Education & Pedagogy

Education is important for human development. It is a basic human right as articulated in the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania of 1977. Since then, a series of reforms for improving access, quality and relevant education were adopted in the country. This study evaluates the relevance and quality of social science textbooks used in primary education. The study critically reviews primary education social sciences books. I argue that there were varieties of social studies textbooks and supplementary books used in primary education. These textbooks vary in terms of content, illustration, language and methodology. There is no harmony of content, while some textbooks had wrong contents altogether. Although teachers and learners benefited from using these textbooks, lack of content harmonisation deterred the effectiveness of achieving instructional and national objectives. The study recommends that a review and harmonisation of textbooks be undertaken, in order to attain the required national agenda.

This paper investigates the realisation of competence-based education (CBE) in vocational education in Indonesia. It examines the extent to which CBE design principles of the Comprehensive Competence-Based Education Framework developed in a Western context exist in Indonesian policy documents and school practices. This study reviews educational policy documents and collects cross-sectional survey data from 41 school principals, 453 teachers, and 2219 students from 41 agricultural vocational schools in five provinces of Java, Indonesia. Results showed that the ten CCBE principles listed in the framework exist to large extent in Indonesian policy documents. School principals, teachers, and students noticed the realisation of CCBE principles in the study programme to differing degrees, except for the principle of flexibility that was largely absent. The level of CBE implementation varied, from the level of "starting competence-based" to that of "largely competence-based" education. The findings contribute to the discussion of CCBE design principles and lesson learned of CBE implementation in a non-western perspective.

A child should not be brought to formal school setup until he/she is six or seven years old. Before becoming a part of the formal school, a child needs to prepare physically as well as mentally. Therefore, he/she must go through the preschool non-formal education. Preschool education is for two years, i.e., 4-6 years of age. Anganwadi under ICDS umbrella plays the role in preschool education, where students learn by playing and semi-structured activities. With the view of a holistic approach in school education, is government of India introduced an integrated school education system i.e., Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) that ranges from preschool to senior secondary level. The main aim of this scheme includes effective preschool education system across the country and strengthening the existing Anganwadi's by locating them near primary school of the mainstream areas and newly serve the unserved areas. Improvement of preschool education is visualized under this scheme.

Purpose: We aim with this report to provide information on how the Covid-19 pandemic affected education and citizenship education in Turkey. Design: The report is based on literature review, the analysis of social media, and the observations of the authors. We provide a general framework of Turkish education after the pandemic using sources such as official statements from government offices; social media entries were analyzed to provide different perspectives. Finally, observations of the authors based on their experiences with distance learning were included in the report. Findings: We argue that despite the efforts of the state, there are still problems in the distance learning process, mainly relating to the access to online classes and the very limited room given to Covid-19 as a topic in social studies courses. In addition, we find that social media have played a significant role in increasing citizen participation as a consequence of the pandemic.

This paper uses the theories of practice architectures and learning to teach to study in-service teachers' practice of learning to teaching within a further education (FE)-based initial teacher education (ITE) classes at one further education college (FEC) in England. It seeks to answer two research questions: How do in-service teachers learn how to teach within a teacher education classes at a general FE college in England? What site-based factors shape the in-service teachers' practice of learning to teach? Using an action research methodology, the researcher, a university-based teacher educator, worked with a team of six FE-based teacher educators and their 35 in-service teachers to answer these questions. Drawing on data from six 'teacher talk' meetings with the teacher educators and three focus groups with the in-service teachers, the paper builds on and adds to international maps of existing research and knowledge of their practice of learning to teach.

This article provides a comparative examination of teachers' experiences of both participating in Catholic teacher education programmes and teaching within Catholic schools in the Republic of Ireland and the United States. This mixed-methods study consisted of surveys and interviews with 22 teachers who are graduates of both Irish and US teacher education programmes and have taught in Catholic schools in both countries. This distinct cohort of Irish Catholic educators reveals how faith and Catholic identity are experienced in two distinct education systems that share a common mission. The research underscores how context powerfully shapes the lived experience of teachers in both Catholic teacher education programmes and in Catholic schools, and it highlights implications for those responsible for Catholic teacher education programmes and also for the leaders of Catholic schools. The extent to which members of a school community explicitly identify and choose to embody the Catholic identity greatly shapes outcomes.

The study reported on here examined the factors influencing the decision to major in special education in Saudi Arabia. The sample was composed of 394 preservice special education (SE) teacher participants of which 141 were female and 253 were male. Three different statistical analyses were used to examine the study data: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for reliability; confirmatory factor analysis for construct validity; and t-test for examining significant differences. The findings indicate that participants have positive attitudes towards teaching and a high interest in special education. However, 34% of participants stated that they did not want to teach for the rest of their lives, and 16% reported that they chose this major although they were fully convinced that special education was not their preferred type of work. We concluded that female preservice SE teachers were most likely to be interested in the field of special education and held positive attitudes towards teaching. This study presents major potential implications for preparing special education teachers in Saudi Arabia and other countries.

Misconceptions about the brain and its relation to education are widespread. This can lead to the implementation of ineffective methods and the waste of precious resources. To examine the extent of belief in neuromyths, a survey about the brain in education was conducted. Respondents (n = 169) came from special education (n = 83) and general education (n = 78), and included preservice teachers (n = 34), in-service teachers (n = 63), higher education faculty (n = 39), and educational leaders (n = 33). The survey contained 15 Myths and 18 Facts, and overall, participants were able to correctly identify approximately 66% of all the Facts. On the other hand, on average, respondents responded correctly for only one third of the Myths. The most commonly misidentified Myths were related to motor coordination exercises to improve literacy skills, the right brain-left brain myth, and learning styles. Higher education faculty were able to identify more Myths than any other group. Implications for teacher preparation and ongoing professional learning for teachers and educational leaders are discussed.

While there may be some broad agreement about the purposes of primary physical education, there is dramatic variance in how these purposes are prioritised and enacted. Primary physical education consequently focusses on multiple, often competing, priorities. To gain a better understanding of this issue we review how different stakeholders view the purposes of primary physical education. We analysed 95 qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2017 that focussed on the views of different stakeholders. Across all stakeholders, the main purposes of primary physical education were identified as being physically active and learning physical, social, and emotional skills. Teachers and pupils were the most represented stakeholders, while the limited representation of school principals and policy makers was noted. The review indicates a need to examine the perspectives of those underrepresented stakeholders, serving as an entry point for bridge-building to shape the future direction of primary physical education.

This article describes the Division of Career Development and Transition's (DCDT) position regarding Career Technical Education (CTE) and provides recommendations regarding more intense collaboration to improve access to and persistence in CTE for students with disabilities. Professional groups, such as the DCDT and the Association for Career and Technical Education, as well as policy makers, should strengthen collaboration in this area. This position paper: (a) explores CTE's effectiveness as a secondary special education and transition service; (b) summarizes relevant federal legislation; and (c) presents key recommendations for policy, practice, personnel preparation and professional development, and research. Policy and practice recommendations emphasize access and equity, personnel preparation and professional development recommendations promote an understanding of related legislation and instructional practices, and research recommendations emphasize collaborative high-quality research.

The Council of Europe's "Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture" (RFCDC) was published in April 2018, and is currently being implemented in a number of Council of Europe member states. The RFCDC consists of three main components: a conceptual model of the competences that learners need to acquire in order to respond appropriately and effectively to democratic and intercultural situations; validated and scaled descriptors and learning outcomes for all of the competences in the model; and guidance for ministries of education and education practitioners on curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, teacher education, the whole-school approach, and building learners' resilience to radicalization. This article describes the policy background that motivated and accompanied the development of the RFCDC, and the process through which it was developed. It also provides an overview of the contents of the RFCDC, and an explanation of the impact that the framework is beginning to have on Council of Europe actions in the sphere of formal education.

The purpose of the study is to understand the challenges and opportunities of urban outdoor education centers in partnership and programming. The context for this study involves efforts by all-season outdoor education centers, Outdoor Campus (OC), in two urban areas in South Dakota (SD). Outdoor education scope and social-ecological framework were applied to guide this qualitative study. Semi-structured interview questions were used to interview eight outdoor educators in 2019, including four individuals from each service location composed of three males and five female educators. Qualitative content analysis was applied to identify common themes and essential quotations that emerged from the data analyzed through the interviews. Three main themes emerged: (1) gateway to our outdoor legacy (2) working together for outdoor education, including three sub-themes: formal partnership, programmatic partnership, and finding balance in partnership, (3) challenges as opportunities in outdoor education programs, including two sub-themes: common challenges and evolving process.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) considers education a top priority, and more emphasis has been placed on this following the 2016 announcement of Saudi Vision 2030. Since then, the country has witnessed several economic and social changes. As a result, the Kingdom has initiated a plan to invest in human capital through education to diversify its economy and increase employment. This includes educational reform with regard to primary and secondary education geared toward preparing students for higher education and the workplace. However, several factors may hinder the successful execution of this plan. This report will provide insights into factors such as cultural dimensions, learning profiles, the English language proficiency gap, and information on borrowing educational models from the West. It will also include some suggestions and recommendations to enhance teacher education programmes so that positive educational reform may be achieved effectively.

Distance education is an education model where individuals are free from learning resources and have no time constraints. During the pandemic period, Isparta University of Applied Sciences continued its 2019-2020 Academic Year Spring semester with distance education with asynchronous lecture notes and synchronous live courses. The purpose of this research is to determine the knowledge and views of students about distance education in the Pandemic Process. Survey method was used in the research; the participants of the research were 1011 students are students at Isparta University of Applied Sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic process. In order to collect the data, a 5-point Likert questionnaire with 21 items was applied. The average, standard deviation and t-Test analysis of the data were done in the SPSS program. According to the results of this research, it was determined that the opportunities of the participants as having computer and internet affect their views on distance education.

In the past few months, a viral pandemic has spread worldwide and continues to disrupt the everyday life of the whole population. The action plans: During this time, dentistry in the U.K. has suffered and the majority of dental care has ceased, with only some centres being able to offer emergency care for patients. Live education: The education of our dental students has been considered and modified to offer continuation of teaching and learning in a remote fashion, given the current conditions. Discussion: This format of teaching and learning has identified new possibilities relating to what is possible in dental education in the U.K., with the adequate organisation, dedication and flexibility that some of the electronic applications within remote education allow. Conclusion: The success of such a format lacks any published evidence, but the initial feedback from our dental students has been grossly positive, and; combined with such multiple benefits, may suggest a role for different formats for dental education in the future.