Constructivism and Reconstructionism: Educating teachers for world citizenship

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Teacher and Student Attitudes to Affective Education: a European collaborative research project

“…The discussion about social and moral education, the responsibilities of public education and the tasks of teachers takes various forms and seems to be expanding both at theoretical and empirical levels in many countries. From the theoretical viewpoint, Breitborde & Swiniarski (1999) from the USA discuss the tension in public education between the goals of enlightening individuals and improving society-in other words, (individual) constructivism vs. (social) reconstructivism-their conclusion is to break down the dichotomy and link individual consciousness to social cohesion; Shields (2000) from Canada uses the notion of communities of difference in order to theorise the importance of social aspects of education; Chronaki (1999) sees in mathematics education and research from an international perspective a shift towards 'social' orientation, which includes the use of pedagogical methods such as collaborative work and peer interaction but also the problematising of broader issues such as multiculturalism, technology and pupils' socialisation in mathematics classrooms. Likewise, Olson et al (1999) present an overview on projects of science, mathematics and technology education in 13 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and conclude that the professional role of subject teachers as experts is changing towards a student-centred approach, and in addition to the new pedagogical orientation, the curriculum must contain more economic, ethical and social contents.…”

Teacher and Student Attitudes to Affective Education: A European collaborative research project

“…The discussion about social and moral education, the responsibilities of public education and the tasks of teachers takes various forms and seems to be expanding both at theoretical and empirical levels in many countries. From the theoretical viewpoint, Breitborde & Swiniarski (1999) from the USA discuss the tension in public education between the goals of enlightening individuals and improving society-in other words, (individual) constructivism vs. (social) reconstructivism-their conclusion is to break down the dichotomy and link individual consciousness to social cohesion; Shields (2000) from Canada uses the notion of communities of difference in order to theorise the importance of social aspects of education; Chronaki (1999) sees in mathematics Downloaded by [Eindhoven Technical University] at 20:18 16 November 2014 education and research from an international perspective a shift towards 'social' orientation, which includes the use of pedagogical methods such as collaborative work and peer interaction but also the problematising of broader issues such as multiculturalism, technology and pupils' socialisation in mathematics classrooms. Likewise, Olson et al (1999) present an overview on projects of science, mathematics and technology education in 13 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and conclude that the professional role of subject teachers as experts is changing towards a student-centred approach, and in addition to the new pedagogical orientation, the curriculum must contain more economic, ethical and social contents.…”

Perceptions of Chinhoyi University of Technology’s staff and students regarding the Communication Skills course

“…Communitybased learning and bringing the world into the classroom are also key strategies. Breithorde & Swiniarski (1999) note that the value of education is measured in terms of its contribution to the attainment of social good. This explains why for Pestalozzi (1894), for Montessori (1936), for Dewey, for Freire, for Brameld (1956), education united the head, the heart and the hand.…”