英国开放学习基金会——高质量学习材料与支持的提供者

英国开放学习基金会成立于英国高等教育高速发展时期。当时，为使接受高等教育的人口比例从１０％上升到３０％，政府打算创办更多的大学。与此同时，英国的许多教育家也正在研究怎样利用学习技术改变教育模式，从而实现“以学生为中心，在实践中学习，鼓励教师从知识的传递者转变为课程的指导者”的教育改革。基于以上两方面原因，当时有２０所技术学校联合成立了“开放技术学校”，以开发灵活的学习材料。不久，这些技术学校升级为大学，“开放技术学校”也更名为“开放学习基金会”。虽然名称变了，但其使命未变：向各成员学校提供学习材…     

Children's ideas about ecology 1: theoretical background,design and methodology

Abstract

This paper provides an introduction to a study of the ecological understandings of children aged 5‐16 years in schools in the north of England. Children's ideas about selected ecological concepts were elicited through a series of written tasks and individual interviews set in a range of contexts, referred to here as probes. Responses of about 200 pupils, across the age range, were obtained on each probe. In this paper, issues relating to theoretical background, design and methodology are outlined. Two further papers present the major findings of the study: the first reports children's ideas about the cycling of matter between organisms and between organisms and the abiotic environment (Leach et al. in press a); the second reports children's ideas about the interdependency of organisms in ecosystems (Leach et al. in press b).     

Teaching sustainable development in primary schools: theory into practice

The work described here is set in a context of considerable national and international debate about the nature of sustainable development and education for sustainable development (ESD). It describes how nine primary school teachers translated a particular conceptualization of ESD into classroom teaching. The conceptualization which informed the work was that set out in a report produced by the Panel for Education for Sustainable Development, a working group which advised on the introduction of ESD in the revised National Curriculum for the year 2000. The findings are based principally on interviews with teachers and pupils, both before and after teaching. Examples of pupil learning are given to illustrate what might count as ESD in these young children. A concluding section examines the teaching and learning in light of current literature on the nature of ESD.     

Serum lipids, lipoproteins and sex-hormone binding globulin in breast cancer

Serum levels of various lipid parameters, i.e., triglycerides, total cholesterol, alpha lipoprotein or high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and beta lipoprotein or low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol were measured in a total of 138 histologically proven cases of breast cancer along with 146 control women. The mean levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were found to be significantly higher in breast cancer cases as compared to controls. However, lower mean levels of serum HDL-cholesterol and sex-hormone binding glubulin (SHBG) were observed in breast cancer patients than the control subjects. The results indicate a probable relation between serum lipids and the activity of sex-hormones. Moreover, the study reflects an overall disturbance of lipid metabolism in the pathological process of breast cancer.     

The Treatment of Cycloidal Pendulum Motion in Newton’s Principia

The discovery of the near isochrony of the simple pendulum offered the possibilityof measuring time intervals more accurately than had been possible before. However,the fact that it was not strictly isochronous for all amplitudes remained a problem. Thecycloidal pendulum provided this strict isochrony and, over a thirty year period from1659 the analysis of the motion of this pendulum was developed. Newtons analysis inhis Principia was both elegant and comprehensive and his argument is illustratedin this paper. It provides insights into the revolutionary nature of Newtons thinkingespecially compared to the Galilean approach to understanding the motion of the simplependulum found in early 18th century textbooks.     

Inclusiveness in higher education in Egypt

In Egypt, before 1952, education, especially higher education, was the province of a privileged few. After the 1952 Revolution, in pursuit of social justice and economic development, Egypt’s leaders eliminated fees, instituted a universal admission examination, promised government employment to all graduates of higher education, and expanded the number of places. Officials expected these policies to increase inclusiveness as enrollments grew. We examine the period from 1988 through 2005, when egalitarian policies remained in place, and during which enrollments continued to expand rapidly. Despite this growth, we find that inclusiveness did not change for males and, at best, modestly improved for females. Young adults from the wealthiest families maintained a substantial advantage in the likelihood of enrolling in higher education. At the same time, females, and notably females from poor families, came to make up a larger share of the higher education community.     

A Case Study in the Measurement of Educational Efficiency in Open and Distance Learning

Open and distance learning (ODL) gives learners control of the time, place, and pace of learning, often being characterized as flexible learning. However, this flexibility goes hand‐in‐hand with procrastination and non‐completion. As a result, the efficiency of the educational process is of importance to ODL providers, government funding agencies, and learners themselves. Despite its importance, measuring efficiency in ODL is problematic. This article presents a case study in measuring educational efficiency using a method which reflects the special characteristics of ODL. The article concludes with a discussion of the wider applicability of the measurement method in the context of lifelong learning.     

Reinventing the Past: the Case of the English Tradition of Education

This paper explores the linkages between national identity and educational traditions, and the range and flexibility of the incarnations of tradition. It investigates in detail three versions of a specifically English tradition in education that have been generated at different times in England over the past century. These are Cyril Norwood's account of the English tradition in the 1920s, Fred Clarke's portrayal of education and social change in the 1940s, and the ideals of teachers' professional autonomy as they were articulated in the post-war period. In each instance the 'tradition' developed as responses to contemporary challenges and threats, and asserted particular images of the past to justify a given approach to present and future changes. These representations of the national tradition have thereby established sets of values and principles drawn from idealised versions of the educational past that provided guidelines for reform, and the direction and guide-lines of change.