Interactive groups for immigrant students: a factor for success in the path of immigrant students

Student’s learning is the result of a large number of interactions in all areas. Consequently, with an increasing number of intercultural students, we need to bring to the classrooms successful educational actions that enhance interactions and that have an impact on improving education. Based on the CONEXITO project, this article shows how interactive groups (IGs) have contributed to increase not only the educational success of native students but also the success of immigrant students in different schools of Spain, for which IGs have particular educational outcomes. The communicative qualitative data presents evidence that, especially focusing on them, IGs increase instrumental learning and facilitate the bonds of solidarity and mutual help.     

Reading and education for students of immigrant origin in some Swedish municipalities

Researchers from Mid Sweden University and Kalmar University organised surveys on reading skills in Swedish municipalities. This paper will focus on the surveys made in four municipalities between 2002 and 2007. All students in grade 8 in these four municipalities participated in the surveys--in total 16,287 students. These surveys included a reading test for the students and information about the students collected from the teachers, including participation in instruction in Swedish as a second language and in their mother tongues. Students of immigrant origin in Sweden are offered the possibility to participate in instruction in Swedish as a second language and in instruction in the student＇s mother tongue. No obvious trends over time in the participation in Swedish as a second language and mother tongue instruction were found in the four municipalities on the tests we gave, in spite of national trends. There was no difference in results on the reading tests in Swedish between those students who participated in mother tongue instruction and those who did not, but there was a difference in test results between those who participated in Swedish as a second language and those who did not. Those who did not participate （in Swedish as a second language instruction） did, on average, score higher on the test. When different language groups are compared, it can be noted that a majority in all groups of immigrant students neither participate in Swedish as a second language nor in mother tongue instruction. However, there are important differences between boys and girls and between language groups. Girls seemed to be more willing than boys to participate in voluntary mother tongue instruction, while boys more often than girls had to participate in compulsory lessons in Swedish as a second language.     

The decision to enter higher education: The case of polytechnic sociology students

This paper examines the decision to enter higher education by students who entered British polytechnic degree courses in sociology/social studies. It is concerned with the extent to which occupational considerations affect the decision to enter and with relating these findings to theories of occupational choice. The paper commences with an examination of three models of occupational choice and summarises the findings of studies that have focused on the entry into higher education and occupational decision-making. The results of our own study, based on questionnaire and interview data, indicate that occupational considerations are of limited importance in the decision to enter sociology/social studies courses at polytechnics. Rather our data favours a model emphasizing the role of socio-cultural background of home and school creating expectations for higher education. Data on past decisions which affect educational careers indicated that entry into higher education was seen in terms of an automatic process rather than a conscious decision made for particular goals. In our population there was, however, a small vocationally oriented group who differed from other students, in which females and those under 18 years of age were over-represented, and who were predominantly from two colleges which offered vocational training in their courses. Our results, we conclude, lend support to a fortuitous model of occupational choice in respect of the decision to enter higher education. Expectations derived from socio-cultural backgrounds of the students were more important in determining entry than conscious occupational goals.The research on which the paper is based is located in the Department of Social Science, Polytechnic of the South Bank, and supported by the Social Science Research Council.Work on this project has also been carried out by Dr I. C. Cannon and Ms. A. Scambler. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the Standing Conference of The Sociology of Further Education, London, June 1975.     

Scaffolding immigrant early childhood teacher education students toward the appropriation of pedagogical tools

Teacher educators and field placement supervisors in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) programs aid their students in learning a specific repertoire of tools and skills, including pedagogical tools they can mobilize in their future practice. However, these tools reify abstract notions about how to teach young children that are consistent with the values and beliefs of the specific community of practice or culture, and culturally diverse students may ascribe different meanings and uses to the tools. This one-year ethnographic study explored how 20 immigrant and refugee students constructed understandings of the authoritative discourse during their coursework and field placements in an urban ECTE college program in western Canada. Qualitative data were collected through field notes, spatial mapping, interviews, focus groups, and artifacts/documents. Framed by sociocultural-historical theory, this paper focuses on the scaffolding methods used by teacher educators and expert peers to assist students in appropriating children’s picture books and songs as tools to use during their field placement experiences. The most effective of these scaffolding strategies used mediational devices to evoke recollections of each student’s experiences “back home,” thus advancing possibilities for more culturally resonant teacher education classes.     

The magic mirror: an inquiry into the purposes of education

In the Spring of 2002, The SCRE Centre at the University of Glasgow was commissioned to conduct focus group research on behalf of the the Education, Culture, and Sport Committee at the Scottish Parliament. The study, which was conducted over a 3 month period, was intended to inform the Committee's inquiry into the purposes of education. Inquiries of this type are a common feature of the working practices of the Scottish Parliament. The aim of this particular one was to promote ‘an in‐depth discussion on key issues on the future direction of education’. The main theme of this paper is the dissonance between those who framed the inquiry and those who participated in the focus group study. The meanings of that dissonance are explored—as, briefly, are the conditions under which the research was conducted. The factors that contribute to mismatch in intention or meaning are also discussed. This study also comments on the continuing dominance of academic education in Scotland, and the consequences for those who see themselves as failures while subscribing to the centrality of education.     

Coping with high-achieving transnationalist immigrant students: The experience of Israeli teachers

Little attention has been paid to teacher attitudes toward high-achieving culturally diverse student groups. This in-depth study focuses on the experience of Israeli teachers who tell the story of a decade and a half of educational work with their highly motivated, academically successful immigrant students from the Former Soviet Union. The paper explores the differential effect of subject matter and seniority on teachers’ experience. It analyzes communication patterns between teachers and their high-achieving transnationalist immigrant students according to these parameters. Implications for the educational treatment of academic excellence among immigrant students in a globalized context are considered.     

Career education needs of students with exceptionalities: one state's case

A survey of 1,826 special education teachers and administrators from North Carolina was conducted to determine (a) the extent to which career education skills are actually being taught to children and youth with handicaps, and (b) the extent to which they need to be taught. Findings include: (a) teachers tended to perceive their schools' programs in career education at a higher level than did the administrators, yet teachers felt a greater need for additional instructional emphasis than did the administrators; (b) females' perceptions of their personal impact on students remain far behind those of males; and (c) neither inservice workshops nor college courses were the predominant way in which teachers acquired knowledge about career education.     

Special education students in the labour market: four case studies

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the employment status of 10 young men 10 years after leaving classes for the socially maladjusted. On the basis of their work careers, they were placed in one of 4 labour market sectors using the criteria (1) employed/unemployed at the time of the interview, and (2) history of long‐term/short‐term employment. Half of the young men were unemployed, 4 were working and 1 in prison. The large percentage of unemployed respondents was due to the exceptionally difficult economic situation prevailing in Finland at the time the interviews were carried out, as a result of which the national unemployment rate approached almost 20 per cent. Despite a lack of vocational education, all the young men but one had a positive attitude towards work, and those unemployed were actively seeking a job. There was almost no relation between the young men's school career and their work career, since those who had the longest‐lasting jobs were those young men who had had the most difficulties in school. When measured in terms of length of employment, the attachment of these young men to working life differed greatly: one had been for the entire postschool period (almost 10 years) in the service of the same employer, while another had had several jobs of a few months’ duration interspersed with periods of unemployment.     

Teacher education students using TPACK in science: a case study

Teacher education is in the grip of change. Due to the new Australian Curriculum, no longer is it possible to plan and implement lessons without considering the inclusion of Information and Communication Technologies. Simply knowing about the latest technology gadgets is not enough. Information literacy is essential in today’s information-rich learning and working environment. Students and teachers must be able to engage with diverse learning technologies efficiently and effectively in the search for the “right information” at the “right time” for the “right purpose”. Key information literacy and inquiry skills have been recognised as vital learning goals by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority and the International Society for Technology in Education and are thus critical in science teacher education. This paper examines the overlap of technology, pedagogy and science content in the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and its affordances for science educators, at the intersection between technology knowledge, science pedagogy (information literacy and inquiry) and science content knowledge. Following an introduction of the TPACK framework for science education, the paper reports the research findings, which illustrate that 90% of pre-service teachers thought the experimental unit improved their understanding of the inquiry process, 88% reported more confidence in their understanding of science concepts and 94% of students reported an increase in their knowledge and confidence of Web 2.0 tools in supporting scientific inquiry in science. The implications of this study are that the online inquiry improved students’ knowledge and confidence in the skills and processes associated with inquiry and in science concepts.     

Social purposes in search of higher education,or higher education in search of social purposes?

The paper begins by discussing the difficulties of formulating coherent social purposes, with particular attention to the relationship between social purposes and the “inner citadel” of higher education's intrinsic values. A detailed examination is then made of social purposes which have come to the fore in the transition from elite to mass higher education: equality and expansion, in which the importance of higher education as a political phenomenon is emphasised; “hard” vocationalism, the matching of educational content to the skills needed for effective job performance; continuing education (an issue linked to these two social purposes); “soft” vocationalism, which is concerned with abilities highly valued in job performance which are also highly valued in the well-educated person; moral development; and “higher education as society's powerhouse”. The paper concludes by suggesting that however much higher education is implicated in society, it may have to continue to exist in active tension with society if academic ideals are to be self-perpetuating.     

The fiscal consequences of foreign students in public higher education: a case study of California

An attempt is made to determine the size of California state taxpayer subventions to foreign students enrolled in public higher education. Aggregate subventions are estimated to be in the range of $36–55 million for the 1978 academic year. Subventions are likely to increase significantly by the end of the decade as colleges and universities enroll larger numbers of foreign students to compensate for the projected decline in domestic students. The possible economic rationale for such subventions is discussed, and policy options are presented and evaluated.     

The education of new Chinese immigrant children in Hong Kong: challenges and opportunities

In describing the current status of the education of new Chinese immigrant children (NCIC) in Hong Kong and to provide data useful for designing new policies, this article highlights the region's rise of new Chinese immigrants and the characteristics of the NCIC. Challenges to improve access to and equity in education in Hong Kong, overall quality of education for the NCIC and future possibilities are discussed. Implications from other countries are also included.     

Helping students become better learners: a case study in teacher education

The aim of this project is to increase teacher education students' understanding of the learning process by focussing on their own learning experiences. 67 preservice teacher education students in 4 classes completed measures of academic locus of control and study processes before and after a semester course in a specially designed programme in Educational Psychology. The programme focuses on students taking greater responsibility for their own learning by exposing them to a variety of learning experiences. These experiences include negotiation of the curriculum, peer discussion and teaching, learning contracts, self, peer and collaborative assessment and critical reflection on these and other learning experiences by means of an ongoing learning log.Results indicate an increase in academic locus of control for one class, and an increase in deep motive, achieving strategy, deep approach and deep achieving approach to learning for the whole group. These outcomes are discussed in terms of the congruence between these changes and the particular learning experiences to which the students were exposed.     

Bilingual-bicultural education of immigrant children in Sweden

Current research emphasizes the importance of the mother tongue in second language teaching. This paper describes a longitudinal project which studies 4 groups of Finnish children in Malmö, Sweden, who are receiving a bilingual education starting from the pre-school.

---

Zusammenfassung Die zeitgenössische Forschung betont die Rolle der Muttersprache beim Zweitsprachenerwerb. Dieser Artikel beschreibt eine Längsschnittstudie an vier Gruppen von finnischen Kindern in Malmö, Schweden, die eine zweisprachige Erziehung von der Vorschule an erhalten.

---

Résumé Les recherches courantes soulignent l'importance de la langue maternelle dans l'enseignement de la langue seconde. Cet article décrit un projet longitudinal examinant quatre groupes d'enfants finlandais recevant à Malmö, Suède, un einseignement bilingue qui commence dans l'école maternelle.

     

浅谈大学生的生命教育

近年来,大学生自杀事件屡见不鲜,这也反映了大学生对自身生命的漠视。同时,随着"马加爵"案件、复旦大学研究生投毒案件的爆发,大学生对他人生命的不成熟对待现象也逐渐引起了社会广泛关注。所以在高校内进行科学、合理的生命教育不仅对大学生自身的生命观的有着重要意义,也对大学校园内所有大学生的生命安全意义重大。     

Unintended effects of the language policy on the transition of immigrant students to upper secondary education in Catalonia

This article analyses the effects of the language policy in Catalonia on the transition of immigrant students to upper secondary education in Barcelona by focusing on the language learning experiences and academic trajectories of two case-studies of Pakistani students whose communicative resources remain invisible despite the official celebration of linguistic diversity and which are not properly fostered to ensure their successful incorporation into post-compulsory education, despite their initial success and high aspirations. Although indicators of educational inequality show how young people born outside the EU experience an alarming disadvantage in comparison to their Spanish-born peers, little attention has been paid to factors related to the complex bilingual context of Catalonia. This article aims to shed light on the factors involved in the early school leaving of students from immigrant backgrounds, especially critical in the periods of transition, and the role played by the language policies, beliefs and ideology that they are exposed to.