Public Education System Research Articles

IMPACT OF TEACHERS' MINDFULNESS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS TOWARDS CLASSROOM CLIMATE ON STUDENT OUTCOMES WHILE LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN SRI LANKA

Public education system of Sri Lanka suffers from poor education outcomes and wide disparities in academic achievement across schools, and studies reveal that students’ outcomes are best when the teachers are qualified in both subjects, they are assigned to teach and in pedagogy. At present teacher stress has become a critical issue in the educational field which affects negatively towards classroom climate; teacher student relationship, teacher creativity, teaching methodologies and student outcomes, while a positive classroom climate results in better academic, social, and emotional outcomes for students. Though the studies have revealed that teacher can improve their well-being, as well as the classroom climate and the student outcomes through the use of mindfulness practices which was taught by the Buddha 2600 years ago, any convincing evidence of the influence of both, teachers’ mindfulness and professional skills on classroom climate towards student outcomes in Sri Lanka or any other country cannot be found. To fulfil that gap, this study explored the influence of teachers’ mindfulness and professional skills on classroom climate towards student outcomes in the government schools in Sri Lanka, using pre-test and post-test experimental design. Data was collected before and after 8-week intervention period, from a sample consisted of 230 students and nine teachers of English, that were observed quantitatively. Findings revealed that teachers’ mindfulness and professional skills as two of the most influential factors that decide the student outcomes directly and via classroom climate of a school, that offer valuable recommendations to the education system in Sri Lanka, in order to enhance student academic and behavioural outcomes by taking steps to improve the professional skills of teachers and the mindful living of both teachers and students.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0569/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

IMPACT OF TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL SKILLS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WHILE LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN SRI LANKA

The public education system of Sri Lanka suffers from poor education outcomes and wide disparities in academic achievement across schools, and studies have revealed that students’ outcomes are best when the teachers are qualified in both, the subjects they are assigned to teach and in pedagogy. Though the studies have revealed that student outcomes can be improved by improving the professional skills of teachers, any convincing evidence of the influence of teachers’ professional skills on student outcomes in Sri Lanka cannot be found. To fulfil that gap, this study explored the influence of teachers’ professional skills on student outcomes in government schools in Sri Lanka, using the pretest, posttest experimental design. Data were collected before and after the 8-week intervention period, from a sample consisting of 102 students and four teachers of English, that were observed quantitatively. Findings revealed that teachers’ professional skills as one of the most influential factors that decide the student outcomes directly of a school, which offer valuable recommendations to the education system in Sri Lanka, in order to enhance student outcomes by taking steps to improve the professional skills of teachers.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0598/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The System of Public Education in Astrakhan Governorate in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part 1

The System of Public Education in Astrakhan Governorate in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part 1

The System of Public Education in Dagestan Oblast (1860–1917). Part 2

The System of Public Education in Dagestan Oblast (1860–1917). Part 2

The System of Public Education in Penza Governorate in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part 3

The System of Public Education in Penza Governorate in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Part 3

The Confucian Ethics Curriculum in Singapore

Abstract In Singapore, the Confucian Ethics Curriculum was introduced between 1984 and 1992 as an elective subject of the moral education curriculum for secondary three and four students. The Singapore government put the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (“the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore”, hereinafter referred to as “CDIS”) under the Ministry of Education in charge of developing a set of textbooks called Confucian Ethics and training teachers to teach them in schools. The textbooks were used in all secondary schools nationwide to fulfill the objective of teaching Confucianism. The attempt of systematic introduction of Confucianism to students as young as 15 or 16 years old through a formal curriculum in the public education system by the state is probably rare even in current Chinese societies, not to mention that the project was implemented nearly 40 years ago. The introduction of this curriculum in Singapore is of some significance for the preservation and promotion of Confucianism. This paper examines the Chinese textbooks of the curriculum in terms of background, objectives, systems, content, characteristics, and inspiration for future generations.

Inside the Teaching Machine: Rhetoric and the Globalization of the U.S. Public Research University

Inside the Teaching Machine: Rhetoric and the Globalization of the U.S. Public Research University

Material and Technical Base of Secondary Schools of the Khakass Autonomous Region in 1946-1964

The article is devoted to the review of the material and technical condition of secondary schools in the Khakass Autonomous Region in the mid-1940s - mid–1960s. The author traces the dynamics of the development of such elements of the material base of schools as school grounds, buildings and classrooms, equipment of classrooms, educational and methodological literature, visual teaching aids, as well as educational equipment and educational supplies. In addition, the living conditions of school boarding schools in the region are considered in dynamics. Considerable attention is paid in the article to the equipment of specialized classrooms (chemical, home economics, labor training and industrial training), taking into account the 1958 reform. The author introduced into scientific circulation the results of the analysis and processing of materials of archival funds. It is noted that the problem of low economic and household provision of boarding schools by the mid-1960s was not solved, which in conditions of a large radius of school service was one of the reasons for the failure of the universal education plan. It is concluded that the level of the material and technical base of schools did not correspond to the objectives of the Law on strengthening the connection of schools with life and on the further development of the public education system in the USSR. At the same time, the author points out that the provision of textbooks and teaching aids, stationery, was achieved before the end of the fifth five-year plan.

Growth and inequality under different hierarchical education regimes

We study the impacts of different educational regimes on growth and income inequality using a two-stage human capital formation model with heterogeneous agents. Both at the basic and advanced educational stages, the school system can be either public or private. In contrast to other related overlapping generations models, due consideration is given to time constraints and to the mensuration of time investments in education per person. Our results suggest that the source of basic, rather than advanced, education expenditures is central to the discussion of growth vs. inequality reduction speed. In terms of long-term growth (inequality reduction), it would be better for basic education to be private (public), regardless of the advanced stage being private or public. However, in the short run, if the basal degree of persistence of inequality is low, then a public basic education system could be justified also on the grounds of growth concerns.

Support mechanisms utilised by educational leaders during COVID-19: experiences from the Western Australian public education school sector

ABSTRACT Effective leadership is recognised as the second most impactful variable influencing student achievement and promoting teaching quality (Bush 2021; Leithwood et al. 2020). The paper reports on the perceptions of educational leaders in the Western Australian public education system about: their leadership capability, support mechanisms and perceived lessons and opportunities for educational practice during COVID-19. Leading educational institutions is a demanding role requiring effective leadership skills in pre-COVID-19 pandemic times, and is an evolving, learning curve for leaders continuing to have an ongoing global impact.This paper reports on a subset of results from a larger study conducted via an online survey in 2021 after a second brief lockdown in Western Australia (WA) early in 2021 to capture leaders’ voices at the peak period of applying leadership in practice. Data were gathered from a targeted cohort of leaders including School Principals, Associates/Deputy Principals, School Managers and Heads of Years. Respondents identified their top concerns as health and wellbeing, online learning, and operational factors. Leaders identified support mechanisms from their own colleagues and networks, support received from the central department of education and drawing on their own leadership skill set of personal attributes to self-manage in the crisis period.

Meanings of mathematics teaching forged through reflection in a lesson study

This article discusses the meanings of mathematics teaching forged in the reflections promoted in a lesson study. Guided by the question “What meanings of teaching in mathematics are constructed from reflections promoted in a lesson study?” and based on Isabel Alarcão’s (2018) concept of teaching, we examined four editions of a lesson study, two with teachers of the early years of elementary school, one with mathematics teachers from the final years of elementary school, and one with high school mathematics teachers. Each lesson study cycle was organized in twelve two-hour meetings and involved an average of eight teachers per cycle. The participants are teachers from the state public education system in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The empirical material consists of the researcher’s field notes, the participants’ logbooks, transcripts of the sessions, and interviews conducted at the end of the cycles. Qualitative and interpretative analysis showed that the reflections promoted in the lesson study revealed that mathematics teaching involves various meanings including educational action, social commitment, and pedagogical transformation.

Remote learning experiences of African Nova Scotian households in Canada during the COVID-19 temporary school closure: implications for inclusive education policy implementation

ABSTRACT COVID-19 pandemic led to temporary closures of public schools and increased need for technology to support students’ access to learning capabilities. The situation created enormous burdens for all education stakeholders with teachers struggling on how to package learning materials that are easily accessible to students at home, and parents struggling to structure a home learning environment to support their children. This research was conducted to develop an understanding of challenges that African Nova Scotian (ANS) parents faced when supporting their learners throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The underlying concern was that COVID-19 related school closures combined with a seismic shift in the learning environment would widen pre-existing achievement gaps among ANS learners. Utilising a methodology framed from a Participatory Action Research perspective, ANS household survey data was collected and analysed. Gaining a better understanding of how ANS students and their support network experienced remote learning is critical for the successful implementation of the current inclusive education policy in the Nova Scotia education system. With an understanding of the challenges faced by ANS learner households and perspectives for the future presented through an ANS lens, our study can help inform a more productive and inclusive public education system in the post-COVID-19 world.

Inconsistency is the Consistency: The Title IX Reporting Process for Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Within Maryland Public Universities

Title IX is a primary federal legal approach to address campus sexual and gender-based misconduct, yet few students utilize Title IX reporting as a formal campus support, and those that do frequently report negative experiences. In this study, we interviewed 11 student survivors at four Maryland public universities who engaged with the Title IX reporting and response process. Our aims were to (a) examine how Title IX functions in a state public education system with a robust Title IX policy; (b) describe commonalities and differences in experiences; and (c) use theories of institutional betrayal and support to understand aspects of the process most helpful or harmful for survivors, especially minoritized survivors. Results reflected several common themes, but also an inconsistent Title IX process both within and across institutions beholden to the same Title IX policy, representing potential policy deviations. Further, institutional betrayal was reflected in the experiences of minoritized survivors who described Title IX staff microaggressions and invalidations and survivors who unknowingly disclosed to mandatory reporters. Overall, experiences contributed to a perception of the Title IX office and reporting process as unhelpful and untrustworthy. Results identify the need to reduce inconsistencies in Title IX reporting and response processes to ameliorate process harms. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843221115340 .

Celeste Parrish and Educational Reform in the Progressive-Era South by Rebecca S. Montgomery

Reviewed by: Celeste Parrish and Educational Reform in the Progressive-Era South by Rebecca S. Montgomery Sarah Case Celeste Parrish and Educational Reform in the Progressive-Era South. By Rebecca S. Montgomery. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2018. Pp. xii, 237. Paper, $30.00, ISBN 978-0-8071-7693-1; cloth, $47.50, ISBN 978-0-8071-6978-0.) In this well-researched book, Rebecca S. Montgomery employs the life of educator and reformer Celeste Parrish as a lens through which to analyze changes in gender relations, education, and politics in Virginia and Georgia between the Civil War and World War I. Montgomery makes a compelling case for Parrish's significance and her contribution to the education of southern women, as well as to expanding opportunities for women educators. Born in 1852 in southern Virginia into a family of tobacco growers and small-scale slaveholders, Parrish was orphaned by 1863 and began teaching a few years later. As Montgomery shows, the demographic and economic changes of Reconstruction pushed many white women of Parrish's background into paid employment, especially as teachers, and yet they found their own education inadequate to prepare them for this work. A new opportunity came in 1869 with the Republican-backed Virginia state constitution that included a provision for a universal public education system, a reform that Montgomery notes linked the expansion of education for Black women and men to that of white women. For Parrish and other single white women, it offered a chance to attend a public normal school and new possibilities for employment. Despite the opening of the normal school and her securement of a position at Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Parrish continued to face discrimination in education and professionally. Shut out of university-level education in her home state and with the need to remain employed in order to support an extended family, Parrish used summer breaks and semester leave to attend the University of Michigan and then Cornell University (from which she graduated in 1896). Despite the difficulties, Parrish found the academic rigor of these institutions thrilling and was especially drawn to the field of psychology. She then attended the University of Chicago for graduate work, studying with John Dewey and meeting the Progressive women associated with Hull House. Her years in Chicago solidified her commitment to the Social Gospel, the new social science, and Progressive reform. In 1901, increasingly resentful about the lower pay given to female faculty and other discriminatory practices, Parrish left Randolph-Macon Woman's College to take a position teaching psychology and pedagogy at the coeducational Georgia State Normal School in Athens. Although a popular mentor and an effective supervisor of an affiliated model school, Parrish continually clashed with male leadership, often over Parrish's support for Black education. The conflict entwined support for Black education and support for white women's professional opportunities. Montgomery astutely notes that although the hostile [End Page 579] racial climate of the early 1900s made even moderate support for interracial cooperation controversial, at heart the dispute was over Parrish's authority as a woman and her unwillingness to defer to male colleagues or otherwise conform to gender norms. Because of ongoing hostility from the leadership of the school for her assertion of authority, Parrish created an alternative network in women's clubs in Georgia, which proved essential in her later career. After she was dismissed from her teaching position in 1911, Governor Hoke Smith appointed her to a position overseeing rural schools. She stayed in that position until her death in 1918. Although attentive to the context of racial politics in Georgia, the book could more fully develop race as a theme; in particular, it might have engaged in a more nuanced analysis of Parrish's racial beliefs and her racialized gendered identity. On the whole clearly written and thoughtfully argued, the book makes a compelling case for the importance of Parrish and contributes to the history of southern education and especially white women's centrality to the expansion of post–Civil War education. Sarah Case University of California, Santa Barbara Copyright © 2022 The Southern Historical Association

Psychological Service as an Integral Part of the Educational System

This article discusses the peculiarities of psychological work, which are considered an integral part of the educational system, with a special emphasis on working with early, middle, and older adolescents. The adolescent-parent-teacher relationship is also discussed in the article in the context of psychological work. The changes taking place in all the spheres of the rapidly developing world require revising of values and establishment of new ones. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, completely new realities have been established in the post-soviet countries. The economic collapse and the hard social conditions have had an adverse impact also on the whole educational process. Since 1991 the public educational system of the Republic of Armenia, being the successor of the Soviet educational system, has entered the phase of difficult transitional changes that can be characterized as a survival period of the system.

Remote Learning of Biochemistry During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case of Undergraduate Students in Bogota, Colombia

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the implementation of global emergency measures based on social distancing. In Colombia, remote classes in universities have avoided the spread of the disease; however, the implementation of remote classes demands virtual pedagogical strategies that are not traditionally used for teaching basic sciences in the Colombian public education system. Currently, there are no data about possible effects of remote learning in basic sciences in Colombia. In order to assess the perception of students about remote learning of biochemistry during the COVID 19 pandemic at Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogota), a virtual survey was applied to undergraduate students at the end of one-semester course. The perception showed by the students is an overall acceptance of the remote learning, highlighting that classes facilitated the understanding of the topics, increased assessment performance, and promoted self-learning. In addition, most students stated that they would like remotely continue classes of biochemistry. This pilot study shows that remote learning is a very useful resource to strengthen Colombian public education in the post-pandemic future, which generally have problems related to student desertion and failure due to economic problems.

Policy Dialogue: Twenty Years of Test-Based Accountability

AbstractSince No Child Left Behind was signed into law, test-based accountability has become a core feature of the K-12 public education system in the United States. The approach, it would seem, is here to stay. Yet that is not to say that anything resembling a consensus has emerged. Over the past twenty years, critics have continued to raise questions about the theory of change underlying test-based accountability, and scholars have detailed a variety of unintended consequences associated with it.If test-based accountability is both likely to persist and imperfect in its design, then it is critical to consider how its shortcomings might be addressed. In service of that aim, and in keeping with the mission of this feature, this Policy Dialogue explores future possibilities by starting, first, with a look at the past. In this particular case, participants were asked to address one simple question: “What have we learned from two decades of high-stakes testing?”As regular readers of HEQ are aware, these dialogues usually feature a historian in conversation with a scholar or practitioner from the world of policy. In this case, the choice of Diane Ravitch was a natural one, particularly given the fact that she is a member of HEQ's editorial board. A research professor at New York University, she is also a former assistant US secretary of education and the author of several books about measurement and accountability.Rather than select a single interlocutor, however, the editors chose to pair her with three leaders who represent the broad range of viewpoints in the field: Denise Forte, Princess Moss, and Paul Reville. Denise Forte is the interim CEO of The Education Trust. She brings to our conversation twenty years of experience in congressional staff roles, including as the staff director for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Princess Moss is vice president of the National Education Association and cochair of the NEA's task force on measurement and accountability. In prior work with the NEA's Executive Committee, she helped develop the group's position on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—from NCLB to the Every Student Succeeds Act. Paul Reville is the Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and former secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Nearly a decade before the passage of NCLB, he played a key role in the development of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, which instituted standards-based accountability across the state.HEQ Policy Dialogues are, by design, intended to promote an informal, free exchange of ideas between scholars. At the end of the exchange, we offer a list of references for readers who wish to follow up on sources relevant to the discussion.

Coreligionist parochial schools of the Samara province in the second half of the XIX – early XX century

The article presents a historical overview of the emergence and formation of educational institutions of the coreligionists of the Samara province in the pre-revolutionary period. The history of coreligionist parochial schools is considered in two main aspects. On the one hand, they were an integral part of the public education system in the Samara province and were in the general context of the development of school business in this region. On the other hand, Orthodox-Old Believers schools often arose on the initiative of the coreligionists themselves, not only with the aim of spreading literacy, but also as one of the necessary tools for preserving and transmitting confessional traditions. In connection with this circumstance, the coreligionist educational institutions had characteristic features that distinguished them from the rest of the parochial schools of the province. Among the peculiar features of the school business of coreligionists, the following features are indicated: the emphasis of the curriculum on teaching according to old-printed books, the close connection of the educational process with church worship, the pronounced missionary nature of the activities of coreligionist parochial schools. At the beginning of the XX century, coreligionist schools were formed as part of the public education system of the Samara province, having confessional specifics in the organization of the educational process. The article presents statistical data on the number of coreligionist schools, the number of students, the teaching staff and the material support of educational institutions. In the preparation of the article, the method of analysis of historical documents, historical-system, historical-comparative methods were used. The source base of the research is based on archival documents of the Central State Archive of the Samara region, as well as materials of official reports of school observers and missionaries published both in separate publications and on the pages of the Samara Diocesan Gazette (Samarskiye eparkhialnye vedomosty).

Research on Online Course Teaching of Public Physical Education in Universities Under the Pandemic Situation

After the implementation, the online and offline teaching modes are compared and analyzed. In the special social environment, in order to ensure the normal teaching order, the university public sports online course is constructed. The construction research mainly includes the necessity of online physical education course, the design of teaching scheme, teaching objectives, teaching mode, extracurricular sports activities, assessment methods, the connection and comparison of online and offline courses, etc. The purpose is to build a set of practical online course system of university public physical education, make up for the deficiency of offline course teaching, and realize the sharing of educational resources among students in different regions at the same time In order to provide reference for the normal development of physical education in special environment such as epidemic situation.

Disciples of Christ and cosmopolitanism in a city of conflict: minority subjectivities in a faith-based school in Jaffa, Israel

ABSTRACT Located in Israel’s contested city of Jaffa, The Church of Scotland’s Tabeetha School is a faith-based, colonial-international school featuring an unlikely combination of Arab-Palestinian pupils, Christian ethos, Scottish spirit, and globally oriented curriculum. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of the Scottish School, this article unpacks the value of a Christian and international education as an alternative to the segregated Israeli public education system, which has institutionalised discriminatory practices against the Arab-Palestinian minority. Considering the hostile sociopolitical context, findings reveal how complex intersections of religious tradition, colonial legacy, local ethnonational agendas, and multicultural discourses shape student subjectivities rooted in transnational, cosmopolitan, and advocacy global citizenship models. For Jaffa’s Arab-Palestinians, international education within a Christian school offers alternative avenues to attain educational equity, employment opportunities, and belonging by accumulating international capital and developing pragmatic global citizenships. Despite the exclusion of Arab-Palestinian identities within the bounds of the Jewish state, Tabeetha School creates space enabling their preservation while encouraging students to forge new transnational attachments and allegiances, which provide advantage in our increasingly globalised world.