The Impacts of Language and Literacy Policy on Teaching Practices in Ghana: Postcolonial Perspectives on Early Literacy and Instruction
... There were 38 colleges of education at that time, but none focused on early childhood (Morrison, 2002). Early childhood care and education (ECCE) program at the University of Education, Winneba, followed the 2002 introduction of a two-year kindergarten program for 4-year-olds, which became a turning point in early childhood education by allowing teachers to specialize in early childhood education (Morrison, 2002;Agbenyega, 2008;Osseo-Asare, 2021). This evolution seems to have led to longstanding misconceptions and prejudices about early schooling in Ghana. ...
This study highlights the significance of prioritizing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education from the early stages of learning as a crucial step towards achieving inclusive and sustainable STEAM education. The study adopted a critical discourse analysis (CDA) and an allegory method entitled 'The Ancient Multi-Story Building'. The CDA involved studies, reports, and news on STEM-related and STEM initiatives in Ghana. The findings revealed a substantial gap in early childhood and primary education STEAM initiatives, largely due to prevailing misconceptions about these levels of education. The allegory of the 'Ancient Multi-Story Building' further explains the adverse impact of this gap by metaphorizing the flawed approach of initiating and investing in upper-level STEAM education while neglecting the lower-level years, much like a village constructing a multi-story building focusing on the higher floors without solidifying its base; obviously, the results will be disastrous. Similarly, the findings show that previous STEM-related initiatives in Ghana focusing on upper-level education have often been inclusively ineffective. The allegory further points out that the few students who thrive in these lopsided STEM-related pathways are typically those from affluent backgrounds with the necessary support. The study indicated that starting STEAM education in the early years of education has the potential to promote gender equity, cultivate critical thinking skills, and develop a positive attitude towards STEAM subjects among all young learners. This study, therefore, lays the groundwork to propose a strategic framework for early childhood and primary STEAM education in Ghana and other similar contexts.
This paper explores the relationship between language education and identity realization and the consequences of choosing either an Indigenous or a colonial language education approach. The focus is on the African postcolonial context; however, the arguments are also substantiated by examples from other parts of the world. I argue for a decolonial-multilingual approach to language education, where our conceptualizations of language must be decolonized (freed from colonial rhetoric) so that language use can be explored for its utility. The paper juxtaposes two lines of arguments: the first is an insistence on a return to Indigenous language education as a form of decolonial resistance and warnings against intellectual control through colonial language education. The second line of argument explores the possibilities of compartmentalizing and interrogating language use as an alternative decolonial-multilingual reality, thereby redefining an individual’s relationship with language and its influence on identity realization. As the paper highlights the extent to which language and identity are correlated, I conclude by stressing the need to decolonize language if identity realization is to be decolonized.
This study aimed at reviewing the Basel Mission educational policy on teacher education in Ghana, and how teacher education has been managed by post-independence governments. It examined how educational policies affected teacher education delivery in Ghana from 1848 to 2013 in the areas of educational structure, curriculum and management. The Presbyterian College of Education was used as a case study. A theoretical framework for the study was provided based on the Basel Mission's theology of education. This was followed by a review of teacher education in Ghana during the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. Content analyses of educational policy documents and archival materials as well as interviews were used for the collection of data. The findings revealed that the use of different structural models of teacher education, different curricula and different educational management styles were influenced by the educational policies of the colonial, nationalist, military and democratic governments of the Gold Coast / Ghana from 1848 to 2013. The study commends the Basel Mission for its initiative, and recommends the Ministry of Education to provide in-service training for teachers; governments to be guided by past educational policies; and governments to formulate educational policies that seek to promote national interest, rather than partisan interest, in order to ensure quality teacher education delivery.
In an era when quality education is a concern for education-focused international organizations and dominates national debates, teacher quality must equally be a priority. The central role of the teacher requires that teacher education must be of the highest quality toward achieving any educational agenda. This article provides a synopsis and adds to the currency of contemporary teacher education efforts in Ghana. It presents key teacher training institutions in Ghana and highlights the structure of teacher preparation, type of teacher training pursued, and pathways to teacher development in Ghana. It examines how the question of approaches teacher educators use in training student-teachers can or cannot lead to the development of critical thinking skills, which are vital to promoting teacher effectiveness. We advocate that universities, colleges, Teacher Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, and all bodies involved in teacher education in Ghana join forces to chart new content and, emphatically, approaches to teaching teachers-in-training that can promote critical thinking skills in teachers. With the increased private sector participation, we initiate a debate as to the need to ensure uniformity in teacher quality standards in Ghana.
Uganda introduced the use of mother tongue as medium of instruction in primary schools in 2007. This was meant to promote interaction and participation in the learning process and improve children’s proficiency in reading and writing. Drawing elements of interaction and participation from the socio-cultural theory, the childcentred pedagogy was introduced. This intervention, however, did not yield the expected results. Children taught in the local language still had problems in reading and writing. A participatory action research framework was used to gain insights into the child’s learning to read and write within a re-emphasised child-centred pedagogy. In this paper, we argue that involving children at individual and group levels, conducting continuous assessment and using appropriate instructional materials help children to learn and improve their proficiency in reading and writing. Some pupils, however, still find difficulties in reading three syllable words, constructing simple sentences and punctuating their work. For the children to improve their proficiency in reading and writing in their mother tongue, the teachers need to use more instructional materials, carry out continuous assessment in small groups and design learning activities that promote children’s interaction and participation.
Anonymising qualitative research data can be challenging, especially in highly sensitive contexts
such as catastrophic brain injury and end-of-life decision-making. Using examples from in-depth
interviews with family members of people in vegetative and minimally conscious states, this article
discusses the issues we faced in trying to maximise participant anonymity alongside maintaining
the integrity of our data. We discuss how we developed elaborate, context-sensitive strategies
to try to preserve the richness of the interview material wherever possible while also protecting
participants. This discussion of the practical and ethical details of anonymising is designed to add
to the largely theoretical literature on this topic and to be of illustrative use to other researchers
confronting similar dilemmas.
This article proposes multilingualism in education, where indigenous languages are used alongside English as the media of instruction in schools to eventually promote their use in Kenya. It begins by stating Kenya’s language policy in education. It then states the responses given by some primary and secondary school teachers who were interviewed on the implementation of the language policy in schools and their attitude towards the possibility of using the mother tongues in teaching some subjects in primary schools and beyond. The differing situation from school to school shows inconsistency in the language policy implementation. Some teachers’ views show that indigenous languages should not be forgotten. The article suggests that the indigenous languages should be used more in education and should have an economic value. Finally, plurality is viewed as an African reality and the need to develop a language policy that will strengthen the position of indigenous languages is recognized.
The study and use of indigenous African languages in education have been viewed unfavourably by many, including African scholars. This has resulted in fewer educated Africans studying their indigenous languages in school. Africans who study their languages in school beyond Junior High School are seen as “academically weak”. Sometimes, a student’s poor performance in English and other subjects is attributed to his/her constant use of the indigenous language (Andoh-Kumi1997). In 1994, the study of Ghanaian languages as a core subject in the Senior High School (SHS) was abolished because it was erroneously conceived as a contributing factor to the abysmal performance of students in English, in particular, and other academic subjects, in general. Since then, the study of a Ghanaian language at the Senior High School has suffered a serious setback culminating in considerably reduced enrolment of students who study Ghanaian languages. Students offered a Ghanaian language as part of their SHS programs accept it reluctantly. It is therefore important to investigate this phenomenon in the SHS. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and observations as data collection strategies to investigate the negative attitude of Ghanaians towards the study of L1 in the SHS, and how SHS students studying their L1 are coping with the negative attitude. The study also examines ways that the negative attitude towards the study of L1 in SHS can be changed.
The Berlin West Africa Conference of 1884-1885 has assumed a powerful symbolic presence in international legal accounts of
the 19th century, but for historians of the era its importance has often been doubted. This article seeks to re-interpret
the place of the Berlin General Act in late 19th-century history, suggesting that the divergence of views has arisen largely
as a consequence of an inattentiveness to the place of systemic logics in legal regimes of this kind.
Children, especially in the preschool years, learn a tremendous amount through play. Research on guided play demonstrates how schools can couple a curriculum-centered preschool program with a developmentally appropriate pedagogical approach to classroom teaching. However, to fully test this claim, we need a clear definition of the term “guided play”: In guided play, the adult structures the play environment, but the child maintains control within that environment. Guided play can lead to dramatically better learning outcomes than didactic situations. If you tell them, children will learn. But if you guide them, children are more likely to actively explore and learn more.
A common way of discussing generalisation is to search for one conception – a monist view. Another approach is to create a dichotomy between quantitative and qualitative research, each having a single definition – a dualist perspective. A pluralist view is argued for here, i.e. the existence of several lines of reasoning, each of which can be evaluated in specific cases in terms of usefulness, strengths and weaknesses. Five different lines of reasoning about generalization, which could possibly be useful in qualitative research, are presented. They are: ‘studies that undermine established universal “truths”’, ‘the ideographic study’, ‘enhancing the generalisation potential by maximizing variation’, ‘generalisation through context similarity’ and ‘generalisation through recognition of patterns.’ Each is critically commented on.
This study adopted the qualitative research approach involving observation and interviewing to examine the policy and practice of school inspection in the Ghanaian basic school system. The study revealed that inspection is an integral part of Ghana's educational system. It emerged that the system of monitoring schools is governed by an “evolving” policy. The Ghana Education Service has inadequate inspection personnel; schools assigned to inspectors are too many; and, transportation problems prevent inspectors from paying regular visits to schools. This has led to a kind of teacher culture where everyone gets by with the minimum teaching ineffectiveness; and low pupil learning achievement. Augmenting the numbers and equipping inspectors with the requisite logistics will promote effective monitoring towards quality basic education. Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 26 (3) 2003: pp. 104-113
One often cited challenge to effective mother tongue-based bilingual education (MTBE) in multilingual countries like Ghana is the difficulty of developing curriculum and instructional materials in many languages. To explain this situation, factors such as shortage of writers and teachers in the local languages, lack of interest on the part of publishers in view of the wide availability of textbooks in multiple languages, as well as official support for dominant western languages, such as English, are cited. This paper discusses the veracity of these ‘challenges’, by examining pre- and post-independent governments’ efforts at material development to support MTBE in Ghana. The paper notes that, while most educational policies and reforms have emphasised the importance of MTBE, there has, in fact, been no concerted attempt to design and implement a language-in-education policy incorporating the urgent need to develop curriculum materials for MTBE. The paper attributes this to the lack of political will, economic reasons and the general misconceptions about MTBE.
The liberation of Africa and its peoples from centuries of racially discriminatory colonial rule and domination has far-reaching implications for educational thought and practice. The transformation of educational discourse in Africa requires a philosophical framework that respects diversity, acknowledges lived experience and challenges the hegemony of Western forms of universal knowledge. In this article I reflect critically on whether African philosophy, as a system of African knowledge(s), can provide a useful philosophical framework for the construction of empowering knowledge that will enable communities in Africa to participate in their own educational development.
Today’s educational challenges in Africa have their roots in the colonial education system. The article explores the consequences of linguistic choices for quality education, self-determined development and children’s rights in education. The analysis centers on a case study of a curriculum change in Zanzibar in which English has replaced Kiswahili as the language of instruction in the last years of primary school in Mathematics and Science subjects. The case study is grounded in an extensive review of theory and practices on the relationship between language of instruction, learning and rights in education. The field study researched the reasons behind the curriculum change, the extent to which schools were prepared for the change, and the consequences of the change for the learning environment. The article, therefore suggests that for the 21st century, Africa should place emphasis on rights policies that promotes not only access, but also inclusion and quality education.
Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) can improve teacher quality and teaching practice, yet teachers differ greatly in the extent to which they engage in CPD. In extensive research into which factors affect teachers’ participation in CPD, the effects of teachers’ beliefs have received limited attention, despite their strong influences on people’s working and learning. Teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching in particular influence their teaching practices. Does a comparable relationship exist between these beliefs and teachers’ own learning or participation in CPD? To explore this relationship, 260 Dutch secondary school teachers completed a survey that focused on the teachers’ student-oriented and subject matter-oriented beliefs, as well as on teachers’ updating, reflective and collaborative activities. Because teachers’ characteristics reflect both belief dimensions, this study relied on cluster analysis, which revealed three distinct belief profiles. These results indicated that teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching relate to their participation in CPD: the more a teacher’s profile is student oriented and subject matter oriented, the higher his or her participation in CPD. The results have implications for enhancing teachers’ reflections on their beliefs about learning and teaching, in conjunction with participation in CPD.
This article addresses potential effects on reflexivity of researcher’s social position (e.g. gender, age, race, immigration status, sexual orientation), personal experiences, and political and professional beliefs. Because reflexivity is a major strategy for quality control in qualitative research, understanding how it may be impacted by the characteristics and experiences of the researcher is of paramount importance. Benefits and challenges to reflexivity under three types of researcher’s position are discussed and illustrated by means of case examples: (1) reflexivity when researcher shares the experience of study participants, (2) reflexivity when researcher moves from the position of an outsider to the position of an insider in the course of the study, and (3) reflexivity when researcher has no personal familiarity or experience with what is being studied. Strategies are offered for harvesting the benefits of researcher’s familiarity with the subject and for curbing its potentially negative effects. Directions for future research are suggested.
This study investigated the effect of a social and emotional learning skills curriculum, the You Can Do It! Early Childhood Education Program (YCDI), on the social-emotional development, well-being, and academic achievement of 99 preparatory and grade 1 students attending a Catholic school in Melbourne, Australia. One preparatory and one grade 1 class were randomly chosen to receive structured lessons in YCDI, delivered by their classroom teachers over a period of 10 weeks, while the remaining preparatory and grade 1 class served as the control group. The lessons were designed to teach young children confidence, persistence, organisation and emotional resilience. The educational program consisted of explicit, direct instruction lessons drawn from the YCDI Early Childhood Curriculum taught three times a week, supported by a variety of additional social and emotional teaching practices. The results indicated that YCDI had a statistically significant positive effect on levels of social-emotional competence and well-being for the preparatory and grade 1 students, a reduction in problem behaviours (externalising, internalising, and hyperactivity problems) for the grade 1 students, and an increase in reading achievement (decoding text) for the lower achieving grade 1 students. These findings are discussed with regard to issues concerning the role of explicit instruction in social and emotional learning for the early years.
The Education Reform Act introduced in England and Wales in 1988 brought about enormous changes in schools, both as management units and as educational institutions. This book, first published in 1992, was the first to look at the effects of the Act in all its aspects on the basis of empirical evidence gathered from schools over the first three years of the Act's implementation. It looks at how change is being achieved in the Local Management of Schools, the influence of the market on schools, the introduction of the National Curriculum and the place of Special Needs provision in the new education scene. This book will be of interest to all who want to know about educational reform in Britain. It will also be of interest to those in the fields of education policy, educational management and sociology of education. © 1992 Richard Bowe, Stephen J. Ball and Anne Gold. All rights reserved.
In order to obtain a better understanding of how headteachers frame their professional lives, a comparative project was set up with a life history approach. A series of open-ended interviews were conducted where headteachers talked about themselves, their work, background, experiences and career. The article focuses on the modes of inquiry used in the study and explores alternative approaches to analysis, especially of content and form. Several methodological issues are discussed, for instance the production of data as an interactive and collaborative process of creating meaning, the central role of the research relations, dialogical analysis and how to move from separate individual stories to an analysis of headteachers' lives across different countries. As the analysis has unfolded, new questions have been posed about the comparative aspect of the project. At the beginning, cross-national similarities and differences were relatively straightforward and were found in the content of interviews. Since then, explorations of the form and structure of the stories have raised more complex juxtapositions. More recently, new questions have begun to emerge, such as about the nature and meanings of 'professional confidence' and its relationship to external accountability in national contexts.
The purpose of this article is to evaluate the role that colonization played in language education policy and illustrate the need for first language instruction. Using postcolonial scholar Franz Fanon, the reasons for and consequences of using a second language medium of instruction in postcolonial nations are explored. Colonial languages were used to reinforce the imperialistic goals of colonizing nations and this language policy was rarely reversed after decolonization. Many nations have instated pilot mother tongue programs into their school systems, but they rarely move past this stage. This article deconstructs how colonization and decolonization affect the language of instruction and language education policy in developing nations (with a focus on francophone nations). Haiti is used as an example to illustrate the difficulties and complexity that decolonization brings to education policy. It is important that as we start to face new global forces that hinder first language instruction (globalization, westernization) we do not forget the historical oppressions that have a current impact on policy.
The anarchic trickster spider Anansi, whose origins can be traced back to West Africa, is predominantly found in Anglophone Caribbean folktales, while Brer Rabbit, who originates from South, Central and East Africa, is popular across the French-speaking Caribbean and USA. Brer Rabbit tales entered white American mainstream culture in the late nineteenth century through Joel Chandler Harris's “Uncle Remus” collections. Through scrutinizing representations of Anansi in late-nineteenth-century collections in Jamaica and Brer Rabbit tales collected during the same period in the American South, this essay compares the very different trajectories of the two trickster figures.
The characterization of Kweku Ananse, the trickster figure in Akan oral narratives, is explored by means of Freud's psychoanalytical theory. Ananse is revealed as an incarnation of the id with little or frequently no intervention of the superego. He is lawless, asocial, and amoral. One systematically finds him engaged in activities directed at gratifying his instincts for pleasure without regard for social conventions, legal ethics, or moral restraints. Kweku Ananse's literary function in the Akan oral educational system appears to be an attempt to expose the danger that he represents in society. Besides, the audience sympathizes vicariously with our hero, who renders, within the fixed bounds of what is permitted, an experience of what is inadmissible. Ananse narratives are cathartic, serving as tension-relieving aesthetic devices.
The area of teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) is of growing interest internationally. However, while an increasing range of literature focuses on particular aspects of CPD, there is a paucity of literature addressing the spectrum of CPD models in a comparative manner. This article therefore considers a wide range of international literature, together with some specific examples from the Scottish context, in proposing a framework built around key characteristics of individual models of CPD. The framework identifies nine key models, which are then classified in relation to their capacity for supporting professional autonomy and transformative practice. The article considers the circumstances in which each of the nine models of CPD might be adopted, and explores the form(s) of knowledge that can be developed through any particular model. It also examines the power relationships inherent in the individual models and explores the extent to which CPD is perceived and promoted either as an individual endeavour related to accountability, or as a collaborative endeavour that supports transformative practice. Finally, it is argued that there is a need for greater interrogation of both the purpose and the potential outcomes of CPD structures - the framework outlined in this article is offered as one way of supporting such analysis. © 2014 © 2014 International Professional Development Association (IPDA).
Stephen Ball's micro-political theory of school organization is a radical departure from traditional theories. He rejects a prescriptive 'top-down' approach and directly addresses the interests and concerns of teachers and the current problems of change facing schools
This chapter focuses on the key components of the curriculum of Initial Teacher education (ITE) and the ways in which it has been changing over the last years internationally. In particular, it analyses the place and role of the educational studies, subject matter studies, pedagogical studies (sometimes following a more didactic perspective) and practicum in initial teacher education programmes. The aim of the chapter is twofold: (1) to identify and contrast the ways in which the different key components are articulated in the curriculum of ITE programmes; (2) to analyse the rationale and underpinning assumptions of given models of teacher education, particularly the views and focus of the curriculum itself and the government intervention in the design of ITE programmes. It is argued that, in many contexts, teacher education curriculum has been subject of a rather restricted view in line with policies that point to a narrow perspective of school curriculum. However, it is also possible to identify programmes that integrate the key components of ITE curriculum, in particular theory and practice, subject knowledge and educational studies as well as practicum, in a more explicit way, through a research based design.
The subject of colonialism is still imbued with emotive overtones, and it is perhaps too early to expect complete agreement in the description and evaluation of the impact of colonial rule on Africa. This article utilizes an important indicator of government activity, public expenditure decisions, to aid in describing the nature of British rule in the Gold Coast from 1901 to 1939. The intention is twofold: first, to check the validity of certain propositions about British colonialism and, second, to investigate how well the apparent uniqueness of one particular Governor, F. Gorgon Guggisberg (1919-1927), is supported by this information source. The descriptive strengths of government expenditure data are readily apparent. Expenditure is quantified and thus fairly comparable both over time and cross-nationally. Moreover, expenditure provides an empirical measure of nearly the entire range of government activities. Consequently, changes in governmental goals might be expected to be reflected in expenditure allocations. There are, however, several problems which may impair the usefulness of government expenditure as a descriptive tool. First, every government, even the wealthiest, must operate within the constraints placed on it by the size of the revenue and, more fundamentally, the structure of the national economy. Strongly desired programs may, therefore, languish because of a shortage of funds. As is the case elsewhere in the social world, objective acts are often imperfect measures of subjective motivations. Second, the distribution of funds among various sectors is not always amenable to rapid restructuring, so that a change in goals may be sluggishly reflected in government expenditure.
The Language in Africa Special Interest Group (LiASIG) of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) is a forum for applied linguistic research in Africa, and invites studies with both a micro and a macro focus. Researchers are concerned with how political, social and educational contexts affect the valuation and use of languages in Africa where multilingualism is the norm. Papers are presented at the SIG annual meeting and in the LiA track at BAAL conferences. The present review covers papers presented between 2012 and 2014 that focus on the interplay of policy and practice, particularly in education.
Rethinking questions of identity, social agency and national affiliation, Bhabha provides a working, if controversial, theory of cultural hybridity - one that goes far beyond previous attempts by others. In The Location of Culture, he uses concepts such as mimicry, interstice, hybridity, and liminality to argue that cultural production is always most productive where it is most ambivalent. Speaking in a voice that combines intellectual ease with the belief that theory itself can contribute to practical political change, Bhabha has become one of the leading post-colonial theorists of this era.
In sociology, studies of social change in the non-Western world have not assigned a prominent role to missionary organizations. This relative neglect is the product of two assumptions: first, that missions abroad were ineffective as agents of fundamental social change; and, second, that their activities were shaped more by powerful secular agendas over which they had little control than by autonomous religious interests. Contrary to the first assumption, there is ample evidence that some missions were impressive agents of social transformation; contrary to the second, some of them took a stand in direct opposition to the secular political and economic interests to which they are often considered subordinate. Together these observations reinforce the concept of the relative autonomy of religion. I argue here that one key to understanding mission resistance to powerful nonreligious forces can be found in religious conceptions of the proper relationships among land, labor, and community stability. When these are threatened, the symbiosis between religious and secular interests can give way to open and effective defiance.
During the last decade the question of counterfactual arguments has attracted a good deal of attention both in philosophy and history. A recent example, which concentrates on the logics of counterfactual analysis in history, is T.O. Climo and P.G.A. Howells' “Possible worlds in historical explanation.” Further progress in this field probably depends both on a development of the purely logical issues involved and an analysis of the actual usage of counterfactuals in the language of practicing historians. My own approach belongs primarily to the latter category. I shall consider examples of counterfactual arguments in two hotly debated fields, first the partition of the African continent and, second, the effects of colonial rule. This approach will provide examples of the function of counterfactuals both in causal analysis and in historical evaluations. My primary aim is to establish a categorization of different usages, but the opportunity will also be taken to discuss in a general manner criteria for the legitimate use of counterfactual argument in history. In this connection I should emphasize my lack of knowledge in formal logic, except that provided by my two Norwegian collegues, Ottar Dahl, and Jon Elster, on whom I rely heavily for the more theoretical parts of this paper.
Historical analysis is preoccupied with causes, and in causal analysis there is a particular urge to identify socalled “sufficient” and “necessary” causes. In propositions about such causes some counterfactual assumptions are logically implicit. The clearest example of a necessary cause or precondition for European expansion in Africa is that of technology. To take an early and typical example, Holland Rose maintained that it was an “essential condition” of colonization that “mechanical appliances should be available for the overcoming of natural obstacles.” The implicit counterfactual is that without technology, never colonization. Counterfactuals of this kind scarcely attract attention precisely because of their obvious legitimacy.
This paper deals with formal language at the chiefly palaces of the Akan people of Ghana. The Akan language is spoken in six regions in the southern parts of Ghana. These areas are inhabited by native Akans and by Ghanaian immigrants representing other ethnic groups. The approaches used in this study are formality (Irvine 2001) and register, as outlined by Agha (2007). The paper looks at Akan palace language from the point of view of the norms and values of Akan culture and shows the rich use of language in sociocultural communicative events at the Akan palace. I focus on the following questions: How different is royal oratory from ordinary language? What is the place of formality and politeness in palace language? How do children acquire competence in palace language? What is required of participants? What are the functions of palace language? What is the current state of the palace language? And, have there been any dramatic changes in the palace language from urbanization, modernization, and the influence of Western cultures and religion?
This article presents the results of an investigation into the place of English in the curriculum in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The study indicates that the emergence of English as a global language is having considerable impact on policies and practices in all countries surveyed. However, it also reveals significant problems, including confusion and inconsistency, at the level of policy, particularly regarding the issue of age of initial instruction, inequity regarding access to effective language instruction, inadequately trained and skilled teachers, and a disjunction between curriculum rhetoric and pedagogical reality.
This research explores manifestations of ‘diploma disease’ in distance education (DE) upgrading programmes for basic school teachers in Ghana. A survey design which included document analysis was used to explore the emphasis in the contents of the DE programme and the experiences of teachers who took the programmes. The study involved a sample of 230 students (140 males and 90 females) who were all teaching in public schools (66% in primary and 31% in junior high schools). The findings indicate that the programme was fulfilling its purpose of upgrading a large number of teachers so they acquired a diploma and/or degree qualification for teaching in Ghanaian basic schools. In spite of their average satisfaction with their experiences of several aspects of the DE upgrading programme, a substantial proportion of the participants indicated that they had great difficulties in carrying out such activities as ‘teaching large classes’ and ‘teaching new content areas introduced into the syllabuses’ because the programme provided little opportunity to develop these skills. Finally, since the DE programme is based on the official curriculum designed for the traditional face-to-face programme, the failure of the former to increase teachers’ capacity to deliver as envisaged by the initiators of the programme can be attributed largely to inefficiencies in the official curriculum. The study concluded that the DE programme’s inability to increase teachers’ capacity to deliver better teaching is a manifestation of a ‘diploma disease’ resulting from inefficiencies in the nation’s teacher education system. Suggestions are made for improving the quality of DE upgrading programmes.
Few methodological papers exist which examine the use of vignettes within qualitative research and more specifically, with children and young people. The paper will briefly discuss the application of vignettes within quantitative and qualitative research traditions derived from the available literature before outlining the major theoretical and methodological issues relating to the use of this technique in social research. Using empirical examples of young people's responses to a selected vignette, we then go on to explore the various benefits of vignettes that can ensue when employing this technique in isolation or as part of a multi-method approach. This discussion concludes with an exploration of how vignettes can be harnessed to engage young people, particularly in the discussion of sensitive topics, whilst enabling them to retain a high level of control over the research process.
The critical period hypothesis holds that first language acquisition must occur before cerebral lateralization is complete, at about the age of puberty. One prediction of this hypothesis is that second language acquisition will be relatively fast, successful, and qualitatively similar to first language only if it occurs before the age of puberty. This prediction was tested by studying longitudinally the naturalistic acquisition of Dutch by English speakers of different ages. The subjects were tested 3 times during their first year in Holland, with an extensive test battery designed to assess several aspects of their second language ability. It was found that the subjects in the age groups 12-15 and adult made the fastest progress during the first few months of learning Dutch and that at the end of the first year the 8-10 and 12-15-year-olds had achieved the best control of Dutch. The 3-5-year-olds scored lowest on all the tests employed. These data do not support the critical period hypothesis for language acquisition.
Earlier treatments of moderatum generalization (e.g. Williams, 2000a) explicitly addressed interpretivist sociology. This article extends that earlier argument by examining some of its implications for a wider range of qualitative research methods. It first adopts an empirical approach, providing concrete illustrations from the most recent volume of Sociology of what sociologists actually do when describing the meaning of their findings. In the light of this, we reconsider the significance of moderatum generalization for research practice and the status of sociological knowledge, in particular making the case that research design should plan for anticipated generalizations, and that generalization should be more explicitly formulated within a context of supporting evidence.
Do African countries suffer from their arbitrary boundaries? The authors test several hypotheses from the debate on this question. They differentiate, one by one, the degree of arbitrariness of African boundaries along two axes: the extent to which they partition preexisting political groupings (dismemberment) and the degree to which they bring together distinct precolonial political cultures (suffocation). They find that dismemberment is positively associated with international disputes and that suffocation magnifies the likelihood of civil wars, political instability, and secession attempts. The evidence appears to support claims that Africa has paid a substantial price for refusing to challenge some of the arbitrary boundaries it inherited from colonialism. The authors discuss the policy implications of their findings.
Promoting mathematical creativity is one of the aims of mathematics education. This study investigates the tasks teachers chose when their aim was to occasion mathematical creativity in the classroom. Five cases are described in depth, and general trends found among these cases as well as in additional data are discussed. Findings indicated that teachers take into consideration not only task features and cognitive demands, but also emotions and values. One common thread found among the teachers was the implication that creativity pertains to being different and unusual. The study provides a framework for analyzing tasks which may be used with teachers in professional development to discuss how a task may afford or constrain mathematical creativity.