Developing an inclusive system in a rapidly changing European society

This paper uses Ireland – one of Europe’s most rapidly changing societies – as a case study and examines progress towards an inclusive education system. It explores policy and progress on developing an inclusive system under a number of key headings: social class, ethnicity, gender and disability. On the basis of analysis of official statistics and of research evidence from a study of the inclusion of children with disabilities and special educational needs, this paper assesses whether the impact of recent state policy and legislative change has significantly increased the degree of inclusion in the education system under the four headings. There is a particular focus on the area of disability. The particular questions explored in this paper are whether the unprecedented changes which have taken place in Ireland since the mid‐1990s have resulted in a more inclusive system, an increase in equality, and an increase in inclusive practices in schools. On the basis of the available evidence, the results appear to be mixed.     

Introducing Real-Time AVHRR-APT Satellite Imagery in the Classroom Environment

A low-cost (US$350) satellite receiving station was assembled and operated within a classroom environment in Gainesville (Florida) on October 2001 for acquiring satellite data directly from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellites. The simplicity of the satellite signal makes this source of real-time satellite data readily accessible to the K-16 educational community. The educational strategy of this program sought to achieve pedagogical effectiveness within the sciences, mathematics, and technology through the cultivation of applied, critical, and analytical skills. The applied hands-on laboratory and lecture experiences aimed at enabling students to visualize and integrate the various concepts presented in the classroom. The characteristics of the satellite data provide students and educators with live visible and infrared images that allow for the visualization and exploration of dynamic scientific concepts, making the AHVRR-APT system a suitable educational tool for complementing the K-16 curricula. This educational experience relied on inexpensive radio equipment for accessing satellite data through the exploration of modern space technology. When compared to Internet-based sources of AVHRR data, the virtual nature of Internet portals cannot provide students with a live satellite data acquisition experience, such as that available through a classroom-based AVHRR-APT satellite receiving station.     

Museums: Using Keyworkers to Deliver Lifelong Learning

The article describes a major study of the activities of keyworkers (mediators between museums and their public) within the context of museums' contribution to lifelong learning and to overcoming cultural exclusion. Field studies were undertaken in the UK, Ireland and Sweden based upon live projects with keyworkers who were subsequently interviewed about their roles, professional development needs and attitudes. In the UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum's keyworkers comprised youth workers, in Sweden they were traffic wardens and taxi drivers, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art worked with a group of elderly adults. From these studies, the research was able to articulate key recommendations for developing museum policy on keyworkers to enhance adult learning in and through museums.     

Changing histories: strengthening teacher agency and improving education through action research in Botswana

Music teachers in Botswana’s junior secondary schools could transform their students’ and their own experience of music education through understanding, using and establishing action research as part of their practice. Furthermore, they could significantly impact the education system, by challenging its current paradigm and ultimately shifting its focus towards more socially just values and outcomes. These changes are long overdue, long written about and anticipated, long mandated through policy and accompanied by numerous research studies observing and theorizing the absence of student-centred pedagogy. This article situates the proposed project in relation to other African research studies in education reform. The project seeks to change, improve, and eventually re-structure and reinvigorate the teachers’ personal, professional and political landscapes not only through the changes to their practice, but through coming to see the subject area, their role in its delivery and their agency in an entirely new way.     

Use of Print Media in Teacher Training 1

Abstract

Primary Education is seen as a critical element for general improvement of the economic and social future of Honduras and the most significant action currently underway is the work being done through the Primary Education Efficiency Project which is financed by a major grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Project has as its major objective the improvement of the quality of educational services at the primary level through the development of new textbooks for grades one through six and extensive in‐service teacher training which is described here. This article presents the three essential elements of a specific training implemented; the contents, the media to be used and the methodology for its delivery. The medium chosen for the training was a printed document in a newspaper format which was given the name Accion Educativa. The general reaction from the teachers to this form of presentation was highly positive and the success of the use of the print medium led to the conclusion that the project should continue using similar publications, and should study the possibility of establishing Accion Educativa as a monthly periodical for primary school teachers.