Educational Debate Research Articles

Essays as “clinical” pedagogy: a Hegelian approach to essay writing

ABSTRACT Current debates in clinical legal education (CLE) exclude essay writing as a legitimate form of “clinical” pedagogy. This article argues that essay writing should be classified as a form of CLE due to its potential to mirror legal practice and enhance students’ reflective capacities. By incorporating Hegelian dialectical reasoning, the paper proposes a structured approach to legal essay writing that includes thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This method encourages students to engage deeply with legal arguments, reflecting on their merits and counterarguments. The dialectical approach aligns with constructivist teaching methodologies, promoting critical thinking and practical skills relevant to legal practice and beyond. The article outlines the theoretical basis of this model and provides a practical framework for its implementation in legal education. It further connects this pedagogical strategy to the development of transferable skills that prepare students for professional legal environments. Through this dialectical method, the paper advocates a more holistic and nuanced understanding of legal concepts, bridging the gap between academic theory and practical application, and, thus, making the case for the incorporation of Hegel-inspired essay writing into the definition of CLE.

Navigating the places we now inhabit

Learning design involves creating educational opportunities that are engaging and effective. In many countries, this process must attune to indigenous ways of being and knowing. In the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, the learning design process requires the ability to create culturally inclusive learning opportunities that are respectful of Maori culture, but also beneficial to all learners - a process that calls for deeper reflection and understanding of tikanga Maori (Maori customs and practices). This paper highlights the experiences of migrant learning designers and teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, who work at the intersection of Maori knowledge and Western educational practices. As non-indigenous immigrants, learning designers, teachers, and educational researchers, the authors drew on autoethnography as the methodology, to analyse and reflect on their role as allies of Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. This research aims to find and share ways of reconciling principles of learning design with different ways of knowing, whilst honouring the Maori culture. The paper contributes to wider debates in education that discuss how indigenous knowledge systems can enrich modern educational practices.

Reimagining the accidentally local in English RE

ABSTRACT This paper will critically analyse the assertion that ‘The local argument for the Locally Agreed Syllabus has been lost’ (57). It will begin by briefly sketching the historical background to the unique way that Religious Education is structured in England, with each local area having its own syllabus. It will then outline some of the main points of the local/national debate, which has been an issue for over 50 years. It will then critically analyse what is meant by local, drawing on debates in History education, before turning to consider what content means in Religious Education syllabi, drawing on the work of the Religious Education Council’s Religion and Worldviews Project. It will conclude by suggesting that the initial assertion is accurate and that the concept of local content should be reimagined as a hermeneutic encounter between the pupil and the subject matter, recognising that each encounter will be unique because of the perspectives of the individuals involved in that encounter. Practically, schools should be free to determine their own curricula for RE in line with national benchmarks, as with any other subject.

Laying Foundations for Islamic Teacher Education

Increasingly, educators committed to the vision of Islamic schooling are expressing sentiments of moral dissonance. On the one hand, they choose Islamic schools because they aspire to affect hearts, nurture whole human beings, and grow spiritually while impacting their learners’ sense of higher purpose. On the other hand, they are up against an era of globalised educational reform, characterised by neoliberal-engendered market forces and neoliberal policy logic that promote performativity and efficiency. This narrows what counts as learning, technicises the art of teaching, and assumes all learning that counts is visible and measurable. The teacher education and ongoing professional learning that educators working in Islamic schools have access to remains bifurcated. It is unable to address how an educator committed to tarbiya as “soul-making” ought to navigate aspirations with realities. This paper serves as the introduction to a special issue (SI) dedicated to conceptualising why Islamically grounded teacher education is needed and what it may entail. This SI will also offer empirical studies related to existing Islamic teacher education and professional learning programmes that capture essential reflections for a burgeoning subfield of Islamic Education Studies. In this introduction specifically, the co-editors and a co-author colleague make three big moves to lay the foundations for Islamic teacher education, including (1) establishing urgency for why Islamic teacher education is needed, (2) conceptualising what makes teacher education “Islamic”, and (3) providing an example of one Islamic teacher education programme’s attempt to advance a coherent professional learning journey for Islamic school educators. Together, these three moves serve as an attempt to redress bifurcation and advance a contextually relevant in-road to teacher education that is rooted in an Islamic paradigm and worldview while conversant with contemporary debates in education.

Parenting a New Moral Panic: Anti-Queer Digital Activism and Reactionary Media Ecologies

This article looks at the appropriation of cancel-culture activism by anti-queer parental rights activists online. By examining their digitally mediated anti-queer rhetoric, this paper studies how these activists drive public outrage to promote cultural censorship. Surveying digital campaigns by Libs of TikTok and Moms for Liberty, this paper analyzes how their media amplifies “grooming” and “pedophilia” discourses to dynamize older anti-queer stereotypes. Drawing upon the language of child protectionism from 1970s educational debates, this mediated rhetoric demonstrates how anti-queer activists have appropriated the social justice origins of cancel-culture online. By using social media to frame conservative activists as marginalized, these campaigns invert the history of anti-LGBTQ+ media and educational environments to rationalize anti-LGBTQ+ censorship. By looking at how this rhetoric flows from social media into conservative TV journalism, this paper uncovers how this digital activism shapes a broader reactionary media ecology with corrosive democratic effects in the United States.

The influence of grade retention on students' competences in Spain

AbstractGrade retention is at the core of the education debate in Spain, to the extent that its impact on students' competences has not been assessed beyond correlation. Because of that, in the present study, we analyse the influence of grade retention on students' competences, using more than 146,000 students from 6 PISA cycles (2003–2018) and an instrumental variable approach, in order to approach a causal influence. Our results show that repeating a grade in Spain seems to reduce students' competences between 1.5 and 1.7 standard deviations. Based on these results, we conclude that the Spanish educational authorities should find an alternative to grade retention, in order to prevent students from attaining a lower competence level due to repetition.

AI in essay-based assessment: Student adoption, usage, and performance

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked debate in education about whether to ban AI tools for assessments. This study explores the adoption and impact of AI tools on an undergraduate research proposal assignment using a mixed-methods approach. From a sample of 187 students, 69 completed a survey, with 46 (67%) reporting the use of AI tools. AI-using students were significantly more likely to be higher-performing, with a pre-semester average GPA of 5.46 compared to 4.92 for non-users (7-point scale, p = .025). Most students used AI assistance for the highest-weighted components of the task, such as the research topic and methods section, using AI primarily for generating research ideas and gathering feedback. Regression analysis suggests that there was no statistically significant effect of AI use on student performance in the task, with the preferred regression specification estimating an effect size of less than 1 mark out of 100. The qualitative analysis identified six main themes of AI usage: idea generation, writing assistance, literature search, grammar checking, statistical analysis, and overall learning impact. These findings indicate that while AI tools are widely adopted, their impact on academic performance is neutral, suggesting a potential for integration into educational practices without compromising academic integrity.

Introduction to Quiddity College

The aim of this brief Introduction is to situate this unpublished manuscript in relation to Stephenson’s published writings on Q methodology and, more broadly, to his attempt to develop a science of subjectivity. The Introduction draws attention to how the core strands of Stephenson’s theory, especially the notions of self, concourse, play, and his adoption of “consciring,” converged with his lifelong interest in education. Quiddity College provides, as envisaged by Stephenson, an ideal college philosophy and curriculum for the fostering of the cultivation of subjectivity. His plans for Quiddity are developed in the light of the premise that culture is fashioned in play – in communication, societal conversation – and intelligent writing and speaking. The introduction concludes by noting how many of the themes in this manuscript resonate with current educational debates.

Thorny issues with academic language: A perspective from scientific practice

A debate over the construct of academic language (AL) has engendered significant polarization in the field of language education. The issues at the heart of the AL debate are thorny and persistently elusive to resolve. Yet they are not unpredictable, particularly when viewed from the perspective of how scientific communities advance knowledge. In this article, we highlight two thorny issues with AL from the perspective of scientific practice: (a) the modeling issue and (b) the paradigm issue. For each issue, we discuss methodological and pedagogical implications using examples from research on language use in STEM education. Further, we analyze how the two thorny issues have manifested in other contentious debates in language education (cognitive-social debate, translanguaging vs. codeswitching). Finally, we propose ways forward in light of the thorny issues toward advancing our collective knowledge as a community of researchers and practitioners committed to the education of language minoritized students.

Aristotelian versus Platonic and Machiavellian interpretations of phronesis: A critical reflection on leadership and management education

AbstractGiven the high incidence of corporate scandals, we are faced with reconsidering management theory, principles and education. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we seek to show that it is necessary and possible to analyse current managerial and directive action in the light of Aristotle's ethical thought, specifically concerning phronesis (practical wisdom). The second aim is to highlight that the Platonic interpretation of phronesis as a matter of contemplative life contributes to an inadequate leadership style and ethical apathy. Furthermore, we claim that the Machiavellian interpretation of phronesis contributes to leadership based on manipulation and exclusion of morality in management. The third and final objective is to respond to these two interpretations by reviewing Aristotle's exceptional teachings on the relevance of phronesis as a special kind of wisdom in which good judgment, discernment and an adequate understanding of events for decision‐making converge. An essential claim of this paper is that Aristotle and his notion of phronesis, rather than Plato's or Machiavelli's, ought to inform contemporary debates in management scholarship and education. Aristotle's philosophical insights into practice, wisdom and more comprehensive ethics are highly relevant for public discourse in our contemporary societal context, especially for management education. Integrating phronesis into management and leadership education involves using case studies and experiential learning to teach practical wisdom and sound judgment.

Academic Genre Instruction and Its Influence on University Writing Proficiency

The ongoing debate in language education revolves around the effectiveness of pedagogical approaches in teaching writing skills, particularly the merits of Genre-Based Pedagogy versus Isolated Skill-Focused Conventional Methods, which focus on practicing individual writing skills separately. This study investigated the impact of Genre-Based Pedagogy on 16 purposively selected fourth-semester students from the English Education Department at Harapan Bangsa University. Using an experimental design, participants were divided into experimental (8 students from class A) and control (8 students from class B) groups, with pre-test and post-test assessments over eight weeks. Results showed a significant improvement in the experimental group's writing skills, with a mean post-test score of 78.75 compared to 62.25 in the control group (t = 8.12). These findings suggest that Genre-Based Pedagogy, emphasizing contextualized learning and immersion in diverse text genres, significantly enhances writing proficiency compared to conventional methods, enabling students to effectively integrate grammar, vocabulary, content development, and organizational skills tailored to specific genres.

Niño, infancia y educación en las páginas del periódico Estado de Minas en la década de 1930

The article presents and analyzes conceptions of children, childhood and education contained in the pages of the Estado de Minas newspaper in the 1930s, indicating the existence of two predominant tendencies within the news: one new, more liberal and modern, called Americanism; the other old, more conservative and traditional, called Iberian Federalism. The interpretation of the news’ contents occurred based on authors such as Bardin (1988), Werneck Vianna (1997), Nunes (1998) and Guimarães (2013), among others, aiming to systemize, group, describe and categorize the conveyed messages. As a result, it is shown that the symbiosis between the new and the old stems from the moral, medical and psychological discourses which leave their mark on the debate about the assistance and education of the children. The newspaper Estado de Minas, as a space of ideological dispute for the power to form the Brazilian people and nation was not immune to this movement and this simbisosis. Liberals, "moderns" and Americanists advocate schoolnovism. Conservatives, "ancient" and Iberian defended religious and Christian education with fervor. However, the crisis of capitalism in the world manifested in the American crisis of the 1930s does not cease to appear in the pages of the newspaper and in the educational debate.

A model for investigating and developing mathematics teachers' noticing of argumentation

Drawing upon the imperative to foster argumentation within the mathematics classroom, this paper integrates two key areas of mathematics education research – argumentation and teachers' noticing. It proposes a model of mathematics teachers' noticing of argumentation that was designed and piloted in professional development courses for teachers in Israel dedicated to argumentation in mathematics teaching. The paper discusses the theoretical and empirical construction of the model and presents empirical evidence regarding the model's potential to foster and analyze teachers' noticing of argumentation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the model's contributions and limitations.

LGBTQIA+ topics in sport, human movement and education

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Second Issue of our Double Special Edition on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Health, Wellbeing and Education. This special issue focuses on LGBTQIA+ Topics in Sport, Human Movement and Education. We introduce the issue by outlining the debate about the ‘inclusivity’ of queer bodies in sport. We then introduce each article and explain how they fit into these larger debates in sport and education. We conclude the paper by outlining key takeaways from the issue. We also provide recommendations for future LGBTQIA+ research in sport, human movement and education.

Islamic Revivalism in Post-normal Times: the Obstruction of More Disenchantment of Islam Throughout Ziauddin Sardar’s Whitewashed Approach Towards Evolution of Integration from Islamization of Knowledge in Higher Education of Muslim Societies

In post-normal times along with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), human society around the world is often considered in the state of contradictory, complex, and chaotic in nature. For Ziauddin Sardar, Muslim societies are living within post-normal times now. Muslims need to deal with so many complex problems of societies. As world citizens, Muslims must contribute to face challenges with all the people of the world hand in hand. Islamic teaching of Unity and Universal brotherhood needs to be implemented when facing all the post-normal challenges. Ziauddin Sardar comes up with the solution to reform in higher educational institutions in Muslim societies. The revivalist movement in higher education in Muslim societies is called ‘Integration of Knowledge’ which is alternative Islamic Revivalism in replace of ‘Islamization of Knowledge’. In the age of Globalization, Sardar urges Muslims to abandon Islamization agenda which is ‘US vs Them’ as Huntington emphasized being the representative of West. Instead, Sardar calls Muslims to embrace Integration of Knowledge agenda as a Cosmopolitan way of Islamic Revivalism. He proposes debate and discussion culture in higher education with all categories of people. This article uses qualitative methodology in which content analysis is adopted. This research finds that Sardar’s approach of Integration of knowledge is effective and beneficial to work with different background of people. However, the more disenchantment of Islam through evolution of Integration from Islamization is visible in Sardar’s approach for higher educational institution in Muslim societies

Post-colonial educational reforms in Zimbabwe: A fake badge of decolonisation of the curriculum

While educational debates on the decolonisation of education have gained momentum in Sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the success and progress made thus far, leaving a critical gap in our understanding of the accomplishment of the decolonisation agenda and whether what has been reformed is of use. Using document analysis, the qualitative study used Zimbabwe as a case to explore the progress made in the decolonisation of the education system to address the needs of the local population. The findings reveal that post-colonial educational reforms in Zimbabwe remain cosmetic and without meaningful thrust to assist in the socio-economic development and success of the once underprivileged. The study concludes that post-colonial education in Zimbabwe and other African states despite more than four decades of reforming the education system, the plight of the ordinary graduate seems little improved. It recommends that post-colonial states in Africa must interrogate the central purpose of education, the intended audience, the way people learn, and the subject matter and how it should be organised and presented. The study contributes to the topical debate on the need to transform the African education systems and their curricula in response to the decolonialisation agenda in the Global South.

Global Education and Critical Thinking: A Necessary Symbiosis to Educate for Critical Global Citizenship

Abstract Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is a topic of relevance in current international educational debates, which increasingly focus on the formation of critical citizenship. This makes it necessary to discover from a critical pedagogical perspective the relationships between this pedagogical approach, Critical Thinking (CT), and GCE. Throughout this study, through an extensive theoretical review of the literature, we try to show the characteristics in which critical pedagogy, GCE, and CT converge, giving rise to the Critical GCE towards which we must move today. Therefore, this study is revealing for discovering the path towards which GCE is currently heading by clearly showing the symbiosis between CT and GCE. In conclusion, if we want to educate global citizens, it is necessary not only to have a strong background in GCE but also to develop CT to understand global society critically and the need to act to try to transform the world into one free from oppression and injustice.

The importance of promoting critical thinking in schools: Examples from Germany

Critical thinking is internationally recognized as an important aspect of school education. Particularly in the United States, Scandinavian, and Asian countries, critical thinking is firmly anchored in school curricula. In this context, critical thinking is often aligned with critical thinking skills, which can be taught in structured programs and are comparable to strategies for self-regulated learning. Unlike in the United States, in German-speaking countries, critical thinking is a buzzword in pedagogical debates and is not firmly embedded in instructional contexts. There are desiderata for the entire educational system (theoretical, empirical, and school-practical). In the context of gifted education, development projects place a particular focus on the possibilities of design and investigation. Two projects will be presented, as well as exemplary implementation possibilities relevant to schools’ diagnostic and didactic processes. The projects will be related to each other, and research perspectives are given.

Adopting an Empathizing Stance in Classroom Argumentation: Pedagogical Constructs and Affordances

Although a growing body of research recognizes the importance of viewing argumentation as a means of understanding rather than combating others, little is known about how teachers cultivate this practice in classroom conversations when teaching argumentation. This study examines how argument can be taught in classroom discourse with an empathizing stance and generates associated pedagogical constructs. Adopting a microethnographic approach to discourse analysis, this study examines the key instructional events in an argumentative writing unit in two high school English language arts classes. The analysis demonstrates that the empathizing stance is introduced in the relationship between arguers and their warrants and the differences existing between arguers. It also generates four pedagogical constructs related to the teaching of argument with the stance: (1) identifying the connection between arguers’ warrants and backgrounds; (2) transposing oneself into others’ backgrounds; (3) exploring interlocutors’ common and divergent grounds; and (4) situating argument in a broader context. It concludes with a discussion of the affordances of teaching argument with an empathizing stance.

Evaluating the Academic Benefits of Clinical Legal Education: An Analysis of the Final Average Marks of Five Cohorts of LSBU LLB Graduating Students, 2011-2015

This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing pedagogic debate about the aims and benefits of clinical legal education and to do so using a quantitative methodology. It is the result of a collaborative project within the School of Law & Social Sciences at LSBU, researching whether placements in our Legal Advice Clinic have had any positive impact on Law students’ academic performance. We have analysed the academic results[1] of five cohorts of LLB full-time undergraduates, those graduating from 2011 to 2015,[2] to see whether students who volunteered in our Legal Advice Clinic achieved better grades than those who didn’t. Generally, they do. However, given the fact that places at the clinic are limited and recruitment is selective and to try and eliminate the possibility that the most academically successful students are the most likely to volunteer and be selected, we have controlled for first year average results. Even so, it appears that students who achieve similar grades in their first year are likely to get slightly better final grades, just under 2% better, if they volunteer in our Legal Advice Clinic in their second year. [1] We would like to thank Dr Bond’s Post-graduate student, Joshua Freeman-Birch, who undertook the long hours of date entry to code the results of five cohorts of LLB law students results, to allow the research to be conducted. [2] Unfortunately, writing up our research has taken longer than we hoped. Conducting the data analysis and the impact of COVID are the two main reasons.