Tradition and modernization: Educational consequences of changes in Hungarian society

Summary The problem of preserving tradition and initiating modernization has caused headaches for educational policy makers and theorists in Hungary for centuries. The perennial problem has been joined by several new problems as the country tries to find its way from Stalinist totalitarianism to pluralist democracy. In education this change is marked by the shift from crude political indoctrination and from an officially-imposed value system to critical thinking and the plurality of values. The paper follows the major changes in educational philosophy and policy in the past forty years with a special focus on recent developments. A short summary is provided of the educational programs of different political forces and an outline of the basis of a possible new educational philosophy is given.

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Zusammenfassung Jahrhundertelang haben sich Entscheidungsträger und Theoretiker im Erziehungsbereich in Ungarn über das Problem der Erhaltung der Tradition bei gleichzeitiger Einführung von Modernisierungen den Kopf zerbrochen. Mehrere neue Probleme kamen zu diesem Dauerproblem hinzu, da das Land versucht, seinen Weg von stalinistischer totalitärer Staatsform zu pluralistischer Demokratie zu finden. Im Bereich der Erziehung macht sich diese Veränderung in einer Verlagerung von nackter politischer Indoktrination und offiziell auferzwungenem Wertesystem zu kritischem Denken und vielfältigen Wertvorstellungen bemerkbar. Der Artikel verfolgt die wichtigsten Veränderungen in Erziehungsphilosophie und-politik der letzten vierzig Jahre, besonders im Hinblick auf die jüngsten Entwicklungen. Eine kurze Zusammenfassung beinhaltet die Erziehungsprogramme verschiedener politischer Kräfte und gibt einen Überblick über die Grundsätze einer möglichen neuen Philosophie über die Erziehung.

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Résumé Pendant des siècles le problème de la préservation de la tradition et de l'introduction de la modernisation fut un casse-tête pour les responsables et les théoriciens de l'éducation en Hongrie. Plusieurs nouveaux problèmes sont venus se greffer à cette question pérenne depuis que la Hongrie s'efforce de passer du totalitarisme stalinien à une démocratie pluraliste. Dans le domaine de l'éducation, ce changement est marqué par le passage d'un rude endoctrinement politique et d'un système de valeurs, imposé officiellement à une penséc critique et à une pluralité de valeurs. Le présent article examine successivement les changements majeurs qui sont intervenus dans la philosophie et la politique éducatives au cours des quarante dernières années en mettant un accent particulier sur les événements récents. On donne un bref résumé des programmes éducatifs des diverses forces politiques ainsi qu'une esquisse de la base d'une nouvelle philosophie éducative envisageable.

     

The Impact of Teacher-Directed and Child-Directed Pretend Play on Cognitive Competence in Kindergarten Children

The goal of our research was to study different forms of organization of pretend play on children's cognitive performance in a mixed-age environment. We studied two forms of management of the playing process: (a) teacher-directed play with simultaneous involvement of all children in the classroom, where the teacher plays the dominant role in the education process directing children's activity, and (b) child-directed play in various small groups. Twenty-six observations were performed on 51 children in two mixed-age classrooms. The mean age of the children was 4.6 years, with age span from 3 to 6 years. Data were collected regarding children's affective and cognitive behavior according to generally accepted taxonomies: Bloom for the cognitive domain, and Krathwohl for affective domain. We found a significant increase in cognitive manifestations during direction of the playing process in groups compared with frontal management of the lesson (113.1 ± 12.1 vs. 45.7 ± 10.3, mean ± SEM, p < 0.0001), which is related with better employment of the powerful education engine of the free-play children.     

Programming MOOCs – different learners and different motivation

ABSTRACT

MOOCs for learning the basics of programming have become popular among people with a diverse range of backgrounds, interests and learning contexts. Studies show that learners who enrol in MOOCs tend to have different motivation from learners in traditional courses, but it is not known how motivation differs for people with different backgrounds. This study aims to describe how the motivational factors behind enrolment in programming MOOCs relate to learners’ characteristics. The data were gathered in the spring of 2017 with a motivation scale (FIEM) from 1,536 participants of the MOOC ‘About Programming’. Using comparative analysis, differences in motivational factors between groups by gender, employment status and previous experiences in programming were found. Correlational analysis revealed that educational level, age and self-evaluated probability of completing the MOOC were also related to motivational factors. Different people are motivated by different factors, indicating that this knowledge could be used to design interesting and motivating programming MOOCs, which are relevant to learners with various backgrounds.     

Undergraduates Leading Undergraduates: Peer Facilitation in a Science Workshop Program

This article presents the results of a study investigating the experiences of undergraduatesacting as peer leaders in an extensive peer-led team learning program in introductory undergraduate sciences and engineering courses. In an effort to understand the facilitator experience in the program better and to report initial findings on the benefits derived through a peer-facilitation experience, the study identified multiple areas in which peer facilitators reported experiences ofgrowth and the ways in which they understood and responded to this growth. Marina Micari, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, is Associate Researcher, Gateway Science Workshop Program, Northwestern University. Her interests include adult continuing education and cross-cultural communication. Bernhard Streitwieser, Ph.D. Columbia University, is Associate Director, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University, and Lecturer, German Department, Northwestern University. His interests include comparative education and contemporary German society; European Education and systemic reform. Gregory Light, Ph.D., University of London, is Director, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University. His interests include the theory and practice of learning and teaching in higher and professional education.     

University academics’ experiences of learning through mentoring

The use of mentoring for staff development is well established within schools and the business sector, yet it has received limited consideration in the higher education literature as an approach to supporting learning for academics. In this study located at one metropolitan university in Australia, an online questionnaire and one-on-one semi-structured interviews were used to explore academics’ experiences of mentoring, with a view to understanding the broader benefits mentoring might offer to the academic community. Findings from the study highlight that in an era where change is pervasive tertiary education providers should consider implementing mentoring as a valuable approach for supporting the work of academics. The academics in this research explained that through mentoring, they learnt how to build professional relationships and friendships; it helped them develop a sense of personal satisfaction; acted as a catalyst for career and leadership enhancement; expanded understandings of teaching and research and as a consequence of engaging in self-reflection it opened up new ways of thinking about their work.     

Opening dimensions of variation: An empirical study of learning in a Web-based discussion

The discussions held in specifying an automaticvehicle as a project in a distance work-relatedcourse are in focus for an analysis of learningin networked discussions. Learning ischaracterised as coming to experience things indistinctly new ways, in keeping with theunderlying phenomenographic research approachfor the study. Group discussions are seen asone feature in the experience of, and theformation of, the context for learning, in anexperiential interpretation of activitysystems. The analysis has led to theidentification of pivotal contributions todiscussions that can be said to afford learningwithin the group, in the sense of openingdimensions of variation around criticalfeatures of the task. This is developed toproduce a taxonomy of contributions, withparticipatory, factual, reflective and learningcontributions, suggested to be necessary,though not sufficient, conditions for learning.The taxonomy is illustrated and discussed, asare its implications for tutoring in networkedcourses of this type.     

The new student loan system in Chile’s higher education

Chile’s higher education system stands out as being one of the most privatized and open to the market in the world. Recently, the Chilean Congress passed Law # 20.027 of 2005, which provides the legal framework for the creation of a student loan system guaranteed both by the State and by higher education institutions (HEIs), financed by the private capital market through the securitization of the loans. The system operated for the first time in 2006, where approximately 21,000 students were able to access financing of their higher education for the remainder of their careers. It is expected that as the system matures, more and better information will be available, which will benefit the students and the HEIs; and it is highly likely that the current number of financed students could grow significantly in the next few years. The purpose of this article is to describe the outstanding characteristics of this system, explain its conceptual basis and analyze the public policy choices available in its design.

The influence of flow on learning outcomes: An empirical study on the use of clickers

Flow is a state of total absorption and concentration in an activity that is desirable for students, as it enhances the learning experience. Due to the importance of flow for learning, this research investigates the influence of three flow preconditions—namely balance of skill and challenge, feedback and goal clarity—on students' flow, operationalized as heightened concentration, sense of control and autotelic experience, while using clickers—a type of polling device. The study also explores the impact of concentration, sense of control and autotelic experience on students' perceived learning and satisfaction. Based on a survey of 204 undergraduate students who use clickers in the classroom, the findings show that balance of skill and challenge has a positive influence on students' concentration, sense of control and autotelic experience. Both feedback provided by clickers and goal clarity have a positive influence on concentration and sense of control, but do not influence the autotelic experience. Findings also corroborate the positive impact of concentration and sense of control experienced by students on perceived learning. Finally, autotelic experience predicts both perceived learning and satisfaction.