Suchergebnisse

Examines the decision by the State School Board for Kansas to delete the topic of Darwinian evolution from the required curriculum for high school biology, and the topic of big-bang cosmology from the required curriculum for high school physics.

Critical Rationalism has become an influential philosophy in many areas including a great number of scientific disciplines. Yet only few studies have been devoted to the role of the philosophy of Sir Karl Popper in the vast field of education. This volume undertakes to fill this gap. Leading scholars in the educational science and in the philosophy of education have critically written for this volume in an attempt to elaborate Popper's methodological and socio-political views and confront them with a globally relevant spectrum of scientific objectives and cultural values. Among the topics discussed are moral values, education for freedom and its consequences for the student, and the critical attitude in political education. Attention is also paid to the historiography of this significant philosophical movement. Regarding pedagogical research, the empirical paradigm, the falsificatory approach to educational research, the complex relationship between educational theory and practice as well as the problem of value-neutrality in educational science are objects of critical analysis

This paper attempts first to review the state of affairs in educational institutions with reference to science education visa- vis the expected standards. Secondly, the effort of Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, to provide pre-university institutions with adequate resources for science teaching, especially from 1986 to 1995, are discussed, Thirdly, the identified problems which may have eluded the attention of planners and administrators in charge of the educational reforms are mentioned and analyzed. Finally, probable solutions and suggestions are made to assist the authorities concerned to revisit the blueprint of 'the Educational Reforms Programme and make the necessary modifications.

Antinaturalists, interpretivists, critical theorists, postmodernists, and deconstructivists have been highly critical of educational research methods that are theory driven, hypothesis testing, or generalization producing. According to extreme versions of these views research can only provide findings that are "contextually bound", in which case educational researchers should concentrate more on "telling stories" than "crunching numbers". With respect to literacy, these critics have questioned the feasibility of attempting to develop a general theory of how children learn to read (and write), and what can be done to maximize the effectiveness of literacy instruction for all children in the light of such findings. Instead, children's literacy experiences are seen as firmly embedded in social contexts that uniquely give meaning to their uses of literacy. In this paper we present an alternative view that begins with a definition of reading literacy that simultaneously incorporates psychological, linguistic, and sociological perspectives. We then present a brief critique of the position that literacy is primarily social, political, and relative, before turning to the primary focus of the paper, which is to provide specific examples of how theory-driven quantitative research can inform educational practice in literacy.

At the cultural heart of the intellectual awakening, oral-Nahḍa, that arose with Egypt's modernization movement in the 19th century was the endeavor to legitimize the innovations which came in the train of military, scientific, technical, and educational imports from the West. The vanguard of this movement, unlike that of the one taking place at the same time in Istanbul, came from leading religious shaykhs in the government's employ. It may seem remarkable that graduates and teachers of such a conservative religious institution as al-Azhar took the lead as spokesmen for change, particularly when models of this change came from the Christian West, the traditional antagonist of Islamdom for more than a millennium. It becomes less remarkable when we realize that there was no other possible source of intellectual leadership in Egypt. Egypt had no imperial state service with its own traditions of education as did the Ottomans. Thus, conservatively reared shaykhs and Azhar graduates were obliged to play the role that was filled in the Ottoman Empire by reforming grand viziers and their ambassadors to European capitals, who were often assisted by converts from the West seeking employment in the sultan's service—"secular" Muslims who were identified with the state and not the educated ulema. In Egypt, the reasoned voice advocating change came from the very custodians of conservative tradition. Accordingly, that voice would speak throughout the century with great caution, often tentatively and sometimes in contradictory ways.

Recently, the converging trend of pedagogic disciplines is highlighted by the experimental synthesis of engineering and social science. The linkage seems conceptually plausible but turns out an intractable task practically due to multidisciplinary nature. This article presents some basic models for linking social science and engineering disciplines to develop new courses like Management of Technology, Policy Studies of Technology, and Economics of Technology. The models reflect such diverse design factors as hierarchical, functional, organizational, procedural, dynamic, and systematic aspects that should be taken into account. These models are of limited value since each accommodates partial or local needs. Therefore, instead of adopting a particular model, it is required to develop an integrated model according to customized specification. In doing that, the ultimate goal is not to merely convey managerial skills and/or economic theories to engineering majors but to devise a neodiscipline with solid viability.