Climate Change Education in Polish and UK National Curriculum Frameworks

The presence and the content of climate education in national curriculum frameworks of Poland and UK gains growing attention of researchers all over the world. Climate education addresses challenges of climate crisis and is an important part of ecological transformation in advanced economies.

Collaborative Musical Creativity between Students and Adults: The Sonorous Paella

While creativity is a key element of contemporary curriculum frameworks around the world, it is still insufficiently fostered in formal education settings. This study analyzes a project for collaborative musical creativity, entitled The Sonorous Paella. Participants (N = 12) were eight Year 4 secondary students, two professional musicians, an artist-in-residence, and a music teacher. Drawing on a graphic musical score, the participants worked together for 1.5 months to produce a group composition and performance. They were provided with various sound producers (instruments, everyday objects, technological devices) and were encouraged to flexibly utilize the physical space to maximize collaborative participation. Field notes and pictures taken during working sessions and rehearsals, audio recordings from the final concert, and individual interviews with all participants were qualitatively analyzed. In response to the three study objectives, we conclude that: (1) the design of this collaborative project was consistent with current research-based creativity discourses; (2) drawing on the quality and originality of the final concert, the project fostered the musical creativity of the group; and (3) participants’ perceptions of and opinions about their creativity learning processes were unanimously positive. Our final aim is to inspire music teachers in designing curriculum units that foster collaborative musical creativity.

A comparative review of literature on the integration of soft skills in Mathematics as reflected in the revised curriculum frameworks for Kenya, Rwanda, and Zambia

This paper comparatively analysed policy documents and peer-reviewed papers regarding the integration of soft skills in Mathematics taught in secondary schools in Kenya, Rwanda, and Zambia. The analysis highlights how the curricula for Kenya, Rwanda, and Zambia were revised, how soft skills were integrated and assessed in Mathematics and how Mathematics teachers were prepared to integrate soft skills in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. The review has shown that the three countries acknowledge Mathematics as one of the subjects in which soft skills should be integrated. Additionally, the three countries have a common understanding that the integration of soft skills requires changes in pedagogical and assessment approaches. However, the literature reviewed from the three countries indicates that there is very little data available highlighting the integration and assessment of soft skills in Mathematics as well as how mathematics teachers were prepared. This lack of adequate information on the integration and assessment of softs kills points to the fact that these skills may not be integrated in the teaching and learning of Mathematics which could lead to producing secondary school graduates, who are not creative, innovative, critical thinkers and problems solvers. The paper, therefore recommends that researchers should explore the challenges related to the deficiency in policy focus by the three countries on the integration of soft skills in Mathematics.

Gender Representation in English Textbooks: A Study about Public Middle Schools in Punjab

This paper investigates gender representation in grade 6, 7 and 8 English textbooks used in public schools in Punjab. For a comprehensive analysis, both textual contents and pictures were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The findings show that the female character were under-represented and misrepresented. Not even a single chapter was titled after any female character. Even in the text, they were heavily outnumbered, and generally shown in stereotypical and traditional roles. Shockingly, not even a single female character was portrayed positively. They were mostly shown in a neutral way. The same pattern was observed in the pictures. In spite of the fact that national education policies and curriculum frameworks emphasize heavily on gender parity, the textbooks appear to have failed to incorporate it. This study suggests that textbooks should contain gender parity and represent women in a respectful way so that the students may pick those values and inculcate them.