Ethics, Identity, and Political Vision: Toward a Justice-Centered Approach to Equity in Computer Science Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
SEPEHR VAKIL
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Design Of Learning Environments

In this essay, Sepehr Vakil argues that a more serious engagement with critical traditions in education research is necessary to achieve a justice-centered approach to equity in computer science (CS) education. With CS rapidly emerging as a distinct feature of K–12 public education in the United States, calls to expand CS education are often linked to equity and diversity concerns around expanding access to girls and historically underrepresented students of color. Yet, unlike other critical traditions in education research, equity-oriented CS research has largely failed to interrogate the sociopolitical context of CS education. To move toward a justice-centered approach to equity, Vakil argues, we must simultaneously attend to at least three features of CS education: the content of curriculum, the design of learning environments, and the politics and purposes of CS education reform. While there are many avenues of critical inquiry within and across each of these topics, the focus in this essay is on the role of ethics in the curriculum, the role of identity in CS learning environments, and the significance of a clear political vision for CS education.

“Some Vital Religion”: Social Religion and the Science of Character Education in the United States, 1918–1932

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane McCamant
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Character Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Common Morality ◽  
Historical Contingency ◽  
Social Good ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Common ◽  
Role Of Religion

Abstract The history of American public education has generally been considered as a steady transition from religious and sectarian to secular and pluralist, with the role of science in education increasing as the role of religion decreased. This article examines a conception of the role of religion in education that does not fit this narrative, the “social religion” of theorists of moral and character education in the 1920s. Relying on ideas of religious naturalism and with an orientation toward the practical effects of religious belief, this community of scholars asserted a concept of religion that would allow it to be at the heart of the common school project, uniting all under the common morality of the social good. Influenced both by liberal Protestant humanism and the scientific worldview pervasive in education reform at the time, these character educationists’ ideas remind us of the historical contingency of categories like “religious” and of the antiquity of ideas we might classify under the heading of spirituality in American culture.

Peace-Based Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-69
Author(s):  
H. B. Danesh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
School Environments ◽  
The Core ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
United States Mexico ◽  
K 12

This article proposes that the universally acknowledged need for education reform requires both new conceptual and methodological approaches. At the core of this reform is transformation from conflict-based to peace-based educational concepts and practices aimed at creating school environments that promote academic and relational excellence, are safe and nurturing, and are free from bullying and violence. The article draws from the research done and lessons learned from more than sixteen ongoing years of implementation of Education for Peace (EFP)—a comprehensive peace-based education program—in more than one thousand schools, involving thousands of educators, and several hundred thousand students (K-12) in the highly conflicted and traumatized war-torn country of Bosnia and Herzegovina and more recently in schools in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and elsewhere.

She’s Not There

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Campbell Galman ◽  
Christine A. Mallozzi
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Women Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women Teachers ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Female Teachers ◽  
K 12

For this literature review, the authors asked, “What is the role of gender in research about elementary-level women teachers and preservice teachers in the past 15 years, and what have scholars learned about the gendered nature of women’s experiences in elementary-level preservice and in-service teaching in that time?” To be eligible for inclusion, works had to be published during or after 1995, study elementary preservice or practicing women educators, take place in the United States, focus on gender, and be empirical. Of the 54 articles that warranted in-depth investigation, 42 articles were excluded because teachers’ gender was subsumed under other social categories such as K–12 female students or male students and teachers. The majority of the 12 relevant articles employed small participant samples and exploratory approaches and depicted female teachers as struggling with or marginalized in the profession. A minority presented women teachers as reveling in the legacies of teaching. These findings beg for more research on women teachers’ gendered experiences.

scholarly journals Role of technology in the design of learning environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-427
Author(s):  
Diogo Casanova ◽  
Isabel Huet ◽  
Fabiane Garcia ◽  
Teresa Pessoa
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Design Of Learning Environments

Design as aesthetic education: On the politics and aesthetics of learning environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-187
Author(s):  
Christina Vagt
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Media History ◽  
Political Aesthetics ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Political Technology ◽  
Design Of Learning Environments ◽  
The Impact

The article, speaking from the double perspective of media history and political aesthetics, discusses the impact of behaviourism and early computer technology on the design of learning environments in the United States after the Second World War. By revisiting B. F. Skinner’s approaches to behavioural techniques and cultural engineering, and by showing how these principles were applied first at US design departments, and later to prison education, it argues that cybernetic and behavioural techniques merged in the common field of design and education. Behavioural design of the 1960s and 1970s furthered the cybernetic dream of total control over the world by addressing the learning environment rather than the individual, and operated within a space of possibility that was governed equally by technology and aesthetics. Behavioural design can therefore be understood as a political technology.

Arts Education as a Vehicle for Social Change: An Empirical Study of Eco Arts in the K-12 Classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeniffer Sams ◽  
Doreen Sams
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Arts Education ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
The Arts ◽  
K 12

AbstractArts education has been part of the United States K-12 educational system for over a century. However, recent administrative policy decisions addressed theeconomic bottom lineand the 1983 report,A Nation at Risk, and complied with theNo Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001(U.S. Department of Education, 2001). These decisions resulted instandardisationof both core curricula and testing, leaving arts programs to function in a diminished capacity, curtailing both individuality and creative thinking. This study unpacks the role of the arts as change agents with the ability to: address current discourse; question ideologies and culture; convey complex problems in artistic form; engage the viewer in aesthetics; provide a perspective not found in regimented thinking; and empower creative problem solvers. This work also highlights the role of eco-art as a medium for addressing complex environmental challenges. The study also empirically examines, through a self-report survey, K-12 arts educators’ perceptions of integrating eco-arts into curricula. Findings revealed respondents’ desire to integrate eco-arts into the arts curricula and identified the most significantly perceived barriers to integration, as well as the role of policy on practicality. The authors also identify the study's limitations and recommend areas for future research.

scholarly journals Healing through Geography: A Spatial-Learning Analysis and Praxis

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaleb Germinaro
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Black Feminism ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Sustaining Change ◽  
Design Of Learning Environments ◽  
Conceptual Foundations ◽  
Learning Analysis

Learning takes place in and across settings. In this conceptual piece, a spatial-learning praxis is presented to understand geographic trauma to invoke healing from trauma through. I begin by providing a context of the links between oppression and trauma. I then highlight how it persists for learners and the consequences trauma has for students of color. I then build off of critical pedagogy, learning theory, Black feminism, Black geographies, and Indigenous studies to describe a form of learning and transformation that is dedicated to elements of healing centered learning. I briefly review these conceptual foundations as a preface to introducing a framework of healing centered learning and its components grounded in four anchors including (in no particular order): (a) learning and identity (b) geography (c) and oppression and trauma. Understanding geo-onto-epistemologies allows for mechanisms for learning to move past resilience and into healing, sustaining change over time. I conclude with learning and the applications to heal identities through the design of learning environments and spatial analysis.

scholarly journals Questioning The Fidelity Of The Next Generation Science Standards For Astronomy And Space Sciences Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Slater ◽  
Timothy F. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
The United States ◽  
Next Generation Science Standards ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Space Sciences

<p class="AbstractSummary">Although the <em>Next Generation Science Standards</em> (<em>NGSS</em>) are not federally mandated national standards or performance expectations for K-12 schools in the United States, they stand poised to become a de facto national science and education policy, as state governments, publishers of curriculum materials, and assessment providers across the country consider adopting them. In order to facilitate national buy-in and adoptions, <em>Achieve, Inc</em>., the non-profit corporation awarded the contract for writing the <em>NGSS</em>, has repeatedly asserted the development of the Standards to be a state-driven and transparent process, in which the scientific content is taken "verbatim", from the 2011 NRC report, <em>Frameworks for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas</em>. This paper reports on an independently conducted fidelity check within the content domain of astronomy and the space sciences, conducted to determine the extent to which the <em>NGSS </em>science content is guided by the <em>Frameworks</em>, and the extent to which any changes have altered the scientific intent of that document. The side-by-side, two-document comparative analysis indicates that the science of the <em>NGSS</em> is significantly different from the <em>Frameworks</em>. Further, the alterations in the science represent a lack of fidelity, in that they have altered the parameters of the science and the instructional exposure (e.g., timing and emphasis). As a result the <em>NGSS</em> are now poised to interfere with widely desired science education reform and improvement. This unexpected finding affords scientists, educators, and professional societies with an opportunity, if not a professional obligation, to engage in positively impacting the quality of science education by conducting independent fidelity checks across other disciplines. This could provide a much needed formal support and guidance to schools, teachers, curriculum developers, and assessment providers.</p>

High Stakes Testing and Educational Inequality in K-12 Schools

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Solórzano
Keyword(s):  
Students Of Color ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Curriculum And Instruction ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
The United States ◽  
Low Achievement ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
K 12

The ubiquitous use of high stakes tests in K-12 schools in the United States has a deleterious effect on students of color (e.g., Black and Latino). Punitive policies related to test outcomes, such as retention and graduation, have been particularly damaging. In fact, the historical use of tests has been linked to exclusionary and racist motives resulting in discriminatory practices in college admissions while leading to genetic and cultural deficit theories to explain low achievement for students of color. The legacy of these early uses of tests has maintained its adverse presence in today’s educational landscape. National data on grade retention, high school dropout rates, and achievement indicate that students of color are disproportionately penalized by school-based policies resulting in an unequal educational experience. Unfortunately, these trends have been persistent reflecting achievement gaps between White and Asian students and Latino and Black students, and where, in most cases, no meaningful progress in eliminating these gaps has been made. English learners are particularly harmed by these policies and tests since language and opportunity to learn (OTL) concerns persist. Trends of low achievement are attributed to poorly resourced schools, cultural deficit theories employed by school personnel, and the invalid use of tests. Schools could serve students better by employing a curriculum and instruction that is culturally and linguistically relevant, that integrates communities and schools to critically analyze their educational and social-political status and agency thus empowering both for lasting change. Furthermore, teachers need to be empowered to be instructional leaders who critically evaluate their curriculum and instruction so as to educate and liberate students of color.

One-to-One Technology in the K-12 Classroom

Education ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea H. Parrish
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dynamic Learning ◽  
Computing Device ◽  
Access To Technology ◽  
One To One ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

In Toward a New Learning Ecology: Teaching and Learning in 1:1 Environments (cited under General Overviews), one-to-one learning environments are described as classrooms in which every student has access to a personal computing device (such as a laptop or a tablet) and continuous access to the Internet. This model for student computing was first discussed in educational research beginning in the 1980s, most notably in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) project, a research collaborative among public schools, universities, and research teams funded by Apple and outlined in The Evolution of Teachers’ Instructional Beliefs and Practices in High-Access-to-Technology Classroom: First-fourth Year Findings (cited under Origins of One-to-One Technology: Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow [ACOT]). The original premise, based on the work of computer scientist and mathematician Seymour Papert, is rooted in the idea that ubiquitous access to technology can create more dynamic learning environments. In recent years, the proliferation of mobile technology has caused a renewed interest in one-to-one computing, as the improved portability and functionality of technology tools coupled with advances in wireless Internet capability makes one-to-one computing attainable for many schools and districts. Despite the continued debate about the impact of technology on learning, the U.S. Department of Education elevated the concept of a one-to-one technology ratio from unique innovation to moral imperative in its document, Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update (cited under Resources). Even before this, the prevalence of one-to-one computing initiatives increased, both in the United States is discussed in The New Digital Learning Playbook: Understanding the Spectrum of Students’ Activities and Aspirations (cited under General Overviews) and around the world in Large-Scale 1:1 Computing Initiatives: An Open Access Database (cited under International Perspectives on One-to-One Technology). The growth of these initiatives has been accompanied by an increase in peer-reviewed research and evaluation reports that document the impact of one-to-one technology on teaching and learning. A topic that was once dominated by white papers and evaluation reports now boasts a growing body of peer-reviewed studies, research syntheses, and government reports. The references cited in this article provide a cross-section of these various forms of literature that depict the use of one-to-one technology in K-12 classrooms, including implementation resources for districts and key empirical findings.

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