The role and status of non-governmental (‘daike’) teachers in China's rural education

A key ingredient for countries striving to achieve Education For All is the availability of trained qualified teachers with favourable working conditions. The goal is an elusive one, even for some developed countries, though progress is being made toward it. The problem is particularly challenging in poor rural areas of developing countries where qualified teachers are reluctant to work or employing authorities cannot afford to hire them. This paper examines this situation in the context of a Western province in China (Gansu). It considers the role, characteristics and status of non-governmental (‘daike’) teachers and discusses issues that arise from their employment.     

Children's Capacity to Consent to Participation in Psychological Research: Empirical Findings

This is a series of studies that attempted to obtain some systematic data on the capacity of children between the ages of 5 and 12 to consent to psychological research. Most of the children understood all or most of what they were asked to do in a psychology study, but few children below the age of 12 fully understood or believed that their performance would be confidential. Similarly, most children appeared to know that they could end their participation in the study, but younger children were not clear on the details of how to accomplish this, and many of all ages believed that there would be some negative consequences if they asked to stop. Moreover, obtaining prior permission from parents, while providing protection for the children, appeared to introduce additional pressure on them to agree to participate in the research and to continue once they had agreed. It is concluded that in general children of these ages do have the capacity to meaningfully assent to participation in research, but that there are substantial problems in guaranteeing that they are able to make this decision freely.     

Measuring twenty-first century skills: development and validation of a scale for in-service and pre-service teachers

A self-report scale that measures teachers’ confidence in teaching students about twenty-first century skills was developed and validated with pre-service and in-service teachers. First, 16 items were created to measure teaching confidence in six areas: information literacy, collaboration, communication, innovation and creativity, problem solving, and responsible citizenship. Then, the items were tested in two groups of pre-service teachers and two groups of in-service teachers respectively. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the scale’s validity and reliability. The analyses identified a three-construct scale including innovation and problem solving, collaboration, and utility of technology for pre-service teachers and a one-dimension scale, cross-functional skills, for in-service teachers. This study suggests that different scales should be used to measure in-service teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ confidence in teaching twenty-first century skills.     

The existence of school‐related stress in two grammar schools in Northern Ireland: contributing factors and moderation

Recent educational policies have altered scholastic experience. It is the contention of the authors that contemporary school experience may therefore, for some individuals, be distressing. This study is concerned with the identification of stress‐related behaviours of sixth‐form pupils within female single‐sex, selective, scholastic environments. The sample consisted of 420 girls drawn from two comparable schools. The study was conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods. Administration of a questionnaire at three intervals within one academic year permitted sustained reflection upon responses. The qualitative questionnaire findings permitted generation of themes, later investigated through focus groups. SPSS was used to analyse responses to scaled questions. The keeping of a research diary served to illuminate meaning and to capture anecdotal evidence, which is so easily lost within a busy school environment. In addition, the opinions of a number of relevant professionals were sought. The study concluded that some members of the sample population encounter demands emanating not only from assessment incidents, but also from a range of other sources inherent to the system of sufficient magnitude, duration and intensity to engender school‐related stress. Within the study the ways in which school‐related stress may present are identified; these include, for example, physical effects, subjective effects, effects upon work and effects upon relationships. An evaluation of current relevant support mechanisms is offered and recommendations for change are made.     

An animated dictionary for hearing‐impaired students in Thailand

As English increasingly becomes the international language, many ministerial and educational organisations have identified the need to improve the competence of Thai students in speaking English. While there is significant research devoted to developing software tools to support the teaching of English as a second language, they are mostly concerned with adult learners. This project focuses on addressing the need to improve the teaching of English as a second language to primary school children with hearing impairments. This paper presents the development of an educational software tool referred to as the Total Communication with Animation Dictionary (TCAD), which supports learners in the acquisition and retention of new English lexical knowledge and is based on the theoretical approaches of Total Communication and situated learning. A series of experiments was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the TCAD in improving vocabulary acquisition and retention. Early results are promising with increased learner engagement and performance compared with traditional approaches.     

Professionalization as an advocacy strategy: a content analysis of Canadian child care social movement organizations’ 2008 discursive resources

Do early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals make good advocates? Canadian advocates have fought for better child care policies since the mid-1940s. What has happened to this advocacy with the recent increased professionalization of the ECEC sector? How does increased professionalization limit, innovate or expand advocacy strategies? This content analysis of seven Canadian child care social movement organizations’ discursive resources in 2008 examines how different types of child care social movement organizations communicated their positions to their members and the public to manage a changing economic and political climate. Preliminary findings indicate that both ECEC workforce sector associations and grassroots organizations shared common advocacy messages, played down problems associated with a market approach to child care, and framed child care as a business case in their messaging. The authors suggest this reflects a nascent discursive move towards the professionalization of Canadian child care movement advocacy messages.     

Teaching Creativity Creatively

Abstract

A theory of creative thinking is presented as it related to the implementation of computer‐based instructional design. Methods used in a graduate‐level course at Johns Hopkins University for teaching creativity are described. An emphasis on process over product allows instructors to focus on problem‐solving strategies at all levels of development. Finally, the effects of the computer on the creative process are discussed and suggestions are made for avoiding the trap of technological obsolescence.