Expansion of special education and promotion of inclusive education in China: conflict or cooperation? Stakeholders' views

A key objective of inclusive education is to provide learners with special educational needs with an environment that fosters a sense of belonging. They lose the sense of belonging when they feel being separated from the rest of society. Segregation is, however, a logically necessary method and means of the pursuit of inclusion. The focus of this study was to uncover the experiences and views of Chinese stakeholders regarding the possible conflict between expansion of special education (i.e., segregation, exclusion) and promotion of inclusive education (i.e., inclusion, mainstreaming). We conducted in-depth interviews with nine academics, administrators, and practitioners to better understand the possible impact of inclusive education on regular education. The main finding is that special education can be provided in four forms which the participants argued is an advantage to meet the needs of all learners. They argued that giving home education for learners with high severity, attending special education schools and mainstreaming schools are rehabilitation methods to prepare learners for full integration should they prove successful. The study contributes to a broader understanding of how special education is provided in China and its potential effects on regular education (e.g., challenges in teacher preparation, lack of resources).     

Existence of solutions for nonlinear fractional q-difference integral equations with two fractional orders and nonlocal four-point boundary conditions

We investigate the existence of solutions for a nonlinear fractional q-difference integral equation (q-variant of the Langevin equation) with two different fractional orders and nonlocal four-point boundary conditions. Our results are based on some classical fixed point theorems. An illustrative example is also presented.     

A new pedagogical design for geo-informatics courses using an e-training support system

The current study seeks to introduce a new pedagogical design for geo-informatics courses using an e-training support system. Laurillard’s conversational approach based on conceptual representation for both instructor and learner was used to form the framework. As the current study specifically interested in training as a special form for learning, so, we sought methods and strategies to integrate requirements of both company and employee into the design of training programs. Therefore, a competency perspective was adopted into the conversational framework to use learning design that leads to learning activities tightly related to the needs of the company and employee. The above framework has been developed with special consideration to the underpinning pedagogical principles and the needs of lifelong learning that continues after the training has been completed. The implementation of the developed framework needs a special computerized system, so an e-training support system (ETSS) was developed to realize the framework. ETSS is an open source and standard-based infrastructure to enable and foster competence development and exchange of learning activities and learning units. Although the domain of the current study focuses on geo-informatics, ETSS is applicable to any other domain. The developed framework through its ETSS implementation were evaluated in a typical training environment. The results indicated that the best method in training was the training with the developed system with 91.5 % in comparison with the traditional training method with 81.4 %.     

Experienced EFL teachers’ professional practical knowledge,reasoning and classroom decision making in Egypt: views from the inside out

This study aimed to investigate the areas that constituted the professional practical knowledge of experienced English as a Foreign Language teachers in Egypt and how their knowledge informed their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 236 preparatory and secondary school teachers in 38 schools through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and stimulated recall following classroom observation. Six areas of knowledge were revealed and rationalized from the participants’ responses. In addition, the teachers made decisions while teaching informed by what they knew and viewed. The findings of the study call for a knowledge-based practical approach to teacher learning and professional development.     

养护制度对超高性能纤维增强水泥基复合材料微观结构及宏观性能的影响(英文)

研究了不同养护制度对超高性能纤维增强水泥基复合材料(UHPFRCC)微观结构和宏观性能的影响,并揭示了用不同的养护制度制备性能符合要求的超高性能纤维增强水泥基复合材料的可能性.制备了一种基准的UHPFRCC,研究了3种养护制度下UHPFRCC的力学性能及短期耐久性能.此外,通过结合运用电子扫描电镜(SEM)和压汞法(MIP),测试了3种养护制度下UHPFRCC的微观结果.研究结果揭示了不同的养护制度对UHPFRCC微观结构的影响以及微观结构对材料宏观性能的影响机制.热养护和蒸汽养护3d与标准养护90 d的UHPFRCC具有相近的力学性能和耐久性.但是,热养护的UHPFRCC具有相对较差的抗氯离子渗透性能.     

Ghana’s education reform 2007: A realistic proposition or a crisis of vision?

Ghana’s recent “Education Reform 2007” envisions a system that strives to achieve both domestic and internationally-oriented goals emanating (1) from the Education for All (EFA) initiative, (2) from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and (3) from global trends in education. Emboldened by the implementation of foreign-donor-funded programmes such as EFA, the restructuring of the Ghana Education Sector Project (EdSeP) and the Science Resource Centres (SRC) project, both the education reform of 2007 and recent educational policy debates have reiterated the need to emphasise the teaching of science and information and communication technology to make Ghana’s students/graduates more competitive in the global labour market. However, the bulk of Ghana’s economic activity actually remains domestic or unglobalised. And given a weak economy and declining social spending due to strict adherence to the prescribed structural adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), there is concern that a focus on international competitiveness may be a crisis of vision. On the basis of the Ghanaian government’s failure to meet the stated goals of previous reforms such as that of 1974, and the education system’s continuing dependence on foreign donor support, this paper argues that the goals of the new reform may be unachievable on a sustainable basis. It also argues that rather than subjugate national domestic priorities to a mirage of international credibility/competitiveness, Ghana should concentrate on capacitating her students/graduates to make maximum impact at domestic and local community levels.     

The Relation of Knowledge-Text Integration Processes and Reading Comprehension in 7th- to 12th-Grade Students

The integration of knowledge during reading was tested in 1,109 secondary school students. Reading times for the second sentence in a pair (Jane’s headache went away) were compared in conditions where the first sentence was either causally or temporally related to the first sentence (Jane took an aspirin vs. Jane looked for an aspirin). Mixed-effects explanatory item response models revealed that at higher comprehension levels, sentences were read more quickly in the causal condition. There were no condition-related reading time differences at lower comprehension levels. This interaction held with comprehension- and inference-related factors (working memory, word and world knowledge, and word reading efficiency) in the models. Less skilled comprehenders have difficulty in knowledge-text integration processes that facilitate sentence processing during reading.     

Why students leave engineering and built environment programmes when they are academically eligible to continue

The retention of students to graduation is a concern for most higher education institutions. This article seeks to understand why engineering and built environment students fail to continue their degree programmes despite being academically eligible to do so. The sample comprised 275 students registered between 2006 and 2011 in a faculty of engineering and the built environment, who were academically eligible to continue, but failed to register for their studies the following academic year. The sociological notions of structure and agency were used to make sense of the data. The findings suggest that some students had control over their decision to leave and some students’ decisions were dominated by various structural factors. The outcome of the study is helpful in terms of suggesting what actions can be taken in order reduce the number of students leaving in good academic standing.