Trainee Primary Teachers’ Ideas about the Ozone Layer

The ideas of trainee primary teachers about the ozone layer have been examined. Students were well informed about the nature and location of the ozone layer and appreciated that it screens the Earth from ultraviolet (UV) rays, although some thought that it protects the Earth from acid rain. Most identified real causes of ozone layer depletion, but many thought that radioactivity and factory and vehicle emissions cause ozone layer degradation. Almost all realised that ozone depletion might cause more skin cancers; fewer recognised other potential biological problems. Many confused ozone layer depletion with global warming. The proportions holding these ideas were similar to those of older secondary school children, suggesting that misconceptions persist to the adult population. Since these ideas were found in final year trainee teachers, there is a danger that erroneous ideas or the attitudes based on them might be perpetuated in a formal learning context.     

Benefits,Challenges, and Opportunities of Conducting a Collaborative Research Course in an International University Partnership: A Study Case Between Kansas State University and Tallinn University of Technology

A globalized world requires research to transcend geographical boundaries; this includes training students in international collaborative research. The purpose of this project was to identify the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of students from two universities (Kansas State Univ. and Tallin Univ. of Technology) working on an international research project together. For this purpose, six graduate students from the Center for Sensory Analysis and Consumer Behavior, Kansas State Univ., partnered with 20 Food Science major students from a Product Development class at Tallinn Univ. of Technology. Students worked together by distance in a partnership developing a rye bread sensory lexicon for systematically understanding the sensory properties of this product category, conducting Landscape analysis by using sensory mapping techniques on rye bread products from Northeast Europe for capturing the market complexity and to identify opportunity for new product development and new products concepts. Students from Kansas then went to Estonia for further meetings. After the trip, students and professors were asked for their feedback. Results showed that students identify learning food trends from another country as the main benefit of their international collaboration, followed by intercultural skills and knowledge transfer. Language and difference in time zones, as well as educational backgrounds, were identified by students as the main challenges of the collaboration. When US students were asked to rate the learning outcomes stated in the syllabus, understanding the cultural characteristics of Estonia was the one scored highest. Professors mentioned this opportunity is unique because it gives a cultural component programs usually not only an offer and a chance to develop time management skills by working across divergent time zones, but also to practice options for managing language barriers. This project shows that it is possible to setup a partnership between students across different countries and have a positive outcome that includes unique learning experiences for students; especially in terms of time and project management.     

Aims of education in South Africa

The first part of this paper gives a historical account of the aims of education under Apartheid, and discusses the ideological success of Apartheid education. The second part argues that a significant discussion — that is one which could have some purchase on schooling policy and educational practice — of aims of education in South Africa is not possible at present because the historical preconditions for such a discussion are not satisfied. It is argued that Apartheid has generated a political perspective which is unsympathetic to a discussion of aims of education; that the dominance of a social engineering model of schooling distorts a discussion of aims of education; and that a shared moral discourse, which is a necessary condition for a significant discussion of aims of education, does not yet exist in South Africa.

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Zusammenfassung Der erste Teil dieses Artikels enthält einen historischen Bericht über Erziehungsziele unter dem Apartheidssystem und untersucht den ideologischen Erfolg dieser Apartheiderzichung. Im zweiten Teil wird erläutert, daß eine sinnvolle Diskussion — nämlich eine, die einen gewissen Einfluß auf die Schulpolitik und die erzieherische Praxis nehmen könnte — über Erziehungsziele in Südafrika zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt nicht möglich wäre, da die historischen voraussetzungen für eine solche Diskussion nicht gegeben sind. Im weiteren wird ausgeführt, daß die Apartheid eine politische Perspektive erzeugt hat, die einer Diskussion über Erziehungsziele nicht förderlich ist, daß das herrschende Erziehungsmodell, das hauptsächlich der Strukturierung der Gesellschaft dient, eine solche Diskussion verzerrt und daß ein gemeinsamer moralischer Rahmen, der die notwendige Voraussetzung für eine sinnvolle Diskussion über Erziehungsziele ist, in Südafrika bisher noch nicht existiert.

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Résumé La première partie de cet article présente un exposé historique des objectifs de l'éducation sous l'apartheid et examine le succès idéologique de l'éducation de ce système. Dans la deuxième partie, on affirme qu'une discussion importante (c'est-à-dire qui aurait une certaine influence sur la politique et la pratique éducatives) sur les objectifs de l'éducation en Afrique du Sud n'est pas possible à l'heure actuelle attendu que les conditions préalables à une telle discussion ne sont pas remplies. On souligne que l'apartheid a engendré une perspective politique qui n'est pas favorable à une discussion sur les objectifs de l'éducation; que la dominance d'un modèle éducatif social manigancé fausse la discussion sur les objectifs éducatifs; et qu'un discours moral partagé, qui est le préalable à une discussion pertinente sur les objectifs de l'éducation, n'existe encore pas en Afrique du Sud.