The future direction of schooling

This chapter provides a cross-societal discussion of the findings of the Schooling for the future study, the case studies. It examines why senior educators and policy leaders in each of the six case study societies believe that bureaucratic school systems are the most likely scenario for future even though these are not the most desired. It examines some of the key factors that account for senior educators and policy leaders’ views, and the changes they argue are needed to achieve the desired scenario for the future. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the contribution and the implications of the study for the usefulness of the OECD scenarios as policy tools.     

College Student Responses to Web and Paper Surveys: Does Mode Matter?

We examined the responses of 58,288 college students to 8 scales involving 53 items from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to gauge whether individuals respond differently to surveys administered via the Web and paper. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that mode effects were generally small. However, students who completed the Web-based survey responded more favorably than paper on all 8 scales. These patterns generally held for both women and men, and younger and older students. Interestingly, the largest effect was found for a scale of items involving computing and information technology.     

Disruptive Behaviour in School,Personality Characteristics and Heart Rate (HR) Levels in 7‐ to 9‐year‐old Boys

Disruptive behaviour, as assessed by teachers, is reported as being consistently related to low base heart rates and low reactivity to mild stress. To date, most investigations have used mainstream school samples of boys within the 11‐16 age range approximately. It has been suggested that the predicted low base heart rates for antisocial children may be reversed in younger children. Present findings do not confirm such a trend in boys aged 7 to 9 years. Their responses were similar to those of older children. The implications for further research and the management of children in school are discussed.     

Alternative assessment of high school laboratory skills

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate instruments that will assess the laboratory skills of students completing high school science courses. In each of the science areas (biology, chemistry, and physics), tests were developed around six laboratory tasks. Each test used a two-part format with a total time of 80 minutes. Students had to plan an investigation, collect and organize appropriate data, and formulate conclusions based on calculations and graphs. A different test was developed for 12th-grade students not enrolled in a science course. This test consisted of a series of stations where students conducted a short activity that was presented to them. Over 1000 students from 32 Ohio schools formed the sample for this study. Data are presented by skill and by task. In addition, analysis for gender and school effects is included.     

School-site decision making in multicultural education: An Australian perspective

This paper examines a number of issues related to multicultural education and curriculum change. It focuses on school-level projects that were developed in Western Australian schools from 1979–1981. The results of the research raised the following points: teachers viewed multicultural education as a psycho-social rather than a socio-political phenomenon; the aims of multicultural education were seen to be best achieved by the collection of specific resource material; on-site implementation of the projects often led to changes being made to the original intentions of the project designers; qualitative research techniques proved more sensitive in portraying and consequently understanding the complexities associated with project implementation, and, finally, it seemed clear that more emphasis should be placed on understanding the role of the teacher as a policy mediator. It is at the school level that the final decisions are made about national policy intentions.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Bericht werden eine Anzahl von Fragen untersucht, die sich mit der Veränderung in der multikulturellen Erziehung und im Curriculum beschäftigen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf Projekten für Schulabgänger, die in Schulen Westaustraliens in der Zeit von 1979–1981 entwickelt wurden. Einige der Ergebnisse waren: Lehrer sahen multikulturelle Erziehung weniger als ein psychopolitisches, mehr aber als ein psychosoziales Problem; die Zielvorstellungen der multikulturellen Erziehung erschienen am besten an Hand spezifischen Quellenmaterials erreichbar; bei der Anwendung der Projekte waren häufig Abänderungen der ursprünglichen Intentionen der Projektdesigner erforderlich; qualitative Forschungstechniken erwiesen sich bei der Darstellung und infolgedessen bei dem Verständnis der mit der Projektausführung verbundenen komplexen Umstände als besonders geeignet. Schließlich wurde deutlich, daß die Rolle des Lehrers als Vermittler der Bildungspolitik mehr Aufmerksamkeit zuzudenken ist. Auf der Schulebene fallen die endgültigen Entscheidungen über die Intentionen der nationalen Bildungspolitik.

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Résumé Ce document étudie un certain nombre de problèmes relatifs à l'éducation multiculturelle et aux changements qu'il peut occasionner au niveau du curriculum. Il place un accent sur les projets concernant l'école qui ont été dévelopés en Australie occidentale de 1979 à 1981. Les résultats de ces recherches ont soulevé un certain nombre de points: les enseignants ont considéré l'éducation multiculturelle plutôt en tant que phénomène psycho-social que socio-politique et il s'est avéré que les objectifs de l'éducation multiculturelle pouvaient être le mieux atteints en réunissant des matériels de référence spécifiques; la mise en oeuvre sur place a souvent conduite à des changements qui ont été apportés aux premières intentions des planificateurs du projet; les techniques de recherche qualitative se sont montrées le plus efficaces dans la définition et par conséquence dans la compréhension des problèmes liés à la mise en oeuvre du projet et finalement, il a semblé qu'un accent soit placé sur la définition du rôle de l'enseignant en tant que médiateur politique. C'est au niveau de l'école que les décisions finales sont prises en ce qui concerne les intentions politiques nationales.

     

Observations from the classroom: When analogies go wrongi

Specializations: teachers' pedagogical knowledge, analogical reasoning, conceptual change.