Education & Pedagogy

The task of hiring special education teachers may seem daunting because they serve in what is undeniably the most complex of teaching roles. This article provides guidance and suggestions for identifying key competencies that a viable special education teacher candidate should possess. Although many building leaders may still subscribe to gut instinct when hiring teachers, the information provided in this article can strengthen their decision-making in finding and hiring effective special educators. Five key competencies are identified, including: (1) Maximizing literacy learning; (2) Implementing positive behavior supports; (3) Teaching students who have significant disabilities; (4) Using technology to support curricular access, participation, and learning; and (5) Helping teams implement effective practices for diverse learners in general education classrooms. (Contains 2 online resources.)

The entry of China in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 holds a number of promises for educational services. The purpose of this article is to explore both the direct and the indirect influence of China's entry into WTO on its education system. The direct influence mainly refers to the increase in the demand for education overseas and in the number of foreign students studying in China, the cooperation between China and educational institutions overseas, and China's administrative and legal frameworks for education. As to the indirect influence, the article focuses on the impact of economic growth on public and private expenditure on education, of income growth on demand for education and of changes in industrial structure on educational output. On this basis, the article examines the challenges that China's education system will face following its entry into the WTO.

This article reports the findings of a project--Lifelong Learning and Teacher Education--undertaken by the Centre for Lifelong Learning, Australian Catholic University, under the auspices of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training. The study was designed to investigate the operationalisation of lifelong learning in Australian teacher education. The assessment practices within Faculties of Education were among a range of issues investigated in the study. The study revealed that there is a range of existing innovative assessment practices that are in keeping with emerging ideas about lifelong learning. In this article, some of the current practices with procedures for setting and assessing standards in Australian Faculties of Education are described and discussed from a lifelong learning perspective. (Contains 4 figures.)

Teacher education programs use a variety of assessment strategies to help their prospective teachers acquire the teaching skills necessary to teach physical education. Some educators have criticized teacher education for perpetuating the view that learning to teach is merely a personal challenge to acquire skills such as giving clear directions and providing accurate feedback. The purpose of this article is to describe an assessment strategy regarding refection skills used to help physical education teacher candidates improve their teaching. Although reflection as an assessment strategy can be applied to many different teaching areas, this article focuses only on the instructional and managerial aspects of teaching. An application of this assessment strategy within the standards of a teacher education accrediting agency and guidelines for candidates when writing reflective notes are presented. (Contains 1 table.)

The National Standards for Physical Education (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2004) and many state physical education standards include a standard that is focused on development of movement patterns, which includes rhythmic skills. The newly adopted Physical Education Model Content Standards for California Public Schools (2005), for example, includes the rhythmic component for all grades in Standard 1 (demonstrate motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities). While there are a variety of exciting and creative ways to address this standard, many physical education teachers (at all stages of their career) squirm at the idea of teaching rhythmic concepts. In this article, the author provides physical educators with activities that will ease their discomfort with rhythmic lessons and enhance student enjoyment. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

This paper reports a three-year study of Praxis Inquiry based developments in teacher education undertaken by an international consortium of university colleagues who have worked in Australia, Iceland, Latvia, and the United Kingdom. Our study suggests that the attainment of inclusive community responsive pedagogies--in schools and in teacher education programs--is situated in the public/personal dialectic between the transformation of individual values, world views, ethics and practice, and the sociocultural and structural factors that mediate equity, access, and opportunity in educational systems. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table and 9 footnotes.)

The aim of this article is to explore and discuss entrepreneurship education, and to raise some critical questions inspired by the work of Basil Bernstein. The discussion is based on writings on entrepreneurship education and thereby gives one picture of the intellectual debate on entrepreneurship education. In contrast to traditional education, viewed as transformation of knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship education is said to be about changing attitudes and motives. There is a consensus in the field that students can be successfully endowed with an entrepreneurial culture, when their attitudes are changed in the desired way. The focus on fostering a certain identity in entrepreneurship education might be seen as a part of the ongoing neo-liberal oriented educational restructuring process, which is sweeping through Europe. (Contains 2 notes.)

Pre-service English teacher education students' perceptions of their education experience provide greater insight into developing an effective teaching strategy in English teacher education. The objectives for the study were: (1) to identify issues of interest or concern to the department and (2) to determine satisfaction levels concerning departmental issues. Data were drawn from focus group interviews involving 5 student-teachers in each of 5 groups. The findings showed that the English teacher education department students thought that the department was not fulfilling many of its purposes, although there were some strengths. Identifying what students think can help to open English teacher educators' eyes and minds to the realities of the English teacher education both locally and globally.

This research study was originally commissioned by ESCalate as part of its agenda for developing induction support for pre-service teacher educators in England. The study aimed to collect examples of the practices used by Higher Education Institutions in inducting new teacher educators and to analyse induction provision from the perspectives of a sample of individuals. The findings indicate that most induction provision occurs within teacher education departments, often at the micro levels of the teaching team. It is therefore best understood as work-based learning. Whilst the study found some examples of positive induction experiences, it also raises concerns about the consistency, quality and nature of other induction provision in teacher education. (Contains 1 note and 4 tables.)

This paper provides a synthetic overview of the complex dimensions that shape the interrelations between the massification of higher education systems and their structure and composition. Many higher education systems worldwide expanded extensively in the last decades, and have undergone wide and deep structural changes. Most notably, the diversity of many higher education systems has increased dramatically, both horizontally and vertically. We address in this paper the following issues: external and internal boundaries of higher education systems; top-down and bottom-up forces; globalization and supra-national trends; flexibility; and public and private sectors. These themes highlight most crucial issues to which higher education policy makers are advised to pay attention to when deliberating what are the best ways to implement the expansion of their higher education systems, and what should be the desirable diversity in their national contexts.

It is argued that a traditional approach to religious education is not sufficient to meet the necessities of contemporary world. For this reason, pluralistic approaches to religious education receive a particular attention in the recent years. In line with the other school subjects, the curriculum of secondary religious education was changed in Turkey. It is stated that the new curriculum was prepared taking the constructivist learning theory into consideration. The new curriculum may be accepted as a response to the demand for change in religious education. In this article, the following three issues related to pluralism are examined in terms of the new religious education curriculum: (i) Religious education and constructivist approach, (ii) the teaching of Alawism and (iii) the teaching of non-Islamic religions. An analysis of the curriculum indicates that some improvements have been made in line with pluralism.

This paper examines the framings that the fields of the social studies of science and science education use for each other. It is shown that the social studies of science frames science education as passive and timeless. Science education frames science studies as a set of representations to better capture how science works. The paper then proceeds to sketch an alternative in which schools are understood, drawing on actor-network theory and cultural studies of science, as constituted through contesting scientific practices and discourses and, therefore, are proper objects of study within science studies frameworks. The curricular implications are briefly developed, emphasizing the need for much more reflection upon and activism within science education regarding the technoscientific constitution of students and schools. (Contains 1 table.)

Historically, schools have stressed test scores and standardized curricula, which have failed Native children. A culture of uniformity that shapes the education system has been cultivated. From the U.S. Department of Education to the Bureau of Indian Education, the emphasis has been on promoting sameness rather than focusing on meaningful content. To close achievement gaps, one must think critically and creatively. This article compares the typical one-size-fits-all, standards-based, test-driven, textbook-focused curriculum found in most schools across the United States and Canada with that of tribal college and university (TCU) teacher preparation programs and tribally controlled schools in order to gain a greater appreciation for the efficacy of tribally specific, culturally responsive curricula.

This narrative exploration utilizes Critical Race Theory to conceptualize the interconnectedness of capitalism and racism in music education. Rhythm and pitch--two foundational elements of music--are used to analyze how inequities in social, academic, economic, and political systems are perpetuated in music education. The elements of rhythm and pitch also provide sociocultural and historical perspective that reveal patterns of human oppression. This exploration provides a lens from a Black/African American music educator into the impact of capitalism in music education, specifically those who identify themselves within the Black/African diaspora. A greater understanding within this critical exploration provides insight that assists in identifying and dismantling barriers within current capitalistic systems, which could lead to the self-liberation of the Black community, as well as a socioacademically just, equitable, and inclusive music education that supports all people in K-12 and higher education.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder that impacts approximately 1 in 36 students. Because of its high prevalence, it is likely that all physical education teachers will serve students with ASD during their careers. Although physical education leads to many improvements in students' physical and social skills, students with ASD may experience challenges in the integrated physical education setting due to various factors, including motivation, skill proficiency, challenging behaviors, and sensory stimulation. The purpose of this article is to describe the challenges faced by some students with ASD in integrated physical education and to provide novice teachers with possible behavioral strategies to address these challenges.