Symmetric peace education as advanced by Anatol Pikas — A critique and an analysis

The ideas of symmetric peace and symmetric peace education, developed by Anatol Pikas in the preceding article, are here criticised for their lack of definition; it is also alleged that inadequate explanation is given of how the concepts may be applied — for example, in the case of a strong power oppressing a weak one. In particular, this critique concentrates on Pikas' assumption of who the antagonists are, and on his belief in the value of prepared teaching materials. Brock-Utne argues that the common enemy is the arms race itself and that the inculcation of critical and discriminating attitudes is likely to be more effective than producing teaching packages. Constructive alternative ideas, incorporating some of Pikas' thinking, are offered. These emphasize (1) the importance of joint cultural/education exchange programmes for promoting international understanding at grass-roots level; (2) the need to put one's own house in order before criticising the neighbour's — a reference to Sweden's policies, with which Pikas claims to identify, and to the implications of Norway's membership of NATO for those in that country concerned with building peace; and (3) the desirability of setting up fora where, under the right conditions, a type of symmetric peace education can be pursued.     

Effects of biology teachers’ professional knowledge and cognitive activation on students’ achievement

This study examined the effects of teachers’ biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge – pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) – and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students’ learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on the topic neurobiology were videotaped twice. Teachers’ instruction was coded with regard to cognitive activation using a rating manual. Multilevel path analysis results showed a positive significant effect of cognitive activation on students’ learning and an indirect effect of teachers’ PCK on students’ learning mediated through cognitive activation. These findings highlight the importance of PCK in preservice biology teachers’ education. Items of the rating manual may be used to provide exemplars of concrete teaching situations during university seminars for preservice teacher education or professional development initiatives for in-service teachers.     

Language of Instruction and Research in Higher Education in Europe: Highlights from the Current Debate in Norway and Sweden

This article examines some of the problems concerning the language of instruction in higher education within Europe and relates them to the African context. The author argues that there is reason to be worried about the spread of the use of English as a language of instruction in higher education, to the detriment of the smaller European languages in particular. The article gives an insight into the Norwegian and Swedish debate on the issue of domain loss to English in higher education. Towards the end, the article examines the language situation within the European Union. Here politicians publicly stress the need to maintain all the languages of the EU as part of the community’s wealth, but the reality appears to be different, as the EU is marked by the ever greater predominance of just one language, English.     

The Choice of English as Medium of Instruction and Its Effects on the African Languages in Nambia

In 1995 Birgit Brock-Utne was asked by NIED (National Institute for Education and Development) in Namibia to make a study of the situation of the African languages after Independence in 1990. Five years later the study was followed up by Halla Holmarsdottir as her thesis for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Comparative and International Education. The study was supported by the Nordic Institute of African Studies. This article is built on both these studies, which shows that the enormous work that has gone into making English the official language of Namibia, has born fruits. However, Holmarsdottir in her 2000 study also found that teachers overestimate their knowledge of English and in fact recent teacher graduates are not significantly more proficient in English than those who have been teaching for some time. Both studies reveal that many people around the country have grave concerns that the Namibian languages are losing a battle against English. One notable example of this development is the drop in the number of students studying African languages at the University of Namibia. In 1995 there were 100 students taking Oshindonga, and in the academic year 1999–2000 there was one.     

Researching language and culture in Africa using an autoethnographic approach

This article has its basis in the author’s own growing annoyance at so-called “sandwich” programmes, where young academics from developing countries study and learn theories at universities in the Global North, then go to their own countries for fieldwork – only to return to the host country to fit their data into the theories of the Global North. The purpose of this article is twofold. The author’s first aim is to demonstrate that the thinking and concepts of some African educational thinkers such as, for example, Julius Nyerere, fit the educational reality in Africa better than those of Western thinkers, and that these concepts should therefore be used. Second, she argues that when it comes to building theories from the ground, the life experiences of Africans (in terms of everyday reality, indigenous knowledge, cultural transmission, community engagement etc.) should be taken into account. She explains why, through her own teaching at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, she became interested in the qualitative research method called autoethnography. She also draws on her experience of teaching qualitative research methods at a number of historically black universities in South Africa. She notes a recent positive development in the availability of a promising postgraduate programme with an authoethnographic approach. Entitled “The Narrative Study of Lives” and launched by the South African University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Sociology in 2012, this Master’s and PhD programme builds entirely on African experiences. In the last part of her article, the author applies an autoethnographic approach to the study of languages in Africa. She explains that some of her Tanzanian students grew up with several Tanzanian languages simultaneously, so that Western linguists’ terms like “mother tongue”, first and second language do not make sense to them. She also introduces the concept of ubuntu translanguaging, an effective practice of purposeful juxtaposition of languages observed in African empirical research.     

Why teachers cooperate: an expectancy-value model of teacher cooperation

European Journal of Psychology of Education - While cooperation among teachers is considered an important indicator of school quality, the empirical evidence on the efficacy of teacher cooperation...     

Let’s stop the pretence of consistent marking: exploring the multiple limitations of assessment criteria

Unreliability in marking is well documented, yet we lack studies that have investigated assessors’ detailed use of assessment criteria. This project used a form of Kelly’s repertory grid method to examine the characteristics that 24 experienced UK assessors notice in distinguishing between students’ performance in four contrasting subject disciplines: that is their implicit assessment criteria. Variation in the choice, ranking and scoring of criteria was evident. Inspection of the individual construct scores in a sub-sample of academic historians revealed five factors in the use of criteria that contribute to marking inconsistency. The results imply that, whilst more effective and social marking processes that encourage sharing of standards in institutions and disciplinary communities may help align standards, assessment decisions at this level are so complex, intuitive and tacit that variability is inevitable. We conclude that universities should be more honest with themselves and with students, and actively help students to understand that application of assessment criteria is a complex judgement and there is rarely an incontestable interpretation of their meaning.     

In Defence of Comprehensive Schools

In the first part of this article the question of the language of instruction is seen in relation to questions of poverty, power and partnership. In the second part the fate of the African languages in some selected countries is given a closer look. Two distinct trends are noted, one strengthening the dominant languages which, in the context of Africa, means the former colonial languages and one focusing on a growing concern for a preservation and revival of African languages as languages of instruction in at least the primary schools in Africa. The battle between these two trends is discussed. The article builds partly on discussions the author has had with policy-makers in African countries.     

Competence beliefs and perceived ability evaluations: How do they contribute to intrinsic motivation and achievement?

To study the role of students' competence beliefs and their perceived teachers' ability evaluations for intrinsic motivation and achievement in math, 459 second graders from 27 German classrooms were examined. Students provided self-reports on their intrinsic motivation, competence beliefs and perceived teachers' ability evaluations in math. Teachers gave insight in students' math grades. Relations were analyzed by three different models: a direct, an indirect and an interaction effect model. Concerning intrinsic motivation, results provided support for both an indirect effect and an interaction effect model, but not for a direct effect model. With regard to math achievement, only the indirect model appeared to be appropriate. The finding that perceived teachers' ability evaluations had an (indirect) effect on students' intrinsic motivation and achievement in math hints at the role of significant others in the development of children's academic functioning and might guide potential interventions.