Education Commons^™

Research On Second Language Teacher Motivation: From A Vygotskian Activity Theory Perspective, Tae-Young Kim, Qian-Mei Zhang

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

Second language (L2) teachers’ motivation has considerable influence on their students’ L2 learning motivation, personal satisfaction, and fulfillment. It has important influence on national educational reform and development. Although a number of studies have examined teachers’ motivation to teach, to date, few have focused on L2 teacher motivation. Based on the limitations identified in previous research, this paper articulates the inherent complexities of L2 teacher motivation and identifies its dynamic characteristics from the perspective of Vygotskian Activity Theory (AT). With a concise overview of AT, this paper elaborates on the applicability and relevance of AT to L2 teachers’ motivation by …

Cross-Grade Analysis Of Chinese Students' English Learning Motivation: A Mixed-Methods Study, Qian-Mei Zhang, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This mixed-methods study investigated the changes in Chinese students’ motivation to learn English from elementary to high school and explored the reasons for these changes at different school levels. A motivational questionnaire was designed and administered to 3,777 elementary, junior high, and high school students, and followup interviews were then conducted with nine students in order to investigate their perceptions of their motivations. Seven subcomponents of motivation were identified. The statistical results revealed that junior high school students had the highest learning motivation, followed by those in elementary school and those in high school. The interview data indicated that parents’ …

Tuning Into The Future: Informal Learning And Music Education, Ruth Wright, Carol Beynon, B. A. Younker, V. Meredith, Jennifer Hutchison, Leslie Linton

Ruth Wright Dr

When adolescents are engaged in learning, research has shown a decrease in alcohol and drug use, higher retention rates and fewer failures throughout high school, lower rates of depression as well as lower rates of anti-social and criminal behaviours. Attention to student engagement with a priority on 21st century learning skills requires the examination of various pedagogies, including using informal learning practices as the foundation for instruction with adolescents in schools. This pilot project targets Grade 7 to 10 students in two school settings where adolescent engagement is a priority; it examines the viability of implementing informal learning practices within …

Implications Of Implementing A Hybrid Learning Approach At The University Of Guyana, Kerwin A. Livingstone

Kerwin A. Livingstone

Online learning and teaching is pervading higher education (HE) and many Universities are faced with the challenge of incorporating technology in education to meet the needs of students. The objective of this paper is to examine the implications of introducing a hybrid learning approach at the University of Guyana. A rationale has been established as to why this need is so germane. Literature has been reviewed and discussed, concerning face to face (F2F), online and blended instruction and the pertinence of these in current HE pedagogies. Special emphasis is paid to the transformative potential of blended learning to confront HE …

A "Fundamental Theory" Of Education Grounded In Ontology? A Phenomenological Rejoinder, James Magrini

James M Magrini

No abstract provided.

Digital Self-Efficacy And Language Learning Enhancement In An Online Setting, Karim Hajhashemi, Alireza Shakaramia, Hassan Khajehei

Karim Hajhashemi

The importance of personal factors such as personality traits, learning strategies, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in the complicated task of language learning has been established for years. However, the introduction of computers, networks and their wide communication affordances, seem to impact many aspects of learning and teaching and particularly language learning and teaching. The storage place, manner, and magnitude of learning materials for example, have shifted from the human mind to portable digital storage places that consequently require different types of aggregation, retrieval, and usage of information. Noting the rapid communication of today through networking, ICT competency plays important roles with …

Emerging Views On Making: Fibre Graduates Reflect On Their Practice, Kathleen Morris

Kathleen Morris

This narrative research examines the ways in which craft is conceptualized from the perspective of five recent graduates from the Material Art and Design Fibre Program at a prominent Canadian art and design university. Recognizing the cultural currents that have excised acts of making, including Western de-industrialization and abundant access to offshore labour markets, this research looks at the role of maker within a new societal context. A nascent theoretical platform for craft, shaped by artists and academics, counters a dearth of voices that has characterized the field’s history. Here, craft is posited as a methodology, characterized by embodiment, subjectivity, …

The Politics Media Equation:Exposing Two Faces Of Old Nexus Through Study Of General Elections,Wikileaks And Radia Tapes, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

The important identity of a responsible media is playing an unbiased role in reporting a matter without giving unnecessary hype to attract the attention of the gullible public with the object of making money and money only.After reporting properly the media can educate the public to form their own opinion in the matters of public interest. Throughout the centuries, the world has never existed without information and communication, hence the inexhaustible essence of mass media. The government has the power to either make or reject whatever that will exist within its environment. It also determines how free the mass media …

Truth, Rhetoric, And Critical Thinking, Lajos L. Brons

Lajos Brons

Despite the extraordinary amount of attention critical thinking has received in the last few decades, the teaching and fostering of critical thinking in higher education is largely failing, and critical thinking has become an empty buzzword. However, given its importance as an aim of education, it needs to be “refilled”, but that is possible only after identifying the causes of the current failure, i.e. the obstacles to fostering critical thinking. Three such obstacles are identified in this paper, two actual and one hypothetical: (1) the lack of clarity and agreement about what critical thinking is, (2) current teaching practice, and …

The Methods Course Revisited: From A Skills-Based To Multiliteracies Approach., Heather W. Allen

Heather Willis Allen

No abstract provided.

Higgins Presents Talk On Bishop Curtis And Beyond, Michael W. Higgins

Michael W. Higgins

On September 23, as part of Sacred Heart University’s commemoration of its 50th anniversary, Michael W. Higgins provided insight into the University’s beginnings and its promising future. Higgins is SHU’s vice president for Mission and Catholic Identity. The year 1963 was a time of international tensions, major social and political turbulence, and the early years of the Second Vatican Council. Great changes were taking place around the world, inspiring Bishop Walter W. Curtis of Bridgeport to create a university in which laity would assume leadership.

Climate Geoengineering And Iwu’S Ethics Bowl, Jake Bates

The Intellectual Standard

No abstract provided.

Lessons In Injustice: Privilege Walks, Karen Kanarek

The Intellectual Standard

No abstract provided.

Librarians In The Midst, Barbara C. Harvey

Barbara C. Harvey

No abstract provided.

Styleless Style? What Photorealism Can Tell Us About “The Sixties”, Craig J. Peariso

Craig J. Peariso

This essay reads 1960s “photorealist” painting and its critical reception against two sets of contemporary social analyses. First, it places these artistic and critical works next to Pierre Bourdieu's 1965 text Photography: A Middle-Brow Art, demonstrating that, although the critical literature surrounding “photorealism” tended to assume that its involvement with photography grew out of a desire for an objective realism, contemporary thought on photography was anything but convinced of the medium's transparency. Second, it looks to cultural critics like Susan Sontag and Jacob Brackman to propose that, rather than seeing the art of this period in opposition to the heated …

Grassroots_Grassroots Grassroots Rs 15 August 15, 2012 - Volume 4 Issue 8 I N S I D E A Journal Of The Press Institute Of India Promoting Reportage On The Human Condition, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

During the past 15 years, Women’s Grievance Redressal Cells set up by the Mohalla Committee Movement in Maharashtra have played an important role in cementing the bonds between communities, spouses, neighbours and enlightened the youth. Meaningful relationships between individuals in the family have been forged as a result

Marriage Vows And Economic Discrimination: The Married Teacher Problem, Sabrina Thomas

Sabrina Thomas

This study analyzes the rapid increase of economic discrimination against married women teachers in the early twentieth century, particularly during the Depression. It challenges the notion that economic discrimination against married women teachers was simple, easy, and largely was unchallenged. I argue that the creation and proliferation of marriage bars in the early twentieth century involved a compounded and multifaceted set of economic and social concerns. Support for this argument is accomplished by examination of the national debate on marriage bars as well as careful investigation of the local debate illustrated in Huntington, West Virginia.

Story Of An Intern, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

“Story Of an Intern” tells you the story of an young boy who manages to get an internship in a global media giant. His struggles and amazements begins when he finds himself out of internship and struggles to get a foothold in media. In the way he analyzes the odds and evens of Indian media industry and media tycoons while most of the time finding himself rejected. His experiences while in search of a job carries him to different places and allows him to meet some interesting people who makes an imprint on his life and he finds himself falling …

Mass Media And Communication In Global Scenario, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

The idea behind putting these research papers and research articles in this book is to give various aspects of communication, a platform where from readers may go through them at one go. The book deals with the research articles and papers dedicated to core areas of Journalism and Mass Communication. The papers and articles compiled in this book touches the need of students,academicians and researchers on most challenging areas and topics.In the collection of these papers author has discussed about Community Radio,FM Radio,Communication Science, Organizational Communication,Media Accounatbility,Language Discourse,Higher Education,Tevision Studies,Traditional and Digital Media,Disaster Management and Media,Wikileaks and Social Media,Terrorism and …

Social Implications Of Wearable Computing And Augmediated Reality In Every Day Life (Ieee Symposium On Technology And Society, Istas13), Katina Michael

Associate Professor Katina Michael

It was in July 2012 that Steve Mann and I corresponded on the possibility of hosting a conference on wearable computing in Toronto, Canada. Steve had just returned home from a family holiday to France and publicly blogged about an unfortunate incident that had happened to him while away. On 17th July 2012 he posted: “Physical assault by McDonald’s for wearing Digital Eye Glass”. We both knew the timing was right for such an event that was not just a technical engineering or applied orientation on the theme of smart worlds, but an event that would grapple with the dichotomies …

Moving Beyond The “Mosqueteria:” A Critical Analysis Of The Media’S Coverage Of Religious Accommodation At An Ontario Public School, Aruba Mahmud

Aruba Mahmud

This qualitative case study considers the weekly congregational Muslim prayers held at an Ontario public middle school and the widespread media and public reaction to them. Drawing primarily from the work of Said (1997, 2003), this research questions how and why the prayers became the source of controversy nearly four years after they commenced, and what, if any, impact this media and public reaction has had on the school community. Eight interviews were conducted, along with a critical analysis of the news coverage of the prayers. The results reveal the persistence of post-colonial discourse and prejudice towards Muslims and Islam …

On The Need To Balance Endowments And Academic Integrity, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

As universities face revenues shortfalls due to national and global economic trends, administrators are forced to look for alternative funding streams. Some of the attractive options consist of creating satellite campuses in rich countries and accepting donors from individuals, corporations, and governments. What is the price of such new partnerships and what is the function of endowments for donors and the universities?

State Of The Urban Youth, India 2012, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

State of the Urban Youth India 2012: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills Executive Summary Every third person in urban India is a youth. In less than a decade from now, India, with a median age of 29 years will be the youngest nation in the world. India’s demographic transformation is creating an opportunity for the demographic burden of the past to be converted to a dividend for the future. For this to happen the country needs to adopt a three-pronged policy that will address the issues of employment, livelihoods and the skill status of youth. The State of the Urban Youth India …

“Onde Está A Felicidade?", Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Poderemos ser felizes? Passamos a maior parte do tempo a trabalhar, no emprego ou em casa, e em Portugal até dormimos cada vez menos. A aproximação à felicidade parece cada vez mais depender de como nos sentirmos no trabalho. E face à dura realidade, poderemos sonhar que todos sejam felizes no trabalho, ou tal será uma quimera?

“Onde Está A Felicidade?", Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Poderemos ser felizes? Passamos a maior parte do tempo a trabalhar, no emprego ou em casa, e em Portugal até dormimos cada vez menos. A aproximação à felicidade parece cada vez mais depender de como nos sentirmos no trabalho. E face à dura realidade, poderemos sonhar que todos sejam felizes no trabalho, ou tal será uma quimera?

“Onde Está A Felicidade", Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Poderemos ser felizes? Passamos a maior parte do tempo a trabalhar, no emprego ou em casa, e em Portugal até dormimos cada vez menos. A aproximação à felicidade parece cada vez mais depender de como nos sentirmos no trabalho. E face à dura realidade, poderemos sonhar que todos sejam felizes no trabalho, ou tal será uma quimera?

Catholic Higher Education For The Common Good, Brian Stiltner

Brian Stiltner

This is a lecture in honor of the Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, president of Saint Anselm College, before his retirement. The lecture addresses the challenges facing Catholic higher education. Part One lays out philosopher Martha Nussbaum's view of the crisis of the humanities. Based in her ideas, Part Two examines four challenges facing Catholic higher education. Part Three gives an account of the Catholic philosophy of higher education for the common good, featuring Jacques Maritain’s educational and political philosophy. The Conclusion revisits the challenges in light of Maritain's, and the author's, Catholic philosophy of education.

When Praxis Breaks Down: What Heidegger's Phenomenology Contributes To Understanding Miscues And Learning In Reading, James Magrini

James M Magrini

No abstract provided.

Modeling Spiritual Formation From A Distance - Paul's Formation Transactions With The Roman Christians, Benjamin Forrest

Benjamin Forrest

Vidura, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

Shift to e-journal Dear Reader, With increasing printing costs, the Press Institute of India, a non-profit trust, is compelled to stop publication of the printed edition of Vidura with effect from the October-December 2013 issue. Vidura will, however, be published as an e-journal from the October-December 2013 issue, and select content will be hosted on our website (www.pressinstitute.in). The annual subscription to the e-journal will be Rs 200 and payment (in the form of DD favouring Press Institute of India) can be sent to the Director, PII-RIND, RIND Premises, Second Main Road, Taramani CPT Campus, Chennai 600 113. Existing subscribers …