Imagining a different life in school: educating student teachers about ‘looked after’ children and young people

The research described in this paper concerns the acquaintance of student teachers with the educational and wider pastoral experiences of children and young people who are or have been ‘looked after’ and who they may well teach at some point, together with the familiarisation of student teachers with the ‘looked after’ system in the UK. We discuss an exploratory awareness‐raising curriculum project within a Teacher Education Department at a University in the UK that utilises digital multimedia to develop a ‘community of awareness’ of young people and student teachers. As a result of this work, the student teachers were able to reflect on their pedagogical knowledge and practices related to teaching and wider pupil pastoral care. Further, those involved in the project therefore not only learned how to use technology, but to apply it in meaningful, productive ways, which were potentially transforming in terms of appreciation and knowledge of diversity. Benefits for the participants – the young people involved and the student teachers, as well as implications for both student teachers’ understanding of diversity and limitations of the technology – are discussed.     

The Intercultural Dimension in EFL‐Teaching: A Study of Conceptions Among Finland‐Swedish Comprehensive School Teachers

The overall aim of this study is to deepen our knowledge about the attitudes of teachers at the upper level of the Finland‐Swedish comprehensive school towards the treatment of culture in English foreign language (EFL) teaching. More specifically, the questions are how teachers interpret the concept “culture” in English foreign language teaching, how the cultural objectives are specified and what teachers do to attain these objectives. The study strives to reveal whether or not language teaching today can be described as intercultural in the sense that culture is taught with the aim of promoting intercultural understanding, tolerance and empathy. The empirical data consists of verbatim transcribed interviews with 13 Finland‐Swedish teachers of English at grades 7–9. The findings are presented according to three orientations. Within the cognitive orientation, “culture” is perceived as factual knowledge and the teaching of culture is defined in terms of the transmission of facts. The action‐related orientation sees “culture” as skills of a social and socio‐linguistic nature and the teaching aims at preparing students for future intercultural encounters. Within the affective orientation, “culture” is seen as a bi‐directional perspective. Students are encouraged to look at their own familiar culture from another perspective and learn to empathise with and show respect for otherness in general, not just concerning representatives of English‐speaking countries.     

Changes in the Multi‐Level Effects of Socio‐Economic Status on Reading Achievement in Sweden in 1991 and 2001

This study examines the changes in educational inequality at the school‐ and individual‐levels in 1991 and 2001. Comparisons are made between the IEA Reading Literacy Study 1991 and the so called 10‐Year Trend Study in PIRLS 2001. The between‐school differences in reading achievement variance and the size of the relationship between SES and reading achievement at school‐level are the two main focuses. Applying a two‐level structural equation modeling technique, it was found that the between‐school differences in reading achievement were greater in RLS 2001 than in RLS 1991, and the school SES effect has been strengthened over time. These changes indicate that educational inequality in Sweden has increased over time. Some possible explanations to these changes are discussed with reference to school reforms and demographic changes.     

Making Science Vivid: Using a historical episodes map

Many have argued that the inclusion of the history of science in science teaching might promote an understanding of the nature of science as well as the attitudes toward science. However, its inclusion in science teaching may not have the desired effect due to the limited coverage it receives in textbooks and the limited time available for teaching. A historical episodes map (HEM) is thus developed with four storylines and more than 20 events related to the history of science and is designed to fit in with regular teaching topics. A total of 329 students in Grade 7 were involved in the experimental group and the control group. The control group was taught using the textbook only, while the experimental group was also taught using the textbook plus HEM materials and associated discussion. The intervention of such teaching lasted for a month and a half. The findings reveal that the exposure of students to HEM materials did promote the students’ understanding of the nature of science as well as their attitudes toward science.     

Collaboration and Action Research: a cautionary tale

Action research has become a widely accepted and recommended methodology for teacher research. With the current climate of collaborative planning within primary schools. it has been seen as a process which could exist naturally alongside such activity, with much being made in the rhetoric of its essentially ‘collaborative’ character. But such claims are problematic. They derive importantly from epistemological considerations, but weaknesses may be found in such arguments when they are considered against the reality of the process in action. This article considers the claims for the collaborative nature of action research in the context of the progress of a coordinated inquiry in a primary school, within which the author was involved. Whilst recognising their importance, it challenges the arguments for insisting on collaboration as a prerequisite for the most ‘effective’ action research, suggesting that all action research is fundamentally personal. It also raises the question of whether participation in the process may itself raise conflicts with the need for a collaborative structure to ensure critical reflection and valid knowledge claims, suggesting that action research may at times have effects at a personal level which could produce severe tensions in the maintenance of a collaborative situation.     

花椒挥发油与其主要成分经皮促透作用的比较研究

研究目的：比较花椒挥发油与其主要成分作为经皮促透剂的皮肤细胞毒性,对系列不同油水分配系数药物促透作用特征及其作用机制。 创新要点：选择系列不同油水分配系数中药活性成分简化并表征中药制剂中复杂有效成分,对比研究花椒挥发油与其主要成分的经皮促透作用特征差异。 研究方法：利用表皮角质形成细胞（HaCaT）和真皮成纤维细胞（CCC-．ESF-1）测定其皮肤细胞毒性,选择系列不同油水分配系数中药活性成分作为模型药物测定花椒挥发油与其主要成分的经皮促透作用特征差异,并在此基础上采用傅利叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）等研究其促透作用机制。 重要结论：花椒挥发油相对于其单一组成成分具有更好的经皮促透效果。     

Critical Democratic Teacher Preparation and the Practice of Council

“If democracy is to become a way of life in contemporary North American life, we certainly need to have schools with strong democratic commitments... if we are going to have democratic schools, we need teachers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for developing sustained democratic ways of educating... if we are going to seek and sustain democratic teachers, we will also need... democratic teacher educators...” (Novak, 1994, p. ix)     

金融实验教学资源平台的建设与管理研究

培养应用型金融专业人才已成为现代金融院校迫在眉睫的任务,实验教学在高校教学体系中的地位日益突出,迫切要求加强金融实验教学平台的建设与管理,为开展实验教学提供强有力的保障和依托,以此提高应用型人才培养质量。     

基于Matlab研究碎纸片的拼接复原

针对碎纸片自动拼接复原,分析单面纵切、单面纵横切、双面纵横切三类情况,提取图片信息,分别建立欧氏距离计算模型、矩阵相似点判别模型,使用Matlab软件编程计算,得到实现碎纸片自动拼接复原的程序算法,实现了所给碎纸片的自动拼接复原.     

论大学生社会主义核心价值观教育的问题与对策

高校对大学生推进社会主义核心价值观教育有利于引导大学生树立正确的价值观念。然而,现阶段高校在推进大学生社会主义核心价值观教育的过程中,却遭遇多种问题与挑战。高校需要直面大学生社会主义核心价值观教育存在的问题,积极探索有利于大学生社会主义核心价值观教育发展的对策,以提升大学生社会主义核心价值观教育的实效性。