What Happens After the Law is Passed? Marketing to Parent Demands in a Canadian Francophone School

ABSTRACT

Language rights embedded in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Department of Justice, 1982) and implemented in the provincial education system have allowed parents to choose French language schools over their English alternative. But creation established by law does not fully protect the continuation of such a school. The image that it presents to its school community and the wider community within which it sits is equally important because it establishes economic, as well as legal, viability. This paper addresses the marketing that a legally mandated minority-language school in Canada developed in order to foster survival in its own particular cultural and educational community. The relationship between school, parents and public at large is analyzed to illustrate the balance that the school maintained between inclusive-ness and exclusivity. Document analysis, interviews and observation, as part of a larger case study, revealed the creation of an image that addressed several different parent stakeholder groups simultaneously. This paper reports the explicit and implicit messages that a school sends its community, while it adapts to suit client needs in a legal environment of growing school choice. doi:10.1300/J467v01n03_10     

When the “Other” Is the Teacher: Implications of Teacher Diversity in Higher Education

The Urban Review - Using qualitative methods, I explore these questions: What is it like for women of color to teach in predominantly white universities? What happens in the classroom of a...     

What is behind the decline in student achievement in Australia?

Australian school student achievement in reading and mathematical literacy has fallen in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) collection since 2000. This study finds that these declines were widespread in the student population, affecting both males and females. However, the decline in reading literacy occurred throughout much of the achievement distribution, while the decline in mathematical literacy was more pronounced at the top of the distribution (there were fewer high performing students in 2009 compared with 2003). Declines in both literacy domains were apparent across the entire distribution of schools, however, the falls in school performance were more apparent in private schools than in the government-run school systems in Australia. The declines were not associated with many other characteristics of schools, including many factors that might have been thought to be associated with school performance.     

What is the Effect of Case-Based Learning on the Academic Achievement of Students on the Topic of “Biochemical Oxygen Demand?”

Research in Science Education - The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the case-based learning (CBL) method used in “biochemical oxygen demand (BOD),” which is a...     

What is “Soap opera”?

"Soap opera"有一个很形象的中文名字,即"肥皂剧"。Soap opera是一种"以家庭问题为题材的广播节目或电视连续剧",以家庭妇女为主要观众,以家庭日用品商家为赞助商,以普通家庭的生活环境为舞台。     

“Are There Other Kids Like Me?” Children With a Parent in Prison

The number of children who experience parental incarceration continues to rise with the United States. In 1999, an estimated 1.5 million minor children had a parent in a United States prison. One-fifth of these children are under 5 years of age (Mumola, Incarcerated parents and their children, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, 2000). A brief overview of some of the issues associated with parental incarceration is presented. The inclusion of books about having a parent in prison in the classroom is discussed as one method of supporting children and families.     

IT in the Language Classroom: What is the Teacher's Role?

This paper concerns the role of the language teacher in classroom lessons that involve the use of IT-an issue in CALL which has had little attention in the literature. The three main actors in classroom-based language learn     

What is Intended,What is Realized,and What is Learned? Teaching and Learning Biology in the Primary School Classroom

Within the framework of variation theory, 7- to 12-year-old students’ ways of understanding cellular respiration and photosynthesis were investigated against the background of their teachers’ teaching. Eighteen students were selected by the teachers and interviewed by the researcher. Lessons were observed and video recorded, and stimulated-recall interviews with the teachers were conducted. The students’ understanding of the function of oxygen and sugar in plants was described in four categories. The study concludes that young students can develop complex understanding if opportunities to learn are presented. The opportunities depended mainly on the language used by the teachers, such as metaphors, pointing out critical aspects of the object of learning. The study has implications for the relationship between teachers’ competence and students’ learning.     

What is successful adaptation of lesson study in the US?

This paper features a case study of one US K-8 school district pioneering the use of “lesson study,” a teacher professional development approach adapted from Japan. The case explores events that occurred in the district over more than 4 years (Spring 2000–Fall 2004) as lesson study spread nationally and within the district. We document four categories of changes that occurred in the district’s lesson study approach, and describe some of the early consequences of these changes as well as conditions that enabled the changes to occur. We argue that this case illustrates much of what we would hope to see in a maturing lesson study effort, and conclude that other US sites may need to go through similar changes, organize similar supports, and persist in their learning about lesson study to successfully adapt this model to their local contexts.     

What is GoodTechnical Communication? A Comparison of the Standards of Writing and Engineering Instructors

This article presents the results of an empirical study comparing writing and engineering instructors' responses to students' technical writing. The study, which identifies a repertoire of 21 categories of response, indicates that the gap between engineering and writing teachers' standards for evaluating technical writing is not as wide as is generally assumed. The differences that do emerge suggest ways that the teachers can learn from each other.     

What is “Real-World” ID Anyway?

The term “real-world ID” is commonly heard at professional conferences, but its meaning is assumed rather than defined. Unless we examine the meanings and implications of rhetoric of the field, we risk error in presenting ourselves, and we risk derailing the progress of our profession. This article examines the term “real world” as applied to instructional design, from published articles to anecdotes, and considers its meanings, assumptions, inferences and implications. Both the full term and its truncated variations are used to signal two dichotomies: 1) more and less authentic professional design practice, and 2) a contrast between design instruction and design practice. Both uses range across process, products and contexts. The scholarly literature and curricular evidence demonstrate that instruction in ID is more often authentic than artificial. Evidence from ID practice demonstrates its tremendous diversity and range, and underscores that there is no generic version of design justifying this popular stereotype. As IDT scholars and professionals, we have a responsibility to communicate with precision and to challenge overgeneralization that contributes to misconception and division in the field.     

What Happens When a Teacher’s Science Belief Structure Is in Disequilibrium? Entangled Nature of Beliefs and Practice

Research in Science Education - This qualitative case study examined the process of change in an experienced elementary teacher’s belief structure during implementation of an inquiry-based...     

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Decreasing interest in Science among students, confirmed by several investigations, calls for the need to revise the contents of the curricula for Science subjects, including Biology. Modern Biology curricula should not only contain key biological concepts but also provide a teacher with sufficient space to develop students’ competencies of scientific work and positive attitudes to Science. When preparing the curriculum, it is necessary to consider also students’ interest in selected curriculum topics and their benefit for everyday life. The objective of our research was to identify whether the performed transformation of the Biology curriculum for elementary schools increased the students’ interest in Biology and the contents thereof. We were also investigating students’ preferences in their interest in Biology topics and their interest in selected teaching methods and approaches. Our research confirmed the positive interest in Biology among majority of students who prefer direct, active participation in the process of knowledge acquisition through the study and exploration of living organisms as well as by the execution and assessment of practicals and experiments.     

Private secondary schools in Indonesia: What is driving the demand?

Despite recent evidence that students in public schools significantly outperform their private school counterparts, private schooling continues to account for approximately 40% of secondary school enrolments in Indonesia. In an effort to explain this sustained demand, we combine analyses of PISA data with in-country interviews and school visits. Ultimately, we find that although government dependent private schools are underfunded with a high proportion of uncertified, underpaid teachers (with limited access to training and professional development), demand remains high due to their focus on religious training and education, as well as their ability to increase educational access for low-income families.