scholarly journals What are the core aims of English as a school subject? A study of teacher understanding in lower secondary school

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Lynell Chvala
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
English Education ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
World Language ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
School Subject ◽  
Teacher Understanding ◽  
The Core ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Basic English

Teachers’ interpretations of the core aims of a school subject open or constrain what can be taught and learned in the subject in school. The global spread of English and its changing status in the world have impacted how English as a school subject is understood and what it is meant to achieve. This article explores teachers’ understandings of the core aims of English as a school subject at the end of basic English education in Norway.  Data consist of interviews with 12 teachers across six schools in a large school district. Qualitative analyses of the data identify four core aims: 1) acquiring content knowledge of English-speaking countries, 2), developing communicative language ability 3) developing linguistic knowledge of English and 4) developing the democratic citizen. While acquiring knowledge and learning to communicate in English are dominant in teacher understanding, linguistic knowledge of English and democratic participation are much less pronounced. These findings are discussed in light of future needs for English as a world language. Finally, suggestions are made for bridging the way English as a school subject is understood today and imagining an alternative for the future. Key words: English as a school subject, core aims, teacher cognition, lower secondary school, NorwayHva er kjernemålene i engelskfaget på ungdomstrinnet i skolen? En studie av lærers forståelseSammendragLærernes tolkning av de sentrale målene for et skolefag er avgjørende for hva som kan undervises og læres i faget i skolen. Utbredelsen av engelsk og språkets endrede status i verden påvirker hvordan faget forstås og hva som oppleves som hensikten med faget. Denne artikkelen utforsker læreres oppfatninger av de sentrale målene for engelskfaget i grunnskolen i Norge.Datamaterialet består av intervjuer med 12 lærere ved seks skoler i en stor kommune. Gjennom kvalitative analyser av intervjudata er fire sentrale mål identifisert: 1) Å tilegne seg kunnskap om engelsktalende land, 2) Å utvikle kommunikative ferdigheter, 3) Å utvikle  engelsk språk- (lingvistisk-) kunnskap og 4) Å utvikle demokratiske medborgere. Mens kunnskapstilegnelse og utviklingen av kommunikative ferdigheter er dominerende i lærernes forståelse, er kunnskap om det engelske språksystemet og opplæring i demokratisk deltagelse mindre tydelig i materialet. Funnene blir diskutert med tanke på fremtidige behov for engelsk som verdensspråk. Til slutt presenteres et forslag for hvordan man kan bygge broer mellom forståelsen av engelsk som skolefag i dag og et mulig alternativ til dette i fremtiden.Nøkkelord: Engelsk som skolefag, kjernemål, formål, sosial praksis, lærerdiskurs, Norge

Regional Geography Education in Poland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Świętek ◽  
Wiktor Osuch
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Education System ◽  
Geography Education ◽  
School Level ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
Regional Geography ◽  
The Core ◽  
Regional Education

Education in regional geography in Poland takes place at public schools from the earliest educational stages and is compulsory until young people reach the age of adulthood. Reforms of the Polish education system, resulting in changes in the core curriculum of general education, likewise resulted in changes in the concept of education in the field of regional geography. The subject of the authors’ article is education in regional geography in the Polish education system at various educational stages. The authors’ analysis has two research goals. The first concerns changes in the education of regional geography at Polish schools; here the analysis and evaluation of the current content of education in the field of regional geography are offered. The second one is the study of the model of regional geography education in geographical studies in Poland on the example of the geographyat the Pedagogical University of Cracow. Although elements of education about one’s own region already appear in a kindergarten, they are most strongly implemented at a primary school in the form of educational paths, e.g. “Regional education – cultural heritage in the region”, and at a lower-secondary school (gymnasium) during geography classes. Owing to the current education reform, liquidating gymnasium (a lower secondary school level) and re-introducing the division of public schools into an 8-year primary school and a longer secondary school, the concept of education in regional education has inevitably changed. Currently, it is implemented in accordance with a multidisciplinary model of education consisting in weaving the content of regional education into the core curricula of various school subjects, and thus building the image of the whole region by means of viewing from different perspectives and inevitable cooperation of teachers of diverse subjects. Invariably, however, content in the field of regional geography is carried out at a primary and secondary school during geography classes. At university level, selected students – in geographical studies – receive a regional geography training. As an appropriate example one can offer A. Świętek’s original classes in “Regional Education” for geography students of a teaching specialty consisting of students designing and completing an educational trail in the area of Nowa Huta in Cracow.

scholarly journals Development of English Communication Competence of Learners in Educational Institutes in Nakhon Ratchasima Province for Joining AEC

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. p32
Author(s):  
Thawascha Dechsubha
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Education Department ◽  
Ability Test ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Basic English ◽  
English Instruction ◽  
Academic Year

This research interpreted data from 4 research topics 1) Development of a New Method of English Instruction for Higher Secondary School Learners for Joining AEC, 2) Development of Basic English Communication for Occupational Progress of Non-Formal Education Learners in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, 3) Development of English Competence for Communication of higher Secondary School Learners in Nakhon Ratchasima Province for Joining AEC and 4)Development of English Skills of Tertiary Level Learners in Nakhon Ratchasima Province for Jobs and Occupational Opportunity.The purposes of this study were to (1) study ability of English speaking for communication of higher secondary school learners from Boonluawithayanusorn, and Baanluamwithayakhom higher secondary schools for joining AEC, (2) compare ability of English speaking for communication of higher secondary school learners from Boonluawithayanusorn and Baanluamwithayakhom higher secondary school for joining AEC for joining AEC, (3) study basic English speaking ability for occupational progress of non-formal education learners, (4) compare basic English speaking ability for occupational progress of non-formal education learners, (5) study the English speaking skill of the tertiary level learners in Nakhon Ratchasima in order to add up a chance of jobs and occupation and (6) compare the English speaking ability of the tertiary level learners in Nakhon Ratchasima in order to add up a chance of jobs and occupation.The population in this study consisted of 290 learners from higher secondary schools, from non-formal education department, and tertiary level who took English course during the second semester of the academic year 2015. Samples consisted of 140 learners from higher secondary schools, non-formal education department, and tertiary level who took English course during the second semester of the academic year 2015 through the purposive sampling random. Eight weeks were spent on this research. The instruments were (1) the questionnaire related to students’ problems about the English instruction, (2) classroom observation, (3) semi-structured interview, and (4) English speaking ability test (pre-test and post-test. The scores of English speaking ability were analyzed and interpreted statistically in terms of mean (x?), standard deviation (S.D.), and t-test (pretest and posttest) with the criterion of 60%.

scholarly journals Smak för hållbar utveckling?

2021 ◽  
pp. 130-157
Author(s):  
Lolita Gelinder
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
School Subject ◽  
School Students ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Teachers And Students

In the school subject Home- and Consumer Studies, the curriculum includes knowledge about sustainable food consumption, i.e. the students should learn to make sustainable food choices. Previous research has shown that taste is an important factor when people choose what to eat. The purpose of this study is to investigate teaching about sustainable food consumption, by focusing on how teachers and students talk about taste during foodwork, more specifically what meaning that is construed in relation to taste and how this content may be understood in relation to different perspectives on taste. Video data from two classes of Swedish lower secondary school students is analyzed using pragmatic discourse analysis methods. The results show that taste is mainly used in terms of taste assessments and thus provide an understanding of taste as something fixed and unchangeable. A transactional perspective on taste is suggested as an alternative, working with taste as something changeable and reflexive. In this way teaching can be a part in students developing new taste experiences, which is crucial for wanting to change eating habits, or for learning to eat new dishes, and foods, which will be required in order for people to make sustainable food choices.

scholarly journals The Teacher as One of the Factors Influencing Students’ Perception of Biology as a School Subject

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-140
Author(s):  
Milan Kubiatko ◽  
Gregor Torkar ◽  
Lenka Rovnanova
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
School Subject ◽  
School Students ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
School Subjects ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Significant Factors

The main aim of our research was to determine whether the teacher is one of the factors influencing students’ perception of biology as a school subject. The study also aimed to identify the influence of certain other factors in this regard, specifically: students’ gender and place of residence, the number of biology teachers who have taught the students, and theteachers’ gender. The sample consisted of 261 lower secondary school students (ISCED 2) in Slovakia, aged 14 and 15 years. A questionnaire with Likert-type items was used as a research instrument. The findings confirm the impact of the biology teacher on students’ perception of the subject. After removing the influence of the teacher, the students’ gender and placeof residence did not have any significant influence on their perception of the subject. Two additional significant variables were the number of biology teachers who had taught the students and the teachers’ gender. The research confirmed that the teacher’s personality is one of the significant factors that can influence students’ perception of school subjects.

scholarly journals ESD for managers in the Danish lower secondary educational curriculum

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mathias Paaske ◽  
Olman Segura-Bonilla ◽  
Jairo Hernandez-Milian
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Traditional Education ◽  
School Level ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Core ◽  
Secondary School Level ◽  
Conceptual Paper

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to challenge the current educational methods taking place in Danish lower secondary school by introducing the concept of education for sustainable development (ESD) to help managers and teachers facilitate an action-oriented approach aimed at potentiating the level of sustainability and environmental awareness.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper is based on the relevant literature and examines the necessity to move beyond traditional education curricula by offering a new practical sustainable framework for facilitating ESD at Danish lower secondary schools. A particular focus relates to evaluating and adopting sustainable approaches in the educational literature that is sufficiently sensitive to practical changes in Danish lower secondary teaching methods.FindingsWith the purpose of generating awareness about climate change and students’ ecological footprint to lower secondary school students in Denmark, it was found that embedding ESD in the Danish curriculum would be an important tool for this purpose. The authors outline practical recommendations for managers at the lower secondary school level.Originality/valueThis conceptual paper addresses the core issue of traditional education in Danish lower secondary schools by suggesting to adopt the educational framework of ESD. To this end, the authors have offered a variety of specific practical suggestions accordingly to how traditional education can be redesigned by focusing on action-oriented learning and future-oriented ESD. Furthermore, the authors propose that certain educational components of smart cities might promote an underlying commitment to meet the core issues of climate change, as this has yet to be examined. The research on ESD for managers at the Danish lower secondary school level is fairly limited to date.

scholarly journals Learning, teaching and assessment of second foreign languages in Swedish lower secondary school

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Bardel ◽  
Gudrun Erickson ◽  
Rakel Österberg
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Dropout Rate ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
School Subject ◽  
Current State ◽  
High Dropout Rate ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Swedish School

This paper presents an overview of second foreign language (SFL) education in Sweden, especially at lower secondary level. It offers a survey of the historical development of the study of other languages than English as well as a reflection over the current state of the subject. Currently, there is a shortage of research on the circumstances and conditions of the learning, teaching and assessment of the Swedish school subject Modern languages, as well as on young people’s proficiency in other languages than English in Sweden. In order to contribute to a knowledge base for further research, the current paper reviews work considering the Swedish context concerning: a) frame factors, policy issues and organization of SFL studies b) attitudes towards plurilingualism and SFL motivation, c) teacher education and recruitment policies, and d) levels of attainment at the end of compulsory school. Throughout the paper, the European context is also taken into account. The paper ends with a discussion of the general status of the subject Modern languages in Swedish school and society, the fact that this subject is not mandatory, and the consistently high dropout rate that characterizes the current situation.

Social innovation for modified consumption by means of the school subject Art and craft

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita NEUBERG
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
School Subject ◽  
Art And Design ◽  
The Core ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
The Subject

In this paper I will take a look at how one can facilitate the change in consumption through social innovation, based on the subject of art and design in Norwegian general education. This paper will give a presentation of books, featured relevant articles and formal documents put into context to identify different causal mechanisms around our consumption. The discussion will be anchored around the resources and condition that must be provided to achieve and identify opportunities for action under the subject of Art and craft, a subject in Norwegian general education with designing at the core of the subject, ages 6–16. The question that this paper points toward is: "How can we, based on the subject of Art and craft in primary schools, facilitate the change in consumption through social innovation?”

Social Influences - a Psychological Phenomenon in the Choice of Further Course of Education and Career

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-53
Author(s):  
Petr Hlaďo
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Social Influences ◽  
Compulsory Schooling ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
School Students ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Psychological Phenomenon ◽  
Research Findings

The aim of this overview study is to synthesize Czech, Slovak and foreign empirical findings on the choice of further course of education and career. Attention is focused specifically on social influences as a psychological phenomenon affecting this decision-making process in lower secondary school students at the end of compulsory schooling. The main attention is paid to the roles of parents and family, particularly the influence of family background and family processes. Another issue is the influence of peers, teachers and career counsellors on the choice of further course of education and career. The synthesis of research findings is based primarily on an analysis of research papers published in journals.

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