Volume 9 (2018): Edition 2 (December 2018)

Research on the impact of place-based education (PBE), in which educational experiences are situated in the local environment (Smith, 2002), consistently suggests academic, social, and affective benefits across demographics. Traditionally, professional development supporting PBE has been designed to support large-scale initiatives. In this study, a bottom-up approach for expanding the reach of place-based art education (PBAE) was implemented with teachers (n=11) from a school district in the southeastern United States through two sequential professional development workshops. We examined the extent to which this minimal intervention impacted teachers’ understanding, buy-in, and creation of PBAE curricula. Results suggest that this organic approach, with teachers positioned as agents of change, can build upon pre-existing teacher interest and equip teachers to expand PBAE into their teaching contexts.

This mixed methods study examined preservice teacher perceptions of their needs related to inclusion. The study examined 120 early childhood and elementary preservice teachers from two universities, from both general and special education programs. Inclusion has been considered best practice in education for many years; however, how to best facilitate inclusive practices to meet the needs of all learners remains an area of uncertainty for preservice teachers. Prior research has connected perceptions of preparedness to effective inclusive practices. A survey was developed and validated about inclusion and perceptions of preparedness to teach in an inclusive setting. The survey included both Likert-scale items and open response questions. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of the survey. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used to examine the quantitative results. Responses to open-ended questions were coded to identify qualitative themes. The findings indicated that preservice teachers lacked a coherent understanding of inclusion and perceived themselves as needing additional development to be fully prepared to teach in an inclusive setting. The results suggest that teacher preparation programs need to provide a more coherent conceptual framework to guide the enhancement of both course and field work related to inclusion and effective inclusive practices.

Discussion on sexism regarding language focuses on how women are discriminated against in our daily language and in academic writing. Although we are against any kind of discrimination, when it comes to dealing with this phenomenon in language and language use, we should be more careful. Language is not only a symbolic means whereby humans interact, it is also a product of human intellectual activity imbued with various experiences of our past and recent ancestors. Thus, it is also a reflection of our society’s conceptual system through which we interpret physical and mental phenomena. In this paper, we have analyzed views regarding sexism and language; tried to display how improving the so-called injustices in language would result in some dire situations which may have never been foreseen. We finally put forth our own solutions to overcome the problems of sexism in academic writing.

A potential health crisis looms large in the Punjab, India where alcohol consumption has risen dramatically. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol. This empirical study presents a pedagogical intervention, Children as Agents of Social Change (CASC), which aimed to raise awareness about the effects of alcohol using an ICT-supported educational dialogue among adolescent students and alcohol-experts from multiple domains. Primary data consists of pre- and post-test questionnaires from the control and experimental groups (N=379) and an interview of the teacher-in-charge of one experimental school. Results indicate that the intervention significantly improved students’ scientific knowledge about alcohol; changed their attitudes towards media and celebrity promotion of alcohol; and enabled them to surmount the odds to spread information - acquired during the CASC intervention- to people outside the school, including adult drinkers. Learner-centric pedagogy combined with ICT clearly amplified transformative learning. CASC appears to be a promising approach in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It can be used for multiple sustainability issues.

The number of people applying for school based religious education leadership positions is scarce in most regions throughout Australia as well as other geographical regions. Drawing on the insights from key stakeholders associated with religious education leadership in schools this qualitative study aimed to identify factors which militated against sustaining school based religious education leadership. This paper reports on the findings emanating from the study and proceeds to outline practical solutions that may contribute to attracting and sustaining future generations of religious education leaders. The key factors impacting on the sustainability of religious education leaders include feelings of disconnection, excessive demands associated with the role and a lack of structural support. Practical recommendations are outlined to contribute to sustaining school based religious education leadership. The recommendations include a review of teacher appraisal processes, equity in terms of industrial conditions and the inclusion of middle leadership positions that support the leader.

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of early childhood teachers’ reading attitudes, the total number of the books they have read about their profession, the total number of the books they have read on general topics, and their teaching experience on their teaching efficacy. Participants consist of 362 early childhood teachers from 51 different cities in Turkey. Of the 362 participants, 333 are female (91%) and 29 are male (9%). The ages of the teachers range from 21 to 50, with a mean age of 27.47. The participants responded to a personal questionnaire; Early Childhood Teachers’ Teacher Efficacy Scale (ECTTES) and Reading Attitude Scale (RAS). Stepwise regression analyses for subtests CM, SE, PI, P and for total teaching efficacy indicate that reading attitude and teaching experience are significant predictors. For subtest C, reading attitude and age appear as significant predictors. For subtest IS, only reading attitude appears as a significant predictor. Accordingly, in order to improve early childhood teachers’ reading attitudes, book clubs and peer reading groups are recommended.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is critical for Caribbean countries such as Jamaica as the country grapples with various sustainability issues. The integration of ESD into formal and non-formal education therefore becomes a necessary undertaking. At the formal level, reorienting curricula at all levels is important and advocated for in various international documents such as Agenda 21 and by agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With this in mind, this study utilised a qualitative content analysis approach to undertake a preliminary exploration of ESD content in TVET curricula at the lower secondary level (grades 7-9) in Jamaica. Analysis of three of the subjects as taught in the TVET area of Resource and Technology revealed that though ESD issues, perspectives and skills are integrated into various components of the curriculum, many of the ESD issues, perspectives and skills the research sought to identify were not evident in the curricula. Additionally, based on the analysis, it was felt that the curriculum lacks alignment among the components (objectives, content, learning experience, assessment, teaching strategies) that reflected ESD content, and that there is need for integration of more such content in the curricula to ensure that TVET and ESD yield the relevant benefits.

The article focuses on a discourse of resilience and remembering and its interconnectedness in teaching contested historical narratives. History mainly consists of events, remembrance, narratives, rituals, discourses, and stereotypes which can facilitate or prevent resilience. Since such purposes are part of religious and values education, a multidimensional approach is needed, which combines historical, psychological, religious, sociological, educational and literary aspects in a kind of ‘grammar of remembrance’, in order to motivate and facilitate autonomous and supervised research with discussions and sharing of experiences in different projects. The aim of this conceptual study is to facilitate interdisciplinary research and educational projects concerning memory cultures and conflict management.

International communication with different digital tools is now established both at universities and in other contexts worldwide. It is therefore relevant to describe how one of these tools is used in higher education. In the present study the focus is on seminars carried out in student-interactive video-conferences on didactic and pedagogical issues with student teachers. The participants were international and Swedish student teachers at the Department of Education at a Swedish university and at two different campuses. The results are based on analyses of the students’ written reports completed after the seminars and show that the interactive video-conference is useful to establish contacts between students in different places and to develop intercultural understanding of school-related matters. The video-conference is thus a way to work with internationalization in a sustainable way in teacher education, giving opportunities for the exchange of ideas and experiences both at personal and professional levels without mobility.

In the preschool period children develop rapidly in cognitive, social-emotional, physical, psycho-motor, language, and aesthetic areas. In this period, besides basic habits and skills, it is important for children to gain environmental awareness. Research shows that children are mostly affected by environmental problems. Yet, living in a clean and healthy world is a basic necessity for children. For this reason, it is possible that children can show a healthy development in all developmental areas and create a healthy future by establishing ecological balance through gaining environmental awareness during the preschool period for sustainability. Science and nature activities in the preschool education program play an important role in creating an environmental awareness of the children in this period as they include activities to acquire environmental awareness and provide important contributions to helping children gain environmental awareness for sustainability. The present study was conducted using a total of 80 students attending pre-school institutions in Konya province. The environmental pollution awareness scale was used as pre - test and post - test prepared by the researchers. The data was analyzed via the SPSS 18 program. As the post test scores of preschool students revealed, there was a significant difference for the experimental group with regard to environmental pollution awareness.