Compulsory Section Research Articles

Preparing teachers for diversity: how are teacher education systems responding to cultural diversity – the case of Austria and Ireland

ABSTRACT The paper begins with an overview of migration-related diversity in Austria and Ireland, both countries with high levels of cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in schools. Research in Europe indicates that migration produces a new context for teaching, for which many teachers do not feel sufficiently prepared. Hence, teacher education is at stake and rarely looked at systematically in migration-related research in education. Therefore, in this article secondary teacher education courses are analysed to ascertain how higher education institutions in these two countries are preparing secondary teachers for culturally responsive teaching. After describing the methodology used to examine the Initial Teacher Education curricula of the two countries an analysis of the research findings is provided. It turns out that relevant courses in the compulsory sections of the curricula are largely missing in both countries. Finally, based on an analysis of the literature and research findings, a discussion of the consequences for teacher education together with recommendations for improvement are formulated. It provides countries with a foundational discourse to equip student teachers with the necessary skills to embed cultural responsivity into their classrooms upon completion of their apprenticeship for teaching.

Participación al derecho a la participación de niñas, niños y adolescentes en las escuelas y la educación en México:

En este artículo teórico se analiza la participación de niñas, niños y adolescentes en las escuelas y la educación en la reforma educativa de Enrique Peña Nieto impulsada en México entre 2012 y 2018. Este propósito es relevante porque durante el siglo XX, se observa una tensión entre la aceptación formal de la participación tutelada del alumnado en cuestiones concretas, bajo ciertas modalidades, en determinados niveles educativos; y, por otra, el rechazo y obstaculización de esa participación a cargo de autoridades educativas y escolares. La reforma no promovió la participación del estudiantado mexicano y la tensión continuó, aunque parecía que cambiaría con la Ley General de Derechos de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes del 2014 porque estipuló por primera vez el derecho a la participación de estas poblaciones en las escuelas y otros ámbitos. Pero la concepción del derecho a la participación siguió reproduciendo la visión tutelada que ha estado presente desde años atrás en instrumentos jurídicos nacionales, como la Ley Orgánica de la Educación Pública de 1942 e internacionales, como la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño de 1989. Aquí se examinan los desafíos que enfrenta el sistema educativo del tramo obligatorio para que el alumnado sea reconocido como actor con agencia y como productor de conocimiento. Así, se expone un breve recuento del enfoque de las Voces del Alumnado para identificar el alcance de las modificaciones emprendidas por la reforma educativa sobre la participación del estudiantado y, finalmente, entender las diferencias entre la participación y el derecho a la participación en las escuelas.

Delivery of the Compulsory Section 129(1) Notice as required by the National Credit Act of 2005

In terms of section 129(1) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA), a credit provider first needs to provide a consumer with notice of his default and a list of possible remedies to overcome the default, before enforcing the agreement in a court of law. This ensures that the consumer is given the opportunity to remedy his default by, for example, undergoing debt counselling instead of having to incur legal costs when defending legal action brought against him by the credit provider. Before the National Credit Amendment Act 19 of 2014 came into operation, the NCA neglected to specify how this notice should be delivered to consumers, and this has led to various conflicting decisions. The matter was eventually settled by the Constitutional Court in two separate cases. After the Constitutional Court pronounced on the matter, the National Credit Amendment Act came into operation prescribing the manner in which the notice must be delivered. Consumer-credit legislation that existed prior to the NCA coming into operation generally also made provision for similar notices to be delivered to consumers. In this article we briefly look at how the previous consumer-credit legislation dealt with the delivery of similar notices and also consider how the delivery of notices is currently governed by the NCA. Most of the problematic issues surrounding the delivery of the section 129(1) notice have been resolved, but some still remain. One such example is found in a recent Supreme Court of Appeal case, where despite the correct delivery of the notice to the consumer, the notice caused unintended jurisdictional problems for a credit provider trying to enforce the credit agreement
 

Актуализация образовательных стандартов по направлению «Техносферная безопасность»: проекты стандартов и проблемы их реализации. Часть I — бакалавриат

The article gives the information on the modern state of education in the group 20.00.00 — «Technospheric Security and Environmental Management». The attention is paid to the contribution of educational and methodological associations in the formation of the structure of modern multilevel education in Russia. The contribution of educational and methodological association to the creation of specialties and directions in the field of safety, protection of the environment and rational nature management and the creation of new state educational standards is indicated. The problems of the application of updated educational standards of the third generation are analyzed and ways of solving them by creating exemplary basic educational programs with compulsory sections for universities are suggested. The combination of federal state educational standards and exemplary basic educational programs forms the normative and recommendatory base for the further development of higher education, which ensures the unity of the educational space and the variability of education. The project of the updated federal state educational standard of the bachelor degree in the direction of «Technospheric security», updated in accordance with existing professional standards, is presented. The standard is submitted for approval to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. This publication opens a series of publications of updated educational standards and approximate basic educational programs for the enlarged group of specialties and areas 20.00.00 — «Technospheric security and environmental management» with comments and methodological recommendations for their implementation and information on the practice of their implementation.

AN INVESTIGATION INTO MARKING ART EXAMINATIONS

Summary. Fifty still‐life paintings of the kind required for the compulsory section of the art examination for the Scottish Certificate of Education (the secondary school leaving examination) were marked by 10 art teachers (expert markers) and by 10 adults not qualified in art. Correlation between the number of times a painting was rated as ‘pass' by experts and by non‐experts was high. However, only three paintings were rated as ‘pass' and 10 as ‘fail’ by all 10 experts. The distinguishing feature between the passes and the fails was the degree of technical skill displayed. In particular, two experimental papers displaying widely differing and individual methods of expression showed a very high standard deviation of categories of assessment. The conclusion is that variability of criteria for factors other than technical skill is the reason why technical skill appears to receive undue emphasis.