Vol 9 no 1 december 2014 by ijlter.org

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p-ISSN: 1694-2493 e-ISSN: 1694-2116

International Journal of Learning, Teaching And Educational Research

Vol.9 No.1

PUBLISHER London Consulting Ltd District of Flacq Republic of Mauritius www.ijlter.org

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research is an open-access journal which has been established for the disChief Editor Dr. Antonio Silva Sprock, Universidad Central de semination of state-of-the-art knowledge in the Venezuela, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of field of education, learning and teaching. IJLTER welcomes research articles from academics, edEditorial Board ucators, teachers, trainers and other practitionProf. Cecilia Junio Sabio ers on all aspects of education to publish high Prof. Judith Serah K. Achoka quality peer-reviewed papers. Papers for publiProf. Mojeed Kolawole Akinsola Dr Jonathan Glazzard cation in the International Journal of Learning, Dr Marius Costel Esi Teaching and Educational Research are selected Dr Katarzyna Peoples through precise peer-review to ensure quality, Dr Christopher David Thompson originality, appropriateness, significance and Dr Arif Sikander readability. Authors are solicited to contribute Dr Jelena Zascerinska to this journal by submitting articles that illusDr Gabor Kiss trate research results, projects, original surveys Dr Trish Julie Rooney Dr Esteban Vázquez-Cano and case studies that describe significant adDr Barry Chametzky vances in the fields of education, training, eDr Giorgio Poletti learning, etc. Authors are invited to submit paDr Chi Man Tsui pers to this journal through the ONLINE submisDr Alexander Franco sion system. Submissions must be original and Dr Habil Beata Stachowiak should not have been published previously or Dr Afsaneh Sharif be under consideration for publication while Dr Ronel Callaghan Dr Haim Shaked being evaluated by IJLTER. Dr Edith Uzoma Umeh Dr Amel Thafer Alshehry Dr Gail Dianna Caruth Dr Menelaos Emmanouel Sarris Dr Anabelie Villa Valdez Dr Özcan Özyurt Assistant Professor Dr Selma Kara Associate Professor Dr Habila Elisha Zuya

VOLUME 9

NUMBER 1

December 2014

Table of Contents Cross-cultural Encounter in English-speaking Classes â&#x20AC;&#x201C;A Case of Academic Cultures in Distance between Taiwanese Students and Their Native English-speaking Teachers in Six Colleges of Technology in Central Taiwan ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chin-Ying Lin, Ya-Fen Lin and Sing-Yu Hu An Ontology-Based Framework for Collecting E-Learning Resources ........................................................................ 27 Dr. Mohammed M. Alhawiti Teletandem, Video-Recordings and UsageBased Tasks: Developing a Socially Situated Scenario for Learning .... 41 Paola Leone Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Level Needs: An Empirical Study of Azerbaijani English Majors ............... 51 Konul Hajiyeva Learning Community Approach in the Primary Education: Learning about Bullying through a Foreign Language ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 66 Isaak Papadopoulos, Liakouli Vasiliki and Kaleridou Styliani The Reliability and Validity of the Chinese School Version of the Denison Organizational Culture ...................... 83 Xiaoju Duan, Xiangyun Du and Kai Yu A School under Scrutiny: A Personal Account of the Impact of Inclusion on a Small Primary School in England 95 Dr Jonathan Glazzard From Integration to Inclusive Education in England: Illuminating the Issues through a Life History Account .. 107 Dr Jonathan Glazzard Effects of School Variables on the Assurance of Quality Learning Outcomes in Schools ......................................... 117 Gbemi Peter Moye A professorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reflection on the value of student reflections in a service-learning research project within a university science course .................................................................................................................................................. 132 Amal Abu-Shakra

Standpoints towards Curriculum Change: Attitudes and Experiences of High School English Teachers Regarding the New Literature Module of the English National Matriculation ............................................................................ 145 Sara Zamir, Ph.D, Shlomit Gilor and Rachel Sarah Ouaknine Racism in Contemporary Educational Reality Parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Aspects ................................................................................. 166 Dr. Maria Vlachadi and Eleni Mainou

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 1-26, December 2014

Cross-cultural Encounter in English-speaking Classes –A Case of Academic Cultures in Distance between Taiwanese Students and Their Native English-speaking Teachers in Six Colleges of Technology in Central Taiwan Chin-Ying Lin Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Chaoyang University of Technology * Ya-Fen Lin Associate Professor, Applied English Department, Overseas Chinese University Sing-Yu Hu Department of Applied Foreign Languages, Chaoyang University of Technology Abstract. Academic culture in distance occurs in the academic setting where non native English-speaking students and native English-speaking teachers might have different expectations/attitudes toward what good learning/teaching is. Many researchers have argued for the need of exploring the mismatching belief/ expectation about learning and teaching between ESL/EFL students and their native English-speaking teachers. This study aimed to investigate if there are mismatches between EFL Taiwanese students‘ learning expectation/preference and their native English-speaking teachers‘ teaching objective/approach in the English conversation class. It further explored what are the Taiwanese college students‘ learning strategies and adjustment in their native English-speaking teacher‘s class. Six hundred seventeen Taiwanese English major students from six target colleges of technology in central Taiwan were the participants. The researcher-developed questionnaire was filled out by the six hundred seventeen students. The results of this research yielded positive evidence that academic culture in distance between Taiwanese students and their native English-speaking teachers existed in the classroom. In addition, certain learning strategies related to the student‘s adjustments to the culture differences were identified. Based on the findings, this research provides not only a framework for understanding Taiwanese students‘ culture of learning, but also useful suggestions for education in the field of TESL as well as in cross-cultural studies. Keywords: academic culture, culture of learning, cross-culture, EFL, TESL, native English-speaking teacher, learning preference, learning expectation, teaching style, adjustment *corresponding author (yafenus2002@gmail.com) © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Introduction Recent studies in English teaching have put more and more emphasis on the need to understand language learners‘ emotions, interests, motivation, expectations and needs. These factors listed above have been taken as requirements for a better understanding of the cultural and linguistic differences (Norton-Peirce & Toohey 2001; New London Group 1996). Additionally, numerous books regarding how culture influences thoughts and behaviors have been published (Brislin, 1993; Gudykunst,1994). These publications have clearly demonstrated that the influences of different cultures on thinking and behaviors could be quite broad and wide. Byram and Morgan (1994) argued that second language (l2) learners enter the second language classroom inevitably with their own native cultures (L1 cultures), which have already become a part of themselves. It is impossible that L2 learners can easily get rid of their own cultures when they are learning the L2 and L2 cultures. L2 learners are strongly connected to or boned with their native cultures. Therefore, Byram and Morgan (1994) instead suggested the need for L2 learners to confront their own cultures. Byram and Morgan (1994, p. 44) explained, ―Learners need to become aware of their own cultural schemata in order to effect an acknowledgement of those of a different culture.‖ Similarly, Kramsch (1993) emphasized the significance of the role of L1 cultures in the L2 classroom. She argued that since L2 learners‘ worldviews, values, beliefs, and assumptions are connected to or affected by their L1 cultures, their understanding of L2 cultures will be more or less influenced. Consequently, L2 learners‘ second language acquisition might be affected as well. Most of all, students from different academic cultures might exhibit different learning preferences. In other words, students from different cultures might exhibit different learning styles and prefer different learning / teaching approaches due to their native cultural influences and social effects (Lin, 2008; Park, 2000; Richardson, 1994). The conflict caused by the distance in cultures may affect learners‘ learning attitudes. Consequently, students‘ learning motivation might be reduced and affective language learning could be prohibited if they have negative attitudes toward language learning. Thus, it is critical for a teacher to examine the learning attitudes / preferences of his or her pupils‘ (Oxford, 2001). Lin (2008) further concluded that there is a need to examine how academic cultures in distance between the nonnative English-speaking students and their native English-speaking teachers might influence each other‘s expectations/attitudes toward what good learning / teaching is.

Statement of the Problem The academic cultural distance between L2 teachers and students is important for language teachers to pay attention to since different cultures might lead to different cultural values and expectations. Many researchers have explored Asian students‘ adjustments in the oversea academic setting (Kambutu1 & Nganga, 2008; Lin, 2008). However, few studies have focused on EFL Taiwanese students‘ cultural barriers to language learning in the EFL classroom in Taiwan. Moreover, recent studies in English teaching have put more and more emphasis on the need to understand language learners‘ emotions, interests, motivation, expectations and needs as requirements for gaining a better understanding of the cultural and linguistic differences (Watkin & Biggs, 1996; Savignon, 2002; Wang, 2007). However, little research has been explored about the differences between Taiwanese students‘ learning expectations/preferences © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

and their native English-speaking teachers‘ teaching objectives/ teaching approaches in English conversation classes.

Purpose of the Study This study aimed to investigate the differences between Taiwanese students‘ learning expectations (LE) of and learning experiences with (LEC) their NESTs‘ teaching content in conversation classes. It further explored if the teaching approaches Taiwanese students preferred match their learning experiences in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. Lastly, the study investigated Taiwanese students‘ selfadjustment and suggestions for their NESTs in the conversation classes. It is hoped that this study could provide useful insights for ESL/EFL learners or teachers, not only in language learning or teaching, but also in other aspects, such as cross-cultural adjustment and cultural learning. Therefore, the findings may assist the native NESTs to better understand their Taiwanese students‘ needs, and also give Taiwanese students some useful and positive concepts toward their NESTs. The mutual understanding and respect may improve the teachers‘ teaching and the students‘ learning.

Research Questions 1.

What are Taiwanese college students‘ perceived differences between their expectations of and experiences with their native English-speaking teachers‘ teaching content in English conversation classes at the technological colleges in central Taiwan? What are Taiwanese college students‘ perceived differences between their preferences in and experiences of their native English teachers‘ teaching approaches in the English conversation classes at technological colleges in central Taiwan? How do Taiwanese college students adapt to, and what suggestions do they have for, their native English teachers‘ conversation classes at technological colleges in central Taiwan?

Methodology Participants A total of 617 English-major college students, 108 male and 509 female, participated in the 2009 academic year. The sample was composed of 109 first-year students, 144 sophomores, 144 juniors, and 220 seniors from four universities of technology and two institutes of technology in central Taiwan (see Table 1). Several technological colleges were excluded from this study because no NESTs were employed by the colleges. Table 1: The Distribution of the English Majors

College

Male

Female

Total

Percentage (%)

National Taichung Institute of Technology

13.8%

Lingtung University of Technology

14.1%

Overseas Chinese University of Technology

14.4%

Chaoyang University of Technology

13.8%

Hungkuang University of Technology

120

146

23.6%

Hsiuping Institute of Technology

125

20.3%

108

509

617

100%

Total

More than 75% of the participants took NEST conversation classes during the first semester in 2009. In addition, more than 40% of the participants spent two hours per week in NEST conversation classes. It was obvious that the participants were appropriate for the research.

Instrument Quantitative research was conducted in this study. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to investigate college students‘ perceptions of their NESTs (see Appendix I). The questionnaire used in the formal study was constructed based on the format of the questionnaire used in the pilot study. The first part of the questionnaire was constructed based on Bloom‘s taxonomy of learning domains—cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. It was used to investigate the differences between Taiwanese students‘ learning expectations (LE) of and experiences with the teaching content (LEC) in NSET conversation classes. The second part of the questionnaire, namely sections three and four, was mainly derived from Brown‘s Teaching by Principle (2007) and several cross- cultural studies from Lin (2006, 2007, and 2008). In this section, several language instruction methods are defined. Students‘ responses to these items are used to explore the differences between Taiwanese students‘ preferences (LP) in and experiences with the teaching approaches (LEA) in NEST conversation classes. The third part contained five open-ended questions. The purpose of these questions was to investigate Taiwanese students‘ perceptions of their NESTs and how they adapted to the conversation classes. Finally, the research further explored Taiwanese students‘ suggestions for their NESTs in conversation classes.

Research Procedures Before the formal study, a pilot study was conducted to ensure the items of the questionnaire were felicitous for the study. The flow chart of the study procedures was displayed in Figure 1. Pilot Study

Formal Study

Six hundred and seventeen questionnaire copies from six target schools

English Teaching Content

English Teaching Approach

Adjustments and Suggestions

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Result

Figure 1. The flow chart of the study procedures

Data Analysis Method SPSS 13.0 for Windows was used to organize, compute, and analyze the data from the questionnaires. First, descriptive analysis was conducted on all the items in term of frequency, means, and standard deviation. Second, the paired-sample t- test was used to examine the mean differences between students‘ learning expectations and learning experiences (what they had learned), and the mean differences between students‘ learning preferences and leaning experiences (their perceptions of their native Englishspeaking teachers‘ English instruction). Third, the five open-ended questions were carefully analyzed and categorized into several categories based on shared features.

Results and Discussions The comparison of Students‘ Learning Expectations of and Learning Experiences with Their NESTs‘ Teaching Content in the English Conversation Classes. According to the findings of Table 2, a significant difference was found between students‘ learning expectations (LE) of and learning experiences with their NESTs‘ teaching content (LEC) in English conversation classes (t = 18.37, p = .00, p < .01). The result also describes that students‘ LE was significantly higher than their LEC in NEST‘s English conversation classes. It could be inferred that there is a gap between students‘ learning expectations and learning experiences in NESTs‘ conversation classes since students had higher leaning expectations than experiences toward the teaching content in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. More specifically, it might imply that what students expected to learn did not match what they learned in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. Table 2: Results of Paired-Samples t-Test of Students’ Learning Expectations (LE) and Learning Experiences (LEC) in the Teaching Content Domain

Paired Differences (LE - LEC) Teaching Content

sig.

4.02

.45

.36

.48

18.37

.00**

LEC

3.67

.50

Note. **p < .01. N = 617. Table 3 presents the paired-sample t-test for each item of the teaching content domain. Table 3 shows there were significant differences between students‘ LE and LEC on every item. It appears that the items listed in the questionnaire concerning what students wanted to learn differed greatly from what they have learned. In addition, the mean scores of students‘ LE were higher than the mean scores of their LEC. The results indicate that students‘ learning expectations were higher than their experiences. In other words, students learned less than they wanted to learn in NESTs‘ conversation classes. Table 3: Results of Paired Differences (LE-LEC) of in the Teaching Content Domain

sig. (2-tailed)

1. Vocabulary size

.47

.92

12.58

.00**

2. Knowledge of modern technology

.40

.89

11.345

.00**

3. Knowledge of English grammar

.40

.86

11.42

.00**

Items

4. Knowledge of Western culture

.39

.81

11.86

.00**

5. English listening comprehension

.28

.75

9.14

.00**

6. Student autonomy

.24

.84

7.19

.00**

7. Ability to apply knowledge

.43

.85

12.60

.00**

8. Ability to learn from errors

.36

.83

10.73

.00**

9. Critical thinking abilities

.32

.85

9.341

.00**

13.40

.00**

.80

13.92

.00**

.82

14.65

.00**

.87

13.16

.00**

.90

13.10

.00**

1.03

14.11

.00**

.93

8.66

.00**

.81

2.98

.00**

10 .Ability to express ideas in English 11. English pronunciation 12. English communication skills 13. English reading skills 14. English writing skills 15. Exam taking skills 16. Computer skills 17. Participation during class activities 18. Admiration of classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; performances 19.Ability to share ideas 20.Attention in class

.43 .45 .49 .46 .48 .59 .32 .10 .18 .23 .14

.79

.77

5.82

.00**

.76

7.36

.00**

.69

5.22

.00**

Note. **p < .01, N = 617. The Comparison of Students’ Learning Preferences of and Learning Experiences with Their NESTs’ Teaching Approach in English Conversation Classes. According to the findings of Table 4, a significant difference was built between students‘ learning preferences (LP) of and learning experiences with their NESTs‘ teaching approach (LEA) in English conversation classes (t = 11.60, p = .00, p < .01). The results also describe that students‘ LP was significantly higher than their LEA in NEST‘s English conversation classes. It could be inferred that there was a gap between students‘ learning preferences and experiences in NESTs‘ conversation classes since students had higher leaning preferences than experiences toward the teaching approach in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. More specifically, it might imply that how students preferred to be taught mismatched how they have been taught in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. Table 4: Results of Paired Sample t-Test of Students’ Learning Preferences (LP) and Learning Experience (LEA) in Teaching Approach Domain

Paired Differences (LP - LEA) Teaching Content

sig.

3.87

.44

.22

.47

11.60

.00**

LEC

3.65

.50

Note. **p < .01, N = 617. Table 5 presents the results of the paired-sample t-test for each item of the teaching approach domain. There were significant differences between students‘ LP and LEA for all items but item 2 (The teacher follows the syllabus consistently). It obviously appears that NESTs prefer to organize a class and run it consistently. The teaching approach matches students‘ learning preferences. Table 5: Results of Paired Differences (LP-LEA) in Teaching Approach Domain

Teaching Approach

sig. M

SD t

(twotailed)

1. The teaching in class is humorous.

.50

.97

12.82

.00**

2. The teacher follows the syllabus consistently

-.04

.98

-1.07

.286

3. The teacher has empathy for the students

.42

.91

11.37

.00**

4. The teacher employs multimedia resources (e.g., a projector).

.21

.81

6.58

.00**

5. The teacher gives students enough time to think and answer questions.

.24

.79

7.67

.00**

6. The teacher encourages students to speak in class.

.16

.76

5.15

.00**

7. The teacher uses body language to explain his/her ideas.

.17

.76

5.63

.00**

8. The teacher gives us opportunities to explain our ideas.

.13

.78

4.08

.00**

9. The teacher is serious and has authority.

-.17

.96

-4.35

.00**

10. The teacher follows the textbook and seldom provides supplementary materials.

-.19

.97

-4.93

.00**

11. The teacher can understand or speak Chinese.

.27

1.00

6.63

.00**

12. The teacher can use Chinese to explain certain words.

.25

1.12

5.61

.00**

13. The teacher can correct my errors when I speak English.

.29

.79

8.91

.00**

14. The teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s teaching style is

.33

.83

9.98

.00**

methodical. 15. The teacher has us practice text dialogs and sentence patterns repeatedly.

.14

.85

14.32

.00**

16. The teacher focuses on our speaking fluency rather than our grammatical accuracy.

.24

.80

3.99

.00**

17. The teacher adjusts his/her teaching style to students‘ needs.

.61

1.06

7.40

.00**

18. The teacher pays attention to individuals‘ differences.

.55

1.04

13.16

.00**

19. The teacher assigns us tasks and asks us to complete them with our team members.

.08

.84

2.51

.01**

20. The teacher separates students into groups and asks us to have group discussions.

.14

.92

3.71

.00**

21. The teacher plays the role of facilitator during group activities.

.25

.81

7.51

.00**

Note. **p < .01, N = 617. The difference in teaching styles between Taiwanese teachers and native Englishspeaking teachers The feedback given by the students was broken down into 18 items. The major differences between Taiwanese teachers and native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) are logical thinking, personality, empathy, manipulation of English idioms, misunderstanding, communication barrier, language use, pronunciation, speech speed, body language, teaching methods, language focus, grammar, error correction, opportunity for language activities, media usage, assessments and cultural differences. The comparison of each cluster is demonstrated in Table 6. For example, students pointed that in NESTs‘ classes they had encountered more misunderstandings than those in Taiwanese teachers‘ since NESTs cannot translate difficult words or sentences into Chinese appropriately (see Item 5).

11 Table 6: The Results of Open-ended Question 1 A Summary of the Differences between Taiwanese Teachers and NESTs

Differences

Taiwanese Teachers

NESTs

Systematic thinking

Lateral thinking

Serious

Humorous/ sentimental

Logical thinking

Personality

Empathy

Less

English idiomatic use

Less

Few/Chinese translations

Less

Language use

Both English and Chinese

English only

Pronunciation

Average

Better

Speaking speed

Slower

Faster

Body language

Less

Teaching Method

Traditional method

Communicative approach

Language focus

Accuracy

Fluency

Grammar

Less

Error correction

Less

Language practice opportunities

Fewer

Media usage

Less

Assessments

Standardized

Variable and flexible

Cultural differences

Fewer

5 6 7

Misunderstanding

Communication barrier

Summary of Major Findings The findings of the research showed a gap between Taiwanese college studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; learning expectations (LE) of and experiences (LEC) with their native EnglishÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

speaking teachers‘ (NESTs) teaching content in English conversation classes, and also significant differences in Taiwanese college students‘ preferences (LP) in and experiences (LEA) of their native English-speaking teachers‘ (NESTs) teaching approaches in English conversation classes. In the other words, what NESTs taught in the classroom somehow failed to match Taiwanese students‘ expectations. The NESTs‘ teaching approaches were a mismatch with the teaching approaches Taiwanese college students preferred. Overall, some findings of the study are similar to those of other studies, while some are not. The findings are elaborated below.

Findings Similar to Those of Previous Studies NESTs’ English Teaching Content--Taiwanese College Students’ Learning Expectations (LE) and Experiences (LEC) This study found a clear mismatch between what students expected to learn and what they learned in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. In open-ended questions, students indicated that culture was the key factor causing the differences. Generally, Taiwanese students‘ English learning is exam-driven, while Western students‘ learning focuses on the application of knowledge. Thus, differences in academic culture might exist in the EFL classroom. This finding is supported by many cross-cultural studies. Research has shown that cultural obstacles, in this case between ESL/EFL students and their native English-speaking teachers, are common when two different cultures come into contact in the classroom (Coelho, 1998; Cortazzi & Jin, 1998; Lin, 2008; Oxford & Burry-Stock, 1995; Park, 2000; Richarson, 1994; Scollon, 1999). In addition, students may not have been satisfied with their learning of knowledge of English grammar in their NESTs‘ English conversation classes. In the open-ended questions, students described that the NESTs paid less attention to students‘ grammatical errors than their Taiwanese English teachers. This finding could be further explained by the study of Arva and Medgyes (2000). They indicated that NESTs usually detect students‘ errors in speaking, but they cannot explain why they are wrong, whereas the non-native English-speaking teacher has studied grammar and is able to explain the error very clearly and economically. In this study, students suggested that their NESTs could focus more on the teaching of English grammar. NESTs’ English Teaching Approach--Taiwanese College Students’ Learning Preferences (LP) and Experiences (LEA) This study also found a mismatch between how students preferred to be taught and how they were actually taught in their NESTs‘ conversation classes. This finding is supported by previous studies. Recent research has shown that the perceptions of teachers and their students do not always match (e.g. Kumaravadivelu, 1991; Block, 1994). Block (1994, 1996), for example, has found that ―teachers and learners operate according to quite different systems for describing and attributing purpose to tasks‖ (1994, p. 473). Block‘s findings are supported by Nunan‘s study (1986), in which he found clear mismatches between learners‘ and teachers‘ opinions about which © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

activities were important in the learning process. In the end of the study, students suggested that their NESTs could try to understand Taiwanese students' learning needs better. Additionally, the findings showed students were not satisfied with their NESTs‘ teaching approaches in terms of their empathy for the students. In the open-ended questions, students further mentioned that some NESTs‘ did not recognize Taiwanese students and had less patience for them. This finding could be, first, supported by the study of Arva and Medgyes (2000). They indicated that NEST's inability to speak the local language might be conducive to a low level of empathy. In addition, it is difficult for NESTs to appreciate what the students are going through when they are learning English. In comparison, having traveled the same path as their students, non-NESTs may remember those difficulties from their own learning. In the end of the study, students suggested that their NESTs could learn how to speak, or speak, some Chinese. Secondly, a similar finding by Lin (2008) could also support this study. The researcher concluded in that study that Taiwanese students thought American teachers should have more empathy toward their needs. Most of all, the findings showed that students were not satisfied with their NESTs teaching approach in the area of understanding or speaking Chinese. In the openended questions, students mentioned that Taiwanese English teachers could use both Chinese and English to make teaching smoother, but NESTs could use only English to teach. This factor increased the communication barrier between students and NESTs. This finding is supported by Arva and Medgyes (2000). They indicated that NESTs with no knowledge of the students‘ mother tongue may feel handicapped. For example, NESTs cannot explain their answers fully, especially with beginners, and it can be frustrating. Moreover, if NESTs do not speak the students' mother tongue, they cannot really ‗interpret' the mistakes the students make. In this study, students suggested that NESTs could learn how to speak, or speak, some Chinese. Taiwanese Students’ Adjustments Taiwanese students perceived that learning English could be relaxing and fun. As a result, they changed their learning attitudes by becoming more relaxed, but also more active in participation. A similar conclusion was made by Lin (2008). He found that Taiwanese students managed to be more active in class in order to survive in the American academic environment. Student also noted that some problems in communication were caused by a lack of knowledge of their NEST‘s culture. As a result, students applied the learning strategies of ―empathizing with their teacher‖ and tried to learn about their NESTs‘ cultures by watching English movies, listening to English radio programs, and reading English magazines or newspapers to increase their awareness of the cultural differences. This finding is supported by Lam & Chow (2004). They further reported that younger Chinese adults were more privileged in the use of methods such as seeing movies or watching videos to learn about a second culture in the EFL © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

classroom. Moreover, students preferred to learn about Western culture via NESTs‘ sharing of their experiences in their own countries and their teaching of Western idioms. Table 7 summarizes the findings that are similar to those of other studies.

Table 7: Summary of Findings Similar to other Studies’

No.

Items

What Taiwanese students expected to learn did not match what they learned.

Taiwanese students may not have been satisfied with their learning of knowledge of English grammar.

How Taiwanese students preferred to be taught did not match how they had been taught.

Taiwanese students were not satisfied with their NESTs‘ teaching approach in terms of their empathy for the students.

Taiwanese students were not satisfied with their NESTs‘ teaching approach in the area of understanding or speaking Chinese.

Taiwanese students reported that culture was the key factor causing the differences between their learning expectations/learning preferences and learning experiences with their NESTs‘ teaching content/teaching approach.

Students changed their learning attitudes, becoming more relaxed, but also more active in participation.

Taiwanese students increased their cultural awareness by watching English movies, listening to English radio programs, and reading English magazines.

Findings Different from Those of Previous Studies NESTs’ English Teaching Content--Taiwanese College Students’ Learning Expectations (LE) and Learning Experiences (LEC) This study found that students might not have been as satisfied with their learning of vocabulary in their NESTs‘ English conversation classes as in their Taiwanese teachers‘ classes. This finding is contrary to the study of Lasagabaster & Sierra (2005). They reported that NESTs were stronger in the area of vocabulary than non-native English teachers. In the open-ended questions, students indicated that the main cause of the dissatisfaction was that Taiwanese teachers understand students‘ weaknesses and can clearly explain the new vocabulary in Chinese. However, NESTs have difficulty explaining certain words, and sometimes students felt more confused by the © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

NESTs‘ further explanations. In this study, the students suggested that NESTs could learn some Chinese or improve their teaching by learning from the Taiwanese English teachers.

Additionally, this study showed that students might not have been satisfied with their learning of English pronunciation in NESTs conversation classes. This finding contradicts the study of Cortazzi and Jin (1998; 1999). They noted that Asian students appreciated Western teachers in the area of pronunciation. In the open-ended questions, students indicated that the main cause of the dissatisfaction was that NESTs corrected students‘ pronunciation errors less often than their Taiwanese English teachers did. In addition, NESTs came from deferent countries and had different accents, which could cause some problems with adjustment. Students suggested that NESTs could pay more attention to their accents and try to speak more clearly. NESTs’ English Teaching Approach--Taiwanese College Students’ Learning Preferences (LP) and Experiences (LEA) Students did not prefer their NESTs to be serious and have authority. However, their NESTs were more serious and had more authority than they expected. This finding is contrary to Lin‘s (2008). Lin (2008) concluded in his research that his Taiwanese participants thought their NESTs were more easygoing, encouraging, and humorous than Taiwanese teachers. Moreover, the findings showed that that the NESTs tended to follow the textbook and seldom provided supplementary materials. This finding is contrary to Lin (2000), who reported that Taiwanese students perceived their NESTs to be flexible in teaching. However, in the open-ended questions, the students pointed that their NESTs not only followed the textbook and but also had students repeat the sentences in the textbook again and again. Students suggested that their NESTs' teaching approach could be more varied, and that they could provide more teaching activities in class. Table 8: Summary of Findings Different from Those of Other Studies’

No .

Items

Taiwanese students might not have been as satisfied with their learning of vocabulary in their NESTs‘ English conversation classes as in NNESTs‘ in the EFL classrooms.

Taiwanese students might not have been satisfied with their learning of English pronunciation in NESTs‘ conversation classes.

NESTs were more serious and had more authority than students expected.

NESTs were inflexible in teaching, since they followed the textbook and seldom provided supplementary materials.

Pedagogical Implications and Limitations Based on the findings, this research suggests that Native English-speaking teachers should be aware of ESL/EFL students‘ expectations/preferences in the classroom, and that both native English-speaking teachers and ESL/EFL students need to recognize the differences in academic cultures. Finally, this research suggests that curriculum designers incorporate the issues of differences in academic culture into English language education. The suggestions are elaborated as follows. Native English-speaking teachers should be aware of ESL/EFL students‘ expectations/preferences in the classroom. Jeffra (2003) reported that Taiwanese students preferred to learn by watching and listening to teachers, and they are often described as field-dependent and structure-oriented. As a result, Taiwanese students need a little more time to answer oral questions than do native English speaking learners. As shown in Table 9, students also indicated that in their NESTs‘ conversation classes, the top five abilities or skills that they expected to learn were the ―ability to express ideas in English,‖ ―English pronunciation,‖ ―English listening comprehension,‖ ―English communication skills,‖ and ―Knowledge of Western culture.‖ The top five teaching approaches they preferred were as follows: ―NESTs use body language to explain their ideas,‖ ―NESTs are humorous,‖ ―NESTs play the role of facilitator in our group activities,‖ ―NESTs encourage students to speak in the class,‖ and ―NESTs give students enough time to think and answer questions.‖ Furthermore, the students‘ top eight suggestions for their NESTs were as follows: ―NESTs‘ teaching approach could be more varied,‖ ―NESTs could speak more slowly,‖ ―NESTs could learn how to speak, or speak, some Chinese,‖ ―NESTs could have more empathy for Taiwanese students‘ needs,‖ ―NESTs could teach more about the cultural differences between their countries and Taiwan,‖ ―NESTs could give students more opportunities to speak,‖ ―NESTs could teach more Western idioms,‖ and ―NESTs could try to understand Taiwanese culture and Taiwanese ways of thinking better,‖ ―NESTs could focus more on English grammar,‖ ―NESTs need to be more patient and provide encouragement for Taiwanese students, since they are shy.‖ Therefore, it is necessary for NESTs to consider Taiwanese students‘ learning expectations and preferences to make the teaching smoother and more efficient.

17 Table 9: Summary of the Top Five Learning Expectations/Learning preferences and the Top Eight Suggestions

Rank Learning Expectations

Learning Preferences

Suggestions

Descriptions

Ability to express ideas in English

English pronunciation

English listening comprehension

English communication skills

Knowledge of Western culture

NESTs use body language to explain their ideas.

NESTS are humorous.

NESTs play the role of facilitator in our group actives.

NESTs encourage students to speak in the class.

NESTs give students enough time to think and answer questions.

NESTs‘ teaching approach could be more varied.

NESTs could speak more slowly.

NESTs could speak some Chinese.

NESTs could have more empathy for Taiwanese students‘ needs.

NESTs could teach more about the cultural differences between their countries and Taiwan.

NESTs could give students more opportunities to speak

NESTs could teach more Western idioms. NETSs could try to understand Taiwanese culture and Taiwanese ways of thinking better.

NESTs could focus more on grammar. NESTs need to be more patient and provide

encouragement for Taiwanese students, since they are shy.

This study has certain limitations. First, since the data of the open-ended questions were based on a researcher-developed questionnaire, the findings may not be reflective of actual facts. Second, this study consists of a very specific sample: English majors from six universities of technology in central Taiwan. The results of this study should not be generalized to the Taiwanese student population as a whole. More native English-speaking teachers and Taiwanese students need to be investigated in the future. Third, NESTs personal factors, such their personality, educational background, and professional training might affect students‘ satisfaction with their NESTs. There might be a need for further exploration of the NESTs‘ personal information, perspectives on, and adjustments to Taiwanese students, and how such factors relate to teaching performance. Lastly, it is suggested that interviews and class observations be conducted in further research to more deeply explore Taiwanese students‘ actual learning situations and adjustments.

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APPENDIX I

Questionnaire toward Taiwanese college students and their native English teacher Dear classmates: The purpose of this questionnaire is to investigate Taiwanese students‘ perspectives toward their native English teachers‘ conversation classes. In addition, the concentrations of your reading and filling the questionnaire are the success of this research. Please fill the questionnaire according to your current condition. There is no right answer to the questionnaire. The completion of your filing the questionnaire will bring beneficial help to this study. Thank you very much for your cooperation in this study. It is greatly appreciated. After your filling the questionnaire, please pass it on to the first classmates of the platoon, thank you very much for your help.

The comparison of what students wanted to learn and what they had learned in ther native English teachers’ English conversation classes.

In the English In the English conversation class, I conversation class, I want to learn or have learned/increased my… improve my... Skills and Knowledge in English Learning Field Strongly disagree

Disagree

No commend

Agree

Strongly agree

Knowledge of modern technology

Knowledge of English grammar

Knowledge of Western culture

English listening comprehension

Student autonomy

Ability to apply knowledge

Ability to learn from errors

Critical thinking abilities

Ability to express myself in English

English pronunciation

English communication skills

English reading skills

English writing skills

Exam taking skills

Computer skills (e.g., PPT)

Ability to participate in class activities Admiration of classmates‘ performances

Strongly agree

Agree

No commend

Disagree

Vocabulary

Strongly disagree

Ability to share ideas

Attention in class

The others things that I want to learn or strengthen in the native English teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; classes are, for example:

The native English teacher has taught us other things in the class, for example:

II. Taiwanese college students’ preferences in English teaching styles in their native English teachers’ English conversation classes.

My native English teacher‘s teaching teaching styles in the styles in the English English conversation conversation class are class are that… that… My favorite

English teaching approaches Strongly agree

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

Agree

No commend

Disagree

Strongly disagree

2 The teacher follows the syllabus consistently 1

3 The teacher has empathy for the students

1 The teaching in class is humorous.

The teacher employs multimedia resources (e.g., a projector).

The teacher gives students enough time to think and answer questions.

The teacher encourages students to speak in class.

The teacher uses body language to explain his/her ideas.

The teacher gives us opportunities to explain our ideas.

9 The teacher is serious and has authority.

The teacher follows the textbook and does not provide extra references

The teacher can understand or speak Chinese.

The teacher can use Chinese to explain certain words.

speak English. 14 The teacher‘s teaching style is methodical.

The teacher has us practice text dialogs and sentence patterns repeatedly.

The teacher focuses on our speaking fluency 1 rather than our grammatical accuracy.

The teacher adjusts his/her teaching style to 1 students‘ needs.

The teacher pays attention to individuals‘ differences.

The teacher assigns us tasks and asks us to complete them with our team members.

The teacher separates students into groups and asks us to have group discussions.

The teacher plays the role of facilitator during group activities.

The other English teaching styles that I

The native English teachers‘ teaching styles

like are..

are...

III. Taiwanese college students’ adjustments in the native English teachers’ conversation class. 1. Do you think there are differences between Taiwanese teachers‘ and native English teachers‘ teaching styles? If yes, what are they? 2. Do you think you adapt to native English teachers‘ classes well? If not, please elaborate. 3. If your answer to question 2 is no, how have you adapted to the conversation class? 4. Do the native English teachers‘ teaching styles affect your learning attitude and strategy? If yes, please give examples. 5. Do you have any suggestions for your native English teachers?

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 27-40, December 2014

An Ontology-Based Framework for Collecting E-Learning Resources Dr. Mohammed M. Alhawiti Assistant Professor of Educational Technology Education and Arts College University of Tabuk Abstract. The World Wide Web has an immense amount of e-learning resources for the various branches of science; these are available as textbooks, presentations, video tutorials, pictures, and audio lectures. There is no doubt that these resources would help students understand academic courses better, especially those courses that require training and practical activities, such as computer science courses. This would also help the instructor clarify his ideas in an interesting and innovative way. Searching for the available and suitable resources on the internet is difficult and time-consuming because we need the exact specification of keywords that characterize each topic in the course syllabus. Collecting such material manually from scratch for each course in a specific domain of knowledge is an expensive and time-consuming effort. Ontology is the identification of terms used in a specific domain of knowledge, and the specification of relations between them. It specifies a shared vocabulary for specialists in a certain domain to exchange information. It is perhaps the key solution to the problems related to knowledge sharing and reuse due to the inclusion of definitions of basic concepts and their relationships that can be understood by machines. In this paper, a system is proposed to enable instructors to collect elearning multimedia resources from the internet and automatically link them with topics in the syllabus of the intended course using the ontology of the domain of knowledge related to that course. Keywords: Automatic Retrieval; Instructional Design; Knowledge Management; Ontology-Based Annotation; E-Learning

Introduction The process of creating a course is a tedious and arduous process. It includes tasks like planning a map of the concepts, preparing words, gathering the suitable equipment, and creating evaluation methods of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance. Experienced instructors know how much work is required to build learning materials from scratch, as it requires a lot of time, effort and expertise (Casey, & McAlpine, 2002). To reduce the time and effort for constructing a course, it is suggested to use various elements from existing courses. The author can also consult internet documents to add to the content of their course. This ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

combined content can then be scanned by the author who can pick the best elements and improve the overall quality of the entire course. Web 2.0 introduced a number of applications like Blogging, Social networking, and other Web applications that made every user of the Web become an author, having all of the tools and information to publish and share creations on the Web (Carlos, Guillermo, & Eduardo, 2012). The result is an immense amount of information and multimedia content. To overcome the process of sorting through the proliferation of information and to automate the process of accessing these resources, imposing semantic abstraction of information is necessary. The main barrier to automatic access to information is that all existing information is represented freely by different information providers and concepts in the same domain are often expressed using different methods. The consequence is that the semantics of information are not understood by search engines and knowledge cannot be shared between data sources (Gardarin, Kou, Zeitouni, Meng, & Wang, 2003). Ontology is the identification of terms used in a specific domain of knowledge, and the specification of relations between them (Gruber, 1993). It specifies a shared, machine interpretable vocabulary for specialists, and co-workers in a certain domain to exchange information. Ontology is becoming of increasing importance to a large number of applications, such as knowledge-based systems, information exchange, the semantic web, and application integration. Standard ontologies have been created for a large number of domains, to support the communication and information exchange between co-workers and experts in these domains. SNOMED (Price, & Spackman, 2000) is an example of a large structured and standardized vocabulary in the domain of medicine. UMLS is a semantic network of Unified Medical Language System. UNSPSC is an ontology that provides common terminology for products and services. A number of recent studies in the domain of e-learning development focused on the use of ontology in supporting adaptive learning and personalization of course content (Sedleniece, & Cakula, 2012). Personalization is the process of adjusting the learning knowledge to distinctive learners by investigating their information, abilities and learning inclination (DevedĹžiĂź, 2006). The idea is based on the fact that every student consumes training material based on his own unique learning style, needs and interests, and ontology can play an important role in structuring course content in a way that facilitates easy delivery of course content to different styles of learners. In this paper, a proposed system to assist course developers to automatically collect course multimedia teaching materials out of the available related Web resources using ontology is presented.

Background The World Wide Web has had a great effect on information exchange. Users of the Web can electronically publish their ideas and innovations. This has produced a massive amount of documents and resources, and this amount is rapidly growing. The exponential increase of information makes it difficult to find useful information on the Web (Gardarin et al., 2003). ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Ontology is the candidate technology to describe the semantics of the underlying information, as it identifies the terms and sorts of things used in a specific domain of application. Ontology in computer science is a kind of way to portray ideas in a specific domain, and the relations between them (Uschold, & Gruninger, 1996).

Ontology Ontology is commonly defined as “a formal, explicit specification of a shared conceptualization” (Gruber, 1993). Software application integration is one of the common usages of ontology; the developers of an enterprise create a common ontology to be used for integrating its software applications. Ontology is also used as a common interchange format to translate from/to different software applications with different formats. Another usage of ontology is “OntologyDriven Software Engineering”, where specification and development of software is based on a given domain’s ontology. Finally, an ontology-based search is used to facilitate searches that use ontology for indexing information repositories (Uschold, & Gruninger, 2004).

Resource Tagging Tagging is the process of adding special annotations or marks that attach a piece of information to a resource or an object for future referral. There are many purposes for tagging objects; users usually tag objects for the purpose of future retrieval of the objects. Tags are also used for sharing ideas about objects with other users, attracting attention to specific resources, marking contributions with self-referential tags, or evaluating specific objects (Gupta, Yin, & Han, 2010).

Applications of Ontology in the Educational Domain Many research efforts revealed the importance of ontology and Semantic Web (Berners-Lee, Hendler, & Lassila, 2001), as a supportive means for educationaltechnology systems (Mizoguchi, & Bourdeau, 2000), (Sampson, Lytras, Wagner, & Diaz, 2004), (Aroyo, Dicheva, & Cristea, 2002). Ontology has a promising role in the field of instructional design and the development of course content because it can represent knowledge about content, supports course authors in creating content and provides easy accessibility of course content by students. Hence, it is likely that ontology will be useful in the domain of education (Boyce, & Pahl, 2007). Technological perspective defines the knowledge organization, knowledge inference, information, information visualization, information navigation, information querying, subject domain ontology, and instructional knowledge. Application perspective defines sub concepts in knowledge construction, knowledge externalization, knowledge communication, and architectural knowledge. (Monique, Faiçal, Cyrille, Richard, Dominique, & Céline, 2007) defines ontology in the e-learning domain, which includes problem-situation, problem solving, critical analysis, case study, debate, cyber quest, projects, and exercises. (Marian, Bogdan, & Marius, 2010) developed a Semantic Web that defines educational ontology and consists of user profile, person, contact, and activities ontologies. This was implemented using Protégé-OWL ontology editor. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

(Kum, & Elizabeth, 2011) provides an archive of confidential knowledge in the education domain. The ICT ontology consists of concepts, such as the ontologies of ICT curriculum, ICT Job, ICT Skill and ICT Research. (Feng, & Youquan, 2010) uses ontologies in the construction of an educational resources library to allow access to qualification systems of 9 countries in Europe. (Chung, & Kim, 2012) focuses on developing e-learning support system based on ontology enabling learners to customize paths of learning as per their understanding of curriculum and subjects.

1) Web-Based Educational Systems (WBES) WBES is a new protocol for communication of knowledge is proposed that would implement content awareness through ontology to foster communication between different areas through the ability to understand shared information. Through this new high layer built model of communication, understanding the content and network communication is optimized. (Dicheva, Aroyo 2004).

2) Ontologies for Education (O4E) This consists of technological and application perspectives. Technological perspective defines the knowledge organization, knowledge inference, information, information visualization, information navigation, information querying, subject domain ontology, and instructional knowledge. Application perspective defines sub concepts in knowledge construction, knowledge externalization, knowledge communication, and architectural knowledge (Aroyo, & Dicheva, 2004).

3) Ontologies for the Use of digital learning Resources and semantic Annotations on Line (OURAL) This research project defines ontology in the e-learning domain, which includes problem-situation, problem solving, critical analysis, case study, debate, cyber quest, projects, and exercises(Monique, Faiçal, Cyrille, Richard, Dominique, & Céline, 2007).

4) Ontologies for E-Learning Systems in Higher Education This is a Semantic Web that defines educational ontology and consists of user profile, person, contact, and activities ontologies. This was implemented using Protégé-OWL ontology editor (Marian, Bogdan, & Marius, 2010).

5) Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education Ontology ICT provides a central repository of classified knowledge in the education domain. The ICT ontology consists of concepts, such as the ontologies of ICT curriculum, ICT Job, ICT Skill and ICT Research (Kum, & Elizabeth, 2011).

6) European Credit Vocational System This system uses ontologies in the construction of an educational resources library to provide a common access to the information regarding the qualification systems of nine European countries (Feng, & Youquan, 2010).

Research in the domain of ontology-based e-learning focuses on developing ontology-based e-learning support system which allows learners to build adaptive learning paths according to their understanding of curriculum, syllabuses, and subjects of courses (Chung, & Kim, 2012).

The impact of multimedia instructional design on learners Multimedia has a fundamental educational advantage of providing sensory input that is visually integrated and linguistically rich, enhancing the usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning experiences (Mayer, 1997). A study prepared according to focused or split attention types was conducted on the effect of multimedia instructional designs on recall performances of learners with high , medium or low memory spans. The study revealed that a higher recall was shown in the focused attention type, while there were discrepancies and deviations between performance results of learners with different multimedia (Altun, 2012).

Architecture of the Proposed System The main goal of the proposed system is to assist the instructor or the course designer to find related multimedia learning material on the Web and attach them automatically to each of the topics that comprise the syllabus of the course. This part will introduce the architecture of the proposed system and the details of each of its parts. The input to the proposed system is the syllabus provided by the instructor, which specifies the contents and topics included in the course. The output is an index of the syllabus topics with links to multimedia resources related to each topic with the facility to browse the course contents with the attached multimedia resources. As it appears in Figure 1, the proposed system consists of four main components: key concepts extractor, Web resources collector, ontology extender, and subject Web-resources browser.

A. Key Concepts Extractor The main function of this component is to analyze the topics of the provided syllabus to determine the key concepts that characterize each topic. The concepts are drawn from the domain ontology provided by the instructor and related to the domain of knowledge of the course. The output of this component is an index of the topics that constitute the syllabus of the course, tagged with the relevant domain concepts related to each topic. The known techniques of generalization and specialization are used to explore the taxonomy of the domain ontology concepts to specify the related domain concepts to each topic.

B. Web Resources Collector The Web resources collector searches the Web for the multimedia resources related to each topic using the key concept tags that characterize these topics. The keywords used are extracted from the topics domain concepts index generated in the previous stage. The output of this component is a repository of links to Web resources related to each topic.

Instructor

Ontology Extender

Subject Ontology

Syllabus

Key Concepts Extractor

Tagged Topics

Web Resources

Web Resources Collector

Collected Resources

Browser

Student

Figure 1: Architecture of the proposed system

C. Ontology Extender The instructor uses this component to build the hierarchy of the subject ontology. This tool allows the instructor to input the main concepts and their associations related to the subject, which arranges the concepts in a hierarchical structure with the general concepts at the top levels of the hierarchy, and subconcepts are branching from them at the lower levels of the hierarchy.

D. Subject Web-resources browser The target of the proposed system is to provide the facility of browsing Web resources related to each syllabus topic on a selected subject. This component provides this facility. Through this component, the user/student will be able to go through the collected Web resources for a selected topic.

Implementation Of The Proposed System This part describes the implementation aspects of the proposed system. The main modules to be discussed are the Key Concepts Extractor Module, and the Web Resources Collector module.

A. Key Concepts Extractor The input to the key concepts extractor module is the syllabus of the intended course. Usually the syllabus include information about the course including objectives, outcomes, time table, and the most important part which is the course plan that lists the topics to be taught throughout the course. Figure 2 displays a sample database course syllabus.

Figure 2: Sample Database Course Syllabus

Key Concepts Extractor module traverses the domain concepts taxonomy related to the subject of the course, and searches for each concept in the list of topics of the input course. Figure 3, is an excerpt of the used ontology concepts hierarchy, where concepts are represented by ovals and relations are represented by arcs. Synonym relation indicates that two concepts have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably. For example, “ER Model” is a synonym concept to “Entity Relationship Model” concept. Child relation indicates that a concept is more general than its child. For example, “Entity” concept is a more general concept of “Weak Entity” concept. Entity Relationship Model

ER Model

Synonym Child

Child

Entity

Relationship

Child

Child Child

Cardinality

Attribute

Composite Entity

Weak Entity

Child Child

Child

Value

1:1 Child

Child 1:M

Child M:N

Key

Null Value Child Primary Key

Child Foreign Key

Figure 3: Sample of the concepts hierarchy of the database domain

Figure 4, is a pseudo code that describes the process of tagging syllabus topics with domain concept tags. It starts with reading the syllabus and ontology xml files, then for each concept in the ontology concepts list, it searches for this concept in each topic in the syllabus, if a concept is found in a topic, a tag record is appended to the TopicTags XML file. Figure 5. Displays a sample of the output TopicTags.XML file. Input: S: Syllabus XML file O: Ontology XML file Output: TopicTags.XML Steps: Read S Read O Get LC //List of all concepts in O Get LT // List of all topics in S for each concept C in LC { for each T in LT { if ( C in T ) Append C to T TagList in TopicTags.XML

Figure} 4: Key Concepts Extractor Pseudo Code }

Fig 5: Sample Output of the Key Concepts Extractor Module

B. Web Resources Collector module The web resources collector module searches for tags in TopicTags.XML file and generates a search key for each tag, the search key is the full path of concept tag as indicated in the domain concepts hierarchy. For example, if the tag is ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

“Attribute” then the search key will be “ER Model Entity Attribute”. The output of the web resources collector module is the list of multimedia resources attached to each topic after removing redundant occurrences of the search results. Figure 6 is a pseudo code of the web resources collector module.

Input: TT: TopicTags.XML O: Ontology XML file Output: TopicLinks.HTML Steps: Read TT Read O for each T in LTopics { Get LTG //List of tags of T for each TG in LTG{ Get P = Path (TG) // Full path of the tag concept Get SK = SearchKey(P) Get SR = WebSearch(SK) // Search Result Append SR to TopicLinks.HTML }

Fig 6: Web Resources Collector Pseudo Code

}

Sample Run This section demonstrates a sample run of the implemented prototype of the proposed system. The input to the course annotator module is the syllabus of the intended course as an XML file. Figure 7 shows the form that the instructor uses for selecting the syllabus file.

Fig 7: Course Syllabus selection form

The output of the proposed tool is a list of the topics found in the input syllabus file associated with links to the multimedia resources found on the Web and related to each topic as shown in Figure 8.

Fig 8: Syllabus topics with associated Web multimedia resources

Upon selecting one of the displayed links, the multimedia content of the selected link is displayed, as shown in Figure 9.

Results and Discussions This section discusses the feasibility of using ontology for searching for web multimedia resources related to the topics of the selected syllabus. Text-based search means using the topic description text directly as a search key to look for the matching multimedia resources, which is the currently used method for searching the web, while ontology-based search means using the domain ontology in formulating the search key. The approach used for testing the feasibility of using ontology to formulate search keys instead of direct text-based search is to compare the number of correct/incorrect results for both types of search for the first 20 search results as shown in Figure 10. Topic

Text-based Search Correct

Incorrect

Ontology-based Search Correct

Incorrect

Entity, Attributes, Relationship

Types of attributes, null values and keys

Connectivity, Cardinality

Relationship Strength

Weak Entities and Composite Entity

Figure 10: Feasibility Test

The results reveal that text-based search often get incorrect results, as it depends only on the terms found in the topic text, without having background knowledge about the context of the topic. For example, as it appears in Figure 10, the search for the topic “Relationship Strength” resulted in 0% correct results, as all the results were related to human relationships, instead of entity relationship model. On the other hand, ontology-based search results were consistently correct, because it augments the context of the topic in the search key using the hierarchy of relevant domain concepts.

Discussion of Confronted Problems During the development of the prototype of the proposed system, a number of problems were revealed. This section discusses these problems along with the suggested solutions.

A. Misleading description of multimedia resources YouTube was selected as the source of video feeds using Google API to narrow the scope of the multimedia resources. The title and description of the feeds were selected for the matching course topics using the ontology terms. However, the initial results revealed that some of the video feeds had a description that did not match the content of the feed. The proposed solution to this problem is to use matching at different levels of the ontology hierarchy and apply this matching to the more specific terms down the hierarchy of ontology terms. The second solution is to restrict the search for feeds to the authentic sites in YouTube, that is, those related to the domain of the course subject feeds.

B. Replication of the same content with different descriptions The feeds are sometimes repeated in different sites with different descriptions. This problem causes lengthy matching resources results and can be filtered using other parameters of the feed, such as type or length.

Conclusion Ontology is becoming of great importance in the field of education technology; it is the key for instructional design, integrating applications, information sharing and e-learning content design. This paper introduced an approach for associating academic course syllabi with available multimedia resources to topics on the Web. The proposed system has been designed and implemented to read the syllabus provided by the instructor, mark its topics with the domain concepts drawn from the domain ontology, use these concepts to search for multimedia resources on the Web, and attach them to each topic of the syllabus. The most important result is the sharing and reusing domain ontology; it can be used for annotating many courses in the same domain Additionally, the system expedites the process of building the course content through the collection of the multimedia content of the intended course from the Web automatically, which reduces the burden of searching and collecting resources individually for each topic. The proposed system helps the course developer to provide multiple paths for course material that is suitable for different learning styles, which supports personalization of the designed course. For students, the proposed system allows browsing the multimedia resources of the course indexed with the topics easily, and allows the selection of different multimedia resources, suitable for different styles of learning. The proposed tool also provides some amendment services, which allow the instructor to edit the ontology used for a specific domain and the resources allocated to each topic of the syllabus. A prototype of the proposed Multimedia-Enabled Syllabus Browser has been implemented, and a sample run has been introduced that clarifies the idea of the proposed system. Also, the feasibility of the proposed system has been tested, and the results revealed that search results using ontology were consistently giving correct results compared with direct text-based search. Future research will continue to provide alternative solutions to the problems confronted.

Acknowledgments The authors of this paper would like to express their gratitude to the deanship of scientific research in the University of Tabuk for their help and kind support through the funded project No.: S – 1435 – 93.

References Altun, A., (2012). Ontologies for Personalization: A new challenge for instructional designers. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 64, 691-698. Aroyo, L., & Dicheva, D., (2004). The New Challenges for E-learning: The Educational Semantic Web. Journal of Educational Technology and Society, 59-69. Aroyo, L., Dicheva, D., & Cristea, A., (2002). Ontological Support for Web Courseware Authoring. In Cerri, S.A., Gouarderes, G. & Paraguacu, F. (Eds.), Proceedings of Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Berlin: Springer, 270-280. Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J., & Lassila, O., (2001). American, 284 (5), 34-43.

The Semantic Web. Scientific

Boyce, S., & Pahl, C., (2007). Developing Domain Ontologies for Course Content. Educational Technology & Society, 10 (3), 275-288. Carlos, B., Guillermo, E., & Eduardo, M., (2012). Ontology-driven Keyword-based Search on Linked Data, Proc. of the 16th International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems (KES 2012), San Sebastián (Spain), IOS Press, ISBN 978-1-61499-104-5, volume 243, pp. 1899-1908, Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications, September. Casey, & McAlpine, M., (2002). Writing and using reusable ducational materials: a beginner's guide. CETIS Educational Content Special Interest Group Publication. Chung, Н.-S., & Kim, J.-M., (2012). Learning Ontology Design for Supporting Adaptive Learning in e-Learning Environment. In: IPCSIT-2012, vol. 27, Singapore, pp.148–152. Devedžiü, V. (2006).Semantic web and education.Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Dicheva, D., & Aroyo, L., (2004). A Minimalist Approach to Support Ontology-driven Educational Information Systems Communication. In Proceedings of International Workshop on Applications of Semantic. Feng, Y., & Youquan, C., (2010). Ontology based application framework for Network Education Resources Library. In Proceedings of 2nd International Workshop on Education Technology and Computer Science,423 – 426. Gardarin, G., Kou, H., Zeitouni, K., Meng, X, & Wang, H., (2003). SEWISE: An Ontologybased Web Information Search Engine., in Antje Düsterhöft & Bernhard Thalheim, ed., 'NLDB', GI,, pp. 106-119. Gruber,

T.R., (1993). A Translation Approach Specification.Knowledge Acquisition 5: 199-220.

Portable

Ontology

Gupta, M., Li, R., Yin, Z., and Han, J., (2010). Survey on social tagging techniques. SIGKDD Explor. Newsl. 12, 58–72. Humphreys, B.L., & Lindberg, D.A.B., (1993).The UMLS project: making the conceptual connection between users and the information they need. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 81(2): 170. Kum, L., Chin, & Elizabeth, C., (2011). A Sustainable ICT Education Ontology. In Proceedings of 5th IEEE International Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies, Korea, 350-354. Marian, B., Bogdan, D., & Marius, V., (2010). Designing a Semantic Web Ontology for Elearning in Higher Education. In Proceedings of IEEE 9th International Symposium on Electronics and Telecommunications, 415 – 418. Mayer, R. E., (1997). Multimedia learning: Are we asking the right questions? Educational Psychologist, 32(1), 1-19. Mizoguchi, R., & Bourdeau, J., (2000). Using ontological engineering to overcome common AI-ED problems. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 11(2), 107-121. Monique, G., Faiçal, A., Cyrille, D., Richard, F., Dominique, L., & Céline, Q. J., (2007). Sharing an ontology in Education: Lessons learnt from the OURAL project. In Proceedings of 7th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies. Price, C., & Spackman, K., (2000). SNOMED clinical terms. BJHC&IM-British Journal of Healthcare Computing & Information Management 17(3): 27-31. Sampson, D. G., Lytras, M. D., Wagner, G., & Diaz, P., (2004). Ontologies and the Semantic Web for E-learning. Journal of Educational Technology and Society, 7(4), 26-142. Sedleniece, M., & Cakula, S., (2012). Framework for personalized e-learning model. In: Proceedings WSEAS, Recent Researches in Communications and Computers; p. 457-462. Uschold, M., & Gruninger, M., (1996). Ontologies: principles, methods, and applications. Knowledge Engineering Review, 11(2), 1-63. Uschold, M., & Gruninger, M., (2004). Ontologies and semantics for seamless connectivity.SIGMOD Record, 33(3).

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 41-50, December 2014.

Teletandem, Video-Recordings and UsageBased Tasks: Developing a Socially Situated Scenario for Learning Paola Leone University of Salento, Italy Abstract. The article describes how telecollaboration is implemented at the University of Salento (Italy). Particularly, it explores how teletandem, that is peer exchange for foreign language practice via VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology, has become the nucleus for developing a socially situated pedagogical scenario, designed to promote basically oral interactional skills and learning in autonomy. The use of information and communication technology is relevant in the whole learning scenario which consists in 12 hrs of teletandem conversations and in workshops during which students do tasks based on the analysis of video-recordings of their virtual meetings in relation to several pedagogical aims. The whole learning scenario is learner-led and is based on studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reflective discussion with peers. Language use and cognitive processes implemented by the task-based pedagogy are useful not only in institutional like situations but can be as well applied to the informal and self-directed learning experience, for instance, when the higher education curriculum is concluded. Keywords. teletandem, interactional skills, learning autonomy, situated learning, interaction.

Introduction The paper describes how telecollaboration is implemented at the University of Salento (Italy) and how the experience of peer language exchange with foreign partners via VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology has become the nucleus for developing a socially situated learning scenario, designed to promote basically oral interactional skills and learning in autonomy. The instructional program is based on different forms of web 2.0 technology mediated interactions with foreign partners and on workshops during which students are asked to analyse their video-recorded interactions, completing usage-based tasks. The learning scenario is a part of the language-teaching curriculum of foreign language university degree courses. Teletandem plus workshops and the preparation of a short presentation in which students describe their experience, ÂŠ2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

following the theoretical framework given during the meetings, constitute a training program for which credits are awarded1. In the article, we will discuss: - Definition of telecollaboration and teletandem; - Teletandem programs’ objectives at Unisalento; - Descriptions of the learning scenario as a social situated practice; - Description of usage-based tasks’ pedagogy.

Telecollaboration and teletandem Telecollaboration “refers to the application of online communication tools to bring together classes of language learners in geographically distant locations with the aim to develop their foreign language skills and intercultural competence through collaborative tasks and project work” (O’Dowd, 2013, p. 1). In our university, telecollaboration has been implemented in the form of oral, synchronous exchange. Since 2008, the University of Salento has been part of an international teaching and research network based at UNESP, University of São Paulo State (Brazil; www.teletandembrasil.org;), whose aims are as follows: (a) to develop oral skills and interaction, an often neglected communicative strategy in second language teaching in higher education as elsewhere in the educational system, (b) to conduct research in the field of intercultural communication and (c) to analyse the structure of computer-mediated oral discourse. The name of the network and of the program is Teletandem and Prof. João Telles is the project creator (Telles & Vassallo, 2006). Teletandem as language practice/learning is the on-line version of the presential tandem (e.g. Brammerts & Kleppin, 2001), that, starting from ’80, used dialogue between paired speakers of different native languages as a framework for developing L2 language competence. Teletandem, as tandem, is based on the following principles: - Reciprocity. Each party must have the same opportunity to develop his/her L2 language competence. For instance, if an English and an Italian expert speakers are involved, the practice of each L2 must last the same amount of time. Therefore, for instance, for the first 30 minutes (or 1 hr) of the virtual meeting, the conversation can be in English, and for the second half it can be in Italian. In order not to favour the practice of any language in the following Teletandem session the practice of the two languages is reversed. At the University of Salento this principle has been adapted to learning objectives of a scenario aimed at developing intercomprehension ability (see A Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures; FREPA, 2012, p. 7) between related languages, making “the learner work on two or more languages of the same linguistic family […] being one of these languages the learner’s mother tongue” (i.e. Portuguese and Italian). During the conversation each speaker talks in his/her native language - either Italian or Portuguese; 1

For instance, for 12 hours of on-line conversations, a seminar of 10hrs, and the preparation of a presentation in L2, 2 European Credits are granted (25 hrs per credit point).

- Collaborative learning. Students cooperate to improve their language ability; - Autonomous learning. Students must plan meetings together with their partners according to their needs. The language instructor intervenes upon request only to facilitate the use of computer technology and communication and to discuss theoretical topics. For Teletandem VOIP technology and Internet Relay Chat are employed. Communication therefore involves video, audio and written mode.

Teletandem’s learning objectives According to the needs of their students, learning programs based on Teletandem can have different aims. In tab. 1, most of the recent programs are reported. Tab. 1 Forms of telecollaboration (oral and written) at University of Salento (Italy), academic year 2013-2014. Forms of Telecollaboration (Teletandem and/or written interaction)

Programs are aimed to develop:

Experts involved

Italian- English (University Southampton)

Oral and written computer- mediated interaction

Professors (e.g. English Literature) language instructors Italian/English language

Italian – German (University of Bonn)

Oral computermediated interaction

Professors and language instructors

Intercomprehension Between romance languages (Universidade Estadual Paulista) European project: MIRIADI

Oral intercomprehension written intercomprehension

Professors and language instructors

As regards English and Italian languages, teletandem has been combined also with written communication via a blog. This program was based on the discussion of cultural topics established by Prof. Cogo and Prof. Plutino from the University of Southampton (see Cogo & Plutino, in preparation). The program for German and Italian languages was based on the discussion of cultural topics; VOIP and chat technology were only employed for communication. During English/Italian, German/Italian Teletandem conversations, languages are used alternately.

On the other hand, the program for developing intercomprehension strategies between Romance languages (for more details see Galanet, Galapro and MIRIADI)2 is mostly based on dialogues during which a Portuguese expert speaker talks in his/her L1 and his/her partner replies in his/her native language, i.e., in Italian. Therefore, in this latter case two languages are simultaneous vehicles of communication. Programs based on teletandem: socially situated contexts for learning In the following paragraphs, we will describe the experience of the pair virtual exchange during which students communicate for learning. It follows a description of the workshops during which students are asked to reflect upon their Teletandem dialogues and their communicative experience. In these two contexts, learning is an “integral constituent” (Lave and Wenger, 1991, p. 35) and is the result of the social process. Teletandem as a social experience During Teletandem sessions people involved in the project talk with each other about different topics, their learning experience, needs and objectives. Language and contents constitute the dual focus of these particular social communicative exchanges. As research has shown (Leone, forthcoming), the social dimension and the motivation to establish a real relationship with interlocutors and the desire to talk about their learning experiences are very strong. Therefore, when expert L2 speakers are involved, in very few contexts, native speakers repair his/her friend’s non-standard production. Teletandem sessions are experiences that involve “the whole person” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 33). Although the scenario is situated, that is, it is grounded in specific contexts, it develops knowledge, skills and abilities transferrable to real life. Its “situatedness” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 32) depends on the fact that language competence and knowledge are co-constructed, as Vygotsky would say. For instance, in the following extract the expert Italian speaker (named Italian L1: ITL1) helps the novice speaker (named English L1: ENGL1) to remember the Italian expression she had previously heard during the conversation, which is the translation for “are you kidding” (i.e. in Italian stai scherzando). Furthermore, she writes in chat so to help the interlocutor to better understand what she is saying. Finally, she compliments ENGL1 for her 2

URL for the platform for practicing intercomphension: - Galanet, http://www.galanet.eu/; - Galapro, http://www.galapro.eu/?language=POR+ENG+FRA+ESP+ITA. For the ongoing LLP European project Mutualisation et Innovation pour un Réseau de l'Intercompréhension à Distance (MIRIADI) http://miriadi.net/elgg/miriadi/home.

production. The positive effects of ITL1’s attempts for developing her friend’s L2 vocabulary competence and ENGL1’s motivation to complete the task make the interaction relevant for grounding cognitive processes. The instinctive and spontaneous way by which this “new competence” is developed makes it transferrable also to other contexts. Es.1- Proper English ENGL1: let's try to make sure that proper English is supposed to the way we were speaking I think it's I think it is in a proper English ok ITL1: ((caught)) ENGL1: (xxx) the verb ITL1: che verbo ti servewhich verb do you need ENGL1: =is the one word (xxx)(0.9) (chat: quando sono parlando con lei senso buono) (chat: when I am speaking with her good meaning) ITL1: quasi giusto eh eh look eh spetta eh qual è l'ultimo l'ultimo esempio che ti ho fatto are you kidding ti ricordi come si diceva are you kidding (chat: are you kidding=?) ti ricordi come si diceva are you kidding ti ricordi ricordi do you remember ti ricordi You are almost right eh eh look eh wait, please, eh which is the last example I told you is it kidding do you remember how you say are you kidding (chat: are you kidding=?) do you remember how you say are you kidding di you remember do you remember ENGL1: ok eh (xxx) ok stai scher scherzando Ok eh (xxx) ok are you kidding ITL1: sì sì ok allora yes yes ok well ENGL1: I make sure I said scur ITL1: ((laugh)) brava good …

As well as language competence, participants’ new knowledge is also experienced in relation to the environment and to the context, which, thanks to communication technologies, is enlarged and includes cultures that, in the past, we perceived as distant. By talking with a partner, student’s new culture conceptual representations are grounded in the interlocutor’ s experience (see Telles, in print). Furthermore, the conversation itself actives cognitive processes and language use which are useful not only in institutional like situations but can be as well applied to the informal and self-directed learning experience, for instance when the higher education curriculum is concluded. The numerous “culturerelated episodes” (Telles, Zakir & Funo, forthcoming; Zakir, in preparation), in which Teletandem partners talk about themselves and describe their attitudes, give participants the opportunity to be involved in genuine processes of negotiation, in scaffolding for constructing experience, knowledge and their conception of the L2 culture. In the following extract, an Italian L1 speaker talks about her experience in Lithuania where she spent several months as an exchange student. She describes her holidays and she tells her partner that since Christmas she was deeply missing her country she prepared a big dinner inviting ©2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

friends, some of whom were Muslims. Thus the party became an “international Christmas”, as she says, during which she could be in contact with other people, with different traditions and lifestyles. Her friend replies by telling her that since her stepfather is Jewish and in her family they also celebrate Passover. In this specific event participants show their attitude towards intercultural experience and their openness towards different cultures. Like in a conversation outside the institution walls, they have genuinely discussed, shared their life’s events and feelings. Although the one described “is a specific event in specific circumstances” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 33), it develops knowledge that transcends this experience. Es. 2- Christmas ITL1: for example you know like those kind of habits let's say are so strong in my person in my culture it's so they are part of me of course and when I was in lithuania like I was there from september until january and for five months and when I was there of course I decided not to come back to italy just for you know christmas time and I was in lithuania but like I felt so strong the missing because I wanted to have christmas like I used to have it I prepared a big dinner for a lot of people and we had a christmas together and it was really interesting and funny because among my friends there were some people that were muslim and they did- it was - they- you know their first christmas and it was really nice for me because they you know were so curious after what is christmas what do you do which is your idea about and it was really like an international christmas but so funny and for this reason we had other exchange let's call like this because it was in january the no no it was april ya the easter you know the orthodox easter and we had together a party because it was nice to celebrate also if I am christian in my religion no I am catholic ya for this reason it was like a really interesting exchange and this is the thing that I really like I really love about being with other people and other culture AML1: ya ya that's true I mean I feel like that can even happens like you know when you don't have to go in another cul- country my mum just married ah ah my stepfather two years ago and he is jewish so now we do a lot of like jewish celebrations you know [now] when I go home in a couple of weeks for easter it's also passover so you're like he teaches us all this like you know traditions and you know we have been to his kids like bar mitzvah the wedding was a jewish wedding so it's it's it's a different culture but it's interesting

In the two extracts, we have seen two examples that show why Teletandem (and also tandem) is a form of a “conversation for learning” (Kasper, 2004). The learning experience it represents can involve language, contents or cultural conceptual representations, according to the participants’ intentions. Since it is a socially situated learning context, its positive effects can be easily applied to real life circumstances. The Corpus and usage-based tasks Teletandem sessions were video-recorded and were used to compile a

learner corpus3. Besides the oral dialogues, data also consist of the written chat employed during the sessions. Teletandem learner corpus allowed highlighting participants’ communicative strategies and the intercultural dimension of the dialogue. Furthermore, it showed “what is difficult for the learner as it is revealed by errors (misuse) but also, most interestingly, by overuse, underuse and avoidance of specific language choice with reference to a selected norm” (Prat-Zagrebelsky, 2004, p. 43). Therefore a learner corpus contains relevant information on how students’ communicative competence in L2 progresses and on how students deal with L2 culture. The corpus is named COMETE (COrpus Multilingue di E-learning and TElecollaboration) and, following Reffay et al. (2008), it highlights information regarding the context in which it has been developed (e.g. learning scenario such as description of objectives, materials, and teacher’s role; place where teletandem sessions took place [home, university]). COMETE is employed also to implement usage-based tasks to be completed together with the instructor in presentia; during workshops, theories are established through discussion. Before each workshop, students reflect on their experience also referring to video-recordings of their sessions from which they select two or more clips in relation to usage-based tasks’ aims. Usage-based tasks help to develop: a) An interactionist perspective of language learning, which is a general conception of language learning as the result of the experience of a social exchange. In Italy, like probably in some other countries, students have a traditional perspective of their L2 learning. They believe that a language is mostly acquired by doing grammar exercises and by learning grammatical rules; b) Their intercultural attitude; c) The ability to analyse, self-evaluate their production in order to figure out their learning needs; d) Their autonomy in language learning. Usage-based tasks are realized in the following phases: 1. Aim definition (e.g. to analyse meaning negotiation and difficulty in communication); 2. Clip selection from video-recordings; 3. Watching the clips and group discussion in classroom.

We bought a 30-user license pack of a Skype video-recording tool, named Evaer; students joining the program are given license keys and are then asked to give them back when the experience is over.

Concerning aim, a) students are asked to select clips in which sequences of focus on form and negotiation of meaning are present (Swain & Lapkin, 1998). Language-related episodes are analysed in order to highlight the importance of these sequences in their learning process. Similarly, students are asked to select and discuss clips which present “culture-related episodes” (Telles, Zakir & Funo and Telles, forthcoming). These latter sequences are characterized, for instance, either by intercultural communication problems or by conversation segments in which students talk about cultural aspects or stereotypes in their countries. Concerning students’ abilities in analysis, they are asked to selfevaluate their interactional ability specifically in relation to the use of discourse markers (Council of Europe, 2001; De Marco & Leone, 2012, 2013). The fourth aim is achieved through the objectives mentioned earlier in this part of the paper.

During workshops students are encouraged to investigate their production analysing clips they have selected from Teletandem sessions’ video-recordings. In this way, Teletandem experience becomes the ground on which a corpus-based language pedagogy is developed (e.g. Tognini-Bonelli, 2001; Belz & Vyatkina, 2008). Learners are participants as well as observers of their experience (Gavioli & Aston, 2001; Belz & Vyatkina, 2008) and discussing with their peers and the instructor they develop also their skill of learning how to learn. Conclusions So far, the increasing use of communication technology has allowed educators to implement programs in which students can interact with peers who live in different countries and speak different languages. Particularly, Teletandem has shown to be a relevant experience for developing plurilingual language competence since it fits not only the learning needs for developing L2 interactive skills but also those related to intercomprehension between native speakers of related languages (FREPA, 2012: 7). Furthermore, by video-recording different teletandem sessions, it is also possible to implement different usage-based tasks aimed to develop various learner competences, not only those of a strictly linguistic communicative nature but also general competences such as, for instance, intercultural competences, practical skills and know-how and “ability to make effective use of the learning opportunities created by teaching situations” (Council of Europe, 2001, p. 107). In this paper we aimed to show how these programs can become relevant contexts to develop a real student centred pedagogy in which theories, knowledge and language competences are developed as an outcome of a social process, involving students, their foreigner partners and language instructors.

References Belz, J. A., & Vyatkina, N. (2008). The pedagogical mediation of a developmental learner corpus for classroom-based language instruction. Language Learning & Technology, 12 (3), 33-52. Brammerts H.- Kleppin, K. (eds.) (2001). Selbstgesteuertes Sprachenlernen im Tandem. Ein Handbuch. Tübingen: Stauffenburg. Cogo, A., & Plutino, A. (in preparation). Blogging for interculturality in intercultural CMC exchanges. Council of Europe, (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. URL: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/framework_en.pdf. Camilleri-Grima, A. et al. (2012). A Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures. European Centre for Modern Languages/Council of Europe. De Marco, A., & Leone, P. (2013). Discourse Markers in Italian as L2 in Face to Face vs. Computer Mediated Settings. In Bradley, L. & S. Thouësny. 20 Years of EUROCALL: Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future, Dublin: Researchpublishing.net, 71-77. De Marco, A., & Leone, P. (2012). Computer Mediated Conversation for Mutual Learning: Acknowledgement and Agreement/Assessment Signals in Italian as L2. In L. Bradley & S. Thouësny (eds.), CALL: Using, Learning, Knowing, EUROCALL Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, 22-25 August 2012, Proceedings. Dublin: Research-publishing.net, 70-75. Gavioli, L., & Aston, G. (2001). Enriching reality: Language corpora in language pedagogy. ELT Journal, 55(3), 238-246. Lave, J., & Wenger E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Leone, P. (forthcoming). Focus on form durante conversazioni esolingue via computer. In De Meo A., D’Agostino M. & G. Iannaccaro (eds.), Varietà dei contesti di apprendimento linguistico, AItLA edizioni. Leone, P. (2012a). Content domain and language competence in computer-mediated conversation for learning. Apples, Journal of Applied Language Studies, 6(2), 131153, https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/handle/123456789/40863. Leone, P. (2012b). Leadership in multimodal computer-mediated second language communication for reciprocal learning. Je-lks, Journal of E-learning and Language Society, Special Issue on Computer Mediated Communication, 8 (3), 55-66. URL: http://je-lks.maieutiche.economia.unitn.it/index.php/JeLKS_EN/article/view/642/641 Leone, P. (2012c). Gestione e controllo del flusso conversazionale nel corso di dialoghi Teletandem. JE-LKS, Journal of e-learning and knowledge society, 8 (3), 57-69. URL: http://www.je-lks.org/ojs/index.php/Je-LKS_IT/article/view/778

Prat-Zagrebelsky, M. T. (ed.) (2004) Computer Learner Corpora. Theoretical issues and empirical case studi(2013)es of Italian advanced EFL learners’s interlanguage. Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso. Reffay, C., Chanier, T., Noras, M., & Betbeder, M.-L. (2008). Contribution à la structuration de corpus d’apprentissage pour un meilleur partage en recherche. Revue STICEF, 15, 1-25. URL: http://sticef.univ-lemans.fr/num/vol2008/01reffay/sticef_2008_reffay_01p.pdf Swain, M. & Lapkin, S. (1998). Interaction and second language learning: two adolescent French immersion students working together. Modern Language Journal, 82, 320337. T elles, J.A. & Vassallo, M. L. (2006). Foreign Language Learning in-tandem: Teletandem as an alternative proposal. CALLT, The ESPecialist, 25(2), 1-24. Telles, J.A. (in print) Teletandem and Performativity. Revista Brasileria de Linguística Aplicada. Telles, J.A., Zakir, M.A. & Funo, L. B. A. (forthcoming). Focusing on Culture-Related Episodes in a Teletandem Interaction between a Brazilian and an American Student. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching/System (Special Issues). Tognini-Bonelli, E. (2001). Corpus linguistics at work. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Zakir, M.A. (in preparation). Cultura e(m) telecolaboração: uma análise de parceria institucional de teletandem. Tese de Doutorado em Estudos Linguísticos – Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São José do Rio Preto.

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 51-65, December, 2014

Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Level Needs: An Empirical Study of Azerbaijani English Majors Konul Hajiyeva University of Antwerp Belgium Abstract. Studies show that measuring the size of learners’ receptive and productive vocabulary has to be an integral part of any needs analysis. However, this kind of study has never been conducted in Azerbaijan. To fill this gap, a quantitative study administering two vocabulary tests was carried out with 159 first-year English majors at the Azerbaijan University of Languages. The results show that the students’ vocabulary size does not attain the minimum standard as proposed by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010), which is defined as 4,000– 5,000 word families. Their receptive vocabulary size was found to be less than 50 per cent of the minimum standard for word families, while their productive vocabulary size falls considerably below the acceptable level of word families. It is argued, consequently, that English majors in this group of Azerbaijani students need strong support in their acquisition of high-frequency words and academic vocabulary in order to be adequately and suitably prepared for their academic studies. Keywords: receptive vocabulary; productive vocabulary; academic vocabulary; needs analysis

1. Introduction Today modern communication technology is exposing previously isolated countries to new business, diplomatic, tourism and educational opportunities. English as the international language is seen as the gateway to these opportunities and therefore an adaptation of the teaching and learning approach to contemporary and current language needs is urgently required. However, in a country such as Azerbaijan, which is in the process of transforming from a traditional established regime into a dynamic society, facilitating this process is challenging. This study embraces needs analysis as an efficient and effective tool in order to initiate and manage change where the needs of all stakeholders can be addressed. However, for the purpose of this study the focus is on the learners’ needs and, more specifically, on their receptive and productive vocabulary needs. Data

obtained from Azerbaijani English majors will be analysed to explore this aspect and to make suggestions for further steps to be taken.

2. Background 2.1 The state of language usage in Azerbaijan During the Soviet era, Russian was the dominant language in Azerbaijan (Shafiyeva & Kennedy, 2010: 10), although the republic was officially bilingual. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijani (a Turkic language) was proclaimed as the country’s sole official language (Balayev, 2002). Even though a gradual transition to Azerbaijani in government bureaucracies took place, Russian was preferred as a second language in all spheres of communication. This was due to the linguistic imperialism of Russian and its elevated status as the language of nobility, prestige and of Azerbaijani intellectuals. In the past Russian therefore played an important role in the cultural development of the country and was the language in which the world of culture and literature was internalised. Furthermore, Russian was and, still is, the ‘lingua franca in communications between the various ethnic minorities’ – Lezgis, Tatars and Jews – within the country as well as in interactions with other post-Soviet countries (Pavlenko, 2008, p.68). This situation is changing, however, as Azerbaijan undergoes political, economic and social transformation. A direct result of this has been that the use and the levels of the Russian language competence have decreased. According to the 2004 CDHE report, the present ‘titular population constitutes 90.6% of the country’s citizens, 24% of whom use Russian actively, whereas 67% have competence in Russian’ (Pavlenko, 2008, p. 68). Azerbaijan’s goal of joining the European family of nations and its concomitant integration into the global economy has increasingly emphasised the importance of English as the medium of international communication. The system of education is also experiencing tremendous changes. English has replaced Russian and has become the primary foreign language studied at both secondary and tertiary education levels (Shafiyeva & Kennedy, 2010). The shift of emphasis from Russian to English requires a change in curriculum, syllabus design and material development as well as a transformation from Soviet-era methods of instruction to modern European teaching techniques. 2.2 The teaching and learning needs of Azerbaijani English majors Current teaching of English in Azerbaijan is now more focused on the learners and, in order to meet their needs, this has been transformed from teaching the language for purposes of general usage to teaching it for academic purposes. Not only do all university students have access to English language courses but, in some instances, these courses are also designed to be directly applicable to their specific field of study. In the case of the Azerbaijan University of Languages (AUL), English is the medium of instruction as the students participating in the present study are training to become English language teachers. After reviewing the syllabi, particularly the teaching materials, and talking to the heads of departments and instructors in the Faculty of Pedagogy at AUL, it was

found that no formal needs analysis for undergraduate students has been conducted. The lack of a formal needs analysis at an undergraduate level is the reason why lecturers at AUL collect the teaching materials and develop syllabi according to their own practices and preferences. Therefore, no unified or coherent syllabus or teaching materials exist that are geared towards meeting the learners’ needs. Considering the few research studies (Dudley-Evans, T. & St. John, M, 1998; Hutchinson, T. &Waters, A., 1987) in an English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) context and the nonexistence of empirical and exhaustive research available in Azerbaijan, this study attempts to conduct a needs analysis in order to suggest appropriate changes in the course materials as well as course syllabi aimed at first-year students. Needs analysis is an integral part of any ESAP course that is used for developing materials, designing a syllabus and determining teaching methods (Dehnad et al., 2010). In an ESAP context, comprehensive programmes are particularly developed for students to fulfill academic tasks such as reading subject-specific textbooks, scholarly journals and writing essays and project work. Jordan (1997) describes subject-specific English as the language required for a particular academic subject, which in this case is linguistics, where its subject matters include the language rules and conventions, genres, vocabulary units, the particular skills needed for the subject and the appropriate academic trainings. As an English language teacher and researcher, I have often speculated about the vocabulary needs of my students. Statistics sourced from university entrance examination results (Azimova et al., 2014: 88) show that university entrants wishing to continue their studies in language-related disciplines perform well enough in the tests based on the grammatical rules. However, the majority make mistakes in those tests that assess their use of vocabulary, their ability to sequence dialogue logically and their Azerbaijani–English and/or English–Azerbaijani sentence translations. Consequently, the students who manage to pass the entrance examinations face challenges when dealing with their subject-specific studies. This applies especially to those taught through the medium of English in subjects such as Applied Linguistics, Stylistics, History of the English Language, English Grammar and English Language Teaching. The challenges that first-year students face in understanding and producing academic texts underlines the fact that their language-learning needs are not being met. Studies conducted to date show that knowledge of vocabulary is a good indicator of overall linguistic proficiency and correlates significantly with reading ability (Laufer, 1992; Li & McGregor, 2010; Qian, 2002). Vocabulary breadth or knowing a large number of words does not always attain high linguistic proficiency(Li & McGregor, 2010), but without a vocabulary size reaching a minimum threshold of 4,000 to 5,000 word families,1 learners will be unable to successfully engage in either receptive or productive language use (Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010; Nation, 2006; Schmitt, 2010). A ‘word family’ includes a single word’s inflections, derivatives and several individual word forms (Nation, 2011a) (for example stimulate, stimulative, stimulation, stimulator, stimulatory). 1

As knowledge of vocabulary is a fundamental component of language learning and accurate vocabulary assessment tools are a necessity for foreign-language teachers (Li & McGregor, 2010) and researchers, assessing Azerbaijani English majors’ actual vocabulary knowledge will be an advantage from a needs analysis perspective. Brown (1995) indicates that the sources of information for such a needs assessment include the gathering of information in order to establish how much the students already know and what they still need to learn. Stufflebeam et al. (1985) suggest using a discrepancy model in which needs are viewed as differences or discrepancies between desired student performance and how they are actually performing. With these considerations in mind assessing students’ vocabulary knowledge for diagnostic purposes as a part of a needs analysis will help to detect whether there are gaps in their vocabulary knowledge and shed light on these specific issues. 2.3 Vocabulary as an integral part of language learning Research into vocabulary learning has focused on the number of words the language learners are likely to encounter in their reading, since there is a close relationship between success in academic reading and vocabulary knowledge (Corson, 1997; Laufer, 1997; Nation, 2001; Read, 1988). According to studies (Nation, 2006; Staehr, 2009 ), between 2,000 and 3,000 word families are required in order for a person to be conversant in English. Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010) calculated that between 4,000 and 5,000 word families are required for a 95 per cent text coverage.2 If, however, a 98 per cent text coverage is required for reading, then this rises to between 6,000 and 7,000 word families. Nation (2006: 79) also calculated that: ‘[I]f learners of English as a second or foreign language wish to read unsimplified authentic texts without unknown vocabulary being a problem, they should have a vocabulary of between 8,000 and 9,000 word families.’ Research has been done worldwide in order to measure the vocabulary knowledge of English language learners with different language backgrounds. For example, Cobb (1999) estimates that students in Oman know between 500 and 1,000 word families, whereas Arnaud and Sauvignon (1997) state that Finnish school leavers gain between 1,500 and 2,000 word families. In tests conducted in an English-medium programme, Nurweni and Read (1999) found that Indonesian first-year students knew, on average, 1,226 word families. In contrast, studies by Laufer (1998) show that the receptive knowledge vocabulary of Israeli high-school graduates is 3,500 word families and their productive vocabulary encompasses 2,550 word families. 2.4 Vocabulary testing as an integral part of the needs assessment Nation (2011b) suggested that, from a vocabulary perspective, measuring the size of the learners’ vocabulary and the frequency distribution of their vocabulary ‘Text coverage’ means the number of running words in a text (Laufer & RavenhorstKalovski, 2010). 2

knowledge both receptively and productively are integral parts of any needs analysis. According to Nation (2011b: 530), ‘a needs analysis involves looking at where the learners are now in their knowledge and where they need to go in order to be able to do things that they want to do’. Richards and Schmidt (2010, p. 389) define needs assessment or needs analysis as ‘the process of determining the needs for which a learner or group of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priorities’. In other words, conducting a vocabulary needs assessment using vocabulary tests gives the teachers a quick, practical way of profiling their students’ knowledge of vocabulary in order to provide a basis for planning a vocabulary teaching and learning programme (Read, 1997: 313). Indeed, the number of words known by a learner is the measure of their progress in a language (Sinclair & Renouf, 1991). This means that measuring the size of learners’ vocabulary, which involves estimating their knowledge of items in a specified list of relatively high-frequency words, is of great importance to a typical language teacher (Read, 1997). At the same time, the frequency model of vocabulary learning –the idea that the words are learnt broadly in order of their frequency – is routinely applied in language teaching, testing and research (Brown, 2012). A vocabulary frequency proﬁle measures the amount of words known at various frequency bands (Waring, 1997). This model is a key consideration in the design and writing of textbooks and is used daily by teachers and course designers. It appears to be generally accepted that frequency criteria are fairly prominent and, therefore, placed at the top of the list of benchmarks for vocabulary selection (Gairns & Redman, 1986; Meara,1980; O’Dell, 1997; Sinclair & Renouf, 1991).

3. The study 3.1 Research questions In the light of the above, the purpose of the current research paper, is to construct the receptive and productive vocabulary frequency profiles and the total vocabulary size of first-year English majors at AUL. In doing so, the following research questions were addressed: 1. What receptive and productive frequency bands are mastered by first-year Azerbaijani English majors? 2. What extent of vocabulary do first-year Azerbaijani English majors possess? 3. How large is the productive vocabulary of first-year Azerbaijani English majors?

3.2 Participants The participants were 12 groups of first-year AUL English majors at different proficiency levels that have been established previously in groups according to their entrance points. All participants are students of English, but use Azerbaijani as their first language. They have had English as a subject since the age of 11 in secondary school and at tertiary level they have had classes in English only where English is used as a medium of instruction during classes that belong to the English-specific part of the syllabus (Applied Linguistics, English Grammar, Stylistics, Lexicology, the History of the English Language)

apart from more general classes such as Philosophy, Azerbaijan History, General Linguistics, etc. Participants were recruited from the Department of Pedagogy (a total of 159 students: 7 male and 152 female) and their ages ranged from 17 to 18 years. 3.3 Research instruments and procedure Two instruments were used to measure two dimensions of the participants’ vocabulary profile: The first was the Vocabulary Levels Test originally devised by Paul Nation (1990) and validated by Schmitt et al. (2001). The second was the Productive Levels Test (Laufer & Nation, 1999). These tests are reputable as diagnostic tools and are used to measure the learners’ knowledge of words from a number of distinct frequency levels. In this way, the test results can provide a profile of a learner’s vocabulary, rather than just a single-figure estimate of overall vocabulary size (Schmitt et al., 2001). Thus, they are better suited in my case for identifying English majors’ frequency profiles as well as the estimate of overall vocabulary size both receptively and productively. With respect to the Vocabulary Levels Test the words were selected according to their frequency of occurrence at the 2,000 most frequent words, the 3rd thousand, the 5th thousand, the Academic Word List (AWL) (Schmitt et al., 2001), and the 10th thousand most frequent words. The AWL includes words from the second to fifth frequency levels, therefore, it cannot be considered separate from the other levels (Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010). The reliability indices (Cronbach’s alpha) for all of the sections of the levels are high: .920 at the 2,000 word band, .929 at the 3,000 word band, .927 at the 5,000 word band and .958 at the AWL (Schmitt et al., 2001) The test uses a form-recognition matching format in which students are required to match groups of three words out of six with their paraphrases as in the following example: 1. copy 2. event ___ end or highest point 3. motor ___ this moves a car 4. pity ___ thing made to be like another 5. profit 6. tip Each test cluster contains 30 words in ten clusters representing the tested frequency band. In this regard, 30 words were tested on the 2,000 most frequent words, the 3rd thousand, the 5th thousand and the AWL. The Vocabulary Levels Test is not an accurate measure of vocabulary size but rather an instrument for examining a learner’s knowledge of items from particular levels and providing an estimate of vocabulary size as well as an evaluation of the learners’ academic vocabulary (Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010). Therefore the estimations are approximate. They were calculated on the basis of the 2,000, 3,000 and 5,000 word bands of the test. I attempted to follow the calculation formula: Total score × 5,000 ÷ Maximum score as suggested by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010)i in order to identify the learners’ total vocabulary size.

In the vocabulary-size test of productive ability testees were given a sentence where the first few letters of the tested word were given as a normal gap-fill and the testees had to complete the word. Eighteen items were tested through each frequency band and the University Word List making a total 72 items to be tested. For example: Plants receive water from the soil through their ro........ (Roots) In the case of a vocabulary-size test of productive ability, tested items were distributed randomly in the frequency of occurrence. Different researchers investigating receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge (Fan, 2000; Laufer, 1998; Laufer & Paribacht, 1998; Waring, 1997) used the same grading criterion: awarding one point for each right answer. This could best be explained by the nature of the tests as it did not create ambiguity and confusion. However, there is a discrepancy in the scoring method for the vocabulary-size test of productive ability among the researchers. More specifically, Laufer (1998) and Laufer and Paribakht (1998) mark grammatically wrong forms and spelling errors as correct, whereas Fan (2000) considers those mistakes as incorrect. In my case, I followed the Laufer and Paribakht scoring method by marking wrong grammatical and spelling errors as correct, but at the same time I tried to use a kind of ‘sensitive measure’. Those spelling mistakes which were far beyond the tested word were not considered as correct as this could lead to a new meaning not related to the target word. All in all, a score of 15 out of 18 (85%) for the productive test (Laufer & Nation, 1999) and 26 out of 30 (86.6%) for the receptive test (Schmitt et al., 2001) was accepted as indicative of sufficient word knowledge at that particular level. Tests were organised and distributed in a booklet form. The tests were administered as part of a normal class at the start of the first academic year with the intention of establishing the learners’ vocabulary distribution through frequency bands and to estimate their total receptive and productive vocabulary level. The time allocated for the tests was a 90-minute class period.

4. Results and discussion One of the foundations for the research questions investigated in the present study is to establish the background of the receptive and productive vocabulary frequency profiles of first-year Azerbaijani English majors for the purpose of analysing the needs for materials development. This was achieved by carrying out a descriptive statistical analysis of the two tests on both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. The students’ scores were calculated at each frequency level of the Levels Test and the Productive Levels Test. With regard to the Levels Test (receptive vocabulary), the results reveal the following pattern: the first 2,000 items are best known and each subsequent band of words is less well known (see Table 1). A consistent fall in the mean and standard deviation (SD) was revealed between 2,000 (mean = 16.8; SD = 7) and 3,000 words (mean = 11.7; SD = 6.3), with only band 5,000 (mean = 7.8; SD = 6.4) appearing to deviate slightly from the general pattern.

Table 1. Results of the Levels Test (mean scores and standard deviations for the frequency bands) (N = 159) 2,000 word level/out of 30

To Mean Score

3,000 word level/out of 30

5,000 word level/out of 30

16.8

11.7

7.8

Standard Deviation

7.0

6.3

6.4

Minimum Maximum

2 30

2 27

1 26

AWL

1 1.0 6. 6 1 2

Total/out of 90

36.3 19.7

5 83

determine whether there were any significant differences for the various word bands among the test-takers, an analysis of variance (ANOVA), with factors level (2,000, 3,000 and 5,000) was performed to statistically confirm the aforementioned assumption. The results show that there were statistically significant differences between the frequency bands at the p<.01 level as determined by a one-way ANOVA [F (2.474) = 73.37, p = .0001], which means that the probability of the difference being due to chance is less than .0001. Therefore, we can reject the idea that all of the differences between frequency bands are due to random sampling and conclude that at least one of the bands differs from the rest. Post-hoc tests were used to compare the differences between the frequency bands. The alpha was set at 0.05 and post-hoc pair-wise comparisons revealed significant differences (p < .05) between the 2,000 word level and each of the following band at 3,000 and 5,000 word level. It was found that, as expected for the students as a whole, knowledge of the words at the 2,000 word level was significantly higher and overall the students’ vocabulary knowledge was related to the frequency criteria, with the proportion of words known lowering as frequency of words declined. The students’ vocabulary frequency profiles with respect to the Levels Test show that the number of students who obtained a score of 26 out of 30 (which was established by Schmitt et al. (2001) carrying out a Guttman scalability analysis using a criterion of mastery of 26 out the 30 possible per level) are: 20 students out of 159 at 2,000 level, 7 students at 3,000 level, 2 students at 5,000 word level (see Table 2). This means that only 12% of the test-takers at 2,000 level, 4.4% at 3,000 level and 1.2% at 5,000 word levels of the Levels Test could achieve the minimum score of 26 (86.6%) with respect to the frequency bands. Table 2. The Number of students who obtained a score of 26 out of 30 with respect to the Levels Test. Word bands Number of successful students/out of 159

2,000 word band 3,000 word band 5,000 word band

20 (12.0%) 7 (4.4%) 2 (1.2%)

Schmitt et al. (2001), as opposed to Read (1988), argue that the words on the Academic section of the Levels Test are different to the other levels and, therefore, should not be included in the profile comparison. In fact, Schmitt et al. (2001, p. 68) state that ‘… the facility values of individual items and Rasch item difficulty figures suggest that the words in the academic level fit in a range between the 2,000 and the 10,000 level’. If, in the present case, the Academic section had to be accommodated somewhere between the frequency levels, on the basis of the results of this group of test-takers, the mean values 11.0 (see Table 1) for the academic vocabulary test would best place it between the 3,000 and the 5,000 word levels. With regard to the second test – the Productive Levels Test – in terms of the frequency bands, the results show that the students have a lack of vocabulary knowledge even at the first 2,000 word band. The mean and standard deviation values (see Table 3) of the population between 2,000 (mean = 5.7; SD = 3.3); 3,000 (mean = 2.2; SD = 2.22) and 5,000 word levels (mean = 0.62; SD = 1.02) are lower than the expected results. Moreover, the results on the University Word List (UWL) test had to be eliminated as the majority of the students either did not do the tests or had extremely low scores. Since the results for the productive test were not evenly distributed, the non-parametric Friedman’s test was used and the differences between the levels were found to be significant. The results show that since p-value .0001 is lower than ≤ 0.01 = α, we can say that there is a significant difference (χ2 = 254.6) between the levels. Learners’ vocabulary frequency profiles were established for the vocabulary-size test of productive ability. With regard to the Productive Levels Test, Laufer and Nation (1999: 41) state that approximately 15 or 16 out of 18 (85% or 90%) for the respective band indicates that less than 150 words at that level are not readily available for productive use. I decided to follow this suggested criterion and, consequently, a learner’s score on each level of 15 out of 18 was considered to be an indication of the student having satisfactory mastery of that level. The results show that none of the 159 students achieved the minimum score of 15 out of 18. The highest mark for the 2,000 level test was 13 and the lowest was 1 with 96 (60%) students scoring between 1 and 6, while 63 (39.6%) of them scored between 7 and 13 at the 2,000 level. The percentage of students that came close to the score limit at 3,000 and 5,000 word level was zero. The normal procedure in the original test is not to test students at a particular level if they have not passed the minimum established score in the previous test. Nevertheless, it was the main purpose of the current study to see how well students’ productive vocabulary knowledge was distributed among frequency bands. Table 3. Results of the Productive Levels Test (mean scores and standard deviations for words from the frequency bands) (N = 159) 2,000 word

3,000 word

5,000 word

Total/out of

Mean Score

level/out of 18 5.7

Standard Deviation Minimum Maximum

level/out of 18 2.2

level/out of 18 0.6

54 8.5

3.3

1.0

7.6

1 13

0 12

0 5

1 30

To answer the second and the third research questions to estimate the learners’ total receptive and productive vocabulary size, I used the formula – Total score × 5000 ÷ Maximum score – as suggested by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010). If I express the raw scores in terms of the numbers of word families, the total of 36.3 (see Table 1) with regard to the Levels Test represents approximately 2,091 word families out of 5,000. Figure 1 illustrates the testtakers’ total receptive vocabulary size with the number of students at each frequency level (26% of the students being at the 2,000 level, 8% of them at the 3,000 level and only two (1,2%) scoring high at the 5,000 level). Total receptive vocabulary size 26%

The number of the students

45 40 35

19.4% 17%

30 25 20

10% 8%

5.6%

3.7% 1.2%

5 0 1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Frequency range Figure 1. The total receptive vocabulary size of the students

Regarding the total productive vocabulary size, although the results indicated that students had a lack of vocabulary knowledge even at the 2,000 word level, I calculated their total vocabulary size in terms of production using the abovementioned formula suggested by Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010). The converted raw score of the mean value of the total productive vocabulary test of 8.52 (see Table 3) represents approximately 866 word families out of the 5,000 word families tested. Figure 2 illustrates the number and percentage of students at each frequency band with the majority of students being at the 500 and 800 word levels. We can therefore conclude that more than half of the students are below 1,000 word level.

Total productive vocabulary size The number of the students

22%

20.7%

30 25 20

10.6% 9.4% 10.6%

10%

7.5% 5.6%

3.1%

0.6%

0 200

500

800

1000 1200 1500 1700 2000 2300 2500 2700 2800

Frequency range Figure 2. The total productive vocabulary size of the students

The data presented here show that English majors’ vocabulary frequency profiles do not reach the minimum standards established to make these students efficient language users. If knowledge of 85% to 90% of the test words represents ‘mastery’ of a level (Read, 1988; Schmitt et al., 2001), the results suggest that in the present study only 12% of the test-takers at 2,000 level, 4.4% at 3,000 level and 1.2% at 5,000 word level achieve the minimum score of 26 (86.6%) with respect to the frequency levels. The learners’ overall receptive vocabulary size of 2,091 word families and productive vocabulary size of 866 word families enable us to say that there should be certain changes in the input that is presented to the students if we want them to enlarge their vocabulary size and manage their academic studies. Since the knowledge of approximately 95% of words in a text is considered as a requirement for basic comprehension (Laufer & RavenhorstKalovski, 2010) – which has been estimated at 5,000 word families – then the students in this study do not have sufficient vocabulary not even for basic comprehension let alone the vocabulary of 8,000 to 9,000 word families (Nation, 2006), which should enable 98% text coverage. The poor vocabulary size of 2,091 word families is expected to impede English majors in their functioning within an English-medium university environment and their success in understanding academic texts. The academic section of the Levels Tests revealed that the mean value of 11.0 out of 30 is considered inappropriate for those wishing to continue their studies in an academic environment. Academic vocabulary constitutes nine per cent of the running words in an academic text and as Nation (2011a: 19) states, wherever possible, academic vocabulary for language learners intending to pursue an academic study in English ‘should be treated like high-frequency vocabulary’. Consequently, teachers should make full use of the Academic Word List and raise students’ awareness of the importance of academic vocabulary in order to improve their knowledge of academic vocabulary.

5. Conclusion In summary, the present study was carried out in response to the lack of formal needs assessment at AUL. Its aim was to identify Azerbaijani English majors’

language needs in order to set specific goals for the vocabulary component of the course programme. Accordingly, the study aimed to measure first-year Azerbaijani students’ receptive and productive vocabulary frequency profiles in order to measure their total vocabulary size. The results of this study indicate that more than 50% of the students scored low on both tests: 2,091 word families in the receptive test and less than 1,000 word families in the productive test. These results are favourably higher than those reported from Oman (Cobb, 1999) or Indonesia (Nurweni & Read, 1999), and they compare positively with the averages of Finnish high-school students (Arnaud & Sauvignon, 1997). Nevertheless, taking into account the studies on the extent of the vocabulary needed to read and produce academic texts, it can be said that the Azerbaijani students’ vocabulary sizes are insufficient. Consequently, this research reveals that students enrolled at the Faculty of Pedagogy at AUL need strong support in vocabulary learning in order to enable them to succeed in their academic studies. What this seems to indicate is that this particular area of language learning requires fundamental overhauling in order to offer students appropriate vocabulary knowledge and skills. Because of the importance of vocabulary and its effects on all language skills, it may be speculated that a limited vocabulary will restrict students’ reading comprehension and written production. When determining the language input to be included in language course materials, it is therefore important to take into account a balanced mixture of all frequency levels, in particular giving attention to the learners’ current vocabulary profile. Another issue of theoretical significance should be noted: as these learners’ vocabulary frequency profiles did not attain the suggested threshold for high-frequency words of 3,000 word families (Schmitt & Schmitt, 2012), which signals an important milestone in language development, these high-frequency word families should be explicitly addressed in the language input that meets students’ needs.

6. Further research and follow-up studies The present study raises questions that are worth exploring in follow-up studies: first, the present study considered the first-year students’ receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge at the start of the academic year. A follow-up study measuring learners’ receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge after one year of instruction may contribute towards gaining more insights into their vocabulary development. Secondly, in order to satisfy the first-year students’ academic needs, it is important to analyse the lexical text coverage of the academic texts studied at the Faculty of Pedagogy and explore the relationship between the students’ vocabulary size and the lexical text coverage. Research done so far has focused on the number of word families needed to read authentic texts, novels, newspapers; however, no study has been carried out to estimate the vocabulary necessary to read and understand subject-specific academic texts to be studied by Azerbaijani English majors from the second year onwards. It is therefore important to analyse the relationship between the lexical text coverage, students’

reading comprehension of the subject-specific academic texts and their active vocabulary production when sitting examinations on the texts read. Finally, these findings will lead to the development of a pedagogical word list that comprises the high-frequency words as well as terms (subject-specific terminology) that meet the inventorised needs of first-year majors. As is the case in systematic syllabus and material development, the word list will be put in practice and its effect on stakeholders – learners as well as teachers – will have to be critically assessed. Although this study focuses on a small and very specific target audience of English pedagogical majors in Azerbaijan, the findings will have a wider applicability. Given the fact that Azerbaijan is a country in transition and embracing the use of English while doing so, it is not unique. The findings of this needs analysis as well as the curricular consequences may be equally true for former USSR countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc., where Russian once was the dominant language. Taking the considerations a step further, this study’s underlying foundational thoughts may also pertain to countries where French is still the dominant language in education and administration, but where external forces also require a different and embracing approach to English, as in, for instance, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and the like. This study and its follow-up will therefore try to meaningfully facilitate academic and professional life in the expanding circle for a group of learners that not have easy access to the English.

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Read, J. (1997). Vocabulary and testing. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds) Vocabulary: Description, acquisition, and pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 303– 321. Richards, J.C. & Schmidt, R. (2010).Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Pearson Education Limited. Schmitt, N. (2010). Vocabulary in language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press. Schmitt, N. & Schmitt, D. (2012). A reassessment of frequency and vocabulary size in L2 vocabulary teaching. Language Teaching: 1–20. doi: 10.1017/SO261444812000018 Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D. & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behavior of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing 18(1): 55–88. Shafiyeva, U. & Kennedy, S. (2010). English as a foreign language in Azerbaijan: English teaching in the post-Soviet era. English Today 26(1): 9–14. doi:10.1017/S0266078409990629 Sinclair, J. McH. & Renouf, A. (1991). A lexical syllabus for language learning. In R. Carter & M. McCarthy (Eds) Vocabulary and language teaching. Harlow: Longman, 140–160. Staehr, L. S. (2009). Vocabulary knowledge and advanced listening comrehension in English as a foreign language. Studies in Second language Acquisition 31(1): 31. Stufflebeam, D.L, McCormick, C.H., Brinkerhoff, R.O. & Nelson, C.O. (1985). Conducting educational needs assessment. Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff. Waring, R. (1997). A comparison of the receptive and productive vocabulary sizes of some second language learners. Immaculata (Notre Dame Seishin University, Okayama) 1: 53–68.

… we filled in the missing 4,000 level by averaging the scores received on the 3,000 and 5,000 word

level. The score at each frequency level represents an approximate knowledge of 1,000 words, except the first 2,000; where the score represents knowledge of 2,000 words. Accordingly, if a learner received 28 on the second 1,000, 22 on the third, and 8 on the fifth, his or her score would be 28 + 28 + 22 + 15 + 8 = 101 (The figure 28 appears twice as it represents 2,000 words, while the other scores represent 1,000 words each. The figure 15 is the average of 22 and 8).Since each frequency level has 30 items, the maximum score, which represents knowledge of 5,000 words, would be 30 × 5 = 150. The score in our example would represent 101 × 5,000 ÷ 150 = 3,366 word families.

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 66-82, December, 2014

Learning Community Approach in the Primary Education: Learning about Bullying through a Foreign Language Isaak Papadopoulos University of Western Macedonia, Greece Liakouli Vasiliki Technological Institute of Athens, Greece Kaleridou Styliani School of Pedagogical and Technological Studies, Greece Abstract: Bullying constitutes a social phenomenon that takes place mainly in the school environment all over the world. Schools and the authorities of several countries have been trying to give an end to this situation training teachers and informing thoroughly students about it. The aim of this paper is to delve into the learning community approach that aided the students of the sixth grade of the Greek state high school to raise students‟ awareness about bullying in the EFL class and develop their four language skills in English as a foreign language. This pilot project, following the principles of the Learning Community approach, has been piloted with a class of 20 Greek-speaking children (aged 12 years old) who had been learning English for 3 years at school. It was initiated with the purpose to provide insights into developing students‟ knowledge in Bullying since it has become the matter of concern around the world because of the various factors that cause it and the consequences it has on children while English was the language of instruction. The sixth grade students developed their own multimodal material and shared it for informing the students of the forth primary school grade about bullying in the FL lesson. For the estimation of the feasibility of this project, we have used two basic tools a) a pre- and a post- test about the language and the theme knowledge assessment and b) journals kept by the teacher throughout the project. The findings showed a significant improvement of the students‟ skills in FL, as well as their improvement in the specific vocabulary of the thematic area of “bullying/victimization” in the target language while it became obvious that the students enjoyed the whole process of developing materials in the foreign language especially about a social phenomenon. Keywords: learning communities; foreign language; content-based learning; bullying; social awareness

Introduction The school and the classroom are important agents for the socialization of a child. In the school, the child develops social skills and builds relationships with people outside the family environment. But there are cases of children who have difficulty in adapting to school. These difficulties relate to behavioral problems which affect the interpersonal relationships of student and school performance. The behavioral problems usually occur in the following forms: bullying against peers, the student's reluctance to cooperate with the teacher and aggressive behavior towards him, lack of interest and concentration during the course, disobedience to the rules of the school, and impulsivity. To manage a problematic behavior of a student there must be the creation and implementation of a program of prevention and treatment of such problem behaviors at school, the cooperation of school with qualified staff competent social agents, qualified personnel shall be the school counselor, school social worker and school psychologist who will be the link between the school, family and other social structures and services to better fit the student at school (Leka & Katsafarea, 2010). According to Olweus (2009), bullying is defined as the behavior in which one or more children attacking one or more children mainly in schools, in order to hurt the physical and mental health of them. Bullying differs from-school conflicts in matters of the fact that the child, who receives bullying, feels powerless to defend himself from the aggressive attackers. The aggressive operations targeted to a particular person, is repetitive and stationary in their incidence. Defining the participants Students who bully are usually characterized as active children. Generally they have an aggressive behavior and a tendency not to obey the rules. When bullying is perceived by school personnel, the perpetrators do not take responsibility for their actions, because they have no empathy for their victims (Sinanidis, 2008). Childrenbullies show no particular enthusiasm for learning therefore grades in school courses is low (Pentarvani, 2008). A characteristic of these children is the physical conformation which allows them to intimidate (Lintels, 2008) and difficult to control their emotions (Olweus, 2009) fact that resorts to such aggressive actions to stimulate the interest of other people (Lintels, 2008). On the other hand, students who excel in school lessons are popular at school and create teams which guide to bullying episodes, this kind of bullies are called smart bullies (Sullivan, Cleary & Sullivan, 2007). Students bullied usually feel uncomfortable considering that they are in danger at school. Not easily express their feelings and not share their thoughts. They hesitate to protect themselves (Sinanidis, 2008) because they do not have the necessary physical or mental strength (Spyropoulos, 2009). There are also cases of students who try to repel the aggression of action and break into tears. They do not usually seek for help from an elder as they believe that they will suffer more aggressive actions by the perpetrator (Sinanidis, 2008). During the school breaks, they are observed to be in walking distance to a teacher. During the course they speak quietly while their odds in the lessons are likely to experience sudden or gradual decrease. But there are

students - victims who in their negative behavior do not allow peers to attend the course with the effect of creating aggressiveness in the classroom (Olweus, 2009). Bullying Causes The family factor One of the major factors contributing to the shaping of a child's behavior is that of a family environment. Parents who settle their disputes by aggressive acts (Lintels, 2008) or adopt methods of harsh punishment to their children are negative models and lead the children in the event of aggressive behavior (Kritikos, 2007). There are also children who experience daily violent quarrels between the parents (Nova, 2004) and there is a lack of clear and consistent limits on children's aggressive behavior (Kritikos, 2007). Also, many parents do not show due care for the child-rearing methods or use methods non-permissible by society such as physical abuse. (Lintels, 2008) while it is truth that children bring violence towards their parents when there is an excessive force of the parents on how to dress, to manage their leisure time (Kalliotis, Kaiseroglou, Kolovos, Bampanikas, & Taoulas, 2002 ) and to do always well at school (Sugar, 2003). School factor Phenomena of aggression could occur by the teacher and the student. More specifically, teachers who are trying to manage a dispute with their students, adopt strict penalties on students to obey him. At the same teachers do not wish to fulfill the irrational demands of students, fact which leads to the rigor of the education and bickering among themselves. Another form of aggression is the use of sarcasm or verbal attack on a student that is not a physical violence. Such acts of aggression, therefore, are negative role models for students. Regarding the interaction part of the student â&#x20AC;&#x201C; teacher, the force of the teacher on a student's behavior creates difficulties in the school environment (Kalliotis et al, 2002) and the unwillingness of students to improve the school's performance (Tsakirakis, 2004) leads to a strong disapproval of the student, contributing to the event of the aggressive behavior from the part of the student (Kalliotis et al, 2002). This behavior can lead to the emergence of aggressive actions by students with low grades in their courses. Children usually participate in groups in order to attack the teacher (Tsakirakis, 2004). The indifference of the teaching staff to care about bullying phenomena among increases also or maintains the phenomenon as such behaviors are considered acceptable (Tsergas & Motta, 2000). Lastly, effects of aggressive behavior are also observed when students exhibit great effort for success in courses thus leading to engender controversy and the emergence of aggressive behavior among them (Pattakou, 2009) Peer Pressure and Mass Media Generally, friendships play an important role in the development of each child with other children his age. These relations affect both their opinion and the behavior. Acceptance of a group of rules and behavior is a prerequisite for the integration of the

child in a group. The hard part in this piece is when the group acts in violent ways and the violent actions are needed to stay in the team (Pattakou, 2009). Participation in a group is a way for the perpetrator not to have remorse for his actions and he/she considers that all the members of the team have the same responsibility for the victim abuse. (Kalliotis et al, 2002). Television and computer games are also involved in the event of violent behaviors because they include programs that highlight scenes of violence. Many hours of tracking these violent scenes may adversely affect the child by familiarizing it with violence while the lack of supervision by parents and the child‟s desire to look like the hero of a film/cartoon lead the child to adopt violent behaviors. (Pattakou, 2009) Consequences of bullying victims and victimizers As far as the victims are concerned, the constant attacks on scare may lead to students‟ psychosomatic difficulties. Specifically these children feel bad about them and they tend to challenge their abilities (Tsergas & Motta, 2000). They have health problems such as headaches, stomach pain and difficulties in sleeping (Sinanidis, 2008). Difficulties are also developed in the school and in particular, lack of attention and interest are observed during the course. As a consequence such students are characterized by the low school performance. Also, the child's refusal to attend school lessons on the pretext that they are ill or may even request a transfer to another school is a consensus (Tsergas & Motta, 2000). Moreover, his classmates do not want to have communication and relations with him but the pupil does not seek for companionship and socializing as well (Tsergas & Motta, 2000). Moreover, bullying has also many consequences in the everyday life and the behavior of the perpetrator. This person hesitates to create friendly relationships with peers because of his aggression while his difficulties in school courses leads him to academic underachievement. There are many occasions in which the perpetrator is absent from school without a valid reason or removed from school after the school proposal for changing the school environment because of his aggressive actions (Spyropoulos, 2009).

The proposed project The rationale and objectives of the project The present study set out to investigate the efficacy and potential advantages of implementing a program of raising students‟ awareness about the phenomenon of “Bullying” in the school class within the context of the learning communities. At the same time, it aimed at developing the foreign language skills of students in English More precisely, the research set out to answer the following research questions:

a) will the implementation of a learning community program contribute to the raise of students awareness about “Bullying” ? b) will the implementation of a learning community programme for the raise of students awareness about “Bullying” contribute to the students foreign language development? Sample This experimental intervention was implemented on a sample of 40 students. The sample was divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 20 students who where students of the St‟ class and acted in a learning community context producing materials for other students and with the aim of raising others‟ awareness about bullying at school in using English as a language of communication. The other group compromises 20 students who were students of the D‟ class and they were the students who received the English language material produced by the St‟ class in the field of bullying as a school phenomenon with social extends. It is worth noting that the children of the two groups had the Greek language as their mother tongue. Lastly, the teaching intervention was implemented during the months of September 2014 – December 2014.

Design of the project This programme was designed in the form of a topic-based project in the field of Bullying fostering a learning community in the EFL class and incorporating a variety of activities and games, such as role play, constructions, puzzles, dramatisations, e-games etc. In fact, studies have indicated that games in the language class enhance students‟ communicative skills and provide opportunities for holistic language development (Griva & Semoglou, 2013; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2009, Papadopoulos et al., 2012). In this framework, the expected learning outcomes involved the development of the students‟: Language - cognitive skills in English as a foreign language, using the language as a means of sharing information, raising public awareness and interaction within a learning community. Emotional – social skills by using their imagination and creativity to achieve their goals; directing their own learning; developing curiosity and their feelings toward the literature; interacting with and listening to other classmates and raising awareness about the school problems, bullying/victimization. The topics of the project were selected on the basis of including a general view about Bullying. The mini syllabus was designed around ten units encompassing some of the most important characteristics and aspects of this phenomenon.

a) Bullying Defining of the word bullying; Examples of bullying at school (Target Vocabulary: have a hard time; make fun of sb; call sb names; throw in the towel; write nasty things about sb; tell lies about people; force people to do things they don’t like; steal sb’s money; hit people) b) Causes of Bullying The relationships among students; Behaviours that create bullying (Target Vocabulary: peer pressure; be always acceptable; intrafamilial relationships)

c) Solutions to Bullying The role of the teacher; the role of the peers; the role of the family; the role of the psychology (Target Vocabulary: Speak up; keep my cool; Stand up for sb; Believe in myself; Don’t let bullies win; Ignore what bullies say) d) Developing materials for anti-bullying purposes Students‟ materials; Students‟ attitudes

e) Using materials for anti-bullying purposes Impact of the material; Efficacy of the material Implementation procedures The experimental intervention was applied to 6th-primary school class students attending the primary school of Larissa (Central Greece), for the development of spoken and written language of students in a foreign language and the raise of their awareness about Bullying at school through the students proactive engagement within a learning community context. The constructive learning environment, the active learning and the creative expression of students during the intervention were the main characteristics of the programme. So, students of a higher school class took on the responsibility to develop material in the foreign language to inform students of a lower school class about the phenomenon of Bullying. a) Pre – stage In the first phase, the teacher informed the students of the ST‟ class about the phenomenon of bullying in the foreign language. Specifically, students were offered some basic information about bullying and they were encouraged to

research more on a) the definition of bullying, b) the causes of it, c) the possible solutions to the problem and d) the relations that are developed among students. All these were the syllabus that the students of the St‟ class would take into consideration to develop materials for informing students of the D‟ class about the victimization. Both the teacher and the students discussed the content of the module with each other and all the class expressed views and ideas about the possible material that could be produced and used for the D‟ class students. Special emphasis was given to the language of the target thematic material so that the students of the D‟ class would be able to understand it. b) Task-circle In the second stage, students of the St‟ class were developing their material about bullying for the D‟ class students in the target language (English). More specifically, they started developing material, discussed the opinions expressed by the other classmates and they worked creatively. The used the pictures as incentives for the lessons and created posters and marketing buners for the school and the classroom of the D‟ class students. They also created digital games using the software of Hotpotatoes such as Matches, crosswords, questions of multiple choices. These activities were created to check the content understanding They also created constructions related to the module such as Paper crafts, stamps and paper graffiti. They recorded sound anti-bullying mottos and they taped their videos about bullying and its solutions. The material they produced aimed at helping the students of the D‟ class of the primary school to develop their knowledge in Bullying, so the material they produced should have been suitable for their age. Throughout this phase, students discussed the material, their digital exercises and everything they did with the teacher/researcher, they took notes and they interacted with their classmates in the target language English. After each teaching/working meeting, the students and the teacher reflected on the work done, written in their journals and orally in the discussions taken place. So, they came into continuous contact and use with English as a foreign language. c) Post-stage In the last phase, the students of the St‟ class helped the teachers inform students about Bullying in English while helping the students of the D‟ class when needed. Throughout a teaching hour of this intervention, the students of D‟ class were involved in text analysis activities, board and physical game-based activities, discussions about bullying, while the D‟ class students dealt with the digital exercises and educational games that the students of the St‟ class developed for this purpose. In the last part of the teaching process the students worked on their PCs noting the things that they enjoyed or created difficulties to them. The students who helped the teacher of course, kept their journals after their lesson in order to discuss their notes with their classmates and their teachers for the sake of reflection and self-assessment.

The proposed approach of “Learning communities” This study was based on the learning community approach which receives students as active participants of the learning process. The forerunner of this approach dates back to the 1920s when the philosopher and education theorist Alexander Meiklejohn introduced an experimental programme at the University of Wisconsin (Smith, 2001) while the idea was given emphasis during the 1960s and 1980s with the aim of humanizing the learning environment and enhancing students development. A learning community is a community of learners who are armed with the common aim of enhancing and sharing their knowledge, they are willing to support the community and non members and they are valued for their various contributions establishing an environment in which learning is of major importance (Papadopoulos & Griva, 2014). This approach “criticizes” the traditional forms of communication between the teacher and the student (Roth, 1998, in Pringle, 2002) seeing the change of the teacher‟s role into facilitator and colleague for the knowledge acquisition. The members of the learning communities have the ability to pursue and persist in learning, to organize their own learning that includes the effective management of time and information, both individually and in groups. This competence equips them with awareness of their learning process and needs, identifying available opportunities and the ability to overcome obstacles in order to learn successfully. This type of teaching and learning helps students and equip them with such necessary abilities. In fact, the processes followed in a learning community approach are in accordance with the goal of the European Commision to develop the stances, perceptions, behaviours and skills that will allow the European citizens to live peacefully in a multi-linguistic and multicultural community (Candelier, 2000). In learning communities, the teachers have the opportunity to use many activities for the students that help them realize the importance of sharing knowledge and act so (Bielaczyc & Collins, 2009).. Such activities are team projects, group presentations, in-class and online discussions, and collective problem solving and they enhance students attitude positively towards to knowledge sharing. The students that have a positive attitude to sharing knowledge with others can most possibly carry this behavior to their workplace (Majid & Chitra, 2013) and it will lead to effective learning (Yuen & Majid, 2007). In learning community‟s environments, the members interact in a peaceful and constructive environment and there is much trust and teamwork feeling that can lead to the development of sharing knowledge tendency (Chen et al. 2008). They also appreciate the diverse ideas and viewpoints that must exist in the learning community while they feel the sense of satisfaction thanks to their contribution to member‟s learning (Majid & Wey, 2009; So & Brush, 2008; Bullard & Felder, 2007). Lastly, learning communities seem to have an important impact on the development of this principle of sharing knowledge with all the benefits it brings about.

Learning communities approach help the teacher create an interesting lesson full of activities that are produced through the cooperation of students. Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x; dealing with various texts enriches the teaching process with new elements such as inquiry, critical thinking, and creativity while the involvement and the interest of the children is enhanced. In order to response to the demands of this era, learning communities lead the teacher turn into a facilitator of the knowledge and put behind his/her past identity as the source and transformer of the knowledge (Dendrinou & Karava, 2013). In such an environment, the teacher feels free to foster an environment of investigation, action and reflection underlining the importance of the communication and interaction among the members. This could not happen in cases of traditional teachings.

Evaluation of the experimental intervention Evaluating tools Regarding the evaluation of the effect of the intervention on Bullying promotion and the development of spoken and written language skills of students in the foreign language and the fulfillment of the targets set there used the following three methodological tools:

a) A pre- and post- content and language test before and after the implementation of the intervention. A pre-test was distributed to all students of the Stâ&#x20AC;&#x; class before the implementation of the intervention. The test focused on identifying the prior-knowledge of students in Bullying and their skill of speaking and writing in a foreign language. The post test was distributed to students after the completion of the experimental intervention (December 2014). It should be noted and emphasized that the two tools focused on the same skills and knowledge, so that the results that were to be collected, give the most accurate possible information on the effectiveness of the intervention (Stocking, 1999). The initial and final assessment tested the language proficiency of students and their theme knowledge about bullying. b) Keeping the journal of the teacher and researcher during the whole intervention. Journal constituted a research data collection tool by the teacher - researcher because it is a very effective tool to assess experimental and educational interventions that are organized by teachers (Altrichter et al., 1993). The process of keeping of journal happened at the end of each instruction. Regarding the structure of the journal, it was based on "questions to guide the reflection journal entries" of Richards & Lockhart (1994: 16 -17). As journal questions used by the teacher - researcher there were based in three areas a) questions related to the teaching, b ) questions related to students and c ) a general evaluation of the teaching. The journal applied in this intervention included 6 questions as

A. Questions about teaching 1 ) What goals did I have? Did I fulfill them? 2 ) What teaching aids are used? How effective were they? And 3) What were the forms of communication among students and between students and me? B. Question about students 1) What was the attitude of the children at the beginning, during and at the end of the activity (positive, negative, indifferent, asking for clarification or assistance)? How did I respond to them? C. Questions evaluative 1 ) What went well, what did not? What is a possible explanation? and 2 ) What could I change? Why?

Results Teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;/ researcherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journal According to the analysis of journal records, during the intervention it became obvious that students had a most positive attitude towards the intervention and they tried to achieve their goals set by the researcher. To be specific, the students enjoyed the language learning development project within the context of the learning community. They developed interpersonal skills and better interaction while they worked in a constructive learning environment where sharing knowledge is of utmost importance. The journal entries indicated much of whole class discussion and multimedia use while the differentiated and inquiry-baed activities seemed to have helped both the students and the teacher as well. There were no behavioral problems during the intervention and all the students tried to help each other to the benefit of the language. They also used various sources for their tasks such as websites, DVDs, posters and many educational materials like papers, scissors and pens. The continuous feedback and reflection seemed to come in very handy for them since each advice was a new help for the students and they worked better after it. Of course it was confirmed that through the implementation of a learning community project with the students active involvement students have the opportunity not only to understand the language by using it in circumstances with "meaning" and to acquire simultaneously by learning the language, language skills (Huyen, 2003) but they were helped to gain knowledge related to a theme and especially to bullying theme in this intervention. Also, it is particularly important that students understand how they can use the language to help their classmates and to produce their own work and gain knowledge and learning effortlessly. So it could be argued that the learning context achieved its goal. Based on the above mentioned detailed description of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x; participation and involvement, there have been created the following tables showing the dual focus of

the implementation with the categories and subcategories that the students with the teacher and the social worker developed through the intervention. Focus Subject "Bullying"

Categories Definition

Subcategories …what is bullying? …where can it take place? …who are involved?

Causes

…what creates bullying? …are the families to blame? …are the school/teachers to blame? …are the peers to blame? …are the mass media to blame?

Consequences

…school performance… …psychological effects …vandalism & crimes

Solutions

…the school's role …the family's role …the peer's role …the role of the society

Language "English"

Speaking

…about the causes of a problem …about the solutions of a problem

Listening

Writing

…classmates experiences and problems …teacher's viewpoints about bullying occasions …songs about aggressive behaviour/bullying …describtions about people …describtions about situations …letters/emails expressing an opinion …letter/emails recommending

solutions …leaflets

Reading

…relevant texts …websites …letters/emails

Pre- and Post- Test During the pre-test, the teacher distributed to each student individually a worksheet in which the student had to complete multiple choice content and language at the same time, exercises in the target language as well as a creative writing task. The following table shows the mean performance and the standard deviation of the correct answers as far as the students are concerned comparing his/her performance in the pre-test to the post-test one. From the analysis of the students‟ answers, an improvement in their correct answers was revealed at the post-test (mean score: 8,4) compared to those at the pre-test (mean score: 5,6).

Μean 5,6

Table. Comparative Analysis pre- and post- tests Pre-Test Post-Test Std. Deviation Mean Std. Deviation 0,51

8,4

0,66

The Creative Writing activity was the completion of a sentence in the foreign language (English) by students. The teacher showed a sentence to students in the foreign language and they had to write a possible continuation. The following table shows the average and standard deviation of the students‟ text production in the preand post- test. As it has been obvious, the performance of the students in the post-test (m=1,4) was significantly higher than the one in the pre-test (m=3,2). (1 = correct completion 2= correct completion with minimal errors 3 = correct completion with a sufficient number of errors 4 = incorrect completion (due to the meaning, many errors etc.).

Mean (Pre-test) 3,2

Table . Mean and Std. Deviation Std. Deviation Mean (Pre test) (Post-test) 0,79

1,4

Std. Deviation (Post-test) 0,51

The qualitative analysis of the students‟ text production led to the creation of five typologies: a) production, b) task achievement, c) accuracy, d) range and complexity and e) orthographic control encompassing a number of subcategories of language skills that were developed through this intervention, as shown in the following table. Typologies Production

Subcategories Connected and organized text Subsidiary details Reasons & Examples Text comprehension Length of the text

Task Achievement

Accuracy

Structural control Lexical control Errors frequency

Range and Complexity

Lexical repertoire Structural repertoire Miscollocation frequency

Orthographic Control

Layout and Paragraphing Spelling Appropriate Punctuation

Discussion and Conclusions This learning community project aimed at developing EFL learners‟ competence in English as a foreign language and raising the students‟ awareness about the phenomenon of bullying at school. As for the foreign language development of students, this project proved to help students develop their four language skills in English through their proactive participation in the learning process. Students were turned into active members of the school community fostering a learning community at their classroom to their and their classmates benefit. Their continuous contact with the foreign language and their continuous developing material helped them to develop their language and meta-language skills in EFL. Indeed, surveys carried out have shown that learning communities‟ programmes can exert a positive influence on

the language development of students (Papadopoulos & Griva 2014, Papadopoulos, 2014). Moreover, students‟ engagement in multisensory activities within this context enhanced their learning which is perceived as a cognitive, psycho-dynamic, cultural and social process (Illeris, 2001). Language within this meaningful and communicative context is developed and appreciated (Dervisaj, 2006) and the learning environment of this specific intervention achieved its special objective. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that creativity and interdisciplinarity which were to a fair extend obvious in this programme helped the students to process and express themselves freely on various issues (Cone et al, 1998; Tzifas, 2006), thus using and improving their target language. Regarding the content knowledge of this programme, it could be realised from the comparison of pre- and post- tests that this intervention was highly successful in this domain as well. Students seemed to have gained much of knowledge concerning the problem of bullying, its causes and repercussions through this thematic project with English to be the language of instruction and communication (Jexenflicker & Dalton Puffer, 2010 in Ruiz se Zarobe, 2010). A most important proof of their knowledge gain was the successful development of material that was used for informing other students about bullying. Students were able to recognise examples of bullying, realise causes and effects of it and of course analysing the relations developed among students either in the school or outside it. The creative writing task was not only an evidence of language development but“map” of students‟ beliefs before and after this educational programme. As far as the journal recordings are concerned, it could be supported that this project succeeded in motivating students to develop their language skills and their knowledge in a specific subject. Within this learning community context, students established learning and experience paths (Mustard, 2006). The analysis of journal recordings suggests that the participants of this project entertained themselves while learning and developing materials for other students. Their participation in experiential and playful activities offered them many opportunities for learning while the continuous feedback and reflection promoted and boosted the language learning and knowledge gaining (Papadopoulos & Peiou, 2014). Students participated with much of joy and willingness to offer and to share knowledge and useful material for the sake of advancing human knowledge. The researcher through the journal keeping realised that the social interaction of students within this learning community programme helped students construct better their learning while the interpersonal knowledge becomes a personal matter (Vygotsky, 1978). As a result, there is a circular process of learning from members to the person (Elliniadou et al. 2008) and from person to the members. Students‟ attitudes during the intervention confirmed once again that students enjoyed the procedure and managed to develop their learning. They stressed that ultimately the learning of the English language is a very easy and fun trip as long as boring methods are not applied. Of course, the higher interest, the enthusiasm and

appetite of all students facilitated the smooth flow of the intervention and of course its success.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 83-94, December 2014

The Reliability and Validity of the Chinese School Version of the Denison Organizational Culture Xiaoju Duan and Xiangyun Du Department of Learning and Philosophy Aalborg University Aalborg, Denmark Kai Yu Faculty of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing, China

Abstract. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the applicability of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey in a Chinese school context. The survey is consisted of four culture traits: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. Each trait is divided further into three indexes, each of which is derived from three items. The sample included 424 teachers in six Chinese primary and middle schools. All traits and indexes showed acceptable internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analyses tested how well the same factor structure fit the present data. The results of acceptable goodness of fit indices showed the same pattern with the original structure of four traits and twelve indexes. Higher correlation between school culture and school effectiveness indicated good external validity of the present survey. The Chinese school version of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey has satisfactory psychometric properties. Keywords: school culture; Chinese school; Denison Organizational Culture Survey

Introduction Organizational culture Organizational culture is defined as shared values, and underlying expectations and assumptions exhibited in an organization (Cameron & Quinn, 2006; Louis, 1985). There is a long history of research on organizational culture. Many researchers have investigated organizational culture from a strategic perspective and have examined it as an important source of competitive advantage (Barney, 1986; Wilkins & Ouchi, 1983). However, although the relationship between ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

organizational culture and organizational effectiveness has drawn attention from researchers for many years, most of the current literature can be traced back only as recently as the early 1980s. Research on Japanese competitiveness in car and electronics manufacturing fields (Ouchi, 1981; Peters & Waterman, 1982) is among this pioneering research. The research field of organizational culture has been dominated by qualitative studies (Schein, 2004; Yauch & Steudel, 2003). Many researchers thought that cultures could not be measured and compared (Schoen & Teddlie, 2008). After many years of debate, some researchers determined that organizational culture consisted of different levels, some of which could potentially be measured. Schein (1992) described the organizational culture as three levels: basic assumptions, espoused beliefs, and artifacts. Schein considered assumptions to be the base level of his theory. According to Schein, basic assumptions were taken-for-granted and unconscious perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that were shared by the organization members. The third level, artifacts, refers to visible organizational structures and processes. To examine the base and third levels, the appropriate research methods are observation and interviews. The second, or intermediate, level in Schein’s theory is espoused beliefs. Schein described these as strategies, goals, and philosophies of the organization. This level should be investigated through the use of surveys and structured interviews. The second level of organizational culture, then, can be seen as measurable. Many questionnaires or instruments have been developed in line with Schein’s theory. For instance, the Organizational Culture Inventory by Cooke and Rousseau (1988) was designed to measure culture in terms of behavioural norms. Three kinds of cultural styles were identified by this inventory: constructive style, passive/defensive style, and aggressive/defensive style. Hofstede (1993) summarized six dimensions of organizational culture: process/results orientation, employee/job orientation, parochial/professional orientation, open/closed system, loose/tight control, and normative/pragmatic orientation. In addition to the use of these instruments to measure differences in organizations, some questionnaires were developed to aid in employees’ selection and socialization. For instance, Chatman’s (1989) work was used to investigate the degree of fit between employee and organization and to predict employees’ satisfaction. Each questionnaire was developed in specific context, to be used for specific purposes. Ashkanasy et al. (2010) and Jung et al. (2009) have conducted systematic review on quantitative studies of organizational culture. As concluded in Jung et al.’s recent review, each approach offers different insight for exploring organizational culture (Jung et al., 2009). Denison Organizational Culture Survey The Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS) was created to focus directly on the aspects of organizational culture which could influence organizational effectiveness (Denison, Janovics, Young, & Cho, 2006). The model © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

is designed on four organizational cultural traits: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. Each of these four culture traits consists of three component indexes. Involvement consists of empowerment, team orientation, and capability development. Consistency includes core values, agreement, and coordination and integration. Adaptability consists of creating change, customer focus, and organizational learning. Mission consists of strategic direction and intent, goals and objectives, and vision. Each of these twelve indexes is measured by five items. There are 60 items on the Denison Organization Culture Survey. This model and survey structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis by using 35,474 participants in 160 organizations from all over the world. This survey also showed high reliability, indicated by high alpha coefficients. The validity of this survey is also good, indicated by six measures of organizational performance. The survey was recently proved to be a very good measurement in this field (Denison, Nieminen, & Kotrba, 2014). The Denison Organization Culture Survey has been used in a variety of organizations, including health care, energy, financials, technology. It is popular in many countries, including Australia, France, Japan, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the United States. A recent study was conducted in a Nigerian Breweries Plc Ibadan by employing two hundred employees (Akanbi, 2014). The adapted version of the Denison Organization Culture Survey was used to investigate the effect of organizational culture on company’s effectiveness (Akanbi, 2014). The results showed all four culture traits, involvement, consistency, adaptability and mission, could predict company’s effectiveness (Akanbi, 2014). The Denison Organization Culture Survey was also taken to measure the unit culture in nursing units of hospitals (Casida, Crane, Walker, & Wargo, 2012). It was found that unit culture may provide additional value to explain the performance in the nursing units (Casida, Crane, Walker, & Wargo, 2012). A study, which was carried out in Yemeni banking industry by using the Denison Organization Culture Survey, confirmed the significant role of organizational culture in management and performance (Al-Swidi, & Mahmood, 2012). Some researchers have translated and adapted the Denison Organization Culture Survey into their own language and tested its reliability and validity. Fey and Denison applied the Denison Organization Culture Survey in Russia (Fey & Denison, 2003), using participants from foreign firms in Russia. The survey items were translated into Russian. As in the original version, there were four traits, each with three indexes. In this version, each index was measured by three items instead of five. Factor analysis confirmed the four-traits model. Cronbach’s alphas showed good internal reliability for all these four traits. All four traits were significantly related with organizational effectiveness. Thus, the Russian version showed good reliability and validity.

School culture School culture is a specific kind of organizational culture situated in an educational context (Schoen & Teddlie, 2008). Schein’s (1992) three levels of © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

organizational culture align with Corbett et al.’s (1987) work in school culture. Hence, accepted organizational theory could be used to understand and explain phenomenon and researches on instructional organizations such as schools (Schoen & Teddlie, 2008). School culture is considered as a holistic entity (Seashore, 2009) and refers to how people feel, think, and see about things relating a school (Erickson, 1987). School culture refers to the shared assumptions, basic norms and values, and espoused cultural artifacts in a school which are agreed by school members (Ralf Maslowski, 2001). School culture demonstrates itself in rituals, traditions, stories, and how to treat each other (Stoll, 1999). Van Houtte (2005) has reviewed research on both school climate and school culture from the past several decades. He summarised that compared with school climate, school culture was a better conceptual framework to study school improvement, school effectiveness, and so on. School culture plays an important role in teachers’ behaviour and attitudes as well as in educational innovations (Seashore, 2009). School culture plays an important role in school related fields, such school effectiveness, students’ behaviours, teachers’ perception, and leadership. For example, school culture was correlated with educational attainment (Guerrero, De Fraine, Cueto, & Leon, 2013), teenage substance use, such as drinking, smoking, and drug use (Markham, 2014). Perceived school culture was positively associated with self-esteem and job satisfaction, was negatively associated with mental health complaints in kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong (Wong, & Zhang, 2014). School culture had effect on high school students’ identity formation, which in turn had effect on students’ perceptions and behaviour on sexual health (Brotman & Mensah, 2013). Previous studies have identified some fundamental factors which are important for school culture including leadership behaviour (Hoy & Tarter, 1997), participative decision-making (Devos, Bouckenooghe, Engels, Hotton, & Aelterman, 2007), official and unofficial relations among staff and teachers (Hoy & Tarter, 1997), innovation orientation (Ralf Maslowski, 2001), and shared vision (DuFour & Berkey, 1995). One study validated these dimensions of school culture and investigated their impact on teachers’ well-being and organizational commitment (Zhu, Devos, & Li, 2011). Their results indicated that goal orientation, shared vision, and leadership had larger affect on teachers’ organizational commitment compared with other school culture dimensions. Another study defined school culture as being composed of four dimensions, namely, professional orientation, quality of the learning environment, organizational structure, and student-centered focus (Schoen & Teddlie, 2008). Present study Concerning school culture, although there are vast empirical researches in Western countries, the number of literature in non-Western countries is still quite limited. Relatively little research has focused on issues in Chinese school culture. The Chinese educational system has been carrying out reforms for years. One aim of such educational reform has been to increase school effectiveness.

Investigating or diagnosing school culture, therefore, seems to be a reasonable starting point to improve school effectiveness. The Denison Organizational Culture Survey is a popular questionnaire used in the researches of organizational culture and has proven is useful in other countries. However, findings were based on samples of companies that were mostly in Western countries. The application of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey in the Chinese school context is of question. Research on this topic is valuable to both theory and practice. The present study aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey in a Chinese school context.

Method Participants The investigation was carried out in 2013. Participants from six primary and high schools in Beijing, China took part in the survey and answered the questionnaire. There were 424 (95%) valid questionnaires included in the final data analysis. Those 5% participants were excluded because of incomplete questionnaires. Of these participants, 326 were female (76.9%), 90 were male (21.2%), and 8 questionnaires were missing data (1.9%). The female dominated characteristic of the sample is a typical characteristic of teacher population in Chinese schools. Of those surveyed, 378 were teachers (89.2%), 33 were in middle leadership positions (7.8%), and 13 surveys were missing data (3.1%). The investigation included 95 participants with less than six years teaching experience (22.4%), 151 participants with six to fifteen years teaching experience (35.6%), 168 participants with more than fifteen years teaching experience (40.6%), and 10 surveys missing this relevant data (2.4%). Instrument The Denison Organizational Culture Survey was translated and used with the approval of Denison Consulting, the surveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s publisher. The Denison Organizational Culture Survey was translated into Chinese and revised by educational experts in order to adapt it to Chinese school culture and context. Similar to the original version, there were four traits used in the Chinese school version. Those traits were involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. Each trait consisted of three indexes. Involvement consisted of empowerment, team orientation, and capability development. Consistency comprised core values, agreement, and coordination and integration. Adaptability encompassed creating change, customer focus, and organizational learning. Mission trait consisted of strategic direction and intent, goals and objectives, and vision. Unlike in the original version, each index consisted of three items after deleting those items which are not suitable for Chinese school context. Thus, there were a total of thirty-six items in the Chinese school version of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey. There were five self-designed items for measuring school effectiveness in the present study. These items address teaching quality, ethical education, leadership, characteristics, and parent satisfaction. ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

All of the items are 5-point Likert-type scale. Participants were asked to evaluate to what extent they agreed with a statement on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “totally disagree” and 5 being “totally agree.” An example of a questionnaire item is “Everyone believes that he or she can have a positive impact.” Data analysis Internal consistency was calculated by SPSS 15.0. Chronbach’s alpha was used to indicate the internal consistency of each trait and index. Chronbach’s alpha ranges from 0 to 1, where ≥.70 is good and ≥.60 is acceptable for basic research purpose in educational context. Item discrimination indexes are correlations between item and index scores. The item-total correlation was calculated; a correlation of ≥.30 is good. Moreover, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted by AMOS 7.0. The method of estimation was maximum likelihood (ML). Chi-square, df, and CMIN/DF were reported. CFI (comparative fit index), IFI (incremental fit index), and RMSEA (root mean square error of approximation) were used to assess the fit between data and structure. Results for CFI and IFI range from 0 to 1, where ≥.90 indicated acceptable fit. RMSEA ≤.05 is deemed as a good fit, while between .05-.08 is considered as an acceptable fit.

Results Reliability Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation (SD)) of items, internal consistency, and item-total correlation are reported in Table 1. Results showed acceptable internal consistency for all the traits and indexes (0.67-0.95). Item discrimination was assessed by item-total correlation. All item-total correlations for the 36 scale items were acceptable (r ≥ .30). Table 1. Items’ descriptive statistics, item-total correlation and internal consistency of factors and indexes Factor Involvement α = 0.93

Index

Empowerment α = 0.81

Team orientation α = 0.86

Capability Development

Item no.

Item-total correlation

Mean

0.61

4.38

0.80

0.72

4.13

0.95

0.66

4.27

0.93

0.72

4.45

0.79

0.74

4.35

0.90

0.76

4.39

0.79

0.44

3.81

1.06

0.64

4.50

0.71

α = 0.73 Consistency α = 0.95

0.63

4.33

0.87

0.76

4.37

0.78

0.81

4.42

0.75

0.81

4.47

0.72

0.79

4.35

0.82

0.76

4.34

0.81

0.71

4.31

0.81

0.72

4.32

0.87

0.74

4.23

0.86

0.77

4.41

0.80

0.77

4.11

0.92

0.76

4.37

0.76

0.81

4.34

0.79

0.35

3.48

1.01

0.60

4.12

0.80

0.51

4.38

0.74

0.67

4.19

0.82

0.71

4.27

0.88

0.59

4.60

0.65

Strategic Direction & Intent

0.53

3.96

1.00

0.65

4.37

0.81

α = 0.77

0.66

4.50

0.72

0.78

4.34

0.79

0.74

4.50

0.74

4.34

0.84

0.74

4.42

0.76

4.50

0.72

0.74

4.25

0.89

Core values α = 0.90

Agreement α = 0.87

Coordination & Integration α = 0.87 Adaptability α = 0.91

Creating Change α = 0.88

Customer Focus α = 0.67

Organizational Learning α = 0.80 Mission α = 0.94

Goal & Objectives α = 0.87

Vision α = 0.86

Validity Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out on all 36 scale items. The secondorder factor structure was tested. In this structure, each scale item loaded on its index and each index loaded on its trait. Chi-square is 1852.734, df is 576, and CMIN/DF is 3.217. CFI and IFI is 0.913 and 0.912 respectively. RMSEA is 0.072. Results indicated acceptable goodness of fit for all indices. Table 2 shows the correlation between school culture and school effectiveness. Chronbachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alpha of the school effectiveness items is 0.92. All the four cultural traits and twelve indexes of the model are correlated with all five school effectiveness items. All correlations among the varied aspects of school culture and school effectiveness were statistically significant at 0.01 level. Table 2. Correlations of school culture and effectiveness Overall

Teaching quality

Ethical education

Leadership

Characteristics

Parent satisfaction

Involvement

0.86

0.75

0.77

0.78

0.79

0.76

Empowerment

0.81

0.69

0.74

0.73

0.75

0.72

Team Orientation

0.84

0.74

0.76

0.77

0.75

Capability Development

0.77

0.70

0.66

0.70

0.74

0.67

Consistency

0.90

0.81

0.82

0.79

Core Values

0.90

0.80

0.79

0.83

0.77

Agreement

0.82

0.74

0.75

0.73

0.74

0.73

Coordination and Integration

0.82

0.73

0.75

0.73

0.74

0.72

Adaptability

0.82

0.72

0.74

0.71

0.76

Creating Change

0.83

0.74

0.75

0.76

0.73

0.77

Customer Focus

0.63

0.53

0.57

0.56

0.59

Organizational Learning

0.78

0.70

0.69

0.71

0.67

0.72

Mission

0.87

0.78

0.77

0.79

0.77

0.79

Strategic Direction & Intent

0.80

0.72

0.71

0.73

0.72

0.71

Goals & Objectives

0.83

0.74

0.76

0.73

0.75

Vision

0.85

0.76

0.75

0.77

0.75

0.79

Discussion The principle aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Chinese school version of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey. The Chinese version consisted of four traits. Each trait had three indexes, and each index was measured by three items. The internal consistency of all traits and indexes were within an acceptable range. The item-total correlation of each item and their corresponding indexes showed good item reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the overall structure of Chinese school version was similar, as in the original version of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (Denison et al., 2006). The high correlations between all four traits, the twelve indexes, and the effectiveness items demonstrated the good external validity of this survey. The Chronbach’s alpha coefficients of traits and indexes were higher than 0.60, indicating acceptable internal consistency. Item-total correlation between each item and its corresponding index was taken as item reliability. Most items showed very high reliability (r≥.50) and all items showed acceptable correlation (r≥.30). The item, “Parent comments and recommendations often lead to changes” had the lowest item-total correlation (r = .35). This item was adapted from the item “Customer comments and recommendations often lead to changes” on the Denison Organizational Culture Survey with the purpose to suit the school context. The original survey was primarily designed for use in companies. The organization and management of companies and schools is quite different, particularly in relation to the characteristics which would determine responses to this item. Companies may be faster in reacting or making adjustments according to the market and. Schools, on the other hand, may be required to follow the schedule of the curriculum and the directions given by the ministry of education. Thus, it is possible that parents have less influence in a school than customers have on a company. For future studies, this item could be changed or other items could be added concerning customer focus. The structure validity of the survey was evaluated by the fitness of Denison’s original survey model, the second-order factor structure with three items loaded on its index and each index loaded on its trait. The model has acceptable goodness of fit on all indices. Thus, the Chinese school version of Denison’s Organizational Culture Survey has good structure validity.

The surveyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s external validity was measured by the association between school culture and school effectiveness. All the four cultural traits and twelve indexes of the model were correlated with perceptions of school effectiveness, which were indicated by teaching quality, ethical education, leadership characteristics, parent satisfaction, and overall effectiveness in the present sample. These results were in line with the original and Russian versions of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (Fey & Denison, 2003). These results indicated good external validity of the Chinese school version. This survey could be used to predict school effectiveness. The Denison Organizational Culture Survey is widely used in organizations as a diagnostic instrument (Kordshouli, Baneshi, & Rezaei, 2013). When innovation or reformation is about to happen, organization leaders would consider organization culture, since it is very helpful to make new strategies by evaluating and understanding organizational culture within the organization first (Jofreh & Masoumi, 2013). Although, there are some questionnaires and scales to measure school culture, most research in school culture has been primarily based on qualitative research. This study has provided some powerful insights from a quantitative perspective. Considering the significant role of school culture on teacher behavior, educational reform, and school improvement, constructing a sound school culture is both a goal and a method for education modernization and school development. The present survey could be used as a diagnostic tool for school culture and to help school leaders to enhance the weaker indexes or traits of their school culture. Most theories of organizational culture and effectiveness (Denison et al., 2006; Kotter John & Heskett James, 1992) have focused almost exclusively on the American context. Cross-cultural researchers have suggested that most management theories should be modified according to national contexts (Hofstede, 1980). Researchers in the field of school culture have also pointed out that empirically validating of school culture questionnaires is needed in other educational frameworks and contexts, since the application of questionnaires have often been limited to the countries in which they were developed (Maslowski, 2006; Rousseau, 1990). The present study proves that the adapted Chinese school version of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey is applicable in the Chinese school context.

Discussion In conclusion, the overall results of this pilot study demonstrate satisfactory psychometric properties for the Chinese school version of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey. Moreover, the current study supplements the theory around organizational culture as it has been carried out in Western context and provides empirical support from a Chinese context. The present adapted survey can be used as a basis for future explorations in this research area.

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Hofstede, G., Bond, M. H., & Luk, C. (1993). Individual perceptions of organizational cultures: A methodological treatise on levels of analysis. Organization Studies, 14(4), 483-503. Hoy, W. K., & Tarter, C. J. (1997). The road to open and healthy schools: A handbook for change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Jung, T., Scott, T., Davies, H. T. O., Bower, P., Whalley, D., McNally, R., et al. (2009). Instruments for exploring organizational culture: A review of the literature. Public Administration Review, 69(6), 1087-1096. Kordshouli, H., Baneshi, E., & Rezaei, B. (2013). Depicting favorite organizational culture: An empirical case study. Management Science Letters, 3(11), 2839-2846. Kotter John, P., & Heskett James, L. (1992). Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: Free Press. Louis, M. R. (1985). An investigator's guide to workplace culture. In P. Frost, Moore, M. Louis, C. Lundberg & J. Martin (Eds.), Organizational culture (pp. 73-94). California: Sage Publications. Markham, W. A. (2014). School culture and teenage substance use: a conceptual and operational framework. Educational Review, (ahead-of-print), 1-18. Maslowski, R. (2001). School culture and school performance: an explorative study into the organizational culture of secondary schools and their effects. Twente: University Press. Maslowski, R. (2006). A review of inventories for diagnosing school culture. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(1), 6-35. Nunnally, J. C., Bernstein, I. H., & Berge, J. M. F. t. (1967).Psychometric theory (Vol. 226): McGraw-Hill New York. Ouchi, W. (1981). Theory Z: How American business can meet the Japanese challenge. Business Horizons, 24(6), 82-83. Peters, T. J., & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In search of excellence: Lessons from American best-run companies: New York, Harper and Row. Rousseau, D. M. (1990). Assessing organizational culture: The case for multiple methods. In B. Schneider (Ed.), Organizational climate and culture (pp. 153-192). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership (2nd Edition). Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Schoen, L. T., & Teddlie, C. (2008). A new model of school culture: a response to a call for conceptual clarity. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19(2), 129-153. Seashore, K. R. (2009). Leadership and change in schools: Personal reflections over the last 30 years. Journal of Educational Change, 10(2-3), 129-140. Stoll, L. (1999). School culture: Black hole or fertile garden for school improvement? In J. Prosser (Ed.), School Culture. London Paul Chapman. Van Houtte, M. (2005). Climate or culture? A plea for conceptual clarity in school effectiveness research. School effectiveness and school improvement, 16(1), 7189. Wilkins, A. L., & Ouchi, W. G. (1983). Efficient cultures: Exploring the relationship between culture and organizational performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 468-481. Wong, Y. P., & Zhang, L. F. (2014). Perceived school culture, personality types, and wellbeing among kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(2), 100-108. Yauch, C. A., & Steudel, H. J. (2003). Complementary use of qualitative and quantitative cultural assessment methods. Organizational Research Methods, 6(4), 465-481. Zhu, C., Devos, G., & Li, Y. (2011). Teacher perceptions of school culture and their organizational commitment and well-being in a Chinese school. Asia Pacific Education Review, 12(2), 319-328. ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No.1, pp. 95-106, December 2014

A School under Scrutiny: A Personal Account of the Impact of Inclusion on a Small Primary School in England Dr Jonathan Glazzard University of Huddersfield, UK

Abstract. This paper presents a personal account of a teacher who has responsibility for the coordination of pupils with special educational needs. In this paper she has been referred to as Sally. Sally teaches in a school in England with a significantly high proportion of pupils with special educational needs. The account demonstrates how current measures of school effectiveness in England have disadvantaged a small school which has an outstanding local reputation for inclusion. This has led to increased levels of surveillance for the teachers who have chosen to work in this school, whilst other local schools enjoy the benefits of having good reputations. The paper raises questions about whether inclusion is too much of a risk for schools given that they operate within a climate of performativity. Additionally, it raises questions about whether current measures of school effectiveness are fair on those schools with more diverse populations. Keywords: Inclusion; Special Educational Needs; Resourced Provision; Primary Education

Introduction In recent years England has subscribed to the principles of the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) which emphasised the importance of increasing participation and educational achievement for all groups of learners who have been marginalised. However, at the same time recent governments in England have also emphasised the need for schools to drive up standards of educational attainment in order to ensure that England is able to compete against other countries within a global economy (Ainscow, Booth and Dyson, 2006; DFE, 2010). Whilst it cannot be denied that the principle of equality of opportunity for all is laudable, educational policies in England have essentially focused on the need to accelerate pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x; attainment in mathematics and literacy. More recently, policies have emphasised the need to eradicate the culture of low expectations for pupils with special educational needs (DFE, 2011) and curriculum frameworks have emphasised the importance of these learners demonstrating good progress in line with nationally expected progress indicators (DFE, 2013). Whilst pupils with special educational needs can and do make progress in line ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

with national expectations, current policies create significant tensions for those learners with special educational needs who might never be capable of demonstrating achievement in the dominant sense (Goodley, 2007). Additionally, education in England has been marketised and a culture of competition pervades. School effectiveness is evaluated by inspectors on the basis of pupils‟ achievements in reading, writing and mathematics. Thus, low attaining students become unattractive to schools (Ainscow, Booth and Dyson, 2006) as schools compete against one another to achieve the best results. Parents have been positioned both as stakeholders and consumers and the publication of examination results in the form of league tables enables them to choose highly performing schools above those schools in which performance is marked. As Ball (2003) states „performativity is a technology, a culture, a mode of regulation‟ (p.216). He argues that it renders old ways of thinking redundant as teachers focus on maximising student performance above the needs of their learners. School performance is managed through inspection processes, teacher appraisal and target setting. Within the performative discourse teachers are unlikely to invest time into supporting pupils who are unlikely to achieve in the dominant sense (Ball, 2003) and choosing to invest time and resources into these pupils is a dangerous move given that measurable returns are unlikely. Whilst this does not seem fair or inclusive schools and teachers have no option but to fight for their survival within such an aggressive educational context. For those schools with a significant proportion of learners with diverse needs the challenges they face are significant in terms of the overall effect on school performance indicators. The tensions that are evident as schools attempt to respond to the standards agenda at the same time as becoming more inclusive is a well-established theme in the academic literature (Thomas and Loxley, 2007; Audit Commission, 2002). There is evidence to suggest that schools with higher proportions of pupils with special educational needs perform less well than those schools with less diverse student populations (Lunt and Norwich, 1999; Farrell, Dyson, Polat, Hutcheson and Gallanaugh, 2007). There is a risk that some schools will become „sink‟ schools under the discourse of performativity as other schools actively seek ways to exclude those learners who threaten the stability of their performance indicators. This paper presents an account of one such school and articulates the effects of this on the school and the teachers who have chosen to work there. In presenting a single account this is not a study which seeks to generalise. However, this account does illuminate some of the significant costs of inclusion to schools within the current discourse of performativity.

Theoretical Framework Foucault‟s text, Discipline and Punish (Foucault, 1991) presents a conceptual framework which has commonly been applied to analyse the experiences of pupils with special educational needs (Allan, 1996; 2008). Using the surveillance „tools‟ of hierarchical surveillance, normalising judgements and the examination (Foucault, 1991) it is possible to build up an argument about the marginalisation of pupils with special educational needs within the education system. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Foucault (1978) emphasised how circulatory power permeates institutions such as schools, resulting in bodies which are manipulated, disciplined and docile (Foucault, 1991). For Foucault, hierarchical observation is embedded within all institutions, resulting in individuals never being able to escape the effects of the disciplinary gaze (Thomas and Loxley, 2007). It is an effective tool of surveillance because it is „absolutely discreet, for it functions permanently and largely in silence‟ (Foucault, 1977; 177). Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities frequently become objects of scrutiny to a greater extent than their non-disabled peers. They are often more closely supervised in the classroom and on the playground (Allan, 1996) and their progress is reviewed often more frequently and more publicly than the progress of their peers. Additionally they may receive additional monitoring visits and assessments from multi-agency workers which place them under increased surveillance. Schools and medical professionals employ what Foucault referred to as „normalising judgements‟ (Foucault, 1977) as way of measuring the extent of deviance. Thus, distances from the norm are identified to justify processes such as remediation and correction. These processes serve to promote standardisation and homogeneity (Allan, 2008). In relation to pupils with special educational needs norms are used to determine whether or not pupils qualify for a label of „special educational needs‟. However, norms are social constructs and are often manipulated to serve political purposes. In England mechanisms such as individual education plans, remediation and intervention and individual support are then employed to eradicate difference. Education policies continue to emphasise the need to „close the gaps‟ between pupils with and without special educational needs (DFE, 2010; 2011) under the banner of equality of opportunity. However, such policies are aimed at eradicating diversity and promoting homogeneity in order for education to serve market purposes. Masschelein and Simons (2005) have emphasised how inclusive schooling continues to fail students as a result of neoliberal policies which continue to emphasise the responsibilities that individuals to society. All individuals are constructed as able, productive and skilled and this is problematic for those learners who may need long-term support (Goodley, 2007). The idea that the standardised norms are applicable to all pupils results in the marginalisation of those learners who „in spite of all this coaching and extra support, are not able to catch up...‟ (Lloyd, 2008). This results in these learners being failed by an education system that has not met their needs. Foucault‟s final element of surveillance was the examination. According to Allan (2008) the examination...introduces individuality in order to fix and capture and makes each individual a „case‟‟ (p.87). This enables individuals to be described in particular kinds of ways and makes it possible to make comparisons between individuals. For pupils with special educational needs this mechanism of surveillance is evident through formal assessment processes which seek to make diagnoses. Special needs professionals carry out a multitude of assessments which result in categories being assigned to individuals. These categorisations © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

can be empowering (Glazzard, 2010) but they can equally marginalise those who own the labels which are assigned. Pupils with special educational needs are subjected to more frequent assessments than their non-disabled peers and this can result in them becoming objects of scrutiny. According to Allan: These mechanisms of surveillance create subjects who are known and marked in particular kinds of ways and who are constrained to carry the knowledge and marks ... the child with special needs, the disaffected, and even the included child can easily be understood as having been constructed through a whole hierarchy of power and knowledge, with needs identified through a complex process of assessment which is aimed at distinguishing the abnormal from the normal; and perpetually kept under surveillance through a whole network of supervision. (Allan, 2008: 87) The Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs (DFES, 2001) has introduced processes which result in perpetual forms of surveillance for pupils with special educational needs. The special needs system creates an „othering‟ effect on those learners who fall outside of the limits of normality. The focus of current education policy in England serves the purpose of eradicating difference through increasing surveillance of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Educational policy in England fails to interrogate the norms which are being inculcated. Instead, there remains an assumption that the norms are advantageous to all (Lloyd, 2008) in order to serve the economic needs of society (Goodley, 2007). This results in pupils with special educational needs being placed under increased forms of surveillance which perpetuates a sense of failure and isolates them from their peers. Policy fails to recognise that different notions of what constitutes „success‟ need to be applied to different groups of learners. Unless education policy is radically transformed in this way, as inclusion necessitates, then schooling will always lead to exclusion (Slee, 2001).

Methodology This study adopts a life history approach. Despite its popularity at the beginning of the twentieth century, the approach languished under modernism because it consistently failed to gain credibility as an objective approach to research. However, the „narrative turn‟ (Denzin, 1997) in the latter part of the twentieth century demonstrated that the approach had gained in popularity. According to Lewis: Quite possibly, it is the principal way of understanding the lived world. Story is central to human understanding- it makes live livable, because without a story, there is no identity, no self, no other. (Lewis, 2011: 505) The life history approach values subjective data as a credible form of knowledge. It is rooted in an epistemological position which gives credence to people‟s own unique experiences and interpretations. Advocates of the approach (for example Goodson and Sikes, 2001) exploit its potential to illuminate the effects of the wider social, cultural and political discourses on the lives and experiences of © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

individuals. Lives are not lived in isolation. They are shaped by the prevailing policy discourses which influence practice. The life history approach seeks to analyse the effects of these discourses on people‟s unique experiences and more specifically, in the case of this account, the effects of performativity discourses on a school which prides itself on being inclusive. Sally‟s account, presented below, is her own written documentary account of her experiences of working in an inclusive school under a regime of performativity.

Sally’s account Over the last thirty six years I have enjoyed the responsibility of teaching hundreds of children in all age groups of the primary phase of education. In that time my own beliefs, values and attitudes have been shaped. I consider myself to be a reflective practitioner who is also responsive to current needs and expectations. Education is an ever evolving profession and I am privileged to have had an active role in developing, not only my own professional values, skills, knowledge and beliefs, but also influencing those of colleagues. Teaching has always been a challenge, a challenge that has excited and motivated me enormously throughout my entire career. My commitment to my chosen career could not be stronger and yet in recent years my devotion to the profession is also sadly tainted by the fact that my colleagues and I are charged with an almost impossible task. We work in a small primary school in Yorkshire. There are currently 126 pupils on roll and the school hosts a Resourced Provision for ten children with interaction and communication needs. The majority of these children fall within the autistic spectrum. Working with these children can be both challenging and extremely rewarding. We pride ourselves on our very inclusive practices and above all else the ability of all of our children to both accept and understand difference. So why should our attitudes and those of the wonderful children we educate place us in what is currently an unenviable position of close scrutiny? Many parents of children who find education more challenging initially seek acceptance for their child and it is in our school that many have found this. Our reputation for being supportive of these children has resulted in many families placing their children with special educational needs into our care. These children have varying needs and many of them are currently enjoying their education in our mainstream classes. To date 48% of our children have a status of special educational needs. Every single one of them is welcome in the school and every single member of staff works tirelessly to make adaptations to their practices to ensure that these children are included in all aspects of school life. The school is a wonderful place to work but the challenges in doing so cannot be overstated. During the last four years the spotlight has firmly shone on our school data and the ensuing pressures have been felt by all who work there on a daily basis. As teachers we do not deny our responsibility to ensure that every child makes progress. Systems have been developed to ensure that children‟s immediate needs are identified and addressed and indeed progress for many children has been accelerated. Those without special educational needs now make better than expected progress and we are proud of their success. Our data, however, is the © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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key judgement about our work and it is a bleak picture because often our pupils do not make progress or attain in line with national expectations. Decisions about whether or not to admit children into the Resourced Provision are made by the local authority. . Having gained a place in the provision children should be included in main stream education for 80% of the school week. The expectations appear to be so simple; the reality is far more complex. 50% of these children have very little or no language. This results in them frequently being unable to access much of the curriculum in main stream classrooms. Children who cannot speak are greatly disadvantaged under current measures of progress and attainment because this impacts negatively on their skills in reading and writing. It is the narrow measure of progress that results in this school fighting to stay out of special measures. Data for the children in the Resourced Provision is included in the overall data of the school. Two years ago a very small cohort of 13 year 6 children left the school. Of those 13 children 9 had a status of special educational needs and 3 of those children were on the autistic spectrum. Each child carried almost 8% of the data. The test results were undeniably poor that year. Autistic children frequently lack creativity in their writing and a deep understanding of the texts they have read. Each child had been offered much additional support. Quite simply it made very little difference. The beam of the spotlight shone brightly in our direction. The visit from Ofsted was not far behind and we awaited our fate. The inspection was not, in reality, the destructive outcome we had anticipated. Much that was deemed good was recognised and the inspector dug deep and wide and far beyond our data. The result was that the school was judged to be satisfactory. Ultimately all that was good was recognised but the data was the driving force in the final judgment. The local authority had, for over 2 years, deemed us to be a failing school. The word satisfactory was sadly music to our ears. The celebrations lasted for a full 24 hours before the spotlight returned and once again we worked under the threat, from the local authority, of failure. The above has led me to frequently reflect upon the circumstances in which we, as a school, find ourselves. The school is situated in an area of severe social deprivation and unemployment is high. Few parents have accessed further education. Over many years the school has educated a high percentage of children with special educational needs and the percentage is rapidly rising. This can be attributed to several different factors. The success of the Resourced Provision was widely documented. Children who had been unable to fully access their education in other main stream schools were able to do so whilst also receiving specialist part time education in the provision. Our reputation grew and over a number of years parents with children with special educational needs moved their children to our main stream classes. Many children came to us because their placements in other schools had failed and relationships had broken down. We enthusiastically overcame barriers to inclusion. Additionally some children were placed in the Resourced Provision but on occasions such placements were questionable. They did however settle well in the school and frequently moved from the provision to mainstream classrooms. As the standards agenda took hold there was however a new group of children who ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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joined us. They were the children that other local schools preferred not to educate. Countless times we have listened to distraught parents who felt that their child was not welcome in other local schools. In fact on many occasions other schools have recommended us as being highly experienced in educating children with special educational needs. With spare places and a willingness to educate every child we have been left with no alternative but to add these children to our roll. Many come from disadvantaged backgrounds and their parents have poor basic skills and are either unable or unwilling to work with us to support their children. Local schools that have offloaded the problem are meeting current national expectations for progress and attainment. Data confirms that they have very few children with special educational needs on roll. I question their commitment to education for all. We find ourselves in a vicious circle. Our data are low, Ofsted deem us to be satisfactory and most local good and outstanding schools are full. Parents who care see only a judgement of satisfactory and quickly ensure that they secure a place at one of the â&#x20AC;&#x17E;betterâ&#x20AC;&#x; schools. We take what is left. What is left are wonderful children, many of them with troubled home lives, few with nursery experience and consequently very low levels of attainment on entry to full time education. Their needs are frequently emotional needs and, for us, addressing these is of paramount importance. I spend many hours in special needs review meetings and running multi-agency meetings as well as communicating with social services and many other outside agencies. These meetings, without doubt, are of huge benefit to our children. It ensures that their lives are safe and school offers them the stability they crave and need. In the current climate education is measured by such limiting factors. Attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics is the only measure of a school. Education is far broader than this. It is in this broader context that as a school we enjoy so much success. Our children clearly understand and accept difference; their emotional needs are met and addressed with sensitivity, care and concern. Each and every child understands and accepts difference and with each and every child success is celebrated in its many broad and varying forms. Our children are happy and due to significant special educational needs some make progress at their own rate and in their own time. They are human beings and as such progress is not necessarily consistent. There may be rapid progress which slows and then builds again. For some children their specialist needs result in progress slowing for longer periods of time before it gradually builds again. In the current climate these children impact negatively on the measures of our success as a school. As a school we are fighting for our very survival. During the last school inspection all teaching was judged to be good; however because of low levels of progress the overall judgement could be no better than satisfactory. It has been and continues to be a long fought battle. The staff has been placed under intense scrutiny for over four years. They have been observed and their every movement is monitored relentlessly. Over half of the teachers in the school have left, disillusioned and tired of the endless need to justify themselves. As a near failing school we cannot deny that the local authority has offered us extensive support. Time and again head teachers from strong schools have worked alongside us only to disappear and be replaced as they have failed ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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to make a positive impact. Each one has identified the need for change. Again and again we have followed their lead. Changes have replaced changes and as a group the staff has been left both exhausted and confused. Our final „chance‟ came two terms ago when an executive Head Teacher was appointed to support the school‟s Head Teacher. Her commitment to us is undeniable. She possesses a drive and passion that is second to none and is a true inspiration. So why is she succeeding where others have failed? Our data is poor. She agrees. Our children are a challenge in the current climate. She agrees. We must improve progress and attainment. She agrees. Slowly but surely the picture is improving. I attribute this to the very realistic and positive approach of the Executive Head Teacher. Her message has, not surprisingly, changed very little. There is in fact only one difference in her approach. Our weaknesses are identified but additionally she has also identified our strengths and celebrated them with us. In four long years this is the first time that any positive aspects of the school have been identified. The impact on staff morale is understandably positive. We have never denied the need for the school to move forward and we have never been complacent about the need for change. Until now progress has been slow. Teachers are not dissimilar to the children they teach. We also work hard but hard work does not always equate to rapid progress. As teachers we praise our children‟s efforts, identify their strengths and identify and support them in overcoming their difficulties. We deserve and respond positively to exactly the same approach. No one would ever present a child with a diet of negative comments. We know that in a very short space of time the child would simply lose confidence and develop a sense of failure. Some would give up altogether. This has been the scenario for teaching staff in our school. We have been excessively scrutinised and our failings have been identified whilst any strengths have been totally ignored. The results have been that half of the staff have become exhausted and disillusioned and have finally left their posts. Even teachers who are highly committed to their chosen vocation can and do eventually become disillusioned. Most people respond well to advice. It is eternal pessimism that can eventually grind them down. Our enthusiasm is renewed, our passion to succeed is stronger than ever and our thanks go to one person who identified not only our weaknesses but also took the time to identify and celebrate our strengths.

Discussion It is possible to analyse Sally‟s account with reference to Foucault‟s conceptual framework. The school she works in has demonstrated a commitment to inclusion through its admissions policies whilst other schools locally have excluded those pupils who transgress the limits of normality. As Ball (2003) puts it „the ethics of competition and performance are very different from the older ethics of professional judgement and co-operation‟ (p.218). It has been argued that as schools compete to produce quantified outputs that count, they are unlikely to „‟invest‟ in work with children with special needs where the margins for improved performance are limited‟ (Ball, 2003: 223). Education policies in England have, for the last two decades, linked school effectiveness to quantifiable outputs. In short, effective schools get good results. The performativity discourse intensified during New Labour‟s period of governance. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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The current coalition government has aggressively promoted this discourse through the introduction of a more rigorous school inspection framework which takes greater account of pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x; achievements in relation to national norms. Additionally, the introduction of a more rigorous system of teacher performance management in schools has made it easier for school leaders to dismiss those teachers who are deemed to be under-performing on the basis of their results. This is coupled with the introduction of new Teacher Standards (DFE, 2012) which place a sharper focus on pupil progress and outcomes. This results in significant challenges for those teachers who educate pupils who are unable to demonstrate achievement in this dominant sense. This aggressive educational context makes it possible for some schools to thrive and others to sink, irrespective of teacher quality. Whilst some schools fail to value some aspects of diversity, for example, poor pupil behaviour, other schools like the one in which Sally works admit such pupils, work with them and keep them. Whether this is right or wrong is largely dependent upon oneâ&#x20AC;&#x;s personal values. Not all diversity is good, especially when it impacts negatively on other pupils. Some schools therefore demonstrate greater or lesser commitments to inclusion depending on the values their leaders subscribe to. Although it easy to argue against inclusion on the basis of its effects on other learners, segregating and therefore marginalising some pupils does not resonate with a socially just education system.

Noramalising judgements Normalising judgements are employed to measure distances from the norm. For Sally, these judgements are made against nationally expected rates of pupil progress and attainment and these apply to all pupils. The pupils in her school have consistently demonstrated progress and attainment which is lower than that expected nationally and consequently this has resulted in increased surveillance from the local authority. Additional intervention from executive head teachers and local authority personnel to bring the school and its teachers up to the required standard has failed because rates of pupil progress and attainment have not accelerated sufficiently in line with national expectations. Attempts to promote standardisation and homogeneity have exacerbated the sense of failure experienced by Sally and her colleagues in the school. School inspections in England now evaluate the quality of teaching by its impact on pupil progress. Put simply, teaching can only be judged good or outstanding, and consequently teachers can only be good or outstanding, if their pupils make progress over time which is deemed to be at least good. On the surface this sounds fair and equitable but given that progress is measured on the basis of socially constructed norms, it seems reasonable to argue that some pupils will find it more difficult to demonstrate good progress than others. Whilst arguably some pupils with special educational needs do make good progress, a significant proportion of them do not. This is because the progress indicators that they are expected to demonstrate are often, for them, unachievable (Lloyd, 2008). Current education policy in England emphasises the necessity for all pupils to make the same rate of progress, irrespective of their starting points. In this ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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respect, all pupils are expected to demonstrate good progress even if they do not attain at the same level, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Although „closing the gap‟ policies can undeniably have a positive impact on learners from disadvantaged communities or pupils on free-school meals, not all pupils are able to make progress which is consistent with national expectations. This is problematic for those teachers, like Sally, who choose to work in mainstream schools which include pupils with severe and profound learning disabilities. For Sally, caring for pupils‟ holistic needs is important but Ball (2003) reminds us that caring „has no place in the hard world of performativity‟ (p.222) where the only thing that counts is the results that pupils achieve. Performativity forces teachers to be „reprofessionalized‟ (Seddon, 1997) as their previous values become redundant (Ball, 2003). However, in Sally‟s account it is evident that she has a clear rationale for her practice which is not solely based upon improving measurable quantified outputs. Sally is keen to demonstrate the non-quantifiable outputs that make her school effective, such as the school‟s commitment to inclusion. This is despite the current educational discourses that have led to her school being inappropriately viewed as a failing school.

Hierarchical observation It is clear from the account that hierarchical observation has been employed in Sally‟s school to a greater extent than in other local schools. Additional monitoring visits from the local authority advisors and the channelling in of additional human resources in the form of executive head teachers from other schools has resulted in increased forms of surveillance. This is due to low pupil progress and attainment data as a result of the high proportion of pupils with special educational needs in the school. It is pertinent that several executive Head Teachers have failed to accelerate pupil progress and attainment in the school, thus signalling that the problems are not due to weak leadership. Local schools which have actively promoted the exclusion of these pupils have been largely free of monitoring by the local authority as attention has been directed towards Sally‟s school. Cole (2005) points out that inclusion is a risky business. She argues that inclusion can be a potential risk for schools especially when performance indicators are to be the overriding concern. Increased forms of hierarchical observation have effectively pathologised this school and the teachers who have chosen to work in it. Cole (2005) argues that „we need to acknowledge the „risks‟ and believe that they are worth taking‟ (p.342). However, Sally‟s account demonstrates that this is questionable given the extent of surveillance which has been implemented and the potential risks associated with failing an inspection.

The examination The examination operates in the form of school inspections and local authority monitoring inspections. In relation to Sally‟s school judgements have been applied which have resulted in the stigmatisation of the school and the teachers who work within it. Negative categorisations have not been assigned to other local schools with less diverse populations. These negative judgements can impute a sense of „othering‟ which marginalises all those who work in the school © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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and its pupils. In some cases labelling can be beneficial if it challenges schools and their leadership teams to improve. However, in Sally‟s account it is evident that the labelling has been detrimental because it has resulted in the school developing an increasing reputation for being good at inclusion but poor at raising standards.

Conclusion This paper has applied Foucault‟s conceptual framework of surveillance to analyse the experiences of one teacher working in an inclusive school. Rather than using the framework to analyse the experiences of pupils with special educational needs this paper has drawn on the framework to analyse Sally‟s experiences of working in an inclusive school. Through applying the framework in this way it is possible to see how Sally‟s school and the teachers within it have become objects of perpetual surveillance. It would appear that the technologies of hierarchical observation are employed to serve the function of creating standardisation and homogeneity. Current education policy in England seeks to eradicate differences between schools because their effectiveness is measured in the same way. However, all schools operate in various different contexts and inclusive schools which have pupils with significantly diverse needs should not be measured in the same way as schools with significantly less diverse student populations. Whilst this paper does not wish to promote the idea that national performance indicators are irrelevant to inclusive schools, I do wish to make a case for other non-quantifiable outputs to be taken into consideration when evaluating school effectiveness. Education outputs are not solely about results. Inclusive educators like Sally seek to promote inclusive values amongst their students. If we want to create a better, fairer and more inclusive society then surely it is important to take into account these „softer‟ outputs when evaluating the effectiveness of inclusive schools. “Value added” can be measured in different ways and teachers like Sally should not be penalised for choosing to work in inclusive schools. As long as this continues to be the case then inclusion for many schools may simply be a risk not worth taking.

References Ainscow, M., Booth, T., and Dyson, A. (2006), „Inclusion and the Standards Agenda: Negotiating Policy Pressures in England‟, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 10, (4/5), 295-308. Allan, J. (1996), „Foucault and Special Educational Needs: A „Box of Tools‟ for Analysing Children‟s Experiences of Mainstreaming‟, Disability and Society, 11, (2), 219-233. Allan, J. (2008), Rethinking Inclusive Education: The Philosophers of Difference in Practice, Dordrecht: Springer. Audit Commission (2002), Special Educational Needs: A Mainstream Issue, London: Audit Commission. Ball, S.J. (2003), „The Teacher‟s Soul and the Terrors of Performativity‟, Journal of Education Policy, 18, (2), 215-28. Cole, B., (2005), „Good Faith and Effort? Perspectives on Educational Inclusion‟ Disability and Society, 20, (3), 331-344. Denzin, N.K. (1997), Interpretive Ethnography: Ethnographic Practice for the 21st Century, London: Sage.

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Department for Education (2010), The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper, DFE. Department for Education (2011), Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability: A Consultation, DFE. Department for Education (2013), The National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2 Framework Document, DFE. Department for Education and Skills (2001), Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, Nottinghamshire, DFES. Farrell, P., Dyson, A., Polat, F., Hutcheson, G., and Gallannaugh, F. (2007), „Inclusion and Achievement in Mainstream Schools‟, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22, (2), 131-145. Foucault, M. (1977), „A Preface to Transgression‟, in D. Bouchard (Ed.), Language, countermemory, practice: Selected essays and interviews by Michel Foucault, Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Foucault, M. (1978), The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Foucault, M. (1991), Discipline and Punish (trans. A. Sheridan), London: Penguin. Glazzard, J (2010), „The Impact of Dyslexia on Pupils‟ Self-esteem‟, Support for Learning, 25, (2), 63-69. Goodley, D. (2007), „Towards Socially Just Pedagogies: Deleuzoguattarian Critical Disability Studies, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11, (3), 317-334. Goodson, I., and Sikes, P. (2001), Life History Research in Educational Settings: Learning From Lives, Buckingham: Open University Press. Lewis, P.J. (2011), „Storytelling as Research/ Research as Storytelling‟, Qualitative Inquiry, 17, (6), 505-10. Lloyd, C. (2008), „Removing Barriers to Achievement: A Strategy for Inclusion or Exclusion?‟ International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12, (2), 221-236. Lunt. I. and Norwich, B. (1999), Can Effective Schools be Inclusive Schools? Institute of Education: University of London. Masschelein, J and Simons, M. (2005), „The Strategy of Inclusive Education Apparatus‟, Studies in Philosophy and Education, 24, (2), 117-38. Seddon, T. (1997), „Markets and the English: Rethinking Educational Restructuring as Institutional Design‟, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18, (2), 165-86. Slee, R. (2001), „Social Justice and the Changing Directions in Educational Research: The Case of Inclusive Education‟, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 5, (2/3), 167-77. Thomas, G., and Loxley, A., (2007), Deconstructing Special Education and Constructing Inclusion, Berkshire: Open University Press. UNESCO, (1994), The Salamanca Statement and framework for Action on Special needs Education, World Conference on Special Needs Education Access and Quality, Available on line at http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF (accessed 01.08.13).

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No.1, pp. 107-116, December 2014

From Integration to Inclusive Education in England: Illuminating the Issues through a Life History Account Dr Jonathan Glazzard University of Huddersfield Huddersfield, England

Abstract. This paper provides a life history account of one teacher’s determination to make inclusion work. The account reflects on the policy discourses of integration and inclusion and demonstrates ways in which these were translated into practice within the remit of the informant’s experience. The account illustrates how inclusion can result in exclusive practices which categorise and marginalise learners on account of their impairments. The account also demonstrates how inclusion operates within a medical model of disability rather than a social model. Insights into the policy discourse of integration demonstrate how the informant was better able to meet pupils’ holistic needs at that time.

Keywords: Disability, Inclusion, Inclusive Education, Integration, Special Educational Needs

Introduction The Green Paper for special educational needs (DFE, 2011) and the Code of Practice for Special Educational needs (DFE, 2014) in England signpost the direction of travel in relation to special needs policy in England. Throughout the documents emphasis is placed on raising levels of achievement for pupils identified as having special educational needs and ending the culture of low expectations which the government argue has disadvantaged some of the most vulnerable learners. Current special needs policy in England has been shaped by the Warnock report (DES, 1978) which advocated a policy of integrating pupils with special educational needs into mainstream schools. This was largely a ‘dump and hope’ model which placed responsibility on the child to adapt to the policies, rules and routines of mainstream settings. However, following the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) the New Labour government radically advanced a policy of inclusion. Although the term has been criticised for its lack of clarity (Avramidis © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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et al, 2002; Benjamin, 2002; Sikes et al, 2007), it is generally agreed that inclusion necessitates proactive response so that schools transform themselves to meet the diverse needs of learners (Mittler, 2000). The policy was contentious because it was advanced under the overarching policy agenda of raising standards and it has been argued that the agendas were polarised and incompatible (Warnock, 1996; Barton, 1998; Armstrong, 1998). Additionally, evidence from the academic literature suggests that attempts by schools to become more inclusive resulted in a decline in academic standards. Given that school effectiveness in England is currently evaluated on the basis of narrow performance indicators schools which embrace diversity face numerous challenges. For these schools it may be more difficult to maintain high positions in the league tables whilst schools with less diverse student populations are allowed to flourish. Additionally, schools with diverse student populations may face other challenges in relation to facilitating parental partnerships. This may mean that such schools do not receive full parental support in supporting them to raise standards. Teachers’ own accounts of their experiences of integration and inclusion illuminate some of the issues in relation to how policy was translated into practice. This paper presents an account from a teacher whose career has spanned five decades. Whilst I acknowledge that it is not possible to make generalisations from a single account, the account does raise some fundamental issues in relation to inclusion that are worthy of consideration.

Literature and theoretical framework Azzopardi (2009, 2010) has argued that the term ‘inclusive education’ is little more than a cliché: ‘a politically correct term that is used for speeches and policy-makers to silence all woes’ (2009: 21). The main problem is that there is no shared understanding of the term. It means different things to different people and interpretations of inclusion are shaped by vested interests and cultural values. It has been argued that inclusion necessitates a deep, cultural change in schools (Graham and Harwood, 2011). Inclusion places an onus upon schools to examine the curricular, pedagogical and environmental factors which limit achievement (Erten and Savage 2012) rather than blaming impairments within the child for educational failure. However, inclusion as a policy discourse has been infiltrated by neoliberal values and consequently it has focused on notions of presence, assimilation and normalisation rather than the development of socially just pedagogies (Dunne, 2009; Slee, 2011). The marketization of education has provided little incentive for schools to become more inclusive (Hodkinson, 2012). Within a discourse of performativity schools which become increasingly responsive to diversity jeopardise their positions in the market league tables. This can cause tensions for those educators whose educational practices are driven by a sense of moral purpose and social justice. Whilst it is unquestionable that educators should demonstrate the highest expectations of all learners, it is the case that some learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities will be unable to demonstrate educational achievement of the kind that is valued by government officials, school inspectors and other stakeholders. However, © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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schools which demonstrate a genuine commitment to inclusion risk their reputations if narrow performance indicators are the basis for evaluating overall school effectiveness. Dunne (2009) provides a fascinating analysis of contemporary discourses of inclusion. Through her own research she demonstrates how ‘inclusion was heavily characterised by a process of othering’ (p.49) through the use of divisive language which separates a minority of pupils from an unnamed majority. Additionally, drawing on the work of Foucault (1978) she demonstrates how regimes of observation and surveillance are employed to eradicate difference, thus strengthening the socially constructed norm. Similarly, Armstrong (2005) argued that inclusion acts as a disciplinary force which serves as a mechanism for assimilation and conformity. These mechanisms result in the growth of surveillance and the management of ‘troublesome’ student populations who threaten overall school performance indicators. Foucault’s concepts of hierarchical observation, normalising judgements and the examination (Foucault, 1977) have been applied to special educational needs (Allan, 1996) to illustrate ways in which pupils with special needs become objects of surveillance and power in schools. Under the imperative to raise standards schools and teachers will do all that they can to maximise student performance (Ball, 2003). This results in schools providing additional intervention programmes for learners who are falling behind. These serve the purpose of closing the achievement gap under the banner of equality of opportunity. However, such divisionary practices marginalise learners who are singled out and reinforce amongst them a sense of failure (Lloyd, 2008). Giroux (2003) reminds educators to reject forms of schooling that marginalise learners. However, under the banner of inclusion normative practices result in the marginalisation of those with special educational needs and disabilities through their construction as an ‘othered’ group (Goodley, 2007). Whilst inclusion was presented within policy scripts as ‘a fundamental good and worthwhile endeavour’ (Dunne, 2009: 42) educators’ personal accounts of inclusion illuminate some of the disciplinary effects of inclusion. The account which follows problematises inclusion and raises questions about social justice.

Methodology This study uses a life history approach to explore one teacher’s (Mary) experiences of inclusion. Dhunpath (2000) has argued that ‘the life history approach is probably the only authentic means of understanding how motives and practices reflect the intimate intersection of institutional and individual experience in the postmodern world’ (p.544). Life stories are ‘lives interpreted and made textual. Stories represent a partial, selective commentary on lived experience’ (Goodson, 2001: 138) and Lewis argues that: Quite possibly, it is the principal way of understanding the lived world. Story is central to human understanding- it makes live livable, because without a story, there is no identity, no self, no other. (Lewis, 2011: 505)

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Mary documented her own account which has been presented in its entirety below. Although a systematic approach was not adopted for data analysis the subsequent discussion draws out pertinent points from the narrative which contextualises the story by locating it within the broader political contexts which shape education.

Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account

Over the last 36 years I have enjoyed the rewards and challenges of teaching hundreds of children in all age groups of the primary phase of education. Some have, of course, proved to be more challenging than others. As a newly qualified teacher I taught several children who had previously been initially educated in special schools. The role of integrating them into a mainstream classroom was a responsibility that was placed on my shoulders alone. These children did not have statements of special educational needs and were simply deemed to be ready to return to mainstream education. Transition was ill considered and most of them arrived with no preparation either for themselves or for the receiving school. The child was expected, with support, to adapt to the policies and systems of the school. Memories of such an abrupt introduction to life in a new school now fill me with horror. Somehow we coped as did most of the children who joined us. There was no alternative, merely a sense of acceptance that this was current policy and practice. During this period of my early teaching career I was extremely fortunate to be working in a school where the Head Teacher realised that if we were to be successful in reintegrating these children we too would need to make adaptations to our practices to meet the diverse needs of those in our care. There were, unsurprisingly, some children who struggled to access some aspects of their education and in the absence of focused individual education plans and support staff their individual needs were frequently not as effectively supported as they are today. However it was considered to be of paramount importance to support the whole child. Some differentiation was in evidence although I do not recall grouping children with similar learning needs. Class sizes were frequently in excess of 35 children and I recall teaching some cohorts in excess of 40 children. I was required to educate these classes with no additional support. In the early 1980s I was the class teacher with children in the early years. There were almost forty children in the class. Within 2 weeks of the autumn term beginning a new child joined my class. This was not unusual but it was to be one of the most challenging times in my teaching career. Rory was just 5 years old when he joined us. He had recently been placed with foster carers in the local area. Rory and his elder brother Adam had been living with their teenage mother who also had 2 year old twin girls. She had been unable to cope and concerns had apparently been raised by neighbours. Two years earlier Rory and Adam were discovered in the attic of their home amongst heavily soiled blankets and scraps of food. Social services had acted immediately and both boys had been placed with foster carers. Two years later they were now beginning a new life with their fourth set of foster carers. This was the depth of the information I received only hours before Rory joined my class. He had already begun full time education in another primary school. I received no information about him and the only way for me to learn more about Rory was through first-hand experience. He could only be described as wild and free. He had no understanding of boundaries and he was unable to socialise appropriately with other children. When Rory wanted or needed something he was intent on getting it. He would growl menacingly at his peers who would quickly hand over whatever Rory wanted. He threw items around and would run out of the classroom to menace the rest of the school. One week of responsibility for Rory and I was exhausted. ÂŠ 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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The head teacher seemed to be oblivious to the disruption that Rory was causing. I was on my own and whenever Rory left the classroom I could not follow to ensure his safety without jeopardising the safety of his peers. I decided that I must act and went to discuss this with the head teacher. His advice was to ’make’ Rory do as he was told. With a class of terrified 5 year olds and one very unpredictable child I was at a loss as to where to start. I knew that without support I could not help Rory and that the education of the other children was already suffering. The challenges were too great. In sheer desperation I suggested that maybe I lacked experience and that perhaps the head teacher could model the ways in which this could be achieved….in the classroom with Rory! The head teacher never actually modelled his expectations however he did contact the local authority and it was suggested that an additional adult be employed to work alongside me. It was actually another month before help finally arrived in the form of Nancy. Nancy was my salvation. Before she officially took up her post we met to discuss Rory’s needs and the challenges we faced educating him in a mainstream classroom. It was immediately decided that Rory needed to initially understand and then conform to the rules and routines of the setting. We picked our arguments carefully. It was important that our interactions with Rory were not all negative and without careful consideration that could so easily have been the case. Rory loved to run out of the classroom, he got a reaction. It was decided that when he left the classroom we would follow him at a distance, to ensure his safety. He was however not automatically allowed to return. He was expected to calm down and tell us when he was ready to do so. For several weeks this was a long battle. We discovered, very quickly, that once we knew he was safe he was best ignored. Rory could not abide being ignored. He would shout, bang doors, swear and spit. No reaction was given. Eventually he gave up. Once calm he was asked if he would like to return to the classroom. These escapades could last for well over an hour and on his return the whole scenario would often begin again. We persevered and several weeks later we began to notice that Rory was responding to our expectations much more quickly. Sometimes he would head for the classroom door and then decide not to make his exit. He seemed to prefer to be in the classroom. With this in mind we next decided to challenge aspects of his unacceptable behaviour towards his peers. Again we picked our arguments and decided that any actions that upset or hurt other children would be addressed. Knowing that Rory was beginning to enjoy his time in the classroom we would lead him out of it whenever he hurt or upset his peers. His response was amazing. He would pull back explaining that he would ‘stop it’ or ‘I won’t do it anymore’. We insisted that he left, accompanied by Nancy. Once calm again he was invited to return. Addressing these behaviours took at least a term and in that time I confess that Rory probably made little academic progress. He began to enjoy school, he understood our expectations and to some extent he was developing an understanding of the needs of others. It was only at this point that we could carefully concentrate on Rory’s learning needs but he was now ready to learn. From time to time Rory would have an outburst but when he did he would take himself out of the classroom and sit quietly in the reception area of the school. It was Rory who would tell us when he was calm and ready to return. He was learning to control and deal with his own emotions. Looking back on the time I spent with Rory I obviously consider how I might have done things differently. With greater experience I realise that I did make some mistakes. Thirty years later I often wonder how I would be able to support Rory now. Would the term we spent introducing him to boundaries and expectations be considered wasted time? How would I justify his © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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poor attainment for over a term? Why was Rory not making progress in maths, reading and writing? I am grateful that thirty years ago I genuinely had time to devote to his most immediate needs. Rory now works in the construction industry. On meeting Rory and his mother a few years ago she explained ‘He’s done so well. I’m so proud of him. He’s kept out of trouble. I’ve never had the police at my door. You really helped him.’ Rory stood silently beside his mother. As they walked away he uttered ’Who’s that?’ The agenda for inclusion, initially, had little impact on my practices. I do not remember being made explicitly aware of it. In the early 1990s I continued to make every effort to meet the needs of all children and swiftly identified the reasons for children being unable to access my systems and practices as well as identifying areas in which I considered they needed additional focus and support. With no training to support me in identifying specific social, emotional or learning needs I made these diagnoses in isolation. I was unaware of professional agencies that could support me. My views were never challenged. I coped, without complaint, and that was deemed to be successful inclusion. Teachers eventually began to enjoy the support of additional human resources to aid them in meeting the needs of children who had a statement of special educational needs. In theory, this would enable teachers to more effectively meet the diverse needs of these children. I recall that at this time I began to have grave concerns about the ways in which such human resources were deployed. It was not unusual to witness many children with a statement of special educational needs who, in my view were excluded rather than included in mainstream education. A Velcro model developed where individual children spent entire days with the member of staff deployed to support them. These children were frequently denied access to a teacher and were educated totally by a learning assistant. Such practices clearly created barriers between the children with statements and their peers as well as their teacher. These were of course only my own experiences of the early days of inclusion, however to this day, I continue to witness learning assistants whose roles appear to be to ensure that challenging children are kept ‘out of the teacher’s hair.’ I have grave concerns that children who find aspects of life as well as aspects of their learning challenging are frequently only taught by teaching assistants. Every child had the need and the right to be taught by a qualified teacher. Today children are usually grouped according to meet their immediate learning needs but some are rarely educated by a teacher. Teachers are dumping these children. A dump and hope model is not inclusion. In my current role I encounter children who have a statement of special educational needs or a ‘status’ of school action plus to meet their very diverse needs. Such needs are usually clearly identified and outside agencies offer additional advice and support to teachers working with these children. Children with a status of school action however are usually identified by the school because they find mathematics, reading or writing difficult. They are rarely identified as needing support for alternative reasons. School tracking systems currently have a very narrow focus and it is through these systems that children needing additional support are identified. I work in an area of social and economic deprivation. The needs and challenges faced by some of the children are vast and go way beyond those of mathematics and English. Many of their parents see little value in education. Some seem to have few aspirations for either themselves or their children. Education is not placed highly on their agenda for life. Some children witness the volatility of adult relationships and for others their home lives are touched by drugs or alcohol. These are their daily experiences of the world and my prime concerns for these children go beyond mathematics and English. I work in the current system and am © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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completely accountable, endeavouring to raise standards. I continue, however, to have my own agenda, an agenda that attempts to support the diverse needs of the whole child.

Discussion Inclusion as a policy agenda was intended to transform the policies and practices of mainstream schools in order to make education more responsive the differing needs of pupils. However, Mary’s account of her practices under the discourse of integration illustrate how she was able to devote the time to meeting Rory’s social and emotional needs without having to explain or account for his lack of progress in the taught curriculum. Mary’s commitment to supporting children’s holistic needs seems to have remained consistent throughout her career and this has formed part of her inclusive teacher identity. Her account of Rory provides some powerful insights into the discourses of integration and inclusion. Under the policy of integration she succeeded with Rory largely because of her own determination to make his integration into her classroom a success. She persevered through ‘good faith and effort’ (Cole, 2005) and with the support of her teaching assistant she was able to cater for Rory’s social and emotional needs before concentrating on his academic needs. However, the attitude of her Head Teacher, that Rory should be forced to conform to the rules and routines of the classroom, illustrates how integration as a policy discourse placed the onus on the child rather than placing the onus on the school to demonstrate a proactive response in relation to meeting Rory’s needs. There was clearly an expectation that Rory would ‘fit in’ to the school and this demonstrates how integration largely operated under a medical model. The Head Teacher and Mary expected Rory to ‘correct’ his behaviour rather than considering the changes to policies and practices that might be implemented to address Rory’s needs. Rory eventually conformed to the expectations by modifying his behaviour but there is no indication in the account that policies, systems, rules and routines were adapted to facilitate Rory’s successful inclusion. Mary acknowledges in the account that she made mistakes and this is a theme identified by Cole (2005) in her research with mother teachers. However, the critical questions which she raises at the end of Rory’s account illuminate the wider issues around inclusion: Thirty years later I often wonder how I would be able to support Rory now. Would the term we spent introducing him to boundaries and expectations be considered wasted time? How would I justify his poor attainment for over a term? Why was Rory not making progress in maths, reading and writing? Ironically Mary’s account illustrates ways in which Mary was able to implement more inclusive practices under the discourse of integration than she is able to do currently under the discourse of inclusion. Although Mary remains committed to supporting children’s holistic needs her questions indicate that the current focus on maximising children’s progress and attainment in academic subjects results in limited time to focus on children’s social and emotional needs. Until inclusion is disentangled from neoliberal forms of governance educators are restricted in the extent to which they are able to develop socially just pedagogies © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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(Slee, 2011). Policy, under neoliberal forms of governance, has exploited inclusion through marketing it as a strategy to raise academic achievement for all. Inclusion has not been introduced to promote genuine inclusive values (tolerance, respect, democracy). Instead it has been subverted to serve the economic needs of various governments by limiting its purpose to closing the achievement gap between learners with and without special educational needs. Thus, inclusion as a policy discourse has been implemented to serve a normalising and perfecting function (Dunne, 2009) rather than a struggle for equality and social justice (Hodkinson, 2012). This subversion of inclusion is promoted under the banner of equality of opportunity for all and inclusion is therefore advanced as a tool for promoting equity and eradicating discrimination. Mary’s account demonstrates how inclusion has insidious and pathologising effects. Her description of inclusion illustrates powerfully how practices which at surface level are deemed to promote inclusion (one-to-one support and differentiation through grouping) ironically promote exclusion (Dunne, 2009). Such dividing practices under the discourse of inclusion serve to instil amongst learners with special educational needs a sense of failure and exclusion. Ironically Mary continues to support the holistic needs of her learners within the current climate of performativity which pervades education. This is a risk because current mechanisms of accountability focus on pupils’ progress in a very limited range of academic subjects. However, Mary recognises that pupils are unlikely to make progress in these areas unless their social and emotional needs have been effectively met. Consequently, to enact inclusion, Mary has to transgress the performativity discourse in order to meet children’s holistic needs. This is a risk for her because in choosing to follow this path, she remains accountable for her pupils’ academic achievements every term. Mary’s account illustrates how inclusion has not resulted in a radical change to educational policies and practices. Thus, teachers continue to operate practices in which children who transgress the limits of normality are effectively isolated from their peers (Dunne, 2009; Slee, 2011). Through additional intervention and support these learners are expected to correct their behaviour and make progress and the needs of the school to maintain order and demonstrate high standards and transferred onto the child (Thomas and Loxley, 2007).Inclusion should operate within a social model of disability because it is now generally accepted that disability is a product of social, cultural, environmental and economic influences which result in people with impairments being restricted from accessing goods and services. Practices such as one-to-one support, exclusion from classrooms or differentiation effectively bar some pupils from accessing the educational opportunities that their peers are fortunate to be able to enjoy. Through Mary’s account it is possible to see how inclusion can instrumentally fail to achieve its core principles by creating overt forms of segregation which marginalise and categorise learners (Dunne, 2009). Her account also makes it possible to see how inclusion has led to the increased surveillance of pupils with special educational needs through the deployment of teaching assistants and multi-agency support. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Conclusion Personal accounts are necessary because they illuminate the issues that pertain when policy is translated into practice. Whilst current government policy in England has abandoned the bias on inclusion, inevitably mainstream schools with diverse student populations will continue to exist. These schools will inevitably need to develop inclusive practices to meet the needs of their learners. Inclusion will not simply disappear despite attempts by the government to expand segregated and alternative provision. The teachers who work in these schools face significant challenges given that they are accountable for raising academic standards whilst at the same time responding to diverse needs. Mary’s account illustrates how powerful forms of segregation accompany inclusion. Learners who fail to operate with prescribed limits may be marginalised and segregated from their peers to enable teachers to focus on raising standards for the majority. There is a danger that inclusive schools might choose to implement divisionary practices to allow them to respond to the imperative of the standards agenda. There is also a danger that pupils’ holistic needs will not be effectively met as teachers focus their energies on closing the achievement gap between learners with and without special educational needs. Those teachers who choose to focus on the whole child, teachers like Mary, are vulnerable within the performative regime which pervades education. If they choose to do this at the expense of raising standards then they risk being identified as failing teachers through accountability mechanisms that only take into account narrow measures of teacher and school effectiveness. However, it is clear that for some pupils a focus on their social and emotional development is critical and a pre-requisite to any future academic success. Inclusive teachers often demonstrate a strong commitment to the principles of social justice and equality. These teachers demonstrate ethical practices based on care and dignity. They recognise the uniqueness of every child and understand that children develop at different rates and have strengths in different areas of the curriculum. They demonstrate a firm commitment to personalised learning and child-centred education and they make a difference to the lives of many vulnerable children. They actively embrace diversity amongst learners and they view diversity as a positive and energising and enriching force. They should not be penalised by an education system that is based on neoliberal values. Inclusion still necessitates a commitment to the whole child and teachers must not be made to pay the price for choosing to make this a priority.

References Allan, J. (1996), ‘Foucault and special educational needs: a ‘box of tools’ for analysing children’s experiences of mainstreaming’, Disability and Society, 11, (2), 219-233. Armstrong, D. (1998), ‘Changing faces, changing places; policy routes to inclusion’ in P. Clough and L. Barton (Eds), Managing Inclusive Education: from policy to experience, London: Paul Chapman. Armstrong, D., (2005), ‘Reinventing ‘inclusion’: New Labour and the cultural politics of special education’, Oxford Review of Education, 31, (1), 135-151. Avramidis, E., Bayliss, P. and Burden, R. (2002), ‘Inclusion in action: an in-depth case study of an effective inclusive secondary school in the south-west of England, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 6, (2), 143-163. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Azzopardi, A. (2009), Reading Stories of Inclusion: engaging with different perspectives towards an agenda for inclusion, Saarbruken: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller. Azzopardi, A. (2010), Making Sense of inclusive Education: Where everyone belongs, Saarbrucken, VDM. Ball, S.J. (2003), ‘The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity’, Journal of Education Policy, 18, (2), 215-28. Barton, L. (1998), ‘Markets, managerialism and inclusive education’, in P. Clough and L. Barton (Eds), Managing Inclusive Education: from policy to experience, London: Paul Chapman. Benjamin, S. (2002), ‘Valuing diversity: a cliché for the 21 st century?’ International Journal of Inclusive Education, 6, (4), 309-323. Cole, B., (2005), ‘Good Faith and Effort? Perspectives on Educational Inclusion’ Disability and Society, 20, (3), 331-344. Department for Education (2011), Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability: a consultation, DFE. DFE, (2014), Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years: Statutory guidance for organisations who work with and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, DFE. Department for Education and Science (DES) (1978), Special educational needs: report of the committee of enquiry into the education of handicapped children and young people (The Warnock Report), London: HMSO. Dhunpath, R. (2000), ‘Life history methodology: ‘narradigm’ regained’, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 13, (5), 543-551. Dunne, L. (2009), ‘Discourses of inclusion: a critique’, Power and Education, 1, (1), 42-56. Erten, O., and Savage, R.S. (2012), ‘Moving forward in inclusive education research’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16, (2), 221-233. Foucault, M. (1977), Discipline and Punish, London: Penguin. Foucault, M. (1978), The History of Sexuality: an introduction, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Giroux, H.A. (2003), ‘Public pedagogy and the politics of resistance: notes on a critical theory of educational struggle’, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35, (1), 5-16. Goodson, I. (2001), ‘The Story of Life History: origins of the life history method in sociology’, Identity, 1, (2), 129-142. Graham, L.J. and Harwood, V. (2011), ‘Developing capabilities for social inclusion: engaging diversity through inclusive school communities’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15, (1), 135-152. Hodkinson, A. (2012), ‘‘All present and correct?’ Exclusionary inclusion within the English Education System’, Disability and Society, 27, (5), 675-688. Lewis, P.J. (2011), ‘Storytelling as Research/ Research as Storytelling’, Qualitative Inquiry, 17, (6), 505-10. Lloyd, C. (2008), ‘Removing barriers to achievement: a strategy for inclusion or exclusion?’ International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12, (2), 221-236. Mittler, P. (2000), Working Towards Inclusive Education: social contexts, London: David Fulton. Sikes, P., Lawson, H. and Parker, M. (2007), ‘Voices on: teachers and teaching assistants talk about inclusion’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11, (3), 355-370. Slee, R. (2011), The Irregular School: Exclusion, schooling and inclusive education, London: Routledge. Thomas, G., and Loxley, A., (2007), Deconstructing Special Education and Constructing Inclusion, Berkshire: Open University Press. UNESCO (1994), Final Report: World Conference on special needs education: access and quality, Paris: UNESCO Warnock, M. (1996), ‘The work of the Warnock Committee’, in P. Mittler and V. Sinason (Eds), Changing Policy and Practice for People with Learning Difficulties, London: Cassell. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 117-131, December 2014

Effects of School Variables on the Assurance of Quality Learning Outcomes in Schools Gbemi Peter Moye Quality Education Assurance Agency Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract. This study examines the state of school variables and their implications on effective performance of Quality Education Assurance Agency to enhance effective teaching and learning activities in schools below tertiary level. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Respondents for the study consist of 60 principals and 540 teachers that were randomly selected using the multi-stage sampling technique from the entire population of 304 public secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. Research instrument tagged, “Education Quality Assurance and School Variables Rating Scale” (EQASVRS) and Interview of Principals and Teachers’ as Focus Group (PTFG) were used for data collection. The significance of the hypothesis, using chi-square statistics, was tested at p<0.05 probability. The study reveals that there is gross inadequate number of teachers and other school variables like classrooms, libraries, laboratories and instructional materials which affects the level of curriculum coverage and the academic performance of secondary schools. Furthermore, the results show that the there is significant effect of school variables on quality education assurance practice in schools (χ2 = 2.255 at p<0.05) with the quality assurance practice (χ = 3.625) and school variables (χ = 2.495). This means that most school variables in secondary schools are in poor condition which reduces the impact of quality education assurance agency on school activities. The study concludes that for the education sector to enjoy the desired boost, especially in the students’ academic outcomes, attention should not be limited to school supervision, but also ensuring that school variables are in good state and evenly distributed across schools. Keywords: secondary education; quality assurance; school variables; student learning outcome

1. Introduction Education is the greatest instrument for growth and development of any society or individual. In its true sense, Education has existed from time immemorial, with each human society and its peculiar world view. It has a set of enduring values that is shared by all its members. This world view and the constellation of shared values, influence the patterns of relationships within the community, the organization and the conduct of human affairs (Obanya, 2003).

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According to Durosaro (2002), education involves the development of cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of an individual with a view to molding a total person that will contribute effectively to the development of the community and promotion of cultural heritage. In Nigeria, our traditional form of education, which predates Western type of education, was aimed at developing a total person through the cardinal goals of physical training, vocational training, community participation and promotion of cultural heritage. However, its main deficiency is in its inability to be empirically measured and cannot effectively groom an individual for the present day challenges. The adoption of the Western Education system has been a driving force in ensuring qualitative and quantifiable education system and continuous participation of Nigeria in the global world. In this sense, according to Ayeni & Adepoju (2012), Education is considered a significant yardstick to human existence in this modern world and the means of actualizing human capital and national improvement. This emphasizes the importance assigned to quality and standards which involves quality learning, resource inputs, instructional process, teachers’ capacities development, effective management, monitoring and evaluation, and quality learning outcomes in schools. The achievement recorded in the education sector is determined by the quality of human capital raised by the different education establishments. Without mincing words, Education can be said to be the key to economic, scientific and technological development of any nation and a platform to ensure that the citizens are relevant in the global scheme of things; as crises in education would result in a failure of the country in every area of development. Hence, in a bid to ensure that the education system is crises free, that the standard of education is maintained and learners’ achievement record is outstanding and consistently high in all schools, the need arose for the introduction of Quality Assurance process to the education system in Nigeria, with a view to ensure uniform standard and quality control of institutional activities through regular evaluation and continuous supervision of teaching and learning processes in schools. Ascertaining the education provision standard is crucial to ensuring and maintaining credibility for programmes, institutions and national systems of education worldwide (Oyebade, Oladipo and Adetoro, 2006). Quality assurance is an education system contrived to enhance and develop the quality of institution’s methods, and educational products and outcomes. Hayward (2001) in his view describes Quality Education Assurance as a systematic and planned review of schools process to assess whether the quality of knowledge and skills imparted, erudition and infrastructure are conformed to and sustained. Furthermore, It is also a means of ensuring that the standards of students’ academic are clearly specified and attained in accordance with relevant standards national and internationally; that the quality of learning provisions are suitable and satisfies the yearning of the array of stakeholders and that the leadership and management of the schools are in tune with global best-practices.

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Consequently, Quality Education Assurance is seen as a way schools assure the standards of education and the quality based on national and international educational provisions and guideline. It also provides clear directives and guidelines on the structures, roles and responsibilities of all parties in the educational system, in a bid to ensure greater academic achievements in schools. Obviously, its major difference from the old school inspectorate system is the participatory approach to evaluation process; as the concept of quality assurance process involves all stakeholders in the effective evaluation and monitoring of schools activities. Quality Assurance process is continuous in nature and therefore, adopt stability of strategies (like the comparative analysis of external examinations annually, the formulation and implementation of the SDP), actions (monitoring with emphasis on the Whole School Evaluation) and efforts (involving the stakeholders in the monitoring of schools and the insistence on good leadership and management) is a prerequisite for quality in education. Hence, for the new system to remain relevant in the scheme of things, it MUST NOT revert to the Old Inspectorate method of Policing (FME, 2012). In a bid to ensure that the process of Quality Assurance is not scuttled in the educational sector of the State, it is pertinent that its globally accepted principles are followed dogmatically. These principles include;  Focus on the learner: the evaluator’s concern should be more tuned to the learners than just highlighting the weaknesses of the teachers. E.g. checking the learner’s notes and juxtaposing it with the scheme of work to know the actual work done, not concentrating on the teachers Lesson note; comparing the formed scheme of work with the approved curriculum to ensure uniformity; investigating within the learners to know the available learning equipment and how much use they are being put to etc.  Leadership: ensuring the management teams of schools understand their roles and responsibilities in a way that will ensure the bonding of dreams, aims and approaches in the educational community.  People’s participation: ensure that the ember of the Public Private Partnership is fanned to flame. This can be achieved by enlightening stakeholders on what they stand to lose if everybody is not on top of their game. The SBMC and the PTA should know that they have a say in the dayto-day running of the school. Not just in the finances but in the way the lives of their children are being managed.  Focus on tools: Evaluator’s emphasis should be more on the available tools and how it can be deployed to get the best results. This does not stop the evaluators from writing a report to Government to intimate her with the level of decay in the system in a bid to ensure the tide is stemmed.  Adopting decisions on the basis of fact: there is a need to ensure reportage is fact based, with unquestionable documents like pictures, voice recording etc. to authenticate claims. Judgment should also be done swiftly to ensure impunity is curbed in the system.  Continuous improvement: Recognizing the commitment to respond to changing global needs of quality assurance systems in education.

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 Shared benefit: Sharing management methods that bring result in some schools with others to ensure uniformity in the development of education in the state.  Consistence with new steps: Making sure that the schools and Quality Assurance Agency, being in a dynamic and open ended process of continuing improvement, are committed to identify actions and issues to be addressed in future. That is, not getting stuck to a particular process of evaluation but allowing the process to evolve as dictated by circumstances (NQAAC, 2004). The adoption of Quality Education Assurance system by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2007 and subsequent introduction by the Ondo State Government in 2010 is with a view to shifting from the old form of school inspection process to the new system of encompassing evaluation, that is channeled towards improving the school management standard, environment of learning, delivery of curriculum and learners’ academic achievement through close and purposeful partnership between the management of the schools and relevant stakeholders in the education sector (School Based Management Committee (SBMC), ParentTeachers Association (PTA), Old Students Association, Non-government agencies, Education delegacies, Communities, Ministries, School Board, Individuals and other social institutions. This becomes imperative as a strong, virile and responsive education structure is an enduring foundation that will enhance advanced skills, assure the development of desired human assets and sustained the academic benchmark, which will satisfy the yearnings of the community (parents) that serves as the primary customers to the school (Ayeni, 2012). However, since the introduction of Quality Education Assurance into the Nigerian education system, the quality of learners’ outcomes, as it relates with the suitable changes in skills, knowledge, values and attitudes as measured by different examination bodies, have not shown significant improvement as would be expected. (This study uses students’ academic performance in external examinations as benchmark for the state education system; hence it is used to determine the worth of school output academically.) Following the trend of Nigerian learners’ academic performance over the years, there has been continuous low academic performance in secondary schools. For instance, Ayeni and Afolabi (2011) outlined the performance of learners in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO-SSCE) in November/December, 2009, in which out of 234,682 learners presented for the examination, only 4,223 (1.8%) learners attained five credit passes including English and Mathematics, with 98.2% failure rate. Also in the West African Examinations Council (WASSCE) conducted examination in 2009 May/June Senior Secondary Certificate, only 25.9% of the candidates attained five credit passes including English and Mathematics. The same situation is repeated in 2010 May/June WASSCE, in which 337,071 (24.9%) learners attained five credit passes including English and Mathematics, out of the 1,135,557 candidates that sat for the examination.

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In addition, only 31.0% of the 1,540,250 learners presented for the 2011 May/June WASSCE attained five credit passes including English and Mathematics in all subjects, out of the 1,135,557 learners that were presented for the examination. Furthermore, in the May/June, 2012 WASSCE, 649,156 (38.8%) of the 1,672,224 learners presented for the examination attained five credit passes in all subjects including English and Mathematics across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, while 617,736 (36.6%) of the 1,689,188 learners that were presented for the 2013 May/June WASSCE examination attained five credit passes in all subjects including English and Mathematics. Furthermore the recent 2014 May/June WASSCE, 529,425 (31.3%) of the 1,692,435 learners that were presented for the examination attained five credit passes in all subjects including English and Mathematics (Vanguard August 12, 2014). These results show consistent drop in the learners’ performance over the years. Similarly, the percentage of secondary schools learners that attained five credit passes in all subjects including English language and Mathematics in the West African Examinations Council (WASSCE) between 2007 and 2009 in the Senior School Certificate Examination in Ondo State ranged from 16.7% to 19.1%, and 30.17% in 2010, while 38.0% was recorded in public secondary schools in 2012. 33.5% in 2013 and 32.4% in 2014 (Ondo State Ministry of Education, 2014). The consistent poor students’ academic performance recorded over the years is considered an aberration and consequently frowned at by all education stakeholders, in view of the huge financial attention the sector enjoys in the recent times. Many factors are attributed as causes to the abysmal academic performance of students, out of which is the school variables; which determine the speed at which schools move. School variables are those factors that contribute to the achievement of school objectives, or that may affect or cause changes in the overall school performance (Bulach, Malone and Castleman, 1995; Cruickshank, 1990). Connolly and McGrail (1978) also assert that school variables have enough impact on learning to warrant study and improvement in school. They stressed that school variables are those characteristics of the school like, school building, classroom, and teacher that appear to influence learning and that can be defined, assessed, and improved should weaknesses be detected. Bliss, et al. (1991) also, identified some variables related to learners’ academic achievement. These variables include: orderly school climate, leadership expectations, regular supervision of instruction and assessment, parent and community involvement. Other variables considered germane for students’ achievement include school-based management, staff stability, staff development, collaboration, time-on-task, and sense of mission. However, for the purpose of this study, school variables are limited to teachers, classrooms, library, laboratory and instructional materials in Ondo State Secondary schools.

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1.1

Statement of Problem

The adoption of Quality Education Assurance into the Ondo state system of education is purposely to improve the already worsen standard of education. But despite its introduction, the situation has not improved as expected, but rather dwindles; the results of students in both internal and external examinations attest to this fact as identified above. However, there have been insinuations that the poor condition of the school variables such as classteachers, classrooms, library, laboratories and instructional materials could be ascribed as factors that adversely affect the realization of the aims and objectives for establishing Quality Education Assurance. Hence, prevents the achievement of the objectives of quality education delivery in schools. The study therefore, intends to examine the state and standard of school variables, assess the implications of the shortage and neglect of school variables on the performance of Quality Education Assurance agency in the state. 1.2

Research Questions

The following research questions are formulated to guide the study.

What is the level of availability of teachers and school infrastructure in Ondo State? ii. What are the effects of inadequate teachers and school infrastructure on school development? iii. What are the implications of the school variables to education quality assurance? i.

1.3

Research Hypothesis H01: There is no significant effect of teachers and other school variables on the performance of Quality Assurance Agency in Ondo State Methodology

The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, involving both the quantitative and qualitative methods of collection and analysis of data from the respondents in a bid to identify solutions to the problems identified. The population for the study consisted of all principals and teachers in the 304 public secondary schools in Ondo state. The state is made up of five (5) educational zones, five (5) Local Government Areas (LGAs), one from each of the five educational zones was selected based on school population and location using stratified random sampling technique. Twelve public secondary schools were randomly selected from each of the selected Local Government Area, making sixty (60) secondary schools in all. The respondents include sixty (60) principals and five hundred and forty (540) teachers selected randomly from the secondary schools. The instruments for the study included self-developed questionnaires tagged: “Education Quality Assurance and School Variables Rating Scale” (EQASVRS) and Guide on principals and teachers selected for interview as Focus Group (PTFG). Three research questions were postulated and a null hypothesis was tested at p<0.05 probability level of significance.

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The instrument comprised four sections (A, B, C and D); the A part of the EQAVRS is related to the biographical data of the respondents. The B part of the EQASVRS has 14 items constructed to answer questions on the availability and adequacy of teachers and other school variables, the C part of the EQASVRS also has 7 items designed to assess the effects of teachers and other school variables on the development of the schools, and section D of the EQASVRS contained 6 items constructed on the impact of Quality Education Assurance Agency on school development. The instrument is structured in a 4-point Likert scale response format of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The allocated values for the scale were 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. The construct and content validity of the instruments were determined through the use of expert judgment from the Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Experts in Test and Measurement thoroughly inspected the instruments; their suggestions were implemented, this resulted to the deletion of unsuitable items from the instrument, after which the instruments were certified suitable for measuring the constructs it is designed for. Copies of the instrument were administered on the sampled principals and teachers after due permission was obtained from the principals in the respective schools. For easy distribution and collation of the questionnaires, one research assistant was engaged to facilitate the administration of the instrument. All the questionnaires were safely retrieved and completely filled without omission. Data collected were analyzed using percentages and chi-square analysis at 0.05 probability level of significance; using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. 3. Result The outcomes of the analysis were presented according to the postulated research questions in such a way that the interrelatedness of the variables considered are explicitly described in the study, especially as they affect activities of Education Quality Assurance agency and the adequacy of school variables. The results presented in table 1 shows the staff strength of teachers and availability of infrastructure in schools. The table showed that over 90% of the sampled principals and teachers claimed that there is inadequate teaching staff in schools, and over 78% of the respondents claimed that there is shortage of teachers on subject basis in schools also, while over 77% of the respondents claimed that teachers were posted to schools based on the area of specialization, however, over 92% of the respondents claimed that distribution of teachers is not based on school quota, and over 85% of the respondents claimed that their school has no standardized and well furnished library, over 91% of the respondents disagreed that their school library is furnished with relevant and updated texts, and over 78% of the same respondents also disagreed that school library are managed by professional librarians whose duty is to take care of the libraries. Although, over 85% of the total respondents claimed that school libraries are accessible to all classes of students at all times. Yet, over 78% of the respondents claimed that schools maintain multipurpose laboratories, and over 86% of the respondents maintained that their schools have no standardized laboratories as they are poorly stocked. Also, over 86% of the respondents claimed that schools have inadequate number of classrooms for its learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population, with over 93% disagreeing with the assertion that each class houses

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between 30-35 learners. Furthermore, over 86% maintained that there is inadequate and mostly unrelated instructional materials for use in class, while below 28% claimed that instructional materials are regularly used during teaching in schools. This identifies gross inadequacies in the teaching staff and other school infrastructure. These variables among others determine the success of the education objectives, hence their shortfall only mean one thing; failure in the academic achievement of students, which is the main reason of bringing together all the variables. Table 1: Staff Strength of Teachers and Availability of Infrastructure in Ondo State public schools (N=600) S/N Effects of SA A D SD inadequate teachers Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % and schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; infrastructure 1 There is inadequate 336 56.0 242 40.3 16 2.7 6 1.0 teaching staff in my school 2 There is shortage of 288 28.0 305 50.8 7 1.2 0 0 teachers on subject basis in my schools 3 Teachers posted to 253 42.2 214 35.7 45 7.5 87 14.5 my school is based on the area of specialization 4 Teachers 18 3.0 25 4.2 271 45.2 286 47.7 distribution is based on school quota 5 There is 0 0 85 14.2 195 32.5 320 53.3 standardized and adequately furnished library in my school 6 The library in my 0 0 51 8.5 217 36.2 332 55.3 school is furnished with relevant and updated texts 7 My school library is 18 3.0 114 19.0 127 21.2 341 56.8 managed by a professional librarian whose main duty is to take care of the library 8 My school library is 0 0 86 14.3 404 67.3 110 18.3 accessible to all classes of students at all times 9 My school maintains 0 0 130 21.7 256 42.7 214 35.7

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specialized laboratories My school has standardized laboratories and are well furnished My school has adequate number of classrooms for its students population In my school, each class houses between 3035students My school has adequate and relevant instructional materials for use in class Instructional materials are regularly used during teaching in my school

13.5

185

30.8

334

55.7

13.5

292

48.7

227

37.8

6.5

256

44.8

279

48.8

13.2

237

39.5

284

47.3

8.2

118

19.7

347

57.8

14.3

Table 2 presents the effects of inadequate teachers and school infrastructure on curriculum coverage. The table shows that over 82% of the respondents claimed that curriculum is not comprehensively covered in each academic year. Moreover, over 91% of the respondents claimed that teachers’ workload is over average for most teachers, and over 88% of the respondents also maintained that students are not adequately familiarized with practicals in their subject. Furthermore, over 78% claimed that students’ reading habit is low in schools. This implies that things are not really working in schools. If the curriculum which is designed to be covered within an academic year is not covered within the stipulated time, and the learners move to the next class, and it continues across classes, what miracle is expected to make such learners pass; even if a team of evaluators is stationed in the school? Table 2: Effects of inadequate teachers and school infrastructure on school development (N=600) S/N Effects of inadequate teachers SA A D and schools’ infrastructure Freq % Freq % Freq % 1 The curriculum is always 35 5.8 72 12.0 359 59.8 comprehensively covered every academic year 2 Teachers’ workload is on the 0 0 50 8.3 369 61.5 average for every teacher

SD Freq 134

% 22.3

181

30.2

126

3 4

Students are adequately familiarized with practical Students’ reading habit is high in school

11.7

366

61.0

164

27.3

8.2

13.2

324

54.0

148

24.7

Table 3 also presents the effects of inadequate teachers and school infrastructure on the academic achievement of students. The table shows that most of the respondents (46.5%) claimed that between 50% - 59% of the students that wrote the 2013 Junior School Certificate Examination (JSCE) passed in 5 credits and above including English Language and Mathematics, while 53.2% of the respondents claimed that only between 40% - 49% of the students that wrote West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) passed in 5 credits and above including English Language and Mathematics. Also, 46.3% of the respondents claimed that 40% - 49% of the students that wrote the internal examination conducted for SSIII students passed in 5 credits and above including English Language and Mathematics. This implies that the academic achievement of students is low which is not good for the future of the society. Table 3: Effects of inadequate teachers and school infrastructure on Students’ Achievement (N=600) Academic Achievement of students Excellent Very Good Good Fair % % % % 5 Indicate students’ achievement in 2013 JSCE, it is regarded as Excellent (5) 1f 75% 51 153 279 117 or more obtained 5 credits and above (8.5) (25.5) (46.5) (19.5) including English Language and Mathematics; 60% - 74% Very Good (4); 50% - 59% Good (3); 40% - 49% Fair (2); below 40% Poor (1). 6 Indicates the students’ achievement in 2014 WASSCE, it is regarded as Excellent 0 20 18 319 (5) 1f 75% or more obtained 5 credits and (0) (3.3) (3.0) (53.2) above including English Language and Mathematics; 60% - 74% Very Good (4); 50% - 59% Good (3); 40% - 49% Fair (2); below 40% Poor (1). 7 Indicates the students’ achievement in internal examination conducted for SSIII 20 123 125 278 Students, it is regarded as Excellent (5) 1f (3.3) (20.5) (20.8) (46.3) 75% or more obtained 5 credits and above including English Language and Mathematics; 60% - 74% Very Good (4); 50% - 59% Good (3); 40% - 49% Fair (2); below 40% Poor (1). Table 4 presents the impact of Quality Education Assurance on school development. The table shows between 27.5% - 66.8% of the respondents agreed that there is collaboration between the school and Area Quality Assurance office,

Poor % 0 (0)

243 (40.5)

54 (9.0)

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also between 44.2% - 50.2% of the respondents agreed that the recommendations given by the Q. Ed officers are helpful for improved teaching capacity, while between 33.8% - 46.2% of the respondents disagreed with the assertion that Quality Education Assurance Agents are not friendly in their interaction with teachers. Moreover, between 37.2% – 48.2% of the respondents agreed that school is regularly briefed on the outcomes of evaluation reports in the school, and between 43.7% - 56.3% of the respondents agreed that Q.Ed officers usually conduct follow-up on teachers based on their previous visit. Also, between 20.7% - 67.5% of the respondents agreed that the attendance of learners have improved significantly due to Q. Ed activities in schools, infact between 38.0% 56.3% of the respondents categorically stated that the emergence of Q. Ed Agency has facilitated improved attitude to work by principals and teachers in school, also between 28.7% - 65.7% of the respondents agreed that principals and teachers are familiar with Q. Ed instrument for inspection, between 46.2% and 48.2% of the same population agreed that teachers’ punctuality and regularity to schools have now improved. This implies that the Quality Education Assurance Agency saddled with the responsibilities to ensure uniform standard and quality control of institutional activities has been effective in its duties. Table 4: Impact of Quality Education Assurance on school development (N=600) S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Impact of Q.Ed on School Development There is collaboration between my school and Area Quality Assurance office The recommendations given by the Q. Ed officers are helpful for improved capacity Quality Education Assurance Agents are not friendly in their interaction with teachers We are regularly briefed on the outcomes of evaluation reports in my school Q.Ed usually conduct followup on teachers based on their previous visit Attendance of learners have improved due to Q. Ed activities The emergence of Q. Ed Agency has facilitated improved attitude to work by principals and teachers in my school Teachers and principals are familiar with Q. Ed instrument for inspection

SA Freq 165

% 27.5

A Freq 401

% 66.8

D Freq 34

% 5.7

SD Freq 0

301

50.2

265

44.2

5.7

14.3

5.7

277

46.2

203

33.8

289

48.2

223

37.2

14.7

338

56.3

262

43.7

124

20.7

405

67.5

5.7

6.2

338

56.3

228

38.0

5.7

172

28.7

394

65.7

5.7

% 0 0

128

Teachers’ punctuality and regularity to schools have now improved

289

48.2

277

46.2

Table 5 presents the result of analysis conducted on the effects of school variables on Quality Education Assurance Agency performance in Ondo State. The study showed that the chi-square value of 2.255 at p<0.01 is significant. Therefore, the hypothesis is sustained; hence there is significant effect of inadequacies of school variables on quality assurance practice. The mean score (2.50) for school variables is considered low, which implies that it is a clog in the wheels of progress in the education process. By implication, teaching and learning processes cannot be effective without adequate and evenly distributed teachers across schools and other school facilities that enhance effective teaching are important, students’ academic achievement is dependent greatly on the adequacy of these variables for students to excel. However, a mean score of 3.63 was recorded on quality assurance practice in the state which implied that the level of performance is still below what is expected, if school variables had been on the high side. Table 5: Effect of school variables on Quality Education Assurance Agency performance in Ondo State Items n Mean SD χ2

p School variables

572

2.495

0.500

2.255

0.015 Quality Assurance Practice

600

3.625

Discussion

0.485

The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of inadequacy of school variables on assuring quality in education practices in public Secondary schools. The finding reveals that there is gross inadequate teachers and other school variables like classrooms, libraries, laboratories and instructional materials in schools. This implies that most public schools are grounded and nonfunctional. An example of a public school with the students’ population of five hundred, six classrooms without doors and windows, and ten teachers including the principal managing the school, the inadequacy is evident. This situation is synonymous to many public schools, especially in the rural areas. Findings show that out of the 304 public secondary schools in Ondo state, only 30 (9.08%) can boast of well equipped and adequately structured library (Education Quality Assurance Infrastructure Analysis, 2011; Focus Group). Most schools that claimed to have a library are in miserable state; some libraries are without furniture for students’ comfort, some are without shelves for stockpiling of books resulting in haphazard arrangement of books, in some cases, books are kept on the floor in the principals’ office or at a corner in the library. Even in some schools, the libraries are under lock and key to secure the books while

5.7

129

denying the willing learners access and opportunity to develop their capacities. Findings from the Focus Group also reveal that most learners in public secondary schools do not have the necessary prescribed textbooks. An average of 25-30 students out of 45 students in a class do not have Mathematics or English Language textbooks, while an average of 30-35 of 40 students do not have textbooks in Nigerian Languages, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Geography, Account, Literature-in-English, Biology, Agricultural Science and Commerce. While an average of 35-40 out of 40 students will not have novels to read during break or at home. Both the principals and teachers sampled for discussion confirmed that instructional materials like printed materials, graphic representation like charts, maps, diagrams, motion pictures and audio recordings are not regularly used in most public schools, while instructional materials such as still pictures and concrete objects are not used at all. The reason attributed for this is that schools are not well funded to procure these items. Infact, some principals claim that the running grant is seldom released and when it is released, the enormity of the schools needs make it inconsequential. The moribund state of infrastructure in schools did not just occur in a day, it is due to long time neglect of updating school data; recruiting new teachers when some retired, or voluntarily leave the service and regular maintenance of infrastructure in schools. At the inception of the Universal Basic Education programme (UBE) in Nigeria, Mohammed noted that the following additional personnel and infrastructure were required to beef up the smooth running of the programme in Nigeria then; teachers (1,307,836), classrooms (301,190), pupils furniture (445,379), libraries (33,727), workshop (33,727), laboratories (33,727), textbooks (96,545,388) and play equipment (130,485,756), but nothing was done until when the situation was almost beyond amelioration, Mohammed (2008). The effect of these inadequacies on the curriculum coverage and studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic performance is outrageous. Little can be expected of students who are not comprehensively groomed on the curriculum contents before sitting for examinations, with teachers who are over labored with excess workload due to shortage of teachers, and students who are hardly familiar with instruments in the laboratories. The situation is so bad that some students only have access to a standard laboratory while undergoing practicals in their final examination in secondary school; you see such students dancing around with burette, pipette, Bunsen burner, conical flask etc, since they are handling them for the first time. Some school libraries have become rest rooms, where students visit only to sleep; since there are no books or personnel to monitor activities going on in them. All these portend danger for the education system, if care is not taken. All the aforementioned effects reduce what could have been a huge success of the Evaluative apparatus in the state. Despite the fact that the Agency is all over the state and is in schools more frequently than ever, little is observed to have been achieved in terms of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; academic performance in schools. The findings show that the inadequacies of school variable significantly affect the

130

productivity of the Agency, thereby reducing the desired impact on school improvement.

5. Conclusion The study concludes that the consistent downward slide in the academic performance of students is largely attributed to the poor state of school variables. Quality Education Assurance Agency, although basically charged with monitoring and supervision of these school variables and reporting same to the Government, who has the prerogative to decide what to do with the reports. The Agency can perform its statutory duties better, if the school variables are adequate and in good condition. Adequate teachers, standard and well equipped libraries and laboratories, adequate and conducive classrooms and relevant instructional materials are actually the responsibility of the Government in conjunction with parents, philanthropists and education stakeholders within the school environment. Therefore, Government and other relevant education stakeholders should be proactive in ensuring adequacy of all school variables, as this will ensure that the transformational process improves logically and the overall students’ academic performance since concentration on supervision alone cannot guarantee the educational goals the state needs.

5.1 Recommendations Government should note that improving the standard of education is not limited to setting up an Agency to ensure quality control in schools, but ensuring that other school variables are also available and adequate. There should be regular recruitment of teachers based on subjects to fill in existing vacancies due to retirement. There should be constant maintenance of existing infrastructure and provision of standard and well equipped libraries and specialized laboratories in schools across the state where there is none. Government should collaborate effectively with parents, willing philanthropists and other education stakeholders in developing the education sector. Each local area should be encouraged to domesticate the schools to their peculiarity without compulsion. Also, the learners’ academic performance should be regularly and comprehensively communicated to the parents and guardians of the learners by the school authority. This will sensitize and also encourage them to be more proactive in their responsibilities as it relates with the provision of the required textbooks and other learning materials for improved students’ academic performance in schools.

References

Ayeni, A. J & Adepoju, T. L. (2012) Functional Primary Education for Sustainable Quality Assurance in Human Capital Development in Nigeria. International Journal of Research Studies in Management. ISSN: 2243-7789 Ayeni, A. O (2012), Teachers’ Instructional Task Performance and Quality Assurance of Students’ Learning Outcomes in Nigeria Secondary Schools. International Journal of Research Studies in Educational Technology. Batool. Z & R.H. Qureshi, (2004) Quality Assurance Manual for Higher Education in Pakistan. Higher Education Commission Islamabad – Pakistan.

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Bulach, C. R., Malone, B. & Castleman, C. (1995). An investigation of variables related to student achievement. Mid-Western Educational Researcher 8 (2), 23-29. Coleman, J. S., Campbell, E., Hobson, C., Mcpardand, J., Mood, A., Weinfeld, E, & York, R. (1966). Equality of educational opportunity. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. Connolly, J. A. & McGrail, J., (1978) School Variables Affecting Student Learning. National Institute of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Durosaro, D. O. (2002) Refocusing Education in Nigeria: Implication for Funding and Management. DaSylva Influence Benin City, Nigeria Federal Ministry of Education (2012) Quality Assurance Handbook for Nigeria, Minister of Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja Nigeria. Hayward, F. M. (2001) Glossary: Quality Assurance and Accreditation, prepared by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in February 2001. http://www.chea.org/international/inter_glossary01.html. Mohammed, A. M. (2008) Strategies and Resources in the Implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme. A lead paper presented at 10th Faculty of Education, Lagos State University held on 28th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 31st July. Obanya, P. (2003) National Press briefing on the Universal Basic Educational Programme, Lagos Ondo State Ministry of Educational (2012) Analysis of result of WAEC/NECO, Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, Ondo State, Nigeria. Quality Education Agency. (2010). Analysis of results of WAEC/NECO Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations. Ondo State, Nigeria: Quality Education Agency. Oyebade, Oladipo and Adetoro, (2006) Determinants and Strategies for Quality Assurance in Nigeria University Education; Towards Quality in African Higher Education, Journal of Education Vanguard August 12, (2014) Mass Failure as WAEC Releases May/June Examination Results

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 132-144, December 2014

A Professor’s Reflection on the Value of Student Reflections in a Service-Learning Research Project within a University Science Course Amal Abu-Shakra North Carolina Central University Durham, North Carolina, USA Abstract. A well-established university Biology course that addresses among its several cores the impact of indoor air pollution on human health, involved 29 undergraduate students in a dynamic service-learning research project. The students were prepared academically through intensive course lectures and in-class training then guided into the community to gauge its awareness of indoor air pollution. The students took with them into the community especially designed brochures that highlighted the health effects of eight major indoor air pollutants and questionnaires that community participants were asked to complete anonymously. In addition to teaching the course and training the students in service-learning practices, the professor’s role included: (a) being available to respond to students’ questions and concerns for the duration of the service-learning research activity; (b) directing data compilation, analysis, and storage; and (c) categorizing, assessing, and reflecting on the students’ learning journeys, the last of which is of immediate relevance to this publication. The students submitted their reflections under the headings of lessons learned, challenges faced, and recommendations, as part of the course grade. These reflections indicated that the students acquired a new understanding of the community, their course material, and themselves. These reflections also effected the professor’s reflection presented here. The professor reflected on the students’ learning of the value of investing in three “O’s” of good research practices: originality, objectivity, and openness; and on the students’ earning of the rewards of three “A’s” of meaningful service: altruism, awareness, and appreciation. For instance, the students’ reflections, which were completed and submitted individually, provided open and honest commentary on the benefits or challenges of teamwork. Furthermore, they addressed the joy of discovering that what was accomplished within the service-learning project gave them an opportunity to help others in the community and learn about themselves. Keywords: partnering

awareness;

altruism;

objectivity;

community-university

133

Introduction It is helpful for academicians involved in service-learning in the sciences to keep in mind that university science education world-wide has meant and continues to mean primarily didactic courses and seminars, bench research and experimentation, and oral and/or written examinations and reports of scientific knowledge acquisition. Science education viewpoints, however, have been expanding gradually but steadily in the last few decades to embrace a certain synergism that may exist between the experimental sciences and their well-structured experiential exposure counterparts. There have been numerous observations by pedagogy experts worldwide that highlighted the value of experiential education, as shown in Kolb’s cycle of experiential learning (Kolb, 1981), and that of academic servicelearning (Howard, 1993; Furco, 1996). The latter has been successfully introduced into the curriculum as a whole (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996) or into specific disciplines, such as environmental studies (Ward, 1999), language (Richmond, 2003) or psychology (Harnish & Bridges, 2012).

Service-learning research Service-learning has been increasingly flourishing in the United States at the university level as well as other educational levels as a result of the efforts of a federal program named Learn and Serve America. And, students involved in welldesigned service-learning activities have been important players in beneficial partnerships between the university (courses or programs) and the community (CCPH, 2013). Several attempts to define or describe service-learning exist, but the most applicable to the present study was put forth by Furco (2002) as “servicelearning seeks to engage individuals in activities that combine both community service and academic learning. Because service-learning programs are typically rooted in formal courses (core academic, elective, or vocational), the service activities are usually based on particular curricular concepts that are being taught.” The community needs may be addressed fully or partially through the students’ service output, and the service itself can afford the participating students several benefits in approaching their courses, academic journeys, and roles in society (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995; 1999). Abu-Shakra & Nyein (1999; 2000) developed and incorporated an intricate servicelearning model that involved biology and health education university courses, as well as high schools science classes. At the top of that model named the “Cascade Model” was the same course used in the current study, which has been offered by the author since 1994 as both a biology elective course offered mainly to junior/senior Biology majors to meet the environmental science/biodiversity requirement and as a required course to environmental science majors. It was linked to a health education course offered to freshmen/sophomore students to meet the university’s general education curriculum requirement. Then both of these courses were linked to science classes at a neighboring high school. The students involved in the Cascade Model went through the “serving to learn” and “learning © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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to serve” training and experience (Furco, 1996), and reaped the academic and behavioral benefits. More recently, Abu-Shakra (2012) and Abu-Shakra & Saliim (2012) showed that when the service-learning activity focused on the impact of environmental pollutants on human health succeeds in gauging community awareness, it can contribute to bridging the so-called town-gown divide observed between universities and community members in many urban settings (CCPH, 2013). The students learned and gauged the community’s awareness of the harmful effects of lead on children’s health (Abu-Shakra & Salim, 2012) in a study that showed that the level of education among the community participants played a significant role in their awareness level regardless of their age difference. In contrast, when students learned and gauged the community’s awareness of Legionnaires’ disease (Abu-Shakra, 2012) it was evident that awareness was more influenced by the age of the participants than their education level. Those, who were at 40 or older were more familiar with the disease than those between 18 and 39 years of age. In the two aforementioned 2012 studies by the author, students learned to reflect and were engaged in in-class reflection sessions guided by the professor. In order to best understand and apply service-learning, students and faculty alike need reflection. Starting with Dewey’s (1933) historic definition of reflective thought and arriving now at the current approach in which learning to reflect has become a requirement in teacher education and science education research, reflection has become also an academic tool to enhance and assess student learning as well as the professor’s role as the trusted guide-on-the-side in this learning process (Silcox, 1993; Daudelin, 1996; Hatcher & Bringle, 1997; Ward, 1999; Rowley & Munday, 2014). In introducing reflection and its merits to a class involved in a servicelearning activity the professor invites all the players, who are the students, the professor, and any undergraduate or graduate teaching assistant, to work hard at linking who they are to what they do and expanding what they learn to encompass what they wish to become as a result of the service-learning activity. Therefore, reflecting on service is indeed an opportunity to promote personal growth and civic responsibility (Altman, 1996; Astin et al., 2000)

The rationale of the study Since the students in the present study were to start their service-learning activity after they have had learned well the impact of eight major indoor air pollutants on human health, and since (a) they have become keenly aware from the coursework that the economically-disadvantaged urban communities may be at more risk than the rest of the population from indoor air pollution and (b) the service to the community may put them in a position to make a difference in not only gauging community awareness but also enhancing it, preliminary in-class reflection sessions were conducted. The level of enthusiasm for the project and written reflection as a mode of reporting were such that the strategy reported in the methodology section of this manuscript was designed and carried out. The strategy was inspired by the © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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excellent work of Bleicher & Correia (2011), who provided a clear and practical mode of written reflection, as well as its impact through the use of the “small moments” writing strategy to help undergraduates reflect on their service- learning experiences.

Methodology The topics, tools, and student preparation The students learned about 8 major indoor air pollutants. Three of the pollutants studied were of major national health importance and prominence, which were: lead, environmental tobacco smoke, and pesticides. The Legionella bacteriainduced Legionnaires disease and radon gas were the two more novel and less well-known aspects of indoor air pollution. The last three were smoke from fireplaces, household mold, and the fumes from chemicals used indoors, such as cleaning liquids. The brochures were designed to provide knowledge on all of the 8 major indoor pollutants supported by web-links to reliable government agency websites. The questionnaires were 10-question each that gauged the community awareness of perceived risk from each of the 8 pollutants as minimal, low, medium, high, or very high. The questionnaires also included the two non-intrusive optional questions on the age range and educational level of the participants as was provided in the AbuShakra (2012) and Abu-Shakra & Saliim (2012) studies. The brochures and questionnaires were not prepared by the students, but were shared with them for critiquing and invited comments to make sure there was complete student buy-in on the content of these tools. In addition to acquiring the needed information and scientific background from the textbook, handouts, reliable and official websites, the students’ preparation for the service-learning activity included engaging in active learning class discussions; inclass assignments; in-class reflection training; thorough review of the brochures; filling one questionnaire each, as they would subsequently request from the community participants they approach; and finally in-class training skits, using the verbal scripts provided to practice approaching community participants.

The Course and key players The course in which the service-learning activity was conducted (a) addresses the plethora of possible effects of pollution on human health; (b) is designed to assess the impact on communities of air and water pollution, as well as hazardous waste, major industrial accidents, and occupational exposure; (c) exposes students to environmental health research and has been responsive to emerging health concerns and findings in the last 20 year; and (d) introduces students to the importance of raising community awareness on matters that affect community health, and respecting local, regional, national, and global efforts to improve human life. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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The professor, who was also the principal investigator in this study, was supported by a senior-level undergraduate student, who participated in his capacity as an undergraduate investigator conducting an introduction to research course. Both investigators received CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) training, a requirement to receive the university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to conduct this type of research. Also, according to the IRB guidelines each student signed an informed consent form to participate in this study. All aspects of the research were explained fully to all students, including the two students per team formation followed to administer the questionnaires in the community. The community partners’ participation was through the anonymous completion of the questionnaire. The students were responsible to safeguard the questionnaires allocated to them from the moment they received them (stamped and numbered by the professor, and signed by the student) until they submitted them to the professor (after they were completed anonymously by the community participants).

The reflection strategy To reflect on their service-learning experience the students were asked to provide written mini-reflections, which could be both logistical and questionnaire contentrelated, as well as the more detailed reflections on lessons learned, challenges faced and recommendations. The detailed reflections were inspired by the “small moments” strategy of Bleicher & Correia (2011), and became the foundation of this manuscript. The reflections submitted to the professor were reviewed and assessed both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively as indicators of (a) the level of student involvement in the service-learning process, (b) the responsiveness of the student to the demands of teamwork dynamics, and (c) the impact the service-learning experience had on the students in terms of their relationship with the course as a whole and their civic responsibility. During the review and evaluation of the students’ lessons learned, challenges faced, and recommendations moments, the professor looked first for the documentation of learning through service. The students, who were instructed on the critical importance of learning and implementing good research practices throughout their service learning project, were encouraged to reflect with openness and without fear of losing any grades if their conclusions and reflections were critical of the research experience. Scientific-level objectivity was sought for in every approach adopted in this project to emphasize the fundamental importance of randomness and non-bias in conducting research. Finally, even when students were encouraged to work in teams, their reflections were submitted and evaluated individually. Their reflections were to underscore their individuality and originality of approach, thought, and expression. Secondly, the professor looked for documentation of the students earning the reward of altruism through their meaningful service. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Students could be quite eloquent when stating that they found their calling in life; making a difference in the life of their community. Students’ reflections could invariably touch on an enhanced appreciation of their course; as it could dramatically become much more important than its 4 credit hours. Finally, students could witness their sense of civic responsibility intertwined with their enhanced awareness of community needs. In serving to alleviate the needs of the community the students could also be serving themselves, their families, their city, and their country.

Results and Discussion As stated above, the results of the service-learning activity on which the present manuscript on the professor’s reflection on the value of student reflections was anchored were the detailed reflections that followed the “small moments” strategy. There were 29 moments submitted for each of the following: (a) lessons learned, (b) challenges faced, and (c) recommendations. These reflections became a permanent record that both the students and professor could re-visit for further reflection.

Lessons learned moments (LLM) From among the 29 LLM, the four examples presented in Table 1 were selected. The text in the moments was not edited except to correct a simple typographical error. The Professor’s reflection on LLM Collectively the four LLM encompassed the importance of originality, objectivity, and openness in correctly addressing a research question; as well as altruism, awareness and appreciation leading to personal growth and enhanced civic responsibility. The student in LLM#1 provided extreme openness, awareness, and honesty in addressing personal growth through enhanced acquisition of knowledge as well as delivery of that knowledge. That was indeed the purest learning-to-serve and serving-to-learn (Furco, 1996) moment. In the LLM#2 it was evident that student learning and keen perception were associated with one of the tools used in the study, which was the informative brochure. The tool was evaluated objectively by the student as useful for in-class learning by the students and community-wide learning by the interviewees. The last sentence had special resonance. The student appreciated the fact that when it is said that more needed to be done in addressing community needs, perhaps it is not that there have been too few service-learning projects, but there may not have been enough done as best as can be. Awareness, appreciation, and altruism occupied center stage in LLM#3. The student was succinct in infusing the moment with an excellent angle on awareness of the historical town-gown divide. The divide is there but it can be narrowed through well planned and executed university efforts. The enhanced altruistic © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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sense and appreciation were evident in the witty and satirical comparison provided. The student painted an amazing caricature with words of the “affluence vs. scarcity” dichotomy by stating that they (the students) may complain of being “inundated” with the same knowledge that the surrounding community craves and needs. Realizing that they had been given an abundance of knowledge continuously in their “ivory tower”, the students were ready to make every effort to provide the same to those lacking that knowledge. Table 1. Four examples of student reflections that addressed the lessons learned aspect of the service-learning research project Selection from the students’ lessons learned moment reflections Moments type & number LLM #1

“I have learned a lot about indoor and outdoor pollution. I can proudly educate people about pollution and how it can affect people’s life. I did not know about legionnaire’s disease and radon until I took this class. This survey has given me a better understanding about indoor air pollution. I was surprised at myself because I was able to explain to people what indoor air pollution is about and how to take precaution.”

LLM #2

“For this project our brochure used modern day language that was easy to read and understand even if you were not university educated. We also took the time as a class to learn what we were explaining to others before we asked them questions. If we treat every community outreach effort as we did this one, we will receive positive results.”

LLM #3

“I learned that having the university connect with community and the community connect with the university is beneficial. I never thought about how important it is to educate the community, as the community houses many people that are uneducated. I think being part of a university, we sometimes forget that not everyone has access to all the educational material that we are inundated with on a daily basis.”

LLM #4

“I did most of the talking while my partner conducted the distribution of the survey; she’s more reserved than I am so we were able to work efficiently. Although going in a group of two is effective, I would have preferred at least more people in the group specifically between four to five members.”

Teamwork dynamics was addressed in LLM #4. The scenarios encountered while learning and serving as a team can be numerous, but this student’s perception was that the job went well because the more extroverted student did the talking, while the more reserved student did the survey! The professor’s take on this reflection evolved after reading this moment over and over again while observing the two students in class. These two students were not perceived as per LLM#4 in the regular classroom setting, even during the practice skits. The self-professed © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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extroverted student’s preference for larger teams evoked a look into the matter. With the professor’s experience as a foundation, it would be appropriate to state that while the student’s statement deserved a nod for originality, the team-of-two formation should persist because it is less chaotic and minimally intimidating to community participants. On the other hand, the professor was keenly aware that there was always a possibility that some of the surveys may have been administered by one member of the team in the absence of the other. The teams were advised against that approach, but whether the admission of solo community visits was made or not, there were indeed scenarios in which one student would have been effective in administering his or her allocated questionnaires alone. The most likely venues would have been one’s church, family reunion, or workplace, among others.

Challenges faced moments (CFM) Table 2 includes the four selected CFM from among the 29 moments submitted by the students. The text in the moments was not edited except to correct a simple typographical error. The Professor’s reflection on CFM In addressing their challenges the students demonstrated enhanced personal growth and openness, as well as critical thinking and problem solving skills, be they logistical or science-related. The challenge identified by most students and for various reasons was time. They had concerns regarding the time it took them to administer their allocated questionnaires, the time it took to coordinate a community visit with their team members, and as per CFM#1 the time that the community participants required to complete their questionnaire. In examining the contrast in behavior and pace of community participants in completing the questionnaires, the student in CFM#1 made the interesting statement that the location in which the survey was conducted had an impact on its quality. Such a conclusion by an undergraduate student could have a potentially positive impact on many aspects of the student’s academic and life journeys. The underlying question of why and when people can be in too much hurry to focus on what can be good for them was an extremely important question. Weren’t the students themselves sometimes behaving in a similar fashion when they left studying for an exam to the last minute and then rushed through the questions and scored lower than they wished for (similar to the rushing community participants in the store)? Weren’t the more serious students calmer and less stressed before a deadline on an assignment (similar to people in a serene mood, such as those in a house of worship)? The challenge faced presented an opportunity for awareness and insight, and therefore a new understanding. In CFM#2 the student made the self-assessment that overcoming overall shyness was the challenge that needed to be acknowledged and confronted otherwise that part of the project could fail. Problem solving skills were needed, and there © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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emerged the historically proven remedy of “practice makes perfect”. In addition, the student displayed insight in starting within the safe haven of being with people one felt comfortable with. Again, there was an observable improvement in this student’s approach to the project and the course as a whole. Table 2. Four examples of student reflections that addressed the challenges faced aspect of the service-learning research project Selection from the students’ challenges faced moment reflections Moments type & number CFM #1

“I think the biggest challenge was time. Most people seemed to be so worried about how long it took rather than actually completing the survey. I believe the location made a big difference in the quality of the surveys. For instance, when I went to church the members took their time and asked me a lot of questions. When I went to the store people didn't ask any questions and just skimmed through the questions.”

CFM #2

“I had to overcome was my overall shyness. I have a big problem talking with strangers, this led to me to not getting my speaking points across; thus killing the conversation. In order to overcome this challenge I practiced my speech around people I felt comfortable with. The more I practiced, the better I felt about giving my speaking points.”

CFM #3

“Conducting some of the surveys was challenging because some of the participants did not understand that they were supposed to rate how much of a health risk each indoor air pollutant was in general. Some participants thought the survey was asking how much indoor air pollution was around them on a daily basis.”

CFM #4

There were times when people asked a significant amount of questions about a particular air pollutant but were not willing to take a brochure that could provide what they were looking for. That could be quite frustrating but after a while you must learn that patience is key, not everyone knows what you know or is taught what you are taught.

The challenge identified in CFM#3 was among my favorites on which to reflect. It was selected because the student would not acknowledge whether the participants received the clear information provided in the verbal script and the questionnaire itself. Community participants represented a random sample of the population with varied levels of education and life experience. It may have been possible that one participant found the questions straight forward, whereas another got confused. In fact, the student’s dilemma that was presented here as a challenge, was addressed in class as an integral part of the data analysis portion of the project. The reasons behind administering hundreds or thousands of questionnaires include © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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the major statistical requirement of having a large sample (high n values) to ensure against human errors and outliers derailing the findings. It would not be surprising that CFM#4 would put a knowing smile on the face of any reader, who has been a teacher at any academic level. The student was extremely clear on the frustration resulting from community participants asking for information that was readily available in the brochure. That student eventually realized that patience was key in handling the situation. The implied solution to this challenge was that the student went ahead and relayed the information present in brochure, i.e. obliged the community participants by explaining what they did not choose to read for themselves. Again, weren’t there similarities here between the community participants’ requests and those of some students during class? They would rather have the professor state information to them again and again rather than search for it themselves in readily available textbooks or handouts. The student in CFM#4 faced the challenge by finding and deploying a strength rarely deployed among the young; patience! This challenge resulted in personal growth and strong sense of responsibility and appreciation.

Recommendation moments (RM) There were excellent RM provided by the 29 students, and the four presented in Table 3 encompassed a wide variety of options that could be implemented to enhance future service-learning projects in this course and beyond. The text in the moments was not edited except to correct a simple typographical error. The Professor’s reflection on RM The four selected recommendations span curricular modifications, long-term university-community coordination, an information technology angle, and structured on-campus activities. Interestingly, the latter two points link well with Silcox’s eleven forms of reflection (Silcox, 1993). The student who made RM#1 was an extremely hardworking second-degree seeking student, who had acquired experience in service-learning during the first bachelor’s degree. It was quite fulfilling for the professor to observe the effort this student invested in this service-learning project. The effort served as a preface for the recommendation that was submitted. According to Harnish & Bridges (2012) service-learning provides an opportunity for students to engage in the course, which leads to internalization and integration of the course material, which eventually lead to motivation to learn. In the case of RM#1, the aforementioned sequence can continue on to reach a step at which the student becomes confident enough to aspire for and propose a class experience that can enhance the learning experience of future students. The service-learning component that has been offered in the present Biology course has made it a popular and influential course. It may take a good amount of effort and time to establish a new course dedicated to © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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expanding the service-learning activity further, and making it the whole course. But, now there is an intelligent and detailed recommendation that can be explored. And, the most significant aspect of this recommendation is that it was put forth by a student. Table 3. Four examples of student reflections that addressed recommendations that may enhance service-learning research projects Selection from the students’ recommendation moment reflections Moments type & number RM #1

“I honestly think this project has the potential to become a class in itself. I could see this as a class that meets once a week to do survey, talk about reflections and challenges and have presenters come in and talk about research that is going on in the field.”

RM #2

“I think that assigning students to go to various community locations would foster ties with the community. For example, students could be assigned to go to local churches, libraries, parks, etc. so we can better get to know the needs of the local community.”

RM #3

“I think that a good way to do it is to create a website online with the same questions and instead of passing out questionnaires we can just pass out cards with the address on them and email other people as well. If we used this method the data that we could get from the questionnaires would be drastically increased.”

RM #4

“I believe that we could take one day out of the month to have a setup on campus somewhere and have people come to us, who are interested in the survey or who are interested in learning about indoor pollution.”

The RM#2 called for organizing more intricate and possibly long-term universitycommunity coordination of community venues for this service-learning project. In proposing to assign students to specific community venues, the student in RM#2 was obviously foreseeing a simpler logistical road map for conducting the administration of the surveys. However, the organized road map, despite its advantages, could also breed resentment if perceived as controlling the creative student-originated plans to find the best venues to approach the community participants. However, the last sentence in the moment was indeed brilliant and indicative of keen interest in the welfare of the community. Information technology has changed lives immeasurably, and none more than those of the young students. In RM#3, the student proposed creating a website with the same questions as those in the questionnaire in order to bypass their administration in person. The advantage perceived by the student was a drastic increase in completed questionnaires. The submission of such a recommendation was expected and timely indeed because there is no escape nowadays from the © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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information technology-induced impersonalizing of most aspects of life. Stating that this recommendation would not work well in the service-learning project presented here would be the easy answer for various reasons, namely: diminishing the desired direct contact with the community, thus diluting the serve-to-learn and learn-to-serve experience; requiring significant IRB application revisions; and most importantly, the risk of excluding the majority of the economically- and/or educationally-disadvantaged members of the community from participating. Despite these reservations, RM#3 deserved to be selected for future exploration is some form. Encouraging the community participants to come to the university to participate in a structured on-campus activity (RM#4) is doable. In future class discussions that will precede the upcoming service-learning project in Spring 2015 the recommendation of a structured on-campus activity will be explored with the class. Preliminary reflection on this topic will be invited as was done previously and resulted in adopting the “small moments” strategy. Silcox (1993) reported on prereflection as the eleventh in the eleven forms of reflection.

Conclusion The professor’s reflection on the value of the student’s reflections in this servicelearning project can be best concluded by stating that in this project the rigor of scientific research applied fully. Having the word “service” before the word “learning” in the term, did not dilute the cognitive learning experience, but rather grounded it well in application. Also, having the word “learning” after the word “service” in the term, did not restrict the service experience, but rather enriched it with scholarship.

References Abu-Shakra, A. (2012). Including a service learning educational research project in biology course -II: Assessing community awareness of Legionnaires' disease. European Journal of Educational Research, 1 (3), 271-282. Abu-Shakra, A. & Nyein, T.K. (1999). Forging effective service learning partnerships via the Cascade Model. In When Community Enters the Equation (pp. 61-70): Campus Compact Publications. Abu-Shakra, A. & Nyein, T.K. (2000). Expanding the reach of university courses in Biology and Health to provide meaningful service to affected communities: the success of service learning at North Carolina Central University. In Ostroff, J.H. & Brubaker, D. C. (Eds.), Service Learning in Biology Monograph, (pp. 75-81): American Association for Higher Education. Washington, D.C. Abu-Shakra, A. & Saliim, E. (2012). Including a service learning educational research project in a biology course -I: Assessing community awareness of childhood lead poisoning. European Journal of Educational Research, 1 (3), 241-253. Altman, I. (1996). Higher Education and Psychology in the Millennium. American Psychologist, 51, 371-398. © 2014 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Astin, A.W., Vogelgesang, L.J., Ikeda, E.K., & Yee, J.A (2000). How service-learning affects students. Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. Bleicher R.E. & Correia, M.G. (2011). Using a “Small Moments” writing strategy to help undergraduate students reflect on their service-learning experiences. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 15 (4), 27-56. Bringle, R.G. & Hatcher, J.A. (1995). A service-learning curriculum for faculty. The Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning, 2(1), 112-122. Bringle, R.G. & Hatcher, J.A. (1996). Implementing service learning in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 67 (2), 221-239. Bringle, R.G. & Hatcher, J.A. (1999). Reflection in service-learning: making meaning of experience. Educational Horizons-Campus Compact Publication 77(4), 179-185. Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Community-Campus Partnerships.

(CCPH;

2013).

Principles of

Good

Daudelin, M.W. (1996). Learning from experience through reflection. Organizational Dynamics, 24(3), 36-48. Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education: Touchstone. Furco, A. (1996). Service-learning: A balanced approach to experiential education. Expanding Boundaries: Serving and Learning, CNS (pp. 2-6). Washington DC.

Furco, A. (2002) "Is Service-Learning Really Better than Community Service?" In Furco, A. & Billig, S.H. (Eds.), Service-Learning: The Essence of the Pedagogy (pp. 25): Information Age Publishing Inc. Harnish, R & Bridges, K.R. (2012). Promoting student engagement: Using community service-learning projects in undergraduate psychology, PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement, 1 (2), 82-92. Hatcher, J. A. & Bringle, R.G. (1997). Reflection: bridging the gap between service and learning, College Teaching, 45(4), 153-159. Howard, J. (1993). Community service learning in the curriculum. In Howard J. (Ed.), Praxis I: A faculty casebook on community service learning (pp. 3-12): OCSL Press. Kolb, D.A. (1981). Learning styles and disciplinary difference. In Chickering A.W. & Associates (Eds.), The Modern American College: Responding to the New Realities of Diverse Students and a Changing Society (pp. 232-255): Jossey-Bass. Richmond, K. (2003). Academic service learning in an English methods class: A practical approach. Language of Arts Journal of Michigan, 19(1) 8-12. Rowley, J. & Munday, J. (2014). A “sense of self” through reflective thinking in ePortfolios, International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, 1(7), 78-85. Silcox, H.C. (1993). How to guide reflection: adding cognitive learning to community service programs: PA Brighton Press. Ward, H. (1999). Acting locally: concepts and models for service-learning in environmental studies (pp. 11-22): American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Series on Service Learning in the Disciplines. Washington D.C.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 145-165, December 2014

Standpoints towards Curriculum Change: Attitudes and Experiences of High School English Teachers Regarding the New Literature Module of the English National Matriculation Sara Zamir, Ph.D, Achva academic college & B.G.U Eilat, Israel Shlomit Gilor M.Ed, B.G.U Eilat, Israel Rachel Sarah Ouaknine Ouaknine, M.Ed, B.G.U Eilat, Israel Abstract. The goal of this research paper was to explore the experiences and attitudes of high school English teachers in a peripheral Southern Israeli town regarding the new Literature Module of the English National Matriculation. Twenty-six English teachers from three different comprehensive high schools were given a questionnaire with seven open-ended questions regarding their experiences and opinions of the new Literature Module. The research was conducted with a qualitative method, grouping together the open answers into categories, subsequently analyzed in order to understand the attitudes of the teachers. The results show that the teachers had mixed feelings about the program, highlighting both the positive and constructive elements as well as discussing the more negative aspects of the program. In conclusion, the Literature Module is seen as a curriculum with potential that encourages higher-level thinking, learning, and teaching, but must undergo changes in order to make it more teacher and student-friendly, especially in the aspects of organizational and structural frameworks. Keywords: High school English teachers; English Matriculation; English as a Foreign Language; curriculum change; Literature Module.

Introduction Curriculum in the academic world is an ever changing and evolving phenomenon. Education is on the forefront of change in society in general and is the foundation for movements of change around the world. In his paper "Five Principles for Guiding Curriculum Development Practice" (1995), Ronald E. Hansen describes curriculum building as a practice which took form in the 1950's when focusing on clear objectives, teaching methods, and forms of measurement. As society evolved from traditional, to modern, then postÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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modern, as did the different views and school of thought regarding changes in curriculum and their implementation. In 2008, the English Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education in Israel announced a far-reaching and important change in its Matriculation ("Bagrut") system. All English teachers would have to learn and implement this change by fall 2011. One third of the matriculation, which had been an external exam testing reading comprehension, would now be an intensive, 3-year literature program, which would focus not only on reading comprehension, but mostly on thinking skills, creative writing, and more. The effects of such a change are extensive and significant. The number of hour's teachers must teach and subsequently check, grade, and return assignments and quizzes of each student in each level of matriculation classes have been multiplied exponentially. The work load is great and reactions from English teachers around the country have been varied. As English teachers in a southern, peripheral town in Israel, we have chosen the topic of recent changes in the national English high school curriculum as it affects our day-to-day teaching, professional development, and changes the way we teach. As the curriculum evolves so do the goals and expectations of those who must then teach it to their students. This means that not only does the actual curriculum change, the way in which teachers are trained, taught, and learn changes. The new Literature program is intensive in its requirements of both teachers and students alike. We have chosen this topic as a way to check teachers' attitudes towards the program and their overall experiences in order to draw conclusions regarding this major change and hopefully be a constructive tool in this ever-evolving process.

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) English is a language which is taught all over the world as a foreign or second language. Its influence is far-reaching and is considered by some to have become the internationally accepted global language. English has spread around the world to a scope unknown to any other language. (Jenkins, 2006; Leshem & Markovits, 2013). The importance of learning English today has important implications to a person's career, work choices, and their ability to succeed in a global environment. In his book "Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice", 2002, Richards and Renandya discuss the history of English language teaching methods and practices in the past through to the current school of thought on this issue. In the 1950's, English quickly became one of the most taught languages to non-English native speakers. This presented a need for the development of language teaching methods, curriculum, and practices. The accepted approach was focused on "methods" must like mathematics, with specific models to teach grammar, vocabulary, etc. which proved to be systematic and unified, not taking into account the needs, different skills and strengths of a specific student. The "method" approach quickly lost its holding as the accepted academic view because of many reasons, the most poignant being that the "method" approach was too prescribed, too "square" and overgeneralized. It was impossible to expect that one method would be applicable to each level of learning in each situation around the world.

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The school of thought, which emerged following the "method" approach, was the "principled" approach. This approach speaks of the experience of the learner, the subjective learning skills and needs of each student. Enlightened choices are made based on thorough research. Enlightened teachers adapt according to their students' needs and the curriculum is not "set in stone" but rather a living and dynamic phenomenon. (Brown, 2002). English language learning today has evolved into a multi-faceted, highly developed and sophisticated field with increased emphasis on the ongoing assessment of student performance. Today with the advent of performancebased assessment, portfolio building, and more, student evaluation has changed from formative to flexible. If in the past student assessment was called an exam or quiz, today the modern teacher uses words like "portfolio" or "project." The educational community has emerged into an era in which there is an array of teaching approaches with an even greater array of learners.

The Role of English Literature in EFL The role of literature in the English as a Foreign Language curriculum was a highly debated one until recently. In the older school of thought, teaching literature had no inherit value in teaching the actual language and was far too difficult for EFL learners. (Collie and Slater, 1987) Critics sighted the cultural barriers of teaching texts which may not be understood by EFL students, not because of the actual words but because of a lack of understanding of the cultural context and meaning. Also mentioned, as a disadvantage to teaching literature to EFL students is the syntactic difficulty inherent in literary texts, which makes reading a burdensome task. (Literature in EFL/ESL Classroom (Khatib et al 2011; Savvidou, 2004). Literary texts don't always use Standard English which can make it extremely difficult to comprehend and interpret. Despite these reservations, today including literature in the EFL curriculum has become an accepted and integral part of teaching English for several reasons. Literature is "inherently authentic and provides authentic input for language learning" (Khatib et al 2011; Shrestha, 2008). This is important since students must feel that the material is relevant, up to date, and most of all, authentic. Literature deals with conflict, feelings, and emotions to tell a story, teach a lesson, or moral. Also, because of its meaningful texts and powerful messages, literature very often is a motivating factor to students who might have difficulties with the language but want to learn the story for content's sake. Another major advantage of teaching literature in EFL classes is exposing students to multi-cultural awareness, to universal concepts, especially in an ever-developing globalized world. According to Maley (1989), literature deals with universal ideas such as love, hatred, death, nature, etc. that are common to all languages and cultures. The resemblances and even variances between cultures and tongues can further our understanding of the whole world.In addition, teaching literature as a means of teaching language is excellent for encouraging intensive reading. When a student is captured by what he reads it makes it much easier to struggle through a text in a foreign language because of ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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its content in spite of the difficulty in language comprehension. Reading is one of the best ways to enrich language knowledge, learn syntax, spelling, and more. The more EFL students read, the more English they learn and absorb. Much can be learned through the intensive reading of poetry, such as important literary terms and concepts (metaphor, stanza, simile, rhyme scheme). Using literature as a means of teaching EFL students is beneficial to helping students learn vocabulary and grammar. Literature involves a vast range of vocabulary, dialogues and prose (Khatib et al 2011; Van, 2009). By being exposed to different topics, they are exposed to a great amount of varied vocabulary that may otherwise have not been taught if not for the specific topic of the literary piece. The exposure to a wide range of vocabulary through literature makes the words relevant when seen and taught in a context and not just another worksheet or textbook. Also, literature is a good medium for critical thinking enhancement among language learners and can bring about changes in the attitudes of the learners. (Van, 2009). According to Langer (1997), literature allows students to reflect on their lives, learning, and language. Literature can open "horizons of possibility, allowing students to question, interpret, connect, and explore." The teacher has an important role of encouraging students to think critically, delve deeper into the literary texts to find and analyze meaning, conflict, morals, etc. Today, critical thinking is the foundation of education mainly at advanced stages of education. Critical thinking prepares us not to take things for granted and to attempt to untie the concealed agenda of texts. (Ghosn, 2002 ; Khatib et al 2011;). 1. The English Matriculation in Israel The English Matriculation in Israel began in the 1930's before the creation of the State of Israel. Dr. Yosef Luria was the head of the Education Department in Knesset Israel, the pre-state organizational body, and headed the committee which outlined the first Bagrut structure. At that point, only about a tenth of the high school aged youth were actually learning in school. (Shmida, 1987). The ones in school were those who showed the highest potential in academic studies while the rest of the county's youth either joined the work force or learned in professional schools, such as agriculture. (Levi, 1990). In 1933, two main tracks for the Bagrut were set, Realist and Humanities. The Realist track included math, physics, English, Bible, Hebrew language, and history. The Humanities track included math, English, history, Hebrew language, Bible, and Hebrew literature. In both tracks English was taught and tested nationally. The exam for the English Matriculation was divided into two parts, a grammar exam and a reading comprehension exam, and was the same for all. (Schiak, 2003) In the 1950's and 1960's the exam remained the same and there was a strong movement to encourage as many youth as possible to continue high school education and test for the Bagrut matriculation. Many subjects were added and some were removed from the mandatory Bagrut tracks but English remained as one of three main core subjects, along with Hebrew language and math. (Shmida, 1987). In the 1970's comprehensive high schools were created, giving all youth an opportunity to complete their high school education and be able to apply to universities. Only then did the Education ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Ministry decide to divide certain subjects into levels for Bagrut testing, including English. The testing was set on three levels, 1-2 points, 3-4 points and 5 points. (Levi, 1990) The educational ministry realized that with the influx of students coming to learn in comprehensive high schools, they must change the uniformed way of testing in order to provide for different levels and abilities of students. During the 1980's many changes were made regarding curriculum and the general outline of the Bagrut matriculation. English remained one of the required core subjects and all students were required to learn on the level of 3 points at least, making the English exams divided into 3, 4 and 5 point levels. Each level included one external national exam with a reading comprehension text accompanied by seven to eight questions, and a writing task or translating task. In the middle of the 90's a system of "Lottery" was put in place where each year one of the seven core subjects, including English was picked to be optional as an external exam. This meant that between 1995 and 1997 there were subjects that weren't tested nationally but given a grade on the matriculation certificate by the teacher, an internal grade. This system was quickly dissolved and by 2000, English was still a permanent requirement for all Israeli high school students in order to be awarded a full Bagrut. (Levi, 1990) In 2002, the Education ministry added another set of exams in math and English called "Moed Bet" in July where students had a second chance at taking these exams in case they hadn't passed in the regular summer or winter term. This is still the case until today, where students are able to test in math and English three times during a school year, January, May and July, unlike any other subject. This change shows how math and English were and remain the main core subjects in the Israeli Educational system. (Protocol of Knesset Educational Committee, 2002) Also in 2002, the Ministry changed the way the math and English Bagrut were structured entirely. Instead of one exam for each level, 3, 4 or 5, now the English Bagrut would be divided into a system of accumulative exams which all together made up the final grade for each student. The accumulative system is still the way the English Bagrut is calculated until today. (Schiak, 2003) A 3 point Bagrut in English now includes three different exams, starting from Module A which includes two texts with questions meant to test reading comprehension together worth 70 points and a listening comprehension task worth 30 points. Module A is worth a total of 27% of the total 3 point English Bagrut. Module B includes a text with questions testing reading comprehension worth 70 points and a short writing task worth 30 points. Module B is worth a total of 26% of the final grade for a 3 point Bagrut. Finally, Module C includes only a text and questions testing reading comprehension which is worth 100%. Module C is worth a total of 27% of the final grade for a 3 point Bagrut. These three modules together are worth 80% with the 20% remaining based on an oral exam in interview form, where an English teacher conducts an interview asking students questions about themselves and about a project they have researched and wrote during the year. ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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The matriculation Modules Three Point matriculation Name of Module A – 2 Unseens (70%) and Listening (30%) B- Unseen (70%) and Writing Task (30%) C – Unseen (100%) Oral Exam – interview based on 40% personal information and 60% explanation of project Final Grade

Calculation Percentage of final grade 27% 26% 27% 20% 100%

A 4 point Bagrut now includes Modules C, D, and E. Module C is the "crossover" exam which is the higher 3 point exam, and the beginner 4 point exam. Module D includes a text and questions testing reading comprehension worth 70% and a writing task worth 30%. Module D is worth 26% of the overall 4 point English Bagrut. Module E is the last exam in the 4 point Bagrut which includes a text and questions worth 70% and a listening comprehension task worth 30%. The overall worth of Module E in a 4 point Bagrut is 27%. Together, Modules C,D and E are worth 80% with the remaining 20% being an interview with an external tester who conducts a ten minutes interview about personal details and the aforementioned project. Four Point matriculation Four Point matriculation

Calculation

Name of Module

Percentage of final grade

C –Unseen (100%) and Listening task 27% (30%) D- Unseen (70%) and writing task 26% (30%) E – Unseen (100%) and Listening task 27% (30%) Oral Exam – interview based on 40% 20% personal information and 60% explanation of project Final Grade

100%

Finally, the five point Bagrut is based on Modules E, F and G, where E is the "crossover" exam between 4 and 5 point Matriculation t. Module F is a text with questions worth 70% and a writing task worth 30%, where its total worth is 26% of the total 5 point English Bagrut. Module G is a text with question worth 60% © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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and a writing task worth 40%, where its total worth is 27% of the final Matriculation calculation. As with 4 points, the 5 point student must also do an interview worth 20% with an English teacher who is an external objective tester about person information and a project. Five Point matriculation

Five Point matriculation

Calculation

Name of Module

Percentage of final grade

E –Unseen (70%) and Listening (30%)

27%

F- Unseen (70%) and Writing Task 26% (30%) G –Unseen (60%) and Writing Task 27% (40%) Oral Exam – interview based on 40% 20% personal information and 60% explanation of project Final Grade

100%

The New Literature Module for English Matriculation In 2008, the English Inspectorate, in conjunction with the Department for Pedagogical Affairs and the High School Division of the Ministry of Education, announced The Literature Module Program for teaching and assessing literature in English in high schools. The program was based on innovative Ministry of Education policy to teach and assess higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) via either a Bagrut examination or school-based evaluation (the Log) (Explanations of the Changes in the Literature Program, 2014). The program was also a response to teacher feedback concerning the assessment in the Bagrut program of that time. (Literature Handbook, 2009) Through this program, the structure of the English matriculation would change dramatically for 4 and 5 point students. Module D and F would be replaced with Literature modules giving each school the choice to have its students be tested externally on a national literature exam or internally, where each student would create a portfolio or literature log which their teacher would grade, therefore making the Log an internal component of the English Bagrut. This required English teachers around the country to undergo training in order to be able to implement this new curriculum. Courses were given in teacher training centers around the country and an online course opened to allow teachers living in the periphery to receive this much needed training as well. Since 2012, after a trial period where only a handful of schools began to implement this program, today all students in Israel have begun testing according to the new Literature program. For 4 point students, Modules C and E along with the oral exam or interview has remained the same. Module D, © 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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however, has now become the Literature Module. 4 point students are required to learn 7 literary pieces, whereas each unit must consist of seven main components. The 5 point Bagrut still consists of Modules E and G along with the oral exam as in the past. Module F has now become the Literature Module where students must learn 8 literary pieces, consisting of the 7 main components as well. The English Inspectorate published a teacher's handbook (2008, 2013) outlining precisely what is expected of students and teachers in both the exam option and the Log option. The seven components mentioned there are described at length and are the moduls for the Higher Order Thinking Skill program and they include: -reading Activity

-reading Activity ion

The major goal behind this main reform in the English Matriculation is to encourage students to think critically and enrich their knowledge of the English language through using these Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) while learning English literature. The teaching of HOTS not only enhances studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ability to analyze literature, but also gives them the ability to better answer reading comprehension questions in expository texts, and improves their writing skills as well as their thinking skills. (Literature Handbook, 2009). The following are the higher-order thinking skills that are required to be taught to students taking the Bagrut Literature exam as well as students who are doing the Log: a. Comparing and contrasting b. Distinguishing different perspectives c. Explaining cause and effect d. Explaining patterns e. Inferring f. Problem solving For those students doing the Log, grading is based largely on content rather than grammar and syntax. Since the goal of this new program is to develop and sharpen thinking skills, the Inspectorate has distanced itself from concentrating ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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on dry language knowledge and has actively encouraged learning the English language in a variety of content based contexts.

The breakdown of each individual unit Grade for Unit

20%

30%

50%

Element

Unit contains all the required activities for the Key Component (by handing in all the required work, even students who have difficulties with the language, rules, grammar etc. receive the 20% for their effort and handing in their work on time) At least one graded Key Component (Either the Bridging Task or PostReading writing activities are graded, based on 20% language (grammar, spelling mistakes, etc.) and 80% on content.) Summative Assessment (Quiz at the end of the unit which covers Basic, Analysis and Bridging questions based on what was learned in class)

The 4 point Literature Module includes 7 literature pieces including three poems and four short stories. The 5 point Literature Module includes 8 literature pieces including 4 poems, 3 short stories and a novel or play. The ministry has published a list of accepted literary pieces and teachers who wish to teach poems or stories which are not on the list must get approval from the local English Inspectorate to do so. Below is the breakdown of the grade for a 4 point Literature Module Bagrut. 20% of the final grade is based on presentation of the Log, aesthetics, and handing work in on time. Teachers are required to send in a sample of their class's work that was done during the year. In May, the English Inspectorate sends a list of randomly selected students which have been chosen to turn their work into the Ministry. Teachers then receive feedback regarding the Log, what to change or improve, and any other comments. For schools that choose to test their students externally with the Literature Module Exam, the learning process is identical to the Log, including the teaching of all seven main components and the use of Higher Order Thinking Skills. The Literature Bagrut examination assesses the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of the literary texts and their ability to use lower-order and higher-order thinking skills that they have learned and applied in the learning process, as well as demonstrate their ability to make connections between the text and new information relating to the text.

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The following tables show the 2 options given to schools as to which literary pieces will be tested on the Literature Exam. Literary Text- OPTION 1 Four Short Stories: "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" by Walter Dean Myers ―Mr. Know All‖ by W. Somerset Maugham ―The Split Cherry Tree‖ by Jesse Stuart ―Thank You, Ma’m‖ by Langston Hughes Three Poems: ―Introduction to Poetry‖ by Billy Collins ―The Road Not Taken‖ by Robert Frost ―Count That Day Lost‖ by George Eliot Literary Text – OPTION 2 Four Short Stories: "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" by Walter Dean Myers ―A Summer’s Reading‖ by Bernard Malamud ―The Split Cherry Tree‖ by Jesse Stuart ―Thank You, Ma’m‖ by Langston Hughes Three Poems: ―Grandmother‖ by Sameeneh Shirazie ―The Road Not Taken‖ by Robert Frost ―Count That Day Lost‖ by George Eliot

For the 5 point Literature Exam, there are 2 different options as well. Teachers must notify the English Inspectorate as to which option they choose. Both options comprise of one play or novel (All My Sons by Arthur Miller & The Wave by Morton Rhue), three short stories and four poems (Compatibility document, 2013).

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Method Research question: What are the attitudes and experiences of high school English teachers in a peripheral Southern town regarding the New Literature Module of the English National Matriculation? Research method: Qualitative- This method was chosen because checking attitudes and experiences is something that is better expressed by words through interviews or questionnaires rather than numbers in a qualitative approach. Research Tool: Questionnaires which were made up of seven open-ended questions were used. Sample: The questionnaires were given to 26 high school English teachers from three different high schools in a peripheral Southern town in Israel. Their ages ranged from 25 to 58. Out of the 26 teachers in the sample, 4 had been teachers for less than five years, 15 had been teachers between 5 and 15 years, 5 had been teachers between 16 and 25 years and 2 had been teachers for over 25 years. Out of a sample of 26, 2 were male and 24 females. All teachers questioned identified as teachers who have taught all three high schools grades at a range of levels, including 3, 4 and 5 points.

Results The answers for each question are divided into main topics which were identified throughout the teachers' answers. Table No. 1: What do you think are the advantages of the new Literature Bagrut program? Explain. Writing and Reading

12 teachers included answers such as: "Students are encouraged to write and Intensive read a lot", "writing activities about different topics including relating to one's life makes creative writing much easier and more fun", " Enriching students' vocabulary, students are able to express feelings and through the topics of each literary piece" Higher Grades are achieved through 8 teachers included answers such as: the "The student will score higher grades on the Module F Log than they would Log on the exam. Since the goal in Israel is getting higher grades then I guess this is good.", "Grades are higher when work is done in class. Their Bagrut isn't dependent on one day of the external exam". "Grades are higher with the Log" ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Content based program takes focus off of dry grammar and language and encourages creativity Internal grading by teacher helps weaker students

Encourages High Order Thinking

Negative: No benefits

No answer

11 teachers included answers such as: "Encourages reading and writing, takes focus off grammar and technicalities", "Students are graded on content over language mistakes.", "Since we give only 20% for language and 80% for content, students aren't embarrassed to write in English and express their opinions." 6 teachers included answer such as: "This makes it easier for weaker students. Also it's an internal grade so teachers feel that the work done in class is meaningful and important.", "Weaker students benefit by having their teachers in class to help them". 7 teachers included answers such as: "Students are asked to write about their own experiences making the program relevant and important to them. This makes learning English more interesting and hopefully a more successful experience.", "The fact that the program encourages critical thinking in an English context is great." 5 teachers wrote answers such as: "None", "There are no benefits", "There are none." 2 teachers left this question blank.

Table No. 2: What do you think are the disadvantages of the new Literature Bagrut program? Explain. Time consuming for the teacher

Large amount of paperwork to Keep Throughout 3 years.

21 teachers included answers such as: "The grading is impossible. It tripled our work load!", "The amount of grading is absolutely out of control.", "I spend hours grading and checking writing tasks. When I teach 2 or 3 classes with Logs it becomes just crazy.", "The workload is overwhelming and tedious" 8 teachers included answers such as: "I keep all of my students' Logs at my house. My whole office is packed with binders and folders!", "I don't trust my students to keep their Log from year to

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year so I have to hold onto everything." "My students are constantly forgetting or losing their papers and assignments" The program is boring.

6 teachers included answers such as: "Some of the the program is boring", "pieces are really boring and not relevant.", "Students are not interested in literature at all"

Students don't take the

10 teachers included answers such as: "The students don't take it seriously and don't turn in their work on time.", "I have to beg my students to do the work. I have to remind them constantly to submit their work in on time.", "My students don't realize that this is their actual Bagrut grade, they don't take it seriously and don't put in the effort."

Log seriously

Too difficult for weak students

4 teachers included answers such as: "The program is too difficult for my very weak students."In the past they could reach 4 points by doing unseens, now they have to learn literature and it's just too difficult". "Some of the pieces have very difficult language or syntax. They use expressions and slang that the students don't know."

Table No. 3: What would you add to the program? Explain. Easier pieces

9 teachers included answers such as: "I would add in lighter poems, funnier stories, with easier vocabulary.", "Easier poems and stories.", "Choosing easier pieces will make it easier on the students and teachers".

More interesting activities

16 teachers included answers such as: "Add more interesting aspects such as seeing the movie, hearing songs", "The book is too dry, adding in fun activities can make it much more interesting.", "We can take the students to see the

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More modern pieces

No answer

play All My Sons". 8 teachers included answers such as: "Using modern More modern pieces poetry will make it more interesting for the students.","I think we should teach Tupac poems. He wrote beautiful poetry and the students would love it!", "We must teach more modern pieces", "We should teach more contemporary works". 4 teachers left this question blank

Table No. 4: What would you remove from the program? Explain. 2-3 Pieces

9 teachers included answers such as: "I would take off 2-3 Pieces of literature at least 2 poems or stories. It's just too much work", "We should take off All My Sons which we've been teaching for 70 years!", "I would remove the boring pieces of literature because the workload is crazy".

The paperwork required

18 teachers included answers such as: "I would remove the paperwork required for teachers to keep and fill out.", "Too much paperwork to keep all these years".

Confusing and difficult questions in 6 teachers included answers such as: the "The questions are too confusing.", "The book has really confusing and textbooks sometimes repetitive questions which are unnecessary". Remove the program completely 5 teachers included answers such as: "Remove the program entirely.", "All of it.", "Everything." No answer

4 teachers left this question blank

Table No. 5: What is your opinion regarding grading the Literature LOG? Time consuming

20 teachers included answers such as: "It's a nightmare", "So time

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Rubrics are clear, easy to use

No answer

consuming", "Takes forever, we have to spend hours grading assignments that the students don't even invest in.", "Grading the Log takes up all of my free time", "The grading is tedious.", "Too many grading charts", "Frustrating and long! I can't stand it.". 6 teachers included answers such as: "I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any problem grading the Log. We only have one assignment and the quiz to grade.", "The rubrics in the handbook are very straightforward and clear.", "I like that we grade mostly based on content and not language which makes my grading easier." 3 teachers left this answer blank

Table No. 6: Do you think that changing Module D/F to a literature program is better or worse than the old Bagrut program? Explain. Better

16 teachers included answers such as: Better "because the students are learning English on a higher level, are taking it more seriously.", "Students are exposed to many forms of literature, culture, and interesting content.", "Using thinking skills is probably the most important thing taught in high school".

Worse

19 teachers included answers such as: "It's too time consuming for both and is a disaster.", "It's worse because all of a sudden we raised the expectations from our students and have to begin teaching a higher level of English", "Worse because it takes up all of our Time" , "Too much work for the same pay".

No answer

3 teachers left this question blank

Table No. 7: How has the new Literature Bagrut program changed the way you teach? Explain. No time for other subjects

17 teachers included answers such as: "I don't teach the text book anymore." ,I don't get to teaching anything else.",

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"I have completely neglected any other projects". I have to try to make it as interesting as possible, book insufficient

Go "by the book"

8 teachers included answers such as: "I search for new material to make class more interesting.", "I have to make the Log relevant for the students.", "The book is boring so I prepare my own material as well". 6 teachers included answers such as: "I go "by the book" as told.", "I do what I have to.", "Follow the program".

Changed attitude- more strict and 7 teachers included answers such as: "I demanding have to be much more strict and make sure the students turn in their work." "I find myself screaming at students who lose their work". No answer 4 teachers left this question blank

Discussion The overall attitudes of teachers regarding the Literature Module were varied. Many teachers wrote positive and negative answers in the same questions and seemed very torn as to whether the advantages of the program were worth all of the disadvantages that came with it. In question one, teachers were asked about the advantages of the Literature program. Most of the teachers found that there was a great advantage in terms of the amount of reading and writing students were exposed to. If in the past, much time was spent on worksheets, grammar, and fill-ins, the program achieved a greater level of English exposure within the context of literature, time periods, messages, and moral dilemmas. Also mentioned as a significant advantage was the fact that program was content based, making English learning more relevant, taken more seriously, and less focused on difficult grammar rules and spelling. This changed the way English was taught and added a new element to the curriculum. It also encouraged creativity and individuality as many tasks were subjective and creative writing. In addition, the Higher Order Thinking Skills were mentioned by 7 teachers as encouraging students to think for themselves, to dig deeper into the literary pieces to find meaning and relevant messages in their own lives, and to think critically about the world around them. Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) is thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts. HOTS takes thinking to higher levels than repeating the facts and requires students to do something with the facts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; comprehend them, infer from them, connect them to other facts and notions, categorize them, manipulate them, put them together in an original ways, and apply them to new solutions to novel problems (Criscuola, 1994). The fact that the grades were given internally was mentioned as an important advantage to the program since it helps the weaker students which couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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otherwise succeed in a 4 or 5 point Bagrut. The internal exam took off pressure from those who don't perform well on the day of the Bagrut and gave them a chance to achieve higher grades. Out of the questionnaires, five teachers included negative answers, that there were no advantages and two teachers didn't answer the question at all. In general the answers in question one showed that the teachers see an educational value in the Literature program. The fact that students are exposed to a high level of English, varied cultural contexts, and receive the final Bagrut grade for this module from their teachers makes the program a seemingly welcomed change. Question two asked teachers about the disadvantages of the Literature module. Almost all of the teachers mentioned time consumption as the main disadvantage. The teachers complained of a huge amount of workload, endless tasks to grade, and an impractical amount of paperwork to keep. In addition, the paperwork became the responsibility of the teachers as most students failed to keep their work organized properly and many even lost units of literature. Also, many students didn't take the program seriously, many times not handing in work on time or handing it in at all. Another disadvantage is that six teachers found the program boring and irrelevant to the students, making it subsequently boring to teach as well. Especially for weaker students, the teachers felt that the program was too difficult and expected too much from the students. The language, slang, and syntax made it almost impossible for weaker, borderline students to succeed on a 4 or 5 point Bagrut, making them "stuck" in 3 points. In general, the disadvantages mentioned were definitely not negligible. These were serious points that should be taken into consideration, especially since with the greater amount of workload, time, and effort; the teachers mentioned that they received the same amount of remuneration. In addition, the negative attitudes of students were mentioned as a big factor contributing to dissatisfaction of teachers since now most of the responsibility was shifted from the students to the teachers as the Bagrut became internal. In question three, teachers were asked what they would add to the program. Most teachers mentioned the fact that they would add more interesting activities to the program to compliment and add to the boring and dry literature textbooks. The teachers suggested many ideas such as adding multimedia, interactive activities, and more to enrich the learning experience and curriculum. Also, teachers mentioned the desire to add more modern pieces to the program in order to make it more relevant to the students. Many teachers also wanted to be able to choose pieces that were more appropriate level-wise for their students, especially in the weaker groups. Four teachers left this question blank. Out of these answers, the general attitude showed that teachers desired to improve the program through creative mediums and activities. Many teachers thought of their weaker students and suggested ways to help them succeed despite the difficulty of the program.

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Question four asked teachers about what they would remove from the program. The most suggested answer was the amount of paperwork teachers had to deal with. One of the solutions given as to what could be removed which would result in less paperwork was removing two to three literature pieces from the program. This would help reduce the amount of tasks to grade, paperwork to fill in, and more importantly, paperwork to keep throughout the three year program. Another suggestion as to what would benefit the program by being removed was to remove the confusing and difficult questions from the textbook which often lead to frustrated students and teachers alike. Five of the teachers wrote that they would remove the entire program altogether and four teachers left this question blank. The overall attitude of the teachers regarding the removal of a part or parts of the program focused on the large amount of grading and paperwork, as a way to lighten the workload and ensure success of both teachers and students. The main suggestion was to lessen the number of literary works which seems like a very practical and doable solution worth taking into consideration. Question five asked teachers their opinion regarding the grading of the Logs. Almost unanimously, the teachers answered that it was too time consuming, tedious, and overall very frustrating. Only six teachers mentioned the handbook as a useful tool which laid out the grading rubrics very clearly. Three of the teachers left this question blank. In general the teachers complained about the amount of grading rather than the difficulty of the grading system itself. The handbook might be very clear but it doesn't help those teachers with large classes and multiple levels. Teachers are already overwhelmed by the amount of work, exams to grade, projects to check, book reports to assess, phone calls to make, meetings to attend, etc. that the English teaching profession requires. Adding the Log on top of all these responsibilities and tasks became almost unrealistic to expect from teachers. In question six, teachers were asked if they think that the new Literature Modules were better or worse than the old Module D and F, and to give an explanation as to why. Most teachers answered with mixed reactions, giving reasons for better and worse. Teachers noted that the new Literature program was better because of the higher level of learning, the change from grammatical, dry learning material to rich, relevant, and content based literature. They appreciated the fact that since the grade was now given by the teacher, many weak students felt more confident to try a 4 point Bagrut. In addition, students were exposed to many different kinds of dialects, slang, and sayings that they wouldn't learn otherwise. Many teachers wrote that the amount of work, paperwork, grading, and time made the new program worse than the old modules. Teachers mentioned the fact that they have no time to teach other important lessons needed for language learning and the other two modules tested in the Bagrut. Also mentioned was the fact that the work load for teachers increased significantly but the pay stayed the same. Expectations from students and teachers were raised significantly and teachers felt that preparation was needed from before high school to be able to deal with the content of the program. In addition, teachers felt that the responsibility of ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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handing in and keeping work had shifted from the students to teachers adding to the stress of the program. In general most teachers wrote answers that mentioned how the new program was both better and worse than the old modules. This shows that teachers didn't see the program as "all good" or "all bad" but saw potential in an innovative and new curriculum while also suggesting that there were changes to make before it was seen as an accepted and effective program. Question seven asked teachers to describe how the new Literature Bagrut program changed the way they taught. Most of the teachers identified the fact that with the new program they didn't have time for other subjects and had to dedicate all of the frontal lessons to the Literature Module to be able to reach deadlines. Because of the apparent lack of interesting questions and activities in the course books, many teachers felt they had to invest much time searching for and creating new material in order to keep the learning process stimulating. Seven teachers changed their attitudes completely towards teaching English in Bagrut classes since they felt they had to be much stricter and demanding regarding due dates, assignments, tardiness and absences. Six teachers mentioned that they just go by the book and follow instructions of their superiors and the Inspectorate, while four teachers left the question blank. In all, the teachers felt that the new program had lead them to make changes in the way they teach, whether in terms of curriculum and material or in terms of their general attitude towards teaching. Most teachers felt that the course books being used were insufficient and they had to invest much time and effort into supplementing the material given in order to make the program more relevant and exciting. By sorting the answers written in each question and identifying common categories, we saw that the teachers in general identified both positive and negative aspects in the new Literature Module. Many times the same teacher wrote both for and against in the same question highlighting the fact that the program is seen as having potential and moving in the right direction in terms of content, but on the other hand, still needed much reform and change in regards to the actual logistics and framework. The overall attitudes of teachers when mentioning the positive aspects of the program showed how much they invested themselves in their classes and groups. The teachers suggested ways to include weaker students, to improve the curriculum in order to make it as relevant, interesting, and motivating as possible. Their general goals were to make the English Language experience a positive one, both for the teachers and students alike. Through their suggestions and ideas, it's clear that the teachers were not totally against the program, but were interested in adding, changing, and improving it to become more beneficial for all. Many of the suggestions were very practical and definitely have a place in curriculum reform. When identifying negative aspects of the Literature Module, the most important and significant point mentioned was the unforgiving and overwhelming work load. The amount of assignments to be checked, exams to be graded, and papers to safe keep over the three year length of the program was the biggest complaint. As teachers responsible to lead their students to success in the English Matriculation, they almost all stated that the amount of time being allotted to the ÂŠ 2014 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Literature program engulfed them, leaving no time for teaching other vital skills in language learning. This frustration at the lack of time, amount of work, and the irresponsibility of students leading to even more toil on the part of teachers, lead to an overall negative attitude towards the program, not so much because of its content, but because of its structure.

Conclusion The answers given by the teachers were mostly written in a constructive and practical way, giving us a glimpse as to what teachers "in the field" experienced when faced with a new and daunting curriculum change. The most effective way of achieving successful curriculum reform is to listen to the bottom of the educational "food chain": the teachers who actual implement and live the change. It's important to note that as far as we know, no research has been done on the new Literature program as it has been fully implemented only the past year in all schools nationally. Our goal is to be able to use this paper as a means to effect change in the Literature program and give teachers an opportunity to voice their comments, concerns, and experiences. We hope that the English Inspectorate will take these results into consideration and effect the necessary changes in the program in order to improve the experiences of both teachers and students. In addition, the research was done after only the first full year of implementation of the new Literature program. The fact that the program was new overall and required much preparation because of this could have led to increased frustration and stress not connected to the actual program itself. It's possible that in a few years, after becoming accustomed and familiar with the program, teachers will react differently and more positively. It's important to mention that just a week before this paper was due, long after the questionnaires had been filled out, returned, and analyzed, the English Inspectorate published an updated version of the Literature Handbook (August 2013) which made quite a few minor changes but one major change came as a relief to many teachers. The Inspectorate decided to lessen the number of literature pieces to be taught both for the exam and the Log to 6 pieces for 4 and 5 points alike. This will definitely be a welcomed reform in hopes that the Literature program will reap the benefits of all of its positive and constructive aspects, while lessening the stress and frustration associated with its weaker points. It would be interesting to conduct a similar type of research in a few years to check the effect of these recent changes on the attitudes and experiences of high school English teachers nationwide.

References Brown, D. (2002) English Language Teaching in the "Post-Method" Era: Toward Better Diagnosis, Treatment, and Assessment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Collie, J., & Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the Language Classroom. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Criscuola, M. (1994). Read, discuss, and reread: Insights from the Junior Great Books program. Educational Leadership, 5. 58â&#x20AC;&#x201C;61.

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Ghosn, I. (2002). Four good reasons to use literature in primary school ELT. ELT Journal, 56, (2), 172-179. Hansen, R. E. (1995). Five Principles for Guiding Curriculum Development Practice: The Case of Technological Teacher Education. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education. Winter, Vol. 32, Num. 2. Jenkins, J. (2006), Current Perspectives on Teaching World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca. TESOL Quarterly, 40: 157â&#x20AC;&#x201C;181. Khatib, M. Rezaei, S. & Derakhshan, A. (2011). Literature in EFL/ESL Classroom, Vol. 4, No. 1, 201-208. Langer, J. (1997). Literacy acquisition through literature. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 40, 602-614. Levi, Y. (1990). Changes in matriculation exams in Israel, Jerusalem: Ministry of Education. Leshem, S. & Markovits, Z. (2013). Journal of Education and Learning; Vol. 2, No. 1 211-. .221 Maley, A., & Moulding, S. (1985). Poem into poem. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J.C. and Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd edition). N.Y: Cambridge University Press. Savvidou, C. (2004). An integrated approach to the teaching of literature in the EFL classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 12 http://iteslj.org/ Schiak, D. (2003).A scrutiny of the matriculation exams over time and their goals, Jerusalem: Knesset, Information center. Shmida, A. (1987). Between equality and excellence, Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University. Shrestah, P. N. (2008). Using stories with young learners. Van, T.T.M. (2009). The relevance of literary analysis to teaching literature in the EFL classroom. English Teaching Forum, 3, 2-9. Documents Compatibility document (2013). State of Israel: Ministry of Education, Pedagogical Affairs, Language Department & English Inspectorate, June, 2013. Explanations of the Changes in the Literature Program, 2014). State of Israel: Ministry of Education, Pedagogical Secretariat Language Department & English Inspectorate. Teachers' Literature Handbook, (2008, 2013) English Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education, Israel.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 166-176, December 2014

Racism in Contemporary Educational Reality Parents’ Aspects Dr. Maria Vlachadi PhD, Lecturer, Dep. of Political Science, University of Crete Eleni Mainou Eppaik, Aspete (School of Pedagogical and Technological Education) Abstract. Greek society and all societies in the countries of Europe alike are multiculturalist. The adoption and implementation of an intercultural approach towards “differentiated cultural groups”, will give an opportunity to their members to actively participate in “social living” preserving at the same time their own cultural identity within a wider context of socially acceptable values and practices. The prevalent aspect of the dominant cultural group considering “foreign” anything different, ignoring at times the obvious (i.e. that Muslims of Thrace and Gypsies are also Greek citizens). Even the acceptance of certain different social groups should follow their “assimilation” in the way of life of the dominant social group. Thus, prejudice, stereotypes and xenophobia have become an integral part of daily life. In the 21st century Europe shows contradictory and ideological signs as to the serious impact national identity have on daily life and on the future of a nation-country, in general. The awakening of nationalism in the Middle East throws discredit upon the subsidence of the same phenomenon in the West. As the political and economic developments do not seem to be very optimistic in many countries of the European Union, the phenomenon of reemergence of extreme right national political parties and nationalist organizations appears to take place in every country in question, including Greece. The first “victims” of such an ideological turn are the residents (immigrants and refugees) and citizens of the European Union whose presence and activity throw discredit upon the image of a culturally, nationally and racially compact and unified, as far as ideological orientation is concerned, national state. Within such a xenophobic and foreign oriented environment, it is likely for obsolete ideological constructions as well as new created ones to be used as cognitive, sentimental and behaviorist “tools” in order to behave, realize and experience “others”. Therefore, a pedagogical intervention is deemed essential and intentional in an effort to provide elementary analytical information concerning the social, psychological and educational mechanisms which produce, preserve and contribute to the perpetuation of racism. The present paper is focused on the phenomenon of racism in contemporary educational reality while an effort is made to point out the levels of racism as far as national identity, racial origin, sex and language differentiation are concerned. Keywords: racism, contemporary educational discrimination, educator’s role, parents’ aspects

Reality,

social

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Racism: Conceptual Clarification of the Term & Forms of Social Discrimination The created circumstances by the European Union and the movement of the population have brought about necessary changes on the organization and operation of the Greek school. The Greek educational system as national oriented, mono-cultural, monolingual and homogeneous is incapable to deal with the national-cultural difference of the students while the Greek educational policy has made an effort to deal with the problem essentially only during the last two decades (Georgogiannis, 1997). The United States, Britain and France were the first to implement certain educational policies concerning the integration of students with national-cultural particularities (children of immigrants or minorities) into school (Askouni, Androussou, 2001). The concept of an individual as a member of a broader category, the so called categorical concept, is in relation to the acknowledgement concerning the qualities of the social category the individual belongs to. From the aforementioned acknowledgement and mostly from the evaluative acknowledgement arises an image for the “other”, whose basic characteristic is generalization and oversimplification. This image is called a stereotype. The term “discrimination” refers to the unfair treatment of an individual, because this individual belongs to a certain social group for which there is a negative stereotype and negative prejudice, on the part of the discriminator. Social discrimination means differentiated treatment either favorable or adverse. Whether the discrimination is positive or negative, what is important is that the social identity of the “other” intervenes on the interaction and changes the regulations of the game either in favor or against him. In the case of negative discrimination the subject suspends some of his obligations towards the “victim” of discrimination cancelling in this way any respective expectations and rights of the victim. If however, the discrimination is positive, then the subject raises some of the restrictions which regulate the “other’s” expectations. In this way, he exceeds the limit of his obligations towards the “other” who is subjected to a privileged treatment without deserving it. It is worth mentioning that in both cases treatment is unfairly unequal therefore unjust (Martindale, 1988). The social category in which the individual of the discrimination belongs to (“the other”) also defines the sort of discrimination. If the category is race, the discrimination is racial so there is racism in a stricter sense. If the category is national origin, the discrimination is nationalist whereas in the case the social identity of the “other” has to do with religious integration then the discrimination is religious. It is evident that there is no restriction in the forms of social discriminations in the sense that theoretically this restriction coincides with the restriction of social discriminations. History however has shown that categories of race, nation, religion, sex, age, professional group and social status have been until this day a breeding ground of social discrimination (Searle, 1992).

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The relation between prejudice and discrimination is a relation of theory – action, meaning that prejudice has to do with readiness for action (stance) while discrimination is an attitude, thus involves action. Social discrimination is nothing but the materialization of an existing prejudice against a social group. If the stereotype is a categorical concept concerning the “other” and prejudice a categorical stance towards the “other”, then social discrimination is a categorical treatment of the “other”. There are times when prejudice is not expressed practically as hostile attitude. Whether it will take place or not depends on various factors such as the economic situation of the individual, his personality or social environment (Kassimati, Papaioannou, Georgoulas, Prandalos, 2005). According to Dovidio and Gaertner (1986), people acknowledge only the prejudice which is deemed socially acceptable and in conformity with their ideology, personal values and policy. On the contrary, “old-fashioned prejudice” which is no longer socially acceptable, is replaced by other kind which is based on contemporary social norms. In 1950, Adorno and his associates started studying prejudice in relation to the development of personality. Researchers concluded that prejudiced individuals had a particular type of personality which they called bossy. Bossy personality is characterized by convention, inflexibility, subservient submission to power, aggressiveness, stereotypes and prejudice, desire for power, destructiveness, cynicism and tendencies for standing out. The fact that social discrimination constitutes materialization of prejudice does not mean that every form and case of social discrimination presupposes prejudice. The decision, for instance, of a hotel owner not to provide accommodation to Albanian immigrants is susceptible of multiple interpretations. It may be a product of classical prejudice meaning that the hotel does not accept this category of clientele in general without any particular reasons imposing such an attitude. There is also the case in which fear is expressed that these people will leave the hotel in the morning without paying the bill, which means that there would not be a discrimination, in the first place, if there was a certainty that the specific clients would behave like any other regular clients. In this case discrimination does not involve prejudice against the victim of discrimination but is based on some prediction concerning their potential attitude (Gotovos, 1996). It is an undeniable fact that social discriminations which function as the cause for the creation of social prejudice, may be the result of prejudice from previous times created by ideological mechanisms of those particular times. The second form of creation of prejudice – “social discriminations which become visible from the low position of the particular group in the social hierarchy, lead to social prejudice” – is widely spread (Tsiakalos, 2000). In conclusion, social discrimination (racism) is a case of differentiation of attitude towards a certain individual who belongs to a particular social category

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and does not constitute social discrimination every differentiation of attitude towards the “other” based on his social identity. The basic presupposition for the differentiation of attitude towards an individual in order to become social discrimination is the institutional or moral fundamental right of every individual to be the receiver of a specific treatment regardless of whether he belongs to or not to the social category in which he belongs and because of which he is subjected to the discrimination. To sum up, racism is the cancellation of the “other’s” expectation for equal treatment based on a united criterion whether it is established or considered moral by the broader environment without being established.

Education & Social Discriminations The relation between social system and social discriminations has two aspects: a) the educational system can contribute to social discrimination through its selective operation, that is distributing school titles based on the social category of the beneficiaries and not according to their merits, and b) the school may favor social discrimination as an element of ideology whether official (analytical curricula, school guides), or unofficial (class organization, arrangement of seats, students’ registration). Social discriminations in education can be institutionally established (institutional racism) or unofficial (cultural racism). The term “cultural racism” refers to discriminations taking place in daily life yet not institutionally valid existing as characteristics of a cultural tradition of a community, society or social group (racist mentality, manners and customs). This discrimination is useful because it allows the tracing of racist attitudes in education even if the institutional framework is neutral and other but racist. The presence of racism in education even if there is not a racist institutional framework is probable for the following reasons. First because official regulations never cover all the details of educational acts, leaving the “initiative” to the educators in order to cover the gaps. In this way overtly or covertly stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination practices are carried into education. The most frequent and difficult racism to be dealt with, is racism among students. Especially when this racism constitutes an operational element in the composition of peer groups and the assertion and preservation of status, creates a thorny pedagogical problem for the educational staff. The first seeds of the ideology of racism are met in the sociological thinking of the 19th century, more specifically the French sociologist Arthur de Gobineau (1816-1882) in his four-volume work “Essays on the inequality of human races”, gave the theoretical stand for the development of racist ideologies. Gobineau supported that there is a prevalent racial inequality and that only Aryans who constitute the superior part of white race have succeeded in providing remarkable cultural achievements during the course of human civilization. He also believed that the conquest of an inferior population by a superior one

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contributes to the progress of civilization, taking into consideration that both populations will preserve their racial purity. Finally, Gobineau attributed the decadence of civilization to the intermingling of populations (Timasheff, Theodorson, 1983). Reality, as it is expressed daily through the interaction of social associates in education, not only does it not coincide necessarily with the role model or as it is outlined by institutional regulations, but also deviates systematically from it. This is happening mainly within the frame of an educational system where the supervision mechanisms of its operation do not exist or if they do they do not operate. In an educational system characterized by deviation, racist practices appear in the form of infringement or ignorance of regulations which are supposed to prevent or ban social discriminations (Gotovos, 1996). The most known and blatant form of institutional educational racism is the official exclusion of parts of the population from the educational system because they belong to specific social categories (ex. blacks, women, people of another religion etc.). It is worth mentioning that exclusion does not arise by the fact that the specific population belongs to the social categories it belongs and at the same time it presents low performance or expresses denial to use the services of the educational system. It is owed exclusively to the fact that the potential students in question belong to certain social categories. It involves administrative exclusion and not an exclusion through the use of internal educational criteria. Such exclusions are nonexistent in the educational systems of most countries nowadays and belong to the past as far as the educational systems of the technologically developed societies are concerned (Govaris, 2001). The institutional educational racism is likely to appear in the level of educational infrastructure, organization and administration of the school, analytical curricula, school guides, education and training of educators, the system of positioning and detachment of educators and finally in the level of pedagogical practices. When the material conditions of realization of the educational act for a particular population of students who belong to a certain social group (ex. national, religious, language, cultural minority) are policy downgraded (unsuitable school buildings, nonexistent infrastructure for the support of teaching etc.), the result is an existent, institutionally defined discrimination of the provided educational services to the student population in question, in comparison to the provided services to the rest of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s students. Now, as for social discrimination in the level of organization and administration of a school, it takes place when through administrative regulations there is an attempt and realization of an entrenchment of specific student groups because they belong to a specific social group (creation of intercultural schools for students of a different language). This fact constitutes an institutional barrier on communication and interaction of students from different cultural

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environments within the same school premises, a kind of “cultural catharsis” in a small scale. The interesting element of this practice lies in the fact that initiatives for such a regulation do not come from the top of the educational pyramid but from students’ parents of the dominant group. The decision of the administration to give in to the pressure of the “base” follows a peculiar reasoning of compromises in an educational and policy level which does not necessarily mean that the educational system in an administrative level which adopts racism. It means however, that it does not adopt as principle of administrative action the rejection of racist demands and accepts their satisfaction when this reassures certain returns (Dragona & Fragoudaki, 2001). According to the aforementioned, an antiracist education is deemed intentional and necessary based on the principles of Intercultural Education and multicultural approach, far from elements of xenophobia, a phenomenon which is characterized by the sense of fear or dislike and aversion towards foreigners. The term is typically used to describe aversion towards foreigners or individuals who are different (Vlachadi, 2009).

The Educator’s Role in Discrimination Management The question now is how the aforementioned theories can assist the educator in managing discriminations and reducing prejudice. According to the theory of contact, an emphasis is given on the suitable existing conditions so that innergroup contact can create positive attitudes. Conditions that will promote interactions of an equal level and a contact which will have frequency and duration while its nature and quality should be effective. The educator possessing the knowledge of this theory and its conclusions will be able to construct this effective contact selecting the cooperative methods supported on the creation of small student groups who are assigned various projects and exercises, who cross roles and duties while they cultivate responsibility and interdependence of each student, since each child should be taught and teach what he knows. Intercultural education is above all an appeal for the cultivation of a dialectic relation, a dynamic interaction process, mutual recognition and cooperation between different multicultural groups and presupposes, as Markou (1995) and Damanakis (1997) mention, the overcoming of the narrow concept “nationcountry”, the abandoning of the national oriented models which permeate the school curricula, the acceptance of multiculturalism, the acceptance of the different and the created osmosis from the coexistence and cohabitation of individuals and groups with cultural differences (Nikolaou, 2000). The theory of social identity based on the aspect that positive inner-group identity is acquired when compared to the outer-group, can provide the educator with the awareness of these processes and thus the capability to stay alert whether to prevent them or to soothe them. The theory of social

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categorization in which the center of the approach involves categorization as a cognitive process, structure or form, which simplifies the process of information and defines the result of the intergroup interactions, gives the opportunity to the educator to examine the social mechanisms which create prejudice and acquire the pedagogical knowledge in order to construct the contact between his students in a way to encourage information in an individual level, contact with many and not only one member of the group while aiming at the creation of a merging super-group who will cover both conspicuous and supplementary roles for each member along with the existence of a common target. In the theory of the realistic groups of Sherif and his associates, in which competition is inevitable when there is a conflict of interest between the two groups, the educator can decrease this competition with the adoption of “dividing” and the determination of common targets replacing the competitive interests. So the educator is the mediator while Post innovatory society and Pedagogy as well as the basic principles of the European and intercultural dimension, demand and define a new role for the educator. According to Xohelis (2005), the post innovatory school with basic characteristics the provision of a minimum yet basic network of knowledge and mainly the initiation of the young generation in ways and methods of approaching the knowledge where the importance lies not in quantity and completion but in quality and the way of acquiring the knowledge, the creation of incentives and readiness for Lifelong Learning, the development of personal judgment that is, “defensive mechanisms for the new generation towards scientific and technological achievements, cultivation of respect towards human freedom, cultivation of sensitivity and sense of responsibility towards the natural environment as the framework of existence and presupposition of the survival of man”. According to Kossivaki (2003), in the post innovatory school the target is the cultivation of a peaceful conscience and attitude towards other peoples and foreign students, since the basic characteristic of contemporary societies is their multicultural profile, constituting a necessity the ability of understanding and solidarity for the “foreign” and the “other” who has a different racial orientation, color and religion and different models of thought and education. Thus, in this school with European consciousness where the cultural identity of the citizens of every country-member is not downgraded, the new demands for migratory movement were expressed with the request for “Intercultural Education” forming respective tendencies and mainly attitudes in environments with different cultural characteristic systems of principles and behavioral patterns and facing prejudice and racist expressions and finally, at school where the democratic way of political organization and the cultivation of a democratic conscience require a different role and profile from the educator as well as a different way of dealing with the problems he is facing today.

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The educator, as Kossivaki (2003) mentions, in order to function within the frame of the European and intercultural dimension in education, he has to respect and promote individual and social awakening of the child as well as play a leading role in the educational and social activities, he should also respect the child’s particularity, be seriously aware of the incentives and speculations, awaken the child’s background and abilities, whereas as far as social awakening is concerned, he defends the student’s weaknesses and supports the effort of their overcoming, teaches the use of mature reasoning and the art of communication and understanding others, teaches the student responsibility in an effort to integrate him into the world, exactly as he is, and provide him with the vision and reassurance that all this is feasible (Xohelis, 2005). The educator, according to Xohelis (2005), is a pioneer and ringleader in the service of the child, by being an example himself with his way of life while he struggles with all his strength and substantiate open and publicly his beliefs through his actions, controlling his principles and standing up for his student along with his own pedagogical freedom. The post innovatory school by adopting intercultural education is characterized by openness and flexibility (Kossivaki, 2003).

Research Part Aim of Survey – Sample Characteristics – Survey Methodology The basic aim of the survey was to examine the phenomenon of racism in a level of nationality, racial origin, language differentiation and sex. More specifically, the focus was on:      

Whether there are racist incidents at the Greek school? Who is responsible for racism? Whether children’s parents are racists and if they affect their children? Whether their children have witnessed racist phenomena at school? Whether they have experienced racism and how they reacted? What was the form of racism they experienced?

The sample of the survey included 80 parents of Greek origin whose children attend Elementary School and High School in Athens. There were 40 women aged 28-40 years old and 40 men aged 35-50 years old. The sample was selected from the archives of Parents Schools operating in Athens. For the collection of the data the method of the questionnaire was used including closed type questions in order to have more valid results.

Survey Results The survey showed the following:

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  

 

There are racist phenomena in the Greek school not only against foreign students but also against Greek students, in a percentage of 92%. Children’s parents are not judgmental if their children hang out or their friends are foreign students, in a percentage of 82%. Parents encourage their children to behave politely to foreign students (ex. inviting their schoolmate to their house) and condemn every form of social exclusion, in a percentage of 91%. In almost all schools in Athens half of the student population is foreign, approximately 85% in Elementary School and 65% in High School. Racism is reinforced due to the economic crisis in the country, according to the 38% of male parents and 40% female parents. The parents’ educational level shapes or influences up to a point the friendly or reserved attitude of the child towards foreign children. The lower the educational level, the more prejudiced the individuals against foreigners. Greek students have experienced racism from foreigners because they were outnumbered, in a percentage of 92%. Greek students have reported a racist incident to their teacher, in a percentage of 11%, to their parents 85% and to their classmates 4%.

Conclusions There has been an effort in this paper to define the term racism and how it arises in education, as well as the definition of otherness and how it is dealt with in education, also how attitudes are formed towards other people and how stereotypes and prejudice against groups, according to Allport (1921), and how stereotypic concepts represent the mental energy used to simplify the myriads of social information deriving from an individual’s surroundings (Georgas, 1986), and what the developed theories are in order to explain the formation and propagation of stereotypes and prejudice. It has been comprehensible that if cognitive energy of categorization of information concerning social groups, as well as its mechanisms, cognitive, sentimental, social and cultural, as Macrae (1996) mentions, which create stereotypical concepts about social groups change, then stereotypes can change along with attitudes towards social groups which create false impressions or oversimplified concepts. Prejudice can be decreased if there is personal contact, frequent and close contact would be even better, if it allows improvement of relations among the members of the group, if the members belong to the same social class and finally if contact involves cooperative activity. Then and only then can prejudice be decreased under certain circumstances and as it was mentioned before, as far as stereotypes are concerned. The focus of the paper was on the methods of intercultural education and the methods of social psychology which assist in the decrease of prejudice and the management of discriminations along with their mutual completion. The emphasis on the methods of intercultural education has been understood in order to comprehend the social inequalities connected to these phenomena,

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while in social psychology, the evaluative part of prejudice and more specifically the three composing parts of this attitude – prejudice that is, knowledge, evaluation and readiness for action, how these attitudes are created, the prejudice and the discriminations along with racism, while the capability of the educator has been pointed out to make use of these complementary methods in order to manage the discriminations in a constant evolving school, the post innovatory school. As contemporary pedagogical research shows, from the moment that the demand for a different educational practice emerges critical in all levels and all circumstances and since there have been efforts and solutions as well as methods have been provided in order to decrease prejudice and there is a “proper” management of difference within the classroom, the emphasis must be given on the preparation of educators who will stay alert, will always be able to identify the particularities of the framework in which they will be called to act and at the same time will be in a position to realize the capabilities and limits of the system within which they work as well as their personal contradictions.

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