Journal of Pedagogy and Teaching Management

The Road to Multilingualism or the Life of People and Languages: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Tamara Ivanovna Zelenina — 2023-07-25

With rapid globalization, local languages give way to English as the only international language. Despite the principles of multilingualism and multiculturalism declared by all members of the European Union, the number of people speaking minority languages is decreasing. National languages also become affected. This applies fully to what is happening in Russia, including Udmurtia. The section of the paper “Journey to multilingualism (from the Udmurt language to multilingual education at Udmurt State University)” describes how research in network interaction associated with the promotion of multilingualism in the education system developed. Long practical experience shows that a serious problem for teaching native and foreign languages is the lack of integration, which serves as the basis for multilingual education. With integration, it takes less time to learn a new language compared to the previous one. Researchers believe linguistics to be the weakest link in the resource provision of multilingual education (co-learning of languages and related cultures). To resolve this issue, Udmurt State University conducts innovative practice-oriented typological studies of multi-system languages: local (Udmurt, Tatar and Russian) and foreign (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Hungarian, Chinese, Serbian, Polish and Czech). The research resulted in theses and monographs investigating ancient and modern languages, as well as multilingual dictionaries and textbooks focused on multilingualism, which are used to teach languages and cultures. Journey to multilingualism involves reflection about the life of people and languages in different eras. What does “mother tongue” mean? Which language to choose? Why learn languages? Should we purify languages? And so on. Many questions do not have the right answer. Nowadays, it is especially important to be aware of the rapidly changing language situation in the world. Not only the future of minority languages in Russia, but also the future of the Russian language itself, the language that unites both different ethnic groups living the country and the peoples of the neighboring states is giving serious cause for concern. One thing is definitely clear: the diversity of languages and cultures is the only way for the intellectual and emotional development of humanity.

Education Policy and Local Government under the Covid-19 Crisis: Forms of Educational Politics that Support Educational Autonomy

Fumiaki Arai — 2023-07-25

This paper explores the challenges in educational policy research from the perspective of educational political research, focusing on the nature of local autonomy in education during the Covid-19 crisis. It discusses the issues surrounding the state of “waiting for instructions” and growing distrust towards education administration in the field of education. The paper also analyzes the influence of education on politics and the manifestation of conflicts in civil society. Additionally, it highlights the importance of reclaiming the voice of the frontline and creating a multi-layered system where decisions can be made on a grassroots level to support educational autonomy. By investigating the forms of educational politics that facilitate educational autonomy, the study aims to create an environment that enables autonomous decision-making in educational practices.

A Study of EFL Learners’ Preferred Types of Saliences and Categories in Movie English

Dohyung Ryu — 2023-07-25

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to observe EFL learners’ preferred types of saliences in Movie English and (2) to examine which language categories are mainly salient. The types of saliences are based on Schmid and Günther’s (2016) 4 types of saliences, with categories of grammar, individual words, chunks, and messages. This is a case study of five college students majoring in English all with TOEIC scores higher than 800. The study was divided into a self-heuristic group of three students and a category-presented group of two students. The self-heuristic group was instructed to find out what they found salient and noticeable in a movie, without the terms salience and category being mentioned. The category-presented group was directed to find out what they found salient and noticeable in the movie, based on given categories. The results showed that the two groups preferred surprise and novelty. Both groups preferred different categories, however. The self-heuristic group mostly focused on chunks, with a preferred order of chunks, grammar, words, and messages. The category-presented group mainly focused on words, with a preferred order of words, chunks, messages, and grammar. Pedagogical implications will be discussed in more detail in this paper.

The Displacements of the Notion of Childhood in Neoliberal Rationality: An Analysis on Contemporary Curricular Policies for Childhood Education

Amanda Porto da Cruz — 2023-07-25

This article is an excerpt from a research that aims to analyze the displacements in the concept of childhood and its ways of educating it in contemporary curricular policies for the stage of Early Childhood Education. Towards this end, official documents that gain notoriety for this stage of Basic Education were analyzed: The National Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education - DCNEI (2009) and the Common National Curricular Base - BNCC (2017a). The realization of this research was based on the post-structuralist perspective, with the contributions of the author Michel Foucault, using government as an analytical tool and the notion of governmentality as an intelligibility grid. The analysis of the documents highlights the displacements in the understanding of a childhood of rights, in the DCNEI, to the notion of competent childhood, present in the BNCC.

Bibliometric Analysis of Citations and Downloads in Information Science Based on the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations

Jonathan Rosa Moreira — 2023-07-25

Bibliometric indicators contribute to the understanding of science as a whole, supporting the decision-making process of funding agencies, research and development and postgraduate programs. There are different bibliometric indicators, among them, the rates of citations and downloads. It happens that, sometimes, correlation is attributed to these two indices. This study aims to evaluate, in the light of theses and dissertations registered in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations of the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology, whether there is a correspondence between the number of citations and downloads, considering the context of the scientific production of the programs of Information Science in Brazil. Therefore, a research with a quantitative methodological approach is adopted, with bibliometrics and descriptive statistics technique for data analysis. The study found that the number of theses and dissertations downloads is much higher than the number of citations. However, from the data presented, it is not possible to say that theses and dissertations with the highest number of downloads are those with the highest number of citations. Likewise, it is not possible to say that the most cited theses and dissertations are the most sought after in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

Methodology for Supporting Educational Reform in the EBPM Era: Encouraging Intrinsic Reform through Vision-driven Approaches

Hidemasa Ishii — 2023-07-25

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of the GIGA School concept, there is a growing demand for leadership that empowers individual schools to take initiative in their reforms. This paper explores the perspective of connecting Evidence-Based Policy Making (EBPM) with intrinsic school reform to address this challenge. The first aspect discussed is the need for a holistic approach to connect EBPM with purposeful and rational management. While evidence-based reforms and rational management approaches show effectiveness in strategic administrative initiatives, they may lead to externally driven approaches and passive recipient schools if not implemented carefully. To avoid this, the paper suggests clarifying policy objectives and breaking them down for different stakeholders, while always returning to the ultimate vision of the children and students targeted. The second aspect focuses on a methodology for endogenous school reform that is Vision-Driven. This methodology connects the driving force of EBPM and curriculum management through interactive sharing of vision and collaborative opportunities for teachers. By fostering a culture of teamwork and collective responsibility, the methodology enables sustained and meaningful school reform at the organizational level. Lastly, the paper addresses the importance of empowering governance and management in school settings. It emphasizes the need for a decentralized governance structure that allows non-governmental participants some discretion while ensuring quality. The paper advocates for respecting and empowering the field as the main actors in curriculum development to foster a dynamic network that contributes to school cohesion and transformative learning experiences. In conclusion, the integration of EBPM with intrinsic school reform through a Vision-Driven approach offers a path towards empowering schools and fostering meaningful educational changes amidst the challenges of the present times.