A Rhetoric of Turns: Signs and Symbols in Education

In our research and teaching we explore the value and the place of rhetoric in education. From a theoretical perspective we situate our work in different disciplines, inspired by major ‘turns’: linguistic, cultural, anthropological/ethnographic, interpretive, semiotic, narrative, literary, rhetorical etc. In this article we engage in the discussion about what all these turns might entail for education by elaborating on what it implies to read the world as a ‘text'—as is central in a semiotic approach—and by introducing new rhetoric in general, and the work of the literary critic and rhetorician Kenneth Burke in particular, as a possible theoretical and methodological resource. We illustrate its application in the analysis of a fictional narrative. Our aim is to explore how an understanding of education as rhetoric can be integrated into the teacher education curriculum.     

Test Preparation: Examining Teacher Perceptions and Practices

This study analyzed questionnaire and interview data on teachers' practices and perceptions with respect to test preparation. Questionnaire respondents were asked to rate the ethicality of various test-preparation practices and indicate the extent to which they utilize these practices in their instruction. On the basis of questionnaire results, interviews were conducted with a smaller sample of teachers to determine their views on the appropriateness of particular test-preparation practices, and to determine the factors affecting teacher perceptions about a given activity. Contrary to previous empirical work, questionnaire results indicated that neither use of a given practice nor teacher perceptions of the ethicality of the practice vary across levels of student achievement. On the other hand, consistent with previous empirical work, both use and perceptions varied across grade-level configuration. Estimates of the prevalence of particular teacher practices and perceptions were obtained and compared with those from the literature. In addition, dimensions of teacher reasoning were explored, indicating that when considering the appropriateness of a given practice, teachers consider the following factors: score meaning, learning, the potential for raising student scores, professional ethics, equity, and external perceptions.     

Designing classroom spaces: Making the most of time

Research has shown that children's perception of the space around them is related to the quality of their play behaviors. Summaries of three research studies with preschoolers show that when children perceive themselves large, they enter complex play more quickly and stay for longer periods of time. The quality of children's play behavior changed when children played in small spaces. In these three studies, space was altered by: (a) creating a screened structure in the classroom, (b) changing the scale of the patterns on the wall of a learning center, and (c) altering the size of the block center. Each study is summarized and suggestions for designing classroom spaces are included. Implications of this program of research for increasing attention span and augmenting complex play and problem solving are discussed.     

Social Design Experiments: Toward Equity by Design

In this article, we advance an approach to design research that is organized around a commitment to transforming the educational and social circumstances of members of non-dominant communities as a means of promoting social equity and learning. We refer to this approach as social design experimentation. The goals of social design experiments include the traditional aim of design experiments to create theoreticallygrounded and practical educational interventions, the social agenda of ameliorating and redressing historical injustices, and the development of theories focused on the organization of equitable learning opportunities. To illustrate how we use social design methodology, we present two examples that strategically reorganized the sociohistorical practices of communities to expand learning as a key goal. We conclude with a discussion of the opportunities this approach creates for learning scientists to form effective research partnerships with community members, as well as the responsibilities it entails for creating a more just society.     

Tertiary institutions and human rights obligations

One question arising in the context of universities as corporate entities is the reason why being an ‘entity’ is important. One relevant consideration is whether it is necessary or sensible that a ‘community of scholars’ has the status of a ‘corporation of scholars’ because that ensures that the community abides by various obligations, including those based on considerations of equity and rights. This article examines universities as legal entities in light of the human rights framework, with a focus on the right to tertiary education to illustrate the more general question of rights. It does so by setting out, first, the use of legal personhood for corporations generally and universities particularly. Secondly, it notes that the modern international regime for the protection of human rights commenced with the idea that its obligations should rest on all elements of society, including corporations. Thirdly, it point out that the developed regime has a focus on the obligations of states to secure rights, including through ensuring remedies against corporate and other private actors. Finally, the main part of the article examines the substance of the right to education and suggests that its realisation is most likely if there are obligations on universities, which they can adopt themselves.     

Film choices for screening literacy: the ‘Pygmalion template’ in the curriculum as contact zone

This study discusses the representation of (the) literacy (myth) in popular movies and a teaching and research project on cinematic literacy narratives. It attempts to reveal the existence of a powerful ‘Pygmalion template’ in contemporary movie culture. Focusing on a discourse or culture clash ‘Pygmalion movies’ simultaneously contribute to the discursive construction and deconstruction of the literacy myth. Because of their polysemic character, these films offer fertile grounds for inquiring into the problematic nature of literacy acquisition and discourse or culture clashes. Inviting pre‐service teachers to reflect on these issues, the authors created a curriculum as contact zone in which films are used as a primary source of knowledge and insight together with students’ movie analyses and interpretations, personal narratives, and theoretical readings. This exploratory study of on‐line discussion groups revealed the students’ contradictory and competing movie readings. Organizing the curriculum as a contact zone deepened the students’ and one’s own understanding of literacy as an ideological site of struggle in (movie) culture.