Education & Pedagogy

Artist-teachers, educators who connect art practice to education, are often subject to marginalization in educational policy, practice, and research. In this visual inquiry article, we mobilize the artist-teacher's voice to present perceptions of art education provision in Singapore. Successes and tensions are collated and voiced alongside international developments to suggest informed recommendations for educational enhancement. The inquiry reveals that artist-teacher perceptions are complex, layered, and influenced by psychological, physical, and virtual influences like identity fluctuations, geographic or contextual environments, educational systems, and world events. The inquiry acts as a dialogic space for artist-teacher participants to exchange and contemplate perceptions of art education provision alongside policy, practice, research, and societal change. The inquiry values participant voices and suggests that to improve art education provision, the belief systems of those involved in provision need aligning, glocalized concerns need considering, and efficient knowledge cascades need developing.

Increasing the supply of qualified teachers is a priority in many nations as a prerequisite to accomplishing UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" by the year 2030. Questions remain however concerning definitions and measurement of the intended global indicators. In this article, I argue that the work of the comparative research community has the potential to inform and enrich UNESCO's SDG 4 indicators agenda concerning teachers, but this would require moving from a focus on easy to measure indicators such as teacher qualifications to more meaningful and valid indicators such as teacher qualities, and the quality of their education -- a neglected area in the SDG 4 targets. Using evidence from two cross-national studies of mathematics education I propose that engagement with comparative education research may help to re-imagine a sustainable and high-quality teaching-and-teacher education project globally.

Access to quality career advice is important for economic, personal and equity reasons, yet, in many countries around the world, career-education provision is of varying quality and quantity within school settings. Given the inconsistencies in career-education resourcing and provision, what is not clearly understood is how students from low socioeconomic status (low SES) backgrounds experience career-education provision and the extent to which it shapes their post-school futures. Drawing on Australian research, this paper explores the career-education experiences of high-school students from low SES backgrounds. Bourdieu's tools of field, habitus and capital are used as a theoretical framework to understand how career education can influence students' imagining and achieving their career goals. The findings reported in this paper contribute nuanced understandings of career education to students from low SES backgrounds and recommends how all students can benefit from an embedded approach to career education in schools.

This study investigated research trends in civic and citizenship education by systematically reviewing research regarding international frameworks for civic and citizenship education. We focused on major international large-scale assessments -- specifically, the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, and its predecessor, the Civic Education Study. Using four electronic databases, we analyzed 135 peer-reviewed journal articles. The analysis showed that differences among countries in research interests might be linked to different cultural backgrounds. It also showed that the greatest number of articles were published in social science disciplines, education research in particular. The results highlight the necessity of investigating principals' and teachers' perceptions of civic and citizenship education. Future research could focus on understudied variables such as adolescents' civic participation, and home and peer civic education contexts, utilizing diverse variables from the ICCS 2016 data. By summarizing and discussing research trends, this study provides a blueprint for future research in the field of civic and citizenship education.

This article reports on how those working in post-secondary education and training in Singapore perceive the professional effects of a transition to online learning, teaching and assessment (LTA) as a consequence of the COVID-19 global pandemic. It draws on a survey sample of n = 1553 educators and trainers working in Singapore and their perspectives on how a migration to online LTA is producing long-term, if not permanent, changes to the organisation and delivery of post-secondary education and training. It reveals a largely positive view of digital resettlement of education and training in Singapore as a consequence of COVID-19. Yet despite the articulation by respondents of 'paradigm change' and 'education without limits', we find that an embrace of digitalisation is mobilised (and manipulated) not so much by pedagogical concerns but by economic ambitions and a utilitarian logic common to the neoliberal incantations of a global education policy community.

This article begins with a historical overview of the STEM education policy and related classroom practices in Hong Kong. Against the backdrop that the Hong Kong education authority has been promoting STEM education over the past few years, there has been a pressing need for effective strategies of implementing STEM education in the context of reduced class size classrooms (i.e. small class teaching). With a view to addressing this need, this article strives to exemplify the incorporation of STEM education into small class teaching settings. Intended as a conceptual paper drawing on design approaches for STEM lessons and a small class teaching framework, the article demonstrates the relevance of STEM education to small class teaching. Two illustrative lesson design examples are provided to showcase how the design approaches and framework can be operationalised. In addition, the article also offers a thoughtful discussion concerning the potential challenges of delivering the two sample lessons as well as the coping strategies. It contributes to understanding of STEM education theories and provides a valuable reference for educational practitioners.

Environmental education is a decisive tool in the promotion of a citizenry committed to environmental sustainability. Among the current challenges, the management of water shortage is one of the main issues, thus addressing it from childhood is crucial to enhance the connection with nature. Few studies report on the impact of educational programmes about water on minors; therefore, this exploratory study values whether participating in environmental education programmes improves the environmental knowledge, attitudes and perception about water. The study sample was constituted by 607 students (8-16 years of age), from primary and secondary education. The results show evidence about the effectiveness of environmental education programmes about water. Particularly, the changes were greater when the environmental knowledge and perception were evaluated. There was an increase in the willing to learn and know more about environmental education and water. Educational strategies are provided for the future development of environmental education programmes.

Knowledge of economics is becoming essential for citizens to adapt to economic life. Against this backdrop, the economic education of young people in the general education system has, in recent years, assumed greater importance at the level of education policy in many countries. For this reason, an empirical study was conducted in Austria, India and China. The survey tool examines the economic knowledge, self-assessment, personal interest, and attitude towards economic topics among pupils who are about to finish lower secondary school. The findings are presented and compared based on the respective education system and cultural background. The results demonstrate the feasibility of measuring economic knowledge in a standardised way across three different countries. From a comparative perspective, the results indicate the differences in implementing economic education in compulsory education in these countries and that it is critical to exchange good practices and cooperate for innovation to improve the economic education.

In many countries, statistics has become a core constituent of the primary mathematics curriculum. Consequently, statistics education has become a larger component of mathematics education programmes in Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Due to the established links between teacher attitudes and ensuing classroom practices, it is important to gain insights into pre-service teachers' attitudes towards statistics. The aim of this study is to explore attitudes towards statistics of 348 pre-service teachers on entry to an ITE programme. Furthermore, we examine the attitudes of 280 of these same teachers following completion of a reform-oriented course on statistics education. Our findings indicate generally positive attitudes towards statistics prior to engagement in a statistics education course with an acknowledgement that statistics may be difficult to learn. In contrast to the findings of studies that indicate the calcification of attitudes towards statistics for non-education students, the findings suggest the malleability of pre-service primary teacher's attitudes towards statistics following engagement in a reform statistics education course.

Sweden is internationally regarded as an inclusive educational system. This study explores how teacher education programmes in Sweden have been organised as regards inclusive education (IE). Specifically, the study examines how teacher candidates and staff perceive teacher pre-service training for IE in terms of its curriculum and pedagogical practices towards students. The question was explored through a case-study of a large, well-respected university in Sweden, using semi-structured interviews and group-discussions with teacher candidates and staff members, and document analyses. The study revealed that the university makes several purposeful efforts to prepare its teacher candidates to practise IE, e.g. all teacher education programmes have a specific course on inclusion, while this content is also infused into several other courses. Nonetheless, the study also demonstrates that teacher candidates lack a deeper understanding of relationship between special education and inclusion, which can probably be attributed to the wider socio-political context dominated by the special education narrative.

The government of Ghana has demonstrated commitment towards implementing inclusive education in selected schools. However, a major concern has been the lack of teachers' skills in addressing diverse needs of students in classrooms. While there are parallel institutions training teachers, the perceptions and level of acceptance among pre-service teachers in terms of practicing inclusive education across these institutions is hitherto unresearched. The Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised scale was used to collect data from the participants (n = 855), who were recruited from two campuses of a public university (n = 331) and three colleges of education (n = 524). We found an interaction effect of the demographic variables of school type, contact with students with disabilities and familiarity with inclusive education policy on pre-service teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education. The implications of these findings for initial teacher preparation for the implementation of inclusive education are discussed.

In today's information-driven society, the Japanese government envisions the next societal revolution as "Society 5.0," where advanced technologies and service platforms integrate with and empower individuals in a human-based society. While Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has traditionally focused on technical skills and knowledge in isolation, this paper will look at the potential role and benefits of incorporating liberal arts education into these technical studies. This concept of integrating the liberal arts into STEM education is known as STEAM. The purpose of the study is to create a foundation for clarifying the role of interdisciplinary education in overcoming the vertical division of academic disciplines and restoring the "integrated nature" of scholarship. This study seeks to show how the humanities, social sciences, and arts can be used to enhance STEM education, and, furthermore, how this STEAM approach to education is key to enabling Japan's vision for Society 5.0.

The aim of this study is to determine the way education for self-reliance can lead to lifelong learning in previously colonised countries to trigger sustainable development. The intention of the colonial education system was to train individuals for the service of the colonial powers. The colonised people were exploited and dehumanised by their colonial masters and emerged from the colonial period with knowledge that was irrelevant to their lives. This article used the qualitative research method to collect data as it provides a systematic and objective means to make valid interpretations from verbal, visual or written data in order to describe and quantify education for self-reliance in current educational circles. The literature and participants demonstrate the relevancy of education for self-reliance that would lead to lifelong learning to assist in closing the gap left by irrelevant colonial education. The study therefore indicates how the ideas of education for self-reliance can be adopted by decolonised countries to free themselves from depending on the West.

The role of engineering education has gained prominence within the context of STEM education. New educational perspectives such as the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education consider engineering practices one of the central pillars of a sound STEM education. While this idea of developing a set of practices analogous to those of professional engineering resonates with recent views of STEM education research, current approaches such as the NRC's Framework seem too dependent on and interlinked with the list for scientific practices and adheres to this list too strictly. This paper draws on the NRC's Framework proposing a new set of engineering practices that seek to incorporate the epistemic nuances that differentiate engineering from science. The nine engineering practices proposed contain epistemological nuances that are missing in other proposals, including essential aspects such as problem scoping, identifying multiple solutions, selecting, testing and improving solutions and materializing solutions. This epistemic approach may facilitate students' content learning and thinking development, offering a more comprehensive and realistic view of the STEM fields.

This theoretical piece explores the frame of mind required for a Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM) education in an uncertain time. Predominantly argued from an epistemic standpoint, this paper analyses the relationship between environment, anthropomorphism, the essence of education, and our presumed mastery of nature. In the attempt to envision and realise a form of STEM education with sustainability as a frame of mind that would befit Malaysia, National Wildlife Foundation's Green STEM; Bybee's STEM Literacy; and Bonnett's idea of sustainability were explored. Through the exploration, a possible frame of mind for Green STEM that could facilitate learning and challenge the status quo of being emerges. Ultimately a STEM education with sustainability as a frame of mind is meant to encourage discussion and exploration of issues as it arises rather than being prescriptive. It is hoped that through such an educational approach, we will eventually arrive at a more harmonious way of being.