Reflections on the Manner in Teaching Project

In reflections on the Manner in Teaching Project, I focus on four themes: why teaching is an intellectual and moral endeavour; the significance of the school context for understanding the moral dimensions of teaching; the uses and limitations of moral theory in research on teaching; and the centrality of the person in the role of teacher. The 'Manner in Teaching Project' sheds useful light on these themes, including how to examine them systematically.     

The complexity of Chinese pedagogic discourse

This is one of X commentaries on Wu’s ‘Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation: Chinese pedagogic discourse in a cross-cultural perspective’ (JCS, 43(5), 569-590). It highlights the paper’s demystification of Western pedagogic discourse and recovery of the meaning of Chinese traditional pedagogic discourse as a response to the long-lasting debates on the Chinese–Western/traditional–modern dichotomies seen in China’s modernization. However, the paper overlooks the complexity of Chinese pedagogic discourse: it over-emphasizes the formal or linguistic dimension of pedagogic discourse, and presumes the dichotomy of Chinese–Western discourses and the discontinuity of traditional–modern cultures. After elaborating the ends, substances, methods, and teacher roles found in Chinese pedagogic discourses, this study argues that contemporary pedagogic discourses are essentially inhabited in indigenous traditions, and actively entangled with Western discourse. The meaning of Confucian traditional pedagogy should not (and cannot) be ‘recovered’ from the past, but be ‘found’ in the present.     

Parental involvement in secondary education schools: the views of parents in Greece

The present study explores Greek parents’ views on parental educational involvement and its impact on adolescent scholastic and social development. Specifically, aspects of parental involvement such as the achieved objectives of current parent–school communication, the psychological climate dominating teacher–parent interactions and parents’ suggestions for improvement of current policies and practices are examined. Four hundred and seventy‐five parents participated in the study. Findings showed that family–school communication is believed to be insufficient in Greece, despite the fact that parents tend to: (1) regard their cooperation with teachers as determinative of adolescent academic and psychosocial development; (2) consider teachers to be friendly and caring; and (3) believe that secondary school provides some opportunities for constructive parental involvement. These paradoxes are discussed and explained as a result of radical changes in current social and educational values, principles and objectives.     

关于"交互研究"的定量、定性分析——虚拟学习社区中交互结构研究的必然性论证

交互问题从来都是远程教育研究的核心问题,随着虚拟学习社区的悄然显现,这一问题变的更加突出。本文在对国内外交互研究现状的定量和定性分析的基础上,提出了目前有关交互问题研究中存在的问题。笔者认为,虚拟学习社区交互系统本质上是个人造信息控制系统,虚拟学习社区中交互结构研究应该进一步研究交互的突破口。     

服装专业听障生色彩构成课教学方法初探

在相关实验的基础上,根据实验中的经验和教训,总结出服装专业听障生在色彩构成课上的教学方法。一、备课先备学生。二、充分沟通特殊教师。三、利用听障生“特长”,多看。四、善用比喻发挥学生的想象力。通过以上方法,提高听障生色彩构成课的教学质量。     

“专业—素养—实践”三维结构下的现代教育技术课程教学改革研究——以实验教学改革为例

现代教育技术课程是一门理论与实验并重的课程。在该课程学习中,学习者一方面要了解现代教育思想和理论,同时还要掌握利用教育技术进行教学的技能,更为重要的是,通过该课程学习来提高学习者的现代教育技术素质,培养其成为具有适应信息时代从教能力的师范人才。针对目前课程实验教学存在的问题,我们进行了"专业-素养-实践"三维结构下的现代教育技术课程实验教学改革,从目标、内容、策略、媒体和评价等五个方面进行了系统设计,并对实验教改的结果进行了简要的分析。     

Reconsidering school politics: educational controversies in Sweden

School politics in Sweden has recently moved in a conservative direction, emphasising the importance of conventional school subjects, stronger teacher authority and more discipline in the classroom. At the same time, consensus on the utility of such measures is lacking in the school debate. The conservative approach is often criticised as misleading and behind the times in relation to contemporary knowledge demands. This article examines and discusses the relevance of this critique. The main argument is that the conservative approach has a better matching with a previous phase in the history of Swedish school politics and that conventional schooling is difficult to combine with two of the major goals of schooling today – the diffusion of democracy and multipurpose skills. From this perspective, the political notion of schooling seems decoupled from the broader domain of public demands on education. To alleviate this problem school politics should draw less on the pedagogical ideas of essentialism and more on the historical legacy of progressivism in the Swedish education system.     

Shared Family Identity,Age Salience,and Intergroup Contact: Investigation of the Grandparent–Grandchild Relationship1 This study was part of the first author's doctoral dissertation and portions of the study were presented at the National Communication Association annual meeting,Chicago, 2004.

This study investigated communicative and relational aspects of the grandparent–grandchild relationship that lead to perceptions of age salience and shared family identity with the grandparent. The perceptions represent manifestations of inter- and intragroup levels of categorization in dealing with the other family member. The association between these group-oriented categorizations and perceptions of intergenerational contact outside of the family was examined. Participants (N?=?369) completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of experiences with multiple grandparents. Findings showed that general family identification of the grandchild, parental encouragement, and personal communication (social support and reciprocal self-disclosure) are positively associated with perceptions of shared family identity, whereas intergroup communication (under/overaccommodation) and perceptions of impaired health are associated with age salience. Results suggest that age salience may moderate the relationship between shared family identity and perceptions of older adults in some circumstances.     

The CSR green halo effect on the corporate–public communication: an experimental study

Environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a popular practice among corporations. However, the mechanism and effectiveness of environmental CSR in affecting corporate–public communication are still unclear. Against the theoretical backdrop of the ‘halo effect’ and through a controlled experiment with 742 participants from Hong Kong and mainland China, we find that: if a company’s environmental CSR activity receives higher support from the consumers, it is less likely for consumers to avoid advertisements endorsed by the company. The CSR green halo effect therefore exists. Moreover, consumers’ nationality and their three preexisting attitudes (general environmental CSR support, environmental beliefs, and favorability of products’ country of origin) are important moderators of the green halo effect and need to be considered in practice.