An investigation of gender differences in Holland’s circumplex model of vocational personality types in South Africa

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - We investigated (a) the fit and structural equivalence of Holland’s model of six vocational personality types in a sample of...     

A framework for scientific knowledge generation

This paper investigates the notional development of various approaches claiming to add value in knowledge generation during the 20th century, with the aim to identify what it is that enhances productiveness in knowledge generation. Observing that knowledge generation is a complex phenomenon, an approach is used for the investigation that was developed specifically to study un-deterministic complex systems. A list of salient features for scientific knowledge generation is presented as a result. In addition to these features, various problem types are identified from literature. These two are then integrated to provide a proposed framework for scientific knowledge generation, which is trans-disciplinary and useful for scientific problem-solving in a pluralist reality. A case study illustrates the implementation of this framework.     

Epistemology of the Nakba in Israeli education

In Israel, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the most fundamental political and moral issue current and future citizens face. If we accept the maxim that schools should prepare citizens for participation in determining the future of their state, Israeli students must be introduced to the historical, political and moral questions at the heart of the conflict. But this responsibility of Israeli schools and teachers is a highly contentious issue. The most important issue in Israeli political education is thus the hardest to teach. In this article I argue that, despite considerable educational and political risks, teaching Jewish Israeli students about the 1948 Palestinian Nakba (alternatively known as the Israeli War of Independence) holds substantial potential for their epistemic development as capable knowers. I begin by reviewing the political, dialogical, cognitive and epistemic deficits in Israeli education, highlighting how the Nakba is suppressed in history and citizenship education. By analysing the epistemic context of the Nakba in Israeli society and education, I present two pedagogical approaches for teaching controversial issues, arguing for an inquiry-based approach over the widely held approach. I demonstrate the benefits of an inquiry-based approach in the context of history education. In the final section of the article, I build on the case of the Nakba to argue for a new epistemic framework for Israeli citizenship education. I begin by outlining the shortcomings of the current epistemic framework of the subject and point to possible future directions for the subject.     

Don’t @ me: rethinking digital civility online and in school

ABSTRACT

Online platforms enable free-form, spontaneous, unbridled political expression, blurring the public and private, the written and spoken, and the norms of formal and casual speech. Consequently, they pose new opportunities and challenges to civic interactions, necessitating a reconfiguration of the norms informing civic exchanges. In this paper, we introduce a relational account of civility attuned to emerging modes of civic interactions online, one which goes beyond prescribing specific modes of speech and conduct. We suggest three characteristics of civility in digital contexts: commitment to ongoing and just dialogue, seeking a diverse audience with a shared goal, and horizontal accountability. We then make the case for schools’ vital role in cultivating digital civility. Rather than introducing new curricular content, we argue for reframing existing school engagement with online communication to support the development of digital civility, in light of the shifting forms of participation that typify youth civic engagement today.     

Understanding the impact of guiding inquiry: the relationship between directive support,student attributes,and transfer of knowledge,attitudes, and behaviours in inquiry learning

Guiding inquiry learning has been shown to increase knowledge gains. Yet, little is known about the effect of guidance on attitudes and behaviours, its interaction with student attributes, and transfer of impact once guidance is removed. We address these gaps in the context of an interactive Physics simulation on electric circuits (https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc). 49 students in the Non-Directive condition received a set of goals to focus their inquiry, in addition to implicit support built into the simulation. 48 students in the Directive condition received, in addition to these, also detailed directions and prompts. Log-file analysis found that directive support led to more formal testing and less exploration. Clustering identified two groups of learners: one with higher incoming knowledge (Higher Knowledge), the other with higher incoming perceptions of competence and control (Higher PoCC). Working with the simulation improved knowledge and attitudes across cluster groups, so that prior differences all but disappeared. With regard to guidance, adding directive support improved knowledge gains for the Higher Knowledge group, yet suppressed their attitudinal growth. The same support had no effect on knowledge gains for the Higher PoCC group, yet it boosted their attitudinal growth. A transfer activity, where directive support was no longer available, found that impact on attitudes carried forward, yet impacts on behaviours and knowledge were short-lived. Overall, the study highlights the complex interaction between guidance and student attributes. For some, supporting short-term knowledge gains may inadvertenly lead to longer term negative impact on attitudes towards inquiry.     

Development and evaluation of a short RIASEC interest inventory

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - This study set out to develop a short interest inventory based on Holland’s model of vocational personality types using items...     

Grounding participatory action research in rural Colombia: a demonstration study on youth financial inclusion

ABSTRACT

Since the new millennium, the issue of financial inclusion of young people has increasingly gained recognition, especially in relation to those living in deprived circumstances. Financial inclusion can be promoted through education that specifically aims for the strengthening of young persons’ financial capabilities. In 2013, a participatory action research project was started in a rural region of Colombia to improve the research capacity of a local university through the development and implementation of a demonstration project on the financial inclusion of young people. University teachers, students and employees of a financial cooperative were trained in conducting qualitative methods with a specific aim of being responsive to the life stories of their interviewees. This paper shares the experiences from an international team of educational scholars who aim for the democratisation of research capacity and the dissemination of localised knowledge. This is done by working closely together with stakeholders and ultimately giving a voice to youth employed in the informal economy as they are usually the ones being most deprived from access to financial services.     

Experimental Effects of Student Evaluations Coupled with Collaborative Consultation on College Professors’ Instructional Skills

This experimental study concerned the effects of repeated students’ evaluations of teaching coupled with collaborative consultation on professors’ instructional skills. Twenty-five psychology professors from a Dutch university were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. During their course, students evaluated them four times immediately after a lecture (class meeting in which lecturing was the teaching format) by completing the Instructional Skills Questionnaire (ISQ). Within 2 or 3 days after each rated lecture, the professors in the experimental group were informed of the ISQ-results and received consultation. Each consultation, three in total, resulted in a plan to improve their teaching for the next lectures. Controls received neither their ISQ-results nor consultation during their course. Multilevel regression analyses showed significant differences in ISQ-ratings in the experimental group compared to the control group, specifically on the instructional dimensions Explication, Comprehension and Activation. In addition, the impact of each of the three consultations plus differences between targeted versus non targeted dimensions were analyzed. This study complements recent non-experimental research on a collaborative consultation approach with experimental results in order to provide evidence-based guidelines for faculty development practices.