11. Towards Transformation of Knowledge and Subjectivity in Curriculum Inquiry:
Insights From Chen Kuan-Hsing's “Asia as Method”
Author: LIN, ANGEL M. Y.
Source: Curriculum Inquiry, 2012, 42(1):153-178
Abstract: Chen's book, Asia as Method (Duke University Press, 2010), and his theorization on topics of
de-imperialization, de-colonization, de-cold war, as well as on foregrounding epistemologies and frames
of reference situated in the diverse contexts in Asia have contributed to empowering scholars and researchers situated
not only in Taiwan, but also in many parts of the world. His critical cultural studies project in linking up scholars both
inside and outside of Asia and in putting forward counter-discourses to the binary "the West and the rest" knowledge
structures and knowledge production practices has important implications for critical curriculum and education work.
My essay review will focus on the implications of his notion of "Asia as Method" and his "strategy of critical syncretism"
in exploring and designing critical curriculum and education inquiry that seeks to transform deep-rooted colonial,
imperialist, and cold war subjectivities. These subjectivities are part of the cultural and psychic aftermath of various
imperialist, colonial, and cold war histories, the impact of which is still with us today.
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12. Our Princess Is in Another Castle: A Review of Trends in Serious Gaming for Education
Author: Young, Michael F.; Slota, Stephen; Cutter, Andrew B.; Jalette, Gerard; Mullin, Greg; Lai, Benedict;
Simeoni, Zeus; Tran, Matthew; Yukhymenko, Mariya
Source: Review of Educational Research, 2012, Feb: On Line First,
doi:10.3102/0034654312436980
Abstract: Do video games show demonstrable relationships to academic achievement gains when used to support
the K-12 curriculum? In a review of literature, we identified 300+ articles whose descriptions related to video
games and academic achievement. We found some evidence for the effects of video games on language learning,
history, and physical education (specifically exergames), but little support for the academic value of video games
in science and math. We summarize the trends for each subject area and supply recommendations for the nascent
field of video games research. Many educationally interesting games exist, yet evidence for their impact on student
achievement is slim. We recommend separating simulations from games and refocusing the question onto the
situated nature of game-player-context interactions, including meta-game social collaborative
elements.
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13. Vulnerability and the neo-liberal youth citizen: a view from Australia
Author: McLeod, Julie
Source: Comparative Education, 2012, 48(1) Special Issue: YOUTH CITIZENSHIP AND THE POLITICS OF BELONGING: 11-26
Abstract: This article develops a critical discourse analysis of Australian youth and community policies, examined
through a discussion of theoretical debates about citizenship and vulnerability. Informed by a Foucauldian genealogical
approach, it explores
citizenship, not in terms of rights and universal categories, but in terms of relational, situated and dividing practices.
Two major relationships are examined: the relationship between local communities and citizens, including the
relationship between space and citizenship; and the relational construction of virtuous and vulnerable citizens.
Vulnerability can refer to negative difference and weakness and it can denote a compassionate disposition and openness
to difference. It is argued that in neo-liberal policy discourses vulnerability becomes tied
to a 'conversion narrative'
that renders social–structural marginalisation an individual responsibility and re-inscribes developmental
explanations of social exclusion. This analysis of Australian policy discourses opens up questions regarding transnational
citizenship and vulnerability that warrant further comparative and empirical investigation; and it invites a rethinking
of the theoretical framing of youth citizenship, which has implications for conceptualising and conducting comparative
youth studies in education.
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14. Designing and Analyzing Studies That Randomize Schools to Estimate Intervention Effects on
Student Academic Outcomes Without Classroom-Level Information
Author: Zhu, Pei; Jacob,Robin, Bloom, Howard & Xu, Zeyu
Source: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis March, 2012, 34(1): 45-68
Abstract: This paper provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing and analyzing studies that
randomize schools—which comprise three levels of clustering (students in classrooms
in schools)—to measure
intervention effects on student academic outcomes when information on the middle level (classrooms) is missing.
This situation arises frequently in practice because many available data sets identify the schools that students
attend but not the classrooms in which they are taught. Do studies conducted under these circumstances yield
results that are substantially different from what they would have been if this information had been available?
The paper first considers this problem in the context of planning a school randomized study based on preexisting
two-level information about how academic outcomes for students vary across schools and across students
within schools (but not across classrooms in schools). The paper next considers this issue in the context of estimating
intervention effects from school-randomized studies. Findings are based on empirical
analyses of four multisite
data sets using academic outcomes for students within classrooms within schools. The results indicate that in almost
all situations one will obtain nearly identical results whether or not the classroom or middle level is omitted when
designing or analyzing studies.
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15. Teaching writing: a situated dynamic
Author: Fisher, Rose
Source: British Educational Research Journal, 2012, 38(2): 299-317
Abstract: The paper is theoretically grounded in Cultural Historical Activity Theory, which holds that human
development is founded within participation in social and cultural practices. In particular, the teaching of literacy
is shaped not only by the curriculum as designated by policy makers and the institution in which it is located, but
also by the individuals' understanding of what literacy and learning involves and how they act to achieve their goals.
The paper explores data from a project that investigated the relationship between classroom talk and the teaching
of writing in six early‐years classrooms. Participants' own understandings of teaching
and learning need to be
taken into account by researchers and policy makers. Cultural Historical Activity Theory has been used to explore
the dynamic relationship between activity at societal, institutional and individual levels. It is argued that researchers
and policy makers need to take account of the wider socio‐cultural context in planning
and evaluating curriculum development initiatives.
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16. Three versions of ‘localism’: implications for upper secondary education and lifelong learning in the UK
Author: Hodgson, Ann & Spours, Ken
Source: Journal of Education Policy, 2012, 27(2): 193-210
Abstract: As part of the international debate about new forms of governance and moves towards decentralization
and devolution, this article discusses the increasing interest in the concept of 'localism' in the UK, marked recently
by the publication of the UK Coalition Government's 'Localism Bill'. A distinction is made between three versions – 'centrally managed', 'laissez-faire' and 'democratic' localism.
The article draws on two
research projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and one by the Nuffield Foundation, as well
as sources by specialists in local government, political analysts and educationalists. It explores the broad features
of the three versions of localism and their implications for upper secondary education and lifelong learning. The
article concludes by examining the strengths and limitations of the first two models and suggests that the third
has the potential to offer a more equitable way forward.
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17. Policy options for Turkey: a critique of the interpretation and utilization of PISA results in Turkey
Author: Gür, Bekir S.; Çelik, Zafer & Özoğlu, Murat
Source: Journal of Education Policy, 2012, 27(1): 1-21
Abstract: In this article we provide a critique of the interpretation and utilization of Programme for Internationa
l Student Assessment (PISA) results by the National Education Authorities in Turkey. First, we define and explain
what OECD' PISA is. Second, we make an overview of the media coverage in Turkey of the PISA 2003 and 2006
results. Third, we present the way in which Turkish officials have interpreted and used PISA 2003 and 2006
results. By examining the public documents, such as official reports or news bulletins published by the Ministry,
we conclude that the educational authorities had already decided to proceed with reform of the old curriculum
much before the PISA 2003 results were out, and they made use of the PISA 2003 results to justify the curriculum
reform. Finally, by presenting the policy recommendations of Turkey's national reports and articles as well as the
international organizations, such as the World Bank and OECD for the Turkey's educational system, we question
the suitability of various policy recommendations developed for Turkey based on PISA results. Based on a comparative
analysis of PISA, Third International Study on Mathematics and Science (TIMSS) and national exam results, the
authors conclude that the issue of providing quality education should not be reduced only to the form and quality
of the curriculum.
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18. Towards an education approach à la finlandaise? French education policy after PISA
Author: Dobbins, Michael & Martens, Kerstin
Source: Journal of Education Policy, 2012, 27(1): 23-43
Abstract: In this article, we address whether international student comparisons have changed the dynamics of
French secondary education policy. We focus on the increasingly significant impact of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation Development (OECD)'for International Student Assessment (PISA) on France, a country previously known
for its aversion to international comparisons and its turbulent relationship with the OECD. We argue that not only
are transnational pressures – in our study the perception of PISA – crucial determinants for the fate of
potential reform measures, but also the capacity of the state to transform its education system and take corrective
measures. Along these lines, we also examine the role of historically embedded guiding principles of education, in
the French case most notably that of equality (égalité). We focus, in particular, on efforts of French policy-makers
to emulate elements of the recent 'PISA champion' Finland.
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19. Designing for the Future: How the Learning Sciences Can Inform the Trajectories of Preservice Teachers
Author: Jurow, A. Susan; Tracy, Rita; Hotchkiss, Jacqueline S.& Kirshner, Ben
Source: Journal of Teacher Education, 2012, 63(2): 147-160
Abstract: In this article, the authors discuss how they redesigned an educational psychology course for preservice
teachers using insights from the burgeoning, interdisciplinary field of the Learning Sciences. Research on the situated
nature of learning and the value of out-of-school contexts for supporting children’s development informed
their decisions to require preservice teachers to work with children in community-based settings, frame
their interactions with children as "service" rather than as explicit preparation for teaching, and conduct research
on the social, cultural, and cognitive nature of these experiences. Two case studies illuminate preservice teachers'
learning trajectories in relation to course practices. Analyses suggest that the course created opportunities for
preservice teachers to develop views of learning as inherently cultural and not limited to the acquisition of academic
content. Emerging findings point to the potential of using Learning Sciences research as a touchstone for reorganizing
educational psychology courses for preservice teachers.
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20. Discomforting pedagogies: emotional tensions, ethical dilemmas and transformative possibilities
Author: Zembylas, Michalinos & McGlynn, Claire
Source: British Educational Research Journal, 2012, 38(1):41-59
Abstract: This article examines the potential and limitations of pedagogy of discomfort in a classroom of 10‐ and
11‐year‐old students of an integrated school in Northern Ireland. At the centre of the analysis are the students' and the teacher's emotional experiences and the resulting consequences when a discomforting pedagogical activity
(an adaptation of the classic 'Blue‐Eyed, Brown‐Eyed' exercise) is implemented to teach students about social
injustice. The theoretical framework that informs this investigation is grounded in the notion of 'pedagogy of discomfort'.
A qualitative, ethnographic perspective forms the basis for the data collection and analysis. The findings show that
the pedagogical exercise does not have the same impact on all participants, yet it contains several risks, most notably
those of differential power and privilege between teacher and students and the ethical implications of putting some
children (even temporarily) in a disadvantaged place. The implications are discussed in terms of teaching and learning
through discomfort.