From reflective practitioner to comprehensive teacher

The work of Donald Schön has drawn attention to the paradox inherent in the activities of teaching and learning. His own concept of the reflective practitioner tries to offer a way through this paradox for students arguing that by risking the power inequalities of being a learner they can eventually empower themselves as self-educators. However, it is argued below that Schon has not applied these insights into the paradox of teaching and learning to the activity of reflective practice nor to the identity of the reflective practitioner, and that therefore his educational model is not genuinely comprehensive. The failure by the reflective practitioner to risk the negativity of self-relation within the dialectic of reflection reduces its educational potential, and holds back the education of the philosophical consciousness, which characterises the truly comprehensive teacher     

Interpreting Shared and Contested Histories: The Broken Links Exhibition

Abstract The exhibition Broken Links: Stolen Generations in Queensland focused on the history and impacts of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their biological parents in Queensland, Australia between 1869 and 1969. This exhibition is discussed as a case study of “hot interpretation” (Ballantyne and Uzzell 1993), which incorporates emotion into the design of interpretive experiences in order to provoke cognitive and behavioral responses. Visitors’ responses to the exhibition are explored and issues regarding the use of “hot interpretation” techniques are discussed. Five principles are derived for the application of hot interpretive techniques in the context of shared and contested histories, with the aim of encouraging visitors to see their own history from a different perspective.     

Toleration and Recognition: What should we teach?

Generally we think it good to tolerate and to accord recognition. Yet both are complex phenomena and our teaching must acknowledge and cope with that complexity. We tolerate only what we object to, so our message to students cannot be simply, 'promote the good and prevent the bad'. Much advocacy of toleration is not what it pretends to be. Nor is it entirely clear what sort of conduct should count as intolerant. Sometimes people are at fault for tolerating what they should not, or for tolerating what they should find unexceptionable. So virtue does not always lie with toleration. Tolerance can also seem condescending; should we therefore replace it with recognition? But recognition may not be able to coexist with the disapproval that makes toleration necessary. However, not everything about toleration and recognition is controversial; there are fixed points from which students can grapple with the issues presented by both.     

Democratic school leadership reforms in Kenya: cultural and historical challenges

In this article we discuss students’, teachers’ and school principals’ perceptions of democratic school leadership reforms in Kenya. The article is based on a study that was conducted in two phases. In phase one (conducted between September and December 2007), interviews were undertaken with 12 school principals in which understandings of democratic school leadership were explored. These data were then used to develop a rationale for selecting the case schools. The second phase (conducted between January and April 2008) was an in‐depth case study of two schools. The findings reveal that school principals have made efforts to inculcate democratic school leadership by involving teachers in decision making on school matters. The principals also allow students to participate in matters such as election of prefects and holding class and house meetings. However, most teachers and principals do not support what they referred to as ‘full democracy’ for students and instead prefer what they called ‘partial democracy’ based on historical and cultural factors.     

The Balance between Vocational Secondary and General Secondary Schooling in France and Australia

Some of the most difficult problems facing governments today are linked to their increasing involvement in the global economy. One of the most pressing problems faced by developed economies is chronically high youth unemployment. As labour markets have tightened, the jobs which have disappeared, and look unlikely to re-emerge as labour markets become more buoyant, are the jobs which young people have traditionally held - unskilled entry level jobs. The creation of the French Baccalauréat Professionnel saw the development of a programme that balanced the needs of a vocational qualification with those of a general education. This paper will look briefly at the background to the debate between general education and vocational education, in particular the low status of vocational education. The paper looks at the manner in which two developed countries in different hemispheres, France and Australia, have attempted to solve an increasingly complex problem: the transition from school to work. It suggests how the McGaw Report [(1997) Shaping Their Future ( Sydney, Department of Training and Education Co-ordination)] tackles this problem of high and low status educational pathways in Australia. The use of 'school-workplace learning' in Australia represents a relatively new specific programme, highlighting the NSW government's direction in school to work transition. In France the Baccalauréat Professionnel (Bac Pro) will be used as an example of a diploma that provides a useful bridge between the vocational and general education streams.