Quality education and the role of the teacher in Fiji: mobilising global and local values     

Michael Crossley  Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka’uta  Rosiana Lagi  Simon McGrath  Konai Helu Thaman  Ledua Waqailiti 《Compare》2017,47(6):872-890

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of original field research carried out in the small island developing state of Fiji, in the South Pacific. A North-South research partnership was built upon previous collaboration between team members and, in so doing, pioneered the blending of Pacific and Western research approaches sensitive to a postcolonial positioning. The study interrogates practitioner perspectives on: the nature and quality of teachers and teaching in Fiji; the challenges of teachers’ work and lives; priorities for successful qualitative reform; and theoretical implications for the processes of education policy transfer and qualitative improvement. The analysis draws upon work on the politics of aid and international development, revealing tensions between existing learner-centred policy frameworks and emergent neoliberal and performativity oriented initiatives influenced by international surveys of student achievement, related league tables and the experience of the regional reference societies of Australia, New Zealand and India.  相似文献   

An evaluation of the effect of two different lengths of inservice training on teacher attitudes     

Frances P. Lawrenz 《科学教学研究杂志》1984,21(5):497-506

This investigation compares the effectiveness of two types of inservice training offered through the Arizona Portal School Program. Both methods were designed to provide teachers with positive attitudes toward activity-centered energy education. The methods differed in length and energy-related content with one course running for 5 sessions and the other for 15 sessions. The longer course placed more emphasis on content knowledge. Three types of attitudes were assessed: attitudes toward curricular change, opinions on energy concepts, and beliefs about science education. Although the longer course had a more positive effect on the participants' views of and willingness to participate in curricular change and the shorter course had a more positive effect on the participants' views of teaching activity-oriented science, both courses produced the same type of change in the participants' views of energy issues.  相似文献   

A process model of writing development across the life span   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Virginia W. Berninger  Frances Fuller  Dianne Whitaker 《Educational Psychology Review》1996,8(3):193-218

In this article, we provide an overview of writing development from a product perspective and from a process perspective. Then we discuss modifications of the most influential process model of skilled adult writing to explain beginning and developing writing, including a proposed developmental sequence of the emergence of cognitive processes in writing. Next we report the results of two recent dissertations by the second and third authors supervised by the first author aimed toward contrasting developmental issues: (a) specifying the algorithms or rules of thumb beginning and developing writers may use during on-line planning; and (b) investigating the further development of writing processes among skilled adult writers. In the first study, development was conceptualized as a linear process across age groups. In the second study, development was conceptualized as a horizontal process within skilled adult writers who expanded their expertise. Finally, we consider the developmental constraints and the instructional constraints on writing development and argue for a model of writing development in which endogenous and exogenous process variables interact to determine the outcome of the writing development process.  相似文献   

Chapter III. Maternal Sensitivity, Child Functional Level, and Attachment in Down Syndrome     

Leslie Atkinson  Vivienne C. Chisholm  Brian Scott  Susan Goldberg  Brian E. Vaughn  Janis Blackwell  Susan Dickens  & Frances Tam 《Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development》1999,64(3):45-66

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Policy considerations based on a cost analysis of alternative test formats in large scale science assessments     

Frances Lawrenz  Douglas Huffman  Wayne Welch 《科学教学研究杂志》2000,37(6):615-626

This article compares the costs of four assessment formats: multiple choice, open ended, laboratory station, and full investigation. The amount of time spent preparing the devices, developing scoring consistency for the devices, and scoring the devices was tracked as the devices were developed. These times are presented by individual item and by complete device. Times are also compared as if 1,000 students completed each assessment. Finally, the times are converted into cost estimates by assuming a potential hourly wage. The data show that a multiple choice item costs the least, and that it is approximately 80 times as much for an open ended item, 300 times as much for a content station, and 500 times as much for a full investigation item. The very large discrepancies in costs are used as a basis to raise several policy issues related to the inclusion of alternative assessment formats in large scale science achievement testing. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 615–626, 2000  相似文献   

Globalisation and education   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

Frances Stewart 《International Journal of Educational Development》1996,16(4):327-333

This paper analyses the links between globalisation and education. The growth of the global economy has increased opportunities for those countries with good levels of education, but has made growth more difficult for countries with weak levels of education. Countries with good human resources, high savings and good economic policies (chiefly in East and Southeast Asia) have attracted foreign investment and technology, and have experienced fast growth in exports of manufactures and in output per capita. Developed countries find it increasingly difficult to compete with such economies unless they invest in good education, training and skills, leading to high rates of innovation and productivity. Countries with weak levels of human resources have found it more difficult to succeed—and many, especially in Africa, have experienced falling per capita incomes. Globalisation has made it more difficult to build up educational levels in these countries, as public expenditure has been cut during adjustment. Hence virtuous and vicious cycles of development have emerged, with a good spread of education leading to high growth and generating resources for further development of education and, conversely, countries with poor human resources having low or negative growth and reduced potential for building up their educational systems.  相似文献   

Intentions and beliefs in students' understanding and acceptance of biological evolution     

Gale M. Sinatra  Sherry A. Southerland  Frances McConaughy  James W. Demastes 《科学教学研究杂志》2003,40(5):510-528

We examined the intersection of students' understanding and acceptance of evolution and their epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions. Based on previous research, we hypothesized there would be a relation between understanding and acceptance. We also hypothesized that students who viewed knowledge as changing and who have a disposition toward open‐minded thinking would be more likely to accept the scientific explanation of human evolution, and that beliefs and dispositions would not be related to acceptance of a topic that is generally perceived as noncontroversial. Ninety‐three undergraduate students enrolled in a nonmajors biology class completed measures of their (a) content knowledge of evolution and photosynthesis and respiration; (b) acceptance of theories of animal evolution, human evolution, and photosynthesis; and (c) epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions. Although our findings did reveal a significant relation between knowledge and reported acceptance for photosynthesis, there was no relation between knowledge and acceptance of animal or human evolution. Epistemological beliefs were related to acceptance, but only to the acceptance of human evolution. There was no relation between students' epistemological beliefs and their general acceptance of animal evolution or photosynthesis. Three subscales, Ambiguous Information, Actively Open‐Minded Thinking, and Belief Identification, were significantly correlated with understanding evolutionary theory. We argue these findings underscore the importance of intentional level constructs, such as epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions, in the learning of potentially controversial topics. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 510–528, 2003  相似文献   

Proceedings, 108th Annual Meeting Medical Library Association, Inc. Chicago, IL May 16–21, 2008          下载免费PDF全文

Frances H. Lynch  Rachel R. Walden 《Medical Library and Historical Journal》2009,97(1):E1-E41

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The cultural politics of constructivist pedagogies: Teacher education reform in the United Republic of Tanzania   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Frances Vavrus 《International Journal of Educational Development》2009

This article examines recent educational reforms in Tanzania by looking at the cultural politics of pedagogical change in secondary and teacher education. It presents an ethnography of a teachers college founded on the principles of social constructivism in a country where formalistic, teacher-centered pedagogy is the norm. Using data collected through a year of participant observation, it argues that the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of teachers’ practice need to be considered alongside efforts to reform the country's educational system. It offers contingent constructivism as an alternative to the international consensus on a single model of excellent teaching.  相似文献   

Perceived Effects of Scholarships on STEM Majors’ Commitment to Teaching in High Need Schools     

Pey-Yan Liou  Allison Kirchhoff  Frances Lawrenz 《Journal of Science Teacher Education》2010,21(4):451-470

This study examines the Noyce Program, which provides scholarships for STEM majors in return for teaching in high need schools. The perceptions of 555 scholarship recipients were investigated using hierarchical cluster analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and Rasch analysis to determine how the scholarship influenced their commitments to teaching in high need schools. The analyses indicated that recipients perceived the scholarship in two ways: it influenced their commitment to complete their certification program and to teach in high need schools. Implications for teacher education programs include that recruitment strategies should identify candidates who are committed to teaching in high need schools and programs should provide experiences to encourage this commitment not just to become certified.  相似文献