rss_2.0Sciendo RSS Feed for Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Educationhttps://sciendo.com/journal/DCSEhttps://www.sciendo.comhttps://sciendo-parsed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/6471b0c3215d2f6c89dad319/cover-image.jpghttps://sciendo.com/journal/DCSE140216https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0014<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> A potential health crisis looms large in the Punjab, India where alcohol consumption has risen dramatically. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol. This empirical study presents a pedagogical intervention, Children as Agents of Social Change (CASC), which aimed to raise awareness about the effects of alcohol using an ICT-supported educational dialogue among adolescent students and alcohol-experts from multiple domains. Primary data consists of pre- and post-test questionnaires from the control and experimental groups (N=379) and an interview of the teacher-in-charge of one experimental school. Results indicate that the intervention significantly improved students’ scientific knowledge about alcohol; changed their attitudes towards media and celebrity promotion of alcohol; and enabled them to surmount the odds to spread information - acquired during the CASC intervention- to people outside the school, including adult drinkers. Learner-centric pedagogy combined with ICT clearly amplified transformative learning. CASC appears to be a promising approach in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It can be used for multiple sustainability issues.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00142019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0018<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> The article focuses on a discourse of resilience and remembering and its interconnectedness in teaching contested historical narratives. History mainly consists of events, remembrance, narratives, rituals, discourses, and stereotypes which can facilitate or prevent resilience. Since such purposes are part of religious and values education, a multidimensional approach is needed, which combines historical, psychological, religious, sociological, educational and literary aspects in a kind of ‘grammar of remembrance’, in order to motivate and facilitate autonomous and supervised research with discussions and sharing of experiences in different projects. The aim of this conceptual study is to facilitate interdisciplinary research and educational projects concerning memory cultures and conflict management.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00182019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0011<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> Research on the impact of place-based education (PBE), in which educational experiences are situated in the local environment (Smith, 2002), consistently suggests academic, social, and affective benefits across demographics. Traditionally, professional development supporting PBE has been designed to support large-scale initiatives. In this study, a bottom-up approach for expanding the reach of place-based art education (PBAE) was implemented with teachers (n=11) from a school district in the southeastern United States through two sequential professional development workshops. We examined the extent to which this minimal intervention impacted teachers’ understanding, buy-in, and creation of PBAE curricula. Results suggest that this organic approach, with teachers positioned as agents of change, can build upon pre-existing teacher interest and equip teachers to expand PBAE into their teaching contexts.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00112019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0020<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> In the preschool period children develop rapidly in cognitive, social-emotional, physical, psycho-motor, language, and aesthetic areas. In this period, besides basic habits and skills, it is important for children to gain environmental awareness. Research shows that children are mostly affected by environmental problems. Yet, living in a clean and healthy world is a basic necessity for children. For this reason, it is possible that children can show a healthy development in all developmental areas and create a healthy future by establishing ecological balance through gaining environmental awareness during the preschool period for sustainability. Science and nature activities in the preschool education program play an important role in creating an environmental awareness of the children in this period as they include activities to acquire environmental awareness and provide important contributions to helping children gain environmental awareness for sustainability. The present study was conducted using a total of 80 students attending pre-school institutions in Konya province. The environmental pollution awareness scale was used as pre - test and post - test prepared by the researchers. The data was analyzed via the SPSS 18 program. As the post test scores of preschool students revealed, there was a significant difference for the experimental group with regard to environmental pollution awareness.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00202019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0012<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> This mixed methods study examined preservice teacher perceptions of their needs related to inclusion. The study examined 120 early childhood and elementary preservice teachers from two universities, from both general and special education programs. Inclusion has been considered best practice in education for many years; however, how to best facilitate inclusive practices to meet the needs of all learners remains an area of uncertainty for preservice teachers. Prior research has connected perceptions of preparedness to effective inclusive practices. A survey was developed and validated about inclusion and perceptions of preparedness to teach in an inclusive setting. The survey included both Likert-scale items and open response questions. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of the survey. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used to examine the quantitative results. Responses to open-ended questions were coded to identify qualitative themes. The findings indicated that preservice teachers lacked a coherent understanding of inclusion and perceived themselves as needing additional development to be fully prepared to teach in an inclusive setting. The results suggest that teacher preparation programs need to provide a more coherent conceptual framework to guide the enhancement of both course and field work related to inclusion and effective inclusive practices.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00122019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0017<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is critical for Caribbean countries such as Jamaica as the country grapples with various sustainability issues. The integration of ESD into formal and non-formal education therefore becomes a necessary undertaking. At the formal level, reorienting curricula at all levels is important and advocated for in various international documents such as Agenda 21 and by agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With this in mind, this study utilised a qualitative content analysis approach to undertake a preliminary exploration of ESD content in TVET curricula at the lower secondary level (grades 7-9) in Jamaica. Analysis of three of the subjects as taught in the TVET area of Resource and Technology revealed that though ESD issues, perspectives and skills are integrated into various components of the curriculum, many of the ESD issues, perspectives and skills the research sought to identify were not evident in the curricula. Additionally, based on the analysis, it was felt that the curriculum lacks alignment among the components (objectives, content, learning experience, assessment, teaching strategies) that reflected ESD content, and that there is need for integration of more such content in the curricula to ensure that TVET and ESD yield the relevant benefits.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00172019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0013<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> Discussion on sexism regarding language focuses on how women are discriminated against in our daily language and in academic writing. Although we are against any kind of discrimination, when it comes to dealing with this phenomenon in language and language use, we should be more careful. Language is not only a symbolic means whereby humans interact, it is also a product of human intellectual activity imbued with various experiences of our past and recent ancestors. Thus, it is also a reflection of our society’s conceptual system through which we interpret physical and mental phenomena. In this paper, we have analyzed views regarding sexism and language; tried to display how improving the so-called injustices in language would result in some dire situations which may have never been foreseen. We finally put forth our own solutions to overcome the problems of sexism in academic writing.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00132019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0019<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> International communication with different digital tools is now established both at universities and in other contexts worldwide. It is therefore relevant to describe how one of these tools is used in higher education. In the present study the focus is on seminars carried out in student-interactive video-conferences on didactic and pedagogical issues with student teachers. The participants were international and Swedish student teachers at the Department of Education at a Swedish university and at two different campuses. The results are based on analyses of the students’ written reports completed after the seminars and show that the interactive video-conference is useful to establish contacts between students in different places and to develop intercultural understanding of school-related matters. The video-conference is thus a way to work with internationalization in a sustainable way in teacher education, giving opportunities for the exchange of ideas and experiences both at personal and professional levels without mobility.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00192019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0016<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of early childhood teachers’ reading attitudes, the total number of the books they have read about their profession, the total number of the books they have read on general topics, and their teaching experience on their teaching efficacy. Participants consist of 362 early childhood teachers from 51 different cities in Turkey. Of the 362 participants, 333 are female (91%) and 29 are male (9%). The ages of the teachers range from 21 to 50, with a mean age of 27.47. The participants responded to a personal questionnaire; Early Childhood Teachers’ Teacher Efficacy Scale (ECTTES) and Reading Attitude Scale (RAS). Stepwise regression analyses for subtests CM, SE, PI, P and for total teaching efficacy indicate that reading attitude and teaching experience are significant predictors. For subtest C, reading attitude and age appear as significant predictors. For subtest IS, only reading attitude appears as a significant predictor. Accordingly, in order to improve early childhood teachers’ reading attitudes, book clubs and peer reading groups are recommended.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00162019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0015<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p> The number of people applying for school based religious education leadership positions is scarce in most regions throughout Australia as well as other geographical regions. Drawing on the insights from key stakeholders associated with religious education leadership in schools this qualitative study aimed to identify factors which militated against sustaining school based religious education leadership. This paper reports on the findings emanating from the study and proceeds to outline practical solutions that may contribute to attracting and sustaining future generations of religious education leaders. The key factors impacting on the sustainability of religious education leaders include feelings of disconnection, excessive demands associated with the role and a lack of structural support. Practical recommendations are outlined to contribute to sustaining school based religious education leadership. The recommendations include a review of teacher appraisal processes, equity in terms of industrial conditions and the inclusion of middle leadership positions that support the leader.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00152019-01-11T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0009<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>Entrepreneurs keep our economy and society vibrant by implementing new ideas, which is why our society needs people with entrepreneurship competences. The development of our entrepreneurship competences does not begin with the start of our professional lives, but is initiated in earlier phases of our socialisation. Entrepreneurship education can trigger and support this process. A common goal of entrepreneurship education is to strengthen entrepreneurs with value orientation for a sustainable society. All entrepreneurs of the future are in school today, the nature of their value-oriented education and their willingness to participate is shaped by today’s learning. This article provides information about entrepreneurship education, with a focus on Entrepreneurial Challenge-Based Learning for a sustainable future. Entrepreneurial Challenge-Based Learning touches on the basic personal and social issues of responsibility and autonomy and is intended to foster a culture of solidarity in our society.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00092018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0007<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>There is no doubt about the necessity for the inclusion and the integration of minority groups in German school system. Although there are different recognised politics and developments within the school policy of the 16 federal states in Germany, there are also common important political issues. While heterogeneity in minority groups is emphasised, the under-representation of minority groups in the education workforce can also be recognised. Of course, this can be seen not only as a matter of social justice, but also as a question of a responsible integration-policy by the (national) state, its political system, institutions, and culture. The present study outlines the problems and chances which are connected with the practical work of teachers with a migration background for the school service in Germany. In addition, examples of good practice in aspects of networks and mentoring, information and awareness-raising are indicated.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00072018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0004<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>Survival of organizations nowadays depends on their ability to learn properly and quickly increase their efficiency and their performance and to adapt to the changing environment. Creating an organizational learning culture (OLC) could achieve an increase in the survivability of organizations.</p><p>This paper examines the OLC questionnaire, the developed research methodology, adapted andapproved by Israeli local authorities. This study analyses 529 questionnaires filled in by municipalitiesi employees.</p><p>The aim of the research: the development of a mechanism for increasing the efficiency of the local authorities by influencing the behavior of employees through the creation of Organizational Learning Culture (OLC).</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00042018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0002<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>The article reflects results from a web-based survey of early career teachers who had taken a required, hybrid course focused on sustainability science. Many alumni reported early efforts to integrate sustainability topics and ways of thinking into their K-8 classrooms. Teachers reported modeling of classroom behaviors that promoted sustainability more than implementing sustainability into the curriculum. Read-aloud books and videos were used frequently, suggesting the need for available high quality children’s books and videos on sustainability topics. Supports that were most helpful to teachers included school-wide initiatives, curricular and instructional resources, like-minded colleagues and supportive administrators. Lack of time and alignment with curricula were barriers that hindered some teachers’ progress, suggesting the importance of systemic curricular reform that brings awareness to the Sustainable Development Goals.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00022018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0005<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>Effective teaching is considered to be one of the factors that can facilitate learner achievement. The present study investigated the indicators that constituted good teaching from the perspective of higher-education students at Applied Linguistics departments, Iran. To do this, following a substantial review of the literature, the five major indicators (with their sub-components) defining teaching effectiveness were identified (viz. Preparation-Organization, Knowledge, Learning-Thinking, Enthusiasm and Delivery). Next, the questionnaire developed by Delaney et al. was administered to 80 higher-education students who were selected through convenience sampling by emails. The open-ended nature of the data needed a manual approach to the analysis and coding of the data. Overall, 13 final characteristics were observed based on the analysis and were further discussed and elaborated on.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00052018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0010<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>Several high-level strategies devote special priority to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Given the seriousness of the ESD agenda in SIDS, it is vital that ESD programmes perform at a level where potential positive impacts on schools and communities can be realised. Contemporary literature on ESD has shed light on the most effective educational approaches for addressing the types of complex sustainability problems facing islands. This study set out to identify the types of changes which Indian Ocean ESD professionals are working towards on the ground, and how these relate to contemporary ESD theory. Despite the practical and urgent issues facing Indian Ocean SIDS, this research reveals a general rejection of traditional expert-driven instrumental/behaviourist approaches in favour of a dominant emancipatory approach and full grasp of the need for transformative change and a holistic ‘whole institution approach’ to ESD among ESD professionals in the Indian Ocean. The study goes on to illuminate how the professionals believe transformative change can be recognisable in Indian Ocean schools, and finally proposes four indicators for evaluation.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00102018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0006<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>Sustainability has become an important issue in the world today for both business and society. As accounting faculty members, it is important that we add aspects of sustainability into accounting classrooms to help prepare students for what they will see in the workplace. The article aims to discuss areas for faculty to share with students the importance of sustainability. The methods of discussing sustainability in the classroom come from the teaching experiences of the authors. Cost, managerial, and intermediate accounting courses, as well as auditing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, serve as conduits for sustainability concepts. Examples include discussing the triple bottom line, examining CSR reports and assurance services for them, talking about required environmental reporting and integrated reporting, and examining green balanced scorecards. The hope is that faculty can help students learn not only accounting but how to be better citizens with a global perspective on sustainability.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00062018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0001<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>While researchers, educators, state and national organizations, and policy makers are taking strides to help transform traditional mathematics classrooms into inquiry-based classrooms, they fail to address how to bridge the gap between creating discussions to developing mathematical discourse. One key component for producing inquiry-based classrooms is to have effective discussions (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_dcse-2018-0001_ref_027_w2aab3b7ab1b6b1ab1ac27Aa">Smith &amp; Stein, 2011</xref>). However, to have effective discussions, social norms must be in place that promote active participation from students (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_dcse-2018-0001_ref_026_w2aab3b7ab1b6b1ab1ac26Aa">Sherin, 2002</xref>). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to synthesize educational research on social norms in the mathematics classroom to identify key components teacher educators can focus on to help teachers establish and implement social norms that promote sustainable inquiry-based classrooms. Results suggest social norms must be developed through collaboration of the teacher and students, the classroom environment must be supportive of mathematical discussion, and finally, norms should be (re)negotiated to help change students’ ways of thinking.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00012018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0003<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>An objective of the European Union’s Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan is to address high levels of youth unemployment in Europe by promoting entrepreneurship. Implementing entrepreneurship education in schools, colleges and universities is one of three strategic interventions proposed by the Action Plan. Sustainable entrepreneurship is a recognised branch of the wider field of entrepreneurship and the literature on sustainable entrepreneurship sees it as a means of addressing some of the sustainability challenges of the 21^st century. This article compares the pedagogical approaches and the competences of ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) with those of entrepreneurship education to identify how ESD might influence entrepreneurship education in order to develop entrepreneurs that contribute to a sustainable future. This comparison is placed in the context of the broader debate on the need to transform the dominant neo-liberal economic systems as part of the precondition for achieving a more sustainable future.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00032018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-0008<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title><p>Quality teaching, being a key factor in shaping students’ academic and personal growth, has been at the centre of scientific debate for many years. Sustainable professional development of novice teachers has recently been recognized worldwide as one of the key areas for improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools. Given that the initial years on the job are generally characterised by novice teachers as the most challenging and intense in their career, the following questions typically arise: What can be done to sustain and facilitate teaching at the early developmental stages in teachers’ career? What are the contextual factors and the prerequisites leading to the quality of teaching and learning?</p><p>The article presents the findings from a two-year longitudinal qualitative study aimed to contribute to the research base for understanding this crucial stage. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to provide deeper understanding and insights into key factors influencing and shaping novice teachers’ early professional development and learning, as well as their capacities to effectively adapt to their new roles and operate in complex and dynamically changing open-ended school environment. The research is framed as a cross-case analysis of 4 cases of novice teachers working in public secondary schools. The data were collected through multiple sources (i.e. semi-structured in-depth interviews, questionnaire, and focus groups) over a two-year period spanning the participants’ first and second full-time teaching years. Substantial differences in experiences and beliefs among the novice teachers, with varying levels of job satisfaction and professional support received, were identified in the study. The authors have also identified numerous patterns of novice teachers’ teaching practice closely associated with teachers’concerns and early professional experience interpretations, which might result in substantial fluctuation in teaching quality and teacher’s career paths.</p><p>Implications for teacher education programs, mentoring, supervision, teachers’ professional development, and future research are discussed.</p></abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/dcse-2018-00082018-05-26T00:00:00.000+00:00en-us-1