Education & Pedagogy

Interviews were conducted with 16 elementary school teachers across Canada (eight generalists and eight physical education [PE] specialists) to explore their experiences when instructing PE. Questions were phrased to encourage exploration of the perspectives of generalists and specialists, with a particular focus on teaching philosophy, barriers faced while instructing PE, facilitators and resources that enhance PE instruction, and the teachers' self-efficacy when teaching PE. Generalists noted perceived lack of time, inadequate facilities and equipment, insufficient training, lack of knowledge, and low self-efficacy as barriers. Conversely, specialists noted that their advanced training, professional development opportunities, high self-efficacy, and technology use positively supported their teaching practices.

Quality physical education is the central component to a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP; CDC, 2013). This review begins with a summary of the benefits of physical activity (PA) participation for youth and outlines current PA recommendations and trends. Next, an introduction to the National Framework of Physical Education and PA for schools in the US, that leads into a discussion of what makes a quality physical education program in conjunction with a CSPAP. Some practical strategies for improving PA through modifications to management and instruction, activity design and selection, the infusion of fitness activities follow. Finally, an outline of how a Physical Educator can serve as a Physical Activity Leader and coordinate the implementation of a CSPAP and advocate for policies that support physical education and PA.

Environmental education is an increasingly important concern for policymakers and universities, as it is critical to the success of the broader agenda represented by the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving this within the higher education sector has proven difficult, however. This article examines how an interdisciplinary, extra-curricular course on the justice implications of climate change, delivered as part of University College London's Global Citizenship Programme, combined a range of practical and theoretical methodologies to deliver environmental education and the related concept of education for global citizenship. Evidence indicates that courses such as this could be a powerful means of overcoming the shortcomings in mainstream higher education and equipping students with the skills necessary for them to assist society, at global, national and subnational levels, in transitioning towards more sustainable behaviours.

Wild pedagogies is gaining resonance in outdoor education. This paper examines wild pedagogies from the worldview of its practitioners, by reflecting on their experiences, as well as from the encounters of student-teachers with nature, by drawing on their written testimonies. The paper is also influenced by the authors' experience of attending a 2019 colloquium in Finse, Norway. With the objective of adding value to teaching and learning, wild pedagogies is evolving within the framework of experiential learning theory and as an extension of outdoor education. The authors used a literature review, their experiences, and studentteachers' experiences to generate data. The study concludes that wild pedagogies enhances environmental education and adds value to practical experiences through varied learning opportunities. By applying wild pedagogical approaches to education, students have more freedom to observe, feel, experiment, reflect, and connect with nature.

This article explores the role of affect in influencing whether and how education policy on sustainability is circulated, adopted or resisted. Drawing on empirical data from K-12 education across Canada, the paper examines the mobility of sustainability in education policy in relation to i) collective affective conditions, ii) the mediating influences of affective bodily encounters, and iii) affect as a target of apparatuses of power. The analysis suggests how collective conditions of precarity or environmental responsibility, policy actors' attachments to nature and relationships with other policy actors, and the affective mediations of technologies of power such as eco-certification programs, all contribute to mobilizing sustainability in education policy in the schools, divisions, and ministries under study. The article offers insights for sustainability initiatives in education and for research attending to the affective mobilities of education policy.

Contemporary Froebelian-inspired early childhood education in the United States is challenged by government regulation and accreditation requirements that have arisen alongside neoliberalism in education. Using Critical Policy Analysis and case study examples from a preschool in Atlanta, Georgia, this paper examines the influence of neoliberalism on school readiness discourse, parental expectations for children's education, and teacher preparation programs in early childhood education. For early childhood centers that are inspired by Friedrich Froebel's philosophies of teaching and learning, remaining true to his vision of development and education is increasingly challenged by neoliberal regimes that reify accountability, assessment, and competition. Possibilities for resistance to the neoliberal ideology that regulates early childhood education are described and contextualized by Froebel's writings.

The focus of this article is to provide teacher education programs with recommendations for meeting the educational needs of students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) and learning disabilities (LD) in urban communities. Recommendations include preparing preservice special education teacher educators to effectively implement culturally responsive approaches. The article outlines critical features of teacher education programs that can be modified using culturally responsive approaches to design field experiences and collaboration between schools and teacher education programs to meet the distinctive needs of students in urban environments. Teacher education program leaders can incorporate and use the recommendations to modify programs so that preservice special education teacher educators can be better prepared to be inclusive of all learners and meet their diverse needs.

Instead of asking whether money matters, this paper questions whose money matters in public education. Previous literature on education funding uses an aggregate expenditure per pupil to measure the relationship between education funding and academic performance. Federalism creates mainly three levels of funding sources: federal, state, and local governments. Examining New York State school districts, most equitably funded across school districts among the 50 states, this paper shows that neither federal nor state funds are positively correlated with graduation rates. Only local revenues for school districts indicate a strong positive impact. Parents' money matters. This finding contributes to a contentious discourse on education funding policy in the governments, courts, and academia with respect to education funding and inequality in American public schools.

Liberal education is a product of the Western academy and is today most prominent in the USA, but in recent years has been described in various national contexts where it has seldom existed before. However, the spread of liberal education has been underexplored in some regions, such as sub-Sharan Africa, and empirical research is limited on how liberal education curricula are adapted in African contexts. In this qualitative case study, I explore the global, national, and local forces that have influenced an African liberal education program--the General Studies curriculum at the University of Nigeria Nsukka--over time. Analysis of primary and secondary textual sources indicates that at the global level the legacies of colonialism, dynamics of globalization, and agency of transnational partners and actors have influenced the character and evolution of General Studies in Nigeria since its inception.

The study's purpose is twofold and examines (a) major challenges veterans may encounter while enrolled in higher education, and (b) veterans' perceptions of utilizing higher education as a transitional tool to the civilian workforce. A qualitative design was employed in this study. Data were collected utilizing three focus groups (N = 11). The findings concerning veterans' challenges in pursuit of higher education are the following: (a) us versus them, (b) difference in the learning environment, (c) institutional barriers, and (d) networking. The current study provides an additional discussion platform for educators, institutions of higher education, and veterans affairs departments--it is a potential opportunity to design learning environments, policies, and practices that will enhance the overall process of veterans' transitions and create environments in higher education that are truly veteran-friendly.

The Internationalization of Higher Education has led to uneasiness among non-US universities about their international reputation, ranking, and local legitimacy generating a growing interest in US accreditation. Specifically, non-US Colleges of Education pursue accreditation through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) to validate program quality, obtain positive recognition, and gain perceived benefits. This essay contends that under the facades of internationalization and quality assurance, CAEP uses four approaches to internationalization to replicate US teacher education programs outside US borders. The process legitimizes particular educational practices while simultaneously delegitimizing and rejecting local practices establishing teacher education programs that look and perform similar to US programs designed for an American setting. Discussion is provided that advances the conversation about IHE and accreditation including the unique consequences that emerge for non-US teacher education programs and the indigenous people and culture.

This paper extends well-established arguments for the liberal potential of vocational education by advocating for the "necessity" of craft learning in a liberal education curriculum. The case for the necessity of craft learning in liberal education is established in two parts, the first looking toward Aristotle and the second toward Heidegger. First, ideas from Aristotle are employed to articulate a vision of liberal education as that which supports the performance of our characteristic human activity. The paper then splits with Aristotle to suggest that such activity is not defined by rational contemplation, but rather by the circumspective engagement with materials through which our being-in-the-world becomes apparent to us. If, as Heidegger suggests, these practical engagements demonstrate our most fundamental mode of encountering the world and one another, then any liberal education focused on the fulfillment of our potential for understanding must include some craft learning by necessity.

Enrolments of students with disabilities in higher education have increased steadily over recent decades. Yet, conjecture about the application of inherent requirements, which can prevent students in some circumstances from entering professions of their choosing, endure. This paper offers those connected to higher education three points to enhance their thinking about inherent requirements. These involve (i) foregrounding ethics in matters of integrity; (ii) orienting differently to disability, and (iii) questioning qualification to employment guarantees. Recommendations for practice are then made. The paper concludes that inclusive education can no longer be measured on enrolment quantifiers alone -- how higher education providers create opportunity for all learners to study and transition to employment must surely follow. Rather than perpetuating homogeneity upon the world of education and work, higher education can utilise inherent requirements to increase social justice and equity.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this comprehensive literature review was to analyze the current body of social justice research in Physical Education Teacher Education conducted in the United States exclusively. As a secondary purpose, we defined social justice as articulated in the Physical Education Teacher Education literature and summarized discourse undergirding social justice principles. Method: The research design was documentary analysis with keyword searches used to identify articles from selected electronic databases over a 15-year period from 2005 through 2020. Thirteen articles met all inclusion criteria (i.e., empirical studies). These studies were retrieved, reviewed, coded, analyzed thematically, and summarized. Findings/Discussion: From this process, six major recurrent themes emerged: (a) social justice in Black context; (b) learning social justice; (c) diversified and racialized identities; (d) competencies and pedagogies; (e) viewpoints; and (f) criticality and pluralism.

In this paper, I study management and business education in Pakistan to evaluate their suitability for the local context and their compatibility with Islamic philosophy of education. I use decolonial theory and Iqbalian poetry to craft an evaluative lens for management education and to generate an alternative critical discourse grounded in theology. I found that utilitarianism and managerialism taught in the business schools is creating "captive minds" and is not compatible with traditional Pakistani norms and values. I use decolonial theorists' idea of pluriversality to offer an alternative. In this manner, I contribute to the critical educational philosophy by showing its parochial character. I argue that addressing the legacy of colonialism is important to develop an emancipatory and new way of thinking about education.