Abstract
This manuscript deals with how cooperative learning in pre-school and primary education can be dimensionalized in terms of reducing gender differences and inequalities. In this study, formulated through instructional approaches delivered in four medium- to very high-complexity schools (the number of students with an immigrant background ranging from 30% to 100%), 376 pre-service teachers and 43 qualified teachers were asked to analyze the instruction that they gave to 1658 pre-school and primary students over two consecutive years. Instruction was defined in terms of contextualized physical education challenges that included cooperative psychomotor physical challenges, guided discovery activities and psychomotor problem-solving. The analysis was based on reflective narratives on both gender differences and inequalities, which evinced 792 comments regarding gender (618 by the pre-service teachers and 174 by the schoolteachers) and 627 comments for inequalities (363 by the pre-service teachers and 264 by the schoolteachers). The analysis produced categories based on critical reflection—on both individual and classroom scales—from the pre-service teachers and the schoolteachers. Each of the cooperative learning dimensions, i.e., positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, social skills, and group processing, were investigated to produce a set of principles and competencies that best promoted education for sustainable development. The research produced 42 principles that operated under the tenet of leave-no-one-behind, with positive interdependence and promotive interaction providing the higher number of principles that are best suited to tackle, through cooperation processes, equity and inclusivity issues in pre-school and primary education classrooms.
Highlights
Many educational improvements for long-term sustainable development rely on how education builds on human capital, especially in terms of overcoming gender and other inequalities [1,2,3,4], and by considering education as a long-term investment in the future of societies [1]
Out of the 86 reflective narratives on gender issues provided by the schoolteachers, 81% were found to include critical reflections, on which topic 174 comments were reported, and out of the 86 reflective narratives on inequalities provided by the schoolteachers, 77% were found to include critical analysis, for which 264 comments were reported
This study proves that in both pre-school and primary education classrooms (i.e., K4 to K8 students), contextualized psychomotor challenges rooted in cooperative learning settings may be congruent with the perceptions of tertiary students regarding the principles that govern education for sustainable development
Summary
Many educational improvements for long-term sustainable development rely on how education builds on human capital, especially in terms of overcoming gender and other inequalities [1,2,3,4], and by considering education as a long-term investment in the future of societies [1]. Because education systems are highly interdependent, i.e., they share sustainable education principles and deal with complex trade-offs, they should be designed to be consistent with the leave-no-one-behind tenet [3]. For this to occur, educational systems have to cope with. When primary school students develop movement as a language, they can articulate both emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills [19,20] Intrapersonal emotional skills, such as emotional attention, clarity of feeling, and emotional repair have been scored significantly higher by girls during cooperative physical challenges [21]
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