The results of the initial diagnosis of parents’ readiness for a social and educational partnership with a rural school considering features of modern parents

Описана проблема формирования готовности родителей к социально-образовательному партнерству с сельской школой. Подчеркнута актуальность исследования готовности сельских родителей к социально-образовательному партнерству, его значение на уровне государственной политики и общества. Обоснован выбор критериально-диагностического аппарата для проведения начальной диагностики на этапе констатирующего этапа эксперимента, который представлен критериями, показателями и методиками. Представлены результаты диагностики участников констатирующего этапа эксперимента: контрольная группа – родители школьников МБОУ «Верх-Катунская средняя общеобразовательная школа» и МБОУ «Малоугреневская средняя общеобразовательная школа»; экспериментальная группа – родители школьников МБОУ «Сростинская средняя общеобразовательная школа им. В.М. Шукшина» и МБОУ «Лесная средняя общеобразовательная школа» (Бийский район, Алтайский край). Проведенный анализ помог выявить уровень сформированности готовности родителей к социально-образовательному партнерству на начальном этапе эксперимента и приступить к реализации формирующего этапа. Авторы отмечают значение социально-образовательного партнерства как главного ресурса взаимодействия между современными родителями и сельской школой, учитывая при этом внутренние и внешние факторы, влияющие на партнерские отношения между субъектами образовательных отношений. The problem of formation of parents' readiness for social and educational partnership with a rural school is described. The relevance of the study of rural parents' readiness for social and educational partnership, its importance at the level of state policy and society is emphasized. The choice of a criterion-diagnostic apparatus for conducting initial diagnostics at the stage of the ascertaining stage of the experiment, which is represented by criteria, indicators and methods, is justified. The results of diagnostics of the participants in the initial stage of the experiment are presented: control group - parents of schoolchildren of "Verkh-Katunskaya secondary school" and "Malougrenevskaya secondary school"; experimental group - parents of schoolchildren of "Shukshin Srostki secondary school" and "Lesnaya secondary school" (Biysk region, Altai Territory). The analysis helped to identify the level of parents' readiness for social and educational partnership at the initial stage of the experiment and to begin the implementation of the formative stage. The author notes the importance of social and educational partnership as the main resource of interaction between the modern parents and the rural school, taking into consideration internal and external factors affecting the partnership relationship.

Fostering learner autonomy in an EFL Malagasy context

<p>This research intends to bring insights into learner autonomy in a Malagasy EFL setting. Despite being a topic of research in language education for about four decades, learner autonomy is still almost unknown in countries like Madagascar. Most empirical studies on learner autonomy have taken place in either ESL settings in Western countries or EFL settings in some Asian countries. Very little research has been conducted in African developing countries. In order to foster learner autonomy in a Malagasy setting, the research encompassed two main phases. Phase one focused on exploring the existing conditions for learner autonomy in a Malagasy rural school; while phase two aimed to promote one dimension of learner autonomy with student teachers through a “reflective learning” course. Phase one examined the affordances of learner autonomy in a Malagasy rural school. It investigated three dimensions of learner autonomy, namely self-initiation, self-regulation, and independence, via class observations and interviews with four EFL teachers. The data revealed some elements of autonomy. Self-initiation was fostered through encouragement and opportunities to learn outside class, while independence (from teachers) was mainly promoted through peer collaboration. Though the presence of the elements was not consistent, the fact that they were promoted at all implies possibilities to further exploit them in such a setting. Self-regulation - composed of planning, monitoring, and self-evaluation - was not promoted probably due to the teachers’ unawareness of its importance, and their lack of experience with self-regulation as former learners. The aim of phase two was to promote self-regulation at a Teacher Training College among a group of 22 first-year EFL student teachers as participants. A nine-week “reflective learning” course was designed to achieve three main objectives: (1) to help the student teachers improve their self-regulation skills via reflective journal writing, in order (2) to help them improve their writing proficiency. In addition, experiencing the benefits and the challenges of reflective learning would lead them (3) to be aware of the significance of self-regulation on their own writing and/or learning in general, and on their future teaching. To reach these objectives, the student teachers were given writing tasks and reflection prompts to answer before, during, and after the writing tasks. Each of the writing task was a 200-word argumentative essay, and was repeated twice or three times in order to facilitate the student teachers’ self-evaluation. The pre-task prompts intended to help them plan their writing (including goal setting), the during-task prompts helped them monitor, and the post-task prompts helped them self-evaluate. A session of group discussion was held each week to allow peer collaboration. The writing tasks, the journal reflections on the tasks, on the group discussions, along with journal reflections on the course were included in portfolios. The findings of phase two revealed that reflective learning was conducive to the development of the student teachers’ self-regulation of writing. They became aware of their difficulties, which they turned into goals. This awareness enabled them to develop strategic behaviour and a sense of responsibility towards their learning in general. They also realised their capability to improve with little help from teachers, which triggered positive affect. Moreover, they generally improved their writing performances mainly thanks to the sense of responsibility, the positive affect, and the habit of paying attention to details, which they had also developed throughout the course. Furthermore, reflective learning influenced their perspectives on teaching. The development of self-regulation and that of the improvement of writing varied from one student to another. In order to have a more in-depth analysis of such development (or lack of development), two case studies were used to illustrate the variations and the possible reasons behind such variations. The research leads to a few teaching implications. Firstly, learner autonomy has its place in developing countries like Madagascar. Secondly, the development of learner autonomy should be included in teacher training so that teachers know and value its benefits and challenges, based on their own learning experience. Thirdly, not every student would reach the same level of autonomy in a given time. Weaker students may need more guidance in terms of strategies than other students.</p>

Fostering learner autonomy in an EFL Malagasy context

<p>This research intends to bring insights into learner autonomy in a Malagasy EFL setting. Despite being a topic of research in language education for about four decades, learner autonomy is still almost unknown in countries like Madagascar. Most empirical studies on learner autonomy have taken place in either ESL settings in Western countries or EFL settings in some Asian countries. Very little research has been conducted in African developing countries. In order to foster learner autonomy in a Malagasy setting, the research encompassed two main phases. Phase one focused on exploring the existing conditions for learner autonomy in a Malagasy rural school; while phase two aimed to promote one dimension of learner autonomy with student teachers through a “reflective learning” course. Phase one examined the affordances of learner autonomy in a Malagasy rural school. It investigated three dimensions of learner autonomy, namely self-initiation, self-regulation, and independence, via class observations and interviews with four EFL teachers. The data revealed some elements of autonomy. Self-initiation was fostered through encouragement and opportunities to learn outside class, while independence (from teachers) was mainly promoted through peer collaboration. Though the presence of the elements was not consistent, the fact that they were promoted at all implies possibilities to further exploit them in such a setting. Self-regulation - composed of planning, monitoring, and self-evaluation - was not promoted probably due to the teachers’ unawareness of its importance, and their lack of experience with self-regulation as former learners. The aim of phase two was to promote self-regulation at a Teacher Training College among a group of 22 first-year EFL student teachers as participants. A nine-week “reflective learning” course was designed to achieve three main objectives: (1) to help the student teachers improve their self-regulation skills via reflective journal writing, in order (2) to help them improve their writing proficiency. In addition, experiencing the benefits and the challenges of reflective learning would lead them (3) to be aware of the significance of self-regulation on their own writing and/or learning in general, and on their future teaching. To reach these objectives, the student teachers were given writing tasks and reflection prompts to answer before, during, and after the writing tasks. Each of the writing task was a 200-word argumentative essay, and was repeated twice or three times in order to facilitate the student teachers’ self-evaluation. The pre-task prompts intended to help them plan their writing (including goal setting), the during-task prompts helped them monitor, and the post-task prompts helped them self-evaluate. A session of group discussion was held each week to allow peer collaboration. The writing tasks, the journal reflections on the tasks, on the group discussions, along with journal reflections on the course were included in portfolios. The findings of phase two revealed that reflective learning was conducive to the development of the student teachers’ self-regulation of writing. They became aware of their difficulties, which they turned into goals. This awareness enabled them to develop strategic behaviour and a sense of responsibility towards their learning in general. They also realised their capability to improve with little help from teachers, which triggered positive affect. Moreover, they generally improved their writing performances mainly thanks to the sense of responsibility, the positive affect, and the habit of paying attention to details, which they had also developed throughout the course. Furthermore, reflective learning influenced their perspectives on teaching. The development of self-regulation and that of the improvement of writing varied from one student to another. In order to have a more in-depth analysis of such development (or lack of development), two case studies were used to illustrate the variations and the possible reasons behind such variations. The research leads to a few teaching implications. Firstly, learner autonomy has its place in developing countries like Madagascar. Secondly, the development of learner autonomy should be included in teacher training so that teachers know and value its benefits and challenges, based on their own learning experience. Thirdly, not every student would reach the same level of autonomy in a given time. Weaker students may need more guidance in terms of strategies than other students.</p>

A Critical Review of Teaching With Virtual Lab: A Panacea to Challenges of Conducting Practical Experiments in Science Subjects Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in Rural Schools in South Africa

This paper is based on a systematic literature review of published research on the educational application of Virtual Lab. The paper focuses on the use of the mobile Virtual Lab application for learning science practicals in rural school context. This paper analyses the theoretical aspects of using VL in teaching and learning of science practical experiments. The previous studies published in national and international journals and conference proceedings on science education and technologies in education, and regarding the benefits of using VL in science education, are discussed as references for integrating VL in teaching of science practicals in the rural school context. A systematic review method was adopted in this paper to explore articles that focus on Virtual Labs and the use of Virtual labs in teaching and learning. However, the aim of this paper is to provide science teachers in rural schools and education policy makers with a better understanding of the constraints and the benefits of using VL technology in mediating learning of science practical experiments and encourage teachers to adopt the use of VL as technology for conducting science practical experiments. In addition, this paper also addresses the possible factors that may affect learners’ learning of science practical experiments using VL technology in rural school educational settings, giving educational policy makers and curriculum developers enlightenment as to the effective integration of VL technology in science education. We conclude by providing suggestions and recommendations on the use of VL in teaching and learning of science practical experiments in rural schools beyond COVID-19 pandemic.

The editor’s note: Time to invest in rural education

For decades, the needs of rural schools and students have received scant media and policy attention and have had to make do with insufficient funds. As Rafael Heller explains, the current education policy landscape is opening up opportunities for rural education advocates to press for the kinds of reforms that could improve both rural school and their communities overall.

When five shrinks to four: Assessing the four-day school week in rural locales

In rural school districts across the country, four-day school weeks have proliferated. Currently adopted in 1,600 schools in 600 school districts, 90% of which are rural, four-day school week policies have prospered largely without a robust body of evidence to support their expansion. J. Cameron Anglum presents an overview of four-day school week policy expansion and describes a few of the studies into its effects on students, families, and communities.

COVID-19 and online education: Digital inequality and other dilemmas of rural students in accessing online education during the pandemic

It is widely assumed among academicians that the COVID-19 pandemic has negative implications for the education of school students. However, institutions tried to balance that limitation by using online education, and there exist some inequalities among students. Most of the studies conducted during COVID-19 on online education focused on urban school students and their access to online education. In particular, rural school students and their online education remain an open question. Twenty in-depth interviews with rural student respondents determine the fundamental problems and challenge the rural school students’ face in online education during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The study identifies six major problems of rural students: inadequate technology, unacquainted academic atmosphere, digital disconnect, physical well-being, the distractions inherent with the medium, and digital illiteracy. The identified constraints draw inferences to a critical concept in online learning that is digital inequality. Digital inequality refers to the disparity in the access, distribution of technology, information because of various socio-economic and cultural factors. The study also discusses the suggestions of rural students regarding the betterment of online education. The recommendations from the rural students include providing appropriate technological infrastructure, facilitating technical assistance and providing a convenient academic atmosphere. The suggestions are pointing towards the idea of digital inclusion that is vital in online education. Digital inclusion is defined as the ability of individuals or groups of people to access and use information and communication technologies. It is not only about access in a broader sense the opportunities of using innovative hardware and software technology, content and services, getting proper digital literacy pieces of training and the effective use of these services. The findings of the study will help to bridge the disparities in online education. These findings will help the academic community to identify the needs of rural children. It will help build infrastructure for online learning and give extensive support to the school children of rural communities. These findings are also vital for the communication scholars as the disparity in the distribution of information and knowledge is a prime concern for them.

A look back: Ongoing dilemmas for rural schools

The December 1983 Kappan featured the story of Clinch School in Hawkins County, Tennessee, a small rural school with a student body of 161 students in 12 grades. Teresa Preston explains how the story of the community’s fight to keep this school open and under local control is illustrative of the dilemmas surrounding rural schools that have been covered in Kappan for a century. Articles have grappled with whether schools should focus on encouraging students to stay in rural communities, how to ensure that schools are large enough to provide adequate programs but small enough to reflect the immediate community, and what role parent and community preferences should play in improvement plans for rural schools.