Education & Pedagogy

Amidst calls for libraries to regain their socially progressive roots and connections to community, this study analyzes two interwoven cases of nonformal, community education in northeastern Nova Scotia, initiated by libraries that aimed to revive those links. Through a reading circle and a people's school, librarians used historical materials on the Antigonish Movement of that area to help people not only understand their social movement past but also critique what was missing and apply the principles to contemporary problems. The study explored the interplay between identity, locality, and history, as well as the library's role and what could be learned from the activities. This study makes a contribution to adult education in, through, and with libraries in what is currently an underresearched area.

Little is known of the identities and practices of teacher educators in Pakistan. This paper aims to contribute towards redressing that situation. It draws on part of a larger scale study to explore the lives of two teacher educators in one of the largest cities in the country, discussing what influences individuals as they develop their professional identities and practices working as teacher educators in government colleges of education. Using a life history approach, the paper shows that these teacher educators see themselves as "ustadoon ka ustad" (teacher of teachers), with more professional status and influence over education than school teachers. But during their early experiences of teacher education, both individuals face challenges owing to the boundary-crossing nature of their work between school and higher education contexts. (Contains 1 figure.)

We conducted a qualitative study of the experiences of 23 Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) participants to determine what participants found significant about their course and to what course elements they attributed this significance. Participants experienced personal transformations, which they attributed to spending extended time in pristine nature, separation of the course from normal life, the community that formed among course participants, and the intensity and challenge of the course. Whereas outcomes related to personal growth, as opposed to changes in environmental behaviors (instrumental learning), are consistent with participant motivations for joining OAE courses and with most course activities, transformative learning theory suggests ways in which courses might integrate personal growth with instrumental learning to better foster environmental behaviors post-course. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study investigated the effectiveness of an Early Childhood Education science methods course that focused exclusively on providing various mastery (i.e., enactive, cognitive content, and cognitive pedagogical) and vicarious experiences (i.e., cognitive self-modeling, symbolic modeling, and simulated modeling) in increasing preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Forty-four preservice elementary teachers participated in the study. Analysis of the quantitative (STEBI-b) and qualitative (informal surveys) data revealed that personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs increased significantly over the semester. Enactive mastery, cognitive pedagogical mastery, symbolic modeling, and cognitive self-modeling were the major sources of self-efficacy. This list was followed by cognitive content mastery and simulated modeling. This study has implications for science teacher educators.

This article explores use of several terms that signify Islam, and provides guidelines to clarify their use in internal and external discourses. Building on this foundation, the article delineates a typology of Islamic education and their associated institutions. This enhances understanding of important conceptual differences that hinge upon subtle variations of language as in the distinction between education of Muslims and for Muslims, and between teaching Islam and teaching about Islam. The article then seeks to elucidate a theoretical conception of "Islamic education," that takes into consideration Islamic scripture and Prophetic statements, along with commonly-held approaches to education in Muslim history. The article concludes that key motivations and characteristics of a holistic and purposeful education program are shared between Islamic and Western traditions, a phenomenon partially explained by the shared and cumulative transmission of educational values and methods from classical times until the present. (Contains 9 notes.)

The issue of what constitutes or should constitute the "core" in library and/or information science (LIS) education and training is one that is frequently debated. This article reviews literature related to this matter and cites findings from an empirical study conducted in South Africa on library and/or information science education and training. The literature reviewed as well as findings in the study suggest that while it is possible to identify certain knowledge and skill components as being appropriate for the core library and/or information science curriculum for a first-level LIS qualification, it is difficult to be precise about what exactly constitutes or should constitute the core in library and/or information science education and training. This core is continuously evolving, as the information environment to which LIS education and training programmes need to respond is also in a state of flux. (Contains 4 notes.)

The author examines character education within the context of early twentieth-century, Black schooling and discusses how school founders, Mary McLeod Bethune, Nannie Helen Burroughs, and Charlotte Hawkins Brown, used the language and practice of character education to help their students confront racism and navigate a segregated society. These educators used a variety of indirect character education strategies to achieve two primary purposes. First, by developing and showcasing the character of their students, they sought to gain respectability and economic security for their graduates. Second, they used character education as a tool to nurture strong and spiritually vibrant Black communities. Their emphasis on community building reflected both African traditions and early twentieth-century conceptions of civic responsibility. (Contains 9 notes.)

The health and well-being of dancers is a critical but often neglected issue. Dancers face the pressure of extreme physical and emotional demands and lean body weight, which can result in musculoskeletal injuries, disordered eating behaviors, endangered health, and diminished artistic performance. Unfortunately, many do not receive adequate training to assist them in developing healthy life behaviors or the ability to deal appropriately with compelling pressures to conform to artificial standards. This article describes current wellness issues of dance students and includes an example for a Wellness for Dancers course, an historical review of developments in the fields of dance medicine and science, an analysis of the current status of dance wellness education in higher education dance programs, and recommendations for future improvements to enhance dancers' health and well-being. (Contains 4 tables.)

Misrepresentation, appropriation, and denigrating Indigenous knowledge is still common practice in educational institutions despite efforts of critical educators to challenge these practices. One such challenge was to papier mache totem poles in an education institution's library in a faculty of education that houses teacher education programs. A papier mache cross focused attention on the use and misuse of symbols and educated people about the problematic representational practices of papier mache totem poles and crosses. What are the cultural discourses that support the inclusion of false representations of Indigenous knowledge in an education library? I draw attention to strategies and practices of challenging misrepresentation through the use of Indigenous media in education, examine challenges in changing institutional climates of teacher education, and encourage discussion of how Indigenous knowledge and people can be full partners in educational institutions.

Issues of educational equity and opportunity cannot be understood without regard to special education, as a key response to disabilities, disadvantages, and difficulties. Likewise, globalization cannot be understood without regard to cross-border migration and minority group status in society. Illuminating the nexus of these, research into disproportionality in special education, defined as the over- or under-representation of particular ethnic groups in such programs, shows that this, too, has become a global phenomenon. Comparing Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the USA, this article explores international trends in migration and discusses the globalization of ethnic group disproportionality--as a primary indicator of inequity in education. We conclude by questioning the functions of special education in an era of globalization and identifying the challenges ahead that these findings indicate. (Contains 5 tables.)

The past decades saw a rise in internationalised education in Europe. Based on case studies at Dutch schools, I argue that the introduction of this type of education can be understood by the increased need for schools to adapt to the social reproduction strategies of privileged social classes. School managers regard internationalised streams as a way to counter a decline of pupils or as a strategy to improve an already secure position. In both cases, they resisted protesting staff in their efforts to establish an exclusive image of their internationalised stream. I argue that school managers' inclination to emphasise the exclusive and "high-quality" profile of their internationalised streams and their propensity to celebrate the abilities of their pupils stem from their competitive engagement with local education markets. (Contains 2 tables.)

This paper meshes Carr's research on media literacy with Porfilio's research on computer literacy, with both of these areas being focused on the central notion of social justice within a multicultural society. Both researchers teach pre-service teachers, and have an interest in extending multicultural education, which often equates, overlaps with, and complements intercultural education. The key issue probed throughout this paper relates to the potential for (critical) multicultural education to take place in and through attempts to inculcate a media and computer literacy that surpasses simplistic notions of tolerance, respect and basic knowledge of the "Other". The research underscores the need for formal and informal approaches to inculcating media and computing literacy in the classroom, which, ultimately, support a more robust critical multiculturalism in schools.

China opened its market to the world after it entered The World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the turn of the last century. The Chinese Ministry of Education recently reviewed a series of policies about international cooperation in higher education with foreign countries in an effort to standardise their practice through centralised control. The purpose of this paper is to analyse current features and trends in international cooperation in Chinese higher education. This paper also develops a benefit-driven model of the internationalisation of Chinese higher education, and attempts to address the reasons for the marketability of cooperative programs in China. Finally, this paper discusses the issues related to the internationalisation of Chinese higher education, and makes recommendations for Australian universities intending to enter the Chinese higher educational market successfully. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

This paper analyses the measurement issues in education achievement, and integration of education goals and targets, in the context of human development in India. Measurement issues are distinguished by (a) choice of indicators and variables and (b) data used in estimation/projection/computation of indicators and variables in the global human development reports (HDRs) and in India's national and sub-national HDRs. This analysis establishes the non-comparability of measurement of the education achievement by indicators and variables, and shows a case for integration of education goals and targets between global, national and sub-national levels. Policy implications and imperatives from these analyses of the Indian experiences offer lessons for measurement of education achievement in developing countries. (Contains 5 tables and 24 footnotes.)

The aim of this survey is to search the learning strategies of the Education faculty students, who will teach geography, according to different varieties. First of all, the measure of geography learning strategy was developed. It was found that the students with high academic success for geography lesson. Other data of this survey is that the students with relevance perception for geography much frequently used the learning strategies compared to the students with low and moderate relevance perception for geography. Significant differences were found in the point of frequency of using the learning strategies for geography related with the types of programme entrance point and male-female students and between university students attending deportment of elementary learning education and the students of the social sciences education and the students of the social sciences education department. (Contains 8 tables.)