Relationships between teachers’ perceived leadership style,students’ learning style,and academic achievement: a study on high school students

There is debate about whether the leadership style of the teacher or the learning style of the student affects academic achievement more. A large sample (n = 746) of eighth‐grade students in Istanbul, Turkey, participated in a study where the leadership style of the teacher was assessed in terms of people orientation and task orientation. The learning styles examined were: group, individual, visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic. Multiple discriminant analysis indicated that teacher leadership style was the main factor affecting academic performance. No significant relationship was found between learning style and academic achievement.     

Shedding Light on the East Asian Learner Paradox: Reconstructing student-centredness in a Shanghai classroom

The East Asian learner paradox refers to the apparent contradiction between the teacher-dominated learning environment in East Asia, which is generally perceived to be non-conducive to learning, and the outstanding performance of East Asian students in comparative studies. This study attempts to explain this phenomenon based on the perspectives of a Chinese teacher from Shanghai, his group of students, and the author's own observations as a researcher. The analysis was based on the theory of variation and it showed how the teacher handled the relationship between the procedural and conceptual aspects of the mathematics. This analysis also shows that the teacher in this study had a strong pedagogical belief and highly valued his students' thinking and participation. At the same time, his students also expressed a consistent concern for learning the mathematical content. Therefore, this author argues that what seems to be a teacher-dominated lesson may actually be interpreted as an alternative form of student-centredness, which is accepted in the teacher's culture.     

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour during outdoor learning and traditional indoor school days among Finnish primary school students

In this study, we aimed at comparing Finnish primary school students’ physical activity and sedentary time during outdoor-learning and traditional school days. Outdoor learning is defined as purposeful and planned learning experiences in the outdoors . The study population consisted 20 students in grades 1–6 at one primary school. Physical activity was measured objectively by hip-worn accelerometers. The amounts of physical activity and sedentary time were compared for the same students between five school days with outdoor learning and four traditional school days. The study’s main findings show that, moving from traditional classroom teaching to an outdoor-learning environment decreases students’ sedentary time and increases light- and moderate-intensity physical activity during the school day. No differences were observed in leisure-time physical activity on school days with or without outdoor learning. Thus, outdoor learning is an effective complement to traditional classroom teaching in promoting physically active children.     

Close encounters of the digital kind: A research agenda for the digitalization of public services

This paper contributes to e-government research by presenting a review and discussion on how digitalization of public services has affected the interaction between citizens and government. We argue for a conceptualization and critical reflection on the nature of the underlying interaction between citizens and public officials - the public encounter - that digital public services are developed to support. We apply a qualitative and hermeneutic approach and illustrate that digital public services change public encounters concerning when, where, and how interactions occur, what each actor does, and the skills required of them. By relating these changes to emerging digital technologies (e.g. data mining, machine learning, sensor technology, and service automation), we illustrate that while these new technologies carry the potential to further digitalize service provision and fulfill the democratic goals of digital government, authorities can apply the same technology to restrict, control, and surveil citizens. Based on a critical discussion on what digitalization might entail for society, we identify problem areas arising from this development and propose a research agenda for understanding this phenomenon further. We raise questions and ethical concerns regarding accountability and reskilling of citizens and public officials as public service provision becomes citizen self-service.     

Waldorf education in an inner-city public school

In 1991, the first public Waldorf school was opened in the inner city of Milwaukee. Based on a week of observations by the authors, this article reports the significant achievements of the school. In classrooms, we observed mostly whole-class lessons well structured around the natural rhythms of body movement, language, and social interaction; most of the children were constantly engaged with the curriculum. Misbehavior was handled directly and lovingly. The children performed remarkably well on standardized tests. Faculty discussions on the nature of Waldorf education and its use in a racially charged and poor neighborhood were both heated and productive.     

Cangleska Wakan: The ecology of the sacred circle and the role of tribal colleges and universities

International Review of Education - Indigenous education and philosophy are rooted in the concept of relationality – the relatedness of all things – within the framework of place-based...     

Addressing the challenge of legitimate international comparisons of classroom practice

In this article, we address the choice of suitable instructional units that might serve as the basis for cross-cultural analyses of classroom practice. Our argument draws on analyses undertaken as part of the Learner's Perspective Study (LPS). The database comprised a three-camera video record of sequences of 10 consecutive lessons in each classroom, supplemented by post-lesson video-stimulated interviews with teachers and students: a total of over 180 videotaped lessons, over 50 teacher interviews and almost 400 student interviews. The results of these analyses challenge the suitability of the lesson as the unit of comparative analysis. In particular, the location of the lesson in the topic sequence is seen to be a key influence on the lesson's structure, critically affecting the teacher's deployment of the constituent activities that we have called ‘lesson events.’ The lesson event is proposed as an alternative unit of international comparative analysis of classroom practice.     

Interdisciplinary team education promotes innovations in the home care of older people

This article describes a new type of team training that involves undergraduate students of medicine, students from the Aalto University (industrial engineering and management, architecture, information networks, collaborative and industrial design and bioinformation technology) and specialized home care nurses. During the course, the students learned interdisciplinary teamwork and created innovations in the care of older people. The 18 participants formed six microteams (three persons in each team: one specialized nurse, one medical student and one from Aalto University). The course consisted of two seminars and 3 full days of home visits to older people’s homes. Participants were encouraged to make one innovation in each home visit that would improve the older person’s well-being or streamline the processes of home care. During the course, the participants promptly formed tight teams. They valued the know-how of the other team members and learned openly from each other. They also created a number of practical innovations in home care which they presented to executives of older people’s care in a final seminar. The course received very good feedback from the students.

This course is an encouraging example of how gerontological interdisciplinary team training may be successfully applied. The article describes both the learning outcomes and the innovations the students produced during their home visits. It also discusses the learning theories behind effective interdisciplinary team learning.