Researching and conceptualising the field

This concluding paper examines the contributions in this Guest Issue by locating them within the ongoing debates about the role and contribution of social science research, particularly through the production of journals. Set in the context of on-going attacks on the relevance of social science research and the failure to respond to major crises that affect us all, I argue that the field of educational leadership is an important site for showing the dangers of becoming relevant and accepting that a constructed crisis is a crisis. I argue for intellectual work within the field of educational leadership, and use the critical and socially critical traditions to illuminate this. The papers in this Guest Issue are located in these traditions, and so I examine the contribution made through problematising educational leadership, examining the realities of working lives in schools and conceptualising alternative ways of thinking about professional practice.     

Network analysis and qualitative discourse analysis of a classroom group discussion

ABSTRACT

A new methodology is proposed for qualitative discourse analysis (QDA) aimed at gaining enhanced insights into learning possibilities and indicators that arise during classroom group discussions. The constitution of this new methodology has two principle components: a discourse analysis approach that aims to identify the relationships between content and group dynamics; and a network analysis (NA) approach that uses the same data to identify meaning-related structural dynamics found in the data. The proposed methodology pairs these two components to create a supplementary iterative interchange that facilitates the attainment of greater analytic insights than are achievable by either of the two components individually. The critical aspects of the methodology are illustrated and discussed using real classroom data in ways that provide a procedural exemplar. The strengths and limitations of the proposed methodology are also discussed.     

我国农田土壤酸化调控的科学问题与技术措施

我国南方日趋严重的农田土壤酸化不仅导致农作物大幅度减产甚至绝收,而且促进重金属等有害物质在农产品中吸收累积,威胁国家粮食安全和民众健康。但因酸性土壤分布详情不清,作物酸害阈值不明,土壤酸化预测的研究不足,酸化防治技术严重缺乏,红壤酸化没有得到有效控制。采取有效措施改良酸化农田土壤、遏制土壤的持续酸化,将热带和亚热带地区的土壤酸度维持在较低水平,对我国农业可持续发展和乡村振兴战略的实施具有重要意义。     

Pre-service teachers’ attempts at debating contemporary issues in science education: A case study from Botswana

This paper constitutes an attempt to explore trends, issues and challenges that emerge when three different cohorts of pre-service teachers debate contemporary issues in science education at the University of Botswana. Apart from the author's experience of teaching the course, the impetus for this study also comes from a growing interest in the contemporary literature in the need for teachers who, in the context of globalization and knowledge economy, are ‘self-reforming’ through continually addressing the key issues of their profession. Unfortunately, the current situation is such that this burden of interrogation falls heaviest on teachers, despite their lack of skills in undertaking the task.     

Students’ qualification in environmental and sustainability education—epistemic gaps or composites of critical thinking?

In an ‘age of measurement’ where students’ qualification is a hot topic on the political agenda, it is of interest to ask what the function of qualification might implicate in relation to a complex issue as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and what function environmental and sustainability issues serve in science education. This paper deals with how secondary and upper secondary teachers in discussions with colleagues articulate qualification in relation to educational aims of ESD. With inspiration from discourse theory, the teachers’ articulations of qualification are analysed and put in relation to other functions of education (qualification, socialisation and subjectification). The results of this study show three discourses of qualification: scientific reasoning, awareness of complexity and to be critical. The discourse of ‘qualification as to be critical’ is articulated as a composite of differing epistemological views. In this discourse, the teachers undulate between rationalistic epistemological views and postmodern views, in a pragmatic way, to articulate a discourse of critical thinking which serves as a reflecting tool to bring about different ways of valuing issues of sustainability, which reformulates ‘matter of facts’ towards ‘matter of concerns’     

以农为本的“三农”复杂关系与“三农”一体化改革思路——以浙江省湖州市为例

湖州围绕"三农"问题改革创新的一系列做法和成效走在了全省甚至全国的前列,但也面临着要素资源制约越来越大等一系列复杂而棘手的问题,许多制约"三农"发展的深层次问题和矛盾有待破解。为此,湖州深化农村改革发展需要进行科学的顶层设计,提出新的发展思路,不断推动"三农"融合、产业融合和城乡融合。     

Getting to New Horizons in the Educational Milieu

Given the prevailing spirit of teacher frustration regarding current educational policy, the authors perused frequently visited teacher blogs and discussion boards in the summer of 2009 to determine whether teachers are effectively using them to express professionally informed political dissent regarding educational policy. While many teachers are frustrated with educational policies, they are not particularly adept at voicing their dissent against such policies. Many downplay their professional knowledge, avoid overtly political postings, and feel isolated from others who share their views.     

Teaching Critical Thinking and Problem Defining Skills

Critical thinking and skills in defining problems have been among the goals of a computers and society course that had its credits reduced and student number increased. In an attempt to prevent worsening the students' learning, four measures were taken. The results actually improved from a failure rate of 21.5% to 0.7%. This was mainly due to tighter project structure and additional student work. Reduced course material and improved teacher preparation did not seem to have any effect, while more focused project teaching may have contributed to the decreased failure rate. Further improvements may be gained through time estimation in the problem definition process.     

Incidence of violence in Turkish schools: A review

The present article deals with the incidence of violence cases inTurkish schools. A review of research based on published research reports andunpublished M.Sc. and Ph.D. dissertations is presented and basic lines of researchare discussed. Special emphasis was placed upon culturally specific issues,besides the culturally determined attitudes of parents and teachers. The need for anationwide system for the prevention of violence and corporal punishment wasemphasized.