CFC

Call for chapters

Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development in Chinese Basic Education: An inspiration to the world?

Eds.: Yongjian Li (RUC, China & University of Helsinki, Finland),

Min Liu (Beijing Normal University, China) &

Fred Dervin (University of Helsinki, Finland)

 

Deadline for abstracts: 10th January 2018

Volume to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in the Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective (Eds. Dervin/Du)

The term Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is defined differently depending on the context in which it is used (Guskey, 2002; Avalos, 2011). According to Villegas-Reimers (2003: 11-12), amongst others, CPD is “a long-term process that includes regular opportunities and experiences planned systematically to promote growth and development in the profession”. Furthermore, effective CPD needs to be “teacher led, linked to pupil learning, grounded in reflection, a sustained cooperative effort and embedded in institutional development” (Schollaert, 2011: 26). In English, the following words are synonymous with continuing professional development: in-service training, in-service education and staff development. In Chinese, the words 教师教育(教师职前培养+教师在职培训) are used.

As Craft (1996: 5) argues, traditionally the need for CPD has often been taken as a matter of voluntary commitment or seen as appropriate for those with career ambitions.

Research about CPD is plentiful in some contexts and the interest in new teachers’ experiences can be traced back already to Fuller’s (1969) classic stage theory, where teacher development is identified through a three-stage model of teacher concerns. This chronological and accumulative stage model consists of self concerns (concerns in relation to survival as teachers), task concerns (performance as teachers) and impact concerns (influence on their pupils). Accordingly, when teachers start their career they are mostly concerned with themselves. They are, in other words, self-oriented as their attention is turned inward. As they become more experienced, they turn their attention outward to instructional techniques and pupils’ progress. There are a number of other teacher development theories including Burden (1982), Burke et al. (1984), Dubble (1998), Katz (1972), Watts (1980). Many of these theories have it that teaching practices and student learning are more likely to be transformed by professional development that is sustained, coherent, and intense (Supovitz, Mayer, & Kahle, 2000; Weiss & Pasley, 2006).

Craft (1996: 168) argues that it is possible to generalise certain stages in the career of the teacher when the meaning of CPD is especially important:

  1. On entry into teaching (induction phase)
  2. On re-entry to teaching after a break (induction phase)
  3. Preparing for increased responsibility (preparation phase)
  4. Shortly after assuming increased responsibility (development phase)
  5. After a substantial number of years in a similar post (review/audit phase).

Since the end of the 1990s, research has defined a new paradigm for CPD – one that rejects the ineffective ‘one-shot’ workshop model of the past in favour of more powerful opportunities (e.g. Stein, Smith, & Silver, 1999). In general, CPD is viewed to be more effective when schools approach it not in isolation but rather as a coherent part of a school effort (Darling-Hammond, 2009). Research on effective CPD also highlights the importance of collaborative and collegial learning environments that help develop communities of practice able to promote school change beyond individual classrooms (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995; Perez et al., 2007).

Different kinds of programmes of CPD have been developed: teachers as active participants in their own learning encouraged through reflective practice (cognitivist-constructivist approach, Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002); experiential learning-based PD (Girvan et al., 2016), Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT)-based PD (Shabani, 2016), amongst others. Huber (2012: 840-841) presents multiple approaches to learning in CPD in education: courses (external/in-house), self-study (textbooks/software), concrete experiences (simulation/practice), collegial exchange (learning communities/networks), reflection and planning (portfolio), feedback (self-assessment). Systematic evaluation tools of the impact of CPD on teachers are lacking (Huber, ibid.).

This volume is interested in policies, practices and discourses of CPD in Chinese basic education. There are many opportunities for professional development in Chinese schools, and the emphasis on teacher evaluation means that teachers are constantly working to improve their practice. Most of the professional development is embedded in their job (Zhu & Han, 2006).

Since the new curriculum reform of basic education in the 2000s the government policy for CPD focused on the new curriculum (Zhou, 2014). The central and provincial governments conducted national and provincial programmes to train teacher educators first, and these then helped local governments and schools train other teachers across the country (Zhou, ibid.). The main purpose of the new curriculum for teacher training focused on changing the traditional conceptions of teaching to learning new concepts, such as changing from passive to active learning, from the accumulation of prescribed content by memory to solving problems through inquiry and creativity, from isolated learning to collaborative learning. The top-down approach was not always successful and thus new alternative perspectives were developed (Zhou, Ibid.).

Hong Zhu (2010) details such innovative practices in teacher development in China:

– Organizing large-scale mandated teacher training at local and national levels (topics: Aspects of curriculum reform)

– Developing an institutionalized system of school-based research-teaching (topics: self-reflection on teaching practices, problem solving, changing school culture and ethos from teacher-centered to learner-centered)

– Organizing Internet-based Networked Teacher Research and Distance Training (e.g. for rural contexts; see the “China Educational Resources Service Platform” (www.cersp.com)).

It is important to note that most publications on CPD in China published in English are based on theoretical and conceptual frameworks developed in the ‘West’. For example Zhao (2012) uses Habermas’s theory of knowledge and human interest to analyse reflections of teachers who had experienced advanced professional development.

One exception that emerged from China, is Keli (Exemplary Lesson Development), model of CPD in China, implemented within a broader program of Xingdong Jiaoyu行动教育 (Action Education), which has been implemented since 2003 (Huang & Bao, 2006; Gu & Wong, 2003). It is a form of school-based integration of research and learning which aims at updating ideas of teaching /learning, and designing new situations and improving classroom practice (lesson planning, lesson delivery and post-lesson reflection, and lesson-re-delivery). A collaborative group (the Keli group) that consists of teachers and researchers is established through discussion between researchers and a group of interested teachers. A research question, relating to certain challenges arising, is raised and the relevant content area is selected for developing an exemplary lesson through discussion among this Keli group (Huang & Bao, ibid.).

 

Call for contributions

This book aims to introduce international readers to the topic of CPD in Chinese basic education, and, if possible, to inspire them to think, ‘do’ and problematize CPD in new and different ways.

Prospective authors may be interested in submitting a proposal for any of the following topics concerning CPD in basic education (amongst others):

– policies at local and national levels about CPD in basic education (diachronic-synchronic perspectives);

– CPD in President XI Jinping’s educational ideas;

– Chinese models of CPD;

– Current trends in Chinese CPD curricula;

– The different actors of CPD in China;

– effectiveness of CPD initiatives (evaluation);

– Concrete and long-term impact of CPD;

– Exporting Chinese CPD (e.g. in the Belt Silk Road);

– teacher satisfaction over CPD;

– use of ICT for CPD;

– Interactions between initial teacher education and CPD;

– Chinese theoretical and methodological issues in CPD;

– CPD from an interdisciplinary perspective;

– Chinese teachers’ CPD abroad;

– CPD and minority/migrant/intercultural education in China;

– CPD and social justice/equity;

– CPD and teachers’ well-being;

– the future of CPD in China.

 

Deadlines:

Abstract of proposed chapter (300 words): 10 January 2018

Full chapters to be submitted: 1 May 2018

Authors are invited to submit a 300-word proposal (including a few lines about the author(s)) in English to the editors (liyongjian0313@foxmail.com, 11112011069@bnu.edu.cnfred.dervin@helsinki.fi)

– please no pdf! Word editable version please!

The proposals should clearly explain the theoretical positioning and concerns of the proposed chapter, and include a short description of data (where applicable). A basic bibliography may also be added.

Prospective authors should note that only original and previously unpublished articles will be considered.

All article submissions of 5,500 to 8,000 words will be forwarded to 2 members of the volume scientific committee. Final decision regarding acceptance/revision/rejection will be based on the reviews received from the reviewers.

Talks in China

流动儿童教育与社会公平之比较域的构建
芬兰赫尔辛基大学
Fred Dervin&李咏健

社会公平和正义(social justice)在不同文化间和单文化内部中的概念不尽相同,其被定义,构建和使用的方式也各有其特点。国际教育研究往往基于对“西方”概念的理解,从世界其他地方获得的知识空间很小。虽然根据PISA研究数据,芬兰在教育领域,尤其是对社会公平的关注居于世界前列,但仍然需要对所谓的国际教育的“赢家”和排名上的“失败者”进行批判性反思。两个不同形式的”教育乌托邦”—中国和芬兰被用来解释两国不同情境中社会正义的理念和观点如何被建构。本次讲座将重点关注移民学生(芬兰)/流动儿童(中国)。并讨论了教育比较时应当注意的比较域构建和方法论问题,最后呼吁在该问题上,中芬两国应该相互学习,共同促进。

Coming soon (recommended)

“It has been a long time since I have read a book as important as this in the ‘jungle’ of language and intercultural education. Troy McConachy has done a great job in tying together the thorny issues of interculturality and language use. His approach is novel, bold and illuminating in a number of ways. No doubt this book will have a profound impact on the field!”
Fred Dervin, University of Helsinki, Finland; Renmin University of China, China

CFC: Chinese rural schooling: Good practices for successful social justice

Call for chapters

Chinese rural schooling: Good practices for successful social justice

Eds.: Yongjian Li (RUC, China), Fred Dervin (University of Helsinki, Finland) &

Shibao Guo (University of Calgary, Canada)

Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2017

Volume to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in the Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective (Eds. Dervin/Du)

The word rural can have different meanings in different contexts. In this volume, we are interested in rural schooling in Mainland China. In the Middle Kingdom, rural schooling can both refer to the educational experiences of migrant children in Chinese urban contexts and to those of children who live and study in Chinese rural areas. Migrant children (also referred to as ‘floating children’, Li, 1995) often follow the 282 million rural migrant workers employed in an urban workplace (2015, National Bureau of Statistics). Since 2001 rural migrant children have been allowed to attend urban public schools regardless of their household registration (Hukou, 户口). Although progress has been made in promoting access to public schools many migrant children attend private schools sponsored by local communities or private business institutions. While Chinese and national scientific literatures have concentrated on the case of these migrant children, fewer studies have been published on the experiences of children based in rural areas. It is important to note that many migrant workers leave their children behind. In 2010, more than 61 million children between birth and 17 years old were “left behind” (Chinese National Census).

This volume is interested in how these two kinds of rural schooling promote successful social justice for the children. The focus can be based on a macro-perspective (e.g. policy-level) and/or micro-level (e.g. students’, teachers’, principals’ perspectives, amongst others). According to Yang, Huang and Liu’s (2014) article “An analysis of education inequality in China”, a sharp decrease in education inequality has been witnessed in China thanks to e.g. the education expansion policy of the last decades. They note, however, that the rural-urban division is still deep in China esp. in terms of educational achievement.

Most publications on Chinese rural schooling tend to concentrate on negative aspects and to generalise somewhat about what it means to be either a student in a rural school or a migrant student in an urban context. In volume, we wish to examine what we call Good practises for successful social justice in rural schooling in China, and thus look at this multifaceted educational context from a more positive perspective. We believe that many schools around China are doing their best to ensure that rural children’s educational experiences give them a boost in life and for their future life.

To the editors, social justice refers to the explicit efforts made by school leaders, teachers, with the local community and beyond, to make sure that rural students are given opportunities to succeed at school and in their future lives. These efforts can include tackling the following issues (amongst others):

–               Help students increase their level of participation in school and beyond

–               Implement equality-equity measures in the school context

–               Help students integrate in the school context and beyond by building up a sense of belonging and fighting against alienation, marginalization or disenfranchisement

–               Fight against different forms of discrimination against rural students and pass onto them skills to counter-attack such wicked problems to empower them

–               Reduce the number of dropouts

–               Diminish gender differences in achievement

–               Support rural students struggling with mental health issues.

Prospective authors can examine any of these aspects of social justice in Chinese rural schooling – or other aspects – by concentrating on how these have been implemented short-term or long-term in a specific school context (rural/migrants in urban contexts). More specifically authors could look into the following social justice strategies (amongst others): the implementation of special education needs; specific forms of pedagogical practices; the use of technology for social justice; the building of relationships between schools, parents (grandparents too in the case of children “left behind”) and students; pre- service or in-service training to help teachers work with rural children (work on teachers’ expectations and stereotypes, etc.).

Deadlines

Abstract of proposed chapter (300 words): 15 November 2017

Full chapters to be submitted: 15 April 2018

Authors are invited to submit a 300-word proposal (including a few lines about the author(s)) in English to the editors (404385534@qq.com, fred.dervin@helsinki.fi, guos@ucalgary.ca) – please no pdf!

The proposals should clearly explain the theoretical positioning and concerns of the proposed chapter, and include a short description of data (where applicable). A basic bibliography may also be added.

Prospective authors should note that only original and previously unpublished articles will be considered.

All article submissions of 5,500 to 8,000 words will be forwarded to 2 members of the volume scientific committee. Final decision regarding acceptance/revision/rejection will be based on the reviews received from the reviewers.

CFC: TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION EXPORTS AND IMPORTS THE SEARCH FOR THE CHINESE EL DORADO

Call for chapters

TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

THE SEARCH FOR THE CHINESE EL DORADO

Eds. Fred Dervin (University of Helsinki), Xiangyun Du (Aalborg University) & Zhao Ke (SHUFE)

Deadline for abstracts: 20th November 2017

Volume to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in the Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective (Eds. Dervin/Du)

 

It has become a truism to say that education is now a global business. It is marketised, sold and consumed across borders, in multifaceted forms. Like most countries around the world, China has witnessed education as an import and, increasingly, an export sector. Through her driving growth, China is engaging in selling and buying knowledge-based products and services, sending and attracting students, and setting up international branches locally and internationally.

 

Some examples:

– More than half a million Chinese students study abroad every year. In Australia, for instance, Chinese students accounted for 27% of all Australian education export earnings in 2016.

– At home, Chinese universities are hiring foreign expects and attracting an increasing number of international students. In 2015, there were 397,635 international students from 202 countries and regions (in comparison to 100,000 in 2004). They studied in a wide range of geographic areas within China: for example, in 2015 31 provinces and regions received international students, the top three being Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces (MOE, 2016). China is also involved in franchising, twinning degrees activities as well as programme articulations and branch campuses.

– China’s so-called soft-power diplomacy has also led to the creation of culture and language schools and Confucius Institutes around the world. These institutions contribute highly to exporting and importing many and varied forms of education.

– The first overseas university founded by a Chinese university was founded in the capital of Laos by Soochow University in 2011.  International Economy and Trade, International Finance but also Chinese and Computer Science and are offered at the satellite campus. Xiamen University Malaysia opened its doors in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, offering bachelor degree courses in Chinese studies, journalism, digital media technology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, amongst others. This was the first overseas branch of a top tier Chinese university. One of the best Chinese universities, Peking University, is opening a branch of its HSBC Business School in Oxford in 2017, having bought Foxcombe Hall in the city.

– Finally, math textbooks imported from Shanghai will be used in the UK in 2017. According to the managing director for Collins Learning, the education division of HarperCollins, “they’re producing content that is of a fantastically high quality.” Real Shanghai Mathematics consists of a Teacher Guide, Textbook and Pupil Practice Book for each Year (1-6). It “emphasises complete mastery of basic numeracy knowledge and skills to allow vastly accelerated progression through to advanced numeracy”. The British government has allocated $71-million to train teachers in the methods used in Chinese schools.

 

For this volume, potential authors may submit a proposal about the following issues – or other relevant issues related to education exports and imports to and from China:

-Policy analysis related to transnational education exports/imports

-Success and/or failure of transnational education exports/imports (concrete impact, who benefits?, hidden agendas)

-Impact on individuals, knowledge, locality and any other relevant aspects

-Intercultural and identity aspects of transnational education exports/imports

-Social justice, equality and equity issues in transnational education exports/imports

-Languages in transnational education exports/imports (learning and use, hierarchies, etc.)

-Transnational education exports/imports beyond the classroom (parents, larger community, involvement of the business world)

-The use of ICT in transnational education exports/imports.

-Critical reflection on student and teacher experiences

-Critical studies on pedagogy and curriculum issues in educational exports and imports

– Employability and sustainability of education exports and imports.

 

Deadlines

Abstract of proposed chapter (300 words): 20th November 2017

Full chapters to be submitted: 15th March 2018

Authors are invited to submit a 300-word proposal (including a few lines about the author(s)) in English to both editors (fred.dervin@helsinki.fi, xiangyun@learning.aau.dk, zhao.ke@mail.shufe.edu.cn) – please no pdf!

The proposals should clearly explain the theoretical positioning and concerns of the proposed chapter, and include a short description of data (where applicable). A basic bibliography may also be added.

Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education (IJBIDE) 2(2)

Abstract Announcement for International Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education (IJBIDE) 2(2)

The contents of the latest issue of:
International Journal of Bias, Identity and Diversities in Education (IJBIDE)
Volume 2, Issue 2, July – December 2017
Published: Semi-Annually in Print and Electronically
ISSN: 2379-7363; EISSN: 2379-7355;
Published by IGI Global Publishing, Hershey, USA
www.igi-global.com/ijbide

Editor-in-Chief: Fred Dervin (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Julie Byrd Clark (Western University, Canada)

Read INTRODUCTION