Education & Pedagogy

The research question for this paper is: How can we mobilise robust hope in the analysis of teacher education policy? Specifically, this paper asks how a robust hope framework might speak to the "Top of the Class," a report into teacher education by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training.

While identity has long been a prominent focus of education, and religious education, in Europe and Britain, little explicit attention has been given to it in Australia, even though its importance as an educational goal is implied. This paper reports on a project concerned with "education in identity" which attempted to address this imbalance. A generic notion of education in identity is developed, underpinned by a conceptualisation of identity and of what constitutes identity health.

This paper describes education reform projects designed to bring about major improvements in school and tertiary student outcomes. Individually the projects illustrate characteristics of educational reform in local contexts for primary, secondary and tertiary education. In combination they signal key components essential to getting large scale high-quality school and tertiary education cultures geared to student success.

Honors education has the potential to serve as the foundation for reform of undergraduate education. Calls for reform during the last three decades have not resulted in change, in large measure because of the failure to engage the faculty and students in the effort. While prescriptions for change have abounded, conditions on campus and within society at large have not proven favorable. This article suggests that the implementation of Honors education helps to create the conditions supportive of reform.

The report submitted by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education includes faulty claims and reasoning that devalue special education and hinder efforts to better meet the needs of students with disabilities. We question the commission's findings and recommendations regarding closing the achievement gap, practicing prevention, identifying students with disabilities, and disproportionality.

This article describes a university science course that integrates physics, education, and community outreach. The class both improves student mastery of science and teaching as well as addresses the university's mission to pursue research, education, and community service. The structure, implementation, and effectiveness of the course are discussed to present one approach or model for science education. (Contains 2 figures.)

This essay outlines the potential role for Kieran Egan's (1990) notion of "romantic understanding" in science education. A summary of conventional approaches to science education is followed by a detailed analysis of the implications that romantic understanding may have for the science curriculum, teaching and student learning. In particular the relationship between teaching scientific concepts versus scientific ideas is discussed as well as the possible role in science teaching of inspiration, anticipation, and aesthetic understanding.

This article explores one seminary's methodology for addressing the challenges and opportunities that online theological education presents in a Master of Divinity program. An implementation model for online courses is presented to foster holistic theological development, thus ensuring the establishment and progression of a spiritual and learning community. Implications for research and practice in Christian higher education are discussed.

Six Sigma is a buzz term in today's technology and business world and there has been increasing interest to initiate Six Sigma training in college education. We have successfully incorporated Six Sigma methodology training into a traditional chemical engineering course, Engineering Experimentation, at Texas Tech University. The students have obtained hands-on experiences to learn the Six Sigma methodology and a unique and integrative experience to practice engineering and business concepts simultaneously. (Contains 3 figures.)

Educational research and professional practice, though assuredly capable of providing reciprocal benefits one to the other, have, nevertheless, evolved into decidedly different activities. Increasingly, each has a separate and defensible technical basis. Doctoral programs in education should honor and reflect, not conflate, the differences. The Ed.D. is now deserving of prominent billing as the degree of choice for education practitioners.

Linda Halgunseth, head of NAEYC's Office of Applied Research (OAR), tells readers about Child Care and Early Education Research Connections, a Web site (www.researchconnections.org/teaching_modules) to help teacher educators integrate knowledge about evidence-based practices into teacher education programs. In addition, the article touts the usefulness of NAEYC's OAR as a resource for research and guidelines (www.naeyc.org/resources/research).

The authors discuss the Higher Education Evaluation Center, the administrative body under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Education responsible for organizing and conducting evaluation of baccalaureate and associate degree programs offered at different universities and colleges in China. The Center also conducts research on regulations and policies on higher education reform, provides recommendations for decision-makers, and develops international cooperation and exchanges with other higher education evaluation/accreditation agencies.

In this rejoinder, the authors further detail their positions on the role of gaps analyses in mathematics education research as outlined in the previous 2 articles. They clarify areas of agreement and probe areas of disagreement, focusing on the benefits and dangers they see in either emphasizing educational disparities between groups or shifting the focus to the advancement of particular groups. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Describes how self-assessment was introduced into a Certificate in Education course for practicing British teachers in the post-compulsory sector and how the method and instrument of self-assessment was refined over successive cohorts, focusing on an action research project that was developed to change students' responses to the self-assessment's assessment criteria. (SM)

The standards movement seeks to bridge the gap between universities and schools, smoothing the transition for student teachers from novice to professional. The imposition of standards and close monitoring of learning outcomes potentially violates the affective bond between student and teacher and the teacher's commitment to education. Resolving this tension requires a high degree of empathy for the developing teacher. (SM)