Language education needs for multilingualism in Fiji primary schools

This paper looks at current practice in teaching multilingual Indo-Fijian children in eight Fiji primary schools. Indo-Fijians speak Fiji Hindi (FH) as their mother tongue, learn Shudh Hindi (SH) or Urdu, and English for formal and literacy purposes and use English and Fijian for interethnic communication. The current education policy states that children be taught in their mother tongue for the first 3 years of primary school before English becomes the medium of instruction. This practice was not apparent in the schools. In all 24 observed classrooms, English was the dominant language of instruction. There is an important need in Fiji for teacher training to address the issues around multilingual education so that teachers can confidently contribute to an educational system which maximises the use of Fiji's linguistic resources for the educational advancement of all sectors of the country's population.     

Emerging Attributes of Pedagogy and Curriculum for the “New World Order”

This article is a conceptual one designed to start dialogue on educational issues that are unfolding amidst the changes in other sectors of our society such as production, services, and recreation. We first present an overview of the fundamental but profound changes evidenced in our society and then discuss the nature of these changes and their impact on human ability to function effectively within such an environment. In light of the complexities such as uncertainties and dualistic/multiple perspectives and incongruities, we propose that a model for pedagogy and curriculum development should adopt critical thinking as the key attribute—because it has the potential to deliver an education system for the new world order.     

School monitoring and quality assurance in the New Zealand school system

This article reports on the New Zealand education quality assurance and school monitoring system, including its framework, and responsibilities of agencies. It first gives an outline of the education system in New Zealand, and then introduces the role of school charters and levels of schooling. To ensure the quality of schools, the methods of school self-review and external reviews of schools are used by the New Zealand government. Schools are given a list of obligations that they have to follow. Assessment policies and the school curriculum are designed to support learning. Fubuki Sakura formerly called William Leung     

对课程导师制在远程开放教育中运用的探讨

远程开放教育以全新的结构与视角冲击着传统的校园围墙教育。在这个冲击波中教师的角色定位有了全新的内涵。本文从开放教育课程导师制的定义、内容、作用和构建的必要性对建立课程导师制的可行性进行了探讨。     

The Impact of an SES-Based Model on a College's Undergraduate Admissions Outcomes

In Grutter vs. Bollinger, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of race as one factor, among many in admissions decisions is constitutional. It is not known, however, whether future legal opinions will continue to uphold the use of affirmative action policies. Some have argued that class-based preferences can achieve many of the same goals as in affirmative action while being more likely to withstand legal challenges. To date, no empirical studies have been conducted on the potential impact of a class-based admissions policy if implemented at an undergraduate institution. This paper reports on a study at a selective public college and compares a number of outcomes under three admissions models: the original admissions decisions, a purely academic model, and an socio-economic status (SES)-based model. The findings showed that use of the SES-based model would have led to a more academically qualified class than in the original admitted class while maintaining substantially greater student diversity that was found under the academic model. An admissions policy based on preferences for socio-economically disadvantaged applicants appears to hold promise for other colleges and universities with similar institutional and applicant characteristics. The ideas and research design reported in this paper are based on the doctoral dissertation study of the second author, Undergraduate Admissions Models Incorporating Socioeconomic Factors (Johnson, 2000).     

双师课堂课程开发引论：缘起、主题与方法

AI教师与真人教师联袂执教的双师课堂课程开发已成为重要课题。从缘起、主题与方法三个层面进行考察发现,当前国内外双师课堂课程开发活动,主要聚焦于“AI教师的选用与开发”“双师课堂课程开发”和“双师课堂课程开发的学习效应”三大主题。文章创新性地采纳超学科哲学范式,采取整体主义行动研究方法论,采用融通性混合方法,结合逻辑分析、技术建模、行动研究、量化方法和质性深描技术等,系统地探索与建构AI教师的选用模型、AI教师开发的关键技术、双师课堂深度学习模型、双师课堂课程开发整体模式、AI整合性课目学习知识研究方式、双师课堂课程开发促进深度学习的效应以及双师课堂课程开发促进深度学习的内在机理,以期为双师课堂课程的适切开发提供新思路。     

两年制模具专业《机械制图》课程教学改革的探索

针对两年制高职培养目标,《机械制图》课程由三年制高职转变为两年制高职,在教学目的、方法、内容、手段等方面作的改革和探索。     

A National Curriculum for Wales: A Case Study of Education Policy-Making in the Era of Administrative Devolution

The 1988 Education Reform Act legislated for a statutory curriculum in state-funded schools in England and Wales. This study explores how, out of a common curriculum framework for both countries, there emerged a school curriculum that was adapted to the distinctiveness of the linguistic and cultural context in Wales. The roles of those most closely involved in policy development in Wales are examined as is the relationship between the 'national' and 'territorial' arenas of policy-making in the months leading up to publication of the Education Reform Bill in November 1987. It is argued that a pragmatic approach to policy development in Wales during that period laid the foundations both for a reworking of the 1988 curriculum framework during the 1990s and for potentially more radical change following the 2002 Education Act.     

Does prior mathematics knowledge really lead to variation in elementary statistics performance? Evidence from a developing country

A model incorporating prerequisite mathematics performance and other variables deemed to be associated with learning elementary statistics (ES) is developed. The relationship between ES performance and the explanatory variables is well represented by the logistics form. Aptitude, effort and motivation are the only significant explanatory variables of ES performance. Since prerequisite mathematics is not significant, statistical thinking at the tertiary level may be mostly intuitive and non-mathematical. Students with low aptitude experience increasing returns to effort over the first half of the feasible effort interval, while high-aptitude students experience diminishing returns at all levels of effort. The levels of effort required to achieve a minimum pass are interpreted.