2. The forms of formal schooling are usually very difficult to change. From your own experience have you ever tried (successfully or not) to change some aspect of formal schoolingfor example, trying to get some rule or regulation changed? If so, were you successful? What did you learn from the experience?3. What are some of the complex understandings of teaching that you noticed in Chapter Six? Compare these portrayals of teaching /learning values and practices with those in educational and cultural contexts familiar to you?B. Comparative Pedagogy: For this week’s discussion I’d like to focus on Chapter Four of the Mundy compilation: Understanding Pedagogy: Cross-Cultural and Comparative Insights from Central Asia and the Developing World by Sarfaroz Niyozov.
This chapter suggests that despite knowledge of active learning pedagogies, most Tajik teachers do not use such interactive teaching practices while teaching the mainstream curriculum.Why do you think this is the case? Is this any different than the teaching and learning contexts youve experienced? To what extent, in your experience do Canadian teachers use active learning practices in their classrooms? Think of some examples of effective interactive classroom lessons youve observed and some examples of ineffective traditional pedagogy and share them with the class.C. Assessment and Accountability in an International Context: Last week our discussions referenced the issue of high stakes testing as a potential obstacle to innovative practice. This week, when reading Chapters Five and Thirteen, we’ll be asked to consider some of the impacts of school effectiveness and accountability movements on schools and school systems.There are three potential discussion threads I would like for you to consider. Please don’t feel as if you have to respond to all of these. Select the one that most strongly resonates with you and develop your posting this week around that question.1. Like other countries, the federal and provincial/state-level governments in North America spend a proportion of their budgets on large-scale standardized tests and performance indicator systems (e.g., PISA, TIMSS, pan-Canadian indicators reports, etc..) Why have governments become so interested in participating in efforts to compare their educational performance? Support your response with evidence.2. Some critics have raised concerns about widespread reliance on international comparisons of education systems. What kinds of limits should we be aware of when assessing information from international assessments and indicators? Support your response with evidence.3. Why are some teachers are skeptical about international assessment research? Do some research on the topic and provide an informed opinion on the extend to which international assessments and indicators offer valuable information. Do you think they are more valuable for educators or for policymakers and the public? Explain.D. Gender and Schooling Required Reading: Chapter Seven 1. Think about your own familys experience of gender and education and your parents and grandparents experience of education in their lifetimes. What role did gender play in the educational experiences of the three generations of your family? (For example, think about access to education, reasons for attending and/or dropping out, gender roles, academic ambitions or frustrations, and economic considerations.)2. Compare this chapters international perspectives on gender and education with some present-day gender issues that may affect: your life as a teacher, the experiences of your various students (e.g., wealthier and poorer, young and old, culturally diverse), interactions in your classroom and your own or your partners future career trajectory.E. Perfect Storm: In the following excerpt from Galway and Dibbon (2012) we offer a theorization for how, after 150 years of strongly held Church influence, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador were able to wrest control of education from the religious denominations. We use the metaphor of a perfect storm to suggest that because of the convergence of so many significant policy drivers social, religious, economic, political-democratic and pragmatic the reform of the denominational system of education in Newfoundland was inevitable. These factors, combined with the actions of certain policy entrepreneurs, notably Premiers Clyde Wells and Brian Tobin, finally reformed a system steeped in a tradition of religious segregation. conceptualization for educational reform in the Newfoundland context draws on the work of Kingdon (1995), who explains policy formation in terms of agenda setting and decision-making under conditions of ambiguity. Unlike theories that base their principles on the existence of a set of stable social parameters or equilibrium, multiple streams (MS) theory takes a discursive perspective on policy systems; it defines them as constantly evolving without necessarily settling into stasis. According to the three-stream model (problems, policies and politics), policy issues (problems) come to light either through identification by officials and policy advisors, research and indicators, catastrophic events or feedback on existing policies and programs. In the context of the Newfoundland education system, the problems stream emerged in the form of a radically contracting enrolment base, continued low achievement in the face of an increasingly global economy, fiscal shortfalls, poor quality infrastructure and a general loss of faith in the denominational structure.The object of the discussion this week is to begin a conversation about religious rights in education, the rationales for educational reform, the question of minority rights and other relevant topics. I’m going to leave the specific focus wide open.First complete the readings and watch the three companion videos, featuring Dr. Philip Warren, Dr. Alice Collins, and the former Lieutenant Governor, Mr Edward Roberts in discussion and debate about denominational reform. This comes from a series of videos from a conference on denominational education reform I organized a few years back. Then make a comment or observation, or critique something from the readings or videos.I’m not looking for a lengthy post. Just make your points in a paragraph or two and try to engage with the other people in the class on this topic in a way where we create a conversation that can be carried forward as Part Two of the course unfolds.F. Neolberal and Economic Drivers of Education Reform: Read Chapters 4 and 5 from your text and design your post this week around one of the following questions:1. The original Aims of Education from 1959 (See Appendices in the Galway and Dibbon Text) were still foundational to the content and organization of curriculum in Newfoundland and Labrador until the 1990s. Examine this document and reflect on how the foundations of K12 education have changed. Is there a place for these values in todays schools? To what extent are neoliberal values in conflict with the Aims of Education?2. Considering the massive decline in enrolment and the difficult financial position of the Newfoundland and Labrador government in the 1990s and early 2000s, do you feel the restructuring of 1997 was justified? Do you feel the restructuring of 2004 (from 10 school districts to four) or 2013 (from four school districts to one) was justified? Why or why not?G. Post-Reform Issues: Our discussion this week focuses on the broader lessons and policy implications of the transitions from and system administered and controlled by the Christian Churches to one that is secular. Respond to one or more of the discussion questions below:1. Although the reforms were set in the Newfoundland and Labrador context, the struggles, discourses, and changes have broader application to other educational settings. What can we learn from the positions of Edward Hancock, Bonaventure (Bon) Fagan or Bryce Hodder that can be applied or compared to, say the issues and struggles taking place in other provinces or local contexts?2. How important are the positions of Hancock and Fagan to considerations of educational reforms, particularly in provinces like Ontario and Alberta that still operate parochial, private and religious schools?3. In considering debates around character and moral education, to what extent does the model of religious education described by Hodder have a place in today’s schools?H. Consider the topics taken from (Chapter 7&8) readings and choose one to comment on this week.Chapter SevenBy most accounts there is public support for the separate Catholic school system in Ontario, but not for extending it any further to other religious groups; why do you suppose the public does not support expanding the principle of denominational schools further and establishing separate schools for other denominations? Is this a form of discrimination?Chapter EightSince both forms of rights are or were constitutionally protected, how are the rights of religious minorities similar to or different from the rights of linguistic minorities? I. This week we’re discussing the practical implications of the reform of school boards. I’ll pose three discussion topics – one corresponding to each of the three chapters under study this week.Choose one of the topics and make a comment:Chapter 10What kinds of claims does Bruce Sheppard make about the impact of structural reform on teaching and learning? In your comments discuss the kinds of evidence he provides for these claims.Chapter 11Some authors have suggested that governments are content for school boards to make unpopular decisions such as closing schools, but quick to intervene if the decision creates political problems. Think about the examples provided in this chapter and your own experiences. Do you agree?Chapter 12Mary Green is critical of the reform process because it disrupts personal circumstances causing people to go into survival mode and leading to potentially dysfunctional school districts. In an ideal world how might school districts be reconfigured while respecting the notion of care for individuals?
