Evolution in Freedom? The Meanings of ‘Free School’ in Chile

This article examines the background in which enterprises called free schools, as well as complementary educational activities, have taken root in Chile. Two kinds of recently burgeoning free schools are identified; one supplementing regular schooling with a social justice focus, and another that is a fully fledged alternative to other schooling. The history of freedom itself in Chile is explored from a historical perspective, contrasting somewhat with freedom as it is understood in more developed countries. Parallels to Anglophone free schools such as AS Neill’s Summerhill are also discussed, as well as the sociopolitical context in which Chilean free schools continue to develop.     

Student-designed games in secondary education. Effects and perspectives from students and teachers

Abstract

The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the extended use of student-designed games. 207 students (grades: eight, nine, eleven) from one school participated. They were randomly divided in Experimental (student-designed games) and Equivalent group (traditional instruction). Both experienced the same learning units (two, 12 sessions) over the same time (six weeks). The study followed a pretest, post-test, quantitative-qualitative research design. Data was obtained through questionnaire, diary and open-ended question. Quantitative results showed statistically significant differences at post-test in Autonomy and Important role favoring the Experimental group. Students’ qualitative data produced positive: student empowerment, innovation, fun and learning, and negative themes: lack of flow, boring and no democracy. From the teacher’s diary also emerged positive: student empowerment and increased participation and negative themes: lack of flow. Student-designed games can empower students, increasing their autonomy and important role, but they also have limitations.     

头戴百角的奥拉夫

Olav was the most terrible of all the 1)Vikings.With just his bare hands,he could defeat a bull in seconds.To let people know who he was,he adorned his 2)helmet with a hundred 3)horns,and on his 4)cloak were a thousand 5)precious stones,one stone for each enemy he had defeated.     

Spanish parents’ perception of family media literacy / Percepción de padres y madres españoles acerca de la alfabetización audiovisual familiar

The family is the main network of relationships in which the values and norms for living in society are transmitted. In a society where the presence of the media is prominent, media literacy in the family is more important than ever. For this reason, this study aims to analyse Spanish families’ perception of all aspects related to their knowledge about the media, their use of the media, their critical and expressive capacity and their perception of the weaknesses and risks of the media. To do so, we have analysed data from nine Spanish regions through focus groups (FG) with the participation of parents representing different kinds of families. The evidence collected highlights the need for media training for all family members so they can actively, critically and creatively take advantage of the potential afforded by the technologies and media in education for active, participatory citizenship.     

Making Real Analysis Relevant to Secondary Teachers: Building Up from and Stepping Down to Practice

Future teachers often claim that advanced undergraduate courses, even those that attempt to connect to school mathematics, are not useful for their teaching. This paper proposes a new way of designing advanced undergraduate content courses for secondary teachers. The model involves beginning with an analysis of the curriculum and practices of school mathematics and its teaching, and then using those to build up to the advanced mathematics – in this case, real analysis. After developing definitions, examples, theorems, and proofs, the model then reconnects to practice, asking the teachers to translate ideas from real analysis in ways that are appropriate for teaching high school content to students. To illustrate the model, we provide and discuss two example tasks.     

Willingness toward organ and body donation among anatomy professors and students in Mexico

Most anatomists agree that cadaver dissection serves as a superior teaching tool in human anatomy education. However, attitudes toward body donation vary widely between different individuals. A questionnaire was developed to determine the attitudes toward body and organ donation among those who learn the most from cadavers: medical students, medical student teaching assistants, medical students involved in research, and anatomy professors. A cross‐sectional, prospective study was designed in which the questionnaire was distributed among first‐year human anatomy students before undertaking cadaver dissection at the beginning of the semester, and then again after a commemoration service at the end of the course. The questionnaire items included demographic data, as well as questions designed to characterize participants' attitudes regarding body/organ donation from strangers, family members, and whether participants would consider such practices with their own bodies. Out of a total of 517 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course in the Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico during January to June 2016, 95% responded to the first (491) and second (490) surveys. Participants' opinions on their own organ donation was similar before and after exposure to cadaver dissection, with between 87% and 81% in favor of such practices, and only 3% against it, in both surveys. Participants' willingness to donate their own bodies, as well as those of family members, increased, while reluctance regarding such practices decreased by half (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05). Professors had the highest rates of positive opinions regarding their own body donation (74.9%), with 18.8% undecided. Low opposition toward organ and body donation remains prevalent among both anatomists and physicians in training in Mexico. Anat Sci Educ 10: 589–597. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Meta-Theoretical Contributions to the Constitution of a Model-Based Didactics of Science

There is nowadays consensus in the community of didactics of science (i.e. science education understood as an academic discipline) regarding the need to include the philosophy of science in didactical research, science teacher education, curriculum design, and the practice of science education in all educational levels. Some authors have identified an ever-increasing use of the concept of ‘theoretical model’, stemming from the so-called semantic view of scientific theories. However, it can be recognised that, in didactics of science, there are over-simplified transpositions of the idea of model (and of other meta-theoretical ideas). In this sense, contemporary philosophy of science is often blurred or distorted in the science education literature. In this paper, we address the discussion around some meta-theoretical concepts that are introduced into didactics of science due to their perceived educational value. We argue for the existence of a ‘semantic family’, and we characterise four different versions of semantic views existing within the family. In particular, we seek to contribute to establishing a model-based didactics of science mainly supported in this semantic family.     

analysis of r & d failure

The basic issue of this paper is to investigate whether the relationship between market determinateness and performance found in the Israeli biomedical electronics industry reflects a particular pattern of comparative advantage or whether inadequate program execution was responsible for a part or all of the failures. For this purpose we build a tentative framework for analysing failure. This framework is based on a distinction between what we term causes of failure (inappropriate behavior or uncertainty) and their manifestation at the time of program suspension. Inappropriate behavior (and uncertainty) appears at three levels: overall firm level, choice of program, and program execution. Firm variables (size, market involvement, and management orientation) play a role both in determining inappropriate firm behavior and in explaining it. The results point to the predominance of inappropriate program selection (i.e. lack of comparative advantage) in explaining failure, despite the prevalence of faulty program execution. Inappropriate program selection is the result of insufficient exploratory search coupled with a management orientation which underestimates the importance of marketing aspects in the innovation of process. It also leads to inappropriate execution of innovation programs.     

La integración de la representación audiovisual en la Reforma Educativa

La palabra y la imagen son los grandes medios para la comunicación pedagógica. En este artículo se analizan la perspectiva y posibilidades que la LOGSE (cuyos presupuestos, se afirma, apuestan casi al cien por cien por el medio verbal) ofrece para contar con la comunicación audiovisual en la educación.