AbstractsCommunity schooling
Number 174, October 2006;
Page 17
A great deal of research has indicated that a school’s effectiveness depends on how closely it can align its aims with those of its students’ families. Research has also indicated that improving students’ academic and social outcomes requires more emphasis on their home and community life. Traditional schooling has delivered a number of social benefits, but at the cost of limiting student contact with the larger social world at exactly the time they are developmentally ready to learn about it. In this sense, formal schooling has institutionalised an extended childhood. However, school education could take advantage of modern communications to develop a more diverse education process, integrated with the community and organised around electronic interaction by teachers, students, families and communities. To use technology to project the existing school paradigm into the future will perpetuate an unfair and unsustainable society. KLA Subject HeadingsSchool and communityInformation and Communications Technology (ICT) Integrating history with scientific investigations
Volume 52
Number 3, Spring 2006;
Pages 26–29
Scientific literacy includes an understanding of the methods of science and the nature of scientific knowledge. A recent junior secondary science initiative from Hong Kong used the constructivist approach to explore the historical context of a number of science topics. The aim of this approach was to develop the students' understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry. The students were guided into examining and testing different hypotheses relating to four topics, chosen to integrate historical examples with scientific investigations. The topics were 'force of gravity', 'the magnetic effect of an electric current', 'photosynthesis' and 'air pressure'. Students were expected to develop skills in identifying a problem, formulating a hypothesis, designing investigations to test the hypothesis, interpreting data, drawing conclusions and evaluating conclusions. Teachers reported that students demonstrated increased mastery of these skills and a greater confidence in conducting investigations as a result of the program. They also reported increased student motivation, especially among those less academically inclined. In addition, the program illustrated the interplay between science and technology. Historical examples can be of considerable benefit in the teaching of the nature of science. Key Learning AreasScienceSubject HeadingsConstructivismSecondary education Hong Kong Science teaching Science literacy Global citizenship: abstraction or framework for action?
Volume 58
Number 1, February 2006;
Pages 5–25
Although global education or world studies has been taught in British schools since the 1970s, the concept of global citizenship is relatively new. It implies something beyond awareness of international issues, as it includes a sense of responsibility to take action to redress social injustice. This seems to be at odds with the constraints of the national curriculum in England and Wales. Understanding human rights is often seen as a mainstay of global citizenship, but instigating human rights debates in the classroom which have no certain outcome may leave the teacher in a difficult position. Another way of conceptualising global citizenship is in understanding the wider impact of local actions. This approach is often applied to ecological issues, but is more problematic when applied to cultural issues. Global citizenship must necessarily include critical reflection on one’s own nation and culture, and responsible citizenship at a global and national level can sometimes conflict. In real terms, global citizenship education has been enacted in British schools in a variety of ways. Numerous curriculum documents lay out various core components of global citizenship, from political skills to multicultural values. Research suggests that teachers who implement global citizenship education tend to focus on the environment and other cultures, avoiding material which may be contentious in a ‘fragile multicultural classroom’. However, many find that limited time, resources, and standardised curriculum and assessment prevent them from teaching global citizenship effectively. For students, literature suggests that the most reliable predictors of the kind of action promoted by global citizenship are involvement in democratic school structures and community service. Students should be involved in determining what kind of global citizenship education they experience, and their interest in and understanding of ‘big’ global issues should not be underestimated. Although difficulties with assessing its intended outcomes persist, schools should explore ways to realise global citizenship’s potential as a valuable and radical area of curriculum. Key Learning AreasStudies of Society and EnvironmentSubject HeadingsGlobalisationIntercultural studies International education Multicultural education Great Britain Validity and worth in the science curriculum: learning school science outside the laboratory
Volume 17
Number 3, September 2006;
Pages 213–228
There is widespread concern among science educators that school science is often seen by students as boring, outdated and irrelevant to the ‘real world’. Re-examining the sites in which science learning occurs can support the developments in pedagogy and classroom activities which are addressing these concerns. Most school science currently takes place in the school science laboratory. Laboratory learning should not be devalued, but should be complemented with out-of-school learning to spark student interest and keep pace with scientific developments. Science itself has evolved into a ‘post-academic’ model, with many scientists now gathering information in collaborative and multidisciplinary ways beyond the laboratory. The aims of school science have also evolved. Once aimed primarily at preparing future scientists, science education now also looks more closely at helping the majority of students who will not become scientists to understand the relevance of science to their everyday environments. Issues of social justice and critical interrogation of scientific values have also gained prominence. These can only be explored by connecting scientific concepts to real-life contexts. At the same time, opportunities for students to experience science learning through the media and facilities such as science centres are increasing. Students who are bored by science at school may find these out-of-school opportunities highly engaging. School science should utilise learning opportunities in the actual world (such as natural or industrial sites), the presented world (such as museums or exhibitions) and the virtual world (online). These contexts enhance school science by enabling deeper understanding and integration of concepts; extending possibilities for practical work; providing access to rare specimens or ‘big’ equipment; fostering engagement to promote lifelong learning; and situating science within the broader context of social outcomes. The science laboratory has a special significance for most science teachers as it has come to characterise ‘school science’ and define their professional domain. However, the days when secondary students will be impressed by traditional laboratory experiments are long gone. Science educators must break down the artificial barriers between ‘laboratory’ and ‘out-of-school’ learning, so that students can recognise and experience scientific learning opportunities in a wide variety of contexts. Key Learning AreasScienceSubject HeadingsScience literacyScience Science teaching Classroom activities School grounds The role of motivation in gendered educational and occupational trajectories related to maths
Volume 12
Number 4, August 2006;
Pages 305–322
More men than women work in highly maths-related jobs, raising concerns that maths-related industries may be missing out on a substantial talent pool, and that women may be missing out on highly-paid maths-related careers. Much educational research and policy over the last decade has addressed boys’ academic achievement, but the persistent gender imbalance in maths suggests girls may also be ‘at risk’ in some areas. Prior research has shown students’ academic choices to be influenced by their perceptions of their own ability and expectations of success. Intrinsic values, relating to the students’ enjoyment of a subject, and utility values, relating to their perception of a subject's usefulness, also influence students’ decisions. A recent study tracked the maths choices, attitudes, career aspirations and achievement of around 300 New South Wales students over three years, through Grades 9–11. New South Wales senior secondary students can choose which maths course they undertake from five different levels of difficulty. The study found that boys were more likely to undertake the higher-level maths courses, and to be planning to enter maths-related careers. Boys also perceived maths as less difficult than girls did, and had more positive estimations of their mathematical ability, despite there being no gender difference apparent in maths test results. Self-perception of mathematical ability and intrinsic value, ie enjoyment, emerged as key predictors of the level of maths course a student undertook. This relationship had flow-on effects on career choice, as students in higher-level maths courses were more likely to pursue a maths-related career. Utility value also played some part in determining career choice. Girls intending to pursue maths-related careers generally perceived maths as highly useful, whereas boys choosing maths-related careers tended to perceive maths as either highly or only moderately useful. Both genders should continue to be encouraged towards maths participation to address skills shortages in maths-related industries. At the same time, the gender imbalance may be addressed by targeting girls’ self-perceptions of their mathematical ability, their liking for maths and their valuation of maths’ usefulness. Key Learning AreasMathematicsSubject HeadingsMathematicsMotivation Girls' education Boys' education Careers New South Wales (NSW) The emergence of the controversy around the theory of evolution and creationism in UK newspaper reports
Volume 17
Number 3, 20 September 2006;
Pages 263–279
Newspaper reports are frequently cited by contesting forces in public debates and influence the course of those debates. The news media have played an important role in the public debate over creationism in school science. In 2002 British newspapers covered a major debate over the introduction of creationism into the curriculum at Key Learning AreasScienceSubject HeadingsGreat BritainMass media study and teaching Science teaching Religion Christianity School science and citizenship: whose science and whose citizenship?
Volume 17
Number 3, 20 September 2006;
Pages 197–211
There has been debate about the nature of school science in Key Learning AreasScienceSubject HeadingsGreat BritainScience teaching Science literacy Science Civics education Citizenship A research approach to designing chemistry education using authentic practices as contexts
Volume 28
Number 9, July 2006;
Pages 1063–1086
The article describes research undertaken in Dutch secondary schools to trial and evaluate a context-based chemistry curriculum unit on water quality. The theoretical basis of the research recognised curriculum as having six stages: Ideal Curriculum, as it is conceived; Formal Curriculum, as it is written; Perceived Curriculum, as it is understood by teachers; Operational Curriculum, as it is implemented; Experiential Curriculum, as it is experienced by students; and Attained Curriculum, or what is ultimately learnt. The process of curriculum design seeks to minimise incongruence between the initial and final stages of this cycle. Three versions of the unit were piloted, with refinements made each time. The intention was that the unit would create a ‘need-to-know’ learning process where each stage would motivate students to discover key learnings in order to progress to the next stage. Students’ responses to the first and second versions of the unit clearly demonstrated the motivating power of a context-oriented research question, but did not show a clear progression through the ‘need-to-know’ process. In the first version, students did not realise the value of some key learnings until after they had learnt them, inverting the intended situation of students feeling motivated to discover the information themselves. In the second version, students pursued information more actively, but were distracted by other emerging ‘knowledge needs’ which did not fit the unit’s intended direction. The third version replaced the concept of context with practice as a means of adding relevance to science learning. Students assumed the role of junior researchers around a specific question. This approach maintained their focus on key investigations, adding a coherency to the unit which later helped them reflect on their learnings. The research suggests that developers of context-based science curriculum should identify appropriate authentic practices to adapt for instructional purposes. This would create a new challenge, of expanding the flow of knowledge-seeking beyond individual curriculum units and enabling students to understand the connectedness of the whole science curriculum. It would also require clear links to be made between authentic practices, so that students would be able to transfer knowledge seamlessly between contexts. Key Learning AreasScienceSubject HeadingsCurriculum planningScience teaching Constructivism Chemistry Netherlands Context-based chemistry: the Salters approach
Volume 28
Number 9, July 2006;
Pages 222–1015
The Salters approach to chemistry teaching was developed in York in the early 1980s, using a context-based approach to increase chemistry’s appeal to students. Six Salters courses have since been developed and adopted widely in England and Wales and, in adapted formats, overseas. The article describes one of the most successful courses, Salters Advanced Chemistry. The development of the Salters courses began with a very broad brief, enabling content decisions to be made during the design process rather than established at the outset, and to incorporate a wide range of stakeholder input and educational theories. Since being introduced into the curriculum in 1990, Salters Advanced Chemistry has assumed a more stringent format, but has remained true to the original spirit of teacher input and flexible design. Its context-based design assumes learning will occur on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, whereby students approach scientific concepts only as required to deepen understanding of the context in focus. Few concepts are fully explored in one particular context, but are more likely to be revisited and consolidated as their relevance to new contexts emerges. Assessment for the course is also innovative, comprising context-based module assessments or examinations, an 'open book' question in which students have three weeks to research a given topic, and practical assessments based on an investigation designed and conducted by the student. Although the course’s development budget did not allow for a formal evaluation, various studies have elicited positive responses to the course. Of a group of 222 chemistry teachers surveyed in 2000, most had found that their students were more engaged in chemistry and better able to embark on independent study than those undertaking more traditional courses. Teachers found the course motivating to teach, but also more demanding. The provision of in-service support made a significant difference to teachers’ estimations of the course’s success. Other studies have found no difference in students’ level of understanding of chemistry between those in Salters and traditional courses. Student attitude surveys have shown that while students in traditional courses expressed ‘comfort’ with a predictable, topic-driven approach, Salters students displayed higher levels of interest. Key Learning AreasScienceSubject HeadingsScience teachingChemistry Constructivism Great Britain Pedagogy An integrated house project: bringing science and other learning areas together
Volume 52
Number 3, 3rd
Quarter
2006;
Pages 37–41
The curriculum framework in Key Learning AreasStudies of Society and EnvironmentScience Mathematics Languages Health and Physical Education English Subject HeadingsWestern Australia (WA)Compulsory education Curriculum planning Reinventing the media classroom
Number 42, 2nd
Quarter
2006;
Pages 48–52
There are two troubling developments in media education. The first is the almost exclusive focus now being given to technical aspects of media production, at the expense of the social and critical elements that the subject embodied when it emerged in the 1970s. At that time Media Studies included textual analysis, concerned with how an audience constructs meanings from the media. It also attended to economic and political issues surrounding the media as an institution. The author illustrates his concerns with an anecdote from a lecture he gave to 220 university students starting Media Studies in 2005, in which he found that about 30 per cent of the students did not know that the ABC was a publicly funded station; about 60 per cent had not heard of the television program Media Watch; and about 30 per cent had not heard of Rupert Murdoch or his company News Ltd. In this respect today’s students reflect broader social changes. For example, public debate about the concentration of media ownership has diminished, despite its continuing relevance. The second troubling development in Media Studies is the trend to convergence of media education with other subject areas. The move towards an interdisciplinary curriculum is widely supported by progressive educators. However its dangers may be illustrated by reference to the tertiary sector, where the subject has faced actual or threatened amalgamation with literature, ICT or design faculties. Within larger subject areas the ‘details, the historical contexts and the nuances of the discipline’ receive less emphasis. Media Studies teachers need to understand and monitor new interactive technologies such as blogs and podcasts, but they should also examine social and ethical implications of new media, such as the invasion of privacy and risks of misrepresentation inherent in digital cameras and in the manipulation of digital images. At the same time the discipline should remain concerned with more traditional issues such as ‘what to publish or what to broadcast’. Secondary school media teachers may need more opportunities for professional development to become confidant to teach social dimensions of Media Studies. KLA Subject HeadingsInformation and Communications Technology (ICT)Curriculum planning Tertiary education Secondary education Mass media study and teaching Media and literacy: what's good?
Volume 64
Number 1, September 2006;
Pages 62–66
Television, movies and video games offer a powerful means to encourage boys to write and improve their overall literacy. Boys can use the characters, situations and plots provided in these popular media as starting points for their own writing. The benefits may be greatest for disadvantaged students. In the Key Learning AreasEnglishSubject HeadingsWritingMultimedia systems Social life and customs Literacy Boys' education Children and young people's uses of the Internet for homework
Volume 31
Number 3, September 2006;
Pages 301–315
A large majority of British school students use the Internet for academic purposes, and well over half see it as the most helpful homework tool. A recent study collected qualitative data from 17 families consisting of 33 parents and 44 children. The data included an initial interview, diary logs of computer use, a follow-up interview and a third interview two years later. The social position of each family was classified as 'transitional', 'improving' or 'established'. All parents were seen to be committed to their children's education. The use of the Internet for homework was more limited among poorer families, who tended to restrict access to save money. Otherwise Internet use for academic purposes did not vary by socioeconomic status. Most use of the Internet for homework was by 11–15-year-olds, with or without parental assistance. Younger students using the Internet were usually helped by a parent or older sibling. There was little evidence of collaborative use of ICT by students. Teachers should encourage collaboration through the use of communication software. Students from all groups copied and pasted material directly into homework, often with support from parents. There is a need for initiatives to enhance access for young people with limited or no home access, such as informal school spaces, homework clubs and Internet cafes. KLA Subject HeadingsEducational evaluationGreat Britain Homework Internet Is consistency the only rationale for national curriculum collaboration?
Volume 26
Number 3, 2006;
Pages 66–70
National curriculum collaboration is often supported by an analogy to a ‘common railway gauge’ that efficiently unifies all parts of KLA Subject HeadingsEducation policyFederal-state relations Curriculum planning Attitudes versus achievement in pre-service mathematics teacher educationA number of recent studies have suggested that many preservice primary teachers have negative attitudes towards mathematics, sometimes found to be more negative than their students’. This is concerning, given that attitude has frequently been positively correlated with academic achievement, at teachers’ attitudes may have a strong influence on their students. At the University of Western Sydney, 83 primary Bachelor of Education students were surveyed about their attitudes towards mathematics, and undertook a short test to determine their mathematical ability. The cohort were mostly in their second semester of teacher education, and were mostly aged 30 or below. In contrast to prior studies, the sample demonstrated positive attitudes to mathematics overall, with around two-thirds stating that they felt mathematics was an area in which they usually did well. Attitudes were even more positive about the teaching of mathematics, with 83 percent reporting confidence in their knowledge of mathematics teaching methods. However, students’ results on the mathematics aptitude test were generally relatively low. A clear correlation existed between negative attitudes and low test scores, as expected, but not between positive attitudes and high test scores. This suggests that the cohort of students may have been over-confident in their estimations of their mathematical ability. A stronger positive correlation emerged between confidence in mathematics teaching and test scores. This is an encouraging result, given that students’ teaching ability will continue to develop as they progress further through the teaching course. It also suggests that teacher educators should assist preservice teachers to experience success in their own mathematics, at the same time as building their knowledge of mathematics pedagogies. Key Learning AreasMathematicsSubject HeadingsMathematics teachingTeacher training New South Wales (NSW) |