Recognition and Realisation Rules in Acquiring School Science ‐‐ the contribution of pedagogy and social background of students

This study investigates the difficulties students encounter in problem solving in the area of sciences. Contrary to usual approaches of a fundamental psychological basis, the research takes into account the sociological processes of learning and transmission in both the family and the school. The aim of the study is to see the extent to which the students have recognition and realisation rules in the micro‐context of problem solving (specific coding orientation) and to find out the reasons which may underlie their difficulties. Thus the data obtained are related to social class, race and gender and also to pedagogic practices (differing in power and control relations) and school science achievement in high level cognitive competencies. They are also related to children's cognitive level. The results show a strong relation between social class and specific coding orientation to problem solving. The relation is also strong for race and weaker for gender. Specific coding orientation is also strongly related to cognitive development and science achievement. These relations differ for the variables according to realisation and recognition rules and their various indices. The study shows the positive influence of pedagogic practice, which constitutes a crucial finding to pedagogic change.     

Students’ Differential Text Production in the Regulative Context of the Classroom

The research reported in this article is focused on the regulative context of the classroom and attempts to analyse the differential text production by students with different backgrounds (social class, race) and submitted to three different pedagogic practices. These practices, differing in power and control relations, required from the students specific socio‐ affective dispositions. The study explores the extent to which children possessed the specific coding orientation at the level of a given regulative pedagogic practice and also the underlying reasons. Bernstein's conceptual instruments of pedagogic code and also of recognition and realization rules were used to develop the analysis.     

Students’ Views Regarding their Participation in University Governance: Implications for Distributed Leadership in Higher Education

The paper examines the views of students regarding the extent of their participation in the management of their university and their satisfaction with the degree of this participation. After an examination of the literature on student participation in university governance, the author presents the results of a survey based on data collected from 135 students of the University of Cyprus in 2002. According to the findings, respondents believed that their involvement in the management of their institution was very limited. This applied to both high and low levels of decision making, even though respondents recognised that their input was greater in less important decisions. The perceived limited involvement resulted in feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction among students, with the majority of respondents demanding a higher level of participation for all three decision making situations considered in the study. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for the practice of distributed leadership at contemporary universities, with emphasis on the need to abandon outdated leadership models. Specifically, it proposes measures for increasing student participation in university governance in the framework of a distributed leadership approach designed to empower the key stakeholders of higher education.     

School experience,relational justice and legitimation of institutional

This study analysis the relationship between perceptions of the justice of teacher’ behaviour and (a) the legitimation of school authority and (b) the legitimation of institutional authorities outside school. 448 adolescent students participated in the study. In questionnaire participants were asked about (a) perceptions of the justice of teachers’ behaviour; (b) evaluation of the school experience; and (c) evaluation of institutional authorities. Results show that the evaluation of the justice of teacher behaviour, in particular relational and procedural justice, have an impact on the legitimation of the authority of teachers and on the evaluation of institutional authorities outside school. Results also show that the legitimacy granted to teachers is a mediator variable between perceptions of justice in school and evaluation of authorities outside school. These results are discussed in the context of the studies on the relationship between school experience and adolescents attitudes towards authorities, and in the framework of the “Relational Model of Authority” and of the “Group Value Model”.     

“My Eyes Were Opened to the Lack of Diversity in Our Best Schools”: Re-Conceptualizing Competitive School Choice Policy as a Racial Formation

This article documents minority youth sense-making around the concept of diversity and the founding of a youth activist group that seeks spaces for policy thinking and protesting against racial inequalities in selective enrollment schools. Utilizing the sociological theory of racial formation and the concept of racial projects (Omi and Winant in Racial formation in the United States, 3rd edn, Routledge, New York, 2014), this article draws on data from a critical ethnography. The author argues that youth activists offer a critical perspective for researchers and policy-makers in the face of neoliberal school choice policy. Findings reveal that youth activists understand a lack of diversity as racial imbalance in high status schools, and that they expose structural inequalities that are embedded in policy structures and processes such as selective enrollment high schools. Implications are discussed to show how re-conceptualizing policy as a racial formation can bring structural and institutional racist practices into view in hopes of transforming district policies to offer access to high quality schools for all students.     

Comparing Crosscutting Practices in STEM Disciplines

Science & Education - In the literature, there are multiple definitions of integrated STEM education, resulting in ambiguity and uncertainty of application. A firm conception of integrated STEM...