How (un-)useful are images for understanding histories of education? : About teacher centeredness and new education in Dutch primary schools: 1920-1985 = Com són d'(in)útils les imatges per entendre les històries de l'educació? : L'ensenyament centrat

Hi ha un debat per veure si les imatges ens són útils o no per entendre històries de l'educació. Les imatges poden ser un suport per a històries que ja estan recollides en documents escrits, però, poden utilitzar-se com a font primària, ja que ens proporcionen allò que els testimonis orals o escrits no poden proporcionar? Nosaltres pensem que sí. Hem portat a terme un estudi d'un centenar d'imatges d'alumnes i professors dins aules de primària que dóna fe de la nostra teoria. Mostrem que, passant d'una metodologia inductiva a una de deductiva, a través de la delicada selecció i codificació d'imatges, utilitzant múltiples anàlisis de correspondència i comparant constantment diferents grups d'informació, hem arribat a una sèrie de conclusions a les quals no podríem haver arribat si únicament haguéssim utilitzat documents escrits. Una d'aquestes conclusions és que, malgrat el mecanisme conegut com a «gramàtica de l'escolarització», la tendència majoritària a les escoles de primària holandeses, ja siguin públiques, privades o religioses, ha anat canviant lentament, en el període de 1945 a 1985, des del centrisme del mestre cap al centralisme de l'alumne. No obstant això, les escoles noves dels Països Baixos no varen canviar aquesta imatge d'un ensenyament centrat en l'alumne durant aquests anys. La imatge de la tendència majoritària dels anys vuitanta és comparable a la imatge de la nova escola dels anys cinquanta. Hi ha hagut una convergència cap a una imatge en la qual l'alumne és al centre, amb les taules agrupades, amb el mestre al mateix nivell que els alumnes, dins una atmosfera de llibertat i alegria. Larry Cuban va arribar a la conclusió que les tendències predominants de les escoles de primària dels Estats Units, on l'ensenyament centrat en el mestre eren encara dominants durant el 1890 i el 1990, no són aplicables en cap cas a la situació d'Holanda.Hay un debate sobre si las imágenes nos resultan útiles o no para entender historias de la educación. Las imágenes pueden ser un apoyo a historias que ya están recogidas en documentos escritos, sin embargo, ¿pueden utilizarse como fuente primaria ya que nos proporcionan lo que los testimonios orales o escritos no pueden? Nosotros pensamos que sí. Hemos llevado a cabo un estudio de un centenar de imágenes de alumnos y profesores en aulas de primaria que da fe de nuestra teoría. Podemos demostrar que, pasando de una metodología inductiva a una deductiva, a través de la delicada selección y codificación de imágenes, utilizando múltiples análisis de correspondencia, y comparando constantemente diferentes grupos de información, hemos llegado a una serie de conclusiones a las que no podríamos haber llegado si únicamente hubiéramos utilizado documentos escritos. Una de estas conclusiones es que, pese al mecanismo conocido como «gramática de la escolarización», la tendencia mayoritaria en las escuelas de primaria holandesas, ya sean públicas, privadas o religiosas, ha ido cambiando lentamente, en el periodo de 1945 a 1985, desde el centrismo del maestro hacia el centralismo del alumno. No obstante, las escuelas nuevas de los Países Bajos no cambiaron esta imagen de una enseñanza centrada en el alumno durante estos años. La imagen de la tendencia mayoritaria de los años 80 es comparable a la imagen de la nueva escuela de los años 50. Ha habido una convergencia hacia una imagen en la que el alumno es el centro, con las mesas agrupadas, con el maestro al mismo nivel que los alumnos, dentro de una atmósfera de libertad y alegría. Larry Cuban llegó a la conclusión de que las tendencias predominantes de las escuelas de primaria de los EE.UU., donde la enseñanza centrada en el maestro eran todavía dominantes durante el 1890 y 1990, no son aplicables en ningún caso a la situación de Holanda.There is debate about the usefulness of images for telling histories of education. Images can support stories that are told by written documents, but can they be used as primary sources that tell us things that written or oral testimonies cannot? We think they can. We have performed an analysis on a few hundred images of pupils and teachers in classrooms of primary schools for supporting this point of view. We show that by switching between an inductive and a deductive approach, by carefully selecting and coding images, by using multiple correspondence analysis, and by constantly making comparisons between (groups of ) data, we can arrive at conclusions that cannot be drawn on the basis of written documents alone. One of these conclusions is that, in spite of a mechanism known as the grammar of schooling, the image of main stream of Dutch primary schools – public/neutral and religious – has slowly changed from a teacher centred to a child centred one in the period 1945-1985. New education schools in the Netherlands did not change their child centred image in these years. The image of main stream schooling in the 1980’s is comparable with the image of new education in the 1950’s. There has been a convergence towards a child centred image of the classroom, with individual tables placed in groups, a teacher that can be found on the same level of the pupils, and a general atmosphere of freedom and happiness. The conclusion that Larry Cuban draws for primary schools in the USA where a teacher centred approach remained dominant in the period 1890-1990, does not apply to the Netherlands

Exhibiting teachers' hands:Storytelling based on a private collection of engravings

The starting point of this chapter is the observation that certain hand gestures, such as the raised index finger, appear to be typical among teachers as a professional group. Using a private collection of 379 educational engravings, we1 have attempted to identify patterns in the gestures teachers make when interacting with students, using social science research methods and statistical techniques. In doing so, we ultimately tell a story about teachers whose image in the public sphere has changed from authoritarian to authoritative. We also pay special attention to the differences between male and female teachers, as well as the gender composition of classrooms. We do not find confirmation of the stereotypical image of dominant male and submissive female teachers.</p

Using World-Wide-Web technology for pathology education

In this article, we describe the development of computer-based learning programs for pathology students at Jefferson Medical College. These programs are authored using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), and are available to students on campus and via the internet. Our computer-based learning resources include scheduling information, course goals and objectives, glossary of key words, self-assessment programs and image-based case studies. These educational programs are popular with the students. We recommend the use of World Wide Web technology to improve teaching and learning in pathology education

The positive effects of ethnic diversity in class on the educational performance of pupils in a multiethnic European metropole

According to Robert Putnam (2007) ethnic diversity in cities and neighborhoods does not lead to an increase of trust and social capital as previously predicted by intergroup contact theory (Pettigrew, 1998); instead it triggers a reaction of hunkering down that leads to a decrease in trust and social capital of both in-group and out-groups. But what happens if we focus on youngsters that are growing up in a multi-ethnic metropole, that are considering ethnic diversity as a something "normal", and that are bridging their ethnic differences by sharing a common street culture and language? In this article we use data about 905 pupils, 41 classes and 11 schools in a European metropole to confirm the hypothesis that in this specific context ethnic diversity in classrooms does lead to positive effects on educational performance

Perceptions and Practices of Stimulating Children's Cognitive Development Among Moroccan Immigrant Mothers

We explored the perceptions of children's cognitive development among Moroccan Arabic and Berber immigrant mothers who cannot read, who are less educated, middle educated or highly educated in the Netherlands. A series of in-depth interviews was conducted with 22 mothers with young children (mean age = 5 years and 6 months). Qualitative data analyses revealed five major themes that are of significant importance to these mothers: moral attitudes, social values and religiousness; conversation, reading and playing as stimulating activities; importance attached to education; parental expectations; attributions of school success. The parental perceptions about the cognitive develop

La Escuela Nueva en Imágenes: Fotografía y Propaganda en The New Era (1920-1939)

 In this article we analyse the propaganda work done by the journal The New Era for divulgating and popularising the progressive education movement. The review started in 1920, so it was the first in transmitting the ideas of this movement, and also the first English language journal that became the channel of expression of the New Education Fellowship, for divulgating the innovative ideals in the Anglo-saxon countries.We have studied the propaganda work from the images that the journal has published between 1920 and 1939. As a research method we have chosen a combination of content analysis and a grounded theory approach. We have identified a list of categories that are connected with the characteristics of new or progressive education. We have considered as starting point that all the ideals and school practices made more visible by the journal, i.e., the ones that were shown in many images, were those used for building a public image of the New Education.We have organized the visual discourse built by The New Era around six ideas: coeducation, activity, freedom, nature, child-centered, and individualization versus socialization. We have quantified the number of images that were published in connexion with everyone of these ideas, making comparisons between spaces and times. The quantitative analysis has allowed us to explain general patterns and exceptional features. Finally, we present the most remarkable characteristics of the iconographical discourse about the New Education that was built and propagated by The New Era.En este artículo se aborda la labor de propaganda sobre el movimiento de la EscuelaNuevaque realizó The New Era, la revista en lengua inglesa que fue pionera, pues comenzó a publicarse en 1920, y también la primera que se erigió en órgano de expresión de la New Education Fellowship, la organización que aglutinó a los educadores de todo el mundo que compartían las ideas innovadoras del movimiento.Esta labor de propaganda se ha estudiado a partir de las imágenes que la revista publicó entre 1920 y 1939. Através de una metodología que combina el análisis de contenido y la grounded theory identificamos una serie de categorías que relacionamos con los grandes ideales dela Escuela Nueva. Consideramos, como punto de partida, que aquellas ideas y prácticas escolares que la revista visibilizó más —es decir, de las que publicó más imágenes— fueron aquellas con las que pretendía construir en la opinión pública un imaginario dela Escuela Nueva.Las seis ideas en torno a las que hemos organizado el discurso visual construido por esta revista son: coeducación, actividad, libertad, contacto con la naturaleza, paidocentrismo, e individualización vs socialización. De cada una de ellas hemos cuantificado el número de imágenes que se publicaron, diferenciadas por países y por períodos temporales. A partir del análisis cuantitativo, hemos tratado de explicar las pautas generales y los rasgos excepcionales, para concluir presentando las características más destacables del discurso iconográfico sobre la Nueva Educación que construyó y divulgó The New Era