Paulo Freire’s critical and dialogic pedagogy and its implications for the Bahraini educational context

Abstract

This paper is a conceptual analysis in methodology. The purpose it fulfils is that of analysing the critical and dialogic pedagogy of Paulo Freire, to arrive at implications of Freire’s philosophy and approach for the current educational context of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahraini context is currently one of major economic, social, and educational reforms. Despite several reform initiatives, however, schools in Bahrain are still not advancing as they should be and deficiencies continue to exist in students’ development of higher-order thinking skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and analysis. Among the implications made by this study are ones related to: teaching and learning practices within a classroom, cultivation of 21st Century skills, curriculum development and planning, and the role played by the teacher. The paper ends with a number of significant recommendations for teachers and policy-makers, which can enhance education in Bahrain and help it progress faster. These recommendations can also prove to be useful to other parallel contexts regionally and internationally.     

A comparative study of conventional and supercritical fluid extraction methods for the recovery of secondary metabolites from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Syzygium campanulatum</Emphasis> Korth

Syzygium campanulatum Korth is a plant, which is a rich source of secondary metabolites (especially flavanones, chalcone, and triterpenoids). In our present study, three conventional solvent extraction (CSE) techniques and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) techniques were performed to achieve a maximum recovery of two flavanones, chalcone, and two triterpenoids from S. campanulatum leaves. Furthermore, a Box-Behnken design was constructed for the SFE technique using pressure, temperature, and particle size as independent variables, and yields of crude extract, individual and total secondary metabolites as the dependent variables. In the CSE procedure, twenty extracts were produced using ten different solvents and three techniques (maceration, soxhletion, and reflux). An enriched extract of five secondary metabolites was collected using n-hexane:methanol (1:1) soxhletion. Using food-grade ethanol as a modifier, the SFE methods produced a higher recovery (25.5%?84.9%) of selected secondary metabolites as compared to the CSE techniques (0.92%?66.00%).     

Head Teachers' Perspectives on School Drop-Out in Secondary Schools in Rural Punjab,Pakistan

This study investigates head teachers' perspectives of the school dropout problem at public secondary schools in rural Punjab, Pakistan. The study is based on qualitative methods and included interviews to collect primary data. Sixteen districts of the Punjab where secondary school dropout rate is above 20% were purposively selected for the study. The findings indicate that—other than some socioeconomic and individual factors—different exam patterns at primary, elementary, and secondary levels; easy promotion policy in early classes; English medium syllabus; substandard educational background of students; high failure rate in class 9; and top-down pressures on teachers to perform nonacademic duties are major causes of children dropping out from school. The findings of the study suggest that only through implementation of a socio-culturally compatible syllabus—a corresponding examination system for all levels—allowing students to repeat class 9 in case they fail, setting teachers free from nonteaching duties and providing extra financial support to economically underprivileged students can significantly prevent school dropout at secondary level. The study further argues that easy promotion policy in early classes may retain more children at school but it causes high rates of dropout from secondary classes.     

Student attrition and academic and social integration: Application of Tinto’s model at the University of Papua New Guinea

This study explores the compensatory relationship between academic and social integration, and also assesses the differences of group specific academic and social integration in a small university in the Pacific as perceived by the students. In order to reduce attrition through developing a relevant retention policy, a comprehensive group specific assessment of academic and social integration was necessary. Using the Tinto model and research instruments, an institutional academic and social integration assessment instrument was developed for measuring perceived integration climate for specific subject and year of studies groups. An important outcome of this study was the existence of a compensatory relationship between academic and social integration. Differences were found between perceived ratings of student groups for both academic and social integration.     

Implications of Institutional Repositories on Contributors' Professional and Publishing Practices: A Survey

An institutional repository is a system for dissemination and stewardship of the intellectual life and scholarship of an institution. It has become a new way for the institutions to contribute to the broader world of scholarship (Giesecke, 2011 Giesecke, J. (2011). Institutional repositories: Keys to success. Journal of Library Administration, 51(5–6), 529–542. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience/255[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). In spite of the global recognition of institutional repositories as an open access scholarly communication channel, institutional repositories are still struggling with the problem of non-participation from contributors in developing countries like India. This study conveys the results of a survey conducted at a minority university of India. The study is an expression of the opinion of 542 faculty members and research scholars pertaining to the possible implications of institutional repositories on their professional and publishing practices. The study is undertaken to: Determine the level of awareness of institutional repository among contributors; identify the reasons for participation and non-participation of contributors; examine the implications of institutional repository on contributors professional and publishing practices; analyze the major obstacles/hindrances in the growth of an institutional repository; and suggest measures for better implementation and development of an institutional repository in future. With the help of the statistical techniques such as chi-square test and weighted mean the study resulted that the majority of the contributors are well aware about the concept of institutional repository, the majority of contributors have not deposited in an institutional repository so far, long term preservation of research materials is the first ranked reason for participation in an institutional repository, copyright and plagiarism concern is the main reason behind contributors’ non-participation in institutional repository, increased accessibility of research output is the major implication of the institutional repository on contributors professional practices, saved cost of publishing in a journal is the biggest implication of institutional repository on contributors publishing practices, and contributors demand more control on ownership, access and security in future for an institutional repository. This article is aimed at the institutions that report low-use and low-deposit repositories. It may be used to convince the contributors about the value of institutional repositories, importance of participating in an institutional repository and possible implications on their professional and publishing practices. The study is also intended at the management of the institutions to take notice of the contributors’ demands for future participation and develop policies accordingly for removing major barriers in the growth of institutional repositories and improving contributions and quality of content in the institutional repositories.     

纳米银的制备及其抑菌机理

为探究纳米银的抑菌机理,采用扫描电子显微镜(Scanning Electron Microscopy,SEM)和高分辨率透射电子显微镜(Transmission Electron Microscopy,TEM)对纳米银和载银介孔氧化硅进行表征,开展纳米银、载银介孔氧化硅以及纳米铁和纳米银混合粉体的抑菌实验以及生长曲线的对比分析.实验结果表明,银离子的释放速度和氧化速度是纳米银具有抑菌能力的关键,在一定浓度和一定时间内,释放速度或氧化速度越快,抑菌效果越早显现.     

A challenging educational reform: politics of history textbook revision in North Cyprus

History education has been continually challenged by political competition in Cyprus. The education systems on both sides of the divide reflect the ongoing ethnic conflict and suffer from ethnocentrism. In particular, the history textbooks are used to convey and legitimise official narratives and reinforce identities defined vis-à-vis the other. As a result of the political debates in the early-2000s, a challenging process of educational reform and revision of history textbooks started in North Cyprus. This paper provides a historical perspective on the changes in the Cypriot history textbooks, and undertakes an in-depth comparative analysis of the old, revised and re-revised Cyprus history textbooks that have been used in schools from 1971 until the present day. The data was collected from document analysis of the textbooks used in lower- and upper-secondary schools both before and after the education reform.     

Film als Medium religiöser Bildung

Zusammenfassung Die Praktische Theologie protestantischer Pr?gung beginnt, den Film als Medium religi?ser Bildung zu entdecken. Diese Entwicklung steht im Kontext einer generellen kulturhermeneutischen Orientierung der Praktischen Theologie, die die Auseinandersetzung mit religi?sen Ph?nomenen auch au?erhalb des traditionellen Christentums vorantreibt. In diesem Zusammenhang ist deutlich geworden, dass die Erz?hlungen der audiovisuellen Medienkultur und insbesondere der Kinofilm wichtige Sinndeutungsfunktionen von der traditionellen Religionskultur des Christentums übernommen haben und damit auch für die Prozesse religi?ser Bildung relevant geworden sind. Der Film ist dabei besonders im Jugendalter von Bedeutung, insbesondere der Spielfilm fungiert als wichtige Ressource für die Sinn- und Wertorientierung Jugendlicher. Dass und wie religi?se Sinnmuster in Filmen von den Rezipienten auch aufgegriffen werden, zeigen erste Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprojektes am Berliner Seminar für Praktische Theologie am Beispiel des Films „Cast Away — Verschollen“ (USA 2001). Vor diesem Hintergrund und auf der Basis eines an überlegungen von Volker Ladenthin anknüpfenden Verst?ndnisses von Bildung als Selbstbildung wird die Auseinandersetzung mit Kinofilmen als wichtige Aufgabe eines Religionsunterrichtes eingefordert, der auf der H?he seiner Zeit sein will.

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Summary Film as a Medium of Religious Education Protestant Practical Theology has begun to discover films as a medium of religious education. This development emerges within the context of a general cultural hermeneutic orientation of Practical Theology which encourages the treatment of religious phenomena outside of Christianity’s traditional fora. It is now recognized that stories in the audio-visual media culture and particularly cinematic films have acquired a significant function for making-sense of the world — traditionally the role of religious culture — and have, therefore, become relevant for processes of religious education. Films are particularly important for youth culture and especially movies act as significant resources for young people’s understanding and value-orientation. First results of a research project at the Berlin Institute for Practical Theology demonstrate, using the example of “Cast Away” (USA 2001), that religious patterns of meaning in films are adopted by recipients and how this occurs. Based on this research and a concept of education as self-education pace Volker Ladenthin, a critical treatment of movies is argued to be an important task for religious courses, which strive to be contemporary.

     

电信类学科实验室建设新模式的探索

电子信息类专业从根本上来说归属于工程技术学科 ,设置科学合理的实验教学环节对培养学生的创新能力、综合能力和动手能力都将起着极其重要的作用。本论文针对我国目前电子信息类学科专业实验课教学的现状 ,对该领域的专业实验室建设模式进行了一些新的模式探讨     

Students’ perceptions of the learning environment in tertiary science classrooms in Myanmar

We investigated students’ perceptions of their science classroom environments with the use of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire at the university level in Myanmar. The translated questionnaire was administered to 251 students in first-year science classes at a university. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported the reliability and factorial validity of the Myanmar version of the WIHIC. The constructs of the WIHIC were significantly correlated, but gender differences were not detected in correlations between WIHIC scales. Future research is needed to see if our Myanmar version of the WIHIC fits other samples in schools and universities in this context. It is also suggested that future studies include measures of student attitudes and academic achievement to permit investigation of associations between the learning environment and student outcomes in this country.