Student-centred learning and disciplinary enculturation: an exploration through physics

This study argues that student-centred methods in the teaching of physics can be beneficial for students’ enculturation into the discipline and into a physicist’s profession. Interviews conducted with academics and students from six master degrees in physics in three different European countries suggest that student-driven classroom activities, collaborative learning and problem-solving, or integration in research groups/projects enable students to engage in practices similar to those which are part of professional scientists’ routine. Through interactive, participative methods reminiscent of cognitive apprenticeship, students develop a range of abilities necessary in a physicist’s career: capacity of explanation, argumentation and defence of claims; analytical reasoning; capacity to critically review literature; ability to discern research paths worth pursuing; writing skills; and interpersonal skills. These give them a first taste of what it is like to be a physicist and ease their transition into a professional physics career.     

Some possible effects of behaviour management training on teacher confidence and competence: evidence from a study of primary school teachers in Hong Kong

This study aims to explore the relationships between the extent and perceived quality of teachers’ experience of training in behaviour management (BM), and their awareness of the nature and extent of behavioural problems among school students, and their confidence in their own competence to deal with such problems. Teachers (n = 183) from Hong Kong primary schools were surveyed. The results showed that gender, age and whether teachers have received training had no significant influence on teachers’ awareness, conception and confidence regarding BM. A negative correlation was found between teachers’ levels of satisfaction in relation to their training experiences and their perceptions of the level of problematic behaviours among students, and the impact of students’ problematic behaviour on their teaching. A positive correlation was found between teachers’ levels of satisfaction in relation to their training experiences and their confidence in their own competence to deal with students’ problematic behaviour.     

Disability,Stigma and Otherness: Perspectives of Parents and Teachers

This qualitative study explored the perspectives of parents and teachers in the US with regard to the meaning and implications of disability in the context of schoolling, and of raising a child with a disability. The findings revealed broad conceptual differences in the perspectives of these two groups. Teachers’ beliefs were generally consistent with medical model perspectives on disability as biologically defined. Parents’ interpretations, more aligned with a sociocultural paradigm, were situated in the cultural meanings ascribed to disability and linked with issues of stigma, marginalisation and access. The findings also revealed the existence of master narratives on families of children with disabilities, entrenched in assumptions of pathological functioning and negative outcomes among these families. Implications for professional–family partnerships in the education of students with disabilities are discussed.     

Beginning teachers and diversity – why the need for extended critical professional support

This article draws from a qualitative study of seven beginning teachers’ perceptions of diversity over a period of 6–18 months. The study found that while initial teacher training had broadened their understanding of diversity and its implication for teaching, it was established pedagogical practices in their schools that influenced the novices’ ongoing understanding of responsiveness to learner diversity. For these novices, the influence of the structures and systems of their school contexts began to restrict their pedagogical stance. Based on the reported findings and wider research data, the article argues the need for ongoing critical professional support for beginning teachers who can deepen their understanding of learner diversity and its pedagogical implications. It underscores the importance of a genuine partnership between schools and teacher education providers to enable the continuation of critical professional support for novices, particularly in contexts where there are no mandatory links between preservice programmes and beginning teaching like New Zealand, where this study was undertaken. The author contends that it is unrealistic otherwise to expect beginning teachers not only to challenge entrenched practices but also to sustain the efforts of initial teacher education programmes in preparing them to be responsive to diverse learners.     

Sustainability as a cross-curricular priority in the Australian Curriculum: a Tasmanian investigation

In this paper, we report on an investigation into sustainability education in schools in the Australian state of Tasmania following the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. Sustainability is one of three cross-curriculum priorities in the new national curriculum and is the focus of this research (sustainability cross-curriculum priority (CCP)). Principals and Curriculum Leaders (PCLs) from all schools in Tasmania were invited to complete a survey that asked them about their understanding of various aspects of sustainability and how the sustainability CCP was integrated across learning areas. Sixty-eight PCLs (24%) responded to the survey. They reported generally good understandings of sustainability and education for sustainability, but lesser understandings of the sustainability CCP and the nine organising ideas. Respondents’ understandings of sustainability were dominated by an environmental focus. The PCLs’ responses in relation to sustainability implementation across learning areas gave insights into ways that the sustainability CCP can serve as a pivot for cross-curricular teaching and learning, which is strongly advocated for achieving transformative sustainability education. We conclude this paper with a discussion of how the sustainability CCP is an important asset in the necessary reorientation of the Australian formal education system for a more sustainable future. We note the importance of professional support so that educators may better understand sustainability and its complexity as a cross-curricular priority and envision ways in which the sustainability CCP can be realised within education.     

Leaders learning from leaders as an emergent action learning strategy

This account of practice describes what three executive leaders in a professional association have learned about action learning and their own practices of organizational renewal. Data are approached narratively and stories are told from the perspectives of diverse educators’ experiences, agency, and expertise. Mature organizations can be revitalized and diversified through the action learning of executive leaders who integrate a new and diverse faculty body into the governance structure and decision-making process. The goal of facilitating diversity goals for established organizations has relevance for universities, schools, businesses, and other learning environments. Public conversations can strengthen the diversity-oriented outreach missions of professional organizations.     

高校专业导论教学内容设置探讨--以旅游管理本科为例

高校专业导论课对指导学生学好专业及规划未来发展具有重要意义。目前,高校开设专业导论课的覆盖面正逐步扩大,但该课程教学内容设置还存在主次不分、重点不突出及随意性与重复性问题。结合教学实践与文献调查,探讨专业导论课教学内容的合理设置,认为该课程应设置专业发展概况、行业发展现状与专业适应岗位、专业课程结构与技能技术、角色转换与专业学习方法、专业素养与专业创新意识等内容,并提出旅游管理本科专业导论教学内容设置参考方案。     

《法国律例·民律》与近代西方民法及其术语的输入

《法国律例·民律》是法国传教士毕利干及其助手译介到中国的第一部近代西方民法著作。该书介绍了平等、自愿、诚实信用等近代西方民法的基本原则,也让中国人了解到许多与传统法律不尽相同的法律规定,并译定了一批民法学术语。由于汉语水平的限制,《法国律例·民律》晦涩难懂的语言严重制约了该书的流传。但是,《法国律例·民律》对于近代中国社会的影响,仍然值得我们予以关注。     

论媒介融合下专业人才的培养目标与体系创新

新媒体技术的发展和媒介融合的新趋势对专业人才提出了新的要求,专业人才培养的传统目标和模式因此受到了挑战。媒介融合背景下,专业人才应具备怎样的知识结构与之相适应,专业人才的培养目标和培养模式需要作出怎样的调整,是当前高等教育面临的一个新课题。学术界对此存在较大分歧,对这些分歧的原因、性质及其可能产生的影响,进行深入地分析和探讨,对高等教育人才培养的未来走向具有十分重要的意义。     

高师院校语文教育专业专业任选课课程改革的研究与实践--以齐齐哈尔高等师范专科学校为例

当前高师语文教育专业的主要任务是培养能够在中小学从事语文教育工作及其他教育工作的高素质技能型专门人才,然而专业任选课却存在着与人才培养和课程改革的种种不适应,本文以齐齐哈尔高等师范专科学校为例,从任选课的课程设置、教学改革等方面的实践入手,探索高师语文教育专业任选课程改革策略,为提高高师人才培养质量提供一些有益的改革建议。