Education and the Face of the Other: Levinas,Camus and (mis)understanding

Abstract

Among the most neglected of Albert Camus’ literary works is his play The misunderstanding. Composed while Camus was in exile in occupied France, and first performed on stage in 1944, The misunderstanding depicts the events that unfold when a man returns, without declaring his identity, to a home he left 20 years ago. Unrecognized, he is killed by his mother and sister for financial gain. This article draws on ideas from Emmanuel Levinas in identifying and discussing some of the key ethical and educational themes in the text. It is argued that the forms of misunderstanding evident in Camus’ play mirror those exhibited in pedagogical institutions such as schools. The misunderstanding demonstrates that what is often missing in our communicative relations is careful attention to the Other. Camus does not offer us any easy way out when confronting the impossibility of fully knowing ourselves and others; instead, he shows that we must acknowledge the suffering this brings and take responsibility for it.     

Short Reports Examining the test: an evaluation of the police Standard Entrance Test in Scotland

This short report describes an evaluation of the instrument used for the selection of future police officers in Scotland – the Standard Entrance Test (SET). The study was commissioned by the Scottish Office and undertaken by the Scottish Council for Research in Education during 1995–6. The authors outline the project, report their main findings and identify groups which may have been disadvantaged. The outcome, a revised test, is currently being piloted with new entrants to the force.     

The development of a questionnaire on metacognition for students in higher education

Interest in the role of metacognition has been steadily rising in most forms of education. This study focuses on the construction of a questionnaire for measuring metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive regulation and metacognitive responsiveness among students in higher education and the subsequent process of testing to determine its validity.

Purpose

The aim of the study was to construct an original instrument for measuring features of metacognition, henceforth referred to as the Awareness of Independent Learning Inventory (AILI), and further to establish the similarities and differences between this model and existing instruments for measuring metacognition.

Sample

The AILI questionnaire was distributed to 1058 students in various types of Teacher Training Institutes in the Netherlands and Belgium. The abridged English version of the questionnaire was administered to another sample of 729 students reading Economics and Business Administration at the University of Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands.

Design and methods

The AILI instrument was constructed on the basis of a facet design along two dimensions: components of metacognition and topics of concern to students in higher education. The data gathered with the instrument was analyzed by means of a generalisability study and a decision study, respectively. The validity of the instrument was investigated by using confirmatory factor analysis.

Results

The generalisability study showed that the reliability of the instrument was satisfactory. The decision study revealed that the number of items included in the questionnaire could be reduced substantially by leaving out two components of one of the dimensions in the facet design, without losing too much generalisability. The validity study showed that there was a considerable level of congruity between parts of the AILI questionnaire and the relevant parts of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ).

Conclusions

The AILI questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring metacognitive knowledge, regulation and responsiveness. It is suitable for use in the evaluation of the effects of interventions that purport to increase metacognitive knowledge, regulation and responsiveness of students in higher education.     

The use of training days: finding time for teachers’ professional development

This study was designed to compare the relative efficiency of three methods of presenting and teaching fractions to slow learners at the secondary stage of education.

Thirty‐six first‐year pupils took part in the experiment and were divided into three groups of 12 for instruction in fractions for 14 periods of 40 minutes. Each group was taught by a different method, viz:

Group A, was taught in a formal, traditional method

Group B, used the Cuisenaire (unimodel) material

Group C, used multi‐model materials specially constructed for teaching fractions to slow learners.

At the beginning of the experiment the groups were equivalent in age, intelligence, arithmetical attainment, attainment in fractions, conceptual understanding of fractions, in adjustment to school, attitudes to learning fractions, and socio‐economic status. On re‐assessment on six of the variables at the end of the experiment it was found that each group had improved in each of the six variables tested.

When considering all the results obtained it was concluded that the multi‐model method was the most effective method of teaching fractions to slow learning children at the secondary stage. This method was found to have particular advantage in creating a favourable attitude to learning fractions and in promoting a sound conceptual understanding of fractions. It also produced the greatest mean gain in fraction computation, and seemed to have some slight advantage in aiding the adjustment of pupils to school.     

Modes of modelling assessment—a literature review

This paper presents a critical review of literature investigating assessment of mathematical modelling. Written tests, projects, hands-on tests, portfolio and contests are modes of modelling assessment identified in this study. The written tests found in the reviewed papers draw on an atomistic view on modelling competencies, whereas projects are described to assess a more holistic modelling competence but obstacles regarding reliability of assessing projects are identified. The outcome of this investigation also indicates that the criteria used in frameworks or modes of assessment seldom are derived from a theoretical analysis, but more often based on ad hoc constructions, experience from assessment situations or empirical studies of students’ work. Finally, this study suggests that an elaborated view on the meaning of quality of mathematical models is needed in order to assess the quality of students’ work with mathematical models.     

The Inquiry of Care

While discussions of the moral dimensions of the caring relation and their implications for teaching and learning are well developed within the literature, there has not been much analysis of the place of inquiry within our understanding of caring and the education inspired by it. Previous discussions offer important insight into what care‐inspired education might entail, but they do not address how inquiry itself may be enhanced by an ethic of care. After arguing that we should consider reason to be more central to the caring relation than has been previously recognized, Peter Nelsen seeks to ameliorate the apparent rift between reason and the affective dimensions of caring through what John Dewey described as the body‐mind. According to this view, reason and affect are inseparable aspects of the process of inquiry; they are both always present in our caring encounters. Nelsen then explores the educational implications of envisioning the caring relation as body‐mind grounded inquiry.