Studying Islam and Its Adherents in Australian Universities

Islamic Studies is a relatively new, yet growing phenomenon in Australian universities. With an increased focus on Islam and Muslim in the age of War on Terror and with Australian Muslim population fast increasing, Islamic Studies is an important intellectual tool to better understand, Islam and Muslims and many challenges facing them. This paper is an investigation of the recent trends and developments in Islamic Studies as an academic discipline in Australian universities. This is an important intellectual task because Islamic Studies continues to play a significant role in Australian academia. The data were collected from literature review and are analysed descriptively. The findings of the study show that the intellectual tools developed in Islamic Studies can be deployed to build relationship between fragmented Muslim communities and between Muslims and non-Muslims particularly in multicultural Australia. Islamic Studies draws on a variety of fields making it a crossdiscipline. As such, it offer a rich and analytic investigation of world’s second largest religion and its multiple expressions. Australian universities offer Islamic studies ranging from undergraduate to postgraduate program. The topic studied include Islamic philosophy, jurisprudence, education, history, and Arabic.

Ensino de História Natural e Biologia: reformas educacionais e programas da escola secundária (1920-1951)

Este estudo tem como tema o ensino de Biologia e História Natural, com foco na história dessas disciplinas escolares e nas mudanças educacionais ocorridas nas décadas de 1920 a 1950 no Brasil. O objetivo foi investigar mudanças e continuidades na constituição dessas disciplinas escolares. Foi realizada uma pesquisa documental, utilizando como fontes programas de ensino, legislação e textos da época. Foram analisados programas de ensino oficiais e do Colégio Pedro II, das disciplinas História Natural e Biologia, dos anos de 1920 a 1951, além da legislação e discursos referentes às reformas educacionais. Houve a permanência de conteúdos de Botânica, Zoologia, Geologia e Mineralogia nos programas do ensino secundário de História Natural desse período. No programa de Biologia de 1943, permaneceram conteúdos botânicos e zoológicos e foram excluídos os geológicos e mineralógicos. A disciplina escolar Biologia emergiu nos anos 1930 e foi substituída pela História Natural em 1946, mas conteúdos biológicos permaneceram nos programas de 1936 a 1951. Das “lições” e “pontos práticos” nos programas de 1920-30 às metodologias ativas e experimentais dos anos 1930-50, destaca-se a valorização dos fundamentos científicos e de conhecimentos especializados na história da disciplina escolar Biologia no Brasil.Natural History and Biology Education: educational reforms and secondary school programs (1920-1951)AbstractThis study has as its theme the Biology and Natural History Education, focusing on these school subjects’ history and on educational reforms in the 1920s and 1950s in Brazil. The objective was to investigate changes and continuities in the constitution of these school subjects. A documentary research was carried out, taking as sources educational programs, legislation and other texts. Official educational programs and those of Colégio Pedro II of the school subjects Natural History and Biology from the years 1920 to 1951 and the legislation and discourses related to educational reforms were analyzed. Botany, Zoology, Geology and Mineralogy contents remained in the secondary education programs of Natural History from 1920 to 1951. In the Biology program of 1943 remained botanical and zoological contents and geological and mineralogical ones were excluded. The Biology school subject emerged in the 1930s and was replaced by Natural History in 1946, but biological contents were present in the curriculum from 1936 to 1951. From the “lessons” and “practical points” in the 1920-30 programs to the active and experimental methodologies in the 1930s and 1950s, the emphasis on scientific foundations and specialization stands out in the history of science education in Brazil.Keywords: Biology and Natural History Education; School subject; Educational programs; Science Education History.

Investigating Positive Perceptions of High School Students' Distance Learning Experiences During a Pandemic

COVID-19 has driven pedagogical transformation in the most unexpected and sudden way in education history. Students must switch from face-to-face to distance learning. Trough quantitative research model, this study aims to describe high school students' perceptions of distance learning. Samples were collected from school which might prepare their students for distance learning. Using a questionnaire data collection technique, a sample of 70 high school students received 40 questions derived from three perceptual indicators, namely absorption, understanding, and assessment. The results of this study's absorption, understanding, and assessment indicator scores which were higher than the median indicated that students' perceptions of distance learning were typically positive. This occurs as a result of collaboration between students, teachers, and school staff to accomplish effective distance learning.

O APARELHO BUROCRÁTICO EDUCACIONAL: A ORGANIZAÇÃO DO ENSINO PARA O MUNDO DO TRABALHO

ResumoTomando como ponto de partida a noção de burocracia no campo do marxismo tem-se como tema central deste artigo a apresentação e análise da legislação educacional brasileira como forma de compreensão até mesmo do lugar da História neste cenário, além do entendimento do currículo desta disciplina no ensino básico. A hipótese que se pretende sustentar aponta para a centralidade das alterações constantes em benefício dos interesses das frações burguesas que têm influência no aparelho burocrático do Estado, neste caso, no aparelho burocrático educacional, sobretudo por meio da alteração da noção de planos de Estado para planos de governo.Palavras-Chave: Educação; Ensino de História; Burocracia; Legislação. AbstractTaking as a starting point the notion of bureaucracy in the Marxism, the central theme of this article is the presentation and analysis of Brazilian educational legislation as a way of understanding the place of history in this scenario, in addition for understanding the curriculum of this discipline in basic education. The hypothesis that we intend to support points to the centrality of the constant changes in favor of the interests of the bourgeois fractions that have an influence on the bureaucratic apparatus of the State, in this case, on the educational bureaucratic apparatus, mainly by changing the notion of State plans to plans of government.Key-Words: Education; History teaching; Bureaucracy; Legislation.

Prediction of Postoperative Delirium after Gastrointestinal Surgery Using the Mie Constructional Apraxia Scale

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Postoperative delirium (POD) is a transient postoperative complication that occurs after surgical procedures. Risk factors reported for POD include dementia and cognitive decline. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of POD by examining the use of preoperative neuropsychological tests, including the Mie Constructional Apraxia Scale (MCAS), and patient background factors. <b><i>Method:</i></b> The study was performed as a retrospective cohort study. The subjects were 33 patients (mean age, 75.8 ± 10.9 years; male:female ratio, 26:7) who underwent gastrointestinal surgery at Matsusaka City Hospital between December 2019 and April 2021. Data were collected retrospectively from medical records. The study was started after receiving approval from the institution’s ethics committee. The survey items included general patient information, nutritional assessment, surgical information, and neuropsychological tests. Subjects were classified into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of POD. If a significant difference was observed between the 2 groups, the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve were calculated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. <b><i>Result:</i></b> There were 10 patients in the POD group (male:female ratio, 6:4) and 23 patients in the non-POD group (20:3). The POD group had a shorter education history (<i>p</i> = 0.047) and significantly higher MCAS scores (<i>p</i> = 0.007) than the non-POD group. The ROC curve showed a sensitivity of 90%, a specificity of 69%, and an area under the curve of 0.798 when the MCAS cutoff value was set at 3 points. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Preoperative MCAS results were capable of predicting the occurrence of POD after gastrointestinal surgery. In addition, a relatively short education background was also considered a risk factor for POD.

Dependency, Mortality, Invisibility: Linking Childhood Disability with Life Course Health Outcomes

People who experienced disability in childhood are living longer. It is not clear if longer lives indicate better health and less dependency, or if longer life is accompanied by increased dependency. We addressed that question by studying the joint dynamics of mortality and dependency. This population is “invisible” in most national surveys, which do not ask about childhood disability. We evaluated special education history as an indicator of childhood disability, and used that indicator to estimate dependency and life expectancy throughout adult life. Data: Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Health and Retirement Study (n=20,563). Activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental ADLs, and cognition defined five functioning levels including dependency and death. Multinomial logistic Markov models estimated probabilities for transitioning among the levels, with or without a history of childhood disability, adjusted for demographics. We used the probabilities in microsimulations, creating large populations of completed lives, identifying dependency at each age for each individual. Analysis showed special education history was a valid indicator of childhood disability; 13% had such history. With parent education less than high school, remaining life at age 20 was 46.0 years for people with that history, 58.3 for others; corresponding results with parent’s bachelor’s degree: 48.3 and 60.7 (p&lt;0.05). Corresponding population percentages dependent 5+ years were: 15.2% and 3.8%, 13.1% and 3.8% (all p&lt;0.05). Special education history can indicate childhood disability. People with that history had significantly more dependency than others, and shorter lives. Accommodations and interventions can improve their health and functioning.

Trajectories of K-12 Schools and Demographic Differences: Evidence From 2017 Life History Mail Survey

Besides information about the highest degree, little information about early-life education is available in most population surveys. This study identified the trajectories of K-12 education history among older adults in the Health and Retirement Study born between 1930 and 1960, and examined the associations with demographic variables. Drawing on 2017 Spring and Fall Life History Mail Survey (LHMS; n = 3,206), we used sequence analysis to determine and classify trajectories of school types across the education history. We identified five trajectories: 1) always private school with White students, 2) always public school with White students, 3) always public school with Non-White students, 4) mostly private school with Non-White students, and 5) no report of school types. The trajectories showed that changes in school type (i.e. private to public) often happened in grade 9. Changes rarely happened across race/ethnicity groups (i.e. mostly White to mostly non-White). We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the relationship between demographic variables and education trajectories. We found that compared to Black participants, White participants were significantly less likely to be in mostly Non-White schools (public and private schools, p&lt;0.001). The 1940s and 1950s cohort were more likely to join mostly White private schools than the 1930s cohort (odds ratio: 1.70 for 1940s and 1.62 for 1950s separately, p&lt;0.005). Our findings illustrate a novel application of sequence analysis with life history data, as well as new evidence on recial segregation in early-life education within the last century.

Examination of prospective teachers' educational beliefs and attitudes towards educational history

The aim of this research is to reveal the educational beliefs of prospective teachers and their attitudes towards the History of Education course and the relationship between them. This research aimed to determine the opinions of prospective teachers about their future profession and to make suggestions about teacher training. The research was designed in the survey model and the relational survey model was used to determine the relationship between the variables. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 453 teacher candidates, 90 of whom were male and 363 were female. The data of the research were collected by using the "Educational Beliefs Scale" and "Attitude Scale Towards Turkish Education History Course". The data were analyzed with computer package programs. In line with the educational beliefs scale used in the research, it was revealed that the educational beliefs of the teacher candidates were 'Existentialism', 'Progressivism', 'Perennialism', 'Reconstructionism' and 'Essentialism', respectively. According to the data obtained from the scale of attitude towards education history, it was concluded that prospective teachers’ attitudes towards education history are high. Finally, it was concluded that there is a moderate, positive, and significant relationship between the educational beliefs of the prospective teachers and their attitudes towards Education History.

Between “Acts-And-Facts History” and “Edutainment” in the History of Education Study Courses: The Case of University of Latvia

At present, the history of education is experiencing a paradox: research in the history of education is flourishing, but the history of education as a study subject is losing its relevance in university curricula. The present research aims at examining the potential of education history in student-centred and research-based study process while addressing the experience in teaching education history in master’s study programmes at the University of Latvia from 1920 to 2020. The article comprises three sections: the first section offers an overview of the evolvement of the history of education as a study subject in Europe and Latvia; the second section, based on the experience of teaching the history of education and research in history didactics, reveals three possible approaches to the study course in the history of education; the third section foregrounds the integration of digitized historical sources in the delivery of student-centred and research-based education history courses. The research demonstrates that each of the three approaches (“acts-and-facts history,” “problem-oriented history of education,” and “edutainment”) has student-centred potential in shaping historical thinking. The student-centred study process in a modern university is closely related to research-based studies, which in the study course of education history means independent research of history aligned with students’ individual interests in the field of education.