others. Further, there has been inadequate information available for teachers on the type of classroom situations and teacher behaviour which will maximize pupils' ability to see investigable science problems in everyday phenomena. The type of research reported here will be continued and expanded to provide a clearer picture of contexts in which the ability of pupils to see investigable scientific problems is maximized.     

Changing patterns of school enrolment in Australia

The various explanations offered for the decline in government school enrolments since the mid-1970s are considered in this article. Changing parental perceptions of the educational strengths and weaknesses of school systems are held to be of critical importance. Changes in government funding policy have been very important too, in their effects not only on enrolments but also on the educational policies of some non-government schools and, indeed, whole systems. The need is stressed for further research into parental concerns about education and the effects of funding policies on educational decisions.     

Beyond the school setting: language teachers and tensions of everyday life

As an emergent theme in educational research, examination of the lives and careers of teachers reveals a wide range of educational factors occurring in many different contexts. Despite the relationship between teaching and life outside school, research studies have been inclined towards the working aspects of teachers’ lives. Rather than following the predominant model in the research literature, this study focused on teachers’ lives in the broader sense exploring the life tensions faced by teachers of English language in Vietnamese primary schools. Drawing on narrative inquiry as a research approach, data were collected from interviews conducted with six participating teachers. The findings indicated that the participants, similar to the majority of Vietnamese teachers, were involved in struggles over living conditions. As a result of the low pay they received for their teaching jobs, they engaged in private tutoring to bolster their income to adequately support themselves and their family. As language teachers, the participants used the English language for access to other cultures but they lived under pressures caused by cultural differences. Along with depicting the lives of Vietnamese teachers, the study offers suggestions to education leaders and educational researchers on how the situation might be alleviated.     

Angry Anglos and aspirational Asians: everyday multiculturalism in the selective school system in Sydney

ABSTRACT

‘Asian whiz kids’ perfect test scores.’ ‘Selective schools and tiger parents.’ These types of headlines highlight the increased visibility of academically successful students from Asian migrant backgrounds, in Australia and other Western countries. They also point to anxiety about the perceived aggressive ‘tiger’ parenting often associated with Asian academic success. This paper focuses on the forms of everyday multiculturalism found in and around high-performing selective schools and classes in Sydney, Australia, almost all of which are dominated by Asian-Australian students. Drawing on interviews with parents and students from Anglo- and Asian-Australian backgrounds, it documents the different positionalities adopted by participants within these culturally diverse settings, including anger, aspiration and cosmopolitanism. This potentially volatile combination of approaches to diversity reveals some of the social consequences of neoliberal migration and education policies.     

Teaching and learning in rural Mexico: a portrait of student responsibility in everyday school life

In this study, we examined on the sociocultural environment and personal experiences of children from a rural Mexican escuela unitaria (one-room, one-teacher school), because many of our immigrant children come to the US from rural Mexican communities. We present a portrait of everyday school life in which students assume responsibility: (a) for oneself, (b) to classmates, (c) for making decisions related to curriculum, and (d) to family and community. The findings have implications for challenging teacher beliefs about culturally diverse students and for supporting educational professionals in developing more culturally responsive teaching.     

学校场域中的"规则"打造--一种社会学视角

在对教育生活实践的关注中 ,人们常常会忽略一些重要的教育现象 ,这些现象看似与教学本身有所游离 ,但实则却关系密切。甚至 ,对这些教育现象的关注 ,可能导致对某些教育理念与教育行为的颠覆。文章以其独特的社会学视角 ,试图关注与阐释的是 ,学生在开始置于学校场域的“此时此刻”,场域以及场域中的人如何借助分班技术、学号编码、仪式活动以及办公室与教室的双重领域打造入“场”规则 ,并且在这种打造中如何制造出诸多弱势群体的问题     

学校制度的规约与教师专业发展

在现代管理理论的指导下，学校组织管理基本上以马克斯·韦伯的科层制管理为主导形态，学校的规章制度也表现出规约的特征。适度的规约是必要的，而过度的规约就会导致教师劳动的异化与精神的枯竭。现代学校制度的建设必须从规约与后顾的管理模式转到前瞻与促进的方向上来。通过制度的完善培养民主、自由、主动、进取的学校教师文化，达到促进教师专业发展的目的     

中小学生实践学习的基本特征、教育价值及其辅导原则

长期以来 ,中小学生实践学习成为学习研究的空场。这与实施素质教育 ,进入学习化社会不适 ,必须把握中小学生实践学习的基本特征 ,重视实践学习的教育价值 ,坚持实践学习的辅导原则 ,引导中小学生走实践学习与书本学习结合并重之路。     

行政诉讼中高等学校校规校纪的法律适用问题分析

高校校规校纪虽不是正式的法律渊源,但可以在不违反上位法的精神的条件下作为行政诉讼审理的依据。高等学校校规校纪合法性应从有无授权、遵守规范化制定程序、不违背强制性规定以及不增加义务不扩大权力四方面判定。     

The Teacher and the Computer: a case study of the everyday issues in one primary school

The use of computers in primary schools is developing rapidly and the need for study of the effects has become necessary. In this paper the reactions and experiences of teachers are explored by an information technology (IT) co‐ordinator in one primary school (North‐gate). Issues surrounding the technicalities, the curriculum, and organisation and management are discussed. These issues are subject to varying pressures from new initiatives (i.e. new computers, governmental curriculum directives etc.) but some established patterns are questioned. Reference is made to the directions which Northgate may take in its development and to possible future research avenues based on the evidence.     

Metacognitive learning strategies: differential development patterns in high school

The main objective of this study is to identify the development of students’ self-reported use of metacognitive learning strategies during high school. Therefore, the study analyses the differential development patterns of 1,432 students, between grade 10 and 12, in a longitudinal sample. The results suggest that, from a global perspective, there is no development of students’ self-reported use of metacognitive learning strategies during high school. The expected gender-specific differences in favour of female students are replicated in this sample. However, the self-reported use of monitoring and evaluation strategies tends to converge between genders during high school, whereas the differences in the self-reported use of planning strategies remain stable. The consequences for the understanding of metacognitive development are discussed.     

A model for enhancing social communication and interaction in everyday activities for primary school children with ASD

Children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder may find the social aspects of learning particularly challenging because of the traits of diffculty with social communication and interaction. This paper evaluates the impact of an interactive model designed to support social communication and interaction for twelve students with ASD, who attend three international primary schools in Hong Kong. Using an exploratory mixed‐methods approach, the study investigates the children's participation and engagement when a Social Communication and Interaction model is in operation. The model is built around the concept of mediation and the use of tools, which were intended to encourage children with ASD to be engaged in high‐level participation activities. Attention is drawn towards the children's growth of self‐confidence, a reduction of adult support and the children's increased participation with others in the activity sessions.