Multicultural Education Improvement Research Paper

Multicultural Education Improvement - Research Paper Example Banks (1994) identifies five dimensions of multicultural education.   The first of these dimensions are â€Å"content integration† which is a technique by which educators ensure that teaching reflects cultural diversity (Banks 1994, p. 4). An example is to emphasize contributions in the field of study by diverse cultural heroes. Secondly, educators utilize â€Å"knowledge construction† which informs students how perspectives are influenced by â€Å"conclusions reached within that discipline† (Banks 1994, p. 5).   The third dimension of multicultural education is referred to by Banks (1994) as â€Å"prejudice reduction† which helps students to form objective views of diverse groups (p. 5). The fourth dimension is â€Å"equitable pedagogy† which attempts to alter classroom instructions that all students among different cultural groups perform academically.   The final dimension is â€Å"empowering school culture and social structure† whic h focuses on the environment within the school and ensuring that it supports diversity among the student body. Multicultural education can be defined as education strategies designed to accommodate teaching and learning for diverse cultures.   The idea is to provide for fostering pluralism among races, cultures and classes.   Theoretically at least, if students are subjected to multicultural education that is properly integrated into teaching and learning processes, attachment and engagement should improve.   ... 5). The third dimension of multicultural education is referred to by Banks (1994) as â€Å"prejudice reduction† which helps students to form objective views of diverse groups (p. 5). The fourth dimension is â€Å"equitable pedagogy† which attempts to alter classroom instructions that all students among different cultural groups perform academically (Banks 1994, p. 5). The final dimension is â€Å"empowering school culture and social structure† which focuses on the environment within the school and ensuring that it supports diversity among the student body (Banks 1994, p. 5). Multicultural education can be defined as education strategies designed to accommodate teaching and learning for diverse cultures. The idea is to provide for fostering pluralism among races, cultures and classes. Theoretically at least, if students are subjected to multicultural education that is properly integrated into teaching and learning processes, attachment and engagement should improv e. Ukpokodu (2009) informs that if multicultural education focuses on transformative learning, students of all races, cultures and classes transform their way of thinking and their perspectives and attitudes to more democratic and objective ways of thinking (2). Arguably, students become more responsible citizens and want to be productive citizens. As Banks (2008) argues, responsible citizenship can be hampered and can be lost on minorities when they are forced to detach themselves from their own cultures and languages (p. 130). Therefore by virtue of transformative learning under the auspices of effective multicultural education, students can be expected to become more engaged and attached to school, as they are not forced to become detached from their own cultures, races and classes. To

Does the Internet Make You Dumber Essay Example for Free

Does the Internet Make You Dumber Essay A psychologist, Patricia Greenfield has reviewed studies in our cognitive abilities from which Carr claims demonstrates we are becoming â€Å"shallower† (Carr 2010, p. w1). Carr refers to two specific examples. An experiment at Cornwell University, this was a small survey conducted in a classroom, the number of pupils was not documented in the article. Another experiment conducted at Stanford University with the conclusion being heavy multi-taskers were not effective at multi-tasking, as everything became a distraction. The more the person multi-tasks the more easily distracted and ‘had less control over their attention’. This experiment was more comprehensive. To back up claims that the internet changes the way we think, Carr refers to an experiment done on primates in the 1970s and 1980s. The test seems extensive on how quickly our brains circuits responce can change based on our can experience. This doesn’t talk about how quickly the brain can therefore revert back when needed for more reflective activities such as when reading a book. Carr assumes that the increased level of visual-spatial intelligence needed for fast internet usage is a negative. Carr hasn’t considered the effectiveness the increased spatial intelligence gives its user in other areas of technological advancement that require this skill set. Carr assumes that the internet is the main reason for people becoming distracted and therefore having low cognitive abilities, Carr’s studies don’t include how distractions can come in all forms not just pop ups and advertisements on a computer screen. He further assumes the classroom experiment revealing the internet didn’t help the learners is typical for all internet users. Undeniably Carr is right in his notions of the internet being an easy distraction; multi-tasking and prioritising are learnt skills and ones that are undeniably tested by the internets powers of distraction. In our increasingly fast paced world multitasking is a necessary for survival, and therefore will continue to be a required skill for our future. Multitasking is needed in all facets of life making the skill a valuable one. References Carr, N 2010, ‘Does the internet make you dumber? , The Wall Street Journal p W1

Relationship between the headmaster and teachers

Relationship between the headmaster and teachers INTRODUCTION The relationship between the Head master and teachers in the school organization has always been the focus of much discussion. The discussion has centered on how the actions and behaviors of the Head master affect the work that teachers do and ultimately the students they instruct. Teachers willingness to persist in their efforts to tech difficult student, to try different strategies, even to participate in innovations has been related to their sense of efficacy (Hoy Woolfork, 1993). Ross (1995) in his research on teachers sense of efficacy demonstrated that teachers who believe they are effective set more challenging goals for themselves and their student, take responsibility for student outcomes, and persist longer when faced with obstacles in teaching students who are having difficulty. Researchers has supported the position that teachers efficacy significantly relates to student achievement (Nemman Rutter Smith, 1989) and teachers receptivity to change. In this work, Ross (199 5) suggests that efforts to improve student learning should include attention to teachers sense of efficacy. Leithwood (1992) provides support to the claim that principals demonstrate strategies and behaviors that can increase teachers efficacy. In his studies, he described Heads leadership behaviors as having a direct affect on innovation and change as well as teacher performance both in class and out of class. Leithwood (1994) defined behaviors such as models behavior, inspires group purpose, provides contingent reward, holds high performance expectations, and provides support as being important to teachers in the school organization. Blasà © and Blasà © (1989) found that Heads who gave constant and immediate feedback fostered among their teachers stronger feeling of efficacy. Teachers effectiveness may also be correlated to background variables such a gender, in-service training, years of experience, and educational level. (Ross, 1995). Edwards (1996) in her study indicated that females responded with stronger sense of efficacy with regard to problems in the classroom than males and that there is no correlation with educational level. Bibson and Brown (1982) found that experienced teachers (more than five years) have a strong sense of efficacy than beginning teachers. Other studies fail to substantiate the findings that years of experience relate to efficacy. There is limiting and conflicting evidence that background variables of gender, years of experience, in-service training and educational level may have moderating effects on teachers efficacy. If teacher efficacy affects teacher performance and student achievement, than it is worth looking at what background variables affect teacher efficacy in order to better understand what we can do in the school organization to make teachers feel more able to do their work. Statement of the problem In Pakistan, at the time of independence, the education system was largely comprised of private and local schools run by district councils and municipal governments. At that time these schools were much independent and much decisions of the school matter were taken by the head and teachers of the schools. It was a system in which the central and provincial ministries of education played only a limited role in the operation of schools (Ahmad and Mirza, 1975). This trend continued till the year 1972. That year marked the nationalization of all private schools with the implementation of Martial law regulation 118 (Government of Punjab, 1982). Under its provisions, the rights, properties and assets of private colleges and schools were taken over by the central and provincial governments without compensation to the owners. The salary scale and conditions of employment for teacher previously in private institutions were brought to par with those in government schools. This situation was a great dismal for the democratic and decentralized school system in Pakistan. Not only Head teachers but teachers also were affected in terms of decision making and authority. The head masters and principals of the schools came under the direct control of ministries of education. Top level officers started to decide the matters related to the admissions, curricula and teacher affairs instead of teachers of the school or the head masters of the school. Due to this centralized situation Head teachers also became rigid and undemocratic which resulted ineffective teachers. Research has supported that teacher is the main actor in the education of a child, therefore he must be well equipped with necessary tools of teaching e.g certification status, experience and necessary teacher training (demographic characteristics), moreover with these things he must be satisfy with his profession, knowledge and skills (Hipp, 1995), This study will examine how the leadership behaviors of Head masters as perceived by teachers at the secondary school level correlate with their efficacy in the Schools of Hyderabad Division. Also, the extent to which this relationship is moderated by the select teacher background variables of gender, years of experience, and educational level will be studied. Research questions In order to guide this study following research questions are developed for investigation in this study: What is the relationship between teachers sense of efficacy, both general and personal, and teachers perceptions of their principals leadership behaviors? Does the level of teachers sense of efficacy, both general and personal, differ with respect to the select background variables of gender, years of teaching experience, and educational level? How do principals foster teachers efficacy in their schools? The significance of Study: The purpose of this study is to better understand how Headmaster affects a teachers sense of efficacy. The decisions a Head makes, activities, and behaviors that describe what he does on a day to day basis will be explored in this study, and an attempt will be made to relate these behaviors with teachers efficacy. This study also examined how background variables of teacher affect their sense of efficacy. The select teacher background variables described in this study are gender, years of teaching experience, in-service training and educational level. . Limitations of the study This study is limited to teachers and principals employed in secondary schools located in Hyderabad Division Therefore, the generalization of the results of this study is limited to Districts with similar socioeconomic characteristics. The credibility and dependability of the data in the qualitative part of the study will be established through taped interviews. Insuring confidentiality of all teachers who will respond to both surveys and the interviews, every effort will be made to have the interviews remain confidential Definitions Leadership behaviors: The principal leadership behaviors used in this study are: fostering vision and goals; holding high expectations; providing intellectual stimulation; providing individualized support, developing collaborative decision-making structure and symbolizing good professional practice. Self efficacy: Self efficacy is a construct originated by Albert Bandura to describe an individuals belief in his or her own capabilities. Teaching efficacy: Teaching efficacy refers to a belief in the power of teaching. Personal efficacy: Personal efficacy refers to ones perceived ability to influence classroom events. Methodology The major focus of this study will be to examine how teachers efficacy is affected by their principals leadership behaviors in 20 Secondary schools of Hyderabad Division. It will also be examined that how variables among teachers such as gender, years of experience, and educational level affect teachers efficacy. The study will be conducted in two phases and will combine both quantitative and qualitative methods of investigation in secondary schools of Hyderabad Division.(With the implementation of Devolution Plan of present Government, the boundaries of Hyderabad Division are changed. As the topic was approved for Hyderabad Division, therefore the same geographical areas are included in this study which were previously included in Hyderabad Division). Population of the study Population of this study is all the secondary school teachers of four districts which were previously included in Hyderabad division i.e. Hyderabad district, Dadu district, Badin district and Thatta district. Sample of the study A sample of ninety five teachers and twenty five Head masters will be drawn for this study from the population of all the twenty schools of four districts. The random sampling will be stratified by dividing the schools in clusters of male and female. Methods and procedures The study will be conducted in two phases. In phase one quantitative data will be collected to address the first two research questions. The instruments will be developed by the researcher according to the local conditions. In the preparation of instruments a number of formats are considered to be evaluated particularly the pattern of Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) by Gibson and Dembo (1948). The data, using instrument will be used to make the quantitative analyses in order to determine the relationships between teachers perceptions of leadership behaviors and teacher efficacy, both general and personal. Data from background information that the teachers completed and the Teacher Efficacy Scale will be analyzed in order to determine the relationship between teacher efficacy and the selected back ground variables of gender, years of teaching experience, and educational level. In addition to check teachers efficacy, student performance of the teacher will also be measured. In phase two a qualitative follow-up study will be conducted to address the research question-How Head masters at the secondary school level can foster teachers sense of efficacy in their schools? In order to address this question, the five schools with the highest aggregated efficacy scores will be selected. At least three teachers will be interviewed at each school. They will be randomly selected from those teachers who will indicate that they are willing to participate in the follow-up study. The questions that will be asked will be designed to give more in-depth information on how Head of schools foster teachers sense of efficacy.

The Portraiture of Women During the Renaissance Essay -- Portraiture o

This essay will discuss how women were represented in the portraiture during the Renaissance period. It will explain how the women’s body was pictured in portraiture as; marriage celebrant, husbands beloved, figures of fertility, mothers, display of wealth, paragons of virtues, husband’s passive representative, indication of fashion and more (Brown, 2003). Next, it will include analysis from the two female portraits of Leonardo de Vinci’s Ginerva de’ Benci and Sandro Botticelli’s Portrait of a Lady. First, I will explain what portrait means and then represent my own interpretation of Botticelli’s Portrait of a Lady by referring to instructional â€Å"activity dialog† that details how to analyse the body’s subject in the portrait (Mckennee et al., 1994). Second, I will discuss how the Renaissance ideal perception of the women’s body image was influenced by philosophy of humanism, religious saintly virtues and the poets ’ understandings (Haughton, 2004). In short, I will explain how the radical change occurred in the woman’s portraiture in late fifteen-centuries where the traditional profile view was no longer popular and straight frontal presentation was fully practised. To exemplify this transformation, the painting of Leonardo’s Ginerva de’ Benci will be employed as means of analysis as Leonardo was instrumental in this fundamental change in the women’s portraiture (Garrard, 2006). Overall, it is quite astonishing how much constructive interpretation can be derived from one single portrait and these expressions will help me to expand my language and writing skill. I think practising the portrait activity-dialog between the viewer and the portrait’s subject expands the mind to be more creative which in turn initiates the development... ...ty in Renaissance art. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 3(4), 229-233. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2310.2004.00142.x Gromling, A. & Lingesleben,T. (1998). Botticelli 1444/45-1510 [Translation from the German; Fiona Hulse] (1st ed.).Koln, Germany: Neue Stalling, Oldenburg. Long, J.C., (2008). Botticelli’s Birth of Venus as wedding painting. Aurora, The Journal of the History of Art, 9, p.1. ISSN 1527-652X. McKennee, A., Malone, L., Hazelroth, S., & Kinney, B. (1994). Instructional resources: What is represented in a portrait? Art Education, 47(6), 25-32. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193462. Morrison, B. (2004, June 12). Portraits. The Guardian, p. 16. Weinberg, G. S., (Jan, 2004). D. G. Rossetti's Ownership of Botticelli's 'Smeralda Brandini.' The Burlington Magazine, 146, No. 1210, pp.20-26. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20073357 The Portraiture of Women During the Renaissance Essay -- Portraiture o This essay will discuss how women were represented in the portraiture during the Renaissance period. It will explain how the women’s body was pictured in portraiture as; marriage celebrant, husbands beloved, figures of fertility, mothers, display of wealth, paragons of virtues, husband’s passive representative, indication of fashion and more (Brown, 2003). Next, it will include analysis from the two female portraits of Leonardo de Vinci’s Ginerva de’ Benci and Sandro Botticelli’s Portrait of a Lady. First, I will explain what portrait means and then represent my own interpretation of Botticelli’s Portrait of a Lady by referring to instructional â€Å"activity dialog† that details how to analyse the body’s subject in the portrait (Mckennee et al., 1994). Second, I will discuss how the Renaissance ideal perception of the women’s body image was influenced by philosophy of humanism, religious saintly virtues and the poets ’ understandings (Haughton, 2004). In short, I will explain how the radical change occurred in the woman’s portraiture in late fifteen-centuries where the traditional profile view was no longer popular and straight frontal presentation was fully practised. To exemplify this transformation, the painting of Leonardo’s Ginerva de’ Benci will be employed as means of analysis as Leonardo was instrumental in this fundamental change in the women’s portraiture (Garrard, 2006). Overall, it is quite astonishing how much constructive interpretation can be derived from one single portrait and these expressions will help me to expand my language and writing skill. I think practising the portrait activity-dialog between the viewer and the portrait’s subject expands the mind to be more creative which in turn initiates the development... ...ty in Renaissance art. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 3(4), 229-233. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2310.2004.00142.x Gromling, A. & Lingesleben,T. (1998). Botticelli 1444/45-1510 [Translation from the German; Fiona Hulse] (1st ed.).Koln, Germany: Neue Stalling, Oldenburg. Long, J.C., (2008). Botticelli’s Birth of Venus as wedding painting. Aurora, The Journal of the History of Art, 9, p.1. ISSN 1527-652X. McKennee, A., Malone, L., Hazelroth, S., & Kinney, B. (1994). Instructional resources: What is represented in a portrait? Art Education, 47(6), 25-32. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193462. Morrison, B. (2004, June 12). Portraits. The Guardian, p. 16. Weinberg, G. S., (Jan, 2004). D. G. Rossetti's Ownership of Botticelli's 'Smeralda Brandini.' The Burlington Magazine, 146, No. 1210, pp.20-26. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20073357

Leading a Virtual Team Essay

Johnson had just completed her first month as manager for succesful company that provides a variety of web-based services and solutions. Last week, she was informed that she would be the new leader of a team that included 10 individuals. To her surprise, not only were these team members diverse in terms of their functional training and expertise, but they also represented a variety of culture backgrounds and only three were located in her office building. She quickly learned that 7 of 10 individuals actually worked from their home countries that included Japan, China, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Colombia, and Egypt. Up until this point, this â€Å"virtual team† collaborated on projects by using a variety of communication tools, including instant e-mail messaging, telephone calls, videoconferencing, document sharing, and occasional meetings at head quaters. After reviewing some of the past meeting notes and communication transcripts among the group members, Johnson realized that many of the team members had very different communication styles and levels of proficiency in English. The team’s new assignment was an important one. The 10 members needed to develop and roll out a new product within the six weeks. This was in direct response to a new product just by a major competitor. To complicate matters, a six-week product development cycle was unheard of; until this point, the company’s turnaround time for a new product offering was approximately three months. The company had no choice. If they did not counter the competitive threat immediately, then the company risked losing some key customers and market share. Johnson researched the past performance of her newly inherited virtual team. Although the overall quality of past decisions was quite high, the team seemed to take several months to make those decisions. This was a potential problem for Johnson. Time was no longer a luxury. She has to figure out a way to encourage the team to move faster without comprising quality. Through a combination of analyzing past team meeting notes and transcripts and speaking one-on-one with team members, she started to accumulate some facts that might be useful in solving the decision-making speed issue. First, Johnson discovered that the Japanese and Chinese team members did not participate much in the videoconferences or telephone conference call, but rather preferred written communication in the form of faxes and e-mail. In contrast, the Australian and Mexican team members seemed to thrive on telephone calls and face-to-face meetings. Second, there appeared to be some infighting among the three members of the group that were domiciled at headquaters. Most of the past arguments seemed to be about the group’s goals and mission. Each had a very different idea in mind in terms of what the group needed to accomplish. The comments in written communications didn’t get personal, but there were definitely heated debates about what objectives the group should be focusing on. The third potential obstacle to faster the decision making had to do with sporadic use of face-to-face meetings. To her surprise, Johnson discovered that such meetings rarely occured and that there was no attempt to bring the group together when it was first formed last year. Johnson expected that the team would have met and perhaps engaged in some team building exercise to build trust and rapport among team members. This was not the case. In addition, the team did not receive any form of decision making or group conflict resolution training. Johnson sat back in her office and thought about the problem at hand. She needed to develop and launch a new product within six weeks. In order to produce a high-quality product, each of the 10 virtual team members had to contribute their knowledge and effort in a cooperative and timely manner.

Monkeys and how we judge mental illness Essay

In the movie 12 Monkeys there features a virus which was deliberately released in 1996 and killed more than five billion people. The survivors seek refuge into the underground. The refugees send volunteers to bring insect specimens from the universe to test for the virus presence. One of the sent prisoners is James Cole. He is sent for a mission into the past to collect information about the virus. He arrives in Baltimore in 1990, instead of 1996. Cole begins to recall the past events as if he was in a dream. For instance, he recalls an event when he witnessed a man killed at the airport while he was a child. Cole seems to have mental problem. That is the theme of the movie (Lynette, 3). In the movie, the issue of mental illness is brought out vividly. The definition of mental illness in regard to the social norms and beliefs is brought out clearly. Also, the Cole’s experience and how it relates to Plato’s allegory of the cave is highlighted. In this film, mental illness is featured several times. For instance, Jose mentions that the so called volunteers are said to go mad. This presents a clear case of mental illness in the movie. We also notice Cole getting locked up in the mental institution with other lunatics. That shows that there were many other lunatics present. Goines is definitely crazy or schizoid because of his hallucinating and grandiosity nature. Dr. Railly, the psychiatrist alludes that maybe the whole world may be insane. We really do not understand whether Cole was really from the future or he was ‘mentally divergent’. We notice Cole questioning his mental capabilities when he asks himself if it could not be great if he was crazy. Simultaneously, the Dr. is convinced that he is from the figure of which we know that this cannot be right (Lynette, 8). If he was really sane and from the furfure, then how can one explain the voice that he hears, the one he calls bum calling him Bob? What about th e changing guard faces? Again, what about the fact that he is never seen coming or leaving and his memory lapses? We really cannot know the physical divergence he claims to have because one cannot explain his foreknowledge about the boy in the well. It is also to explain his appearances in a World War One photo and the bullet in his leg. In short, this movie seems to be implying that we may not be mentally ill or weirder than the world we live. Relative to the social beliefs and norms, mental illness or abnormality can be seen as not being an exact process as it tends to focus on different individuals with different lines of thinking. This relies on different situations, behaviors and context to which the measure is applied (Weinberger, 2001). In defining abnormality, people from different societies and countries have varied ideas. Each and every culture has its own concepts of what it considers to be normal or abnormal. This can make us conclude that what is considered abnormal in one society is not the same in other societies. So, there is no society which is more superior to the other in their perception of mental illness or one society has got many mental disorders than the other (American Psychiatric Association. 2000). If we look at the deviation from the norms, something or somebody can be considered abnormal if he or she does not conform to what could be considered statistically normal. Those who focus on this explanation consider specific aspects such as the intelligence quotient (IQ), the personal traits and their distribution. Asserting that a person is abnormal in this aspect typically means that they deviate from the numeric average of a specific trait and behavior patterns. The other mostly applied aspect in examining the mental illness of people is the deviation from the social norms. Naturally, some behaviors are considered unaccepted in the society, but they can still be expected to be applied in certain situations. Majority of people know how to adjust and come along with these changes (Weinberger, 2001). The ones that contradict what is socially normal are taken as abnormal or mentally ill to the extreme. Also, a person is considered abnormal if he/she is not functioning correctly in that he or she may lack a full range of emotion and feelings and, therefore, his life is considered abnormal. Such people can only participate in a limited range of functioning lifestyle (American Psychiatric Association. 2000). Distress can also be used to gauge the mental illness and capability of people as it could be an underlying mental problem. Another aspect of the social norms definition of mental illness is the person’s association with others. If a person’s relationship with others causes them discomfort, then, the approach of the person may lead to the description of abnormality in the context of that relationship. The Cole’s experiences relate to the Plato’s’ allegatory of the cave’ with respect to allegations that the real world may not be what our senses reveal. In relation to the Cole’s experience, we see him moving from one world of the past to the furfure and vice versa. In real this could only be a dream or mere imaginations. In this case, Cole’s experiences could be reflecting Plato’s thoughts or allegations. In his Dialogue with Glaucon, we are not sure of the cave which he was referring to. It could either be the underground that the people had escaped to after the virus struck the universe or the prison where Cole was imprisoned. Cole imagines that the prisoners could think that the sounds they had heard were really coming from the shadows. Surprisingly, that imagination coincides with his seeing the changing face of the guard and that of omnipresence. His concepts on the shadows could reflect Cole’s switching from one world to another. Was what he saw from the 1990 world true or could it be his experience from the 1996 and 2035? Which was the truer experience? On the last part of their discussion with Glaucon, he tells him that they, meaning the government, cannot show any gratitude for the culture which they have never received. This could be reflecting the 12 monkeys who had released the virus that almost eliminated the human race according to the film. He said that with education on how to tackle issues, one will be able to defeat these ill minded people. That notion reflects Cole’s endeavors. References Roger Ebert (1996-01-05). â€Å"12 Monkeys†. Chicago Sun-TimesLynette Rice (August 26, 2013). † 12 monkeys pilot†. Entertainment Weekly James Berardinelli. â€Å"Twelve Monkeys†. Reviews Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences Education, National Research Council. 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Weinberger, D., Torrey, E.F., and Berman, K. 2001. Schizophrenia PET scans. Retrieved July 13, 2008 American Psychiatric Association. 2000. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition The Allegory of the Cave http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html Source document