EDUCATION WITHOUT THEORY

ABSTRACT:  This paper proceeds through four stages. First, it provides an account of the origins and evolution of the concept of educational theory. Second, it uses this historical narrative to show how what we now call 'educational theory' is deeply rooted in the foundationalist discourse of late nineteenth and early twentieth century modernity. Third, it outlines and defends a postfoundationalist critique of the foundationalist epistemological assumptions on which our understanding of educational theory has been erected. Finally, it argues that the only conclusion to draw from this postfoundationalist critique is that educational theory has run its course and should now be brought to a dignified end.     

Motion Pictures and Photography

William Kuhns' Movies in America (Dayton, Ohio: Pflaum/Standard, 1973 - $6.50, paper)

William Kuhns and John Carr Teaching in the Dark (same publisher, $4.50, paper)

Peter Wollen's Signs and Meaning in the Cinema (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972 - $5.95 2.95)

David Shipman's The Great Movie Stars: The International Years (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1972 - $15.00)

The Silent Picture (quarterly, $4.00 per year)

Films Illustrated (monthly, $10.00 per year)

Slide Albums ($35.00 each)

Herbert Volkmann's Film Preservation (1965, 60 pp., $1.50)

Theodore Huff's The Early Work of Charles Chaplin (1961, 24 pp., 500)

Fifty Years of Soviet Cinema: 1917-1967 (1967, 30 pp., 950)

Rules for Use in the Cataloguing Department of the National Film Archive (1960, $1.20)

Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury State College, Salisbury, Md. 21801 - $5.00 per year/four issues, or $2.00 each)     

Face-to-Face Tutorials in a Distance Learning System: Meeting student needs

Many distance learning programmes include an element of face-to-face tuition. This paper reports on a research project concerned with various issues related to face-to-face tutorials in the Open University of Hong Kong's distance education system, including students' expectations of the benefits they will gain; their reasons for attending; the approaches they prefer; and their overall satisfaction with what tutors actually provide. Some comparisons are drawn between students in the university's different schools-and the overall findings are compared with those reported for distance learners in the West, in an effort to assess the impact of cultural context on student attitudes to tutorials. The research found that the Hong Kong students' attendance at tutorials was very high compared to that found in other similar studies, possibly reflecting Hong Kong's geographical compactness, but also possibly reflecting a preference for face-to-face meetings; that the students looked for specific guidance and support from tutors within a largely directive framework; that even where the format of the tutorial departed from the students' expectations, the students did not necessarily give the tutorial a low evaluation, provided that it was a fruitful experience; and that the cultural context within which a distance education system operates affects students' expectations and learning styles.     

Core skills assessment to improve mathematical competency

Many engineering undergraduates begin third-level education with significant deficiencies in their core mathematical skills. Every year, in the Dublin Institute of Technology, a diagnostic test is given to incoming first-year students, consistently revealing problems in basic mathematics. It is difficult to motivate students to address these problems; instead, they struggle through their degree, carrying a serious handicap of poor core mathematical skills, as confirmed by exploratory testing of final year students. In order to improve these skills, a pilot project was set up in which a ‘module’ in core mathematics was developed. The course material was basic, but 90% or higher was required to pass. Students were allowed to repeat this module throughout the year by completing an automated examination on WebCT populated by a question bank. Subsequent to the success of this pilot with third-year mechanical engineering students, the project was extended to five different engineering programmes, across three different year-groups. Full results and analysis of this project are presented, including responses to interviews carried out with a selection of the students involved.