The influence of educational research on education in Poland

There is no need nowadays to convince people that modern education cannot function properly without the help of scientific research, and especially of pedagogical research. It is true that there still appear many pedagogical works inflated by wind, as Comenius expressed it more than three hundred years ago, and these publications may even acquire a temporary popularity. But the general trend towards the development of pedagogy as a discipline based on research has been established for quite some time and is constantly gaining strength in the developed countries. Concurrently, pedagogical disciplines have had increasing influence on the development of education.The question of how these disciplines have developed in Poland and how they have influenced the educational system calls for a broader review, such as to allow one to draw conclusions on how to harmonise more effectively the domain of educational research with that of education. Such a review is the aim of the present paper. The following issues are considered: the functions of educational research, the kinds of educational investigations conducted in Poland, ways of disseminating their findings, and the organisation of research in Poland. The paper ends with a discussion of some of the more important conclusions reached.

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Zusammenfassung Heutzutage ist es nicht mehr nötig, viele Worte darüber zu verlieren, daß ein modernes Bildungswesen ohne Unterstützung durch wissenschaftliche, insbesondere pädagogische Forschung nicht richtig funktionieren kann. Zwar erscheinen immer noch viele pädagogische Arbeiten, die vom Wind aufgeblasen sind, wie sich Comenius vor über 300 Jahren ausdrückte, und diese können sogar zeitweilig grossen Anklang finden. Aber der allgemeine Trend, die Pädagogik als eine auf Forschung beruhende Disziplin anzusehen, besteht seit längerer Zeit und verstärkt sich in den Industrieländern ständig. Gleichzeitig üben pädagogische Disziplinen zunehmenden Einfluß auf die Entwicklung des Bildungswesens aus.Die Frage, wie sich diese Disziplinen in Polen entwickelt und wie sie das Bildungssystem beeinflußt haben, erfordert eine umfassendere Übersicht, die es ermöglicht, Schlußfolgerungen darüber zu ziehen, wie die pädagogische Forschung am besten mit dem Bildungswesen harmonisiert werden kann. Eine solche übersicht versucht der vorliegende Artikel zu geben. Er behandelt die folgenden Themen: die Funktionen der pädagogischen Forschung; die Art der in Polen angestellten Untersuchungen; die Verbreitungsmöglichkeiten ihrer Ergebnisse; und die Organisation der Forschung in Polen. Abschließend werden einige der wichtigeren Schlußfolgerungen besprochen.

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Résumé De nos jours il n'est plus nécessaire de convaincre les gens que l'éducation moderne ne peut fonctionner de façon satisfaisante sans l'aide de la recherche scientifique, et plus spécialement de la recherche pédagogique. Il est vrai que l'on voit encore paraître de nombreux ouvrages pédagogiques gonflés de vent comme le disait déjà Comenius il y a plus de trois siècles, et ces publications peuvent éventuellement connaître une popularité passagère. Mais le courant général selon lequel la pédagogie est une discipline en developpement basée sur la recherche est désormais irréversible et il prend sans cesse plus d'importance dans les pays développés. Concurrement, les disciplines pédagogiques exercent une influence croissante sur le développement de l'éducation.Comment ces disciplines se sont-elles développées en Pologne et comment y ontelles influencé le système de l'éducation, sont deux questions qui demandent une étude approfondie si l'on veut en tirer des conclusions permettant d'harmoniser plus efficacement le domaine de la recherche en éducation et celui de l'éducation. C'est là l'objet de cet article. L'auteur considère les fonctions de la recherche en éducation, les différentes sortes d'enquêtes éducationnelles menées en Pologne, les moyens de diffusion des résultats et l'organisation de la recherche dans ce pays. Il termine par une discussion des conclusions les plus importantes auxquelles les Polonais sont parvenus.

     

Teacher learning in the context of educational innovation: Learning activities and learning outcomes of experienced teachers

This longitudinal study was aimed at increasing our understanding of how teachers learn. It was conducted within a national innovation programme in secondary education. During one year 94 teachers reported six learning experiences using digital logs. The learning experiences were content-analysed in terms of learning activities and learning outcomes. The former comprised six main categories, namely experimenting, considering own practice, getting ideas from others, experiencing friction, struggling not to revert to old ways, and avoiding learning—the first two categories being reported most frequently. Reported learning outcomes referred to changes in knowledge and beliefs, emotions, practices, and intentions for practice, with changes in knowledge and beliefs being reported most frequently and changes in teaching practices being reported rarely. Learning activities were associated significantly with all measures of learning outcomes. Type of learning environment was significantly associated with learning activities and learning outcomes. Results are discussed with respect to ways of fostering teacher learning.     

Environmental paper buying — best practice

In this article the environmental and commercial issues, which are an integral part of the need for, and practice of, recycling paper, are explored and explained. Although of particular interest to publishers, paper buyers and printers this is a subject that no one can afford to ignore.     

The propositional approach to associative learning as an alternative for association formation models

Dickinson (2009) agrees with two of the core claims that were made in my target article (De Houwer, 2009): Associative learning effects (often) depend on (1) the formation of propositions and (2) the operation of nonautomatic processes. Whereas I derived these claims from propositional models of learning, Dickinson (2009) argues that they are also compatible with association formation models (AFMs). He also defends the position that only AFMs can explain “nonrational responses to associative experiences.” In this comment, I question whether there is much value in continuing to cling to AFMs.