Lessons from black-thicket jungle: What is feasible in village schools of disadvantaged areas?

Comparative examination of the national goals of education as presented by various developing countries shows such goals to be often abstract and overly idealistic: a long way from the harsh reality of most rural village schools. Drawing on the results of a lengthy field study in a disadvantaged area of Sri Lanka, this article discusses the matter of feasibility in the shadow of too high expectations. It is concluded that ambitious goals should be operationalized at a practicable level, and recommendations are put forward for feasible action. As a rigidly ordered system of schooling may be an inevitable stage in a progressive evolution of schooling types, patience is needed before criticizing schools which lack creative teaching and problem-solving approaches. It is emphasised that the most important raw materials of the educational system are abundantly present, i.e., human resources. Children are eager to learn; parents are potentially supportive and want education for the sake of learning as well as for jobs. And most importantly for the success of the schools, dedicated principals and teachers are present in unexpectedly high numbers considering the constraints they face. The importance of such educators is stressed, along with implications for selection, training and remuneration.

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Zusammenfassung Vergleichende Studien der staatlichen Bildungsziele, wie sie von verschiedenen Entwicklungsländern vorgelegt wurden, zeigen, daß solche Ziele oft abstrakt und allzu idealistisch und von der rauhen Wirklichkeit der meisten ländlichen Dorfschulen weit entfernt sind. Die Autorin diskutiert, indem sie sich auf die Ergebnisse einer umfangreichen Feldstudie in einem benachteiligten Gebiet Sri Lankas bezieht, die Frage der Durchführbarkeit im Schatten überhöhter Erwartungen. Sie kommt dabei zu dem Schluß, daß die hochgesteckten Ziele auf eine gangbare Ebene zugeschnitten werden müßten, und gibt Empfehlungen für durchführbare Maßnahmen. Da ein straff organisiertes Unterrichtssystem ein unvermeidliches Stadium in einer fortschreitenden Entwicklung von Unterrichtstypen sein kann, ist Geduld angebracht, bevor man Schulen kritisiert, denen es an kreativem Lehren und Ansätzen zur Problemlösung mangelt. Betont wird, daß die wichtigsten Rohstoffe des Bildungssystems in Überfluß vorhanden sind, z.B. der Reichtum an Menschen. Kinder sind lernbegierig, Eltern unterstützen sie unter Umständen und wünschen eine Ausbildung sowohl um des Lernens willen als auch im Hinblick auf einen Arbeitsplatz. Und es gibt, was für den Erfolg der Schulen von größter Wichtigkeit ist, eine unerwartet hohe Zahl von engagierten Direktoren und Lehrern, wenn man die Widrigkeiten bedenkt, mit denen sie zu kämpfen haben. Die Bedeutung solcher Erzieher wird hervorgehoben unter Berücksichtigung der Konsequenzen für deren Auswahl, Ausbildung und Vergütung.

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Résumé L'examen comparé des objectifs éducatifs nationaux présentés par divers pays en développement révèle qu'ils sont souvent abstraits et excessivement idéalistes — et par conséquent bien éloignés de la dure réalité de la plupart des écoles rurales. En s'appuyant sur les résultats d'une étude très longue menée sur le terrain dans une région désavantagée du Sri Lanka, le présent article examine la question de faisabilité à l'ombre de ces exigences exagérées. On conclut que les objectifs ambitieux devraient être réalisés au niveau pratique et des recommandations sont faites pour l'action possible. Du fait qu'un système d'éducation agencé strictement peut devenir la phase inévitable de l'évolution progressive de divers types d'éducation, il convient d'être patient avant de procéder à la critique des écoles où un enseignement créatif et des approches orientées vers la solution de problèmes font défaut. On souligne que les matières premières les plus importantes d'un système éducatif, à savoir les ressources humaines, sont abondantes. Les enfants sont désireux d'apprendre, les parents constituent un soutien potentiel et souhaitent une éducation en vue d'acquérir des connaissances et de trouver un emploi. Et ce qui est capital pour le succès des écoles, il existe un nombre inopinément élevé de directeurs et d'enseignants dévoués, compte tenu des contraintes auxquelles ils doivent faire face. On met en lumière l'importance de ces éducateurs ainsi que les implications pour leur sélection, leur formation et leur rémunération.

     

Talk with Your Mother or Your Sibling? Developmental Changes in Early Family Conversations about Feelings

Developmental changes in the pattern of family conversations and talk about feelings were examined in a longitudinal study of 50 families observed at home when the second-born children were 33 and 47 months old. Significant increases were noted in the total amount of talk and the frequency of talk about feelings between sibling pairs as well as decreases in the amount of mother-child conversation and references to feelings. Differences in whose feelings were discussed and in the context of references to feelings were found for mother-child and sibling-child dyads. Developmental changes in the children's use of feeling state language co-occurred with the increase in interaction between children and their siblings. The findings contrast the "complementary" nature of mother-child interaction and the "reciprocal" nature of child-sibling interaction and support the argument that the quality of particular relationships influences the use children make of their communicative competence.     

Transition time: Make it a time of learning for children

Young children spend much of their day in transition, passing from one place or activity to another. Caregivers can use this time for planned activities which reinforce learning.Betty Ruth Baker is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Director of Early Childhood Education at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.     

“Why am I here?”: A phenomenological exploration of first-generation college student experiences in STEM majors within a predominantly white institution

First-generation college students (FGCSs) are a growing population in undergraduate education. Research on FGCS primarily focuses on the challenges and barriers they encounter in college. While important, this literature offers a limited view of FGCS as learners. Moreover, minimal literature has examined these students' lived experiences within sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study explores the learning experiences of FGCS (N = 17) in undergraduate STEM programs at a mid-sized, private, predominantly white institution. Guided by the frameworks of intersectionality and social cognitive career theory, the researchers utilized a qualitative, phenomenological research methodology to hear the perspectives of FGCS to and to identify problematic higher educational structures in STEM. Findings point to an elitist stance underlying STEM programs based in general disciplinary norms that restricted FGCS access to STEM majors and careers across social, academic, and professional elements of the academic experience. FGCS who were multiply minoritized based upon race, gender, and social class experienced the compounding of marginalization, and academic success and persistence came at a personal cost. Students also reported relying predominantly on personal strengths and motivations to overcome elitism in STEM rather than on institutional supports. Findings also highlight the variation in the first-generation experience and identify the unique barriers FGCS encounter within STEM fields. Implications for dismantling inequitable structures for higher education in STEM attending to the social, academic, and professional inclusion of FGCS.     

Teaching Thinking Skills in Context-Based Learning: Teachers’ Challenges and Assessment Knowledge

For an educational reform to succeed, teachers need to adjust their perceptions to the reform’s new curricula and strategies and cope with new content, as well as new teaching and assessment strategies. Developing students’ scientific literacy through context-based chemistry and higher order thinking skills was the framework for establishing a new chemistry curriculum for Israeli high school students. As part of this endeavor, we developed the Taste of Chemistry module, which focuses on context-based chemistry, chemical understanding, and higher order thinking skills. Our research objectives were (a) to identify the challenges and difficulties chemistry teachers faced, as well as the advantages they found, while teaching and assessing the Taste of Chemistry module; and (b) to investigate how they coped with teaching and assessing thinking skills that include analyzing data from graphs and tables, transferring between multiple representations and, transferring between chemistry understanding levels. Research participants included eight teachers who taught the module. Research tools included interviews, classroom observations, teachers-designed students’ assignments, and developers-designed students’ assignments. We documented different challenges teachers had faced while teaching the module and found that the teachers developed different ways of coping with these challenges. Developing teachers’ assessment knowledge (AK) was found to be the highest stage in teachers’ professional growth, building on teachers’ content knowledge (CK), pedagogy knowledge (PK), and pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK). We propose the use of assignments designed by teachers as an instrument for determining their professional growth.     

Challenges presented to personal theories,beliefs and practices of play in Abu Dhabi kindergartens: the English Medium teacher perspective

Abu Dhabi Education Council’s new school model recognizes the value of play, although anecdotal evidence suggests that there are challenges to play in the preschool context. This article reports on challenges from the English Medium teacher perspective. Findings show that challenges are related to: (a) children meeting teacher expectations for play which may be limited by: real-life exposure, the nanny’s role, a desert climate for outdoor play, overuse of technology; and English as an additional language; (b) acquiring adequate resources for play, including open-access to Internet sites, meaning teachers have to use their own money to provide resources for play; (c) establishing boundaries and managing behaviour, especially for boys; (d) working with conflicting time pressures caused by academic performance benchmarking, accountability and workload; and (e) working with diversity, including meeting parental expectations, collaborating with colleagues and understanding the cultural and linguistic background of children. Recommendations to lessen the challenges of nurturing appropriate play experiences are made within the context of the findings.     

The Role of Non-cognitive Variables in Identifying Community College Students in Need of Targeted Supports

Non-academic characteristics and traits, such as academic self-efficacy and conscientiousness, have maintained the interest of higher education researchers for decades. A considerable amount of research has found that these non-cognitive variables (NCVs) are generally predictive of undergraduate success. However, most prior studies have focused on the use of NCVs in 4-year colleges, and understanding if and how these measures predict the academic trajectories of community college students has received less attention. As past work has indicated that NCVs are differentially predictive for students from different backgrounds, such an examination is needed. Drawing on data from two diverse community colleges, our study addresses this need by exploring if seven popular NCVs predict both short and longer-term student outcomes, how these measures are related to help-seeking behaviors, and their utility in identifying students at risk of serious academic failures. We find statistically significant relationships between NCVs and GPA outcomes but conclude that their practical utility appears trivial.