Strategies and resources for contextualising the curriculum based on the funds of knowledge approach: a literature review

This article aims to describe and illustrate how the curriculum can be contextualised through different educational experiences based on the funds of knowledge approach. Educational contextualisation is understood to be the linking of curricular content (literacy, science, mathematics, social sciences) with students’ lives, including prior learning experiences from their homes and communities. The literature review began by surveying 59 articles retrieved from the ERIC database after entering the search terms “funds of knowledge” and “teaching methods”. Out of these, 22 peer reviewed papers were selected based on the following criteria: the paper should illustrate how artefacts produced by students (photographs, texts, artistic productions, digital stories) can be put to pedagogical use by turning them into resources to mobilise knowledge and experiences inside and outside school. The results are discussed in light of the CREDE Standards for Effective Pedagogy, as well as the notion of funds of identity, which has been proposed recently within the context of the funds of knowledge approach.     

Comprehension strategy training in content areas

The main objective of this paper is to present the results of two studies developed to test the effectiveness of teaching different strategies for identifying important information in the context of ordinary instruction. Training in both studies can be characterised as metacognitively oriented and contextualised in content areas. Also, the same strategies have been the object of training in both cases. Previous knowledge activation and diagrammatic representation of relations among text ideas were among the main strategies trained. 31 subjects (11 to 12 years-old) participated in the first study, and 104 (11 to 14 years-old) in the second one. In both cases, subjects were divided into two groups, experimental and control. Assessment was made through an interview carried out separately with two texts. Results reached statistical significance mainly in study 2, but only for students in higher grades. These results show the effectiveness of the kind of training developed and the importance of taking into account the developmental and/or academic level of students in order to determinate when to introduce strategy training.     

From the dominant engineering education perspective to the aim of promoting service to humanity and the common good: the importance of rethinking engineering education

ABSTRACT

Recognising the broader role and impact of engineering in contemporary society makes it necessary to rethink engineering education to strengthen its purpose of service to humanity and to the common good. From this perspective, future engineers need a more comprehensive education that is not only bound to the technical area but also incorporates critical reflection and ethical education. With the objective of facilitating the process of rethinking engineering education, the present study analyses the official mission of Portuguese higher education institutions offering engineering courses to identify current engineering education conceptions and the importance attached in them to the service to humanity view. The results reveal that the dominant conception is centred on the economic view of engineering and of the engineer. These results reinforce the need to build a new perspective that strengthens the role of engineering as a service to humanity, social justice and the common good.     

The accountability era in US teacher education: looking back,looking forward

Abstract

In keeping with the theme of the 40th anniversary issue of EJTE, this article looks back and forward at US teacher education accountability. It argues that “holding teacher education accountable” has been the major approach to reforming teacher education in the US for the last two decades, assuming that enhanced teacher education quality depends on vigilant public evaluation and monitoring of outcomes related to teacher education institutions, programs, and teacher candidates. This article looks back at the “era of accountability” by examining five policy, political, and professional developments that contributed to its emergence and strong hold on US teacher education. Looking forward to the future of teacher education accountability in the US, the article argues that we need a new approach – democratic accountability in teacher education – which is based on intelligent professional responsibility for students’ learning including democratic knowledge and skills, strong equity, and genuine collaboration with multiple stakeholders.     

Spanish Teachers' Epistemological and Scientific Conceptions: Implications for teacher education1

We present the theoretical framework, the central issues, bibliographic antecedents, and most relevant results of three studies concerning Spanish teachers' epistemological and scientific conceptions. The samples analysed present a majority tendency towards an absolutist view of knowledge and an empiricist conception of science. In our view, this represents a real obstacle to constructive and active professional development. Finally, we argue the need for an epistemological education of teachers that is closely linked to the design and development of the school curriculum, and that does not reproduce the traditional academicist-type models.     

Changes in involvement in homework throughout compulsory secondary education / Cambios en la implicación en los deberes escolares a lo largo de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria

This paper analyses the changes found in students’ involvement in homework throughout the four grade levels of compulsory secondary education in Spain (ages 12–15). It also analyses the relationship between the changes in students’ involvement in homework throughout schooling and motivational and emotional variables related to homework. Findings indicated that: (a) the amount of homework completed and homework time management diminished slightly throughout the grade levels researched; however, this result is clearer in terms of the amount of homework completed; (b) prior academic achievement is significantly related to the variables associated with students’ involvement in homework; (c) the motivational and affective variables researched explained statistically significant variance related to two of the three dependent variables associated with involvement in homework; and (d) the association between the motivational and affective variables and involvement in homework is lower.     

Students’ understanding of the number line / Estudiantes pensando en la recta numérica

We studied the conceptions of students coming from secondary education and university regarding the number line as a representation of real numbers. In the context of a wider questionnaire, 307 students were presented with a task consisting of two verbal items and one graphic item related to the number line. The students were all at different levels in their study of mathematics (in the third, fourth or fifth year of secondary education, or at the beginning or advanced stage of a university degree in mathematics, biology or physical education). A gradient in the depth of the students’ conceptions, associated with the level of their studies in mathematics, was found. This gradient extends from the estrangement of facing the problem or a conception of a drawn or physical matter line, which was associated with students with a lower level of mathematical studies, passing through a vision centred around potential numeric density or a line containing points (discrete), up to an instrumental conception of the line as supportive of magnitudes in advanced students of biology and focusing on continuity sustained by advanced students of mathematics.     

Analysing the correlation between secondary mathematics curriculum change and trends in beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills in Ireland

The phenomenon in which students enter university under-prepared for the mathematical demands of their undergraduate courses, regularly referred to as the ‘Maths Problem’, has been widely reported in Ireland, UK, Australia, and the US. This issue has been of particular concern in Ireland recently, with beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills showing signs of significant decline in recent years. New mathematics curricula, commonly referred to as ‘Project Maths’, were gradually introduced into the Irish secondary school education system from 2010 onwards. These new curricula aim to place greater emphasis on student understanding of mathematical concepts, use of contexts, and applications of mathematics. This study analyses, through mathematics diagnostic test data gathered between 2008 and 2014, the change in the basic mathematical skills of beginning undergraduates over the time period in which the new mathematics curricula were introduced to secondary education in Ireland. It was found that students’ basic mathematical skills have declined over the time period during which the new mathematics curricula were introduced. Significant declines in beginning undergraduates’ performance of basic mathematical skills were observed during the period 2008–2014, particularly among students who have achieved Higher Level C grades and Higher Level D grades.