Teaching cooperation on television

Conclusion The effects of media on the social behavior of young children is a topic to be treated seriously. Much of the literature has focused on negative outcomes. Little attention has been given to the intentional steps by which producers of children’s television can bring about positive social outcomes. The work of Stein and her associates is an exception (see Stein, 1972; Stein, Friedrich, & Vondracek, undated). It is not enough that we concern ourselves with reducing undesirable effects of television (e.g., removing the violence from Saturday morning cartoons). The means must be found to enhance desirable effects (e.g., positive forms of socialization). By defining and teaching social goals and measuring the results,Sesame Street has taken an important step in this direction. The research described in this paper was performed at Teaching Research, a Division of the Oregon State System of Higher Education, under a contract with Children’s Television Workshop, Inc. D. Lynn McDonald and Sherrill L. Whittemore were research assistants. Sandra Dawson, Sheryl Hirshon, Pearl Roossinck Paulson, Terry Toedtemeier, and Timm Tripplet worked on the project. H. Del Schalock of Teaching Research and Barbara F. Reeves, Patricia L. Hayes, and Edward L. Palmer of CTW provided many of the basic ideas. A complete technical report on the study is available (Paulson, McDonald, & Whittemore, 1973).     

Bits,Bytes and Dinosaurs: using Levinas and Freire to address the concept of ‘twenty-first century learning’

Abstract

The discourse of twenty-first century learning argues that education should prepare students for successful living in the twenty-first century workplace and society. It challenges all educators with the idea that contemporary education is unable to do so, as it is designed to replicate an industrial age model, essentially rear-focused, rather than future-focused. Future-focused preparation takes account of the startling effect on economy and society caused by rapid technological change, to the extent that the future cannot be accurately predicted. It is a discourse that effectively renders knowledge obsolete, and which relies increasingly on communication technologies and online pedagogies. This is however an education which in some respects deepens the loss of identity characteristic of contemporary times. Thus, it has negative implications for face-to-face interactions in community which underpins the development of democratic practices. This article challenges these futuristic discourses by appealing to two philosophers of the twentieth century, namely Emmanuel Levinas and Paulo Freire. It considers the Levinasian concepts of the Other and the face, and the Freirean concepts of humanisation and critical education to argue that they offer a discourse of possibility and hope. These thinkers enable the argument that, despite rapid change, there are certain attributes and dispositions that transcend time and place, which schools have not only a right, but an obligation to develop.     

Postcolonialism And Comparative Education

The article considers the relevance of recent developments in postcolonial theory for comparative education research. The article starts with an account of these developments. This account is then used as a basis for a critical discussion of previous theoretical frameworks that have been used by comparative researchers to explain the colonial legacy. The implications of adopting a postcolonial approach in comparative education are discussed in relation to issues of race, culture, language and the curriculum. The article concludes by arguing that a consideration of the postcolonial condition is necessary for developing a more holistic and less eurocentric understanding of the relationship between globalisation and education.