Professional learning and development needs of women teachers in the Republic of Pakistan: a social realist perspective

ABSTRACT

This article, emerging from a wider study on the professional development needs of women teachers working in Catholic convent schools in the Republic of Pakistan, explores the perspectives and experiences of school leaders and Principals who developed professional development programmes. This area, which has been under-researched in the professional development literature, addresses the complexities and contradictions that the glocalisation of professional development can create for women teachers in developing world contexts. A social realist approach, using Archer’s morphogenetic framework, was employed to facilitate an exploration of the varied responses that professional development needs produce. The responses of former Principals and school leaders and their efforts to provide professional development for women teachers was captured, and revealed different agential responses. These responses included an acceptance of the realities of the education system in Pakistan and the role of women in that context, a desire to follow the ethos of the Catholic religious Order which was at variance with accepted educational praxis, and the changing expectations of society within Pakistan with reference to education of children.     

African American Educators’ Perspectives on the Advanced Placement Opportunity Gap

This study examines perspectives of educators on the advanced placement opportunity gap for African American students. Using interviews with 11 educators from 10 high schools, we explored their perceptions regarding the impact of a local academic achievement program on the enrollment of African American students in honors and advanced placement courses. Results of the analysis suggest that there is a perceived and real gap in the participation of African American students in AP courses. Findings also revealed that educators were concerned about the lack of access for African American students to AP courses. Further, issues of belonging and operational citizenship within the school environment were raised. Recommendations for pedagogical techniques are presented as well as suggestions for future research. Jocelyn D. Taliaferro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at North Carolina State University. Dr. Taliaferro earned her BA degree in Psychology with minors in African American Studies and English from University of Delaware and her MSW from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She returned to University of Delaware to earn her PhD in Urban Affairs and Public Policy. Dr. Taliaferro’s teaching and research interests include African American student achievement, social policy, community development, and family support. Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at North Carolina State University, CB#7801, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby earned her BS degree with a double major in Psychology and Spanish from Louisiana State University. She earned both her MA and PhD degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby’s research and theoretical interests include race and racial identity development in education, Critical Race Theory, mixed methods research, and emotions.     

感恩节的米饭

四年前,癌症带走了我的祖母;在此之前,我家族中国血统的一边,也就是我爸爸的那边,每年都会在祖母家里过感恩节。那一天,祖母家里总会被炉灶烘得暖洋洋的,因为祖母通常一大早就开了炉火烧煮个不停。我们的家族庞大,但祖母准备的宴席却总是更加盛大。她会烹制各种派、肉类、蔬菜和酿制菜式——这些菜肴都可口美     

Disruptive Relationships: Past and Present State of Educational Publishing in Australia

The article provides an overview of the historically colonial, dichotomous relationship of foreign-owned multinationals and locally owned independents in Australian educational publishing. I focus on the early settlement years, the development of educational publishing in the 19th century, the post-war dominance of Australian independents in the 20th century, the rise of foreign-owned multinationals from the mid-20th century, and the state of Australian educational publishing from the late 20th century.     

An international collaborative investigation of beginning seventh grade students' understandings of scientific inquiry: Establishing a baseline

Although understandings of scientific inquiry (as opposed to conducting inquiry) are included in science education reform documents around the world, little is known about what students have learned about inquiry during their elementary school years. This is partially due to the lack of any assessment instrument to measure understandings about scientific inquiry. However, a valid and reliable assessment has recently been developed and published, Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI; Lederman et al. [2014], Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51, 65–83). The purpose of this large-scale international project was to collect the first baseline data on what beginning middle school students have learned about scientific inquiry during their elementary school years. Eighteen countries/regions spanning six continents including 2,634 students participated in the study. The participating countries/regions were: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Mainland China, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States. In many countries, science is not formally taught until middle school, which is the rationale for choosing seventh grade students for this investigation. This baseline data will simultaneously provide information on what, if anything, students learn about inquiry in elementary school, as well as their beginning knowledge as they enter secondary school. It is important to note that collecting data from all of the approximately 200 countries globally was not humanly possible, and it was also not possible to collect data from every region of each country. The results overwhelmingly show that students around the world at the beginning of grade seven have very little understandings about scientific inquiry. Some countries do show reasonable understandings in certain aspects but the overall picture of understandings of scientific inquiry is not what is hoped for after completing 6 years of elementary education in any country.     

University Lecturers' Perceptions of Gender and Undergraduate Writing

It has been argued that male and female undergraduates adopt different, gendered writing styles. This paper discusses findings from a project that examined this issue, and explores lecturers' perceptions of gender and undergraduate writing. It shows that, in the case of 'second-class' awarded essays, a majority of academics were unable to correctly identify the authors gender. Applying analysis of discourse to the explanations of academics concerning their attempts at gender identification, we found that narratives used by academics tended to support discourses of gender difference, particularly in terms of ability. These various narratives, and the resulting constructions of male and female students, are discussed. It is argued that the narratives position male and female students in stereotypical ways, with implications for their power positions. We conclude that while it is important that gendered trends around undergraduate writing are recognised and addressed, the stereotyping of students according to gender must be avoided.