High School Students’ Understanding of the Human Body System

In this study, 120 tenth-grade students from 8 schools were examined to determine the extent of their ability to perceive the human body as a system after completing the first stage in their biology curriculum - “The human body, emphasizing homeostasis”. The students’ systems thinking was analyzed according to the STH thinking model, which roughly divides it into three main levels that are arranged “pyramid” style, in an ascending order of difficulty: 1. Analysis of system components—the ability to identify the components and processes existing in the human body system; 2. Synthesis of system components—ability to identify dynamic relations within the system; 3. Implementation—ability to generalize and identify patterns in the system, and to identify its hidden dimensions. The students in this study proved largely incapable of achieving systems thinking beyond the primary STH level of identifying components. An overwhelming majority if their responses corresponded to this level of the STH model, further indicating a pronounced favoring of structure over process, and of larger, macro elements over microscopic ones.     

Finding a Golden Mean in Education Policy: Centering Religious and Public Schools

The separation between Church and State, private and public education, is blurring, and coming together, as the government gives families vouchers to attend private and religious schools. Religious groups are starting and supporting their own charter schools, and local jurisdictions (cities and counties) are providing free transportation and food services to children attending private schools. What emerges, and is the focus of this analysis, is the new “middle ground,” a “golden mean,” by which public schools learn diversity and choice while private/religious schools are helped by public programs and funds. The oldest, perhaps, was Lyndon Johnson's compromise with the Catholics to get Title 1 passed as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that sends public school teachers into private schools to help children in need. This study examines the emergence of a middle group in public–private education, and how the policies are working and what's changing. It argues that the child is the center of education, and government and private agencies are changing and should come together to serve the clients, the children.     

The political economy of growing a rural university in the USA using online education: an examination of incentives for educational imperialism and academic capitalism

Rural colleges and universities in the USA struggle to recruit new students, as their geographic region is depopulating and costs to attend classes on campus are increasing. Online education using the Internet is rapidly expanding as an effective growth strategy to reach new groups of students. In this paper, we take the position that online education is a form of cultural imperialism and academic capitalism where curriculum developers and professors are motivated to enroll new students in order to maintain the credibility and strength of their programmes and host institutions. We argue that it is not our intent to be educational imperialists or capitalists. Rather these are unintended consequences of our actions. This argument is supported by political economy theory in that we are marketing a technical rational form of online education without awareness of its long-term cultural, economic or political ramifications. Even though we pride ourselves on developing a high-quality programme that in our eyes meet the needs of our students, understanding the political economy of online education is essential if our programme that has access to the global market is to go beyond the individual needs of students and address social, cultural and political needs. We conclude that one way out of this malaise is to understand our role as instructors and course designers as a first step towards understanding the intended and unintended consequences of online education.     

Entry to the Skilled Trades in Australia: the role of family background and school achievement

This paper reports an analysis of factors associated with entry to skilled trades through the Australian apprenticeship system. It is based on data collected from a sample of nearly 2500 17‐year‐old males in 1978. The results suggest that:

(a) young males whose fathers were tradesmen were more likely to participate in apprenticeship training than other young males;

(b) apprentices had relatively higher achievement on numerical tests than on verbal tests;

(c) the sons of migrants from non‐English speaking countries were less involved in apprenticeship than other 17‐year‐old males; and

(d) young males who had attended private secondary schools were less likely to be involved in apprenticeship training than those who had attended public schools.

It was found that whether a person's father was a tradesman was a better predictor of participation in apprenticeship than the social prestige of the father's occupation.     

The motivations of mentors: promoting relationships,supporting pupils,engaging with communities

Mentoring as a means of supporting young people perceived as having difficulties or being at risk of disaffection has become an important feature of pastoral support approaches in and around schools in recent years. The provision of support that is based upon a highly personalised relationship and founded upon principles of unconditional positive regard has been a feature of many schools and has been endorsed at government and local authority levels. Drawing upon two recently conducted research projects, this paper considers the motivations of mentors, the definition and development of the mentoring role and the ways in which it is being developed in respect of young people. The authors suggest that a certain ambiguity and fluidity of definition of the role of the mentor may be a strength rather than a weakness when developing supportive pastoral systems. The paper considers the motivations of mentors and how these may impact upon the success of mentoring schemes.     

Interpreting Scores from Standardized Tests

This essay seeks to establish a metaphor of the professional practice of teaching to the attributes and training of an offensive lineman in the game of American football. Effective classroom instruction does not rely exclusively on a rare set of talents but rather rests on the commitment to the work of teaching. Like the position of offensive lineman, the profession of teaching is one of service. And more, it is one in which the person's performance can blossom through intense determination. An invitation is offered to serve as an effective teacher.     

Explaining the mathematical creativity of a young boy: an interdisciplinary venture between mathematics education and psychoanalysis

Curriculum documents for mathematics emphasise the importance of promoting depth of knowledge rather than shallow coverage of the curriculum. In this paper, we report on a study that explored the analysis of junior secondary mathematics textbooks to assess their potential to assist in teaching and learning aimed at building and applying deep mathematical knowledge. The method of analysis involved the establishment of a set of specific curriculum goals and associated indicators, based on research into the teaching and learning of a particular field within the mathematics curriculum, namely proportion and proportional reasoning. Topic selection was due to its pervasive nature throughout the school mathematics curriculum at this level. As a result of this study, it was found that the five textbook series examined provided limited support for the development of multiplicative structures required for proportional reasoning, and hence would not serve well the development of deep learning of mathematics. The study demonstrated a method that could be applied to the analysis of junior secondary mathematics in many parts of the world.     

Gifted Students From Low-Education Backgrounds

Gifted children from low-education backgrounds often experience barriers to educational and career success. This article reviews the growing body of literature regarding gifted students from low-education backgrounds and the related literature on the challenges and characteristics of first-generation college students. A mother and daughter interview provides a contextual example of the issues identified in the literature review. Implications for educators and practitioners are suggested, including ways in which elementary and middle schools can proactively address the issues facing low-education background students in gifted programs.