This article explores whether and how activists who identify with the Occupy movement  think of their secondary schooling as influential upon their activism. Testimonies of six activists from two small focus groups reveal a range from those who claimed no such influence to those who saw a significant connection. The diversity among  the six was  limited: five were male; two identified themselves as mixed-race, and the other four as white; three were younger than twenty-seven. Each individual’s account of various influences other than education was unique.  When the topic turned to secondary education, though, there  were intensified expressions from sadness to anger to irony to delight among the participants. As the findings of this study show, formal education has hindrances and possibilities in fostering change agency for social justice. Increasing the possibilities is the work of critical educators.

This article comprises three parts: The author first outlines the principles of the social reconstructionist philosophy of education related to educational activity and social philosophy. After this, he describes the educational philosophy of George S. Counts, the most important developer of the social reconstructionist philosophy of education, and his most essential texts connected with the social reconstructionist philosophy of education. The third part focuses on the systematic problems involving social reconstructionist philosophy of education and George S. Counts' educational thinking. The postscript at the end of the article introduces the reader to the common and differing educational philosophical principles of social reconstructionist philosophy of education in relation to critical pedagogy, especially the educational thinking of Henry A. Giroux, and John Dewey's educational philosophy.

The purpose of this study was to allow Palestinian, primarily Muslim, college students to document, reflect, and critique, through photography and storytelling (photovoice), their everyday realities as Arab citizens living and studying in Israel. Sixty Palestinian, preservice, English teachers participated in this study, of whom 55 were female and 5 were male. The use of photovoice in this study provided opportunities for participants to write, own, validate, and share their voices and personal narratives and create new ways of thinking. Results from this study address social, economic, political, and cultural issues related to being a Palestinian living and studying in Israel rather than issues directly related to teacher preparation. Four main themes emerged from participants’ photographs and stories. They included: (1) campus climate; (2) housing and land; (3) marriage and family; and (4) environment. Suggestions for further research are provided.

Teaching is a professional job that requires expertise. The characteristics of the professionals can affect the quality of the profession. One of these  characteristics  is gender. In this study, the gender-related role of teaching profession in Turkey is examined. The analysis in a historical perspective of gender distributions of students who have teaching education and teachers employed in educational institutions and the  gender debate in order to make teaching a profession are the subjects of this study. The basic data of the study is the official statistics and the literature on the profession with gender. Qualitative analysis performed on the data and change in the gender distribution of professionals, and the effects of this change on the reputation and the quality of the profession are evaluated in this study. Based on the findings of the study, it can be said that the teaching profession in Turkey tends to be a female profession and some of the teaching branches are associated with gender, and that this determines the status, reputation and effectiveness of teaching profession.

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of model-based teaching on students’ argumentation skills. Experimental design guided to the research. The participants of the study were pre-service physics teachers. The argumentative intervention lasted seven weeks. Data for this research were collected via video recordings and written arguments. Results show that construction of concrete models and using them in their discussions and explanations provide learners with more quality (accurate, consistent, appropriate, and relevant) arguments. In addition, models’ quality affects the number of claims, evidences and reasoning that are produced during argumentation. The closer learners’ models are to the real situations, the more argument components they generate.

A school that holds as a central belief that knowledge is individually and socially constructed by learners who are active observers of the world, active questioners, agile problem posers and critical and creative problem solvers must evolve leadership models and organizational patterns that mirror this model of genuine and meaningful learning as they promote and enhance it. Institutional change can and must take place at various levels. It can take place at the level of curriculum, adoption of new programs, and implementation of new strategies and methodologies. However, sustainable change must also take place at a deeper level, in which the very core of the institution’s being is affected, and in which members adopt new ways of thinking, behaving, creating knowledge, and interacting with each other, not only as means to an end, but as the best possible ways of achieving the goals and objectives of the institution in harmony with professional goals meaningful to each member. The authors refer to this kind of change as institutional metamorphosis, a radical transformation of an institution’s structure and function, preserving the institution’s DNA of fundamental beliefs, values and principles. They propose that leading this kind of change demands a radically new leadership structure, which embodies (and reflects) the deepest values about the nature of teaching and learning and meaningful relationships that the institution holds. They name this model the Morfosis Paradigm, explain its structure and conclude that when the model works, all levels of the organization reflect the same core principles about what meaningful relationships are that promote real learning and growth

The purpose of this study is to investigate pre-service teachers’ beliefs and thoughts about using Vee Diagrams or Vee Maps in science education laboratories. The study's sample consists of 54 students (42 girls and 12 boys) from the elementary school education department in the science education division of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University in  Turkey. Data were collected from the study “Beliefs scale for the Use of Vee Diagrams of pre-service teachers” consisting of 20 Likert-type questions,and “Open-ended Questionnaire about the Use of Vee Diagram in science education laboratories,” which includes 10 open- ended questions. First, the students were taught about Vee maps and diagrams for one week, and then some students volunteered for the scale, questionnaire and interview-application. Data were obtained for the quantitative and qualitative parts of the study. A-mixed methods design was used. Results indicate that pre-service teachers have positive beliefs towards the use of Vee diagrams in science education laboratories and there is a cross-relation between their beliefs and correct drawings for Vee diagrams.

A comprehensive Assessment is indispensable for effective guidance, appropriate placement of students and relevant educational development. This paper attempts an examination of issues concerning the affective domain of assessment as an integral part of general assessment and draws out the implications of these issues. The paper also discusses the significance and the need for consistent affective assessment and the modality of using the data obtained through affective assessment to provide holistic educational experience to students. Among other things, it is suggested that students and educators be made to realize the value of affective attributes. To do this successfully, these attributes are to be clearly and specifically developed, taught and assessed in their own rights as opposed to their being simply integrated in cognitive tasks.