Active Learning and Democratic Behavior in Guatemalan Rural Primary Schools

Emerging democracies such as Guatemala are beginning to experiment with active learning methodologies to improve learning and encourage democratic behavior among children. However, there exists little information on the effects of different classroom environments on children's behavior in developing countries. This study uses focused classroom observations to examine differences in the democratic behavior of children of different genders and ethnicity attending traditional rural schools and those attending rural schools with an experimental active learning program. Results show that children in the experimental program engage in significantly more democratic behaviors than their counterparts and these behaviors are related to participation in small group activities. Within the active learning program, greater democratic behavior and small group participation are also related to higher reading achievement at the classroom level.     

Curriculum Reform and the Case of the Disappearing Agents

It is an irony that, as the educational world has come to recognise the value of school or district‐based teacher leaders, many teachers have become wary of involvement in activities which take them beyond their own classrooms or schools. The problem becomes particularly apparent in centrally organised curriculum reform efforts that call for a cadre of teachers to be co‐opted to act as ‘link’ or ‘lighthouse’ teachers. This paper examines these issues in the context of an Australian state‐wide physics curriculum project in which a ‘pyramid’ implementation model required a group of school‐based ‘link’ or ‘lighthouse’ teachers to work as change agents in district school clusters. The study focused on the motivations of those teachers who chose, and those who chose not, to become involved. It reports a number of critical distinctions, in both experience and motivation, between these two groups of teachers. These differences are analysed as a set of interlocking themes: personal meaning, professional history, ownership, rewards, professional autonomy and gender.     

Intergenerationale Transmission von kulturellem Kapital in Migrantenfamilien

Zusammenfassung Im Bildungssystem Deutschlands besteht eine ausgepr?gte ethnische Ungleichheit: Kinder aus Familien mit Migrationshintergrund erreichen nicht nur niedrigere, sondern auch weniger Bildungsabschlüsse als ihre deutschen Mitschüler und Mitschülerinnen. Dieses Defizit bei der Akkumulation von kulturellem Kapital wirkt sich wiederum negativ auf ihre Arbeitsmarktplatzierung und damit auf ihre strukturelle Assimilation in Deutschland aus. Die Ergebnisse hinsichtlich der Bedeutung intergenerationaler Transmission von Kapitalien in Deutschland zeigen klar, dass die unterschiedlichen Sozialisationsbedingungen in den Familien einen ausschlaggebenden Faktor für den schulischen und beruflichen Erfolg darstellen. Insbesondere das kulturelle Kapital, das Familien nach einer internationalen Wanderung in intergenerative Transmissionsprozesse investieren k?nnen, scheint von strategischer Bedeutung für den Verlauf und die Geschwindigkeit von Assimilationsprozessen zu sein. Die Struktur des deutschen Schulsystems spielt dabei eine entscheidende Rolle, denn sie bestimmt die Rahmenbedingungen unter denen intergenerationale Transmission in Migrantenfamilien m?glich und erfolgreich sein kann. Summary Intergenerational Transmission of Cultural Capital in Migrant Families: Towards an explanation of ethnic differences in the German educational system There is a clearly established inequality in the German educational system: children from migrant families do not simply achieve lower, but also less qualifications than their German counterparts. This deficit in the accumulation of cultural capital leads to negative placement opportunities in the job market and eventually affects their structural assimilation in Germany negatively. The results concerning the importance of intergenerational transmission of resources clearly demonstrate that differences in the conditions for socialization in the families have a significant effect on school and vocational success. In particular, the cultural capital which families invest in intergenerational transmission appears to be of strategic importance to the course and speed of assimilation processes. The structure of the German school system plays a decisive role, since it determines the framework within which intergenerational transmission in migrant families is possible and successful.      

Students’ use of a rubric for research theses

A rubric for research theses was developed, based on the manual of the American Psychological Association, to be used as an assessment tool for teachers and students. The aim was to make students aware of what is expected, get familiar with criteria, and interpret teacher and peer feedback. In two studies, it was examined whether students use and value these functions. In the first study, a rubric was provided to 105 Educational Sciences students working on their bachelor’s thesis. Questionnaire data indicated that students did value the rubric for the intended functions, although rubric use was not related to ability. In a panel interview, teachers stated that the number of proficiency levels should be increased to be able to distinguish between good and excellent students adequately, and that a criterion concerning student’s role during supervision should be added. Therefore, in the second study, 11 teachers were interviewed about their motives to give high grades and about the supervision process. This lead to an extra criterion concerning student’s role during supervision and an additional proficiency level to assess excellent performance. It is argued that an adequate course organisation is conditional for the rubric’s effectiveness.     

公共治理：内涵 基础 途径

公共治理，作为补充政府管理和市场调节不足应运而生的一种社会管理方式，已逐渐成为公共管理的重要理念和价值追求。它既是各国政府改革的实践总结，又是影响各国政府再造的一种全新理念。公共治理是以政府为主体、多种公私机构并存的新型社会公共事务管理模式；公共治理产生于公民社会，源自于个人领域的不断扩大；培育和建立公民社会是实现公共治理的有效途径。     

IDEALS, EDUCATION, AND HAPPY FLOURISHING

A bstract .  In this essay, Doret J. de Ruyter defends the claim that parents as well as professional educators need to impart ideals to children in order to realize their wish that children become happy and flourishing adults. The argument consists of two parts. First, de Ruyter shows how ideals are important to construing the meaning of objective goods. Second, she contends that educating children with ideals is important to motivating them to strive for something higher or better. De Ruyter's analysis rests on two key concepts: "ideals," which refer to things one believes to be superb, excellent, or perfect, but that are as yet unrealized, and "happy flourishing," which describes the fulfillment of objectively identifiable generic goods and the person's satisfactory meaningful interpretation of these goods.     

企业危机的类型及其对策

本通过对中外28家衰败企业或某一时期陷入危机企业的综合分析，较为系统地提出了企业危机处理的定义，危机的表现，按企业可影响的导致危机因素将企业危机划分为突发性危机，组织危机，职能危机，战略危机，并提出了预防危机，处理危机的应对措施。     

Developmental changes and socioeconomic differences in mother-infant picturebook reading

Picturebook reading is a common form of interaction between parents and young children. This study examined developmental changes and socioeconomic differences in picturebook interactions of motherinfant Argentine dyads. 21 middle and 18 low SES mothers with their 12 to 24 months-old infants interacting with two different books, were observed. It was found that mothers of both SES groups adjusted the level of their demands not only to the task requirements (books) but also to the age of the infant. However, it was also found that the style of the interaction was different depending on the SES of the mother-infant pair. A more demanding and elaborated maternal language along with a linguistically more competent child were found in the middle SES group.     

Addressing bullying through critical making

This paper explores how maker pedagogies helped middle school students develop transferable competencies, such as creativity, problem solving, self-directed learning and citizenship skills. We offer an in-depth look at how purposeful or critical making related to bullying awareness can help struggling students develop positive attitudes related to their roles as contributing members of a classroom community of learners.     

Primary school pupils’ performances in understanding historical time

This study focuses on the development of the understanding of historical time of pupils in primary school. We present a developmental model with three stages: emergent, initial and continued understanding of historical time. Based on this model, we constructed an instrument to measure how pupils aged 6–12 perform. The participants were 1457 pupils from 7 Dutch primary schools. The analysis of the data showed that in all three stages pupils in higher grades significantly outperformed pupils in lower grades and that pupils’ performances were influenced by the variables gender and parents’ education. In all grades, there seemed to be room for improvement, especially in the lower grades (ages 6–9) where pupils have hardly had any teaching on the understanding of historical time. However, in the higher grades as well (ages 10–12), pupils could improve on the level of continued understanding of historical time.