Editorial

Abstract

The availability of adequate knowledge is an important prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable forms of agriculture. It will be shown that the nature of the knowledge necessary for this differs from that which forms the basis for conventional agricultural practices. The generation of such knowledge requires other forms of research and extension than those that are currently widespread. It is now necessary, more than ever before, to direct efforts towards the organisation and support of joint learning processes aimed at the development of new technologies (and accompanying social‐organisational arrangements) at local level. While the first part of this article outlines some basic methodological elements that may be relevant in this respect, the second part addresses the question of whether changes occurring in the Dutch agricultural knowledge network are helpful in bringing about the required forms of experiential learning and interactive technology development at local level. It is argued that market‐oriented knowledge policies in agriculture (e.g. in the form of privatisation of research and extension institutions and ‘output‐financing') pose a number of threats to this. It is suggested that the idea of a ‘knowledge market’ is logically connected to outdated forms of linear thinking with regard to the source of innovation processes. In relation to this, a number of aspects causing friction are identified in the co‐operation between fanners, extensionists and researchers. With reference to insights from (institutional) economics, it is concluded that other institutional arrangements than markets are probably more suitable when the aim is to support experiential learning and interactive design towards sustainable agriculture. In such processes, applied knowledge and information cannot be treated as marketable ‘end‐products’, but are better regarded as ‘building‐blocks’ that need to be re‐arranged and re‐shaped through numerous creative ‘transactions’ and exchanges. If all of these transactions have to be paid for, innovation is unlikely to emerge.     

Catastrophe,commemoration and education: On the concept of memory pedagogy

Abstract

Dealing with memories of catastrophes is undoubtedly important for education. Yet, how is such an education possible? On which theoretical basis can we describe it? In this article, I build a bridge between ‘Memory Studies’ and educational studies with regard to the topic of ‘catastrophe’ and thus present a provisional general theory of education, such as ‘Memory Pedagogy’ in analogy to ‘Memory Studies’. After describing the category ‘catastrophe’, I outline the basic differentiation between ‘communicative memory’ and ‘cultural memory’ in the field of Memory Studies. I will demonstrate how this basic differentiation can be connected to education through the concept of ‘Bildung’ in German philosophy. On the basis of these preliminary remarks, I highlight the potential of Memory Pedagogy by interpreting a case of catastrophe education, the project ‘Picture of Atomic Bomb’ (PAB). Based on the analysis of the PAB project, I insist that functions as a generator of communicative memory concerning catastrophes through education. Additionally, I point out that the transition from communicative memory (kommunikatives Gedächtnis) to cultural memory (kulturelles Gedächtnis) in the meaning of Jan and Aleida Asmann can also be observed in the PAB project.     

Learning ‘Peace Talk’ in Northern Ireland: Peer Mediation and Some Conceptual Issues Concerning Experiential Social Education

Experiential learning is often seen as a central component of social education and pastoral programmes such as peer mediation; but the precise nature of experience as an educational, social and pedagogic/cultural process in schools is complex. This paper uses the notion of experiential learning to explore the impact of a peer mediation programme in a transforming integrated school in Northern Ireland. The programme was intended to mainstream the involvement of pupils in the process of creating a more integrated school ethos and was implemented by youth workers working as members of the school staff.

The paper begins with a review of the theoretical basis of experience as educational. This is followed by an interpretative review of the results of a survey of pupils' attitudes to peer mediation and semi-structured interviews with pupils and school and project staff about their perception of the impact of the programme on ideas of social learning. One issue is the extent to which developing pupils' capacity for interactive dialogue can be seen as an experiential process, like learning a foreign language – hence ‘peace talk’. Another is the process by which the perception of peer mediation training as ‘experiential’ constituted an enabling ‘pedagogic discourse’ which legitimized the programme for teachers and affirmed its beneficial impact on pupils.     

Global-local divides and ontological politics: feminist STS perspectives on mobile learning for community health workers in Kenya

ABSTRACT

This theoretical paper argues that Feminist Science and Technology Studies (FSTS) can help advance the emancipatory project in critical Ed Tech research. To support this claim, we deploy Tsing’s concept of ‘scale-making projects’ (2005. Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press) to connect ‘global’ narratives to ‘local’ users in a mobile learning project for Kenyan health workers. Drawing from this exemplar case, we discuss more broadly how FSTS provides useful theory and methods for tracing the trans-national power relations of digital technologies ‘on the ground’. The paper concludes by advocating for new forms of emancipatory Ed Tech research – ones framed not only within oppositional pairings such as ‘global’ versus ‘local’, but which elucidate how binaries themselves are constituted through far-flung trans-national arrays of sociomaterial practice.     

Competition,innovation and diversity in higher education: dominant discourses,paradoxes and resistance

Abstract

This article explores the powerful yet contradictory role of neoliberalism, its competitive mechanisms and emotional logics. Theoretically, it reviews the shifting state-higher education-market nexus through the lens of a critical cultural political economy paradigm. Conceptually, it closely examines Davies’ work on the ‘logic of competition’ (2014) and Naidoo’s idea of ‘competition fetish’ (2011, 2015, 2018) to expose the material and discursive dispositifs through which nation-states, institutions and individual actors mobilize universities to position themselves in the global knowledge economy. The discussion is informed and supported by empirical evidence drawn from a doctoral project (2013–2014). The article aims to contribute to the extant critique of (higher) education by introducing the paradox of ‘polarized convergence’ as an instance of differentiation without diversity in the contemporary English university. Such paradox urges the re-visitation and broadening of the idea and practice of the entrepreneurial university to reinvigorate the link between competition, innovation and diversity.     

Planning and Developing an Interactive Computerised Tutorial for Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

This paper describes how a researcher‐lecturer in higher education attempted to identify, in her course, the constraints within which the teaching was required to operate. To better understand this particular problem area in her professional practice, it was necessary to take the student voice seriously and to suggest a possible solution to the problem.

It appeared that the ‘Information Technology’ module on a specific postgraduate course was particularly unattractive to the postgraduate students required to take it. The solution proposed was to develop and introduce into the module a form of innovation in course development, namely a Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) tool entitled ‘Interactive Computerised Information Technology Tutor’ (ICITT). The research process leading to the planning, development and introduction of the ICITT is the initial focus of this paper. The ICITT itself is then described in some detail in the latter part of the work.     

The Interactive Science and Technology Project: the Nuffield Foundation's Launchpad for a European Collaborative

The development of interactive science and technology centres in the UK, catalysed by the example of successful North American science centres, is also a reflection of increasing British concern for public understanding of science.

In 1986, the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science was established jointly by the Royal Society, the Royal Institution and the British Association, as a focus for initiatives to improve public awareness of science and technology. The COPUS ‘Interactive Science and Technology Centres’ working group linked COPUS's own programmes with the co‐ordination and promotion activities developed by the Nuffield Foundation's interactive science and technology project.

Launched in 1987, the Nuffield project served as a resource for the science centres and, building a strong network of contacts stretching from the BBC and British Association to science centres worldwide, itself served as a launchpad for ECSITE‐the European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibitions.     

Opening classroom interaction: the importance of feedback

Efforts to encourage ‘interactive practice’ in the National Literacy (NLS) and Numeracy (NNS) Strategies in the UK, have led to an emphasis on teacher questions. Recent research into classroom interactions, however, indicate that the pattern of interaction remains largely unchanged since the introduction of these strategies in terms of the type and amount of questions teachers are asking, and the opportunities for extended pupil participation. This article uses evidence gathered from a large‐scale research project examining classroom interactions during literacy and numeracy lessons, and the researchers' critical reflections upon this process, to examine conceptions of interactive pedagogy. It is argued that in order to ‘open’ classroom interaction, emphasis should be less on the questions teachers ask, and more on the manner with which teachers react to pupils' responses to questions. Episodes of classroom interaction from video recorded literacy and numeracy lessons taken as part of the study are used to support this argument. They present evidence of teacher behaviours in reaction to pupils' responses which succeed in facilitating a more interactive learning environment. The implication that such behaviour will contribute towards a model of effective interactive practice is also discussed.     

Changing Play – writing,researching and learning in an early years arts project

ABSTRACT

‘Changing Play’ is an ongoing project initiated by education curators from the Serpentine, a prestigious London art gallery, working with the Portman children’s centre nursery. Viewed by curators as a collaboration between artist, children’s centre staff and parents, and the gallery, Changing Play combines art and action research, and expands the boundaries of the gallery. In the words of one of the education curators, ‘the project is about social change’. It is not for the gallery curators to develop proposals but to ‘co-develop work’. Ethnographic evidence employing narrative, visual arts informed analysis is being used by the gallery to report to funders, inform iterative planning and inform future directions. The paper focuses on methodological questions on ways in which ethnographers might meet artistic projects both during and after being in the ‘field’. It takes the form of a ‘loose parts’ montage which reflects the ways in which the art project was conducted.     

Collective Experimentation: Lessons from the Field

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to document smallholder experiences during a participatory experimental initiative and draw useful lessons for field practitioners. The main methods used to collect data were participant observation, in-depth interviews among 40 farmers, and analyses of notes taken during participatory monitoring and evaluation. These farmers were regular participants in four collective trials—designed by scientists, managed by smallholders—that were run for over five years in western Kenya. This paper shows that scientific trial designs enhanced ‘conviction’ among smallholders in new technologies that were being experimented. The study further reveals that (1) collective trials must last long enough for interactive learning to effectively occur, (2) farmers’ selected aspects of experiments and did not generally treat the whole trial as one concept, (3) field trials were forms of evidence of research or project activity, and (4) trials were seen as like ‘churches’ and multipurpose congregating sites, especially because these collective experiments had roots in local traditions.

The practical implication is that because interactive trials are social events, like other learning platforms, they must be appropriately situated within local contexts to enhance their relevance. This paper also shows that experiments are only a first step in learning, which needs to be supported by in-depth research and support for smallholder experiments. Collaborative experimentation is an effective tool for improving smallholder knowledge. Experimentation is a hands-on tool; it strengthens interactive learning, enhances understanding of a concept and improves ownership of the process or research among farmers. However, longer-term collective experiments develop a strong underlying human dimension. Understanding the social dynamics that influence the value of collective experimentation is critical for the process of scaling out.     

Humanising as innovation in a cold climate of [so-called-evidence-based] teacher education

ABSTRACT

This article argues for the humanisation of research evidence through narrative as an urgent project in teacher education and development. Narrative has the potential to make a significant contribution to a critical re-definition of both evidence and innovation in teacher education. But this argument is not a call for a user-friendly (re)packaging of research evidence, so that ‘what works’ can be diffused throughout the profession. Globally, such efficiency and productivity approaches have merely sedimented established inequities and injustices. By humanising, the paper promotes a recognition that research evidence of value, is steeped in rich provenance, being both borne out of, and brought to bear in, complex and diverse contexts that are mediated by, and impact upon, the unpredictable yet meaningful activities of humans. It is argued that using evidence effectively is predicated on intelligent judgment and interpretation in and on action, processes that require moral deliberation as well as pedagogical and technical innovation. The central role of narrative in this endeavour is explored critically.     

Teacher use of the interactive whiteboard in primary schools: towards an effective transition framework

abstract

The growing use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) in primary school teaching forms part of a number of initiatives within the schools of the United Kingdom to develop the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. The IWB presents both challenges and opportunities to teachers, particularly in terms of staff development and training. This study uses classroom observation and semi-structured interviews with teachers now working in a recently built, technology-rich primary school to develop a generic progressive framework and developmental model for schools introducing the IWB. This framework can be used to assess and guide teacher progress on the continuum towards becoming a ‘synergistic user’. As teachers make this transition there is a fundamental requirement to adopt an interactive teaching style, alongside the gradual development of specific ICT skills. The study also examines implications for teacher education and training for schools, both prior and subsequent to the introduction of the IWB into classroom use. These include specific technical and pedagogical competencies which need to be addressed for effective interactive use of the IWB in classroom teaching     

The problem of large classes in science: An experiment in co‐operative learning

After reviewing the uses made of concept maps in research, as an aid to instruction and as a form of assessment, the problems of scoring maps objectively are discussed. Maps created de novo by 15‐16 year‐old pupils, before and after their introduction to Mendelian genetics, are used to investigate the properties of a scoring system based on that developed by Novak et al. (1983). The maps have been scored separately for a number of features ('branching’, ‘general to specific’, ‘closed units’, ‘terminology’, ‘relationships’ and ‘ hierarchy ‘) and compared with performance on genetics examination‐type questions. The components are not all independent, and do not have strong relationships with performance. The limitations of analytic methods of scoring concept maps are discussed.     

Provoking contingent moments: Knowledge for ‘powerful teaching’ at the horizon

Background: Teacher knowledge continues to be a topic of debate in Australasia and in other parts of the world. There have been many attempts by mathematics educators and researchers to define the knowledge needed by teachers to teach mathematics effectively. A plethora of terms, such as mathematical content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, horizon content knowledge and specialised content knowledge, have been used to describe aspects of such knowledge.

Purpose: This paper proposes a model for teacher knowledge in mathematics that embraces and develops aspects of earlier models. It focuses on the notions of contingent knowledge and the connectedness of ‘big ideas’ of mathematics to enact what is described as ‘powerful teaching’. It involves the teacher’s ability to set up and provoke contingent moments to extend children’s mathematical horizons. The model proposed here considers the various cognitive and affective components and domains that teachers may require to enact ‘powerful teaching’. The intention is to validate the proposed model empirically during a future stage of research.

Sources of evidence: Contingency is described in Rowland’s Knowledge Quartet as the ability to respond to children’s questions, misconceptions and actions and to be able to deviate from a teaching plan as needed. The notion of ‘horizon content knowledge’ (Ball et al.) is a key aspect of the proposed model and has provoked a discussion in this article about students’ mathematical horizons and what these might comprise. Together with a deep mathematical content knowledge and a sensibility for students and their mathematical horizons, these ideas form the foundations of the proposed model.

Main argument: It follows that a deeper level of knowledge might enable a teacher to respond better and to plan and anticipate contingent moments. By taking this further and considering teacher knowledge as ‘dynamic’, this paper suggests that instead of responding to contingent events, ‘powerful teaching’ is about provoking contingent events. This necessarily requires a broad, connected content knowledge based on ‘big mathematical ideas’, a sound knowledge of pedagogies and an understanding of common misconceptions in order to be able to engineer contingent moments.

Conclusions: In order to place genuine problem-solving at the heart of learning, this paper argues for the idea of planning for contingent events, provoking them and ‘setting them up’. The proposed model attempts to represent that process. It is anticipated that the new model will become the framework for an empirical research project, as it undergoes a validation process involving a sample of primary teachers.     

Life skills for ‘real life’: How critical thinking is contextualised across vocational programmes

Background: This article presents an analysis of how critical thinking is contextualised in everyday teaching in three vocational education and training (VET) programmes: Vehicle and transport, Restaurant and management, and Health and social care.

Purpose: The main question addressed is: What knowledge discourses permeate different VET-contexts, and hence what kinds of opportunities for critical thinking do they offer students?

Method: The qualitative analysis draws on data from a four-year ethnographic project exploring learning processes that can be characterised as civic education in Swedish vocational education. The analysis presented here used data collected during 85 days of observations of teaching in six VET classes, interviews with 81 students and 10 teachers, and collected teaching material. To explore why some contextualisations provided more opportunities and encouragement for critical thinking than others, we applied Bernsteinian concepts of ‘horizontal and vertical knowledge discourses’ and ‘discursive gaps’.

Findings and conclusions: Overall, teaching that was observed focused primarily on ‘doing’. However, in all three programmes, the analysis identified that there were also situations that touched upon critical thinking. Three major themes were identified: critical thinking related to ‘Personal experiences’, ‘The other(s)’ and ‘Wider perspectives’. It appeared that the frequency and nature of such situations varied with the knowledge discourses permeating the programme. Furthermore, we discuss the manifestations of critical thinking in relation to the wider context of what Bernstein refers to as pedagogic rights; individual enhancement, social inclusion and development of the competence and confidence to participate in political processes.     

Examining interactive whiteboard-based instruction on the academic self-efficacy,academic press and achievement of college students*

Abstract

The study reported here examined college students’ academic self-efficacy, ‘academic press’ and learning achievement, as well as the association between these three variables within learning contexts using interactive whiteboard-based instruction. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a sample (n = 103) of first-year college students in China. Participants were taught English by either an interactive whiteboard-based or traditional lecture-based instructional approach for three months. The results showed that the interactive whiteboard-based instructional intervention cultivated higher levels of academic press and academic self-efficacy among students and a significant, positive correlation was identified between these two variables. Students’ learning achievement was not affected by the instructional intervention. These results indicate that interactive whiteboard-based instruction offers some distinct benefits. In future work, additional research is needed to clarify how the instructional model relates to understanding learning achievement.     

‘Embodied knowing’: exploring the founding of the Melbourne Rudolf Steiner school in 1970s Victoria,Australia

ABSTRACT

Education in Victoria, Australia not only underwent significant change in the 1970s, but was witness to a widespread educational reform project. Whilst exploration of the more widespread alternatives has been of some interest, the smaller progressive traditions that emerged in some ways ‘alongside’ the broader reforms have rarely been examined in any detail. This article explores the founding of the Melbourne Rudolf Steiner School (MRSS) in the 1970s, the first of its kind in Victoria, and the third such school nationally. Analysis is based primarily on interviews with educators directly involved. L.A. Reid’s notion of education as an ‘aesthetic’ object is drawn on to examine the collective experiences of the founders of the MRSS, and the particular expression they gave to Steiner’s educational ideas.     

Empowering immigrant women through bilingual fairy tales: linking family and school literacy practices / Empoderar mujeres inmigrantes a través de los cuentos bilingües: trazando puentes entre las prácticas de alfabetización en la familia y la escuela

Abstract

This paper presents the theoretical and methodological foundations of the Teixint Cultures ‘Weaving Cultures Together’ project: a communitarian research-action programme aimed at providing literacy skills in Catalan for African immigrant women, which uses their ‘Funds of Knowledge’ to develop bilingual books in Catalan, Arabic and Mandinka for their children. The results show the benefits of implementing projects that promote literacy activities at home as well as the empowerment of immigrant women.