(2015). Extending the Knowledge Base for (Rural) Teacher Educators. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, v25 n3 p50-61. This paper, and its position within this special issue, seeks to contribute to the growing discussion and debates about the importance of adding the 'rural' to all matters 'education'. Advocating that indeed rurality is everybody's business, not just for those who live in rural places. The central argument of 'adding the rural' is that in its absence, 'a metro-urban normative approach' (Green, 2013) remains the dominant position thereby marginalising and silencing those who live beyond the city. In this paper I seek to contribute further to the debate and explore the notion of 'adding the rural' to teacher educators' knowledge base and their professional learning. I thus examine the 'good theoretical tools' (Corbett, 2016) that "all" teacher educators might need to equip themselves with, in order to be inclusive of rural students' needs. To think through this question I revisit and draw from the growing rural education literature and recent rural studies, identifying three… [Direct]
(2016). Understanding 'Education for All' in Contexts of Extreme Poverty: Experiences from Burkina Faso. Journal of International and Comparative Education, v5 n2 p103-114. This paper examines the meanings attached to Education for All from the often ignored or misunderstood perspectives of people living in extreme poverty. Allowing people to voice their own understandings of the difficulties they face offers new insights into the essence of the tension between the worlds of reproduction and innovation and the possibilities of achieving harmony between them. Community meanings attached to Education for All were explored by way of a major participatory, action-oriented research project conducted in contexts of poverty in Burkina Faso. The study noted that the experience of poverty and famine influence the value that parents and children attached to formal education, and therefore their interest and ability to engage with it. Community-based education, for example, helped to reproduce knowledge associated with day-to-day living and achieving, at least, a basic livelihood. Formal schooling, on the other hand, was associated with developing new… [PDF]
(2020). Mapping Policy Approaches and Practices for the Inclusion of Students with Special Education Needs. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 227. OECD Publishing Across OECD countries, there are various and diverse policy approaches in place to promote inclusive education systems for students with special education needs (SEN), understood as learning disabilities, physical impairments and disorders related to mental health. Analysing current policies in place across OECD countries and investigating advantages and disadvantages of diverse policy approaches for students with SEN is important when acknowledging non-negligible disparities in terms of enrolment, graduation, and employment outcomes for students with SEN across OECD countries. Overall, educational approaches to address students with SEN have historically shifted from placing students in special school settings to more mainstream education environments. However, differences still exist in the extent to which students are mainstreamed in schools with the rest of the students. Furthermore, education systems differ in the way they design and implement governance arrangements, resourcing… [Direct]
(2017). Perceived Barriers to SME-College Collaboration: The Case of the Province of Manitoba. College Quarterly, v20 n2. Since their creation, community colleges have had a mandate to be responsive to their communities, often through relationships with local business. As globalization and technological advancements increase pressure on small businesses (SMEs), the role of colleges in helping these SMEs to innovate in order to survive becomes clearer. Relationships between colleges and SMEs, however, are often balked by a number of barriers as perceived by individuals within the college system. This paper begins to examine the relationship between these entities through a series of interviews with individuals within the Manitoba community college system. An analysis of these conversations reveals seven distinct categories of perceived barriers…. [PDF]
(2014). Confronting Race and Colonialism: Experiences and Lessons Learned from Teaching Social Studies. in education, v20 n1 p25-39 Sum. Literature on teacher education and encounters with race highlight some of the difficulties that teacher candidates face when they confront their own racialized subjectivities. However, many of these projects focus exclusively on Whiteness studies, explicating how White teacher candidates come to witness their own racialized Whiteness in relation to their epistemological understandings of the world. In this paper, I diverge from this pattern of thought, exploring a subset of the tenets of critical race theory, that of silences and exclusions, pervading my own teaching in a primary/junior social studies methods class and exploring how these structured my lessons. Specifically, I look at how counternarratives, critiques against liberalism, and multiculturalism and encounters with racialized and colonial supremacy were involved in my pedagogical strategies. I conclude by suggesting that although these methods may seem daunting for the primary/junior classroom, they can provide valuable… [PDF]
(2016). Global Tides, Samoan Shores: Samoan Policy Actors' Responses to the Shifting Conditions of Education Aid and Postcolonial Possibilities for Education Reform. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v52 n5 p469-489. In the years since Samoan independence in 1962, and especially over the past 2 decades, the landscape of education aid to the Pacific Island nation of Samoa has changed dramatically as a result of ongoing geopolitical shifts and emerging global designs. Some of these include: rapid globalization across all spheres of human activity; the economic rise of Asia and the growing economic, cultural, and political role that China is now playing in the region; and shifts in the modus operandi of traditional donors such as Australia, all amidst continued talk of development partnerships and a post-2015 development agenda. These changes have affected Samoa in various ways and will continue to have tremendous implications for future education and development policy and practice. This article examines the emerging context in Samoa by analyzing data from semistructured interviews with a number of policy actors across different sectors of Samoan society, to obtain an understanding of the… [Direct]
(2016). Intercultural Teaching Competence: A Multi-Disciplinary Model for Instructor Reflection. Intercultural Education, v27 n5 p437-456. This article presents a model for Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) that instructors may use as a tool for reflection as they prepare to facilitate learning across cultures. Building on previous research on intercultural competence, culturally relevant teaching, intercultural trainer competencies, and student-centred approaches to teaching, the model identifies concrete facilitation techniques for instructors who would like to further develop their own teaching practice or mentor colleagues in effective teaching across cultures. The model consists of 20 instructor competencies grouped into three categories: foundational skills, facilitation skills, and curriculum development skills for intercultural learning. While intended as a tool to guide instructors in individual and group reflection on inclusive teaching practices, the ITC model may also be used by educational developers to guide feedback during classroom observations or while supporting curriculum internationalisation… [Direct]
(2015). Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors on Entrepreneurial Development in Nigeria. African Educational Research Journal, v3 n4 p246-254 Dec. Entrepreneur development takes place within a framework of forces that constitute the system environment, which are either external or internal. A critical issue in the entrepreneurial development and growth is firms' ability to adapt to their strategies to a rapidly changing system environment to which the entrepreneurs' role is critical to the success or failure of such firm. For the entrepreneur to be successful, he must be able to identify and find a useful niche within the large environment where it takes risk, makes strategic business plan and takes/implements decisions. The various institutions and forces which determine the success or failure of the entrepreneur is the habitat also referred to as eco-system or critical factors affecting the entrepreneur who is equally dependent on the stability of the environment within which he operates. Environmental stability exists in various degrees. Strategic management of the environment is required for entrepreneurial development to… [PDF]
(2016). Trainee Teachers' Experiences Using Contextual Teaching and Learning: Implications for Incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge in Instructional Design. Pedagogical Research, v1 n1 p3-12. Some schools do not have local formal work environments enabling learners to interact with members in community of practice. This is noticeable in schools in developing countries, including the north eastern Zambezi Region of Namibia, where the study took place. To close the gap in which trainee science and mathematics teachers who were the participants failed to contextualize teaching and learning (CTL) using formal work situations, this qualitative study investigated use of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) practices as an alternative. A cultural group presented IK practices which trainees observed and participated. Pottery making, an IK practice, reflects Science knowledge which teachers sometimes shun. Audio-visual, lesson plans, and interviews were also used to generate data. To intervene Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) was used as a tool. Revelations are trainee teachers in rural schools initially viewed CTL designing as impossible. Further, trainees engaged with CTL through… [PDF]
(2015). Culturally Responsive Contexts: Establishing Relationships for Inclusion. International Journal of Special Education, v30 n3 p39-51. As our education systems become more culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse, rather than benefiting and learning from each other, we still expect all students to be represented within the same curriculum, pedagogy and testing regimen or we form separate enclaves resulting in marginalizaton. When diverse students have physical and/or learning disabilities, marginalization is further exacerbated and problematized. In this paper, the authors theorise within an alternative framework that we have termed relational and culturally responsive inclusion. Based on key understandings from our own research, much of it derived from Kaupapa Maori and Freirean philosophies, we encourage a framework where establishing respectful relationships of interdependence with people is central to both human dignity and praxis. A culturally responsive framework such as this challenges traditional notions of the professional expert working with objectivity; instead it opens up spaces that call for… [PDF]
(2013). Motivators of Educational Success: Perceptions of Grade 12 Aboriginal Students. Canadian Journal of Education, v36 n4 p257-279. The purpose of this paper is to identify motivators that support educational success, as perceived by Aboriginal high school students enrolled in two urban Saskatchewan schools. Twelve semi-structured individual interviews revealed that students were motivated by a hospitable school culture, relevant learning opportunities, and positive personal influences outside the realm of the school (e.g., family role models and Elder influence). Utilizing an Aboriginal worldview lens, student motivation stemmed from experiencing four quadrants of learning–awareness (physical), knowledge (mental), continuous improvement (emotional), and perseverance (spiritual). An implication is that educators need to incorporate features of Aboriginal pedagogy when teaching…. [PDF] [Direct]
(2011). Welcome to Minnesota. Knowledge Quest, v39 n5 p46-49 May-Jun. There is more than snow in Minnesota: Summer brings the Aquatennial with sandcastle competitions, milk-carton-boat races and a torchlight parade, and the St. Paul Winter Carnival has ice carving and snow sculptures and another torchlight parade. But natives and visitors alike note that their favorite season is autumn, which in Minnesota brings crisp temperatures, sapphire-blue skies, brilliant foliage, and in October of 2011, AASL's 15th National Conference and Exhibition. In this article, the author features Minnesota where AASL 15th National Conference and Exhibition was held…. [Direct]
(2013). Inheritance, Heritage, and the Disinherited: Ambiguities of Religious Pedagogy in the Moroccan Public School. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, v44 n4 p363-380 Dec. This article investigates how Moroccan public high-school students experience religious pedagogy. Probing the linguistic ideology that underpins their religious training, the article exposes the ambiguities inherent in educational Arabization, a project set on safeguarding the state's sacredness while mediating an agenda of indigenous modernization. Student skepticism toward the state's moral authority indicates that religious pedagogy must be explored through the lenses of process and approximation with an attention to paradoxes, ironies, and unanticipated outcomes…. [Direct]
(2023). Proceedings of International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences (Antalya, Turkey, October 20-23, 2023). Volume 1. International Society for Technology, Education, and Science "Proceedings of International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences" includes full papers presented at the International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences (ICSES) which took place on October 20-23, 2023, in Antalya, Turkey. The aim of the conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, to discuss theoretical and practical issues and to connect with the leaders in the fields of education and social sciences. The conference is organized annually by the International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (ISTES). The ICSES invites submissions which address the theory, research, or applications in all disciplines of education and social sciences. The ICSES is organized for: faculty members in all disciplines of education and social sciences, graduate students, K-12 administrators, teachers, principals and all interested in education and social sciences. After peer-reviewing process, all full papers are published in the… [PDF]
(2018). Research Messages 2017. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) This report brings together research publicly released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) over the year. The 2017 compilation reflects an extensive collection of NCVER research activities undertaken during 2017, comprising reports, summaries, infographics, occasional papers, presentations and webinars. NCVER has organized their research program into three priority areas: (1) Structures and systems for skilling and learning; (2) The impact of vocational education and training; and (3) Teaching and learning. Summaries of projects that were published under each of these priorities are presented in this report. [For the previous year, "Research Messages 2016," see ED573529.]… [PDF]