The concepts of science in Japanese and Western education

Using structural linguistics, the present article offers an impartial frame of reference to analyze science education in the non-Western world. In Japan, science education has been free from epistemological reflection because Japan regards science only as effective technology for modernization. By not taking account of the world-view aspect of science, Japan can treat science as not self-referential. Issues of science education are then rather simple; they are only concerned with the question of how to, and answers to this question are judged according to the efficiency achieved for modernization.Science, however, is a way of seeing nature. This word is generally translated into Japanese as shizen which has a totally different connotation and therefore does not lead to an understanding of the Western scientific spirit. Saussure's approach to language is used to expose the consequences of the misinterpretations that spring from this situation. In order to minimize or prevent these misinterpretations, it is emphasized that science education should be identified with foreign language education in the non-Western world.     

Engaging with ‘English in a Historical Perspective’ Through Analysing Texts

Though there is little in the literature on the teaching of the history of English, criticism of textbooks which over-simplify the story as the rise of the standard variety has been more vocal of late. Meanwhile, some academics have argued for focusing teaching on the analysis of texts. This article reports on a unit/module taught at a British university that makes the analysis of texts central to teaching and assessment. It sets out to demonstrate what can be learned from approaching the subject in this way by presenting composite textual analyses created by the first-named author drawing on the work of his co-authors (five of his final-year undergraduate students). This was for two assignments, one focusing on an Early Modern English text and the other a more contemporary piece. A discussion highlights the benefits of making the analysis of texts central to the unit, and considers practical applications for teachers of the subject in other parts of the world.     

Is the Poor Performance of Self‐Worth Protective Students Linked with Social Comparison Goals?

Students motivated to protect self‐worth perform poorly in situations that threaten to reveal low ability while performing well in situations that involve little threat to self‐worth. One factor contributing to their poor performance is thought to be their orientation towards social comparison goals (goals that have to do with vindicating their ability relative to others rather than pursuing mastery). In the present study, 96 undergraduate students who were either high or low in self‐worth protection were exposed to either success or failure feedback and subsequently primed to pursue either social comparison or mastery goals. For students high in self‐worth protection, the negative effects of either failure or social comparison goal priming is sufficient to give rise to poor performance. However, only when success is combined with mastery goal priming is a positive achievement outcome evident. The requirements of best practice approaches to encouraging students to adopt mastery‐orientated behaviours are discussed.     

Mature-age students-how are they different?

Mature-age students have formed a significant proportion of preservice students in primary teacher education over recent years. Academic staff have reported a difference between mature-age students and school-leavers, particularly in motivation and achievement. This report examines part of a study which explored mature-age students' views about aspects of teaching science and technology, compared to the views of students who came to university straight from school. It examines, in particular, students' personal feelings of adequacy in teaching science and technology in primary schools. Specialisations: primary teacher education, teaching strategies in science.     

Problem solving in science lessons: How students explore the problem space

This report examines, from a constructivist framework, how students presented with discrepant event problems during science lessons begin the problem solving process by exploration of the problem space. Three discrepant events were presented to five classes of eleven to thirteen year-olds using three different teaching strategies identified from the literature. The teaching strategies used teacher demonstrations followed by students asking the teacher questions, teacher demonstrations followed by an explanation by the teacher, and small groups of students under the guidance of the teacher. Data were collected from field notes, video tapes of the lessons, and student interviews using a stimulated recall technique to elicit the students' thinking during the lessons. The extent to which students could explore the problem space was found to be determined by the teaching strategy used, as the first and last strategies encouraged students to find their own explanations. Different information sources were also available in each of the teaching strategies. That is, exploration of the problem space was inextricably linked to the social context, partially determined by the teaching strategy. Because of constraints imposed by each teaching strategy none of those used was considered entirely satisfactory. An alternative strategy is suggested from a combination of aspects of the strategies trialled.     

Quality of Learning in Nigeria's Universal Primary Education Scheme—1976–1986

The paper critically examines the quality of education in Nigeria's Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme from 1976 to 1986. The author argues that the positive impact of the UPE scheme was that more people went to school, and many of them can now read and write their names and seem to be better informed. But the standard of Seaming fell far below what it was before the introduction of the UPE scheme in Nigeria. Those who planned the scheme apparently forgot to consider the importance of the availability of qualified teachers, adequate learning environments, equipment and textbooks, classroom management and supervision, and the content of the curriculum. Since availability of the above facilities is integral to effective teaching and classroom performance, the inevitable outcome was the erosion of standards in Nigeria's primary education. The author advises other developing countries to act cautiously when embarking on prestige educational projects, such as the UPE scheme, as a means to combat ignorance and illiteracy. It is also hoped that the Nigerian experience will lead to a further understanding of the postulation by educational analysts of school facilities as major factors in effective teaching and determining the quality of learning in the developing countries.     

Enhancing Elementary Pre-service Teachers’ Plant Processes Conceptions

Researchers examined how an inquiry-based instructional treatment emphasizing interrelated plant processes influenced 210 elementary pre-service teachers’ (PTs) conceptions of three plant processes, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and transpiration, and the interrelated nature of these processes. The instructional treatment required PTs to predict the fate of a healthy plant in a sealed terrarium (Plant-in-a-Jar), justify their predictions, observe the plant over a 5-week period, and complete guided inquiry activities centered on one of the targeted plant processes each week. Data sources included PTs’ pre- and post-predictions with accompanying justifications, course artifacts such as weekly terrarium observations and science journal entries, and group models of the interrelated plant processes occurring within the sealed terraria. A subset of 33 volunteer PTs also completed interviews the week the Plant-in-a-Jar scenario was introduced and approximately 4 months after the instructional intervention ended. Pre- and post-predictions from all PTs as well as interview responses from the subgroup of PTs, were coded into categories based on key plant processes emphasized in the Next Generation Science Standards. Study findings revealed that PTs developed more accurate conceptions of plant processes and their interrelated nature as a result of the instructional intervention. Primary patterns of change in PTs’ plant process conceptions included development of more accurate conceptions of how water is used by plants, more accurate conceptions of photosynthesis features, and more accurate conceptions of photosynthesis and cellular respiration as transformative processes.