The Politics of Emotions in ELT: Structure of Feeling and Anxiety of Korean English Teachers

ABSTRACT

Using the notion of structure of feeling by Raymond Williams, this article seeks to illuminate an ideological understanding of Korean English teachers’ anxiety and deep sense of insecurity in English language teaching (ELT). Through a discussion of how their anxiety is grounded deeply within unequal social relations and how they reframe their anxiety through critical reflection on the cultural and ideological bias of their own anxiety, it points out the intricate relationship between ideology and emotion; teachers’ emotions are shaped by dominant ideologies that constitute the social structures constraining their position as teachers, while their engagement with those emotions also enables their self-transformation towards gaining confidence as teachers. The results of the study emphasise the tension between social structure and agency in teachers’ emotional experiences and discuss implications for teacher education and development.     

A cultural embrace

Conclusion As culture is at the heart of meaning making, it warrants exacting attention in the systemic design process. As Gustafson & Powell (1991) point out, too often models are not tested for validity and reliability. It is for this reason that we emphasize that research must critically evaluate this expanded ADDIE model. As technology enables us to increase our interaction with the peoples of the world, we are enriched by the incessant shifts in our own cultural paradigms. Attention to this cultural dynamism and incessant interplay leads to both improved designs and improved designers. As instructional designers, we must be able to critically analyze our learner’s cultures and allow it to strengthen the instructional design process. In this way we address our ethical commitment to creating culturally sensitive products. His research interests include culture, identity development, and meaning making in technology rich environments. His research interests are in the areas of Educational Gerontology, Instructional Design, and the Digital Divide. His research interests include Systemic Change and the Digital Divide.     

Closing the Gaps and Filling the STEM Pipeline: A Multidisciplinary Approach

There is a growing demand for degreed science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals, but the production of degreed STEM students is not keeping pace. Problems exist at every juncture along the pipeline. Too few students choose to major in STEM disciplines. Many of those who do major in STEM drop out or change majors. Females and minorities remain underrepresented in STEM. The success rate of college students who are from low-income background or first-generation students is much lower than that of students who do not face such challenges. Some of those who successfully complete their degree need help in making the transition to the workforce after graduation. A program at Lamar University takes a multidisciplinary approach to addressing these problems. It is designed to recruit, retain and transition undergraduates to careers in STEM, focusing its efforts on five science disciplines and on these “at-risk” students. The program was supported by a 5-year grant from the National Science Foundation and is supported through August 31, 2016 by Lamar University and a grant from ExxonMobil. A formal assessment plan documents the program’s success. The program received an award from the Texas Higher Education Board for its contributions towards Closing the Gaps in Higher Education in Texas. This paper describes the program’s theoretical framework, research questions, methods, evaluation plan, and instruments. It presents an analysis of the results achieved using these methods and implications for improvements to the program resulting from lessons learned.     

How Integration Matters: An Alternative Vision for Urban Education in an Era of the Market

ABSTRACT

The widespread assumption in the United States today is that traditional urban public schools are failing. Market-based solutions, particularly charter schools, are seen as the way to improve urban education. How then can we understand a large urban district where educational actors have furthered a locally popular alternative vision? This article analyzes the comparison of Indianapolis, IN and Louisville, KY to demonstrate how four-decades-old desegregation orders continue to matter for the perceptions of urban school districts. The analysis shows how actors in Louisville utilized more favorable perceptions to fight for a compelling alternative narrative–integration–and against charter schools.     

The corporatizing and privatizing of schooling: A call for grounded critical praxis

Our review of Henry Giroux's Stealing Innocence , Alex Molnar's Giving Kids the Business , and Kenneth Saltman's Collateral Damage describes how these authors assess the problems posed by contemporary corporate influences on public schools and considers the solutions they offer to counter those influences. We also examine Henry Levin's edited collection Privatizing Education , in which various authors address research on privatization in schooling. In our analysis of this book, we highlight the underlying themes of the wide-ranging chapters. Next, we critique all four books, focusing primarily on the books by Giroux, Molnar, and Saltman. We suggest that these three authors provide a somewhat totalized and ahistorical portrait of contemporary corporate influences on schooling and offer a solution that depends on teachers acting as democratic revolutionaries, though there is no realistic possibility that teachers today would take on this role. In contrast, we call for a critical theory and practice that is grounded both in a more complex understanding of the current historical context and also in a dialogical engagement with students, teachers, parents, and other community members.