Education & Pedagogy

Eighty-three students enrolled in general education classrooms and 62 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in bilingual education classrooms were assessed in reading English three times a year using curriculum-based measurement. Fluency in Spanish passages was also assessed for Spanish-speaking ELLs in the bilingual education program. Results showed that Spanish-speaking ELLs read less fluently on English passages than general education students across grades and across testing periods. When general education students reading in English and Spanish-speaking ELLs reading in Spanish were compared, general education students read more fluently in English than Spanish-speaking ELLs did in Spanish. In addition, general education students made more gains over time in reading English than Spanish-speaking ELLs reading in Spanish. These findings suggest that curriculum-based measurement can be a viable methodology for evaluating the rate of progress of Spanish-speaking ELLs in bilingual education programs. In addition, the study points to the need for more research to determine the expected rates of gain in reading among Spanish-speaking ELLs in both English and their native language. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

The article explores the relationship between sociology and sociology of education in the United Kingdom (UK), with specific reference to the development of a sociology of higher education. Though the article is mainly concerned with the UK, the broader issues raised, about the status and location of the sociology of education in relation to sociology, who defines research excellence and research prestige and who collaborates with whom (and why) in social science research, are much more widely relevant. There are three main themes. The first concerns the recent history of sociology of education in the UK and its current location in education departments in higher education institutions. The second theme examines the factors that may have led to or are symptomatic of sociology of education's separation from sociology itself. The third theme is the prospect for the development of the sociology of higher education and its potential for collaborative activity with sociologists and other social scientists. In conclusion, it is argued that the sociology of higher education is well placed to collaborate with sociology and other social sciences, whether in research or in programmes for new academics and professional doctorates. (Contains 3 tables and 7 notes.)

The merits of a marketplace model for public education have been among the most prominent themes in education policy discussions over the last two decades. Advocates of market approaches to education reform contend that creating a market in educational services will foster competition among providers and thus spur delivery of better services at the same or lower cost than providing them through traditional public schools. It is clear that the policy preferences of the past 25 years have increasingly leaned toward privatization. These preferences have been expressed in repeated efforts to promote educational vouchers and by the advocacy of "strong" state charter school laws. Most recently, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, popularly known as the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB), has accelerated the three decade-long trend toward private, for-profit activities in public education. This article provides an overview of privatizing initiatives in K-12 public education and discusses current policies that encourage the expanded involvement of the private sector. The authors also discuss the implications of privatizing activities for aspiring and practicing teachers. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.)

The purpose of this study was to conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the health education profession and discipline in India. Materials from CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and Internet were collected to conduct the open coding of the SWOT analysis. Strengths of health education in India include an elaborate tiered infrastructure, well trained workforce in health education, resources for information dissemination, school health education programs, and ability to conduct systematic needs assessments. Weaknesses of health education in India include focus on only knowledge-based interventions, primary reliance on print media, inability to reach rural and vulnerable areas, no quality assurance, no promotional avenues for health educators, no organization, and outmoded training of health educators. Opportunities include need to involve folk media, enhance participation of unconventional functionaries such as religious leaders, traditional healers, traditional birth attendants (dais), build systematic patient and worksite health education, apply theoretical approaches such as social marketing, involve physicians, and organize health education and health educators in India. Threats include criticism as motivational manipulation and delivery of health education campaigns as techno-managerial, vertical programs without building the infrastructure at the grassroots level.

Addressing federal mandates regarding both the delivery of transition services and access to the general education curriculum has been a challenge for secondary special educators. A practice common to both initiatives, however, has been efforts to promote self-determination. This study examined the impact of promoting self-determination as an instructional strategy to examine (a) the relationship between self-determination and access to the general education curriculum and (b) the impact of promoting self-determination as a curriculum augmentation on access to the general education curriculum for high school students with disabilities. The study implemented a randomized trial control group design in which classroom observations were conducted to determine student access to the general education curriculum before and after the implementation of an instructional model to enable students to self-regulate learning. Analyses were conducted using multilevel model methods. The findings indicated the potential positive impact of promoting self-determination on access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities as well as the degree to which curriculum modifications and other supports are needed to further access and student progress. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

In British adult education Marxism has been a persistent if marginalised current that has consistently informed its more radical movements and practitioners. This article firstly introduces some contested Marxist perspectives on adult education, particularly around the issues of ideology and incorporation into bourgeois society. Secondly, it examines the adult educational context, contrasting the themes of middle-class-provided "liberal" adult education and "independent" working-class education. It then focuses on the trajectories of workers' education in the twentieth century and the contrasting roles Marxist education played in the Communist Party and the National Council of Labour Colleges up to the Second World War. In the post-war period the rebirth of community education in the 1960s and 1970s absorbed more cosmopolitan Marxist influence, such as those of Antonio Gramsci and Paulo Freire. The article ends by assessing what remains of the Marxist tradition in the twenty-first century and the authors conclude that in a capitalist system that remains deeply unequal and globally exploitative, Marxism still offers a valuable framework of analysis through which adult educators may be able to engage in a dialogue with emergent social movements.

This paper explores the expectations of higher education responsiveness of key employer, education, and training constituencies in South Africa. Empirical data was gathered through a series of focus group and individual interviews, and analysed in terms of distinctions in the ideal relationship between education and the workplace. The paper demonstrates that there are clear differences in the way the call for responsiveness is framed and legitimated in the expectations of representatives of the private and public sectors, Professional Associations, Sectoral Education and Training Authorities, and higher education institutions. Nevertheless, a common new model of 'employability' that assumes a direct link between higher education and the labour market increasingly underpins these expectations. The tacit skills, knowledge, and attitudes formerly developed through work experience are now expected to be an integral part of higher education programmes and curricula, to provide the 'soft', 'transverse', 'life', or 'high' skills--as they are variously termed by different sectors. In developing these insights, the study aims to inform the ways in which the higher education sector in South Africa can actively negotiate the terms of its engagement in a new global and national policy context that assigns it new economic roles.

Student safety is an important goal when teaching physically active skills, and school safety standards should be considered as important as the dance content standards for students. More than being complementary, safety standards and content standards are functionally related, because "consistently enforcing safe practices within the framework of school and district policies facilitates effective teaching and learning of course content". A recent survey, however, identified many health and safety concerns in dance education, including inadequate facilities and other deficiencies. The recent emphasis on quality arts education in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (U.S. Department of Education, 2002) makes this an opportune time to reexamine, and urge implementation of, the environmental health and safety standards for dance education and dance in physical education. These standards were developed by the National Dance Association and published, under the title "Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Dance Instruction," as part of Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Arts Education (Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, 1995). They were subsequently combined with the dance content standards (National Dance Association, 1996), the form in which they are currently available. This article describes the five recommended environmental health and safety standards.

The physical education discipline has had a long development, incorporating concepts learned and appreciated from ancient and modern Olympics, exercise and training, physical activity and sport, and the history of physical education itself. Nevertheless, it continues to evolve as educators improve their instructional methods, medical experts discover better ways for people to exercise, and technological advances offer new ways to train and improve the human body for all types of physical activity. Knowing the heritage of physical education allows educators to understand why instruction and curriculum has evolved and how it will continue to change. Through the study of the historical perspective of physical education, students learn why present practices have emerged and why they may change with new knowledge. Understanding a historical perspective of physical education provides adults with the ability to predict future best practices in the discipline and personal best practices for lifelong health and wellness. Teaching about historical perspectives in physical education can be divided into four areas of focus: the discipline of physical education itself, exercise and training, sports, and the Olympics. Each of these areas has contributed to the curricular development of physical education instruction. Additionally, the history or social studies curriculum at each grade level can be enhanced through physical education history.

The 1996 United States Surgeon General's report on physical activity and health represents a watershed moment in the modern history of physical activity and public health. Based on a compelling body of scientific evidence from the fields of medicine, epidemiology, physiology, and health psychology, the Surgeon General's report proclaimed that people of all ages could improve their health and quality of life through lifelong practice of moderate physical activity (United States Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 1996). The purpose of this article is to discuss the status of school physical education since the release of the Surgeon General?s report on physical activity and health nearly a decade ago. Specifically, the article will address four questions: (1) What has been the historical role of physical education in physical activity and public health? (2) What impact, if any, has the Surgeon General?s report has had on physical education programs? (3) What impact should physical education have on public health and physical activity? and (4) What should teacher education programs in physical education do to prepare physical education teachers, given the current role of physical education? (Contains 6 figures and 1 table.)

According to Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), state parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. In this paper we focus on access to higher education for persons with intellectual disabilities and the recognition or non-recognition of these persons as students and learners. The year 2024 marks 30 years since the Salamanca Statement was adopted, and the system of inclusive education still faces many challenges. One challenge is that persons with intellectual disabilities have not yet been included in higher education, although they are included in primary and secondary education as students in special needs education. The aim of this article is to identify and discuss possibilities and obstacles that may be arise when granting persons with intellectual disabilities participation in higher education. Based on experiences from a single case study -- a pilot project developing a higher education programme in human rights for students with intellectual disabilities -- we examine possibilities and obstacles at the institutional level. Using Honneth's relational theory of recognition, we analyse the results with a focus on what can be learned from this project in regard to welcoming students with intellectual disabilities in higher education.

Tertiary education plays a pivotal role in shaping future-proof science education as it provides strong theoretical foundation to advance knowledge and foster innovation. In the context of post-pandemic education, exploring preservice science teachers' perspectives on how they envision science education can be relevant in an increasingly complex, uncertain, volatile, and ambiguous world, is a proactive measure. These preservice general science teachers (n=113) describe their point of views through drawing and narrative description. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis which resulted to four themes. Their perception of how Science education can be future-proofed centered on (1) highly advanced technology use, (2) personalized and adaptive learning (3) curated and open accessible learning resources, and (4) sustainability, social responsibility, and ethics-centered. These conceptions enable these future teachers who are also future leaders to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of a future world. These findings offer valuable insights into the need for teacher training institutions to recalibrate for the future skills in education that their graduates must possess and the curriculum to be designed to promote innovative and inclusive teaching practices.

In response to recent calls for 'cripping sex education', we describe and reflect on an 11-week public pedagogy project in Canada that paired five community sexuality educators with 78 undergraduate students to make digital sexuality education tools for disabled, Deaf, and queer children and youth. From a perspective that argues for a genealogy of crip desire in childhood, we reflect on the possibilities and limitations of an intellectual partnership project, called Cripping Sex Education: Creating Digital Tools for Disabled, Deaf, and Queer Kids. This public pedagogy project centred crip theory, coalition building, and critical digital pedagogy in its aim to discover how cripping sex education might be feasible within the parameters of our institutions, vocations and lives. The work required all partners to consider new pedagogical formations of sexuality education, including through ethical engagements, relational rights, and expansive approaches to access. Interviews with three student participants reveal that cripping sex education involves thinking broadly about accessibility, challenging normalcy and, as disability justice principles attest, centring those who are most impacted. We close with recommendations for future cripping sex education pedagogical work that honours already existent crip desires, childhoods, and futures.

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are a core element of special education in the United States. Within IEPs, IEP goals drive the implementation of IEPs and guide measurement of progress for students with disabilities. Yet research indicates that many IEP goals lack sufficient detail, indicating overall low-quality goals. Additionally, special education teachers can feel unsupported in their jobs and struggle with managing their workloads. This convergent mixed methods study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in special education to address these issues. Specifically, we explored how experienced teachers perceive AI's role in their practice and compared the quality of AI-generated IEP goals to those written by special education teachers. Quantitative findings show no statistically significant difference (p = 0.67) in quality ratings of IEP goals written only by teachers versus AI-generated goals. Qualitative findings depict overall positive perceptions on using AI to facilitate workload. Implications and opportunities for future research and the field centering on continued exploration and training of using generative AI to assist special education teachers are discussed.

This study explores science teachers' perspectives on STEAM education. The participants were sixteen teachers enrolled in a master's program in Science Education at a public university. A purposive sampling technique was used to select these 16 science teachers as participants. Data were collected using eight open-ended structured interview forms. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The findings suggest that science teachers viewed STEAM education as focused on the end product and promoting continuous learning. They defined STEAM by providing examples of its design, the activities involved, and its impact on learning. Science teachers held positive attitudes toward using STEAM education, emphasizing its ability to make real-life connections for students. They also identified various challenges related to implementing STEAM education, including issues with educational resources such as a lack of time, insufficient learning materials, large class sizes, budget limitations, inadequate curriculum and physical facilities, and individual challenges faced by both teachers and students. The study concludes that addressing these challenges is essential, especially when implementing STEAM education activities. Providing appropriate physical conditions, adequate in-service training for teachers, and pre-service training for prospective teachers are considered vital for the future development of high-quality STEAM education.