Higher education and the achievement (and/or prevention) of equity and social justice     

John Brennan  Rajani Naidoo 《Higher Education》2008,56(3):287-302

The article examines the theoretical and empirical literature on higher education’s role in relation to social equity and related notions of citizenship, social justice, social cohesion and meritocracy. It considers both the education and the research functions of higher education and how these impact upon different sections of society, on who benefits and who loses from them. Questions for future research on the wider impact of higher education are posed as well as some research questions on the narrower issue of widening participation.  相似文献   

The transition to secondary school geometry: can there be a “chain of school mathematics”?     

Konstantinos A. Sdrolias  Triandafillos A. Triandafillidis 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2008,67(2):159-169

Students mainly perceive the transition to secondary school as an opportunity to start their school career anew. Reality often proves them wrong, especially in the case of mathematics. In our paper, we briefly discuss children’s transition to secondary school as both an opportunity and a problem, with reference to the Greek context. In discussions about the transition to secondary school and its effect on the teaching and learning of mathematics, primary and secondary school teachers in Greece often depict school mathematics as a “chain” of concepts and procedures. With this metaphor as our reference point, we discuss how ideologies about the teaching of mathematics are enacted in both school levels. We will base our discussion on the analysis of extracts taken from dialogues in primary and secondary school mathematics classrooms in Greece. In our analysis, we employ a Peircean view of semiotics in an attempt to conceptualize students’ rushed introduction to rigor in justifying mathematical statements in secondary school. These extracts are part of a longitudinal study that aimed, on the one hand, to pinpoint discontinuities and continuities in the teaching of geometry between primary and secondary schools and, on the other, to investigate whether a set of curriculum material that we designed could serve as a link in the teaching of geometry between the two school levels.  相似文献   

Abstraction and consolidation of the limit procept by means of instrumented schemes: the complementary role of three different frameworks     

Ivy Kidron 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2008,69(3):197-216

I investigate the contributions of three theoretical frameworks to a research process and the complementary role played by each. First, I describe the essence of each theory and then follow the analysis of their specific influence on the research process. The research process is on the conceptualization of the notion of limit by means of the discrete continuous interplay. I investigate the influence of the different perspectives on the research process and realize that the different theoretical approaches intertwine. Moreover, I realize that the research study demanded the contribution of more than one theoretical approach to the research process and that the differences between the frameworks could serve as a basis for complementarities.  相似文献   

Construction of “glocal” (global–local) identity among Israeli graduate students in the USA     

Dorit Tubin  Orit Lapidot 《Higher Education》2008,55(2):203-217

Abstract This study focuses on the effect of doctoral and postdoctoral studies at leading research universities in the USA on constructing the academic identity of Israeli students. The findings are based on constant comparative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 27 Fulbright alumni. The results show that while American scientific standards become a model for the Israeli scientists, Israeli culture and identity become much more evident, for better or worse. Several ways of handling these identities were recognized and include: the intertwine method, ordering, and buffering. Further theoretical and practical implications are discussed.  相似文献   

Exemplifying definitions: a case of a square   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Rina Zazkis  Roza Leikin 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2008,68(2):131-148

In this study we utilize the notion of learner-generated examples, suggesting that examples generated by students mirror their understanding of particular mathematical concepts. In particular, we explore examples generated by a group of prospective secondary school teachers for a definition of a square. Our framework for analysis includes the categories of accessibility and correctness, richness, and generality. Results shed light on participants’ understanding of what a mathematical definition should entail and, moreover, contrast their pedagogical preferences with mathematical considerations.  相似文献   

Introduction     

Christopher McIntosh 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2008,54(1):1-3

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The Role of Parent Governors in School Governance in Zimbabwe: Perceptions of School Heads,Teachers and Parent Governors     

Vitallis Chikoko 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2008,54(2):243-263

This paper reports on a study of the role of parent governors in five neighbouring rural primary schools in Zimbabwe. The study proposed that despite the presence of a legal decentralised school governance structure in which parents form the majority, they did not have the capacity to function effectively therein, and were still marginalised in school governance decision-making. Four areas of decision-making were investigated: school organisation; curriculum; employment and appraisal of teaching staff; and financial resources. Interviews were conducted with parent governors, school heads and teachers. Findings show that all the respondent groups perceived significant parental involvement in the area of school finances only. However, parents were perceived to lack the capacity to make decisions in all four areas. The study concludes that the role of parents in the running of schools in the country has not significantly grown from that of being school financiers and builders of infrastructure. Therefore, building school governance capacity among parents is necessary.  相似文献   

The Unique American Vision of Childhood     

Mehmet Ali Ozturk  Charles Debelak 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2008,54(1):83-97

The present article scrutinizes “the unique American vision of childhood” (UAVC) as a phenomenon undermining high academic expectations and good work ethics, and in turn, contributing to the generally low academic achievement of U.S. students compared to their counterparts in other advanced countries. It starts with a definition of UAVC, followed by a discussion of how influential it has been. The article goes on to state three reasons why UAVC is troublesome and misleading, especially in an era of global competition. Excuses devised by the proponents for UAVC’s adverse effects are also revealed. The article ends with recommendations for future research and a conclusion elaborating on the consequences of UAVC and the likelihood that other countries might adopt a similar mentality.  相似文献   

Cross-National Estimates of the Effects of Family Background on Student Achievement: A Sensitivity Analysis   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Yuko Nonoyama-Tarumi 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2008,54(1):57-82

This article uses the data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 to examine whether the influence of family background on educational achievement is sensitive to different measures of the family’s socio-economic status (SES). The study finds that, when a multidimensional measure of SES is used, the family background has a stronger influence on achievement across countries than if the simpler measure of SES is used. The new measure, which incorporated aspects of parental occupation, education and cultural resources, was not biased towards more wealthy nations, Western nations, or urban population. However, when a proxy of wealth was included in the measure of SES, this reduced the other measured effects of family background on achievement in many countries.  相似文献   

Foreword     

Koïchiro Matsuura 《Prospects》2008,38(1):1-3

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