1,721,046 research outputs found
Action Research in Contexts of Change and Inequality
No full textThe first purpose of this chapter is to discuss research in education within the international context of change and inequality. In a previous chapter, Atweh and Arias (1991) discussed action research in education both as an appropriate research methodology and as a means of professional development of teachers. Similarly, Atweh (2004) posited action research as a methodology consistent with sociocultural approaches in education. That chapter discussed arguments for the use of action research in the discipline and outlined some of its characteristics. The discussion presented in those chapters did not contextualise their arguments within the international context of countries experiencing rapid changes, nor with regard to countries where poverty and lack of resources are major hindrances for developing research programs in the field. This contextualisation is the second purpose of this current chapter. The next section of this chapter identifies three major current trends in global society and education that impact on the work of researchers in the field. The following section discusses the role of action research within the trends identified in the first section
Injustice and International Academic Activities
No full textInternational contacts between educators from around the world continue to escalate with the increasing ease of travel and communication and the globalisation of educational concerns and issues. Social justice concerns about such contacts are important considerations to avoid exploitation and colonialisation of less affluent nations. This paper discusses the concept of "injustice" as developed by Young (1990) and concerns raised by academics in an international research project on unjust practices and outcomes of some international activities. Finally, by means of achieving this, it attempts to give voice to educators from less industrialised countries whose voices are not often heard in Australian conferences
On PAR with Young People: Learnings from the SAURA Project
No full textThe Student Action Research for University Access (SARUA) is a participatory action\ud
research project between groups of senior high school students, their schoolteachers and\ud
university staff. During the eight years of its activities in at least 17 high schools in the greater\ud
metropolitan area of Brisbane significant learnings have developed about working with\ud
students on projects that affect their own lives. This paper problematises aspects of\ud
partnerships and collaboration between two diverse cultures of the university and the school\ud
and discusses the benefits of such collaboration, some of the challenges faced and the\ud
responsibilities of the university partners in facilitating action research with young people
International Aid Activities in Mathematics Education in Developing Countries: A Call for Further Research
No full textHere I argue that, given the ever-increasing international collaborations and widening phenomena of globalisations (Atweh & Clarkson, 2001) of many areas in mathematics education, it is essential that these programs are critically reflected upon and are put under the critical gaze of research. Further, they should be analysed in conjunction with the views, expectations and values of the local mathematics educators if such collaborations are to avoid becoming another form of cultural imperialism that do not contribute to the capacity building of the recipient countries. \ud
This paper discusses findings of the conduct of a study in the Philippines during the early months of 2003. It discusses some views and reflections by a group of leading mathematics educators in the Philippines about the patterns and effects of international and global activities in mathematics education in their country. It also discusses two types of international collaborations between the Philippines and overseas countries. It is not the intention here to evaluate the two projects, but to use them to raise some questions for further research
Reciprocated Learning with "At Risk" Students
No full textRecent education reforms in Australia and elsewhere are calling for innovative ways to increase school retention and tertiary participation of students deemed educationally "at risk". The Student Action Research for University Access (SARUA) project in Brisbane, Australia, was developed as a response to one school’s concerns about Year 12 outcomes. SARUA, which has since spread to many other schools and is being employed interstate, offers a model with the potential to address some of the issues identified in the school reform programs. In a SARUA project, the high school students research barriers to higher education that exist within their own communities and plan consequent activities. In doing so, they not only increase their skills and knowledge, but they are presented with a forum for their voices to be heard and for their own ideas on school reform to be taken up by their schools. \ud
There are certain risks for the students in undertaking this work and in critiquing their own schools. Encouraging and respecting student voice, however, involves attendant risks for those working with the students in the research process - not only must schools be willing to accept student views on their shortcomings, but teachers and the project’s facilitators must also be prepared to learn from the student researchers.\ud
Using students’ views gleaned from their research reports and focus groups, this paper firstly examines the learning that has ensued from participation in the project for the students in terms of overcoming some of their own educational disadvantage and increasing their confidence as learners and researchers. Secondly, it explores the learning that the university researchers facilitating the project have gained from the students. The paper concludes by considering the advantages of this model for other areas of teaching and learning with relevance to at risk students, with particular regard to recent school reforms and the introduction in Queensland of "productive pedagogies"
Some Problematics in International Collaboration in Mathematics Education
No full textThis paper discusses data from interviews with mathematics educators from Australasia and\ud
Colombia on their views of, experiences in and expectations from the internationalisation\ud
and globalisation of their discipline. International collaboration is essential for moving the discipline forward in a globalised world and avoiding the colonialism of the past - and allowing the discipline to play its role in bridging the increasing gap between developing and developed countries. The aim of this analysis is to examine some problematical aspects of this collaboration between countries of unequal "power" and resources
Globalisation and Mathematics Education : From Above and Below
No full textThis paper discusses some issues in globalisation in mathematics education.\ud
Using data from interviews conducted in Brazil2, we will attempt to achieve three\ud
aims. Firstly, we aim to show the complexity of the issues surrounding what has\ud
become a meta-paradigm of our late modern times, i.e. that of globalisation. Second,\ud
we aim to illustrate some of the differing conceptualisations of globalisation that have\ud
differing impacts on the discipline of mathematics education. Third, we aim to give\ud
voice to mathematics educators not often heard on the Australian scape. Mathematics\ud
eduction in Australia can be critiqued for being dominated by Anglo-European\ud
concerns and theoretical stands
Strategies for comparing decimal numbers with the same whole-number part
No full textThe strategies employed by 130 Grade 5 Brisbane students in comparing decimal numbers which have the same whole-number part were compared with those identified in similar studies conducted in the USA, France and Israel. Three new strategies were identified. Similar to USA results, the most common comparison errors stemmed from the incorrect whole-number strategy in which length is confused with size. The findings of this present study tend to support Resnick et al.’s (1989) hypothesis that the introduction of decimal-fraction recording before common-fraction recording seems to promote better comparison of decimal numbers
Mathematics Educators' Views about Globalization and\ud Internationalization of Their Discipline: Preliminary Findings
No full textThis paper summarizes initial data from a study that investigates issues in\ud
internationalization and globalization of mathematics education in two regions:\ud
Australasia and Latin America. The first stage of study employed the methodology of\ud
focus groups with mathematics educators from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and\ud
Colombia. The paper presents an initial theoretical model to investigate\ud
internationalization and globalization in the field, presents the methodology\ud
employed and discusses the alternative conceptualizations exhibited by the\ud
participants, some of the reasons they identified for them and some of the problems\ud
they identified
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