The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of parent involvement and intervention in early childhood education. What formulates the lock and key theory in early childhood programs is parental participa...The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of parent involvement and intervention in early childhood education. What formulates the lock and key theory in early childhood programs is parental participation versus educational achievement. Upon the parents' vital involvement, it is perceived that social and cognitive development, aided by educators, will be significantly achieved. Furthermore, parent's early intervention is an added value to classrooms and schools, for it creates a dimension of involvement in the decisions which shape the children's education as a whole. Moreover, and due to parent/teacher cooperation in the classroom and at home, the child's interest in learning will be triggered, yielding other positive outcomes. Therefore, people must emphasize the parent's role in order to aid children's complex and evolving multi-cultural and global nature.展开更多
In the Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark, the project GNU (Gr^enseoverskridende Nordisk Undervisning, i.e. Transnational Nordic Teaching) is experimenting with ways of conducting teaching across th...In the Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark, the project GNU (Gr^enseoverskridende Nordisk Undervisning, i.e. Transnational Nordic Teaching) is experimenting with ways of conducting teaching across the borders in the elementary schools. The cloud classes are organised with one class from each country in the subjects: language, science, math, social science/history. The teachers from the three classes work together to design teaching they conduct together with assignments the students will be able to solve only in collaboration with their fellow students in the three classes. The three year project ends in 2014 but already now there are some interesting findings on how transnational teaching collaboration works for teachers and students. This paper will focus on the different uses of web based tools of synchronous and asynchronous communication and discuss challenges and benefits in regard to learning and pedagogy with virtual classroom.展开更多
Women in Kenya are underrepresented in decision-making positions, which appears as a remnant of persisting cultural gender roles that limit women from participating in activities critical for personal, societal, and n...Women in Kenya are underrepresented in decision-making positions, which appears as a remnant of persisting cultural gender roles that limit women from participating in activities critical for personal, societal, and national development. Such retrogressive ideas regarding a large number of the country's citizens have to be addressed early in the life of a girl to build in girls' self-esteem and facilitate them to develop leadership skills. This study investigated the extent to which girls in primary schools in Voi sub-county are involved in leadership in their schools. The study was based on the 2010 Kenya's constitution which ruled that no more than two-thirds of elected or appointed public institutions leaders should consist of one gender. The new legal framework seeks to break down the barriers women face in realizing their political, civil, economic, and social rights. It also ensures that women are involved in decision-making at all levels of government. In this study, data was collected from three mixed primary schools in Voi sub-county given codes A, B, and C. School A had a total of 470 pupils; 225 were boys and 245 were girls and the school had 21 leadership positions. The findings showed that the majority 14 (66.7%) of the leadership positions were occupied by boys while the few 7 (33.3%) were occupied by girls. In school B, there were a total of 1,056 pupils; 498 were boys and 558 were girls. There were 13 leadership positions. The majority of the positions 7 (53.8 %) were occupied by boys and minority 6 (46.2%) were occupied by girls. In school C, there were a total of 1,450 pupils and 680 were boys and 770 girls. There were 13 leadership positions. The majority 7 (53.8%) of the positions were occupied by boys while 6 (46.2%) were occupied by girls. In all the schools, there were more girls than boys but boys occupied more leadership positions than girls. Boys also took senior positions and girls were their deputies and were not as active as boys in areas such as class discussions and debate. It was recommended that conscious effort should be made to develop leadership skills in girls during their formative years.展开更多
With growing numbers of Chinese students entering Western universities, cultural understanding is of increasing importance, not least in higher education. Without a good understanding of the academic conventions of We...With growing numbers of Chinese students entering Western universities, cultural understanding is of increasing importance, not least in higher education. Without a good understanding of the academic conventions of Western universities, Chinese students, and undergraduates in particular, are at a disadvantage in the multi-cultural classroom. Lack of knowledge of structural influences on higher education, including teacher-student relations, reference management practices, and assessment procedures, are likely to lead to failure and disappointment. This paper, which is based on writing workshops conducted at Beijing University and in Sweden (Kristianstad University and Linnaeus University) in 2014, focuses primarily on writing practices and conventions because written texts are the main means of assessment in higher education. Addressing four key problems encountered by Chinese undergraduate writers in Western universities, namely lack of familiarity with the structure of academic papers, lack of focus on relevant issues, copying and pasting without giving proper reference, and inadequate understanding and mastery of the conventions of academic English, this paper argues for greater awareness of cultural differences between the Chinese and Western systems of education. Not until this has been achieved can Chinese students realize their full potential at Western universities.展开更多
文摘The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of parent involvement and intervention in early childhood education. What formulates the lock and key theory in early childhood programs is parental participation versus educational achievement. Upon the parents' vital involvement, it is perceived that social and cognitive development, aided by educators, will be significantly achieved. Furthermore, parent's early intervention is an added value to classrooms and schools, for it creates a dimension of involvement in the decisions which shape the children's education as a whole. Moreover, and due to parent/teacher cooperation in the classroom and at home, the child's interest in learning will be triggered, yielding other positive outcomes. Therefore, people must emphasize the parent's role in order to aid children's complex and evolving multi-cultural and global nature.
文摘In the Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark, the project GNU (Gr^enseoverskridende Nordisk Undervisning, i.e. Transnational Nordic Teaching) is experimenting with ways of conducting teaching across the borders in the elementary schools. The cloud classes are organised with one class from each country in the subjects: language, science, math, social science/history. The teachers from the three classes work together to design teaching they conduct together with assignments the students will be able to solve only in collaboration with their fellow students in the three classes. The three year project ends in 2014 but already now there are some interesting findings on how transnational teaching collaboration works for teachers and students. This paper will focus on the different uses of web based tools of synchronous and asynchronous communication and discuss challenges and benefits in regard to learning and pedagogy with virtual classroom.
文摘Women in Kenya are underrepresented in decision-making positions, which appears as a remnant of persisting cultural gender roles that limit women from participating in activities critical for personal, societal, and national development. Such retrogressive ideas regarding a large number of the country's citizens have to be addressed early in the life of a girl to build in girls' self-esteem and facilitate them to develop leadership skills. This study investigated the extent to which girls in primary schools in Voi sub-county are involved in leadership in their schools. The study was based on the 2010 Kenya's constitution which ruled that no more than two-thirds of elected or appointed public institutions leaders should consist of one gender. The new legal framework seeks to break down the barriers women face in realizing their political, civil, economic, and social rights. It also ensures that women are involved in decision-making at all levels of government. In this study, data was collected from three mixed primary schools in Voi sub-county given codes A, B, and C. School A had a total of 470 pupils; 225 were boys and 245 were girls and the school had 21 leadership positions. The findings showed that the majority 14 (66.7%) of the leadership positions were occupied by boys while the few 7 (33.3%) were occupied by girls. In school B, there were a total of 1,056 pupils; 498 were boys and 558 were girls. There were 13 leadership positions. The majority of the positions 7 (53.8 %) were occupied by boys and minority 6 (46.2%) were occupied by girls. In school C, there were a total of 1,450 pupils and 680 were boys and 770 girls. There were 13 leadership positions. The majority 7 (53.8%) of the positions were occupied by boys while 6 (46.2%) were occupied by girls. In all the schools, there were more girls than boys but boys occupied more leadership positions than girls. Boys also took senior positions and girls were their deputies and were not as active as boys in areas such as class discussions and debate. It was recommended that conscious effort should be made to develop leadership skills in girls during their formative years.
文摘With growing numbers of Chinese students entering Western universities, cultural understanding is of increasing importance, not least in higher education. Without a good understanding of the academic conventions of Western universities, Chinese students, and undergraduates in particular, are at a disadvantage in the multi-cultural classroom. Lack of knowledge of structural influences on higher education, including teacher-student relations, reference management practices, and assessment procedures, are likely to lead to failure and disappointment. This paper, which is based on writing workshops conducted at Beijing University and in Sweden (Kristianstad University and Linnaeus University) in 2014, focuses primarily on writing practices and conventions because written texts are the main means of assessment in higher education. Addressing four key problems encountered by Chinese undergraduate writers in Western universities, namely lack of familiarity with the structure of academic papers, lack of focus on relevant issues, copying and pasting without giving proper reference, and inadequate understanding and mastery of the conventions of academic English, this paper argues for greater awareness of cultural differences between the Chinese and Western systems of education. Not until this has been achieved can Chinese students realize their full potential at Western universities.