Teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa: Navigating a way through competing state and global imperatives for change

This article focuses on teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that the restructuring and reorganization of teacher education is at the nexus of the axes of tension created by national and global imperatives for change. Along with the dismantling of apartheid and the transition to a free and democratic state in 1994 came the urgent need for social reconstruction, democratization, redress, social justice, and equity. At the same time, and as part of a global context, the country needed global competitiveness, human capital development, global skills, international standards, and accountability. These competing modernist discourses have informed the design and orientation of the National Qualifications Framework and national curriculum that took place in parallel with, and simultaneous to, the restructuring and reform of teacher education. This article reviews literature pertinent to understanding the post-apartheid transformation in South African education in general and teacher education in particular. It concludes that policy makers have managed to navigate a way through the axis of tension created by opposed orientations to transformation. A more equitable and improved system of teacher education has been achieved but critical issues of teacher quality and quantity have emerged which urgently need resolution.     

Emergent literacy activities in the final preschool year in the German federal states of Bavaria and Hesse

Emergent literacy activities are considered to be important for promoting children’s emergent literacy skills. However, little research exists, especially in Germany, regarding how often such activities occur and in what context. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of emergent literacy activities occurring in the final preschool year, and their dependence on structural characteristics. Ninety-six children (mean age = 5.9) from 50 preschools in two German federal states were observed in their final preschool year. Results show that emergent literacy activities relating to print materials play a minor role, whereas activities involving oral language play a major role, compared with other activities in children’s preschool experience. Results also indicate a significant link between child-related, family and distal characteristics (i.e. geographic location and federal state affiliation) and the frequency of emergent literacy activities.     

IS THE ACADEMY READY FOR ADULT STUDENTS?

The intention of this article is to assesss developments which have occurred in the universities of western Europe and North America in the twenty‐year period since UNESCO began work on a long‐term programme to promote the concept of universities as centres of lifelong learning. After describing ways in which universities and other higher education institutions have pursued the goal in question, citing cases drawn from Europe and North America, the author presents a number of conclusions with regard to how well traditional universities have wholly or partially adopted this new role. He concludes that much remains to be done before universities have fully accepted their roles as centres of lifelong learning but that they will be greatly stimulated and aided by the increased availability and use of the new information technologies.     

Action research in science education – an analytical review of the literature

Action research is suggested as a way to engage teachers in curriculum development and the betterment of teaching practices in schools based on educational research activities. As in other educational domains, action research in science education is employed with both aims to better understand and develop teaching practices and to contribute to teacher continuous professional development. A variety of methodological approaches using action research in science education exists, from more technical toward more emancipatory interpretations. The range of educational settings and goals for which action research is performed is also quite broad. The purpose of this analytical review of the international available literature is to provide an overview of the main aspects in applying action research in science education.     

Teacher education research and education policy-makers: an Australian perspective

As teacher educators, we want our research to be influential in contributing to educational policy and practice, but there remains little understanding about ways in which teacher educators might more productively engage with each other and policy-makers so as to maximise their research impact. Drawing on an empirical study and policy document analysis, this paper seeks to foster a generative ‘researcher-policy-maker dialogue’ by understanding more about policy-makers’ perspectives of what shapes their decision-making and the current role of research evidence in those decisions. Using a research utilisation theoretical framework and discourse analysis, data revealed various factors that served as barriers or enablers to using research in making education policy decisions. Results indicated that policy-makers largely position research as key to solving their policy problems. As such they sought better communication strategies to utilise research findings in a timely, free and publicly accessible, user-friendly manner. Overall, they called for a greater dialogue and engagement at all stages of the policy process and criticised what they perceived as a ‘fly in-fly out’ research approach. Recommendations suggest new collaborative approaches and genres are needed for the teacher education research community to have a greater impact in influencing policy.     

Moving toward a grand theory of development: in memory of Esther Thelen

This paper is in memory of Esther Thelen, who passed away while President of the Society for Research in Child Development. A survey of Esther Thelen's career reveals a trajectory from early work on simple movements like stepping, to the study of goal-directed reaching, to work on the embodiment of cognition, and, ultimately, to a grand theory of development--dynamic systems theory. Four central concepts emerged during her career: (1) a new emphasis on time; (2) the proposal that behavior is softly assembled from the interaction of multiple subsystems; (3) the embodiment of perception, action, and cognition; and (4) a new respect for individuality. Esther Thelen communicated these ideas to scientists and practitioners alike, so the ultimate benefactors of her work were children.     

Correction to: Computational Thinking,Between Papert and Wing

Science & Education -     

Infusing educational technologies in the heart of the university—A systematic literature review from an organisational perspective

Educational technologies have experienced unprecedented prominence on university agendas with many institutions motivated to keep the lessons learned from the COVID-19 sparked transition with regard to online teaching. In response to this renewed interest in ensuring the longevity of educational technologies in higher education, this systematic review analysed the various organisational factors—for example, leadership, infrastructure, strategy—considered essential in the literature for the successful implementation of educational technologies. Specifically, we reviewed 1614 papers published in five prominent educational technology journals in the last decade. From this sample, we identified 47 papers that discussed organisational factors. Drawing on these studies, we constructed an organisational framework, which outlines the different organisational factors, actors and processes involved in implementing educational technologies. The identified organisational factors are structured into three main categories: (1) Leadership and Strategy, (2) Infrastructure and Resources and (3) Recognition and Motivation. Our aim was to further the scholarly understanding of the organisational layer involved in digital change as well as provide concrete recommendations for practitioners.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Previous research has stressed the importance of taking organisational factors such as infrastructure, leadership, strategy and staff commitment into account when implementing educational technologies.
• However, review papers have failed to systematically organise these studies to create a comprehensive understanding of the organisational factors involved in implementing educational technologies and ensuring their longevity at an institution.
• There is currently a high level of interest in how educational technologies can be implemented in the higher education landscape, as many institutions are facing the question of what lessons they can learn from the crisis and how they can continue on their path of digitalisation.

What this paper adds

• This review paper addresses a gap in our scholarly understanding of the organisational layers involved in the implementation of educational technologies in higher education institutions (HEIs).
• This paper provides a framework on organisational factors, which influence the implementation of educational technologies in HEIs.
• This review paper demonstrates that bottom-up and opinion leadership, support structures tailored to the need and time of faculty as well as recognition and incentives have the largest impact on a sustainable implementation of educational technologies in HEIs.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Universities should create structures that enable innovation and creativity by promoting bottom-up and opinion leadership as well as shared decision-making processes as they are important for the successful implementation of educational technologies in HEIs.
• Besides providing a reliable and suitable infrastructure, institutional support and resources in terms of technical advice and training tailored to specific needs, should be in place when planning the implementation of educational technologies in HEIs.
• The additional workload instructors face when implementing digital teaching should be recognised and incentivised as it strengthens instructor engagement which is crucial for the implementation of educational technologies in HEIs.

     

Raising student engagement using digital nudges tailored to students' motivation and perceived ability levels

Participation in educational activities is an important prerequisite for academic success, yet often proves to be particularly challenging in digital settings. Therefore, this study set out to increase participation in an online proctored formative statistics exam by digital nudging. We exploited targeted nudges based on the Fogg Behaviour Model, highlighting the relevance of acknowledging differences in motivation and ability in allocating nudges to elicit target behaviour. First, we assessed whether pre-existing levels of motivation and perceived ability to participate are effective in identifying different propensities of responsiveness to plain untailored nudges. Next, we evaluated whether tailoring nudges to students' motivation and perceived ability levels increases target behaviour by means of a randomized field experiment in which 579 first-year university students received 6 consecutive emails over the course of three weeks to nudge behaviour regarding successful participation in the online exam. First, the results point out that motivation explains differences in engagement as indicated by student responsiveness and participation, whereas the perceived ability to participate does not. Second, the results from the randomized field experiment indicate that tailored nudging did not improve observed engagement. Implications for the potential of providing motivational information to improve participation in online educational activities are discussed, as are alternatives for capturing perceived ability more effectively.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Participation in educational activities is an important prerequisite for academic success, yet often proves to be particularly challenging in digital settings.
• Students' internal barriers to online participation and persistence in higher education are lack of motivation and perceived ability.
• Nudging interventions tackle students' behavioural barriers, and are particularly effective when guided by a theory of behaviour change, and when targeting students who suffer most from those barriers.

What this paper adds

• This study examines whether the Fogg Behaviour Model is suited to guide a nudging intervention with the aim to increase student engagement in online higher education.
• This study examines whether students with different levels of motivation and perceived ability vary in their online behaviour in response to nudges.
• This study experimentally evaluates whether targeted nudges—targeted at students' motivation and perceived ability—are more effective than plain (not-targeted) nudges.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• The results indicate the importance of motivation for performing nudged behaviours regarding successful participation in an online educational activity.
• The results do not provide evidence for the role of perceived digital ability, yet do show prior performance on a similar educational activity can effectively distinguish between students' responsiveness.
• Targeted nudges were not more effective than plain nudges, but the potential of other motivational nudges and how to increase perceived performance are discussed.