A Cross‐Cultural Study of Art Teacher Education in Taiwan and England

This aim of this research was to investigate art teacher education in Taiwan and England to gain insights into two art education systems with a view to improving art teacher education in Taiwan. To achieve this aim, a cross‐cultural study using a multi‐method approach was adopted and data was collected over three years of full‐time study in England and four academic years of reflection on teaching in art teacher education in Taiwan. This research revealed how complex and hazardous it is to state categorically what the similarities and differences really are between two art teacher education systems, especially in a subject as ill‐defined as art. Nonetheless, this study did produce some important differences in the two art teacher education systems in aspects of (1) government regulations and institutional provision, (2) theoretical underpinning, (3) art curriculum policy and delivery, and (4) cultural differences affecting art teachers' attitudes and values.     

Children’s Literature and Education: A Memoir of Dr. Lawrence Sipe

A personal reflection about Dr. Sipe as a teacher and a mentor.     

Learning study: helping teachers to use theory, develop professionally, and produce new knowledge to be shared

The lesson study approach is a systematic process for producing professional knowledge about teaching by teachers, and has spread rapidly and extensively in the United States. The learning study approach is essentially a kind of lesson study with an explicit learning theory—the variation theory of learning. In this paper, we argue that having an explicit learning theory adds value to lesson study, as the variation theory of learning serves as a source of guiding principles for the teachers when they engage in pedagogical design, lesson analysis and evaluation. Through the use of two Hong Kong learning study cases, one from each of the two major ways of conducting learning study, we demonstrate the power of variation theory in explaining and predicting the relationship between what has taken place in the classroom and what the learners learn, and subsequently identifying ways to improve student learning through promoting teacher professional learning in a learning study setting.     

Teacher professionalism under the recent reform of performance pay in Mainland China

In 2009, a reform in teachers’ pay, linking remuneration to performance, was implemented in China. The intention was to improve the quality of education by making teachers more diligent and creative and removing the inequality in pay between teachers in different schools. A review of this reform reveals that it has resolved the problem of inequality between teachers working in different schools but has created a new inequality: between teachers within the same schools. Also, the performance evaluation, based mostly on quantitative data such as student test scores, has led to teachers formalising their work and adopting an approach of “compliant professionalism”. Teachers’ workloads have increased, and only teachers who perform well on empirical performance indicators are given opportunities for professional development and remuneration. The findings suggest that a focus on teaching and on teachers’ autonomy is needed to achieve the goal of improving the quality of education.     

Political bias in the news coverage of Taiwan's first presidential election: A comparative analysis of broadcast TV and cable TV news

This research examines how TV reported the campaign and the candidates during Taiwan's first‐ever presidential election in 1996.

A content analysis of evening news coverage of six TV stations indicated that the state‐owned broadcast TV stations were far more likely than the privately owned cable TV stations to give a greater amount of coverage and soundbites to the ruling party presidential and vice presidential candidates, using the ruling party officials as principal news sources. The TV Stations’ coverage also contained more news favourable to the ruling party candidates than to other candidates.

The future may well see a turning point in TV election coverage as well as in general news coverage in Taiwan. The three state‐owned broadcast TV stations face competition from privately owned cable TV stations and may soon be confronted with the loss of public trust and audience, unless they can provide fair and balanced news free from government control.     

The effects of forearm fatigue on baseball fastball pitching,with implications about elbow injury

This study investigated the contribution of flexor muscles to the forearm through fatigue; therefore, the differences in forearm mechanisms on the pitching motion in fastball were analysed. Fifteen baseball pitchers were included in this study. Ultrasonographical examination of participants’ ulnar nerve in the cubital tunnel with the elbow extended and at 45°, 90° and 120° of flexion was carried. A three-dimensional motion analysis system with 14 reflective markers attached on participants was used for motion data collection. The electromyography system was applied over the flexor carpi ulnaris, flexor carpi radialis and extensor carpi radialis muscles of the dominant arm. Flexor carpi ulnaris muscle activity showed a significant difference during the acceleration phase, with a peak value during fastball post-fatigue (P = 0.02). Significant differences in the distance between ulnar nerve and medial condyle on throwing arm and non-throwing arm were observed as the distance increased with the elbow movement from 0° to 120° of flexion (P = 0.01). The significant increase of the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle activity might be responsible for maintaining the stability of the wrist joint. The increased diameter might compress the ulnar nerve and cause several pathological changes. Therefore, fatigue in baseball pitchers still poses a threat to the ulnar nerve because the flexor carpi ulnaris and flexor carpi radialis all originate from the medial side of the elbow, and the swelling tendons after fatigue might be a key point.