Development of student knowledge in competence-based pre-vocational secondary education

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the development of student knowledge in pre-vocational secondary education schools which differ in the manner and extent to which they have implemented characteristics of competence-based education. The implementation of these characteristics was examined using a teacher questionnaire and the development of knowledge was investigated using concept mapping. The results showed that students developed slightly more knowledge in learning situations with fewer characteristics of competence-based education. The organisational characteristics of the learning situations were further found to be distinctive for the development of knowledge.     

Zivilgesellschaftliche Beteiligung in der Altersspanne von 13 und 32?Jahren �C Entwicklung, Bedingungsfaktoren, Kontexte

Being active in civic organizations can be expressed in multifarious forms of participation and commitment. With regard to individuals, the learning context it provides fosters personal development, sympathy for other perspectives, and social competencies in general and is, thus, particularly meaningful for young people in their second and third decades. With regard to organizations, civic participation strengthens the integration and dynamic adaptation of institutions to changing environments and, on a macro-level, raises social cohesion. The contexts of participation are various: not only in educational institutions and the world of work, but also in clubs, organizations and less formal groups, which are involved in social and political issues. Socio-structural and motivational factors, but also belonging to social networks determine the involvement in such forms of civic participation. Additionally, there is evidence of a mutual reinforcement of participation in different contexts. This is shown by the results of the DJI-Survey AID:A 2009.     

Die Bedeutung der sozialen Herkunft und des Migrationshintergrundes f��r Lehrerurteile am Beispiel der Grundschulempfehlung

In Germany, teachers give a recommendation on the type of school a student should attend after primary school. In some federal states, access to a more demanding school type is restricted to students holding an appropriate recommendation. In a first step, we discuss different theories and approaches as to why a student??s social origin or migration background has an impact on the recommendation, irrespective of school performance. Then we test different hypotheses using data of a combined teacher, student, and parent survey, conducted from the 3^rd grade on in Bavaria and Hessen. Overall, we have information on 1.644 students and 147 teachers. We find strong relationships between social origin and school recommendations as teachers take parents?? educational aspirations into account. Students?? positive school behavior has a positive impact on getting a recommendation for a higher school type; however, the influence of parents?? socio-economic status remains. The data show no evidence for children with migration backgrounds facing greater risks of receiving lower recommendations than other children??irrespective of their family language.     

Spannungsfeld Polyvalenz in der Lehrerbildung

The Bologna Process of higher education reform has led to a vast array of different programs of study in German teacher training. In this article, we firstly analyze the implementation of Bachelor programs in teacher training, comparing profession-oriented programs (i.e. those aiming to train students for the teaching profession from the beginning of studies) to polyvalent programs (i.e. those aiming at broad qualifications and including a late decision to become a teacher). Secondly, we investigate whether students enrolled in these study programs differ systematically in their subjective certainty about their career choice. To answer these questions, we analyze portfolios of documents related to teacher training programs from nine German universities that prepare students for teaching in the academic track. Additionally, we analyze data from N?=?2585 Bachelor and N?=?928 Master degree students. We found that most programs, even when they espouse polyvalence, require an early decision to become a teacher. Moreover, our data confirm findings from earlier studies indicating that student teachers are highly certain about their career choice from the very beginning, with students in polyvalent programs being slightly less certain than those in profession-oriented programs (d?=?0.32).     

Why does language matter to education?

Discussions concerning ??literacy?? make it clear that the domain of language has become a focal point for educational policy. In such discussions, language is primarily treated as a basic communication tool. This paper examines, from a philosophical perspective, how appropriate this approach to language is. The philosophical validity of this dominant tendency is analyzed with reference to the work of Wilhelm von Humboldt, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein. Once the stable relationship conceived by Humboldt among the individual, language, and the world is lost, education displays its more distinctive features, which we see clearly in Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. Both of these philosophers focused their investigation on the rhetorical or performative aspects of language. In contrast to Nietzsche, however, Wittgenstein did not abandon the hope of finding in language the function of showing reality, even if what is said and what is shown remain incongruent. This perspective in Wittgenstein is salient against the dominant tendency, in which the mediating function of language is sought in the dimension of conformity and usefulness.     

Die ?sterreichische Studierendenanwaltschaft: ein effizientes Beschwerdeinstrument oder Multifunktions-Hybrid?

Bereits 1997 ist im damaligen Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Verkehr die Studierendenanwaltschaft, ?hnlich wie andere Sonderanwaltschaften des Bundes, eingerichtet worden. Mit der Einführung von Studiengebühren an Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen 2001 wurden ihre Agenden von einer reinen Informations- auf eine ministerielle Beschwerdestelle zur Meldung und Behebung von Missst?nden und Unzul?nglichkeiten ausgeweitet. Nach zehn Jahren T?tigkeit zeigen die Erfahrungen aus dem Alltag, dass überwiegend informelle Individualhilfe im Vordergrund der T?tigkeit dieser Einrichtung steht. Systemm?ngel sind schwerer zu beheben, da solche meist ressourcenbedingt oder mit einander konkurrierenden gesetzlichen Regelungen verbunden sind und es keine festgelegten Normen des Einschreitens innerhalb der offiziellen Rechtsaufsicht des Ministeriums gibt. L?sungen sind von der Kooperationsbereitschaft der Verantwortlichen vor Ort abh?ngig.     

An analysis of how and why a TAFE course was changed: The implications

The Federal government has indicated that vocational education, especially education that is technically oriented, is essential to Australia’s economic future. The Federal government has also expressed concern at the educational inequalities faced by certain groups in society. The Associate Diploma of Technology (Computing) a cross-accredited course giving access to a university degree, was designed to address both of these concerns. This article examines how the course has been altered and the forces behind these changes. This examination is carried out by exploring different perspectives of the course, such as: the government, TAFE, and the students and the teachers. The resulting evidence suggests that students have taken up the government’s rhetoric; they believe they will be snapped up by industry and gain employment in high technology areas, and think that social issues are a waste of time. The evidence also indicates that the course is being targeted more towards young adults who have failed to get into a university course than towards the original target of women and immigrants.