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Between teachers’ perceptions and civic conceptions: lessons from three Israeli civics teachers

Building on sociocultural theories of teaching and learning, rooted in constructivist traditions, this study examined the teaching of civics in relation to contextual sociocultural factors in the Israeli educational system. The study focused on ways in which three civics teachers conceptualized and framed notions of good citizenship in relation to the teaching of the civics subject matter, and on the ways in which such notions manifest in their planned teaching. The main finding points to how the teachers framed their civics lessons in a manner that was in congruence with their perceptions of their students’ approaches to citizenship. Thus, the study reaches the conclusion that teachers’ perceptions are a key element in framing and conceptualizing civics lessons, resulting in a reality in which students from different backgrounds may experience significant differences in their orientation to the notion of good citizenship, limiting their exposure to multiple views.     

Educational model for environmental‐cognition development

Environmental education (EE) is an holistic educational approach the main goal of which is to develop the students’ environmental cognition, as compared to the disciplinary approach which develops a compartmentalized cognition. Environmental cognition is defined as a reciprocal relationship, comprising knowledge, understanding, sensitivity, perceptiveness and imagination with regard to the environment as well as responsibility and motivation to make environmental decisions. A conceptual model was constructed for this purpose comprising three stages: sensing the environment and generating questions; analysing and then synthesizing a system presentation of the environment, thereby focusing upon the inter‐relatedness and interdependence of environmental components; and environmental problem‐solving.

The model was implemented for training EE teachers and for EE curriculum development. Both of which may enhance the inclusion of EE within the formal educational system.     

Teaching the Concept of Desert Ecosystem

Summaries

English

In order to test the possibilities of the desert as an educational resource for ecosystem study a development programme was started at the Institute for Desert Research in Israel in 1972. The objectives of the investigation were:

(1) To study the structure and function of a loessial plain and rocky hill‐top ecosystem in the Negev desert highlands.

(2) To develop an ecology course for teaching the concept of the desert ecosystem. The course should demonstrate the structure, function and methodology of desert‐ecosystem investigation.

(3) To evaluate the ability of high school, teachers’ training college and university students for modelling and analysing desert ecosystems.

The investigation showed that the teaching of a field‐oriented ecology course in a relatively simple ecosystem improves students’ understanding of principles and concepts of system ecology and assists them in the use of investigatory systems approach. Participants were able to choose the main entities which compose the system, define the relationship between them, specify the mechanisms by which changes in the system take place, and to model and analyse the system.     

Mathematical media literacy in the COVID-19 pandemic and its relation to school mathematics education

Educational Studies in Mathematics - In the first months of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic became a top concern worldwide, media coverage became full of information that demands mathematical...     

Public Engagement with Science in Everyday Life: Perceptions of Wi-Fi Radiation Risks in Schools

Wi-Fi radiation is a type of radio frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) that refers to the transfer of energy by radio waves. Nowadays, exposure to RF radiation is widespread including wireless internet connection (Wi-Fi) routers and cell phones. The proliferation of devices emitting RF radiation has entailed some public and media-generated controversy, although scientific evidence has not pointed to the existence of risk. Using the theoretical perspectives of science literacy, public engagement with science, and science media literacy, this work examines public engagement with science-related media reports in a context involving risk. A qualitative design was followed to address multiple viewpoints including an analysis of an authentic primetime TV program concerning the risks of Wi-Fi, its messages, and frames, solicited a public response to the coverage via interviews and decision-making simulation (n = 20), and unsolicited public response based on social media discussions (n = 315 comments). Our findings suggest that a lack of relevant scientific knowledge does not seem to be related to participants’ general scientific literacy among people with higher education. Moreover, interviewees did not place much emphasis on having adequate knowledge in making their decision. These findings emphasize that we need to expand our understanding of the different ways that make scientific knowledge relevant when making decisions on scientific issues that relate directly to everyday life.

     

Navigating competing conceptions of civic education: lessons from three Israeli civics classrooms

The concentration of this study was the documentation and analysis of ways in which competing conceptions of citizenship play out in actual classroom settings. Examining three cases in the context of the Israeli education system, its findings show that civics teachers’ views and beliefs influenced ways in which they interpreted the curriculum standards and reacted to schools policies and atmosphere, even in cases where these views contradicted. Nevertheless, when confronted with competing conceptions of citizenship as presented by their students, the teachers were less willing to open true democratic conversations, resulting in lessons that did not necessarily create a true democratic atmosphere.