Problems of Education in the 21st Century

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Authors: Editorial Board

Problems of Education in the 21st Century, ISSN 1822-7864 Volume 34, 2011

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Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas

The pace of life forces us in getting everything quickly and preferably for free, i.e. the faster – the better. No matter that fast food from McDonald’s simply kills the human organism. The crucial point is that the action itself is fast and cheap. However, I see no sense in discussing the topic of junk food. A better idea is the transformation of the above introduced term into the field of education and debates on “appetite” for learning rather than for fast food. Thus, what are the shown indications? First, it should be noticed that when considering the phenomenon of “fast” training, education fails to retain its purpose, and therefore the systems of comprehensive and higher education appear to be just a blur (Lamanauskas, 2011).

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Authors: Olga Denac, Barbara Sicherl Kafol, Branka Čagran

Primary school teachers (342 in total) from all over Slovenia were questioned on their attitude towards arts and cultural education. The results of the study show that the teachers were most unanimous in regard to the importance of team planning in educational work in the field of the arts and the importance of cultural education for the life of an individual and society; this was followed by measures for raising the quality of arts and cultural education in primary school and the content of teacher training programs. Statistically significant differences in the teachers’ attitudes occurred with respect to their age and teaching position (class teacher and subject teacher). Unlike their younger colleagues and subject teachers, older teachers and class teachers expressed a more positive view of arts and cultural education.

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Authors: Richard P. Kimiti, David M. Mulwa, Samuel N. Waweru, Stephen Nalelia, Mathew Muindi

The problem of this study was to investigate the teaching of the integrated topics on drug abuse in the secondary school curriculum as a strategy to wipe out the problem of drug abuse among students in Machakos District, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to: establish the prevalence of drug abuse at the secondary school level according to gender, locality (urban/rural), boarding or day and religious practice, and establish the effect of teaching integrated topics on prevalence rate of drug abuse. It was also meant to examine which topics on drug abuse are integrated in the secondary school curriculum. A survey study was carried out in Machakos District, Kenya. The subjects of the study were drawn from 24 randomly selected secondary schools. A sample of 774 respondents selected through stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used for the study. The sampling matrix comprised of 24 principals, 280 teachers and 470 students. The study utilized five research instruments: three questionnaires, interview schedule and observation schedule. The data collected was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean, mode and median. The main findings of the study were: the prevalence of drug abuse according to gender was Boys’ (11.19%), Girls’ (9.58%) and mixed sex (9.49%) schools. The urban schools had a prevalence of 10.73% whereas it was 9.66% in the rural ones. The prevalence according to status of the schools was: Day (13.84%), Mixed Day and Boarding (12.28%), and Boarding (11.54%). The teaching of the integrated topics on drug abuse had helped schools to reduce the drug menace. The topics on drug abuse were integrated in five subjects in the formal curriculum (English, Kiswahili, Chemistry, Biology and Christian Religious Education), the integrated topics were also taught through the non formal (Clubs and societies meetings) and in the informal (class, assembly and dormitory meetings) curriculum.

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Authors: Lydia Cheruto Kipkoech, Salome Chesire

Making decisions is one of the prime functions of educational management and in the current educational setup; more teachers are taking management roles in schools. This study therefore assessed the teachers’ involvement in managerial decision making in secondary schools within Keiyo district. The specific objectives were to: determine areas in which teachers are involved in decision making in secondary schools, establish levels of teachers’ involvements in decision making in secondary schools. The entire study was propounded on the basis of Vroom-Yetton-Jago Contingency Theory of participative decision making (1988). This study was conducted by cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from a sample of 17 head teachers, 17 deputy head teachers, 51 head of departments and 51 class teachers. The instruments of data collection were: questionnaires, and interviews. Findings indicate that teachers in secondary schools are involved in managerial decisions but at lower levels. The study recommends that head teachers evaluate and identify teachers’ needs on managerial decisions in order to facilitate further training on the same. This in turn would encourage teachers’ participation and enhance team spirit in decision making that would result in efficiency in management of secondary schools.

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Authors: Aija Peršēvica

The aim of this research is to demonstrate the situation in teacher job satisfaction in the state and to study correlations between the job satisfaction of teachers and quality of education, thereby showing the importance of teachers’ emotional feelings in the process of assuring quality education. The research data were collected at 5 schools with high achievements of the pupils in the mandatory centralised national examinations and at 6 schools with low results demonstrated by the pupils. As a result of the research, it was concluded that teachers are mostly satisfied with the chosen profession. An analysis of the identified correlations between job satisfaction and quality of education showed that there is significant correlation between several levels of interpersonal relationships and various aspects of quality. The obtained results the significance of the pedagogical resource in provision of education as well as allows to identify the scales of teacher job satisfaction with lower ratings which should be improved to significantly improve the overall satisfaction of teachers with their job.

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Authors: Semiha Şahin

The aim of this study was to better understand the instructional leadership styles adopted in Turkey and the USA. This is a quantitative study which used the “Instructional Leadership Inventory” for data collection. Study data was collected from a diverse sample of urban elementary school teachers: 157 in Turkey and 150 in the USA. The general statistical findings indicate that teachers tend to develop a positive perception towards instructional leadership styles adopted by school principals in Turkey and the USA. An analysis of study results in terms of the similarities and differences between the instructional leadership styles adopted in both countries indicated that American teachers scored higher than their Turkish counterparts in terms of subscales as well as the total score.

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Authors: Paul Snape, Wendy Fox-Turnbull

The new Knowledge (or Conceptual) Age of this millennium is creating a globalised economy that requires a much more diverse range of skills and dispositions yet many countries’ education systems still promote an outdated Industrial Age model of teaching and learning. In New Zealand, as in many other countries, there has recently been an emphasis on raising the level of qualification and success of students in school. ‘No child left behind’ philosophies feature in many countries and much money has been spent on trying to raise the levels of achievement of underperforming groups and keeping students in schools longer. Industrial Age schools screened, sorted and disciplined students for work and life in society (Bolstad & Gilbert, 2008). This has been done through traditional learning disciplines where study has been largely content and assessment driven. A 21st century curriculum will develop in students a generic capacity and aspiration to learn (Claxton 2007). Recent research has identified the twenty-first century skills people will require for successful integration into a wider range of communities. The writers will introduce two perspectives developed to address twenty-first century learning and highlight how the Technology Education curriculum and Guided Inquiry are ideally suited for delivering this skill set. Technology Education and Guided Inquiry (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari 2007) pedagogy engage students in meaningful and successful 21st century learning. The first perspective is the Framework for 21st Century Learning (Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2009) and the other, the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2007).

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Authors: Editorial Board

Problems of Education in the 21st Century, ISSN 1822-7864 Volume 34, 2011