Search Results (29)

Based on recent work outlining the transformation of professional communicator roles and the desperate search for “curators” or “agents of change” in neighboring disciplines such as management, business and economics, sustainability studies and education, we present a systematic reflection of concepts in higher education for sustainability and their (missing) fit to professional communication education in a world in crisis. The blind spots and challenges identified, especially from a communication perspective, will be filled with concepts from environmental communication pedagogy, pointing to the need for more participatory strategies and radicality in professional communication education. Concrete modalities of instruction will be discussed and supported by eight reconstruction interviews with pedagogues, educators and students from diverse cultural contexts involved in sustainability communication education. The findings show the need for more radical pedagogy and unorthodoxy. The paper finishes with suggestions for practices that materialize sustainability in co-created sites of change. Full article

Beyond Inclusion aims to explore and revise embedded societal norms which are reproduced throughout practice. In this paper, Queer will be utilised not only to disrupt, but to divest from the cis-normative and hetero-normative standards which are often cemented by the fields within which we work. Informed by collected narratives, ethnohistory and theoretical developments in pedagogy, Beyond Inclusion will explore the multifaceted and multidisciplinary application of Queer pedagogy in order to celebrate Queer, and use Queer to celebrate all which deviates from normalcy. With the intention of empowering youth, community and educational pedagogues to feel confident in Queering their pedagogy, this paper aims to agitate systems of oppression by unusualising the usual, and usualising the unusual, by illuminating what is considered to be normal and why, and how normalcy impacts those who reside on the outskirts of hegemonic culture. Readers will be invited to mobilise Queer, in order to re-examine, reimagine and reconstruct new and Queered ways of upholding anti-oppressive practice. This research will present pragmatic actions which have been informed by questionnaires and interviews with Queer participants, and aim to improve lived experiences for young Queer people and Othered communities. This body of work emphasises negotiated practice, in that the reader will not be provided with definitive solutions, but instead be autonomised in deducing and producing their own knowledge and actions from the information presented. Full article

Thina Curtis, pedagogue and creator of fanzines in Brazil, has built a trajectory marked by resistance and the expression of a counter-hegemonic ethos that permeates all her production. From an early age, Thina became involved with punk culture, where she found in fanzines a means to express and amplify marginalised voices, challenging sexism, discrimination, and inequalities. Her work and performance stand out for a visceral opposition to fascism and intolerance, while seeking to build a transformative and inclusive pedagogy. Fanzines, in Thina’s practice, are a means of critical and anti-neoliberal pedagogy that not only questions the traditional educational system but also promotes participatory education. This approach places Thina and other social agents—women, youth, prisoners, and disadvantaged communities—as co-creators of knowledge, breaking with the idea of one-way teaching. Through a qualitative and biographical methodology, centred on the life trajectory of Thina Curtis, we examine fanzines as adaptable pedagogical tools that challenge curricular rigidity and encourage critical and participatory training, essential for the decolonisation of knowledge and for social transformation. Full article

While moderate exercise supports regular menstrual cycle (MC) function, many female athletes experience MC symptoms that negatively influence their training and performance. Hereby, knowledge and communication about this topic are important to promote an athlete’s health and wellbeing. Hence, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and communication surrounding the MC among Norwegian rhythmic gymnasts, ballerinas, and dancers. In total, 116 rhythmic gymnasts, ballerinas, and dancers aged ≥ 16 years training ≥ 3 days per week completed an electronic questionnaire. Of these, 63% (n = 73) reported a lack of knowledge about the MC’s influence on physical fitness and performance, and 39% (n = 45) rated their coaches’ or pedagogues’ knowledge as low. With only 32% of participants discussing the MC with their coaches/pedagogues, communication was found to be limited. Seventy-three percent felt uncomfortable during training or competition due to their attire and recommended darker colors and more options in size and layering. The study highlights a significant gap in knowledge and communication about the MC among female athletes and coaches/pedagogues in aesthetic sports. It also recommends improving athletes’ choice of attire for greater comfort and confidence. Full article

The topic of phonation onset gestures is of great interest to singers, acousticians, and voice physiologists alike. The vocal pedagogue and voice researcher Manuel Garcia, in the mid-19th century, first coined the term “coup de la glotte”. Given that Garcia defined the process as “a precise articulation of the glottis that leads to a precise and clean tone attack”, the term can certainly be linked to the concept of “vocal onset” as we understand it today. However, Garcia did not, by any means, have the technical measures at his disposal to investigate this phenomenon. In order to better understand modern ways of investigating vocal onset—and the limitations that still exist—it seems worthwhile to approach the subject from a historical perspective. High-speed video laryngoscopy (HSV) can be regarded as the gold standard among today’s examination methods. Nonetheless, it still does not allow the three-dimensionality of vocal fold vibrations to be examined as it relates to vocal onset. Clearly, measuring methods in voice physiology have developed fundamentally since Garcia’s time. This offers grounds for hope that the still unanswered questions around the phenomenon of vocal onset will be resolved in the near future. One promising approach could be to develop ultra-fast three-dimensional MRI further. Full article

According to research about creativity in education, creativity can be considered an ability that can be fostered through specific teaching strategies. Consequently, future secondary music teachers should be equipped with the knowledge to develop students’ musical creativity. A challenge for teacher training lies in providing concepts and strategies to develop this professional knowledge. With the aim of improving a music didactics course, the purpose of this study was to understand how student teachers’ conceptions of creative music teaching evolved over one semester. In reference to the concept of creative teaching developed by Beghetto and research about the role of the teacher’s body in music education, a specific framework to identify aspects of creative pedagogical knowledge was conceived. A thematic analysis of two semi-structured interviews with five future secondary music teachers provided a detailed picture of the evolution of their conceptions about creative music teaching. Interestingly, student teachers’ knowledge of theoretical concepts presented in the course, as well as knowledge about the role of the body in creative music teaching, remained mainly implicit. Knowledge about their professional identities as creative musicians and pedagogues appeared to be relevant for enhancing awareness of how to teach with creativity. In order to describe this dimension more precisely, we develop the concept of creative stance knowledge as an emerging category from the data. Its potential for teacher training will be discussed, including a more embodied vision of creative pedagogical knowledge for music teacher training. Full article

Within the field of early childhood education, the Nordic model is characterised as being child-centred and holistic, based on children’s participation, democracy, autonomy, and freedom. Despite a strong tradition of incorporating children’s perspectives, research has identified it as a democratic problem that children continue to occupy a non-privileged position in which their voices are often unheard or disregarded in many contexts. Similarly, there is a tendency to apply adult-led methods, such as interviews, which can hinder the openness to children’s diverse ways of communicating, which is not just through verbal expressions. In this article, we position ourselves within what we perceive as the second wave of research on child perspectives in which the research interest converges on exploring how children’s perspectives are connected with the contexts in which children participate. Drawing on agential realism and an empirical example from a daycare centre, we demonstrate how children’s perspectives emerge from and become entangled with pedagogues, ethics, spaces, materials and discourse. Thus, the question is not about gaining access to children’s perspectives, but rather to be concerned with the interactions wherein children’s perspectives can emerge. This involves a critical view of the structures and basic assumptions that manifest themselves in the daily life of daycare centres and which underlie, and can result in, a subordination of children and children’s perspectives. Full article

Peace has always been a topic of great importance and the origins of thinking about peace and education for peace can be traced back to ancient philosophy. In the 21st century, the presence of peace has been desired by all nations, societies and people of goodwill, especially due to so many international conflicts and wars (the dramatic situation in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and Ukraine). Historical and socio-cultural developments concerning peace and violence urge pedagogues, psychologists, sociologists and theologians to seek the foundations of education that promote peace. Taking into consideration the given context and importance of peace, this article will reflect on the issue of Christian education for peace, especially in the family environment. Educators dealing with the issue of peace education refer to various inspirations and sources of knowledge. As this article is written from the perspective of the Christian understanding of peace, the authors will first refer to the teaching of Pope John Paul II as a strong promotor of peace. Papal documents and speeches consequently present that peace has its roots in the upbringing of human beings; therefore, in the next part of this article, Christianity serving the good of the family, the assumptions of Christian education towards peace in the family and practical indications will be shown. Full article

The concept of narrative holds a pivotal position in the Qurʾān, yet it has been subject to inadequate scrutiny and insufficient representation in pedagogical discourse concerning Islamic education. The present work endeavours to rectify this gap in knowledge by employing the technique of constructivist grounded theory to the Qurʾān and major exegeses, with a particular focus on the term qaṣaṣ, which pertains to the notion of narrative. This article delves into the profound tracts and maqāṣid (objectives) that qaṣaṣ hold in the Qurʾān and contemplates their exhortation for education on Islam and modern pedagogy. The analysis reveals that the qaṣaṣ present in the Qurʾān serves as a fundamental framework that directs the essence of the narrative pedagogy model of teaching and learning between the pedagogue and learner. Through typological figuration, the listener’s contemplation leads to a re-evaluation of conventional notions surrounding the dynamics between teacher and student and the dissemination of narrative within a pedagogical setting. The triad of truth, beauty and explication are fundamental pillars within this Islamic framework for narrative pedagogy, representing the essence of the human condition concerning education. Because these domains emerge from the concept of qaṣaṣ, the integration of the framework into Islamic education is a matter of utmost importance, given its centrality in the Qurʾān to foster and perfect the principles of Muslims and their sense of self. Full article

As pedagogues and childhood professionals, teachers must be aware of both implicit and explicit learning processes. They must also bear in mind that learners’ performances may be influenced by the many emotions triggered by different situations at school (e.g., fear of failing, happiness upon succeeding, anger at leaving work unfinished). The objective of the present study was thus to analyze the efficiency of implicit learning among 8- to 11-year-old children and the impact of emotions on this type of learning. In order to analyze implicit learning, 65 elementary-school children performed a serial reaction time task in a laboratory context. Emotions were induced by asking the children to read six short emotional sentences and listen to classical music. Results showed a significant impact of the task condition (semi-random or fixed sequence) on reaction times. Moreover, the induction of happiness resulted in slightly longer reaction times compared with neutral induction. These results need to be deepened to better understand the interactions between emotions and implicit learning in children. Full article

Initial Teacher Training (ITT) has been a recurring theme in recent years in Chilean educational policy and the field of educational research, mainly due to its impact on the Chilean educational system. Under its relevance, this article analyzes ITT and some aspects of its improvement through the revision methodology described by Kart and Kart (2021). Among the main findings, it is possible to mention that the research provides evidence on the decisions that should be made around the teaching profession and the improvement of initial training not only at the institutional level but also at the educational policy level. At the same time, it highlights the need for comprehensive support for future pedagogues and the importance of using the data obtained through the ‘National Diagnostic Evaluation’ for decision making. Full article

(1) The war in Ukraine has changed the normal life of every Ukrainian, including educators. For the fourth month, the educational process has been taking place under martial law. Thus, the task of every pedagogue and every university teacher is to start the educational process not only for the sake of knowledge, because you cannot deprive children of education, but also for the sake of psychological rehabilitation. The war has given an impetus to the radical renewal of education, particularly higher education, which determines the relevance of this study. (2) It is common knowledge that the professional pedagogical activity of a university teacher is of great significance to society. It is about the formation of a future specialist, whose level of qualification considerably affects the economic, political, social, and cultural component of the sustainable development of society, something which is especially relevant in the post-war period. (3) The research hypothesis is that renewing the potential of university teachers in the post-war period will allow the improvement of the educational process in universities, will significantly increase the level of professional training of students and will ensure the sustainable development of society. To examine this hypothesis, the professional and personal potential of teachers was studied in detail with the aim of understanding radical changes in approaches to methods, techniques, and forms of education, as well as the type and style of communication between teachers and students. (4) The research methodology comprised a survey conducted by the CAWI method using a structured questionnaire based on the respondents’ place of permanent residence. The sample totality was stratified according to the regions of Ukraine where the teachers work. Teachers of Ukrainian higher education institutions took part in the study. The study sample included 350 people. The main task of the study was to analyze the potential of university teachers in the pre-war and post-war periods. The other tasks the study undertakes are to propose the concept of professional unity of students and teachers of higher educational institutions and to consider reflection as a tool; a tool which is a cross-sectional, integrating factor that structures the education system in various types of professional activity. (5) The undoubted achievement of the work is that, for the first time, the state of higher education was analyzed under war conditions and its development in the post-war period was predicted. This will aid the country’s recovery and ensure the sustainable development of society in the post-war period. This study can complement and enhance the theoretical discussion and practical experience on sustainable development from the perspective of higher education. Full article

Recently, in the commercial and entertainment sectors, we have seen increasing interest in incorporating chatbots into websites and apps, in order to assist customers and clients. In the academic area, chatbots are useful to provide some guidance and information about courses, admission processes and procedures, study programs, and scholarly services. However, these virtual assistants have limited mechanisms to suitably help the teaching and learning process, considering that these mechanisms should be advantageous for all the people involved. In this article, we design a model for developing a chatbot that serves as an extra-school tool to carry out academic and administrative tasks and facilitate communication between middle-school students and academic staff (e.g., teachers, social workers, psychologists, and pedagogues). Our approach is designed to help less tech-savvy people by offering them a familiar environment, using a conversational agent to ease and guide their interactions. The proposed model has been validated by implementing a multi-platform chatbot that provides both textual-based and voice-based communications and uses state-of-the-art technology. The chatbot has been tested with the help of students and teachers from a Mexican middle school, and the evaluation results show that our prototype obtained positive usability and user experience endorsements from such end-users. Full article

This study provides a critical discussion on oral corrective feedback (CF) in the Spanish heritage language context by analyzing the language ideologies of both teachers and students relating to this everyday pedagogical practice. Despite the undeniable relevance of oral CF within the SHL language classroom, it is an area mainly studied within the field of SLA and, thus, primarily grounded in cognitive perspectives of the individual L2 learner and their subsequent language development. Drawing on scholarship that has long contested the discrimination that U.S. Latinxs face at the macro, meso, and micro-levels of society, this study interrogates and presents the core beliefs and values that legitimize the underlying asymmetrical power relationships propagated by oral CF. As critical paradigms continue to gain currency in the field of SHL education (e.g., critical language awareness), unmasking the various ways by which monolingual ideologies operate within language education is key to developing pedagogy that promotes Spanish language maintenance and, ultimately, dismantling such structures of domination. This study focuses on exploring the ideologies about oral CF by asking: (1) What language ideologies are prevalent in relation to participants’ conceptualization of oral CF? and (2) What are the instructor’s goals for oral CF? To answer these questions, this study analyzes interview data of a language instructor (n = 1) and SHL learners (n = 4) in an elementary-level, mixed Spanish course at a Hispanic-serving community college. The results show how the instructor utilized oral CF as a mechanism to enact dominant ideologies regarding SHL learners’ non-prestige varieties, while simultaneously advocating for an approach to learners’ varieties based on appropriateness. The instructor grounded her corrective practices in beliefs and values regarding the “deficiency” of SHL learners’ cultures and social categories that she considered to be the root causes of the “problem” that SHL learners spoke non-prestige varieties of Spanish. This study sheds light on the need to reexamine current L2-based oral CF taxonomies and teaching principles that do not account for the wide-ranging ways that corrective feedback becomes entrenched in educators’ culturally shared ideologies of language, learning and the learners themselves, and as normalized by the programmatic context wherein such practices are embedded. Finally, the study concludes by proposing several guiding considerations based on CLA to develop reflective practices for pedagogues to promote a consciousness of the ideologically charged nature of CF within the SHL learning context. Full article

We investigate the concept of care in adult-child joint play through two cases that illustrate ways in which the development of care relations among researchers, pedagogues, and children—and the imaginary characters they create through their joint play—shape and sustain early childhood education and care research and practice. We focus on the ways that early childhood education and care pedagogues’ approaches to care provide insights into practices of social sustainability, specifically social inclusion. The cases we present are drawn from recent studies of early childhood play. The studies belong to a corpus of international research projects that are researcher-teacher collaborations. These studies explore a unique form of adult-child joint imaginary play known as playworlds. Playworlds are based on cultural historical theories of development and art, Gunilla Lindqvist’s studies of playworlds, and local theory and practice of early childhood education and care. Our analyses of playworlds are based, in part, on Winnicott’s concept of transitional objects. The two cases are drawn from ECEC playworlds in Finland and the US. Each exemplifies how playworlds, as forms of participatory design research, make social sustainability possible. Furthermore, these cases highlight how, by working with the boundaries between and moving between real and imagined, the participants are able to develop new ways of being that are radically inclusive. We argue that they do so by facilitating and maintaining the development of care relations among researchers, teachers, children, and, importantly, imaginary characters, in ways that create what we call transitional subjects. We conclude that social sustainability, like care, should be conceived of as an ecology of caring practices. Full article