title: Music programs for young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from across the world

authors: Ilari, Beatriz

abstract: The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected education and services geared toward young children and families, including early childhood music programs. While some programs were shut down, others were able to migrate to online formats and outdoor offerings (where allowed). Early childhood music programs are usually collective, with babies and young children often sharing and exploring common spaces, instruments, and props. These programs are also heavily based on singing, a behavior that is celebrated by early childhood specialists for its emotional expressiveness, communicative potential, and relevance for child development. Because the coronavirus can be transmitted via aerosol particles, singing became highly unsafe during the pandemic. Other challenges arose as early childhood music education programs were transferred into new formats, ranging from issues of logistics and access to technology to adherence to everchanging local and national policies, as well as cultural beliefs and behaviors. In this chapter, teachers, researchers, and program directors offer stories of adaptation and resilience in varied early childhood music programs in Kenya, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States. Accounts are presented first, followed by their juxtaposition, to reveal common themes and implications for early childhood music education in the post-COVID era.

text: Music programs for young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from across the world The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected education and services geared toward young children and families, including early childhood music programs. While some programs were shut down, others were able to migrate to online formats and outdoor offerings (where allowed). Early childhood music programs are usually collective, with babies and young children often sharing and exploring common spaces, instruments, and props. These programs are also heavily based on singing, a behavior that is celebrated by early childhood specialists for its emotional expressiveness, communicative potential, and relevance for child development. Because the coronavirus can be transmitted via aerosol particles, singing became highly unsafe during the pandemic. Other challenges arose as early childhood music education programs were transferred into new formats, ranging from issues of logistics and access to technology to adherence to everchanging local and national policies, as well as cultural beliefs and behaviors. In this chapter, teachers, researchers, and program directors offer stories of adaptation and resilience in varied early childhood music programs in Kenya, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States. Accounts are presented first, followed by their juxtaposition, to reveal common themes and implications for early childhood music education in the post-COVID era.

year: 2022-07-08

title: Saudi secondary school science teachers' perceptions of the use of ICT tools to support teaching and learning

authors: Almaghlouth, Osamah Abdulwahab D.

subjects: ICT

abstract: This research was conducted to investigate the Saudi science teachers' perception of the
use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to enhance teaching and
learning and undertake a small and groundwork examination of these teachers current use
of ICT.
It draws on the interpretive paradigm (Cohen  Manion, 1994), where the focus is on
how people interpret and make sense of their world. From this interpretive perspective
the beliefs of Saudi secondary school science teachers, in relation to the benefits of ICT,
their current use of ICT and their perceived needs for improvement in the use of ICT in
the classroom were investigated.
Saudi secondary schools science teachers from both girls' and boys' schools in three
different types of schools have been involved in this study. There were 28 government
schools (9 girls' and 19 boys' schools), four small schools in rented premises (2 girls'
and 2 boys' schools) and four Aramco schools (1 girls' and 3 boys' schools). These
schools were in different districts: Aldammam city, Alkhobar city, Aldahran city,
Alqateaf city and Sufwa city. The teachers were asked to voluntarily participate in the
study and 131 teachers out of 200 (86 male and 45 female, 65 %) completed the
questionnaire. Analysis of the data, together with the relevant literature builds a picture
of the use of ICT in science education. Providing ICT hardware and software resources to
a school is not enough to ensure significant developments in use of ICT for teaching and
learning in Saudi science classrooms. Access to working ICT continues to be an issue for
these teachers. Although teachers identified many benefits to teachers and students from
using ICT and had made individual efforts to develop their use of ICT for admin
planning and lesson preparation, they also identified barriers. These barriers focused on a
lack of appropriate professional development and technical support.
The findings have implications for future development in the area of ICT. It is expected
that the results of the research will guide future research and development in the country
and outline the importance of the use of information and communication technology in
education for teachers, students, parents and decision-makers. It will contribute
information towards decision-making and planning in future projects.

text: Saudi secondary school science teachers' perceptions of the use of ICT tools to support teaching and learning This research was conducted to investigate the Saudi science teachers' perception of the
use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to enhance teaching and
learning and undertake a small and groundwork examination of these teachers current use
of ICT.
It draws on the interpretive paradigm (Cohen  Manion, 1994), where the focus is on
how people interpret and make sense of their world. From this interpretive perspective
the beliefs of Saudi secondary school science teachers, in relation to the benefits of ICT,
their current use of ICT and their perceived needs for improvement in the use of ICT in
the classroom were investigated.
Saudi secondary schools science teachers from both girls' and boys' schools in three
different types of schools have been involved in this study. There were 28 government
schools (9 girls' and 19 boys' schools), four small schools in rented premises (2 girls'
and 2 boys' schools) and four Aramco schools (1 girls' and 3 boys' schools). These
schools were in different districts: Aldammam city, Alkhobar city, Aldahran city,
Alqateaf city and Sufwa city. The teachers were asked to voluntarily participate in the
study and 131 teachers out of 200 (86 male and 45 female, 65 %) completed the
questionnaire. Analysis of the data, together with the relevant literature builds a picture
of the use of ICT in science education. Providing ICT hardware and software resources to
a school is not enough to ensure significant developments in use of ICT for teaching and
learning in Saudi science classrooms. Access to working ICT continues to be an issue for
these teachers. Although teachers identified many benefits to teachers and students from
using ICT and had made individual efforts to develop their use of ICT for admin
planning and lesson preparation, they also identified barriers. These barriers focused on a
lack of appropriate professional development and technical support.
The findings have implications for future development in the area of ICT. It is expected
that the results of the research will guide future research and development in the country
and outline the importance of the use of information and communication technology in
education for teachers, students, parents and decision-makers. It will contribute
information towards decision-making and planning in future projects.

year: 2008

title: ‘Indigenous Rights’ or ‘Racial Privileges’: The rhetoric of ‘race’ in New Zealand politics

authors: Barber, Keith

subjects: indigeneity

abstract: The New Zealand parliamentary election campaign of 2005 was marked by a significant break in the consensus between the two major political parties, Labour and National, in the area of Maori affairs: a consensus that had previously been articulated in terms of a shared commitment to 'biculturalism' and the Treaty of Waitangi. In January 2004, the National Party launched an attack on government policies, describing them as giving unfair privileges to Maori based purely on 'race'. The present paper examines the National Party's adoption of the rhetoric of 'race' and the conceptual, political and ideological considerations behind it. It also examines attitudinal, social policy and socioeconomic factors to explain the widespread acceptability of this rhetoric among the New Zealand public. These events are considered within the context of a growing academic and political critique of 'culturalism' in New Zealand social policy and social science.

text: ‘Indigenous Rights’ or ‘Racial Privileges’: The rhetoric of ‘race’ in New Zealand politics The New Zealand parliamentary election campaign of 2005 was marked by a significant break in the consensus between the two major political parties, Labour and National, in the area of Maori affairs: a consensus that had previously been articulated in terms of a shared commitment to 'biculturalism' and the Treaty of Waitangi. In January 2004, the National Party launched an attack on government policies, describing them as giving unfair privileges to Maori based purely on 'race'. The present paper examines the National Party's adoption of the rhetoric of 'race' and the conceptual, political and ideological considerations behind it. It also examines attitudinal, social policy and socioeconomic factors to explain the widespread acceptability of this rhetoric among the New Zealand public. These events are considered within the context of a growing academic and political critique of 'culturalism' in New Zealand social policy and social science.

year: 2008