{"title":"Educational Improvement Science: The Art of the Improving Organization","authors":"Jun Li (李军)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231201985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231201985","url":null,"abstract":"To advocate educational improvement science (EIS) as an emerging transdisciplinary field, I reflect on the three major pathways of educational advancement in human history, discern the misuses and pitfalls of reform, and theorize how education can be improved to better serve its mission. Employing a multiperspectival approach, I critically re-examine educational reforms and improvements worldwide and conceptualize the emerging transdisciplinary field through an extensive literature review, etymological analysis, international comparisons, and socio-historical, -cultural and -philosophical reflections. In this paper, I advance the concept of neo-improvementalism for EIS by elucidating its philosophical assumptions, disciplinary fundamentals, and theoretical frameworks through historical and comparative lenses. I identify and construct disciplinary knowledge of EIS comprising two categories, namely, subject matter knowledge and profound knowledge, adopted from improvement science. I then highlight three methodological approaches of EIS and the building of professional improvement communities empowering individual and institutional improvement capabilities. I propose that EIS is the art of the improving organization for classes, schools, and/or more broadly defined educational agencies. This study recognizes the significance of EIS and research thereon, especially discipline-building and exploration based on local characteristics in a global vision, and the cultivation of new frontiers of educational research and practices.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"3 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138966473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Extending the Comparisons of Shadow Education and Its Nexus With Schooling","authors":"Wei Zhang (张薇)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231218015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231218015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"56 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138982581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Young Children: Redeveloping the Five Big Ideas Framework","authors":"Jiahong Su (苏嘉红), Weipeng Yang (杨伟鹏)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231218013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231218013","url":null,"abstract":"To align with the artificial intelligence and robotics (AIR) research and policy agenda, this paper puts forth an adapted five big ideas framework specifically tailored to teaching young children about artificial intelligence (AI) via robotics. Grounded in early childhood education research, the proposed framework emphasizes the use of robotics and play-based learning to make AI accessible and encourage engagement among young children who have not started formal schooling. We comparatively analyze the commonalities and differences in AI big ideas between the original K-12 framework and the redeveloped early childhood education framework. To pique children's interest, key concepts are presented through interactions with robotics and robot role-play. This paper also provides recommendations for age-appropriate topics, storytelling, and play-based teaching methods. This framework aims to equip researchers and educators with strategies for successfully integrating introductory AI education into early childhood classrooms. Teaching AI in a developmentally responsive manner can help nurture young children's curiosity toward and understanding of an increasingly AI-driven world.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"209 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138982350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward a High-Quality System: A Critique of Chinese Special Education Policy Development and the <i>Guidelines for the Evaluation of the Quality of Special Education Schools</i>","authors":"Ling Zhang (张玲), Yuhao Deng (邓昱昊)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231210307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231210307","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This study reviews the development of special education policies in China and analyzes the major characteristics of policy changes from a critical perspective within specific sociocultural contexts in China. Design/Approach/Methods Interpretations of the newly published Guidelines for the Evaluation of the Quality of Special Education Schools are highlighted to reveal the recent manifestations of policy mandates for special education in China. Findings China accelerated its policy formulation on special education after the 1980s, moving away from a focus on universalization to quality enhancement and a holistic high-quality “special education system” under the mandate of legislation rather than non-binding regulatory recommendations. This policy aims to develop a high-quality system with accountability that responds to global trends toward inclusive education and fulfills local needs in a pragmatic manner. The mandatory approach to appropriate student development indicates that the goals of equitable and high-quality inclusive education have been taken as core evaluation indicators of the provision of special education in China. Originality/Value The paper's findings indicate that future policies need to be more concrete and operational for special education to be implemented effectively.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"32 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136282349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alternative Conceptions About Climate Change in a Group of Teachers in Chile: Are Science Teachers More Knowledgeable Than Non-Science Teachers?","authors":"Verónica Abasto, Antonia Larraín, Claudia Vergara, Hernán Cofré","doi":"10.1177/20965311231211013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231211013","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This study aimed to describe the knowledge and alternative conceptions of climate change in a group of Chilean science and non-science teachers with different teaching experiences. Design/Approach/Methods The study used a quantitative approach with an exploratory, descriptive, and transversal design, in which a Climate Change Questionnaire was applied to a group of 64 pre-service and in-service teachers. Findings The results demonstrated that the whole group of teachers had moderate knowledge about climate change, presenting some alternative conceptions, such as confusion about greenhouse gases, solar radiation, and the false relationship between ozone layer thinning and the greenhouse effect. There was no difference in climate change knowledge between science and non-science teachers or among teachers with different teaching experiences. Originality/Value This is the first research work published in an international journal on the knowledge of climate change by a group of teachers in Chile (and Latin America); therefore, it is an original contribution to the literature about climate change education. Furthermore, we tested hypotheses regarding the effects of experience and scientific background on teachers’ knowledge of climate change.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"33 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135476345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"China's Policy Actions to Lead Teacher Development With Evaluation Reform","authors":"Tingzhou Li (李廷洲), Luo Zhang (张罗)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231210570","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231210570","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This study introduces a policy with great strategic significance and far-reaching impact by analyzing the background, measures, and future development trends of teacher evaluation reform in China. Design/Approach/Methods This study primarily conducts a policy text analysis of the section on teacher evaluation of the Overall Plan for Deepening the Reform of Educational Evaluation in the New Era. Findings The Overall Plan for Deepening the Reform of Educational Evaluation in the New Era was drafted to enhance the quality of Chinese teachers and address many problems in teacher evaluation. It comprised four sections: teachers’ professional ethics, teaching effectiveness, evaluation models and methods, and honorary titles. The policy has distinctive features such as the high status and authority of the issuing body, a holistic and systematic nature, and an orientation toward practical issues. This article proposes three major policy foresights: promoting implementation through the force of political trends, giving schools autonomy in teacher evaluations, and implementing progressive reforms. Originality/Value This study conducted a specialist analysis of the policy in combination with the real scenario and institutional environment of Chinese teacher evaluation, which could encourage international peers to better understand Chinese teacher evaluation policies and promote policy learning and dissemination internationally.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"96 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135476127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bringing the Politics of Climate Change Down to Earth: Student Descriptions of Dwelling Place and “Geo-Graphies” as Alternative Belongings","authors":"Sophia Jeong, Elena H. Silverman","doi":"10.1177/20965311231210316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231210316","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This study draws on Bruno Latour's work, Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime, to re-imagine issues of climate change in K-12 science teaching and learning. “Re-turning” to a dwelling place can become an investigation, while issues of gender, race, education, food, technology, and religion can be elicited in relation to climate change issues. This allows students to be able to map a political “geo-graphy” that would be meaningful and matter to them. Design/Approach/Methods We apply Latour's concepts of dwelling place and geo-graphies in the teaching and learning of climate change in the secondary science classroom. Our Latourian inquiry questioned, “How do students’ up-close and local-level descriptions of their dwelling place create geo-graphies that foster their understanding of the shared, inhabitable Earth and imagine an alternative way of belonging to the Earth?” Findings By re-orienting students’ thinking to be more inclusive about who has the capacity to act, we aim to make the issues of climate change local and relevant in students’ everyday lives. Originality/Value We respond to Latour's call to conceive of alternative ways of belonging to and inhabiting this world that are more ethical and responsible.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"22 7","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135476352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Educator Standing on Chinese Cultural Ground: A Case Study of Chinese Basic Education Pedagogical Research","authors":"Yiyang Zhong (钟亦洋)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231210311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231210311","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose Chinese Educators, referred to as Jiaoyujia (教育家) in Chinese, are esteemed individuals dedicated to education with extensive expertise in theory and practice. Despite their influential pedagogical research, they have received limited scholarly attention. This study aimed to fill the gap by focusing on Jilin Li's (李吉林) contextualized teaching research informed by Chinese educational traditions. Design/Approach/Methods A case study format was adopted, and data were thematically analyzed using NVivo 12. In light of Kuan-Hsing Chen’s “Asia as method” idea, the analysis drew particular attention to the Asian resources employed in the pedagogical studies of interest. Findings Focusing on how Educators utilize diverse educational traditions, this paper presents three functions of Chinese educational traditions applicable to Li's case. The chosen case study demonstrates that elements of Chinese educational traditions still actively inform Educators working in a modern Western-style education system. This paper analyzes how Li combined Chinese and foreign traditions and reveals an element of subjectivity with its own strengths and deficiencies. Originality/Value This study is the first to present and analyze the phenomenon of Chinese educational traditions informing pedagogical studies conducted by Chinese Educators, an influential group that scholars usually overlook in modern China.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"40 163","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135540008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring Compatibility Issues Between International Faculty and Their Host Environment: A Case of a Local National University in Japan","authors":"Masako Kotake (小竹雅子)","doi":"10.1177/20965311231210318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231210318","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose The number of international faculty members in universities is increasing worldwide, and Japan is no exception. However, despite this quantitative expansion, these faculty remain peripheral. Though recent studies have identified various challenges faced by international faculty, they have focused on international faculty's individual experiences and have lacked perspectives from the host institution. To more accurately understand the challenges facing international faculty, this study aims to uncover compatibility issues between these faculty and their host environment. Design/Approach/Methods In this study, I adopted a qualitative case study approach targeting a local national university in Japan. Seven international and six Japanese faculty members were interviewed. Findings The analysis revealed various issues underlying the problems faced by international faculty, including new challenges arising from recent national university reforms. The compatibility issues they experienced can be categorized into the following six areas: organizational goals, systems and practices for hiring and evaluating faculty, division of roles between international and Japanese faculty, organizational support for international faculty, organizational culture and atmosphere, and Japanese society's overall system and values. Originality/Value This study responds to a crucial academic need to understand the host institution's perspective on international faculty recruitment by providing new evidence of the challenges facing international faculty and their host institution in a low-resource environment in the midst of reforms.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"54 11","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135725840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“We’ll Be Farmers When We Grow Up”: Education for Humanization and the Legacy of Critical Literacy Education in Korea","authors":"Yoonmi Lee","doi":"10.1177/20965311231210315","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231210315","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This article explores the literary work of a teacher and activist, Yi O-Deok, as a lens to approach historically and culturally embedded notions of humanization in education in Korea. Anchored in the ethos of “Asia as Method,” this study offers a unique perspective that exemplifies the importance of the local sociocultural context in Asia in enriching our understanding of universal concepts. Design/Approach/Methods This study adopts a methodological approach centered around the examination of Yi O-Deok's work and his influence on critical literacy education. Key source materials include Yi's extensive five-volume diary and the various literary pieces he edited from the 1950s to the 1980s. Findings Yi O-Deok's philosophy on humanizing education, deeply influenced by local contexts, provides a distinct, non-Western perspective. It offers a critical counterpoint to Western-centric educational paradigms and enriches the broader understanding of humanization in education. Originality/Value The uniqueness of this study resides in its focus on children's writings, affirming faith in the unfiltered expressions of their pure spirits encapsulated in the raw “languages of the soil,” which have persevered through the sociopolitical upheavals of Korea's modern history. This in turn strengthens the call for a nuanced, non-Western interpretation of the concept of “humanization” in education.","PeriodicalId":33103,"journal":{"name":"ECNU Review of Education","volume":"88 9","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135725682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}