The Beauty of Deep Structure

This chapter charts the rise of Noam Chomsky’s Transformational-Generative Grammar, from its cornerstone role in the cognitive revolution up to its widely heralded realization in Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. That realization featured the development of an evocative concept, Deep Structure, a brilliant nexus of meaning and structure that integrates seamlessly with Chomsky’s companion idea, Universal Grammar, the notion that all languages share a critical, genetically encoded core. At a technical level, Deep Structure concentrated meaning because of the Katz-Postal Principle, stipulating that transformations cannot change meaning. Transformations rearrange structure while keeping meaning stable. The appeal of Deep Structure and Universal Grammar helped Transformational Grammar propagate rapidly into language classrooms, literary studies, stylistics, and computer science, gave massive impetus to the emergence of psycholinguistics, attracted substantial military and educational funding, and featured prominently in Chomsky’s meteoric intellectual stardom.

PEMBIAYAAN PENYELENGARAAN PENDIDIKAN DI MADRASAH (Penelitian di MTs Baabussalaam Kota Bandung)

The source of funds for the Bandung City MTs Baabussalaam only relies on the government through the School Operational Assistance (BOS) funds, the disbursement of BOS funds is often late from the stipulated time. The purpose of this study was to find out the financing of madrasa organization at MTs Baabussalaaam, Bandung City. This study uses a case study method. Data collection is done by interviews and documentation studies. The results of the study showed that the implementation of educational funding at MTs Baabussalaam, Bandung City, namely; BOS funds received from the central government and regional governments are given gradually four times a year, currently twice a year according to the applicable regulations. New funds received in 2017 amounting to 206,802,500 rupiahs. Allocation of the education budget is only sufficient for monthly teacher honorarium payments. Madrasah students are only charged extracurricular activities, but not all make payments (198 students X Rp. 20,000 = Rp. 3,980,000). The conclusions of this study that the highest need for education funding at MTs Baabussalaam in Bandung City is the payment of honorarium for Non-Civil Servant Teachers, there needs to be an effort to increase the government's commitment to financing education so that it supports all components of madrasa activities, and reaches national standards. When disbursement of education costs needs to be timely in accordance with the calendar of investigation. In order for parents to participate in financing good education, it must be balanced by providing quality assurance to education consumers.

Educational Reforms Conducted by Brazilian Courts

Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been significant debate about the right to education in Brazil, and educational policies adopted by different courts to promote educational reforms have been questioned. The 1988 Federal Constitution has expanded the content of the right to education, as well as established principles, state and federal duties, and different educational funding forms. The Federal Constitution also extended the attributions of institutions aimed at defending social rights, such as the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Thus, new legal arrangements enabled expanding the involvement of justice system institutions in educational reforms. Educational litigation in Brazil can be analyzed by the structure of the judicial system, the right to education, and the main decisions made by the Federal Supreme Court on such issues as the state’s obligation to provide enough seats in early childhood education (2005); the national professional minimum wage (2011); religious education (2017); elementary school–entrance age (2018); and homeschooling (2018). Despite the advancements in guaranteeing the right to education, educational litigation has not always been beneficial for strengthening and expanding educational rights. On the one hand, it has had a positive bias when lawsuits aim at including citizens in public policies, as in the case about the consolidation of early childhood education as a state duty. On the other hand, it has had a negative bias when there is excessive bureaucratization and disrespect toward the autonomy of the educational field, as in the case about the independence of the National Education Council (CNE) to define educational guidelines for enrollment age and religious education.

Language in Educational Contexts

The purpose of this special issue is to provide a space for scholars to disseminate theory and research about the influence of language in educational contexts. In this issue, we curated articles that address topics related to how language serves as a defining or decisive factor in education and schooling. In our introduction to this special issue, we provide an interpretive overview of the articles and offer an explanation of their relevance for understanding the complex nature of contemporary education. Salient topics include: critical analysis of discourse, linguistic landscapes, Natural Semantic Metalanguage, language ideology, politics and educational funding, funds of knowledge/identity, and definitional caveats related to language learning pedagogies in divergent contexts.

Accounting Students’ Academic Performance by Their Background Information

This study aims to determine differences in academic performance of accounting students by their background information. This study involved secondary data from 810 accounting students, analyzed by using Kruskal Wallis test to investigate differences on gender, living environment and funding source. The results show that the academic performance of female students who live at home and obtain scholarship are better than other groups. However, males who live at home and obtain scholarship have indifferent academic performance from other male groups. These findings indicate that gender, living environment and type of educational funding can be taken into consideration to differentiate students’ academic performance. The results of this study can be used by universities to make decisions in determining acceptance criteria, to identify potential students to increase academic performance, and to resolve problems of underperformed students. This research provides an evidence that females and males have different academic performance. Moreover, we found that females who obtained scholarship maintain their high performance, while males are indifferent in their academic performance irrespective of their source of funding

Age as an Element of Diversity: Intergenerational Discussion to Improve Age-Related Attitudes

All generations must work together solving societal problems, yet age-related stereotypes are used to divide generations. Age derogation motivates younger people to vote by creating fear of an older White voting generation (Dear young people, don’t vote; 2018), and to belittle older people (“Okay, Boomer…”). Demonizing older people creates prejudice within families asking that people target loved ones, for example, by pitting educational funding for young against health funding for older adults. Neither group wins when divisiveness occurs. Generation to Generation, an intergenerational course for older and younger adults, promotes intergenerational contact. Students discuss topical issues (e.g., racism) in multi-generational groups. Using pretest-posttest design, all students were invited to complete questionnaires at beginning and end of term. Younger adults reported significant increases in affection, comfort, kinship, engagement and enthusiasm for older adults, whereas older adults showed stability over time. Intergenerational discussion may facilitate improved connections between generations.

Wii Niiganabying (Looking Ahead):

Fifty years ago, Indigenous elders and leaders drafted their response to the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy (White Paper of 1969). Their formal rebuttal, Citizens Plus (Red Paper), published in 1970, was a turning point in Indigenous education policy. It marked the beginning of the shift away from government-controlled, assimilationist educational policies to greater Indigenous control over funding and pedagogical methods. The Red Paper refuted the White Paper’s main conclusions and stated that Indigenous peoples are “citizens plus” because the federal government is legally bound to provide Indigenous peoples with services in exchange for the use of the land they occupy. The most important Indigenous rights to be upheld included education, health care, Aboriginal status, and Aboriginal title. These unique rights recognized that Indigenous peoples are the original owners of all the natural resources on their traditional treaty lands. The Red Paper became a political turning point for Indigenous peoples in Canada by presenting an Indigenous vision for a new political and legal relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples based on Aboriginal and treaty rights. Since the 1970s, Indigenous leaders have struggled to maintain control of educational funding while having to abide by provincial standards of educational curricula. Indigenous communities want to provide more positive learning experiences and positive identity through reconceptualizing educational curricula. They are exploring ways to indigenize the educational experience by igniting cultural resurgence through the integration of Indigenous languages, knowledge, culture, and history by reconnecting students to their elders, land, and communities.