Educational Debate Research Articles

Inscribing uncertainty. Visualizing edu-automation through spatializing techniques

ABSTRACT How are educational values and pedagogical approaches inscribed into automated education technologies and their data visualizations? In this article we analyze the design process and technical and pedagogical debates of a team of researchers and developers working on an automated scoring tool for primary school students’ early writing as part of an innovation project. We demonstrate that diagrams and dashboards are not just representations, but also transformations of data, and draw on shared cultural understandings of how to read graphs and how to bridge the gap between statistical literacy and action-oriented data interpretations. Zooming in on attempts to visualize the inherent uncertainties of the automated scorings and on users’ reactions to a mock-up dashboard, we suggest that not only teachers, but also parents, policy-makers, and others should reflect on the pedagogic philosophies, central concepts, and functionings of automated technologies in education.

Exploring the discomfort of gender difference through feminist theories of affect: creative conversations with coaches about working with women athletes

This article draws on feminist theorizations of affect and emotion to explore conversations with coaches about how gender difference figures in professional relationships with women athletes. We conceptualize the micropolitics of the research encounter as a feminist intra-vention that disrupts and generates different ways of knowing gendered bodies in sport. Our analysis seeks to contribute to debates in sport coaching and education through a feminist research approach that works with what affect can ‘do’ to disrupt and generate gendered ways of knowing sporting bodies that challenges essentialism (biology/culture, male/female). More specifically, this research offers important insights into ways of engaging in productive dialogue about gender inequity at a time when expectations of professional practice are rising within sport.

Universal Design for Learning. A systematic review of its role in Teacher Education.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a developing educational approach that aims to improve learning for all students without having to make significant modifications to the curriculum. This concept has been progressively incorporated into pedagogical debates and education regulations. Along this line, some publications have illustrated the efficacy of UDL in terms of access, participation, and commitment to learning processes, especially in the case of students with disabilities. This paper provides a systematic review of relevant academic literature that enhances our understanding of how UDL was integrated into teacher education processes by identifying three different forms of conceptualizing UDL. For this purpose, 88 articles were included that addressed the incorporation of Universal Design for Learning into initial and in-service teacher education processes. The results point to a dominant approach grounded on a problematic association of UDL with students with disabilities or learning difficulties. This narrow view restricts how teachers apply inclusive practices in classrooms, calling for a broader and more comprehensive interpretation of UDL. The study contributes to fostering discussions about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a whole, including the dominant perspective projected in how it is understood and applied in teacher education and classrooms. It envisions new, more inclusive scenarios for the development of educational approaches that support all learners, fostering a truly inclusive learning environment.

Chronological Versus Thematic History Teaching Debate: Analysis of the Ghanaian Primary School History Curriculum

Whether history educators should teach history chronologically or thematically is one of the long-lasting debates in history education. We depended on the content of the Ghanaian primary school history curriculum to conduct a qualitative content analysis to assess the organization of contents in the curriculum in alignment with the chronological and thematic approaches to history teaching. Our analysis revealed that the Ghanaian primary school history curriculum designers adopted a mixed-method approach (chronological and thematic) of history teaching. Thus, they arranged the major themes and topics thematically but largely organized the sub-topics and themes chronologically. In implementing the curriculum, teachers should adopt pedagogical practices that support a mixed approach (thematic and chronological) to history teaching. We recommend that textbook authors design their materials in alignment with the principles of the two approaches of history teaching to promote historical understanding, critical thinking, and understanding of historical events in order of cause and effect. Combining the two approaches helps balance the shortfalls and the strengths of the two approaches to history teaching.

Nurturing the Child's Nature: Revisiting Child Moral Education in the Thought of Ibn Jazar on the book Siyasatu shibyan wa tadbiruhum

Purpose – This study revisits child moral education through the lens of Ibn Jazar’s book Siyasatu shibyan wa tadbiruhum, exploring its relevance to contemporary Islamic education. The study aims to bridge the classical nature versus nurture debate in moral education, focusing on how Ibn Jazar integrates physical health with moral development. His holistic approach emphasizes that a child’s physical well-being is crucial for the effective internalization of moral values, arguing that healthy children are better prepared for moral instruction. Design/methods/approach – The research methodology employed is qualitative content analysis, with an emphasis on latent analysis to uncover hidden meanings in the text. The analysis reveals that Ibn Jazar’s work provides a comprehensive framework for addressing both physical and moral development, which is essential for shaping children’s character from an early age. Findings – The findings suggest that his emphasis on health as a foundation for morality is not only relevant for historical discourse but also offers practical solutions to current challenges in Islamic education, particularly in navigating the effects of globalization on moral development. Research implications/limitations – The study acknowledges the limitation of possible interpretative bias and recommends further research to explore how Ibn Jazar's ideas could be adapted into modern curricula. Practical implications – Practically, Ibn Jazar's approach offers guidance in the development of Islamic education curricula that focus on a balance between moral and physical instruction, while emphasizing the importance of a supportive environment for children's development. Originality/value – This research contributes to the field by highlighting a largely overlooked figure in Islamic moral education and suggesting how his interdisciplinary approach can inform the development of contemporary educational systems. Paper type Research paper

Assessment of Quality and Reliability of YouTube Videos for Student Learning on Class II Resin Composite Restorations.

YouTube has emerged as a popular platform for accessing educational content. However, its effectiveness has been a topic of debate in dental education. This study aimed to analyze the content and quality of YouTube videos focusing on Class II resin composite restorations. The first 100 videos of Class II resin composite information on YouTube were evaluated. The overall quality of the videos was assessed using the video information and quality index (VIQI) and Content Score based on Class II resin composite criteria. Videos with a score of less than the mean were recognized as low-content. No significant differences were observed between high- and low-content videos when the number of views, likes, duration, days since upload, viewing rate, and interaction index were investigated (p>0.05). The number of subscribers revealed a marginally significant difference (p=0.053). The high-content videos demonstrated higher mean values compared to the low-content videos in flow (4.6 vs. 3.8; p=0.0004), accuracy (4.3 vs. 3.3; p<0.0001), value (3.7 vs. 2.9; p=0.002), and precision (4.8 vs. 4.2; p=0.0002). The overall VIQI score was significantly higher (p<0.0001) in high-content videos (Mean 17.4; SD 1.5) compared to the low-content videos (Mean 14.2; SD 2.2). When the Content Score was assessed, high-content videos (Mean 9.9; SD 1.3) revealed a higher score (p<0.0001) than low-content-videos (Mean 4.2; SD 2.3). Most YouTube videos showcasing Class II resin composites serve as effective teaching tools. However, a significant number of videos with low content exist. Therefore, dental students should exercise caution when utilizing YouTube videos for learning purposes.

The vertical curriculum in the lifelong learning perspective

The paper considers the concept of the vertical curriculum in the lifelong learning conception. The concept of vertical curriculum introduces an issue that marks a discontinuity with transformative values in pedagogical debate and teaching practice. The perspective of lifelong learning modifies and integrates the educational project precisely on the basis of a different temporal conception, not only on the adjustment of organizational structures but on the ecology of development and learning understood as a vital process. In this sense, schools must confront the scientifically proven thesis that people continue to learn and transform throughout their lives and must at the same time make this idea pedagogically sustainable. From this point of view, the reference map comes to be supplemented with the concepts of mental plasticity and pervasiveness of knowledge, from which some key criteria for learning-to-learn-oriented design, among others, can be derived. The vertical curriculum represents a cultural artifact, progressive and recursive, capable of promoting training in complexity, understood in this part as a process that is related to the dimension of reflexivity and strategic competencies: a process that lasts throughout the life cycle and allows for the construction of meanings from experience, in a perspective of critical consciousness, global citizenship and planetary responsibility.

Competence Profile of the Teacher from the Principal'S Perspective

The social dynamics visible at the national level compel the educational system to prioritize investment in human resources, specifically in the continuous development of teaching staff. To meet contemporary educational challenges, teachers are increasingly opting for lifelong learning. Over the past 30 years—and particularly in the most recent decade—the concept of lifelong learning has been strategically and functionally enriched in educational debates. Our empirical research investigated principals' perspectives on the contribution of lifelong learning to strengthening the competence profile of teachers. In the study, 9 principals from pre-university education were interviewed, with professional experience (seniority as principals) ranging from 2 to 13 years; 67% were from urban schools and 33% from rural schools.

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.