Education Commons^™

On The Essence Of Education, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This is a contribution to the project of redefining the educational theory as a discipline, not merely as a field for application of other disciplines. If educational theory is a discipline, it should provide a unique lens to view the entire social world. Educational theory would then not only contemplate the world of schooling, or even the expanded world of educational experiences outside of schools. It would also offer an insight on the educational aspects of the economy, of politics, of communication, of culture, etc. Zooming out away from schooling allows zooming in on education

Urban Early Adolescent Narratives On Sexuality, Linda Charmaraman, Corinne Mckamey

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we examine the ways that early adolescents talked, interacted, and made references to events in their individual and collective lives during photography-based focus groups about sexuality and relationships. Twenty-three participants (10 boys and 13 girls) were recruited from three urban schools participating in a comprehensive sex education impact evaluation in the Northeast. We analyzed conversational narratives that were elicited in a group process while sharing photos of important people, contexts, and situations, showcasing participants' exploration of sexuality and relationships. Our analysis revealed four main themes: (a) Direct and indirect family communication about sexuality, (b) Accidental and intentional …

Characteristics And Predictors Associated With Teacher And Faculty Use Of Online Data Collection In Teacher Preparation Settings, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the gaps in the research around the use of online surveys in teacher preparation settings by exploring the attitudes toward technology and online evaluations, as well as predictors of user assessment of online data collection methodology, among 222 College Supervisors and Cooperating Teachers. Research questions centered around the status of and relationships among College Supervisor/Cooperating Teacher demographic variables, level of computer experience, computer proficiency, attitude toward technology, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions, and overall assessment of online student teacher evaluations. Findings indicated that Cooperating Teachers experienced far …

What Do We Want Them To Want To Do? , Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

A significant body of research in psychology demonstrates how extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation of students. The conceptual weakness of the notion of intrinsic motivation makes the research findings at least suspect, and for sure excessively generalized. The research is often used to argue against compensating students for their academic work. It contributed to expansion of false beliefs about the possibility of significant increase of intrinsic learning motivation. These beliefs are grounded in several false assumptions: 1. The assumption of abundant curiosity; or a belief that children are all motivated to learn everything that is offered to them. It is …

The Face Of Society, Roger D. Clark, Alex Nunes

Faculty Publications

We have updated Ferree and Hall's (1990) study of the way gender and race are constructed through pictures in introductory sociology textbooks. Ferree and Hall looked at 33 textbooks published between 1982 and 1988. We replicated their study by examining 3,085 illustrations in a sample of 27 textbooks, most of which were published between 2002 and 2006. We found important areas of progress in the presentation of both gender and race as well as significant areas of stasis. The face of society we found depicted in contemporary textbooks was distinctly less likely to be that of a white man, very …

The New Slavery, Or Chrysalization Of Class, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This paper shows that emergence of modern childhood can be explained by a need to secure unpaid labor of school-aged children by means of extra-economic coercion. The pre-modern Europe needed to compel a growing segment of population to participate in unpaid work of schooling. The task was accomplished by creating a group with limited rights, and by convincing everyone that the labor of schooling is actually a kind of service provided to children. Ultimately, the modern conception of childhood was born of power relations formed by economic necessity. To support the claim, I rely mainly on Philippe Aries's account. Michel …

The Student Error, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This essay is an analysis of what one might call the student error. The aim is to understand where the error comes from, and what truth about education and schooling can it reveal. I will also consider some implications of such a truth.

Analyzing Csr Implementation With The Rasch Model, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research was to examine the measurement properties of a CSR Implementation Scale developed using classical test theory. Rasch analyses were employed to determine (1) the degree to which the scale meets the assumptions of the Rasch model; 2) the validity and reliability of the scale; 3) how respondents utilize the rating scale; 4) the nature of the continuum of CSR implementation; and 5) ways to optimize scale length, both in terms of eliminating redundancy and adding items where gaps in the continuum of the CSR implementation variable might occur.

Panopticon Of The Second Kind, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Era of Excellence is a period of educational reforming in the United States from 1980 until now; in all likelihood, it will extend into the future. The name applies to a _generation of educational policies intended to enhance student learning._ This paper uses Michel Foucault_s general framework to report on an important innovation in the political economy of power, and suggest possible strategies of resistance. This is not a case of Foucault scholarship; my intentions are limited to use of his concepts and do not include a fuller understanding or a new interpretation of his work.

In The Event Of Learning, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This is an essay in four movements: it begins with Marx's notion on alienation, and then shows a form of alienation specific to education. The third movement examines Mikhail Bakhtin's treatment of alienation in connection with his participative thinking theory, and the final one suggests ways of overcoming educational alienation based on Bakhtin's notion of eventness of Being. The purpose of this exercise is not to bring Bakhtin into educational theory for the sake of simply enlarging the discussion. Rather, I worry about directions taken by contemporary critiques of education.

Student Labor And Evolution Of Education, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Schooling in its contemporary form is but one particular phase of a technology of teaching. Although most social animals can transmit significant knowledge to their young, humans have developed a process of conscious separation of important knowledge from unimportant. While human babes possess significant capacity and powerful instinct to learn, teaching is a way of channeling this ability into carefully selected sets of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Balancing Yin And Yang, Roger D. Clark, Angela Lang

Faculty Publications

The first three-quarters of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at …

Labor Of Learning, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This paper is an attempt to understand learning as labor - not metaphorically, not psychologically, but from the point of view of the political economy of education. Where does learning fit in the great scheme of things in the contemporary economy? How does this affect the theoretical view of schooling? In schools, students are asked to produce numerous things - literary essays, stories, poems, statistical reports, mathematical calculations, graphs, tables, musical performances, scientific research papers, posters, models, theater shows, oral presentations and written reports. I am interested in the things that students produce, and will try to understand them in …

Staff Development Strategies And Contexts Associated With Positive Impacts On Teachers_ Attitudes And Practices, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to identify staff development strategies, organizational contexts, and teacher characteristics that were associated with positive impacts on teachers_ attitudes and practices. The study focused on 89 elementary teachers in 11 schools across 5 districts, all of whom participated in a state-sponsored staff development project during the 1999/2000 academic year. This staff development initiative was designed to assist teachers in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and implement standards-based math instruction and assessment in their classrooms.

Using surveys, interviews, and written teacher logs, data were gathered regarding the amounts and types of staff …

Toward A Pedagogy Of Relation, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

One of the main intellectual trends in American educational philosophy could be described as a shift from the pedagogy of behavior to the pedagogy of relation. Not a widely used term, pedagogy of relation nevertheless captures the shared intent of otherwise widely diverse group of writers. It is mainly, but not exclusively, associated with feminist thinkers like Nel Noddings, Jane R. Martin, and Carol Gilligan. Among non-feminists, one can mention a group of philosophers who support one or another form of proceduralism (often inspired by Jurgen Habermas), Gert Biesta_s communicative pedagogy, and Frank Margonis and his relational ontology.

Redefinition Of Plurality, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

The notion of 'double message' is commonly perceived as a negative one in the educational context. Many believe that an educational institution, and even better, a whole community, must convey a consistent moral message to the youth. This paper aims to show that the consistency of a message is not always good, and that truly educational moral message is always a double message, an ambivalent and a self-contradicting one. To preserve the polyphony of a moral message, I argue, is more important than to observe the cohesion of such a message.

Authoritarianism And Education In Soviet Schools, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Here is a perfectly plausible theory, even more so as the two last American presidents seemingly supported it. Once upon a time there were two military and ideological blocks: the Western democracies and Communist totalitarianism. They fought the Cold war, which the Western block has won, and the Communist block has lost. Two main strategies greatly contributed to the fall of the Communism: an arms race that exhausted Soviet economic power, and an ideological struggle that weakened the Soviet regime from inside. If this is true, American governments may rightfully claim credit for the victory. Moreover, if this is true, …

Carnival And Domination: Pedagogies Of Neither Care Nor Justice, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

There are two alternative projects to overcome domination in education with ethics of justice and ethics of care. I want to look beyond disagreements between the two projects about the essence of morality. Both these projects, from my point of view, have clear limits. The domination is mainly a problem of freedom, and ethics deal with a problem of good and evil. In other words, I suggest that reduction of human evil may reduce domination, but does not free us from it. Other approaches, like carnival and similar cultural phenomena, would do a better job of overcoming domination.

Authenticity-Dialogicality-Recognition, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Charles Taylor has made a remarkable attempt to recover the moral ideal of authenticity as opposed to the debased form of authenticity, that leads to individualism. He points at the dialogical nature of authenticity, and finally, in another work, justifies the need for recognition. I want to show that the middle part of this chain of argument, dialogicality, if properly understood, cannot lead us to recognition in the sense Taylor ascribes to the latter.

Academic Motivation And Youth-Culture Involvement, John A. Finger Jr.

Faculty Publications

The increased pressure for enrolment forces more and more colleges to be selective in their admissions procedures. This selection is customarily achieved through the use of aptitude tests combined with a student's high school record. Students are therefore selected on two bases: intelligence and academic motivation, for high school record is one index of the latter. As a result, admission is denied to students with low academic motivation.