Interculturality and Intercultural Education: A Challenge for Democracy

The paper examines the debate taking place in Peru, and also more generally in South and Central American countries with large indigenous populations, on the nature of interculturality and intercultural education. It investigates concepts fundamental to interculturality such as democracy and equality and asks what they mean in the context of the Peruvian state, civil society and the indigenous movement. It questions whether an interculturality based in apolitical calls for dialogue and respect for cultural and linguistic plurality can meet the needs of indigenous peoples and their daily confrontations with oppressive and unequal intercultural relations. Taking Peru as an example, it investigates the possibilities for the development of an interculturality that is characterised by equality and participation and which enables indigenous peoples to have greater control over their lives. It then briefly examines the nature of the intercultural lives of the Harakmbut of SE Peruvian Amazon and a new indigenous intercultural education programme which the Harakmbut hope will help them address the inequalities and exploitation which they face.     

Early Obsessive Drawings and Personal Development

Drawing activity may not be inherently therapeutic, but evidence of the affect of (traumatic) experience in drawings, is especially apparent in the work of some exceptionally creative persons and of children who draw obsessively. The notion of drawing as potentially therapeutic rather than merely responsive, assumes that the activity and the imagery are interactive in some way with the personality and development of those who draw. This assumption is supported by a new childhood-to-maturity case-study, which focuses on the drawing and development of one individual with exceptional drawing skills, who has gradually emerged from acute learning, emotional and social difficulties. The evidence from his drawings over a twenty–year period is extended by his own memories (and by observations of him at the time) of their early motivation and significance. Some of his greatest difficulties were also the spur to his creative energy and the activity of drawing and the drawings themselves were instrumental in his maturation.     

Implementing a Whole School Equal Opportunities Policy: a primary school in Humberside

This paper describes both the successes and problems in implementing a school equal opportunities policy in an inner city primary school. After observing their own and one another's practice and being observed by the researcher, teachers were asked to devise projects which would bring about greater equality in opportunity for girls and boys. Wherever possible projects were integrated into chosen topic work. Projects covered a variety of areas from craft, design and technology to caring jobs for boys and football for girls. Positive images of women and men in non‐traditional roles were introduced through bringing visitors into the school.     

Complicating the World of Reading Assessment: Toward Better Assessments for Better Teaching

In this article, we share with readers our hopes, fears, and predictions for reading assessment in American schools at a critical policy juncture—the production of new assessments to measure achievement of the Common Core State Standards. It isn't just Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in play. There is a new stream of progressive-minded pedagogical reform rekindling the fire for higher-order thinking, project-based learning, and learning that transfers to new and different situations and problems. This is a perfect storm—a genuine opportunity to change the course of assessment for accountability and classroom decision-making. Our hope is that readers will find our perspectives useful as we collectively avail ourselves of this unique opportunity.     

Practice Makes Practice: Learning to Teach in Teacher Education

In this article, we argue that teaching is and should be a central element to learning to teach, particularly as teacher education once again turns toward practice. From this perspective, we must elaborate how such a shift addresses the need to bridge the gap between knowledge for teaching and knowledge from teaching, between theory and practice, and among university courses and fieldwork. If the intent of such a shift is to fundamentally change the preparation of teachers, we argue that it requires teacher education programs to do more than increase the amount of time candidates spend in clinical field placements. It requires, we argue, that teacher educators engage in simultaneous innovation in three related, but distinct aspects of program design and implementation: organizational structures and policies, content and curriculum, and teacher education pedagogy. Without such dynamic engagement, the practice-turn will go the way of many past reforms in teacher education—it will be symbolic but not significant or meaningful.     

Is the environmental literacy of university students measurable?

We report the development and piloting of an evaluative instrument and process for monitoring the environmental literacy (EL) of undergraduate students in one large research-led university in New Zealand. The instrument addresses knowledge, affect and competencies in the general area of EL in line with this institution’s adoption of EL as a graduate attribute (or in a US context, a general-education learning outcome, and something to be fostered throughout a student’s education). The instrument and associated processes were designed to fit within conventional institutional mechanisms that manage student feedback on the quality of teaching. The instrument was tested with more than 600 students from more than eight programmes over the course of a year and its use stressed that students were anonymous within the survey. We conclude that evaluating (or in a US context, assessing) the extent to which students acquire EL is an achievable objective and is a reasonable expectation for any higher education institution that claims to foster this attribute.     

Academic health sciences librarians' contributions to institutional animal care and use committees

The study gathered data about librarians'' membership in institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) and their professional activities supporting animal researchers. Libraries affiliated with medical schools that were members of the Association of American Medical Colleges were surveyed. A survey was distributed via library directors'' email discussion lists and direct email messages. Sixty surveys were completed: 35 (58%) reported that librarians performed database searches for researchers, and 22 (37%) reported that a librarian currently serves on the IACUC. The survey suggests that academic health sciences librarians provide valuable, yet underutilized, services to support animal research investigators.     

Paul F-Brandwein 2004 Lecture: Regarding the Ecology of Science Education: Connections to Environmental and Distance Education

Paul F-Brandwein was a visionary who looked at education broadly. He left us with an insightful view of the ecology of education in which he identified three ecological systems: school–family–community, postsecondary, and cultural. The first part of this lecture, by Dean B. Bennett, examines Brandwein's ideas related to environmental education and explores the relationship of environmental education with science teaching in the K-12 school–family–community ecosystem. Focusing particularly on the middle-secondary level, evidence suggests that the goals of environmental education, since their emergence in the late 1960s, are today strongly evident in science curricula, instructional resources, educational assessment, and teacher education. But the author points out that more must be done and provides some fundamental suggestions. The second part of the lecture, by Sheila K. Bennett, examines the role of distance education in the teaching of science in the postsecondary ecosystem and addresses its value as a viable tool in promoting scientific literacy. The lecture focuses on a successful statewide, interdisciplinary laboratory science course delivered by interactive television, the Internet, and computer network. Now in its ninth year, the course reflects Brandwein's thinking about effective classroom teaching and is based on national standards for scientific literacy.