Multicultural Literature as a Classroom Tool

Multicultural literature can be found all across classrooms in the United States. I argue it is more important what you do with the literature than just having it in the classroom. Multicultural literature should be seen as a tool. In this article, I will share how I used multicultural literature as a tool to (a) promote or develop an appreciation for diversity, (b) honor students' voices, (c) connect to students' rich linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and (d) promote critical consciousness. Through this process, students were able to build a foundation toward critical consciousness in order to take action against their oppressors.     

Telematics for Teacher Education: issues from a European conference

ABSTRACT

The world Information Superhighway is under discussion in many countries. Within Europe the discussion is also very active as is the promotion of the use of telematics for trans‐European communication and co‐operation in various areas. For education and training, representatives of European teacher trainers, teachers, students, parents, policy and decision makers discussed their needs and views on a trans‐European network at a conference held in May 1994 in Luxembourg. This paper presents a selection of various issues raised at the conference regarding the use of telematics for teacher education and illustrates the discussion and the method of discussion. It also describes and discusses the conference programme model, as it offered innovative on‐line activities to facilitate appreciation of telematics. The case is argued that teacher education can benefit greatly from telematics and some points are put forward for further discussion.     

Impact of Adding Internet Technology on Student Performance and Perception of Autonomy in Fundamentals of Electronics Course

The coupling of the traditional classroom instruction and a virtual learning environment (VLE) in an engineering course is critical to stimulating the learning process and to encouraging students to develop competencies outside of the classroom. This can be achieved through planned activities and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), resources designed to complement students’ autonomous learning needs. A quantitative analysis of students’ academic performance using final course grades was performed for a fundamentals of electronics course and we examine students’ perception of their autonomy using surveys. The students’ progress and attitudes were monitored over four consecutive semesters. The first began with the design of the intervention and the following three consisted in the implementation. The strategy was focused on the development of course competencies through autonomous learning with ICT tools presented in the VLE. Findings indicate that the students who did the activities in the VLE showed an increase in performance scores in comparison with students who did not do them. The strategy used in this study, which enhanced perceived autonomy, was associated with a positive effect on their learning process. This research shows that a technology-enhanced course supported by ICT activities can both improve academic performance and foster autonomy in students.     

Telematics Applied to the Training of Teachers: a survey via video‐conferencing across Europe

In January 1996 the European Union funded three projects within the Telematics Programme DG XIII_c to focus on Telematics in Teacher Training. One project with the same title, T3, will apply telematics within teacher training for over 4000 teachers in seven European countries over three years. Part of the work within 1996 performed a needs analysis for multimedia communications across the partner teacher training institutions in seven European countries using enhanced desk top video conferencing.

Teacher educators were informed of case studies already developed in the UK and aspects were demonstrated to them. Their views on the transferability of such activities to their courses and countries are documented in this paper. This research took place using the medium of enhanced desk top video conferencing. This application of Telematics is seen as an extension of the common practice of interviewing by telephone, permitting more information to be shared between teacher trainers in the seven teacher training institutions. The research showed that all countries would use the Telematic applications described and many were able to contribute complementary cases of their own.     

Creating a space for global dialogue on knowledge democracy: experiences from the inaugural global assembly for knowledge democracy

ABSTRACT

This study employed phenomenological and semi-structured interviews as an action research approach, to explore participants’ experiences around the Global Assembly for Knowledge Democracy (The Assembly) following the Conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. We sought to promote the inclusion of the diverse voices from the Global North and South who convened in the event, by understanding the participants’ experiences as part of this assembly, and its possible impact after the event. We found that Assembly participants’ experiences helped us understand Global North-South critical dialogues that challenge traditional notions of knowledge democracy that have held back, maybe unintentionally, the voices of those in the Global South. The Assembly participants’ promoted critical dialogues when presenting their visual metaphors, dances and other ways of producing knowledge during the Assembly. Although, Global North and South participants struggled with language barriers, they found enabling spaces at the Assembly to share their proposals, at both individual and community levels, framing actions and building partnerships with organizations within collective international efforts. Further, having a research team comprising both Global North and Global South voices, gave greater vision and authenticity to recognize and appreciate alternative methodologies of participation, which reconfigured the Global Assembly for Knowledge Democracy process.     

Relationships between religion,risk behaviors and prosociality among secondary school students in Peru and El Salvador

How young people spend time out of school is important for their character development. In this article we explore the relationships between adolescents’ leisure time and other aspects of their lives, with a particular focus on religion. Using a data set generated by secondary school students in Peru and El Salvador (n = 6085) for a public health project, YOURLIFE, we conducted multiple logistic regression analyses of the relationships between religious identification, salience and practice; five indicators of adolescent risk behaviors; and, four indicators of prosocial attitudes and behaviors. In addition to not participating in risk behaviors such as sex, smoking, drinking alcohol and taking illicit drugs, these analyses show significant relationships between religion and prosocial activities and attitudes. These data are considered in the context of the wider debate over the role of religion in adolescent character development in Latin America and elsewhere.     

Organizational knowledge and collaborative human resource practices as determinants of innovation

A basic premise of the literature states that innovation depends on the ability of firms to manage knowledge. However, despite the major role of services in the economy, studies that assess the role of knowledge in innovation performance are particularly limited in this sector. Moreover, knowledge and human resource practices are intrinsically related concepts, as it is people who generate processes and refine knowledge. An empirical analysis is conducted on the role of organizational knowledge and collaborative human resource practices in innovation performance. The results show that: (i) existing knowledge in a certain domain provides a base for introducing innovations into the domain; (ii) knowledge of a more general nature favours the introduction of various types of innovation; (iii) collaborative human resource practices are an antecedent of product innovation; and (iv) development of organizational knowledge may be based on a broader perspective associated with human resource management.