The curricular importance of mathematics: a comparison of English and Hungarian teachers’ espoused beliefs

This paper reports an interview study of 45 English and 10 Hungarian teachers of mathematics. The semi‐structured interviews focused on the teachers’ professional life‐histories and invited them to discuss their beliefs about the necessary subject content for the teaching and learning of mathematics. Substantial differences emerged between the two cohorts, which accord with well‐defined national perspectives on education in general and mathematics education in particular. They reflect, at national rather than individual levels, the expectations of the curricular frameworks within which teachers operate. English teachers tended to view mathematics as applicable number and the means by which learners are prepared for a world beyond school. Hungarian teachers privileged mathematics as problem‐solving and logical thinking.     

Short Reports

Government legislation over two decades has brought about major changes in the management and governance of schools. School governing bodies have been awarded far more power and influence than ever before and are now required to make important decisions affecting the quality of education provision for the nation's children. With an estimated 60,000 governors assuming their responsibilities for the very first time, questions about their preparedness for such a substantial task are bound to be asked. The significance of training for governors has increased as the extent of governing body responsibilities has expanded. Whereas the importance of training was recognized by the 1986 Education Act which gave the local education authority a statutory duty to provide the training it thinks necessary for governors to carry out their duties effectively, it remains optional. This small‐scale research project set out to investigate the induction needs of governors newly appointed to a local authority's schools. The project, undertaken in the autumn term 1996 and spring term 1997, made use of two different but complementary research tools. The first was a questionnaire survey of 314 new governors which attracted a response rate of just over 65 per cent. In addition, follow‐up telephone interviews were conducted with a small sample in order to gather extended responses to those given in the questionnaires. The research concluded that the new governors surveyed: ? had received little or no formal training for their role as school governors

? identified as their future training needs the following topics: roles and responsibilities of governors; local management of schools (LMS); and recruitment and selection procedures

? identified the need for a comprehensive programme of induction made up of a combination of centrally run and school‐based courses, briefings, information and guidance materials, videos, helplines and updates.

     

儒道互补价值观辐射下的中国园林设计——兼论《园冶》造园价值观

儒道两家思想对中国古典园林有着潜移默化的至深影响。从某种意义上,中国园林也就成为充分地表达这些哲学观念的载体,即成为一种儒道互补思想观照下的艺术形式。在计成造园著作《园冶》中,渗透和蕴含着强烈的儒道互补的价值观,同时也包含着计成以及当时居于主流的士大夫造园主人的哲学观和人生观。     

伦敦城市人口迁入初探(1550-1750)

伦敦的人口迁入是伦敦人口史和城市史的重要内容之一。研究该方面在1550—1750年这一社会转型的重要过渡时期的变化发展,对阐明伦敦、英国经济社会的历史发展进程以及两者之间的重要联系颇有意义。     

美英两国高等教育投资体制分析及对我国的启示

分析以英美两国为代表的西方国家高等教育投资体制，借鉴其经验，我国应强化政府责任，发挥国家财政投入的主渠道作用；稳定乃至降低高校收费标准，完善学生贷款制度；增强高等教育机构的自身造血功能，通过产、学、研结合获取资金；争取社会多方面捐赠；优秀高校要加强国际交流和宣传，通过留学生收费扩充教育经费。     

15-17世纪英国贵族婚姻生活的主要特点

15-17世纪的英国正处在重要的转折时期,社会面貌发生较大变化。贵族的婚姻生活也有别于以往,本文对其几个主要的特点进行了阐述。这一时期父母对贵族子女婚姻的绝对控制权开始缓慢减弱;随着社会济结构的变化,贵族婚姻生活中经济方面的考虑进一步增强;此外,国王的干预和宗教的影响也是这一时期贵族婚姻生活的重要特点。     

1630年代英国船税问题探析

1630年代,征收船税是英国国王查理一世在特定时期推出的应急性经济政策。实际上,船税征收是查理一世政府为了加强英国海军力量、保护国家及民众的海上权益,而并非完全是为了满足国王的财政需要。由于船税征收具有一定的合理性和规范性,因此最初取得了良好的效果。但船税政策在制定和实施中存在的一些深层次矛盾,尤其是对船税合法性的普遍质疑,以及国王政府与地方官员关系的逐渐破裂,致使其成为引起民众怨恨情绪爆发的焦点。但是,船税仅仅是引发英国内战的经济原因之一,并不是根本原因。     

Education,knowledge, and symbolic form

This article aims to introduce Ernst Cassirer, and his philosophy of symbolic form, to education studies, and, in doing so, to challenge the widespread but deeply flawed views of knowledge and so-called knowledge-based education that have shaped recent education policy in England. After sketching the current educational landscape, and then some of the main lines of flight in Cassirer’s work, time is given to a comparison with Heidegger—a more familiar figure by far in Anglophone philosophy than Cassirer, and who contributed to the displacement of Cassirer—in order to illustrate more clearly Cassirer’s original contribution, in particular to the relationship between knowledge and time. Cassirer’s view of knowledge stands in marked and critical contrast to that which has shaped recent educational reform in England, as he sees knowledge as a productive and expressive matter, and repudiates what I call the ‘building-blocks’ picture of knowledge and the hierarchisation of subject areas.     

‘Trying,failing, succeeding,and trying again and again’: perspectives of teachers of pupils with severe profound multiple learning difficulties

This article explores the perspectives of seven teachers in England who teach pupils with severe profound and multiple learning difficulties about their learning to teach this group of students. Teachers’ views were captured through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online communications. Four themes emerged from teachers’ perspectives about their own learning: learning through doing in the classroom, learning through self-inquiry and research, learning from and with others and more formal learning opportunities. A constructivist approach to teacher learning is affirmed as a helpful lens to further understand how teachers learn to teach pupils with complex learning profiles. The article supports teacher learning as a holistic process that takes place throughout teachers’ careers. It highlights the value teachers place on learning through doing in the classroom, learning through self-inquiry and research, learning from and with others, as well as formal learning.