Mathematics teachers’ explorations of indigenous mathematical knowledge systems through immersion in African cultures

A handful of research has shown the importance of integrating cultural practices that resonate with students’ ethnic and background experiences in everyday instruction. Particularly in teacher education courses, there has been an unprecedented focus on valorizing the use of community-based, culturally-oriented learning experiences in light of the diverse demographics that thrive in schools today. Notwithstanding the extensive literature that urged the utilization of cultural immersion experiences as means of increasing cultural sensitivity for students across disciplines, little effort has been documented about the usefulness of immersion for teaching culturally-responsive mathematics. The purpose of this research is to document initial, firsthand field experiences of graduate mathematics education students while engaged in exploring indigenous knowledge systems by immersion in the daily experiences of indigenous cultures in Morocco and South Africa

A MIXED METHODS STUDY OF PRINCIPALS’ EXPERIENCE USING DATA ANALYTIC TOOLS IN HAWAI‘I

Ph.D.Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 201

The importance of teachers in integrating ICT into science teaching in intermediate schools in Saudi Arabia: a mixed methods study

Curriculum reform is central to the aspirations of many developing countries as they strive to deliver a quality education to their citizens. In Saudi Arabia, with its remarkable achievement of a high literacy rate in a few decades, the next step is bringing its resources to bear on providing a quality education so that Saudis may take their places in the global labour force. This study concerns the integration of information and communications technologies (ICT) into the science curriculum of intermediate schools for boys and girls in the educational district of Jeddah, and the training and development requirements of science teachers in this regard. A mixed methodology was employed to obtain qualitative data from six policymakers within the Ministry of Education in Riyadh and Jeddah, and quantitative data from a questionnaire for which 311 replies were received from intermediate schools’ science teachers in Jeddah. The findings confirm those reported in the literature that inefficient central project management and inadequate resources influence the integration of ICT in the science curriculum. Further, qualitative and quantitative findings confirm that teachers’ access to training is affected by time constraints, ineffective ICT course material, and in the specialised case of an Islamic country, inadequate access of women teachers to external training. However, this study does not support the majority of researchers which finds teachers’ negative attitude to ICT. Whilst the policy makers interviewed in this study perceived the teachers as having a negative attitude toward ICT integration in the science curriculum, quantitative data from the teachers pointed to a high interest (90 per cent) in ICT integration, and their willingness to pursue further professional development in the effective use of ICT in the intermediate science curriculum

analysis of a tripartite technology-supported partnership for school reform. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 2(2), 1-29. AN ACTIVITY SYSTEM ANALYSIS OF A TRIPARTITE TECHNOLOGY- SUPPORTED PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOL REFORM

School improvement often involves partnerships between multiple stakeholder groups. In order to understand the strengths and challenges of a partnership, it is necessary to examine the objectives and practices of the constituent groups and the forces that shape these practices. This paper presents an activity theory analysis of relationships between three professional communities of practice in a school reform effort, Hawai`i Networked Learning Communities. Essential tensions between the activity systems of the communities are analyzed to understand key issues encountered in the implementation, particularly with respect to the role of technology in mediating a program of professional development