ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Social Justice in Translation: Subjectivity, Identity, and Occidentalism
Author: Standish, Paul
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Justice,Critical Theory,English,Language Role,Educational Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Self Concept,Cooperation,Asian Culture,Ideology,English (Second Language),Cultural Differences

This paper considers the contemporary prominence of the concept of social justice and identifies two influential strands of thought that currently affect thinking about education: John Rawls' notion of justice as fairness and a more emancipatory conception typified by critical pedagogy. With this prominence the term has gathered a rhetorical force and been subject to ideological degeneration. The paper goes on to consider ways in which the notion of social justice has been "borrowed", especially in the light of the hegemony of English in the international research field. Further colonising consequences are examined, with reference to the work of Naoki Sakai, in relation to the development of notions of subjectivity and identity, in what might be described as a new "Occidentalism". In conclusion, the emphasis on cooperation in Rawls is contrasted with a notion of conversation found in Stanley Cavell and Ralph Waldo Emerson. This is epitomised by values of receptivity, openness, and resourcefulness, and is suggestive of a more Eastern sensibility. (Contains 5 notes.)
Public Acceptance and Articulation of Schools in Japanese Society: Origins in Education and Society in the 1930s
Author: Kimura, Hajime
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary Education,Secondary Education,Educational Practices,Articulation (Education),Foreign Countries,Educational History,Moral Development,Educational Attitudes

It goes without saying that character development occurs in school. However, it is necessary to make that very premise an object of analysis regarding the issue of school articulation. This article will reveal the establishment of character development through schools by focusing on the formation of elementary education as well as the expansion of post-elementary education in the 1930s. In addition, this article will present the perspective and viewpoint of Japan's public acceptance of schools, informed by youth, family businesses, teachers, educational practices, etc. leading up to the post-war establishment of a 6-3-3-4 education system. (Contains 19 notes and 1 graph.)
Designing Inquiry-Oriented Science Lab Activities
Author: Longo, Christopher M.
Date: 2011-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle Schools,Science Teachers,Inquiry,Science Activities,Curriculum Design,Intermode Differences,Science Experiments,Conventional Instruction,Instructional Innovation,Comparative Analysis,Class Activities,Classroom Environment,Classroom Techniques,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Practices,Change Strategies,Educational Strategies,Discovery Learning

Mr. Smith and Ms. D'Amico are two veteran science teachers in a well-performing school district. Both teachers use weekly lab exercises and experiments as formative assessments. In their middle school classrooms, children are engaged and eager to learn. As students walk into Mr. Smith's classroom, a prescribed, step-by-step procedure of the day's experiment is found at each lab station. Only 60 feet down the hallway, students in Ms. D'Amico's class arrive to find only the materials for the day's experiment and a lab rubric at each lab table. In this classroom, students are expected to design their own experiment using materials they choose from the lab table. In this article, the author contrasts the traditional approach to science lab activities that Mr. Smith uses with the inquiry-oriented approach Ms. D'Amico uses. He describes in detail the way Ms. D'Amico implements an inquiry-oriented lab in her classroom and illustrates how teachers can prepare students for standardized assessments while still creating meaningful lessons with real-world connections. (Contains 4 figures.)
A "Ladder to Literacy" Engages Reluctant Readers
Author: Brinda, Wayne
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Difficulties,Grade 6,Reading Instruction,Reading Attitudes,Reading Habits,Reading Improvement,Reading Interests,Reading Motivation,Reading Strategies,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Change Strategies,Educational Strategies,Literacy,Instructional Design

Many students struggle with reading as they transition from the elementary to the middle grades and the literature becomes more complex. Many students may also have personal experiences that interfere with them seeing any importance, value, or enjoyment in reading literature, especially books assigned in school. As a result, "struggling readers seldom get to experience how great it feels to finish a book [and] how much fun it can be to escape day-to-day life by jumping into a good book." In this article, the author discusses the problem of reluctant, or aliterate, readers in the middle grades and describes the project he implemented with sixth graders using the rungs of the Ladder to Literacy to organize his narrative. (Contains 1 figure.)
The Cult of Success
Author: Senechal, Diana
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Achievement,Success,Definitions,Rewards,Scores,Achievement Tests,Academic Achievement,Grades (Scholastic),Educational Environment

Success has meant wealth, virtue, excellence, wisdom, personal contentment, or any combination of these, but its definition has flattened over time, particularly in the past few decades. A combination of economic anxiety, aggressive advertising, ubiquitous ratings, and verbal vagueness has led to an emphasis on the external aspects of success--money, status, and appearance. Ranking is especially important. A "successful school" (in education discussion and reporting) is one that has raised test scores; a "successful teacher" or "successful reform" has done likewise. A "successful student" has earned high grades, landed a job with a high salary, or both. In research studies, newspaper articles, and general education discussions, there is far more talk of achievement than of the actual stuff that gets achieved. In this article, the author contends that such talk has resulted in a cult of success that, in its preoccupation with image, money, and power, has distorted what it really means to succeed. (Contains 21 endnotes.)
The Practice of Solitude
Author: Senechal, Diana
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Reading Writing Relationship,Writing (Composition),Reader Text Relationship,Reading,Selection

There is only one practice of solitude: to make a choice and carry it out well. The particulars assemble around this simple principle. One may later regret the choice; one may end up reversing or abandoning it. The choice may consist of doing nothing or refraining from a decision until the time is right. But no matter what it entails, one must entrust oneself to it in order to see it clearly. The practice of solitude requires education and experience. None of the choices of solitude can be made without insight, if they are to be made well. Many practices of solitude can be conveyed only through example. Teachers who practice their subjects--who think about them and work on them in their own time--can show students a way of life. They need not "model" for the students in any canned way; their very conduct is a model. When teachers read a poem aloud or present a mathematical proof, their tone conveys whether they have thought about it at length, played with it, argued about it, and more. Students will likewise learn from the teachers' handling of conflicts that arise in class and in school. But there is more to the practice of solitude than simply doing something well or working toward good performance. The person who shapes something is also shaped. People think of "character building" as something that takes place outside, in the world, but much of it happens in private. Reading, playing an instrument, memorizing the elements, all of this makes a person just a little different from before. Seeing the world a little differently, he is slightly altered in turn. All he needs to do is honor this new shape, not apologize for it, not slur its syllables. It is possible, even with abundant foibles, to live up to the way one sees the world. People learn, over time, what they will not and cannot do, what they will not and cannot give up. Sometimes the practice of solitude comes down to a simple "no." That "no" protects all sorts of other possibilities. It guards a life. (Contains 5 endnotes.)
Bipartisan, but Unfounded: The Assault on Teachers' Unions
Author: Kahlenberg, Richard D.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Evidence,Collective Bargaining,Democratic Values,Unions,Labor Legislation,Labor Relations,Politics of Education,Political Attitudes,Teaching (Occupation),Teachers,Criticism,Tenure,Elementary Secondary Education,Teacher Employment Benefits,Teacher Effectiveness,Educational Improvement

Teachers' unions are under unprecedented bipartisan attack. The drumbeat is relentless, from governors in Wisconsin and Ohio to the film directors of "Waiting for 'Superman'" and "The Lottery"; from new lobbying groups like Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst and Wall Street's Democrats for Education Reform to political columnists such as Jonathan Alter and George Will; from new books like political scientist Terry Moe's "Special Interest" and entrepreneurial writer Steven Brill's "Class Warfare" to even, at times, members of the Obama administration. The consistent message is that teachers' unions are the central impediment to educational progress in the United States. Part of the assault is unsurprising given its partisan origins. Republicans have long been critical, going back to at least 1996. What is new and particularly disturbing is that partisan Republicans are now joined by many liberals and Democrats in attacking teachers' unions. The critics' contentions, which the author sums up as collective bargaining and teachers' unions being undemocratic and bad for schoolchildren, have no real empirical support. Democratic societies throughout the world recognize the basic right of employees to band together to pursue their interests and secure a decent standard of living, whether in the private or public sector. Collective bargaining is important in a democracy, not only to advance individual interests, but to give unions the power to serve as a countervailing force against big business and big government. Moreover, there is no strong evidence that unions reduce overall educational outcomes or are at "the heart" of the education problems. The author contends that if collective bargaining were really a terrible practice for education, people would see stellar results in the grand experiments without it: the American South and the charter school arena. (Contains 25 endnotes and 1 footnote.)
Invisible Wars: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Teaching Insurgencies in Public Schools
Author: Doyle, Christopher L.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Merit Pay,Test Results,Citizenship,Democracy,Citizenship Education,Foreign Countries,College Admission,Job Layoff,Public Education,Current Events,High Schools,Academic Standards,Scores,Standardized Tests,War,Course Content,History Instruction,Federal Legislation

This author contends that contemporary issues classes no longer have currency, as standardized test results are the litmus test for education. In many schools, students are isolated from firsthand accounts and formal study of events that textbooks will one day proclaim as defining experiences of their generation. According to Doyle, schools tend not to teach many, perhaps most, headline-making problems: climate change, debt crises, the national and international polarization of wealth, revolutions in the Middle East, and oil dependence. Students can graduate from many, perhaps most, high schools today and remain tragically naive about the public history of their own times. Convinced that it is important for schools to reflect the history-making events of modern times, Doyle, feeling a bit like an &quot;insurgent,&quot; slips these lessons into his classes &quot;covertly,&quot; so as not to raise accusations about deviating from the official curricular script. He states his belief that it would be a mistake to reduce education merely to test success, job training, or the pursuit of high-status college admission. Schools must connect with life beyond the classroom, and public education properly done has to prepare students for citizenship in a democratic society. But with the national fixation on standards and test scores, massive teacher layoffs, and a growing preference for merit pay based on test results, the author contends that teaching about current events, specifically today's wars, demands furtiveness.
First, Do No Harm: Children's Environmental Health in Schools
Author: Chatham-Stephens, Kevin M.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Child Health,Pollution,Educational Environment,School Safety,Hazardous Materials,Teacher Role,Administrator Role,Environmental Standards,Health Promotion

In the past century, the threats to children's health have shifted radically. Life-threatening infectious diseases--smallpox, polio, and cholera--have been largely conquered. But children are growing up in a world in which environmental toxins are ubiquitous. Measurable levels of hundreds of man-made chemicals are routinely found in the bodies of all Americans, including newborns. Infants are exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls, lead, and mercury in the womb and through breast milk. Baby bottles and toys have been found to contain phthalates, bisphenol A, and lead, all toxins that have been linked to reproductive and developmental disorders. As harmful elements detected in everyday household items increase, rates of chronic disease have also risen sharply--and these conditions are now the leading causes of childhood illness and death. Responsibility for developing strong environmental policies does not rest with government alone. Other organizations--including schools--also should have carefully developed policies to ensure that they provide clean and safe environments. Teachers and administrators can serve as advocates for children by identifying and addressing environmental hazards in schools. This article highlights common environmental problems in the school setting--lead, pesticides, mercury, arsenic, outdoor and indoor air pollution, mold, asbestos, radon, bisphenol A/phthalates, and polychlorinated biphenyls--and identifies steps teachers and administrators can take to prevent or minimize exposure to these problems. (Contains 31 endnotes.)
Meaningful Work: How the History Research Paper Prepares Students for College and Life
Author: Fitzhugh, Will
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Research Papers (Students),Remedial Instruction,Nonfiction,Reading Motivation,Writing Instruction,Writing Improvement,Academic Discourse,Writing (Composition),Writing Skills

Many elementary teachers teach students to write, but this writing tends to focus only on students writing about themselves or writing short stories. Because students do not spend enough time in the early grades reading nonfiction in science and history, they lack the knowledge--of both content and the nature of nonfiction writing--necessary to undertake research papers in middle and high school. To really teach students how to write, educators must give them examples of good writing found in nonfiction books and require students to read them, not skim them, cover to cover. Reading nonfiction contributes powerfully to the knowledge that students need in order to read more difficult material--the kind they will surely face in college. But more importantly, the work of writing a research paper will lead students to read more and become more knowledgeable in the process. As any good writer knows, the best writing emerges from a rich store of knowledge that the author is trying to pass on. Without that knowledge and the motivation to share it, all the literacy strategies in the world will not make much difference. In this article, the author suggests that schools start assigning a page per year: each first-grader would be required to write a one-page paper on a subject other than himself or herself, with at least one source. At least one page and one source would be added each year to the required academic writing, so that fifth-graders, for example, would have to write a five-page paper with five sources, ninth-graders would have to write a nine-page paper with nine sources, and so on, until each and every high school senior could be asked to prepare a 12-page history research paper with 12 sources. Such a plan would gradually prepare students for future academic writing and could also reduce the need for remedial instruction in writing (and perhaps in remedial reading as well) when students enroll in college. The author contends that if school districts adopted such a plan, it would not take high school teachers nearly as much time as it does now to teach students to write history research papers; students could draw on the knowledge they gained in previous grades to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, formulate an argument or a narrative based on those sources, develop a bibliography, and write and revise numerous drafts. (Contains 1 footnote.)
A Closer Look at Meaningful Work
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: History,Advanced Placement Programs,Writing Processes,High School Students,High Schools,United States History,Research Papers (Students),Presidents,Interviews

This article presents an interview with Richard Luther of Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New Jersey. A 40-year veteran teacher who is retiring this year, Luther always assigns his Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History students an extensive research paper and integrates their research into their coursework and preparation for the AP exam. In this interview, Luther explains how he guides students through the research and writing process. A reprint of roughly half of &quot;Young Hickory: The Life and Presidency of James Knox Polk,&quot; which Rachel Waltman wrote for Luther during the 2009-2010 school year and which appeared in the Spring 2011 issue of the &quot;Concord Review&quot; is included. (Contains 73 endnotes.)
Authentic Activities and Materials for Adult ESL Learners
Author: Huang, Jiuhan
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Learning Activities,Adult Education,Adult Learning,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,Preferences,Intermode Differences,Teaching Styles,Teaching Methods,English Instruction,English Teachers,Instructional Materials,Instructional Material Evaluation

This article reports on a survey study that investigated the types of authentic materials and activities that ESL teachers of adults utilize and deem successful in their classrooms. Data were gathered through the use of a researcher-developed questionnaire consisting of nine items. Thirty participants provided examples of authentic materials and activities that they have successfully employed in adult ESL classrooms. Five thematic categories emerged from the data. Examples of authentic materials and activities are presented. (Contains 5 tables.)
Successfully Applying Team Teaching with Adult Learners
Author: Laughlin, Kevin
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Basic Education,Adult Learning,Adult Students,Team Teaching,Teaching Methods,Educational Strategies,Instructional Effectiveness,Instructional Innovation,Performance Factors,Teacher Collaboration,Barriers,Success,Best Practices

Team teaching is a great strategy to convey systems thinking to students, families, and communities and to help learners gain multiple perspectives. Learners benefit from the professional interaction among skilled instructors. This article uses a program of land stewardship to demonstrate the advantages of team teaching. Both the advantages and challenges of team teaching are discussed.
Using Likert-Type Scales in the Social Sciences
Author: Croasmun, James T.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Self Efficacy,Social Sciences,Likert Scales,Measures (Individuals),Replication (Evaluation),Item Analysis,Attitude Measures,Research Projects,Questionnaires,Evaluation Research

Likert scales are useful in social science and attitude research projects. The General Self-Efficacy Exam is a test used to determine whether factors in educational settings affect participant's learning self-efficacy. The original instrument had 10 efficacy items and used a 4-point Likert scale. The Cronbach's alphas for the original test ranged from 0.76 to 0.90. A 5-item Likert scale was created from this instrument by first adding a &quot;3 = neutral/undecided&quot; option and also by adding five negatively-worded items to the instrument. The instrument was piloted with 20 participants. The Cronbach's alpha for this pilot study was 0.87. The instrument was subsequently used in a large research study, and the Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.88. This yielded an instrument that showed strong internal consistency.
Practice Makes Perfect: Using a Computer-Based Business Simulation in Entrepreneurship Education
Author: Armer, Gina R. M.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Computer Simulation,Experiential Learning,Adult Learning,Entrepreneurship,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Business Education,Student Motivation,Educational Principles,Teaching Models

This article explains the use of a specific computer-based simulation program as a successful experiential learning model and as a way to increase student motivation while augmenting conventional methods of business instruction. This model is based on established adult learning principles.
Using the ICOT Instrument to Improve Instructional Technology Usage in the ABE Classroom
Author: Lentz, Brannon W.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Basic Education,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Improvement,Classroom Techniques,Classroom Observation Techniques,High School Equivalency Programs

The International Society for Technology (ISTE) in Education promotes the use of a specific tool--the ISTE Classroom Observation Tool (ICOT)--to  measure and improve the use of instructional technologies in Adult Basic Education (ABE) classrooms. The purpose of this article is to describe an application process for the use of the ICOT instrument in an ABE classroom in Alabama. It is asserted that most ABE programs across America are slow to incorporate instructional technologies into their curricula. (Contains 1 table.)
&quot;Let's Move!&quot; to End Childhood Obesity
Author: Obama, Michelle
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Obesity,Physical Activities,Children,Health Promotion,Child Health,Diseases,Body Composition,Physical Activity Level,Nutrition

Childhood obesity rates in America have tripled in the last three decades. Almost one in three children are considered overweight or obese. Pediatricians are now treating children for adult diseases like type II diabetes and hypertension. All parents want the best for their children. They want children to succeed in school, fulfill their dreams, and take this country to new heights. To get them there, parents know children need plenty of healthy food and exercise to help get them ready to learn. But parents know that's often easier said than done. That is why in 2010, Let's Move!, a nationwide initiative with a simple goal: to end childhood obesity within a generation, was launched. To achieve its goal, Let's Move! is working with people from every sector of the society--concerned parents and individuals across this country, businesses and elected officials, faith leaders and educators, doctors and athletes.