Ecological and intercultural citizenship in the primary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom: an online project in Argentina

This article describes an online intercultural citizenship project concerning the environment in the primary English-language classroom carried out in 2013/2014 between Argentina and Denmark. It is part of a network of projects coordinated by Michael Byram that involves teachers and researchers in Europe, the US and East Asia. The project is framed within the theory of intercultural citizenship in the foreign-language classroom and it is the only study set in the primary school context. Furthermore, developments in Latin America in this field are scarce and the study intends to fill an empirical gap. Although the comparative perspective is ingrained in the project, the article describes mainly the Argentinian standpoint.

At the same time, and more generally (beyond language education), it will be argued, and shown, that the project can also be framed within the notion of ecological citizenship, understood as a new form of citizenship that presents new challenges to educators. While the notion of citizenship in formal education usually assumes nationalist and patriotic mindsets, in this project ecological citizenship offers a new framework that introduces an international, transnational or global perspective. Furthermore, citizenship education tends to be reserved to secondary civics and social studies classrooms and in this sense the focus on the primary school context and on the foreign-language classroom is innovative in this project.     

A Visual Search Tool for Early Elementary Science Students

Journal of Science Education and Technology - This paper reports on the development of a visual search interface (called “SearchKids”) to support children ages 5–10 years in their...     

Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences with a Science Education Module

This paper describes a module provided to first year elementary participants in a two-year after-degree Bachelor of Education program. The module was specifically designed to address the fact that pre-service teachers can enter the B.Ed. degree with little or no science knowledge. Science experiences were explicitly incorporated into the B.Ed. module described here linking science content knowledge to specific science pedagogic content knowledge. The pre-service teachers were surveyed and interviewed during and after completion of the module. It was found that the inquiry based approach increased the pre-service teachers' level of science knowledge, their confidence with regard to teaching elementary science, and improved their attitude toward science teaching and learning.     

Effects of Leader and Teacher Behaviour on Implementation of Cooperative Learning in the Elementary School

Structural equation modelling was used in this study to examine interrelationships among change management functions, teacher orientations and implementation of cooperative learning which were assessed in terms of four latent variables based on teacher self‐reports of knowledge, perceived benefits, amount of professional development and frequency of use. After preliminary modifications, the final structural model suggested four major influences on implementation. First, lower levels of pupil control ideology of the teacher lead to more self‐reported knowledge of cooperative learning methods. Pupil control ideology is a measure of how school personnel view their students with regard to control. The higher the pupil control ideology, the more controlled the classroom. Second, higher levels of shared vision and lower levels of pupil control ideology lead to stronger teacher perceptions of the benefits of using cooperative learning. Third, higher levels of principal and resource support —but lower levels of teacher participation in decision making—lead to more professional development experiences.     

Education in early postcolonial India: expansion,experimentation and planned self-help

After independence India’s leaders committed the country to democracy with universal franchise and to pursuing a socialistic pattern of society. As part of these interlocking projects, it was widely recognised that India’s educational systems needed reform. However, with scarce resources, Indian policy-makers faced the dilemma of whether to improve the existing system, which served a narrow, urban elite, or expand it to the entire population, as the Constitution promised they would. This overview of education policy in the first two decades after 1947 finds that, at the centre, Indian planning did not monopolise control over education. Rather, India’s was a socialism of scarcity, which relied on self-help efforts by the people to build the institutions of the welfare state. However, by relying on communities to use their own resources to build local schools, this DIY socialism entrenched existing inequalities.     

Regional disparities in primary school participation in developing countries

Education for All has focused international attention on the goals of universal primary education and improved education quality. However, national indicators related to these goals often mask significant differences among demographic and social groups, as well as among geographical regions within countries. This paper, based on a study commissioned by UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Report team, examines within-country (regional) disparities in participation in primary education in between 55 and 60 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Arab States. After reviewing the methodology used in the analysis, the paper compares countries’ disparities in net enrolment rates before and after the Dakar Framework was established in 2000, changes over the pre- to post-Dakar period and a comparison of net enrolment rates with pupil-teacher ratios—one of the standard measures of education quality. Overall, the analysis finds significant differences in the magnitude of regional disparities in primary participation across the countries, with the smallest disparities in Latin America and the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. While just over half the countries with both pre- and post-Dakar data showed improvements over the period, there was little change in countries’ rankings on the disparities measures over this period.     

Neuroticism and Depressive Symptomatology: The Mediating Influence of College Student Floccinaucinihilipilification

This study tested a mediation model between depression and neuroticism on 209 college students. Previous research suggests that students who appraise their lives as having no value or worth, which is known as floccinaucinihilipilification (flocci), may be prone to depressive symptoms because of a neurotic disposition. Results found flocci domains targeted at the self and relationships partially mediated the neuroticism–depression relation. Implications and recommendations for professionals are discussed.     

Revising Strategy Instruction in Inclusive Settings: Effects for English Learners and Novice Writers

Twenty‐three students with varying academic and linguistic profiles were taught a strategy for revising expository essays, using the Self‐Regulated Strategy Development model for instruction. Students learned basic revising tactics and to consider text structure as they managed decisions on how to improve their essays. Instructional effects were assessed using a multiple baseline with multiple probes in baseline design. Positive results were found for English learners, including those who were identified as having learning disabilities, or who were low‐, average‐ and high‐achieving writers; moreover, results were equally positive for students who were not English learners. After instruction and 4 weeks later, students revised more, produced more revisions that improved text, and revised longer text segments, which resulted in an improvement in overall quality.