第五辑（中）

11. Variation in the conduct and the quality of self-evaluations: a multi-level path analysis

Author: Vanhoof, J.; De Maeyer, S.; Van Petegem, P.

Source: Educational Studies, 2011, 37(3): 277-287

Abstract: While self-evaluation leads to valuable results in some schools, it appears that in other schools this is true only to a lesser extent or not at all. This raises the question of how differences in the results of self-evaluations can be explained. This study looks at to what extent the results of self-evaluation are determined by the way in which self-evaluation is conducted, by characteristics relating to the general functioning of the school and by the support which schools enjoy. One thousand seven hundred and eighty-six school principals and team members from 96 schools (primary and secondary) were surveyed by means of a written questionnaire. The data collected were then analysed using multi-level structural equation modelling. The results provide strong empirical evidence that “attitude with regard to self-evaluation”, “self-evaluation as a policy action” and “self-evaluation as an act of research” are powerful predictors of the quality of self-evaluations.

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12. White working class achievement: an ethnographic study of barriers to learning in schools

Author: Demie, F.; Lewis, K.

Source: Educational Studies, 2011, 37(3): 245-264

Abstract: This study aims to examine the key barriers to learning to raise achievement of White British pupils with low-income backgrounds. The main findings suggest that the worryingly low-achievement levels of many White working class pupils have been masked by the middle class success in the English school system and government statistics that fail to distinguish the White British ethnic group by social background. The empirical data confirm that one of the biggest groups of underachievers is the White British working class and their outcomes at each key stage are considerably below those achieved by all other ethnic groups. One of the main reasons for pupil underachievement, identified in the case study schools and focus groups, is parental low aspirations of their children’s education and social deprivation. It is also perpetuated by factors such as low-literacy levels, feelings of marginalisation within the community exacerbated by housing allocation, a lack of community and school engagement, low levels of parental engagement and lack of targeted support to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage, a legacy of low aspiration that prevents pupils from fulfilling their potential across a range of areas. The study concludes that the main obstacle in raising achievement is the government’s failure to recognise that this group has particular needs that are not being met by the school system. The government needs to recognise that the underachievement of White British working class pupils is not only a problem facing educational services but profoundly a serious challenge. Policy implications and recommendations are discussed in the final section.

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13. What Does Injustice Have to Do with Me? A Pedagogy of the Privileged

Author: Nurenberg, N.; D.

Source: Harvard Educational Review, 2011, 81(1): 50

Abstract: In this article, David Nurenberg relates his experiences as a suburban high school humanities teacher struggling to engage students with issues of social justice. His story reveals what happens when a teacher works against the resistance of his primarily white and privileged students to reading "literature of the oppressed" on the grounds that it is irrelevant to their lives. Nurenberg draws on Freirean pedagogy, which encourages socially conscious educators to help make learning authentic and relevant by engaging students with curricula focused on issues of social injustice, and asks us to consider what a pedagogy of the oppressed is for students who do not see their lives as such. He reflects on the dynamics of his classroom using applicable theory and speculates about what is possible in teaching social justice in a place of privilege.

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14. Early years curriculum: funds of knowledge as a conceptual framework for children’s interests

Author: Hedges, H.; Cullen, J.; Jordan, B.

Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2011, 43(2): 185-205

Abstract: Children’s interests are frequently cited as a source of early-years curricula. Yet, research has rarely considered the nature of these interests beyond the play-based environment of early-childhood education. This paper reports findings from a qualitative, interpretivist study in two early childhood settings in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Using participant observation, interviews, and documentation, the study examined children’s interests and teachers’ engagement with these in curriculum interactions. Evidence suggested children’s interests were stimulated by their ‘intent participation’ in family and community experiences and encapsulated in the notion of ‘funds of knowledge’. The concept of funds of knowledge provides a coherent analytic framework for teachers to recognize children’s interests and extend teachers’ curriculum planning focus beyond that of a child-centred play-based learning environment.

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15. Learning-to-learn and learning-to-teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student-teachers’ professional identity

Author: Rogers, G.

Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2011, 43(2): 249-268

Abstract: A coherent view of student-teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university-based teacher-education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student-teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student-teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case-study hold important implications for a teacher-education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.

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16.  History, memory cultures and meaning in the classroom

Author: Hawkey, K.; Prior, J.

Source: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2011, 43(2): 231-247

Abstract: This article presents findings of small-scale in-depth qualitative research into the perspectives on history amongst adolescent children of minority ethnic backgrounds living in inner-cities in England. The research aimed to elicit, first, the narratives of British history that children from minority ethnic backgrounds hold; and, second, the relationship between the history children learn from home and that learned at school. In addressing these research questions, this paper contributes to wider discourses of what history should be taught in contemporary multi-ethnic settings, as well as how teachers in classrooms can navigate the tensions between history and memory cultures. Although the research was conducted in the English context, the issues it raises are pertinent elsewhere.

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17.  From Gardeners to Tour Guides: The Epistemological Struggle Revealed in Teacher-Generated Metaphors of Teaching

Author: Patchen, T.; Crawford, T.

Source: Journal of Teacher Education, 2011, 62(3): 286-298

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between epistemological beliefs and perceptions of practice through the analysis of teacher-generated metaphors. In a multilevel qualitative examination of the self-descriptive metaphors of 32 working teachers, the authors uncovered a dissonance between teachers’ metaphors and their epistemological positions. Metaphor topics initially seemed oriented toward participation-based instructional models, but deeper analysis revealed an overall defaulting to acquisition-based teaching models. Sharing these findings with participant focus groups resulted in the identification of a set of challenges to which teachers attributed these epistemological schisms. The results of this study call into question whether education is in fact making a move from the more traditional acquisition-based models of teaching and learning to more participation-based models, and more important, the discussion considers how the valuing of both models can be translated into the valuing of both practices.

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18. Teachers as Society-Involved “Organic Intellectuals”: Training Teachers in a Political Context

Author: Yogev, E.; Michaeli, N.

Source: Journal of Teacher Education, 2011, 62(3): 312-324

Abstract: This article presents a new model for teacher training in which teachers are encouraged to become intellectuals involved in the community. Involved intellectual teachers are those whose professional identity leans on robust intellectual self-esteem, a culture of actively caring about other people, awareness of social activism, and commitment to public activity. This article describes the training model from its theoretical and applicatory aspects and comprises four main parts. The first part presents the Israeli social, cultural, and educational contexts in which teacher training takes place and their effects on forming the professional identity of graduates. The second part presents a theoretical outline of the characteristics of educators acting as involved intellectuals while applying the ideas of Antonio Gramsci as a basis to validate teacher training, which intensifies the sense of professional efficacy in teacher trainees. The third part presents the model and its organizational policy. The fourth part presents several findings of the study attending the program. The authors offer insights and conclusions emerging from the initial studies attending the application of the training model.

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19. Should Students Be Allowed to Miss?

Author: Paredes, R. D.; Ugarte, G. A.

Source: The Journal of Educational Research, 2011, 104(3): 194-201

Abstract: Many educational policymakers consider attendance as a tool to induce learning. Researchers also agree that attendance has a positive effect on learning; however, there are few empirical studies that measure the nature and significance of that effect. The authors analyzed the effect of class attendance on academic performance and evaluated the existence and importance of a minimum attendance requirement. Using student data from a sample of public primary schools in Chile, and considering for endogeneity and sample selection bias, they found two important results. First, attendance had a relevant and statistically significant effect on educational performance. Second, the existence of a threshold was identified, but educational performance did not continue to decrease after a certain number of absences, which seems to contradict policies that have a minimum attendance requirement.

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20. Examinations and educational opportunity in China: mobility and bottlenecks for the rural poor

Author: Hannum, E.; An, X.; Cherng, H. S.

Source: Oxford Review of Education, 2011, 37(2): 267-305

Abstract: Despite the important role played by examinations in educational stratification and mobility in China, to our knowledge there is no literature in English that investigates the impact of exams on educational attainment with empirical data. We address this gap with an investigation of how examinations shape opportunities for children of the rural poor, a vulnerable group of great contemporary policy significance. After introducing China's high school and college entrance examination systems, we present a case study of examinations and educational transitions in rural Gansu Province, one of China's poorest provinces. We offer a snapshot of educational progress among rural young adults in 2009, with special attention to social selection in exam taking and outcomes, and to the role of examinations in shaping subsequent educational transitions.

As expected, high school and college entrance exam results play an important role in determining transitions to secondary and tertiary education, and in determining the type of education received. Exams reinforce inequalities observed in other stages of educational transition, but generalised disparities in educational opportunity precede exams, shape who takes exams, and emerge net of exam results. The patterns of advantage and disadvantage associated with different dimensions of household and village socioeconomic status do not tell a simple story: different factors matter at different stages of education. At the early stages, residing in villages that have an established tradition of education, along with the infrastructure to support education, is important. Residing in a wealthier household shapes the chance of persisting in the system to the examination stage, and offers second chance possibilities later in the game: wealthier youth are more likely to make it to both university and vocational education. Notably, father's education matters most consistently, not only for ‘survival’ to exam-taking and supporting tertiary transitions, but also for performance. Disadvantages throughout the process faced by the children of poorly educated fathers, even after accounting for household economic status, village context and performance, speak to equity issues within the education system that require ameliorative strategies beyond addressing cost barriers.