Implementing the Mixed Instrumental Ensemble Practice in Japan

This chapter investigates the cases of implementing the mixed instrumental ensemble practice in the field of music education in Japan; it rests on the believe that considering music as social phenomenon and human practice with interaction. This study sets two specific aims as follows: to blend various different kinds of musical instruments in ensemble settings. Particularly, in the process of implementing the practice, researcher designed Instructional Template (Gordon, 2015) was applied as a tool to foster and organize classroom interaction among learners and teachers. This study also explores the possibility to assess the affective component of music learning in practice. Custodero's (1998, 2005) Flow Indicators in Musical Activities was cited to examine learners' flow experiences. Implementation of the mixed instrumental ensemble practice fostered interaction among learners; thus, students experienced flow in more varietical ways in their social/musical context.

Africanizing Science Education

The development of Science and Technology has been positively associated with every nation's economic well-being and quality of life. Even though the importance of science in people's daily lives may not be readily noticeable, people engage in many science related activities and experiences, most of which enable them to make science-related decisions and choices every day. This implies that science education will continue to shape humanity, the environment, quality of life, sustainability of the planet, and peaceful coexistence. Effective participation in the scientifically and technologically driven world of the 21st Century implies a science education that produces scientifically literate citizens. This chapter provides justification for rethinking the way science education should be done in Africa generally, and Nigeria, in specific. Recommendations were made for the use of context-based science instruction as an effective way to Africanize science instruction.

Japanese Adolescent School Refusal

In Japanese education, one of the most serious problems is school refusal. Many young children and older students refuse to attend schools due to reasons other than economical or physical problems. They are not school truancy cases either as they are often high achievers. Instead, they seem to have problems with stress at schools (study stress) or human relationships problems such as peer pressure, bullying, and a sense of identity. They need a wide range and long lasting support for their recovery from school refusal, including counseling and alternative schools.

Strategies of Engagement

School, parent involvement, and at-risk students do not always make a winning combination. However, for the students at Mountain View High School, things were different. Strategies used by the Mountain View Parent Advisory Group helped to transform education for students of color who participated in their program. This chapter follows a study at a high school located in an upper/upper middle-class neighborhood where barriers to academic growth were considered addressed. However, there was a pocket of students of color who were not being successful academically. Strategies used by a parent group to help re-engage at-risk students, raise their GPAs, and redirect their future towards success are highlighted. Understanding that these strategies can be initiated by any group of parents or teachers provides promise for at-risk students, parents, and schools.

Flying Faster than the Birds and the Bees

The need for multicultural education to analyze human sexuality education is an area of critical need in research and practice. Many current human sexuality learning experiences contain practices that are shaming to learners, producing values that problematize sexuality. The author of this chapter introduces a sex-positive approach to human sexuality education, honoring multicultural education by intentionally understanding sex-positivity outside of a White, western context. Implications of this approach for education research, practice, training, and advocacy are discussed.

The Education of Roma Children

The education of Roma children presents many challenges throughout the world because of poverty, issues of isolation and discrimination. In many countries where Roma reside, laws exist that prohibit discrimination against this minority group. A variety of conflicting issues exist for Roma children. On one hand, the Roma communities practice cultural norms that are in conflict with a typical schooling environment that requires significant structure and lack of independent support. Conversely, schools fail to provide appropriate bilingual instruction for Roma children who usually do not speak the local language. In most countries discrimination attitudes create segregated schools and insufficient social services. Many efforts and organizations are in place to positively impact these challenges to provide quality education for all Roma children.

Collaborative Musical Theatre

The author describes her process of utilizing collaborative musical theatre as a teaching tool in three settings. These include an elementary school in the Bronx, New York, which adheres to the theory of Multiple Intelligences; undergraduate and graduate music education courses at Lehman College, City University of New York; and in a College/Community Collaborative Musical Theatre Project at Lehman College. The chapter depicts how the collaborative process closely resembles the goals of the Multiple Intelligences theory by the way it stimulates, encourages and nurtures the many capacities and ways of expression of the participants: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Mathematical/Logical, Spatial, Kinesthetic, Linguistic, Musical and Naturalistic, and therefore, serves as an effective, all-encompassing teaching tool.

Bhutan Education, Globalization, and Preservation of Traditional Language

This study focuses on globalization and preservation of traditional language. The Bhutanese government has promoted higher education to be taught by English; however, there are ongoing initiatives for college students to learn their major subjects not only in English but also in their national language, Dzongkha. The researchers developed interview questions, drawn from their research on Bhutanese education, education in southeast Asia, and other topical sources; this provided a contemporary framework for these educators to discuss their current perception of Bhutanese education and influences felt from external forces (e.g. global assessments) as well as internal goals and economic and political motivations. Results of the interview will be analyzed in the context of educational progress on the GNH, discussion of issues in Bhutan that challenge the GNH perception, such as multiculturalism, and how these teachers feel Bhutan will embrace the ever increasing swath of global assessments.

One Teacher's Journey

As our sociopolitical context evolves, student populations and teaching expectations become more complex. Teachers who entered the profession under one pretense are finding themselves faced with an entirely different set of circumstances: demographic shifts, increasingly diverse learners, curricular mandates, high-stakes accountability, technological advancements, globalization—the list continues. As the educational environment evolves, so must teacher identities. Contemporary teachers are tasked with creating an entirely new lens from which to develop new techniques and design more complex lessons to reach the diversity of students in their classrooms. This chapter traces one teacher's evolving identity and practice amidst the changing sociopolitical context of education. The author's autobiographical narrative depicts the impact of influential mentors, transformative moments in international teacher travel experiences, vignettes from 28 years as a classroom teacher, and specific instructional techniques developed to ensure effective student engagement in a pluralistic environment.

Engaging Urban Youth in Critical Media Literacy

This chapter describes how urban youth engaged in critical media literacy in the high school classroom by creating public service announcement (PSA) videos. The study delineates the process in which critical media literacy was implemented into diverse urban high school classrooms in Hawaii over a period of three years. The process included (1) acquiring technological and linguistic skills; (2) critically analyzing media texts; and (3) producing media on social issues. The data were collected from students' reflection journals, interviews with students and teachers, students' electronic portfolios, and participant observations by the researchers/teachers. Students expressed their voice toward positive social actions by producing PSAs on a range of social issues, such as poverty and discrimination. Building on multiliteracies and critical media literacy, this chapter argues for the importance of critical media literacy pedagogy that is deliberate to make curricular space for students' reflections and examinations of social issues.