Key components of learning ecologies: A Delphi assessment

The educational landscape has changed in recent years, requiring reflection about new pedagogical methods and theories. There are three important perspectives as drivers of pedagogical reflection: lifelong and life-wide learning, the idea of learning as a social construct in which internal elements and changing external factors converge, and the recognition of technology as a resource that can promote ubiquitous and expanded learning. Learning ecology has been proposed as a conceptual and empirical framework, but its still emergent nature along with its multidimensionality and complexity require further exploration. The Delphi study we present as part of a broader research project aims to identify the components of learning ecologies. Three panel rounds with international experts were carried out, after which two important dimensions emerged in the structure of learning ecologies. The first is related to intrinsic “learning dispositions,” which is made up of three categories: the subject's ideas about learning, their motivations and expectations. The second dimension, called “learning processes,” comprises four components: relationships, resources, actions and context. The identification of the components of learning ecologies and their influence on formal, non-formal and informal training processes will provide guidance for educational policies and help to better organize training programmes.     

How to promote conservation behaviours: the combined role of environmental education and commitment

This study tested the influence of both environmental education (EE) and commitment interventions among teenagers for promoting energy and water conservation at home. Conservation behaviours were measured in two ways – directly and through questionnaires – prior to and after the interventions. Results indicate (1) EE participants may have saved more energy than non-participants and (2) those signing a public commitment saved more energy and water than those who did not. Results from the questionnaire measures demonstrated the importance of EE for promoting ecological self-identity and a personal norm for energy conservation. Based on these results the use of commitment interventions in EE initiatives for promoting conservation behaviours among teenagers is proposed.     

Influence of teachers and schools on students' civic outcomes in Latin America

The authors investigated to what extent teachers' practices and school characteristics can influence students' civic knowledge, civic attitudes, and future participation in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico and how this can be related to their specific curricular structures and educational content. It uses data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study. The results show that in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, teacher practices and attitudes relate to the civic outcomes. Although teachers' practices and attitudes significantly predict students' civic knowledge, this relationship does not seem relevant for students' expected participation and students' attitudes toward diversity. Still, the democratic environment of the school is a relevant variable in the case of expected participation of students and their attitudes toward diversity, which shows a possible indirect influence of teachers through the school environment. The results are discussed in relation to the civic education curriculum in place in the countries analyzed.     

Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

This paper draws upon a broader piece of research on assessment in higher education, particularly focusing on issues regarding the fairness and effectiveness of the assessment methods and their implications for the learning process. The perceptions of undergraduate students are analysed taking into account the effectiveness and fairness of both traditional and learner-centred assessment methods, as well their influence on the learning process. In total, 624 students participated in this study in five Portuguese Public Universities in different areas of knowledge and programmes. Data were collected through questionnaires. Findings suggest that assessment is seen as more effective and fairer when it is done through the use of learner-centred assessment methods rather than by traditional assessment (e.g. written tests or exams). The students also claim that they devote more time to study when assessment is performed through learner-centred assessment methods than by traditional ones. The most used assessment methods are written tests and oral presentations in group. However, differences in the programmes were identified as well as differences according to gender. Implications of the findings for assessment and for the teaching and learning process are discussed.     

Initial Characterization of Colombian High School Physics Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Electric Fields

We explore the initial characterization of the pedagogical content knowledge of four, in-service, Colombian pre-university secondary education physics teachers on the concept of electric field. Two of them teach the content in English as a second language. The aim of the study was to obtain an image of the participants’ teaching of electric field and the inherent complexities that go with that. The results revealed that factors which involved their personal educational models, such as, how they interpret their school’s curriculum, the relationship they see between physics and mathematics, the most effective strategies for teaching physics, and the time they have available to develop the topic played a significant role. The teachers considered it essential to establish new strategies that would motivate the pupils by helping them visualize the electric field.     

Teacher-child relationships and the development of academic and behavioral skills during elementary school: a within- and between-child analysis

Despite recent growth in research highlighting the potential of teacher-child relationships to promote children's development during the early years of school, questions remain about the importance of these relationships across elementary school. Using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 1,364), this study examines between- and within-child associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's academic achievement and behavior problems from kindergarten (ages 4-6 years) through 5th grade (ages 9-11 years). Results suggest that increases in teacher-child relationship quality are associated with improvements in teacher-reported academic skills and reductions in behavior problems consistently throughout elementary school. As children progressed from kindergarten through fifth grade, the importance of teacher-child relationship quality is unchanging.     

Invest for the Long Term or Attend to Immediate Needs? Schools and the Employment of Less Educated Youths and Adults

For the past 20 years, researchers worldwide have shared a consensus that tracking leads to failure in school. But educational systems continue to use this practice for many reasons. One argument used to support the practice is that students who enter the vocational track early in their careers tend to enter the labour market more quickly. Data show, however, that when these people are in their 40s, they become the most vulnerable to poverty, especially during periods of economic recession. In addition to moving towards more comprehensive educational systems as the best long-term way to improve the chances of all future adults, our research demonstrates that schools can play a key role in preventing and reversing the risk of unemployment and poverty of low educated youth. The INCLUD-ED project has analysed effective actions in eight European countries (Slovenia, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Romania, Belgium, Finland, and Spain) that respond to the educational needs of those who have experienced tracking. These effective alternatives are vocational programmes that include an academic-type of curriculum and allow students to move to higher education, as well as adult education programmes in schools which meet families' training needs, improving their opportunities in the labour market.     

PUKHA: a new pedagogical experience

Society needs responsible leaders and entrepreneurs. CDIO (conceive, design, implement and operate) is a framework for engineering education based on outcomes, more than on contents, that has been adopted by a growing number of engineering educational institutions for producing the next generation of engineering leaders. In order to support engineering students to become entrepreneurs and to bear other concerns than merely technical on today's rapid changing world, the authors believe the CDIO syllabus needs to be improved, and therefore propose a pre requisite to a useful CDIO perspective: IdEF, standing for Identify, Evaluate and Formulate real problems and needs. Based on this concept, this paper describes a new pedagogical project framework (PUKHA - to project, to undertake, to know how to achieve). Within PUKHA projects, more than 300 students have trained and checked their will, risk, responsibility, communication, leadership and entrepreneurship over the last three years.