GENDER DIFFERENCES IN MATHEMATICAL ACHIEVEMENT RELATED TO THE RATIO OF GIRLS TO BOYS IN SCHOOL CLASSES

The relationship between mathematical achievement and the ratio of boys to girls in school classes was investigated in a sample of third-grade Norwegian elementary school students (440 girls and 480 boys). Belonging to classes with a numerical majority of boys or girls did not affect the achievement of either of the sexes. The results from the study do not support the single-sexing of mathematics teaching.     

First-year University Students of Educational Sciences on Inclusive Education: Attitudes and convictions in Flanders

Inclusion does not yet exist in Flanders, and the realisation of its idea is advancing with difficulty. Three years ago a new curriculum for educational sciences was set up at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, aimed at forming experts in inclusive education at university level. It is expected that students, having undergone this kind of training, will have an open mind and a positive attitude towards inclusive education. Attitudes and beliefs concerning inclusive education play an important part in its implementation. This study intends to assess the attitude of VUB students to inclusion and inclusive education. First-year students (150) were asked to fill in a questionnaire. They all took two introductory courses on inclusive education. The questionnaire appears useful, but needs fine tuning. The belief that attitudes towards inclusion consist of three separate dimensions, as shown by previous research, can no longer be upheld. Students do not really opt for inclusion. They do not oppose inclusion and inclusive education, but they do not advocate it either. This study suggests that inclusive education in Flanders faces an insecure future.     

Education and the Free Will Problem: A Spinozist Contribution

In this Spinozist defence of the educational promotion of students’ autonomy I argue for a deterministic position where freedom of will is deemed unrealistic in the metaphysical sense, but important in the sense that it is an undeniable psychological fact. The paper is structured in three parts. The first part investigates the concept of autonomy from different philosophical points of view, looking especially at how education and autonomy intersect. The second part focuses on explicating the philosophical position of causal determinism and it seeks to open up a way to conceive of education for autonomy without relying on the notion of free will in a metaphysical sense. The concluding part attempts to outline a Spinozistic understanding of education for autonomy where autonomy is grounded in the student's acceptance and understanding of the necessary constraints of natural causation rather than processes of self‐causation.     

Education,Illusions and Valuable Fictions

Saul Smilansky's Illusionism suggests that some false beliefs are important enough to warrant the indefinite perpetuation of illusions in order to protect the larger moral community from breaking down. In this article I suggest that this position actualises an old educational paradox where education is expected to protect the common moral community (even if this means maintaining some illusions), and at the same time promote the pursuit of truth. Taking Smilansky's position of Illusionism as a starting point, I argue that while Illusionism highlights and addresses an important problem—that sometimes false beliefs can function to maintain social stability where the truth threatens to unsettle it—relying on indefinite illusions is problematic from an educational point of view. It is difficult to justify that education, being at least in part motivated by truth-seeking, should (or even could) be grounded in illusion. Taking seriously the fact that a dimension of education concerns maintaining social stability, I suggest that Spinoza's notion of fiction can complement Smilansky's view in that it can be conceived in terms of an instrument for maintaining social stability and promoting truth-seeking without assuming that one end is pursued at the expense of the other.     

In the Absence of Adults: Generations and Formation in Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Taika Waititi's recent film ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ (2016) portrays the coming‐of‐age of a young boy, Ricky, in a world with few recognisably responsible adults. While the film does not engage explicitly with formal education, it raises several questions central for understanding education as formation, highlighting the generational aspects of educational relations and pointing to the importance of an adult world taking responsibility for the formation and upbringing of the younger generation. Departing from a discussion on the role of formation and intergenerational relations in Rousseau and Arendt, we will draw on the film's portrayal of an adult world in crisis in order to discuss some of its possible consequences for understanding education in terms of intergenerational relations and formation. This involves raising questions about the educational consequences of the absence of recognisably responsible adults and it involves investigating how this absence might impact our understanding of education as the formation and upbringing of educated human beings.     

Educational Pluralism - a historical study of so-called 'pillarization' in the Netherlands,including a comparison with some developments in South African education

Recently, modern democratic governments have been facing religious and other minorities demanding state funding of separate schools. A system of completely equal treatment of both state and denominational schools has existed in the Netherlands since 1920 and is firmly rooted in the Dutch history of the previous centuries. It may be of interest to know how this pluralistic system of 'pillars'-as it has been called in Dutch historiography-came into being and how it has functioned ever since, even until the present day, when 'pillarization' is still a prominent feature of the Dutch educational domain, despite strong secularising and post-modern tendencies. This paper describes the historical roots of the Dutch pillarized educational system, i.e. of this remarkable subcultural segmentation of education-and of society in general-on the basis of different religious or philosophical views. In the process of pillarization a crucial part was played by Dutch Protestants. With South Africa being heavily influenced by these Protestants and South African educational history running partly parallel to Dutch educational history during the 19th century, it seems worthwhile to examine why pillarisation did not occur in the southern hemisphere. In order to understand the process of pillarization it is necessary to look well into the history of the Netherlands since the 17th century. Relevant similarities between the South African and the Dutch developments up to 1900 are presented as well. At the time when the Dutch system of educational 'pillars'-or 'voluntary apartheid' as it has recently been called-fully developed towards the end of the 19th century, South African educational history, however, took a completely different course towards compulsory racial apartheid. The present revolutionary changes in South Africa, however, seem to entail some new interesting parallels between the educational situations in both countries. To substantiate this, the paper highlights some relevant features of 20th century South African educational developments, before analysing the present Dutch situation and giving the reasons for the permanent strength of the pillars. Not only are the old pillars still standing firmly, but new minorities of immigrants have also discovered the uses of the system of pillarization for identity-building and cultural emancipation. To conclude, the paper addresses the question of whether pillarization in education can and should be adopted outside the Netherlands.     

From Teaching to Learning: A Paradigm Shift in Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning

In the knowledge society, competence is the most important factor in competition on the global market. That means learning and learning methods now attract great attention in all branches of the industry, in addition to the learning institutions. This article reports on new initiatives taken to promote project-based learning by information and communication technology in pilot projects as well as in a large-scale project. The development is based on collaboration with the industry, universities and colleges in a global setting.     

Industrial Development and Education

The article presents some of the background for a project-centered learning programme that is under development between groups from four universities, industry and the public sector. It focuses on the learning environment in industry and at educational institutions.