(2017). Lessons from the AIME Approach to the Teaching Relationship: Valuing Biepistemic Practice. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, v25 n1 p43-58. The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) is a national, extra-curricular mentoring programme that is closing the educational gap for young Indigenous Australians. So what is AIME doing that is working so well? This article draws on a large-scale classroom ethnography to describe the pedagogies that facilitate the teacher-student relationships in this programme. We use Shawn Wilson's theorisation of Indigenous ways of knowing in order to "unpack" how these approaches succeeded in creating the egalitarian and trust-filled relationships reportedly experienced in the AIME programme…. [Direct]
(2018). "We Have a Window Seat": A Bakhtinian Analysis of International Teachers' Identity in Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools in Kazakhstan. European Education, v50 n4 p301-319. The article explores the dynamic positionality of international teachers in Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) in Kazakhstan. The study draws on in-depth interviews with 11 international teachers from three NIS schools. The findings of the study indicate that, on the one hand, participants share a fascination with the exciting academic environment and, on the other hand, they report a degree of disaffection as a result of multiple constraints, which prevent them from being fully integrated in the life of the schools. The article contributes to the literature on teacher mobility and migration examined from the perspective of Bakhtin's dialogical approach…. [Direct]
(2021). ePortfolio as a Tool to Support Competency Development in Hybrid Learning. International Journal of Adult Education and Technology, v12 n3 Article 2 p15-33. This article presents a research-based study of the role of ePortfolios in the development of vocational students' skills. The authors discuss the process of finding a hybrid learning solution that can address the issues faced by vocational teachers and their students. The authors report on a case study using educational design research (EDR) at the S√°mi Education Institute in northern Finland. Data were gathered from students in reindeer herding entrepreneurship and nature guide study programs using interviews, focus group discussions, and the feedback collected from workshops. Based on the findings of the initial workshops, ePortfolios were chosen as a tool for students to develop their vocational proficiency and showcase their academic activities. According to the feedback, ePortfolios potentially promote meaningful vocational study, particularly in the context of changing conditions when the student is far away from campus. The successful use of ePortfolios requires cooperation… [Direct]
(2018). Learning Ecosystem Complexity: A Study on Small-Scale Fishers' Ecological Knowledge Generation. Environmental Education Research, v24 n4 p625-626. Small-scale fisheries are learning contexts of importance for generating, transferring and updating ecological knowledge of natural environments through everyday work practices. The rich knowledge fishers have of local ecosystems is the result of the intimate relationship fishing communities have had with their natural environments across generations. Previous research on fishers' ecological knowledge has mainly been descriptive, i.e. has focused on aspects such as reproduction, nutrition and spatial-temporal distribution and population dynamics, from a traditional view of knowledge that only recognises scientific knowledge as the true knowledge. By doing this, fishers' ecological knowledge has been investigated separately from the learning contexts in which it is generated, ignoring the influence of social, cultural and historical aspects that characterise fishing communities, and the complex relationships between fishers and the natural environments they live and work in…. [Direct]
(2018). 'H' Is for Human Right: An Exploration of Literacy as a Key Contributor to Indigenous Self-Determination. Kairaranga, v19 n2 p39-46. The purpose of this article is to examine literacy as a key contributor to cultivating individual and collective self-determination for indigenous peoples. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) defines literacy as a human right intrinsically important for human development and well-being. Therefore, literacy is pivotal to fostering self-determination. This article introduces some broad definitions of literacy, including examples offered by indigenous sources. Following this is consideration of the human rights discourse as it relates to literacy specifically, with a particular focus on the way in which this discourse has unfolded in New Zealand. The article then explores literacy as a human right and the role it plays in contributing to indigenous self-determination. The article concludes that there is a need to ensure literacy interventions, which are designed to fulfill the rights of indigenous learners with regard to literacy, are embedded… [PDF]
(2018). Melanesian "Tok Stori" in Leadership Development: Ontological and Relational Implications for Donor-Funded Programmes in the Western Pacific. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v17 n4 p11-26. Donor-funded programmes in areas such as leadership development take place in every continent. In the Western Pacific, Melanesia has been host to such programmes based on non-Melanesian thought and practice over the years. However, a review of donor-funded leadership programmes in the region reveals a history of concern regarding effectiveness but no significant change in programme orientation. This article provides a counter-story of a donor-funded leadership programme which utilizes a readily available cultural model of thought and practice of Indigenous origin: "tok stori." "Tok stori" is a form of discursive group communication which is an everyday occurrence in Melanesia. The experiences of leadership mentors operating in a "tok stori"-centred leadership development programme located in the Solomon Islands provide an opportunity to explore and evaluate what cultural wisdom can contribute as the core of a leadership development programme. The… [PDF]
(2018). A Collaborative Sharing of Stories on a Journey toward Reconciliation: "Belonging to This Place and Time". McGill Journal of Education, v53 n2 p350-361. This paper emerges from the particular field experiences of three "settler" colleagues working in a teacher education program, each of whom found that their personal and professional relationships with First Nations, Met√≠s, and Inuit people had a positive and constructive bearing on how they responded to provincial mandates and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action…. [Direct]
(2018). Authentic Engagement: Deepening Students' Experience in Short-Term Study Abroad Programs. College and University, v93 n3 p24-38 Aug. Global learning experiences, frequently denoted as "study abroad," are attractive mainstays of many conventional undergraduate institutions. These experiences push students out of their comfort zones, afford them an authentic environment in which to practice a foreign language, and lend context to concepts learned in the classroom. Unfortunately, global learning experiences, as they are typically offered, are the most expensive and time consuming of Kuh's (2008) ten high-impact practices. Student participants must finance their travel and accommodations in addition to the cost of the program, and the opportunity cost is often an entire semester. However, some institutions are beginning to offer short-term global engagement experiences, either during an institutional holiday or embedded within a traditional semester-long course on campus. When planned with intention and managed with an open mind, faculty and facilitators can provide students who participate in short-term… [Direct]
(2020). Towards Historiographies of Theatre for Development. Research in Drama Education, v25 n4 p581-584. This paper proposes a re-examination of the histographies of theatre for development (TfD) which takes into account the background influences, cultures and agendas of complex networks of actors, organizations, governments, and higher education institutions in which the practice and praxis of TfD revolve. The article introduces and reflects on my ongoing research, in which I argue for a new research paradigm that will aid researchers, practitioners, and theorists to understand the complex nature of their work. Moreover, I seek to narrow the reader's attention to important but missing elements in TfD histories and historiographies…. [Direct]
(2020). Demographic Predictors of Students' Science Participation over the Age of 16: An Australian Case Study. Research in Science Education, v50 n1 p361-373 Feb. Using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data, this paper aimed to examine if, and to what extent, demographic factors predict students' participation in science over the age of 16 (post-16). While all the students participating in this study are attending Australian schools, the comprehensiveness of these datasets, together with inclusion of studies from around the world provides a useful reference point for an international audience. Over 7000 students are included in the analysis of this paper. Characteristics of focus in this paper include groups who have been identified as being underrepresented in past studies including Indigenous students, those from lower-socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, sex differences and immigrants. Among the factors tested, Indigenous status was the strongest negative predictor of post-16 science participation. SES was also a relatively strong predictor of post-16 science participation. Compared to students categorised with an… [Direct]
(2020). Local Service as a Gateway to Global Citizenship: One Student's Story from H20 for Life. Childhood Education, v96 n2 p50-55. When Emily Crosette, joined H2O for Life as a high school student, she never dreamed that it would be the impetus for her future educational and career goals. Crossette majored in civil and environmental engineering and minored in environmental science at Lafayette College and is now completing her PhD in environmental engineering at the University of Michigan. After graduation, she hopes to use her knowledge and skills in microbial ecology to improve resource recovery from waste streams like wastewater and manure. While working as an environmental engineer, she also plans to stay involved in other global issues. Crosette describes her experiences with service learning as an awareness opportunity that introduces people to the complexity of global water issues…. [Direct]
(2020). Exploring Understandings of Pacific Values in New Zealand Educational Contexts: Similarities and Differences among Perceptions. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v19 n2 p20-35. Case studies exploring how educational policies can help teachers serve learners disadvantaged through cultural marginalization are urgently needed to inform education systems internationally. The study reported here explored perceptions of Pacific cultural values at the heart of education policy in New Zealand that were intended to improve opportunities of learners with Pacific heritage. Participants included early childhood, primary, secondary, and tertiary teachers of Pacific and non-Pacific heritage. Data included interviews and teaching observations. Results indicate that the Pacific values can be more deeply felt, understood, and enacted by Pacific teachers than their non-Pacific counterparts. Results are discussed in relation to tenets of culturally sustaining pedagogy and aspects of the Pacific-based "Fonofale" model. Implications of this work include that initial and in-service teacher education must assist teachers to develop working understandings of values as… [PDF]
(2017). Practical Resources for Critical Science Education in Rural Appalachia. Cultural Studies of Science Education, v12 n1 p219-225 Mar. This article argues that there is no typical Appalachian experience or community. There is more cultural diversity and global interchange in this region of the U.S. than appears in popular representations of "isolated" Appalachians, which are ironic because of the region's having been so central to the global extractive economy for centuries. Some pedagogical resources are provided to encourage or contribute to a broader perspective on the possibilities and knowledge centered in rural communities, with Appalachian examples…. [Direct]
(2024). Developing Culturally Responsive Learning Environments in Postsecondary Education. Contemporary Perspectives on Access, Equity, and Achievement. IAP – Information Age Publishing, Inc. U.S. colleges and universities are rapidly diversifying. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that nearly half of undergraduate students were of non-white racial identities, with that number only increasing for future generations. This increase in diversity holds true for many other identity groups. Yet, faculty demographics remain disproportionately white and male. For years, students have called for institutions of postsecondary education to support their success through adopting more culturally relevant practices for teaching and learning. Scholarship on student success in college has also echoed this call. Developing Culturally Responsive Learning Environments in Postsecondary Education was developed to help postsecondary educators answer this call through a multilayered view of student support within the college classroom and beyond. Specifically, this book features twenty-three chapters divided into four parts. Each part corresponds with four thematic areas identified as… [Direct]
(2023). "Comunidad y Universidad": Spaces of Decoloniality in Boricua Public Higher Education. Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education, v15 n1 p76-92. The multifaceted influences of coloniality in higher education continue to be explored to reshape and transform spaces that can either reproduce structures of coloniality or bring about decoloniality. The University of Puerto Rico, the central higher learning institution of the archipelago, continues to undergo changes that are influenced by its sociopolitical context. The aims of this research included the critical observation of the influence of coloniality in the public university system of Puerto Rico through exploring community engagement by university professors. This research implemented qualitative inquiry through document analysis. Pattern analysis was performed through three conceptual frameworks: coloniality, colonial state of exception, and ecologies of knowledge. Findings included both the interruption of coloniality by university professors and the reproduction of coloniality by the university administration. These findings illustrate current spaces of decoloniality in… [PDF]