Distrusting Educational Technology

Distrusting Educational Technology PDF

Author: Neil Selwyn

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-11-26

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1134607695

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Distrusting Educational Technology critically explores the optimistic consensus that has arisen around the use of digital technology in education. Drawing on a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives, this book shows how apparently neutral forms of educational technology have actually served to align educational provision and practices with neo-liberal values, thereby eroding the nature of education as a public good and moving it instead toward the individualistic tendencies of twenty-first century capitalism. Following a wide-ranging interrogation of the ideological dimensions of educational technology, this book examines in detail specific types of digital technology in use in education today, including virtual education, ‘open’ courses, digital games, and social media. It then concludes with specific recommendations for fairer forms of educational technology. An ideal read for anyone interested in the fast-changing nature of contemporary education, Distrusting Educational Technology comprises an ambitious and much-needed critique.

In Schools We Trust

In Schools We Trust PDF

Author: Deborah Meier

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2003-08-01

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9780807031513

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

We are in an era of radical distrust of public education. Increasingly, we turn to standardized tests and standardized curricula-now adopted by all fifty states-as our national surrogates for trust. Legendary school founder and reformer Deborah Meier believes fiercely that schools have to win our faith by showing they can do their job. But she argues just as fiercely that standardized testing is precisely the wrong way to that end. The tests themselves, she argues, cannot give the results they claim. And in the meantime, they undermine the kind of education we actually want. In this multilayered exploration of trust and schools, Meier critiques the ideology of testing and puts forward a different vision, forged in the success stories of small public schools she and her colleagues have created in Boston and New York. These nationally acclaimed schools are built, famously, around trusting teachers-and students and parents-to use their own judgment. Meier traces the enormous educational value of trust; the crucial and complicated trust between parents and teachers; how teachers need to become better judges of each others' work; how race and class complicate trust at all levels; and how we can begin to 'scale up' from the kinds of successes she has created.

Democracy and Distrust

Democracy and Distrust PDF

Author: John Hart Ely

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1981-08-15

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0674263294

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This powerfully argued appraisal of judicial review may change the face of American law. Written for layman and scholar alike, the book addresses one of the most important issues facing Americans today: within what guidelines shall the Supreme Court apply the strictures of the Constitution to the complexities of modern life? Until now legal experts have proposed two basic approaches to the Constitution. The first, “interpretivism,” maintains that we should stick as closely as possible to what is explicit in the document itself. The second, predominant in recent academic theorizing, argues that the courts should be guided by what they see as the fundamental values of American society. John Hart Ely demonstrates that both of these approaches are inherently incomplete and inadequate. Democracy and Distrust sets forth a new and persuasive basis for determining the role of the Supreme Court today. Ely’s proposal is centered on the view that the Court should devote itself to assuring majority governance while protecting minority rights. “The Constitution,” he writes, “has proceeded from the sensible assumption that an effective majority will not unreasonably threaten its own rights, and has sought to assure that such a majority not systematically treat others less well than it treats itself. It has done so by structuring decision processes at all levels in an attempt to ensure, first, that everyone’s interests will be represented when decisions are made, and second, that the application of those decisions will not be manipulated so as to reintroduce in practice the sort of discrimination that is impermissible in theory.” Thus, Ely’s emphasis is on the procedural side of due process, on the preservation of governmental structure rather than on the recognition of elusive social values. At the same time, his approach is free of interpretivism’s rigidity because it is fully responsive to the changing wishes of a popular majority. Consequently, his book will have a profound impact on legal opinion at all levels—from experts in constitutional law, to lawyers with general practices, to concerned citizens watching the bewildering changes in American law.

Trust, Accountability, and Capacity in Education System Reform

Trust, Accountability, and Capacity in Education System Reform PDF

Author: Melanie Ehren

Publisher:

Published: 2020-12-30

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9780367362478

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This global collection brings a new perspective to the field of comparative education by presenting trust, capacity and accountability as the three building blocks of education systems and education system reform. In exploring how these three factors relate to student learning outcomes across different international contexts, this book provides a powerful framework for a more equal system. Drawing upon research and case studies from scholars, policymakers and experts from international agencies across five continents, this book shows how trust, capacity and accountability interact in ways and with consequences that vary among countries, pointing readers towards understanding potential leverage points for system change. Trust, Accountability, and Capacity in Education System Reform illuminates how these three concepts are embedded in an institutional context temporally, socially and institutionally and offers an analysis that will be of use to researchers, policymakers and agencies working in comparative education and towards education system reform. Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license available at http: //www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429344855

Trust in Schools

Trust in Schools PDF

Author: Anthony Bryk

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2002-09-05

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 161044096X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Most Americans agree on the necessity of education reform, but there is little consensus about how this goal might be achieved. The rhetoric of standards and vouchers has occupied center stage, polarizing public opinion and affording little room for reflection on the intangible conditions that make for good schools. Trust in Schools engages this debate with a compelling examination of the importance of social relationships in the successful implementation of school reform. Over the course of three years, Bryk and Schneider, together with a diverse team of other researchers and school practitioners, studied reform in twelve Chicago elementary schools. Each school was undergoing extensive reorganization in response to the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988, which called for greater involvement of parents and local community leaders in their neighborhood schools. Drawing on years longitudinal survey and achievement data, as well as in-depth interviews with principals, teachers, parents, and local community leaders, the authors develop a thorough account of how effective social relationships—which they term relational trust—can serve as a prime resource for school improvement. Using case studies of the network of relationships that make up the school community, Bryk and Schneider examine how the myriad social exchanges that make up daily life in a school community generate, or fail to generate, a successful educational environment. The personal dynamics among teachers, students, and their parents, for example, influence whether students regularly attend school and sustain their efforts in the difficult task of learning. In schools characterized by high relational trust, educators were more likely to experiment with new practices and work together with parents to advance improvements. As a result, these schools were also more likely to demonstrate marked gains in student learning. In contrast, schools with weak trust relations saw virtually no improvement in their reading or mathematics scores. Trust in Schools demonstrates convincingly that the quality of social relationships operating in and around schools is central to their functioning, and strongly predicts positive student outcomes. This book offer insights into how trust can be built and sustained in school communities, and identifies some features of public school systems that can impede such development. Bryk and Schneider show how a broad base of trust across a school community can provide a critical resource as education professional and parents embark on major school reforms. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology

The Open System

The Open System PDF

Author: Landon Mascareñaz

Publisher: Harvard Education Press

Published: 2023-06-20

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1682538141

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A call to action for school and community leaders to reframe educational institutions as open systems that are adaptable and responsive to the needs of students, families, and communities. Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran propose that, even as events of this decade have exposed stress points in existing top-down, closed systems within education and other public institutions, they have also created prime opportunities to rethink and redesign those systems in ways that encourage civic participation and invigorate local democracy. In The Open System, Mascareñaz and Tran argue for a critical revitalization of public education centered in openness, an organization design concept in which an entity receives, considers, and acts on input from the community it serves. As they demonstrate, open education policy improves information flow, increasing opportunity, bolstering public trust, and making room for cocreation and coproduction driven by community partnerships and family engagement. Based on their groundbreaking work with educational coalitions such as the Kentucky Coalition for Advancing Education and Colorado’s Homegrown Talent Initiative, Mascareñaz and Tran introduce six key liberatory moves that can bring about open system transformation. They highlight real-life examples of the types of incremental, specific, and discrete projects that leaders can use to create openness in educational systems at the school, district, and state levels, providing a blueprint for changemaking.

How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate

How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate PDF

Author: Andrew J. Hoffman

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2015-03-11

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 0804795053

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Though the scientific community largely agrees that climate change is underway, debates about this issue remain fiercely polarized. These conversations have become a rhetorical contest, one where opposing sides try to achieve victory through playing on fear, distrust, and intolerance. At its heart, this split no longer concerns carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, or climate modeling; rather, it is the product of contrasting, deeply entrenched worldviews. This brief examines what causes people to reject or accept the scientific consensus on climate change. Synthesizing evidence from sociology, psychology, and political science, Andrew J. Hoffman lays bare the opposing cultural lenses through which science is interpreted. He then extracts lessons from major cultural shifts in the past to engender a better understanding of the problem and motivate the public to take action. How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate makes a powerful case for a more scientifically literate public, a more socially engaged scientific community, and a more thoughtful mode of public discourse.

EBOOK: Network Learning for Educational Change

EBOOK: Network Learning for Educational Change PDF

Author: Wiel Veugelers

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)

Published: 2005-07-16

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 0335228178

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How do networks create educational change and improve student achievement? What kinds of educational policies and practices facilitate network learning? Networks bring teachers, principals and other stakeholders together to share ideas, observe best practices, identify and analyze problems, and develop strategies for improved teaching, learning, and community life. These networks are becoming an important method to enhance educational renewal and student achievement. Networks go beyond tensions of top-down vs. bottom-up, school development and formal and informal organizational structures. The theoretical base of networking makes use of many different concepts of educational change theory, such as educational change processes, empowering of teachers, professional development, communities of practice, the network society and democratic education. The first part of the book features studies of four ‘established’ networks who have been functioning for several years. These networks describe their accomplishments, challenges, goals, and the theoretical basis of their work. In the second part of the book, three recently developed networks share their ‘start-up’ experiences and lessons learned. The book concludes by looking at networking as a strategy for educational change. Key reading for Education students, educational consultants and teacher educators with an interest in educational leadership and educational change. Contributors: Lew Allen,Linda Atkinson, Tero Autio, Randy Averso, Jean Cate, Dennis W. K. Chan, Chris Day, Victor Forrester, Gregg Garn, Dennis Gentry, Jesse Goodman, Mark Hadfield, Barbara Harold, Frances Hensley, Elaine Jarchow, Gaetane Jean-Marie, Tracey McAskill, Robin McGrew-Zoubi, Mary John O’Hair, Ulrich C. Reitzug, Eero Ropo, Joan Rué, Wiel Veugelers, Ian Walker, William Y. Wu, Henk Zijlstra.

Miseducation

Miseducation PDF

Author: Katie Worth

Publisher:

Published: 2021-11-09

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 9781735913643

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Why are so many American children learning so much misinformation about climate change? Investigative reporter Katie Worth reviewed scores of textbooks, built a 50-state database, and traveled to a dozen communities to talk to children and teachers about what is being taught, and found a red-blue divide in climate education. More than one-third of young adults believe that climate change is not man-made, and science teachers who teach global warming are being contradicted by history teachers who tell children not to worry about it. Who has tried to influence what children learn, and how successful have they been? Worth connects the dots to find out how oil corporations, state legislatures, school boards, and textbook publishers sow uncertainty, confusion, and distrust about climate science. A thoroughly researched, eye-opening look at how some states do not want children to learn the facts about climate change.