Locating distributed leadership

This special issue addresses a number of the key themes that have been surfacing from the literature on distributed leadership (DL) for some time. Together with those papers selected to be included in this special issue, the authors set out both to explore and contribute to a number of the current academic debates in relation to DL, while at the same time examining the extent to which research on DL has permeated the management field. The paper examines a number of key concepts, ideas and themes in relation to DL and, in so doing, highlights the insights offered through new contributions and interpretations. The paper offers a means by which forms of DL might be conceptualized to be better incorporated into researchers' scholarship and research, and a framework is presented which considers a number of different dimensions of DL, how it may be planned, and how it may emerge, together with how it may or may not align with other organizational activities and aspects. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Management Reviews © 2011 British Academy of Management and Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Ethical and Political Implications of Reflective Practice among Preservice Teachers

This study investigates the ethical and political implications of reflective practice among preservice teachers. The author reviewed previous research which suggests the need for a more critical analysis of teacher education programs to implement more intensive reflective methodologies that foster authentic, caring, dispositional development as a moral obligation toward socially just practice rather than mere audited compliance with standards-based technical training. This position paper then analyzes preservice teacher education as an interdependent process of methodological development, perceptive development, and cognitive/affective development. Finally, the author makes recommendations for program modification to better prepare preservice teachers to conceptualize their transformative role in society

A Qualitative Teacher-Student Oriented Approach to Translation Teaching

This article proposes a move away from the traditional methodologies of teaching translation that focus on text-typologies to an eclectic teacher and student oriented approach that involves a set of interdisciplinary skills with a view to improving students’ translation quality. Here, a combination of the minimalist approach, revision vs. editing and discourse analysis is the proposed alternative in translation teaching. This combination brings together both teacher- and student-centred approaches. As the validity of the approach proposed relies partially on instructors’ competences and skills in teaching translation, universities, particularly in the Arab world, need to invest in recruiting expert practitioners instead of depending mainly on bilingual teachers to teach translation

Metaverse and education: the pioneering case of Minecraft in immersive digital learning

The metaverse is presented as a possible new technological iteration for the Internet. The generation of virtual universes in which the physical and the digital converge raises the question of how education will be addressed in these new systems. We find, however, pioneering exercises such as Minecraft: Education Edition. This platform is a version based on the popular sandbox video game, which was originally created by a community of teachers. The aim of this research is to analyze and describe the idiosyncratic characteristics of Minecraft as an educational platform, framing it as one of the pioneering exercises in the metaverse. To this end, we have employed a methodology that combines Multimodal Discourse Analysis with Grounded Theory and the Constant Comparative Method. As conclusions, we observe how the Minecraft Education platform reinforces from its approach pre-existing aspects from the physical world, resizing them to adapt them to its connected digital environment. These are key elements such as the identity of the participants, their ability to act within the system, creativity through lessons as a guide to the educational objectives and the community as the backbone of the process. At the same time, it presents differential components, such as the use of avatars, the transition from textual literacy to multimodal literacy, game mechanics that boost creativity or transhuman capabilities that defy physical space-time. All in all, the platform is designed for teachers, parents and managers, to whom it offers a series of benefits. Therefore, the pedagogical action will depend on their judgment and execution, especially through the elaboration of lessons and worlds, the management of the sessions and their interaction in community environments. It is their responsibility to ensure that the educational experience is truly empowering or, on the contrary, that it ends up being governed by reproductive criteria linked to symbolic violence

Glitchspace:teaching programming through puzzles in cyberspace

There is an increasing need to address the player experience in games-based learning. Whilst games offer enormous potential as learning experiences, the balance between entertainment and education must be carefully designed and delivered. Successful commercial games tend to focus gameplay above any educational aspects. In contrast, games designed for educational purposes have a habit of sacrificing entertainment for educational value which can result in a decline in player engagement. For both, the player experience is critical as it can have a profound effect on both the commercial success of the game and in delivering the educational engagement. As part of an Interface-funded research project Abertay University worked with the independent games company, Space Budgie, to enhance the user experience of their educational game Glitchspace. The game aimed to teach basic coding principles and terminology in an entertaining way. The game sets the player inside a Mondrian-inspired cyberspace world where to progress the player needs to reprogramme the world around them to solve puzzles. The main objective of the academic-industry collaborative project was to analyse the user experience (UX) of the game to increase its educational value for a standalone educational version. The UX design focused on both pragmatic and hedonic qualities such playability, usability and the psychological impact of the game. The empirical study of the UX design allowed all parties to develop a deeper understanding of how the game was being played and the initial reactions to the game by the player. The core research question that the study sought to answer was whether when designing an educational game, UX design could improve philosophical concepts like motivation and engagement to foster better learning experiences.</p

Picturebooks and Critical Inquiry: Tools to (Re)Imagine a More Inclusive World

Literature can be used to create communities of conscience around topics of social justice, hope, and activism. Furthermore, when the lens of critical literacy is applied to interactive discussions about books, the messages shared in the texts are not neutral and can be viewed from multiple viewpoints, thereby providing rich openings for readers to think more critically about the world. This qualitative case study investigates how second graders discuss a variety of social issue topics using diverse children\u27s picturebooks. International children\u27s literature can initiate important conversations to help break down perpetuating cycles of social inequality, restore hope, and bring kindness to the world

Traning for Womens towards Management in TVET

This paper discusses on gender and the implications for gender in management by building upon current research on doing gender well  and re-doing or undoing gender and argue that gender can be done well and differently in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) as well as skillsdevelopment in rural areas, mainly pertaining to agriculture and related activities and exploresexisting gender differences.Recently, there has been a renewed interest in training and skills development because of increased evidence that a minimalist approach to microfinance for poverty reduction and enterprise development did not lead to sustainable growth. The paper argues that many training interventions do not cater for the specific needs of women who are under-represented in formal training programmes and often directed towards typical female occupations. It reviews vocational and skills training in several supported programmes and explores how these target the poor and most vulnerable and to what extend gender differences in training provision