Teachers of Chinese Ancestry: Interaction of identities and professional roles

The research presented in this paper, based on ethnographic interviews with 19 female and 6 male Canadian teachers of Chinese ancestry, is part of a larger study examining perceptions of careers in teaching by secondary school and university students as well as practising teachers, all of minority Chinese or Punjabi Sikh ancestry (Beynon, Toohey & Kishor, 1992; Beynon & Toohey, 1995; Beynon & Toohey, 1998; Hirji & Beynon, 2000). Drawing on Britzman's (1992) theoretical distinction between teachers' roles and identities, the thesis of our research is that "role", which Britzman describes as impermeable and prescribed by normative institutional practices and ideologies, is, rather, potentially porous. We see that teachers of minority ancestry infuse their roles with new dimensions that draw on their identities. Hall's (1996) materialist theorizing helps us to see how identity, multifaceted and fluid, can be a source for negotiating roles. We recommend changes in teacher education and schools that would help to authorize transformation so that these settings which presently privilege the values, practices and discourses of the dominant Anglo-European Canadian society can become more inclusive of the identities and experiences of minority teachers.     

Flexible learning and design of instruction

The paper deals with the problem of designing flexible learning and instruction. Flexibility is considered both from the learner's and the designer's perspective. The potential of telematics in the design, development and implementation of flexible and distance learning is discussed. A Method for flexible instructional modules development is presented which aims at assisting the educational designers in the development of flexible instructional modules, ie, modules, which are easily adaptable to different learner's needs, allow learner's choices and different delivery platforms, including distance delivery. Examples of Method applications and current development of a software system to facilitate the Method's implementation are reported.     

Influence of gender and academic ability in a computer‐based Spanish reading task

In order to determine the effects of gender and scholastic ability on vocabulary retention and reading comprehension in a foreign language, 181 men and women enrolled in a first‐year Spanish course were asked to either read a passage in Spanish on a computer and create annotations for a list of words found in the passage (experimental group), or simply to read the already annotated passage (control group). They were administered vocabulary and reading comprehension tests, and a questionnaire concerning their attitude toward the task. Results showed rather complex interactions between the variables of sex and ability. Although the differences overall failed to achieve statistical significance, an analysis of the attitude questions separately resulted in several significant interactions for gender.     

Towards sustainable internationalisation of higher education

This article engages with the question: what does the internationalisation of higher education in times of globalisation sustain and what should it sustain? We first consider, through literature on globalisation and Stier’s (Glob Soc Educ 2(1):1–28, 2004) work, limitations of currently prevalent perspectives on internationalisation in economic terms. We then offer a brief review of how sustainability is understood in higher education and articulate our own notion of educational sustainability. We flesh it out in reference to data reflecting ideas and activities constitutive of daily practices of internationalisation in one faculty of education. We contend that our sustainability frame of reference can expand opportunities to think critically about internationalisation and, more importantly, offers opportunities to see internationalisation in its complexity, and to re-think and reorder practices that are not in alignment with educational goals and values.     

Frühübergang in ein grundständiges Gymnasium – Übergang in ein privilegiertes Entwicklungsmilieu?

This article examines whether students’ learning gains in reading and mathematics depend on the time of their transition from elementary school to the academic track of secondary schooling. Drawing on data from the ELEMENT study, the learning gains of fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools (N?=?3167) and academic-track schools with various curricular profiles (N?=?1758) in Berlin were modelled by regression and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses. When baseline differences between the school types were controlled, analyses for reading did not reveal statistically significant differences at all. Findings for mathematics were inconsistent depending on the method of analysis. Regression analysis showed statistically significant results of small effect size in favour of the academic-track schools. However, this finding could not be replicated by means of PSM. The study does not provide evidence for a generally positive effect of early transition to the academic track of secondary schooling with respect to mathematics and reading performance. Theoretical and methodological implications and limitations of the study are discussed.