Education: Journal Articles

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Open Access
Deliberating on group sizes and child-adult ratios in infant-toddler care and education: Voices of practitioners and parents from Hong Kong
(2022) SIU, Tik Sze Carrey; Caldwell , Melissa Pearl; Cheung , Sum Kwing; Cheung , Him
Open Access
A Multi-Layered Dialogue: Exploring Froebel’s Influence on Pedagogies of Care with 1-year-olds across Four Countries
(2022) Cooper , Maria; SIU, Tik Sze Carrey; McMullen , Mary Benson; Rockel, Jean; Powell , Sacha
Infant and toddler pedagogy has flourished as a specialized area of practice in early childhood care and education settings, yet it remains an under-researched area. There is also limited empirical research internationally that explores cultural meanings of meaningful provision for this young age group. This ethnographic study explored pedagogies of care with 1-year olds in four cultures—England, United States, New Zealand and Hong Kong—guided by Froebel’s education philosophy and a view of pedagogies of care as embodiments of culture. The researchers employed sociocultural and ecological theoretical perspectives (Darling, 2016) to attend to cultural meanings at the micro, macro and temporal levels in relation to people, contexts and processes. This lens enabled the researchers to resist the positivist tendency to normalize and unify all children’s experiences and maintain the integrity of diverse interpretations. Inspired by Tobin et al.’s (1989, 2009) cross-national research on preschool in three cultures, the researchers utilized a video-cued multivocal and layered interpretation approach to elicit the “voices” of 1-year-olds, their teachers/practitioners and families. This paper focuses on each researcher’s discussion of the ways Froebel’s principles of autonomy in learning and freedom with guidance were seen to unfold. The nuances of how these principles were manifested in pedagogies for infants and toddlers is explored in relation to each country’s curriculum and cultural ideals.
Open Access
Supporting teachers in inclusive practices: Collaboration between special and mainstream schools in Kuwait
(Informa UK Limited, 2013) Al-Manabri, M; Al-Sharhan, A; Elbeheri, G; Jasem, IM; Everatt, John
We discuss a project aimed at improving Kuwaiti mainstream teachers’ attitudes, knowledge and teaching practice related to learning disabilities and inclusion. The project involved special school staff providing mainstream primary school teachers with first-hand experiences of inclusive practices that could be implemented in their own schools. Despite the project’s relatively short duration, and the large number of teachers involved, there was evidence of improvements in teachers’ self-reported attitude/views towards children with LD, as well as improved practice indicators, in the majority of schools. Overall, the value of this project has been that it showed how a special school can become the focus of inclusion work within an educational context in which inclusion is a relatively new and poorly understood concept.
Open Access
What do health care professionals want to know about assisted dying? Setting the research agenda in New Zealand
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023) Young, J; Snelling, J; Beaumont S; Diesfeld, K; White, B; Willmott, L; Robinson J; Ahuriri-Driscoll A; Cheung, G; Dehkhoda, A; Egan R; Jap, J; Karaka-Clarke, TH; Manson, L; McLaren, C; Winters, J
Background: New Zealand recently introduced law permitting terminally ill people to request and receive assisted dying (AD) in specified circumstances. Given the nature and complexity of this new health service, research is vital to determine how AD is operating in practice. Objective: To identify research priorities regarding the implementation and delivery of AD in New Zealand. Methods: Using an adapted research prioritisation methodology, the researchers identified 15 potential AD research topics. A mixed-methods survey of health professionals was undertaken where respondents were asked to rate the 15 topics according to the relative importance for research to be conducted on each issue. Respondents could also suggest additional research areas, and were invited to participate in a follow-up interview. Results: One hundred and nineteen respondents completed the survey. 31% had some experience with AD. The highest rated research topic was the ‘effectiveness of safeguards in the Act to protect people’; the lowest rated topic was research into the ‘experiences of non-provider (e.g., administrative, cleaning) staff where assisted dying is being provided’. Respondents suggested 49 other research topics. Twenty-six interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis of interview data and open-ended survey questions was undertaken. Six research themes were identified: general factors related to the wider health system; the experiences of health care providers at the bedside; medico-legal issues; the impact of AD; experiences on the day of dying; and the overall effectiveness of the AD system. Key issues for stakeholders included safety of the AD service; ensuring access to AD; achieving equity for ‘structurally disadvantaged’ groups; and ensuring the well-being of patients, families/whānau, providers and non-providers. Conclusions: Based on early experiences of the implementation of the AD service, health professionals provide important insights into what research should be prioritised post-legalisation of AD. These findings can be used to shape the research agenda so that research may inform law, policy and best practice.
Open Access
Teacher Collaboration and Innovative Learning Spaces in New Zealand
(2024) Fletcher, Jo; Everatt J; Chang G; Subramaniam Y
The changing architectural design of the spaces where schooling occurs can impact on the types of pedagogical practices that were once solely viewed within the traditional single teacher classroom. Innovative learning environments are being built where there can be multiple teachers with larger cohorts of students. This may provide more opportunities for collaboration amongst teachers which may enhance learning opportunities. This New Zealand study looks at the views of ten primary school teachers in innovative learning environments and the results from a national survey in regard to primary teachers’ and principals’ perceptions on teacher collaboration and innovative learning environments. Specifically, we highlight the views of principals and teachers situated within the New Zealand education system and the range of views they bring to this change to the types of differing structural spaces of learning and teaching. The findings suggest that a continuing challenge for teachers is the level of noise and the wide range of distractions within innovative learning environment. The attitudes and adaptability of teachers to adjust to change, and their opportunities for professional development to prepare for this change are key influential factors.
Open Access
Retelling stories: The validity of an online oral narrative task
(SAGE Publications, 2023) Gillon, Gail; McNeill, Brigid; Scott, Amy; Gath, Megan; Westerveld, M
This study examined the validity of data collected from a novel online story retell task. The task was specifically designed for use by junior school teachers with the support of speech–language therapists or literacy specialists. The assessment task was developed to monitor children's oral language progress in their first year at school as part of the Better Start Literacy Approach for early literacy teaching. Teachers administered the task to 303 5-year-olds in New Zealand at school entry and after 20 weeks and 12 months of schooling. The children listened to a story with pictures via iPad presentation and were then prompted to retell the story. The children's spontaneous language used in their story retell was captured and uploaded digitally via iPad audio recording and analyzed using semi-automated speech recognition and computer software. Their responses to factual and inferential story comprehension questions were also analyzed. The data suggested that the task has good criterion validity. Significant correlations between story retell measures and a standardized measure of children's oral language were found. The Better Start Literacy Approach story retell task, which took approximately 6 min for teachers to administer, accurately identified children with low oral language ability 81% of the time. Growth curve analysis revealed that the task was useful for monitoring oral language development, including for English as second language learners. Boys showed a slower story comprehension growth trajectory than girls. The Better Start Literacy Approach story retell task shows promise in providing valid data to support teacher judgement of children's oral language development.
Open Access
Language, culture and identity at the nexus of professional learning
(Informa UK Limited, 2017) Fickel, Letitia; Henderson C; Price G
Background: Given the persistent gap among majority and minority students in international measures of student outcomes, there is growing attention and research focused on teacher knowledge, learning and professional development. Culturally responsive practice has been posited as one way to ameliorate disparities in outcomes. Proponents of culturally responsive practice argue that there is a special knowledge base, skills, processes and experiences that teachers need to have that enable them to work successfully with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Purpose and methods: This documentary account describes the understandings gained by a team of professional development facilitators as they reframed their work with schools and teachers to focus on developing culturally responsive practices by placing language, culture and identity at the centre of literacy-focused Professional Learning and Development (PLD). Using an appreciative inquiry framework, they sought to identify and increase the use of existing practices that supported a culturally responsive learning environment. Results: A number of initial lessons were learnt, including the need for PLD facilitators to engage in ongoing and explicit critical reflection on themselves as socio-cultural beings and to become comfortable with leading and engaging in uncomfortable conversations. The co-construction and on-going revision of PLD materials and tools were instrumental in re-centring practice and assumptions about teaching, learning, literacy, as well as challenging existing PLD practices. Conclusions: Although the appreciative inquiry framework was found to be critically important for prompting change, it was the interweaving of multiple frameworks that led to competencies that built capacity for continuous improvement and evidence-based practice. This focus on enhancing the practice of PLD facilitators has important implications for improving student achievement.
Open Access
Wisdom of the Outsiders Within: How Career Technical Education Leaders Can Inform Educational Leadership Preparation
(SAGE Publications, online-publication-date) Willis , Chris; LaVenia, Kristina; Galletta Horner , Christy
This study examines insights from Career and Technical Education (CTE) leaders that help to better inform the preparation of all school leaders. CTE leaders find themselves in the interesting position of being inside the PK-12 system but at the outside edge. This outsider within perspective not only gives CTE leaders a unique understanding of schools but also on the preparation of school leaders. These practitioners helped to identify three key areas of focus for leadership preparation: a new focus on college and career readiness, the importance of instructional leadership, and an expanded understanding of community.
Open Access
Mā te Mātauranga Māori, Ka Hāro te Manu, Ka Manukura: A Journey of Indigenous Reclamation and Celebration in Tertiary Education
(Te Pukenga, 2024) Jones K-L; Cowie, Rahera
Open Access
Developing and validating instruments for measuring English-as-a-second/Foreign-Language (L2) learners’ metaphor awareness
(Informa UK Limited, 2024) Ma, Ting; Zhang , Lawrence Jun; Parr , Judy M.
Studies have shown that raising L2 learners’ metaphor awareness con tributes to the acquisition of figurative language, which fosters students’ development of language skills. However, the instruments measuring metaphor awareness, in the majority of relevant research, did not seem to have undergone proper methodological procedures for checking their validity and reliability, thus compromising the authenticity of the measurement and challenging the interpretation of the results from the measurement. In addition, both theoretical and empirical research tends to frame metaphoric competence within the territory of linguistic and conceptual metaphors, neglecting the communicative functions of metaphor in discourse. As an attempt to fill these research gaps, our study developed three instruments—two tests and a questionnaire— for measuring metaphor awareness in the linguistic, conceptual, and communicative dimensions. Administered to 293 Chinese undergrad uates at intermediate to advanced English proficiency levels, the instru ments demonstrated good validity and reliability, as checked by Rasch analysis. Results showed that the participants were most aware of the communicative functions of metaphor but found it challenging to iden tify metaphorical prepositions, adverb, and adjectives, and establish the correspondences between the source domain and target domain of conventional conceptual metaphors. We conclude the paper by dis cussing pedagogical implications in relation to L2 metaphor awareness measurement and instruction.
Open Access
Exploring international students' perspectives on being ‘international’
(Wiley, 2024) Eulatth Vidal WE; Kamp, Annelies
International student mobility has garnered significant attention in higher education research. Despite this attention, a fundamental question persists in the field: What does it mean to be an ‘international student’, as perceived by the students themselves? This article presents the findings of a phenomenological qualitative study to delve into the lived experiences of 12 undergraduate students from one university in Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on elucidating these students' self-perceptions as international students. The study challenges the conventional definition that often emphasizes geographic or visa-related criteria, leading to homogenization. It underscores the diversity among international students, emphasizing that their unique experiences, backgrounds, personal narratives and perspectives play a pivotal role in shaping their multiple identities and sense of self.
Open Access
Developing and validating instruments for measuring English-as-a-second/foreign-language (L2) learners’ metaphor awareness
(2024) Ma, Ting; Zhang , Jun; Parr , Judy M.
Research has shown that metaphor is ubiquitous in English and that knowing and being able to use metaphor relates to higher language proficiency. Meanwhile, learners face challenges in metaphor reception and production. The first step to address these challenges would be measuring to what extent the students can recognise metaphor and are aware of the different dimensions of metaphor. However, instruments for measuring metaphor awareness developed in relevant research did not seem to have been checked for quality, and the functions of metaphor in discourse as an important component of metaphor awareness were neglected. This study thus aimed to develop three instruments for measuring awareness of linguistic forms of metaphor (e.g. flow of information, feeling down), metaphorical concepts commonly used in English and connections between literal and figurative meaning (e.g. spending time is like spending money because time is as precious as money), and communicative functions of metaphor (e.g. to explain abstract concepts). The instruments were administered to 293 Chinese undergraduate English majors at intermediate to advanced English proficiency levels and demonstrated good validity and reliability. The participants had difficulty recognising metaphorical prepositions (e.g. in a bad mood), adverb (waited long), and adjectives (e.g. low credit scores) as metaphorical and establishing connections between the basic meaning and the figurative meaning of conventional metaphors in thought. These could be the areas that language teachers need to focus on in teaching metaphor.
Open Access
Troubling the boundaries of traditional schooling for a rapidly changing future – Looking back and looking forward
(Informa UK Limited, 2024) Teschers, Christoph; Neuhaus T; Vogt M
Rapid technological advancements, globalisation, environmental crises, and ongoing conflicts have contributed to an increasingly quickly changing social, cultural, and work environment for current and future generations. In this paper, we argue that the traditional schooling system and approaches to curriculum and pedagogy that are based on 19th century industrial age models might reach their limit to prepare students sufficiently for the expectations and challenges of life and work in future. While so-called 21st -century education has seen a nominal change in classroom layouts and increased use of teaching technology, we would argue that not much has changed in terms of the underlying structures of schools and the mostly pre-described curriculum schools and teachers must operate under. While current education systems struggle with many challenges from teacher burnouts to increasing student dis-engagement (e.g., rising truancy in New Zealand), we posit that new challenges lie ahead that will further disrupt, if not implode, current approaches to schooling and curriculum. Drawing on theories such as Biesta’s (2022) World-Centred Education and Pinar’s (2023) notion of Currere to reconceptualise curriculum, we would argue that schooling needs to move away from the traditional ‘static map’ of curriculum content to a more dynamic approach to schooling that allows teachers and schools to chart new territory, together with their students, for a rapidly changing future. As guiding compass of sorts for dynamically exploring an uncertain future with students, we propose Teschers’ (2018) educational approach to Schmid’s (2000a) Art of Living as a starting point.
Open Access
Moral philosophy, Te Whāriki and gender
(Informa UK Limited, 2019) Delaune, Andrea
Early childhood practice in Aotearoa New Zealand is guided by Te Whāriki, a curriculum which is rich in moral concepts. While there are opportunities for early childhood educators in Aotearoa New Zealand to reflect upon moral concepts in their educational settings, it is the position of this paper that critical engagement with these concepts is hindered by two major factors: lack of exposition on the moral concepts maintained within the English version of the early childhood curriculum document, and a historical gendered divide between theory and practice in early childhood education Aotearoa New Zealand. To address these concerns, the author draws from the philosophical writings of Iris Murdoch with particular focus upon her concept of attention. The theoretical plurality in Te Whāriki and the maternal image of the early childhood teacher are discussed. The author articulates the opportunities offered by Murdoch’s vision to view the curriculum and the early childhood teacher anew.
Open Access
Early childhood education student teachers’ perceptions of implementing a bicultural curriculum
(2024) Williams, Dr Ngaroma M.; Fletcher, Jo; Ma, Ting
This article explores how early childhood student teachers are developing competency to implement bicultural practices in New Zealand. It uses surveys and focus-group interviews to examine 162 student teachers’ understanding of the early childhood curriculum, and its implementation during their three-year degree initial teacher education programme. Results showed that the term “bicultural curriculum” was not well understood, and there was confusion over whether Te Tiriti o Waitangi or the Treaty of Waitangi forms the basis of the bicultural curriculum. Student teachers lacked confidence in competently using te reo (the Māori language) within their daily practices and articulating tikanga Māori (cultural constructs).
Open Access
A Qualitative Exploration of Trust between General and Special Educators Implications for Collaboration in the Preparation of Teacher Candidates
(Elsevier BV, online-publication-date) Vostal M; Vostal B; Galletta Horner C; LaVenia KN
Collaboration skills are addressed by educational organizations’ teacher preparation standards. Collaboration is critical for effective service delivery to students with disabilities. Trust between educators is important for collaboration and effective shared service delivery. Investigations of collaboration between general and special educators are needed. We report findings from a qualitative investigation of trust and collaboration between general and special educators in one school district; participants taught elementary, middle, and high school. Results indicated that general and special educators struggled to build relational trust. Those who experienced trusting relationships promoted equity between roles and developed norms to support collaboration. Findings have implications for teacher preparation faculty who want to encourage positive collaborations.
Open Access
Changing the story: Evaluation results of an opioid awareness Teach-In
(2020) Knippen , Kerri Lynn; LaVenia , Kristina N.; Burek , Melissa W.
Teach-Ins have historically been used as a way for educators to raise knowledge and awareness around an urgent social problem. We report findings from an action evaluation of the Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Opioid Awareness Teach-In, which was designed to (a) make clear that the BGSU community believes we can work to change the story of the opioid epidemic in northwest Ohio and (b) raise awareness of resources available for those struggling with opioid dependence in our community. Campus wide, anonymous questionnaires administered to students, faculty, and staff before (n = 275) and after (n = 140) the Teach-In indicated positive, and statistically significant, changes in knowledge of resources available, treatment options, and the attitude that BGSU is a community that cares about those struggling with opioid addiction. Qualitative feedback suggests that the Teach-In was helpful as a step toward changing the story and inspiring hope. In particular, our work to facilitate communication and awareness around opioid addiction, and reduce the silence and stigma associated with addiction, appears to have resonated strongly with participants.
Open Access
A Literature Review on Remedial Reading Teachers: The Gaps in the Philippine Context
(UKI Press, online-publication-date) Bautista, Judy; Gatcho , Al Ryanne G.
Remedial reading teachers are forerunners in elevating the reading achievement of students in schools. In the Philippines, there has been a continual enrichment of the reading skills of struggling readers through the initiatives of remedial reading teachers. However, the country does not have clear policies on the identities, roles, challenges, and needs of such teachers. This paper presents a review of the literature on remedial reading teachers. The results revealed that remedial reading teachers performed various roles in schools and that the cultivation of the roles and duties of remedial reading teachers rely so much on different factors, some of which are knowledge and the skills that they have, philosophical views in education and the whole school community, the rapport that remedial reading teachers have with their colleagues, the support of the administrators to their personal and career developments, and provisions of the local government. It was also evident in the review that literature and studies are scarce regarding remedial reading teachers in the Philippines, thus, suggesting to explore on the what's and the how's of remedial reading teachers in a hope of creating clear policies that will strengthen their identities and support their professional developments.
Open Access
Shame, entitlement, and the systemic racism of mathematics “ability” grouping in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023) Pomeroy, David; Azarmandi, Mahdis; Ratima, Matiu Tai; Tolbert, Sara; Jones, Kay-Lee; Riki , Nathan; Karaka-Clarke, Te Hurinui
Decades of research has documented the consequences of allocating school students into a hierarchy of classes with narrow ranges of mathematics attainment, a process known as streaming, tracking, setting, or “ability” grouping. The purported benefits of streaming are inconsistent and disputed, but the harms are clear, in particular, (1) the limiting curriculum often available in low streams and (2) the loss of self-confidence that results from being positioned in a low stream. Building on this foundation, we discuss streaming in mathematics as tied to systemic racism in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the harmful effects of streaming fall most heavily on Māori and Pasifika students. Previous analyses of race and streaming have focused primarily on the racial composition of streamed classes, bias in stream allocation, and racialised teacher expectations in streamed settings. In contrast, we focus on the emotional consequences of streaming, arguing that streaming produces racialised emotions of shame and entitlement as unintended but predictable consequences. We illustrate the racialised production of entitlement and shame through collaborative storying, interweaving our own biographies with a re-analysis of student interviews from two prior studies.
Open Access
Mother Tongue versus English as a Second Language in Mathematical Word Problems: Implications to Language Policy Development in the Philippines
(Tawasul International Centre for Publishing, Research and Dialogue, online-publication-date) Bautista, Judy; Samonte I; Improgo CM; Gutierrez MR
This study investigated the performance of 150 Tagalog and 131 Sinugbuanong Bisaya grade three pupils with regard to solving mathematical word problems written in their mother-tongue (L1) and in English as their second language (L2). The respondents were subjected to a validated teacher-made parallel tests based on the competencies stipulated in the first and second quarter mathematics curriculum guide of the Philippines. Results of which were compared and analyzed using two-tailed t-test. Findings show that the Tagalog pupils performed better in their mother-tongue over English as their second language. On the other hand, Sinugbuanong Bisaya pupils performed better in English as their second language over their mother-tongue. While results appear contradictory, contextual discussions offer valuable insights into the situation, allowing avenues for more exploration and investigations. As implication to language policy development, this study offers the use of translanguaging in content area instruction and assessment, specifically in the teaching and learning of mathematical problem solving.