Martin Scanlan, Minsong Kim and Larry Ludlow
As the demographic landscape in the USA becomes more culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), schools must build educators’ professional knowledge and skills to better serve…
Abstract
Purpose
As the demographic landscape in the USA becomes more culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), schools must build educators’ professional knowledge and skills to better serve students whose mother tongues are not English. The purpose of this paper is to report on the formation of a network of schools collaboratively transforming their approaches to teaching and learning in order to meet the educational needs of this changing student population.
Design/methodology/approach
To determine how relational networks in this network affect the learning of educators to implement the bilingual education model, the authors drew from three data sources: a social network survey, semi-structured interviews and archival documents.
Findings
The schools in this study are engaged in a dramatic restructuring, moving from monolingual English schools to a network of two-way immersion bilingual schools. The evidence from this study revealed different information sharing structures within the relational networks. The authors found organizational structures of interactive spaces and teams supporting the relational networks that created communities of practice, and these communities of practice fostering all three aspects of profession capital (human, social and decisional).
Research limitations/implications
The analysis points toward the complicated nature of organizational learning within networks of schools. While some relational networks were strong, the authors also note gaps and disconnections in the network interactions, despite the structures promoting connectivity. Hence, this study sheds light on both the power and the limitation of networked learning within and across school striving to improve the teaching and learning for CLD students.
Originality/value
This original analysis lays the foundation for future investigations of networked learning.
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Martin Scanlan and Rebecca Lowenhaupt
Demographic changes across the United States have led to dramatic shifts in the composition of public school enrollments. While these shifts are manifest across multiple…
Abstract
Demographic changes across the United States have led to dramatic shifts in the composition of public school enrollments. While these shifts are manifest across multiple dimensions of diversity, the influx of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students is particularly pronounced. As the numbers of CLD students rapidly grow across all geographic regions, from rural to suburban to urban, school leaders face the daunting responsibility of responding to ensure that these students receive equitable opportunities to learn. Some guiding principles for accomplishing this generalize across settings, yet ultimately this leadership needs to be context-specific. In this chapter we discuss these guiding principles and apply them narrowly to the context of medium and small urban districts. We argue that school leadership – particularly district and school administration – plays a crucial role in supporting the design and delivery of supports for CLD students and their families, who constitute a “new mainstream” in many of these settings.
Aashna Khurana, Martin Scanlan, Julia Bott and Ethan d'Ablemont Burnes
Historically, learners labeled with disabilities have been denied equal access to and opportunities in mainstream classrooms. Globally, the task of addressing marginalization…
Abstract
Historically, learners labeled with disabilities have been denied equal access to and opportunities in mainstream classrooms. Globally, the task of addressing marginalization entails two main approaches. Firstly, there is a need to prevent stigmatization, discrimination, and neglect. Secondly, efforts must be directed toward establishing structures and systems that enable complete and meaningful involvement within educational institutions and various sectors. Educational inequality is associated with various aspects of identity beyond disability status. Factors such as culture, language, race, and gender impact the classroom experiences of children. Consequently, schools must adopt an intersectional approach in their quest to deliver effective, accessible, and inclusive education to all children. Building from the work of UNESCO, we define inclusivity as a transformative process of educators ensuring that all children experience high-quality learning opportunities that respect and value multiple dimensions of diversity. This chapter describes an emerging research–practice partnership focused on organizational learning advancing inclusivity. The partnership is premised on supporting central office administrators and the school-based inclusion planning teams (IPTs) in a public school district implementing a comprehensive reform of their service delivery model for students labeled with disabilities. It involves supporting administrators in Boston Public Schools (BPS) in fine-tuning a theory of action (ToA), designing organizational learning processes to enact this ToA, and evaluating the efficacy of the initiative in advancing effective, inclusive education for students labeled with disabilities.
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Lindsey Conner and Yetunde Kolajo
This chapter presents a qualitative investigation of lecturers’ perceptions of critical thinking and how this influenced how they taught. All of the participants taught the same…
Abstract
This chapter presents a qualitative investigation of lecturers’ perceptions of critical thinking and how this influenced how they taught. All of the participants taught the same first-year university chemistry course. This case study provides insights about how there may need to be fundamental shifts in lecturers’ perceptions about learning and the development of critical thinking skills so that they can enhance knowledge and understanding of chemistry as well as advance the students’ critical thinking. Recommendations are made for professional learning for lecturers and for changing the “chemistry” of the design of learning experiences through valuing critical thinking in assessments and making critical thinking more explicit throughout the course. The authors argue that critical thinking must be treated as a developmental phenomenon.
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Martina Tunegová, Eva Samková, Lucie Hasoňová, Marcela Klimešová, Aneta Marková, Robert Kala and Róbert Toman
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the results of inspections carried out by the State Veterinary Administration (SVA) of Czech Republic (CR) for the occurrence of chemical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the results of inspections carried out by the State Veterinary Administration (SVA) of Czech Republic (CR) for the occurrence of chemical contaminants in animal products before and after CR entered the European Union (EU).
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from e-databases of the SVA from 1999–2016 and sorted into categories (game animals and fish; livestock; food and raw material of animal origin) and time periods (one before entry and two after entry of CR to the EU). Analyses of the samples were categorized as “positive samples” (any presence of contaminants) and “samples above the MRL” (presence of contaminants exceeding the maximum residue levels).
Findings
Results showed a significant decrease in the number of positive findings of contaminants during the monitored years 1999–2016, especially after CR entered the EU. Most encouragingly, the number of samples that exceeded the MRL was less than 1 percent from all the tested samples of animal origin and, after entry to the EU, in one category (food and raw materials of animal origin) it was even less than 0.1 percent. Findings of banned substances indicate continued environmental contamination in CR; however, this remains a problem in most of Europe due to their extensive use in the past and slow degradation.
Originality/value
This paper provides an overview of the occurrence of chemical contaminants and their levels in food of animal origin in view of the changing legislative requirements before and after CR entered the EU.
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This study examines the critical role of higher education in conflict zones, focusing on the northern regions of Syria affected by Operation Olive Branch and Operation Euphrates…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the critical role of higher education in conflict zones, focusing on the northern regions of Syria affected by Operation Olive Branch and Operation Euphrates Shield. It explores how educational leaders navigate security challenges, community relations and curriculum development to sustain academic activities during ongoing conflicts.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing a qualitative research design, the study utilizes semi-structured interviews with higher education administrators in Northern Syria. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, allowing for the identification of key themes related to security, community integration and educational quality.
Findings
The study highlights how administrators' professional capital – encompassing skills, knowledge and relationships – enables them to manage complex situations. It underscores the role of education in maintaining normalcy, promoting peace and providing psychosocial support during conflicts. Key findings include the importance of ensuring security, fostering community engagement, maintaining educational quality and innovating curricula to address local needs.
Originality/value
This paper provides insights into the unique challenges faced by higher education institutions in conflict zones and the strategies employed by leaders to overcome them. It emphasizes the transformative potential of education in promoting stability and peace in war-torn regions, offering valuable lessons for similar contexts worldwide.