Stories Of Teachers Research Articles

No Longer an "academically inferior, church-controlled southern school": How Transylvania College Found Success After World War II

No Longer an "academically inferior, church-controlled southern school"How Transylvania College Found Success After World War II Jonathan Tyler Baker (bio) The growth of colleges and universities—as well as their enrollments—in the decade after World War II, due largely to the G.I. Bill, is well documented.1 While students poured into college classrooms to receive an education suited to their occupational aspirations, in the 1950s, the purpose of a college education in the United States had a new requirement. The federal government and leading universities declared a need for students to use their education to uphold the economy, be good citizens, and produce knowledge to fight the Cold War.2 Despite the fact that students had more control over their academic experience, the purpose of American higher education was [End Page 33] educating students with professional skills so they could enter the workforce and be productive members of the U.S. economy.3 Most public colleges and universities in the United States reacted to the revised purpose of higher education by introducing new subjects in the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences through required general education courses. A number of these changes stemmed directly from Harvard University's 1945 "Committee on the Objectives of a General Education in a Free Society" report about the need for required general education courses. The report's author, Harvard President James Bryant Conant, argued that "general education," is an "education in a common heritage and toward a common citizenship" that creates an "increased skill in analysis and expression, in the capacity to deal with general ideas and to make and defend value-judgments."4 In Conant's idea of a general education program, students would take the same lower-level course in the humanities and social sciences; two courses (typically biology and chemistry) in natural science; and three courses outside of their department of concentration, with two of those classes outside of the department's academic division.5 As early as 1950, the distinction between public and private, university and college, liberal arts and pre-professional training curriculums, became blurred as higher education came to adopt general education programs. According to one researcher in 1965, academic programs in American higher education in the 1950s started to encompass "the greatest possible variety of subject matters."6 As a result, newly developed curriculum in American higher education was nearly universal and focused on helping students understand and solve problems in the contemporary world that [End Page 34] combined "vocational preparation with the knowledge of social foundations from the vantage point of multiple perspectives."7 What is missing from the well-known story of American higher education in the decades after World War II, however, is how liberal arts colleges weathered the blurring of their curriculum and the distinction as private, often religiously affiliated, institutions. In many cases, the classics were replaced by the humanities; the scientific method of inquiry took the place of hermeneutics; and the social sciences became a core of curricula across the country. And the changes were not isolated to the curriculum.8 Administrators, particularly liberal arts college presidents, went from being symbolic leaders with connections to the institution's denominational affiliation to policy-oriented fundraisers responsible for growing the endowment and paying for new facilities.9 Exploring this topic means another addition to the narrative of American higher education in the decade following World War II, but it also creates a much-needed vehicle to explore the modern issues of identity and purpose facing the liberal arts college. Understanding the evolving nature of the liberal arts college in the decade after World War II may prompt further discussions about how institutions adapt in an era of profound change in American higher education brought on by the digital revolution and a post-industrial economy.10 Such [End Page 35] an idea is not unfounded. Administrators of liberal arts colleges were thinking the same things seventy-five-years ago as they sought to "make their colleges become alive to the world of the present time."11 Transylvania University illustrates the capability of liberal arts colleges to successfully adapt to a changing higher education landscape. Located in Lexington, Kentucky, Transylvania became...

Re-narrating grammar instruction: addressing teachers’ narrative understanding of language use

This study examines teaching about grammar and language use in secondary schools through a narrative lens. The author analyses narrative episodes in interviews with three secondary English language arts teachers in the USA to identify patterns in stories of teaching about language use. Findings show teachers with vastly different life experiences teaching in different contexts orient to the same dominant school language narrative that requires students to accommodate the prejudicial expectations for language use held by a wider society. The author argues the maintenance of traditional school language teaching, despite more than 60 years of research in educational linguistics showing its ineffectiveness, stems from the strength of this dominant school language narrative. Ultimately, the author proposes an adoption of narrative methods in working with teachers to actively re-write the dominant school language narrative; foregrounding a critical approach with the goal of addressing social inequities through language use.

Exploring Classroom Management for Limited Face-to-Face Learning in the Midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Narrative Study

This study constructed on the experiences and obstacles of senior school teachers in limited face-to-face learning during the covid-19 pandemic. This study also created a narrative inquiry design to explore more deeply the stories of senior school teachers' experiences and obstacles in this limited face-to-face learning. Data collection is done through more in-depth interviews with face-to-face. This data were analyzed by using a three-dimensional framework, namely, temporality, sociality, and place. The result of finding showed that the teachers undergo various learning approach in classroom activities during limited face to face learning. The learning approach used by the teachers seemed to concern about Flipped Classroom. In this study, it gave experience for the other teachers to undergo their live experience especially for classroom activities.

Differential effects and success stories of distance education in Covid-19 lockdowns on the development of reading comprehension in primary schools

In the current study, the development in reading comprehension performance of students in lower-SES versus higher-SES schools during and after school closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns was examined, and compared to a normed reference group. Furthermore, we explored protective factors against negative effects at the time of school closures, by pinpointing successful practices in a sub sample of resilient lower-SES schools. The total sample consisted of 2202 students followed from grade 2–4. Overall, we found that students in lower-SES schools made less progress over time than students in higher-SES schools. On average, students made less progress during the lockdowns, but here, the interaction with SES was not significant. Students' reading comprehension levels partially recovered after the lockdowns. Questionnaire-data revealed that schools were better prepared during the second lockdown, with teachers making more use of digital means, and providing more online reading instruction. In addition, collaboration with the parents seemed to have improved. The in depth interviews with resilient lower-SES schools revealed that the introduction of online education and investing in educational partnerships with parents may have helped to minimize the negative impact of lockdowns. We conclude that lockdowns have a negative effect on the development of reading education, but that students are resilient. Digital means and partnership with parents may be seen as protective factors to attenuate the negative effects of emergency remote teaching.

Scarcity and surveillance in early childhood education

At a time when national discourse in the USA centers the need for professionalization, regulation, and surveillance, this article emphasizes the ways in which neoliberal logics harm those working in early childhood education in the USA. While stakeholders at every level debate proposed solutions to the early childhood education crisis, largely related to furthering regulation, this article brings forward the voices of those doing the work and rejects the idea that neoliberal logics will lead us collectively away from a situation that they created. Guided by the tenets of critical qualitative inquiry, I use narrative inquiry to explore the stories of early childhood educators working in an underfunded, undervalued field. In this article, I highlight two resonant themes that spanned the participants’ narratives, which are related to the impacts of scarcity and surveillance in early childhood education spaces. Based on my findings, I make the claim that early childhood education professionals are strained by increased regulation and surveillance amidst an already toxic prevalence of scarcity of various forms, and that shifts to further regulate the field should consider the voices of the people working in these spaces.

21st-century learning a-buzz: Integrating and assessing an arts-centred STEAM approach to learning with apsicopes (beehives) in two Aotearoa intermediate classrooms

Integrated STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) has been shown to effectively foster global competencies as well as school and societal engagement for 21st century learners of diverse backgrounds. However, facilitating quality STEAM teaching and learning can be challenging for teachers, particularly in the area of subject integration and assessment. This is especially true in communities where value is placed on standardised testing and traditional single-subject forms of monitoring, measuring, and reporting on student knowledge. This article responds to the challenge for researchers and educators to develop novel approaches for authentic, integrated STEAM teaching and learning. We share the story of STEAM teaching and learning from within Aotearoa New Zealand’s first apiscope—living beehive—classrooms as teachers implement an innovative arts-centred STEAM teaching and learning approach to learning about bees. In this context, an unusual collaborative journey of students, teachers, researchers, and experts (scientist, beekeepers, artists) unfolds as they grapple with how best to integrate and assess STEAM teaching and learning that responds to students’ strengths and interests.

Three discourses of American debate (with a glimpse toward a fourth)

ABSTRACT Many have attempted to tell the story of debate education in America in a variety of ways. These accounts do more than provide the story, they create the reasons and the nature of debate. In this paper, I consider debate as a discourse that is productive of particular results in both students and understanding of debate by the way we frame and discuss debate education. To do this I rely on Jacques Lacan’s theory of the four discourses in his twenty-third seminar. Through this analysis I find three traditions of teaching debate in America and a suggestion of what a fourth, revolutionary debate pedagogy might look like, one that would meet the results of what most debate teachers and coaches claim they want.

Harnessing abilities and talents: parents’ perspectives on responsive inclusive early childhood education

ABSTRACT Research endorses accessing the insights of parents whose children have attended inclusive programs as requisite for the continued expansion and evaluation of inclusive education. In this study, researchers follow up with parents of children with disabilities who had attended a university-based inclusive preschool program. It draws on research and theory from both the Early Childhood Education and Inclusive Education disciplines. Through semi-structured interviews parents share their family’s educational stories and reflect on how their understandings of inclusion have continued to evolve over time. Participants describe what was meaningful about their child’s early childhood inclusive education experiences, how they made decisions about their children’s ongoing educational services and settings, and the ways philosophies and practice sometimes clashed. Findings include the importance parents place on reciprocal partnerships with professionals, how they carry professionals’ words with them, and what they value most about inclusive education. Recommendations for practice and teacher preparation are discussed.

Accounts of Public Elementary School Teachers on Straight Teaching: A Narratology

The study aimed to explore the accounts of public elementary school teachers in Grade 5 or Grade 6 who taught all the subjects in a single class. This is a qualitative-narratological study which tapped five (5) participants who were identified using the purposive sampling method. The five participants were concealed using the following aliases for their privacy and confidentiality: Jisoo, Amie, Jona, Primerose, and Constance. Thematic analysis was utilized to generate the results from the participants narratives. Overall, the participants closely shared the same stories in straight teaching. In the interviews, they highlighted the succeeding significant themes: (1) common challenges in straight teaching (2) ways of coping in straight teaching (3) application of non-traditional teaching practices (4) application of classroom management practices (5) lessons and insights gained from straight teaching and (6) the need to provide support to the teachers who handled all subjects in a single class. From these findings, it is implied that plenty of support and assistance should be provided to them by the concerned authorities such as the officials of the Department of Education (DepEd). Another is that their ways of coping and classroom practices should be emulated by all teachers in the service. Likewise, future researches are also encouraged to further validate the results found in this narratological study. Most importantly, the study is expected to contribute more information on the literature related to straight teaching and aboriginal education.

‘It's like we’re in two different schools’: Contrasting stories of teacher and leader autonomy within a distributed approach to leadership

The articulation of school autonomy into practice nationally, regionally and locally is highly situated in terms of what it enables or impedes with regard to the professional autonomy of principals and teachers. Principal autonomy does not necessarily mean greater teacher professional autonomy. In this paper, we draw on a three-year qualitative study investigating the social justice implications of school autonomy reform in Australia. We present interview data from a case study of a large secondary college to present two conflicting stories of autonomy. Supported by a managerial restructure reflecting distributed leadership, we juxtapose the positive account of autonomy expressed by the leadership team with the negative one expressed by teachers. We explore the justice implications of this disjuncture and argue the importance of critically examining the complex ways in which the intentions and enactments of distributed leadership can be differently articulated and understood within the context of school autonomy reform.

“Come and share your story and make everyone cry”: complicating service user educator storytelling in mental health professional education

It has become relatively common practice within health professional education to invite people who have used mental health and social care services (or service user educators) to share their stories with health professional learners and students. This paper reports on findings from a postcritical ethnographic study of the practice of service user involvement (SUI), in which we reflexively inquired into conceptualizations of service user educators’ knowledge contributions to health professional education in the accounts of both service user- and health professional educators. This research was conducted in response to recent calls for greater scrutiny surrounding the risks, challenges, and complexities inherent in involving service users in health professional education spaces. ‘Story/telling’ was identified as a pronounced overarching construct in our analysis, which focuses on participants’ reports of both the obvious and more subtle tensions and complexities they experience in relation to storytelling as a predominant tool or approach to SUI. Our findings are presented as three distinct, yet overlapping, themes related to these complexities or tensions: (a) performative expectations; (b) the invisible work of storytelling; and (c) broadening conceptualizations of service user educators’ knowledge. Our findings and discussion contribute to a growing body of literature which problematizes the uncritical solicitation of service user educators’ stories in health professional education and highlights the need for greater consideration of the emotional and epistemic labour expected of those who are invited to share their stories. This paper concludes with generative recommendations and reflexive prompts for health professional educators seeking to engage service user educators in health professional education through the practice of storytelling.

Innovative technology of teaching M. Auezov's stories in higher education

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of traditional teaching methods, which are widely used in modern higher education, in a modern way. New conclusions were made about the history of the methodological field of modern pedagogical science, and the methodological heritage of Alash figures was analyzed. The author focuses on the complexity and problems of teaching the works of the great writer M. Auezov in higher education. New conclusions were drawn about the specificity and importance of starting the teaching of the works of the great writer in higher education with the use of new technologies from his fiction. The author speaks about the pedagogical contribution of M. Auezov to the science of literary criticism and methods of teaching literature. Considers ways to analyze the effectiveness of teaching the works of the writer in higher education. Provides a scientific study of the types of work that are effectively organized in the process of literary analysis. In the analysis of Auezov's works it is recommended to refer to the image system of the work of art, the types of analysis in revealing the characters. The search for M. Auezov's legacy and scientific works in innovative methods of teaching, the use of innovative teaching technologies is a modern requirement. Emphasizes the importance of fiction, our national values in the modern information society. Analytical work is offered in order to awaken students' ability to read and express their views on the work of art in modern society. During the study of the author's story "Karash-Karash okigasy" are analyzed the tasks that effectively lead students to cognitive work, the solution of the problem. The author offers an effective way of presenting the situation in the process of problem-based learning.  The views, analyzes and conclusions of  M. Auezov's artistic narrative are clearly reflected in the new methodology of autonomy in the field of modern methodology. He also concludes that the writer's legacy will last for centuries, and it is the duty of every teacher to pass it on to the younger generation. Key words: writer; innovative technology; teaching; methodology; story; literary analysis; literary text; methods.

Knowledge, perception, and behavior of pregnant women against COVID-19 transmission

The outbreak of COVID-19 had a significant impact in terms of economic and social health. Assessing the community's knowledge regarding the transmission of COVID-19 is essential to specify the target of promoting and preventive actions. Therefore, the research aimed to assess pregnant women's knowledge, perception, and behavior against COVID-19 transmission. The research is a quantitative cross-sectional study. Pregnant women who received antenatal care at PKU Muhammadiyah Mamajang Makassar Hospital were included in the study. We are using random sampling, and the study was conducted from May 31, 2021 to July 31, 2021. The study found that pregnant women's knowledge, perception, and behavior of COVID-19 transmission was high and good. Several factors were found to be related to the level of knowledge, including the story of education (p 0.013), perception (p 0.037), and behavior (p 0.0001). Meanwhile, age and parity have no association with knowledge (p 0.524 and p 0.499). Currently, it is hoped that more optimal education will continue to be carried out by health workers to mothers so that they can live their pregnancies in a prosperous manner so that mothers and fetuses will be healthy and safe during the pandemic COVID-19.

NARRATIVE INQUIRY; PERSPECTIVE OF LECTURERS AND STUDENTS IN IMPLEMENTING HYBRID LEARNING PROCESS IN THE NEW NORMAL ERA

This research aims to investigate the implementation of hybrid learning in the perspective of lecturers and students. This research examines the experiences of English lecturers and students in implementing hybrid learning during the new normal era. To capture the teacher's story, an inquiry narrative was adopted. The research data collected based on interview guidelines and presented through narrative frames and narrative boxes. The results indicate that lecturers teach English in hybrid learning by applying different online platforms. Then the campus was focused on using virtual classrooms and WhatsApp as the main platforms in online classes because they had been linked to the campus. In addition, the learning process, internet connectivity, awareness of students' self-study, and learning scheduling are obstacles in applying hybrid learning in the new normal.

The “Yo, Sí Puedo” literacy programme: a Cuban proposal to the problem of illiteracy worldwide

One of the great Cuban success stories in education and international cooperation is the literacy programme “Yo, Sí Puedo”. Created in 2001 within the Latin American and Caribbean Pedagogical Institute (IPLAC) of the Cuban Ministry of Education, with the aim of providing an answer to this problem on the continent and throughout the world, this method has been successfully applied in thirty countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Oceania and Western Europe, and has provided literacy to more than 10 million adults in nine languages.

‘I’m a foreign teacher’: legitimate positionings in the stories of a migrant teacher

ABSTRACT This qualitative study examines one migrant teacher’s identity positions in the context of a peer mentoring group setting in Finland. Combining theories of legitimacy and teacher narratives, this study asked which positions were available and legitimate for a migrant teacher. The analysis of three of the stories the teacher (‘Ji Yoo’) shared was inspired by Barkhuizen’s three-step framework for examining positioning in teacher narratives. Findings showed that Ji Yoo’s most legitimate positions were being ‘foreign’, novice teacher, cultural broker, and expert teacher, the latter two being the least frequent and least explicit ones. The authors suggest that migrant teachers’ struggles of having their expertise and experience recognised and shed their ‘foreign’ label persist even in contexts that are intended to support and empower practitioners.

О джатаке «Король нагов» из сборника «Гирлянда рассказов о прошлых жизнях Учителя»

Introduction. Jātakas are a most popular genre of Buddhist literature. The Garland of Stories of Teacher’s Past Lives from Collected Works of the Successive Embodiments of the Karmapas (1st to 10th and 13th to 15th) is of interest due to its relevance to the Buddhist doctrine of ten pāramitās — bodhisattva’s perfect deeds to be observed by followers. The plot of The Nāga King narrates a special deed of the Buddha practiced by him in one of his past lives. Goals. The paper aims to introduce data on the mentioned jātaka for scientific use from Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). Results. The Garland of Stories of Teacher’s Past Lives comprises 100 jātakas. This collection was published by Nationalities Languages Press (Beijing) under the title ‘100 Stories of Buddha’s Past Lives’ that also included 100 jātakas. Our analysis of the Lhasa and Beijing editions shows texts of jātaka 68 (The Nāga King) have though minor discrepancies. The moral is associated with the pāramitā of ‘skillful means’, i.e. one of the 10 special deeds practiced by a bodhisattva on the way to Buddhahood.

Unfolding Stories of English Teachers with Multiple Ancillary Functions in Maguindanao-1 Division: A Phenomenological Study

Unfolding Stories of English Teachers with Multiple Ancillary Functions in Maguindanao-1 Division: A Phenomenological Study

Can we promote children’s openness towards the other group in violent conflict? The story of Jewish and Arab kindergarten teachers in Israel

ABSTRACT This article explores changes in children’s openness towards kindergarten teachers and children of an outgroup following participation in an intervention program. The program was implemented by kindergarten teachers and aimed at encountering the other via intergroup contact. The findings are based on qualitative data from interviews with the kindergarten teachers. According to the findings, children’s participation in the program fostered openness towards the kindergarten teacher from the outgroup and encouraged children’s openness to contact with outgroup children as well. Moreover, even during a time of conflict escalation, children’s acceptance and openness towards the kindergarten teachers and children from the other group did not diminish. It appeared that direct contact between people of unequal status, combined with indirect contact between the two equal status groups of kindergarten children, had a positive effect. This could be partly due to the intensity and the positive contact with the kindergarten teacher from the outgroup, as well as to the institutional support for the intervention program.

Every Teacher Is Special: Stories of Heroism

Teachers are modern-day heroes contributing to the development of every child. This study primarily aimed to recognize and value the heroism of SPED teachers through real-life success stories of individuals with developmental delays who underwent the Communitybased Early Intervention Program (CBEIP). The study followed a descriptive research design that targeted five participants who were purposively selected by two of their retired SPED teachers in an elementary school in Legazpi City Division SPED Center. Interviews were conducted to gather the needed data and a documentary film was crafted to preserve the veracity of the collected information. Findings revealed that the teachers contribute a great part to the achievement of the five participants. Results also showed the struggles SPED teachers have encountered during their community days and how they were able to deal with them. Using cross-case analysis the study emphasizes that every teacher's story is a story of heroism. The study recommends documentation of teachers' stories in every field which may serve as inspiration to everyone.