Pakistan sign language translation tool in educational setting: teachers perspective

PurposeThe current study aims to determine the viability of the tool developed by Abbas and Sarfraz (2018) to translate English speech and text to Pakistan Sign Language (PSL) with bilingual subtitles.Design/methodology/approachFocus group interviews of 30 teachers of a Pakistani private university were conducted; who used the PSL translation tool in their classrooms for lecture delivery and communication with the deaf students.FindingsThe findings of the study determined the viability of the developed tool and showed that it is helpful in teaching deaf students efficiently. With the availability of this tool, teachers are not dependent on human sign language (SL) interpreters in their classrooms.Originality/valueOverall, this tool is an effective addition to educational technology for special education. Due to the lack of Sign Language (SL) understanding, learning resources and availability of human SL interpreters in Pakistan, institutions feel dependency and scarcity to educate deaf students in a classroom. Unimpaired people and especially teachers face problems communicating with deaf people to arrange one interpreter for a student(s) in multiple classes at the same time which creates a communication gap between a teacher and a deaf student.

Practitioner Perspectives on a Restorative Community: An Inductive Evaluative Study of Conceptual, Pedagogical, and Routine Practice

The purpose of this study is to explore restorative practice (RP) within education, highlighting practitioner views from an inductive evaluative perspective. This is in response to the suggested ambiguity over what constitutes RP in education. Practitioner perspectives are explored, providing an insight into an established restorative school. New data offer further clarity on RP in education by describing embedded practice and highlighting sites for further specific task analysis. Methods include semi-structured questionnaires in the form of employee practice statements, situated within insider research. Eleven practice statements were completed, which were then subject to in-depth thematic analysis. The main findings of this study suggest that RP is clearly understood in this educational setting and participants described a wholistic approach that is part of a wider culture, not just practice as an intervention. Analysis suggests that this can be categorised into the following three themes: Conceptual, Pedagogical and Routine Practice. When used alongside one another, it is suggested that these themes create a restorative paradigm, which is of relevance to the field of education. As such, this paper is designed to provide a useful resource for schools, policy makers and researchers alike.

A Mobile Learning Model to Improve the Learning Environment in Iraqi Secondary Schools

Nowadays the use of mobile devices has increased dramatically as they have been integrated into different learning facilities. In this paper, the opinions of high school students and their teachers will be evaluated in order to get a better understanding of how mobile devices are used in the learning environment. A qualitative and quantitative method was used in this study. Multiple cases for the purpose of understanding the level of students' use of these devices in schools. Through the results of this study, it can be determined whether spending on textbooks and supplies is necessary compared to replacing it with technology. This model can be divided into five categories. (MLIS) mobile phone by developing a mobile learning model in Iraqi secondary schools (MLIS). This model can be divided into five categories, including mobile learning, drivers, process, community, and influencing factors. Each of the categories is related to each other, as well as related to planning and goals. However, both students and teachers believe that using mobile devices in an educational setting can help increase overall achievement, improve student motivation, and create a positive learning environment in schools. This study also helps enrich the existing literature on mobile technology in schools, where knowledge is lacking in the Iraqi educational system.

Design and implementation of the child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy training programme by the International Psychotherapy Institute for Jiandanxinli

The author describes how her interest in China and Chinese families led her to direct an online two-year programme for training Chinese therapists in child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy. She sets her work in its social and professional context. She outlines the design and discusses modification in teaching technique to suit this educational setting, in which time must be allowed for translation from English to Chinese, and from conscious to unconscious. She illustrates a clinical case consultation group to show the group mind at work, and concludes with oral and written evaluation from participants.

The acceptance of spelling variants as symbols of Croatian spelling changes (1994–2013)

This paper discusses the impact of several spelling changes in Croatian on the level of the literacy of native speakers. Since 1986, there have been five official recommendations for usage that pertain to five different orthographic manuals. This research focuses on three spelling points with considerable identity-related repercussions among the public and the media, which are sometimes named the spelling symbols of Croatian. A questionnaire-survey comprised of 36 tests was completed among 1063 students on a technical study programme each year for eight consecutive academic years. Eight generations of first-year undergraduates, who do not study language in an educational setting, have accepted the new spellings, contingent on a frequency principle. The more frequent a spelling variant occurs, the less the chance that the new spelling variant is accepted, and vice versa. Given the lack of established and enduring spelling norms, combined with ideological oppositions between the old and new spelling forms, students have been guided mainly by their capacity to write the most common form.

The beliefs and practices of Indonesian high-school EFL teachers regarding the teaching and learning of culture and interculturality

<p>This study examined the pedagogic beliefs and practices of Indonesian teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) regarding the teaching and learning of culture and interculturality in the local high-school English classrooms. I took an intercultural stance on language education and viewed language and culture as socially constructed practices that have fluid and negotiable boundaries and are interrelated in multiple and complex ways (Holliday, 2011, 2016; Kramsch, 1998; Liddicoat, 2002). An interculturally-oriented language education recognises an inextricable language-culture connection and links home with target language-and-cultures (Byram, 1997; Kramsch, 1993; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013; Newton, Yates, Shearn, & Nowitzki, 2010). I conducted a qualitative case study to gain in-depth understandings of the phenomenon in question. I illuminate how the Indonesian EFL teachers addressed culture and interculturality in the EFL classrooms, what beliefs informed the teachers’ instructional judgement and decisions, and what immediate and wider contextual factors shaped their understandings and presentations of culture and interculturality in the classrooms. Five teachers working in general, vocational and Islamic high schools participated in this study. I made classroom observations, conducted stimulated recall and in-depth interviews, and administered narrative frames to glean the teachers’ insights. I also used document analysis and students’ focus group discussion to corroborate the teachers’ practices and illuminate the situatedness of Indonesia’s EFL pedagogy. Triangulations within the data set occurred throughout the iterative research process. In addition, I paid close attention to the sociolinguistic, cultural, educational, political and religious factors that were simultaneously at play and likely to impact on the teachers’ beliefs and practices. The cases of the EFL teachers reveal some significant evidence. First, the ways the teachers worked with culture and interculturality was to a certain extent influenced by Indonesia’s policies on language, general education, and EFL pedagogy. The policies and underlying ideology shaped the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards English and the NSs of English as well as towards values and behaviours associated with Western culture. Second, the teachers’ conceptions of culture had an important bearing on how they represented culture in the classrooms. The teachers’ “large culture” (Holliday, 1999; Holliday, Hide, & Kullman, 2010) approach to culture and interculturality intersected with the expected role of the teachers and influenced their instructional decisions. Third, despite the hegemonic State policies, the fact remains that the teachers demonstrated an active agency in dealing with the complexities of culture and interculturality. A variety of linguistic, cultural and political factors present in the immediate classroom and school contexts as well as in the wider socio-educational setting contributed to their agency. The teachers negotiated and mediated between home and target language-and-cultures. Fourth, the paths of EFL pedagogy and Islamic worldview ineluctably cross in predominantly-Muslim Indonesia. Both the teachers and learners came to terms with sometimes conflicting cultural beliefs and behaviours embodied in English and perceived to be incompatible with–or even threatening to–cultural values, meanings, and practices ingrained in the local societies. In the light of the findings, I explore some wider pedagogic implications for various stakeholders in Indonesia’s educational setting in particular and in other similar EFL contexts. An intercultural EFL pedagogy could and ought to go beyond equipping learners with a mere English skill to providing them with opportunities to develop critical openness, informed understanding, and constructive engagement with the “foreign, culturally different others”.</p>

The beliefs and practices of Indonesian high-school EFL teachers regarding the teaching and learning of culture and interculturality

<p>This study examined the pedagogic beliefs and practices of Indonesian teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) regarding the teaching and learning of culture and interculturality in the local high-school English classrooms. I took an intercultural stance on language education and viewed language and culture as socially constructed practices that have fluid and negotiable boundaries and are interrelated in multiple and complex ways (Holliday, 2011, 2016; Kramsch, 1998; Liddicoat, 2002). An interculturally-oriented language education recognises an inextricable language-culture connection and links home with target language-and-cultures (Byram, 1997; Kramsch, 1993; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013; Newton, Yates, Shearn, & Nowitzki, 2010). I conducted a qualitative case study to gain in-depth understandings of the phenomenon in question. I illuminate how the Indonesian EFL teachers addressed culture and interculturality in the EFL classrooms, what beliefs informed the teachers’ instructional judgement and decisions, and what immediate and wider contextual factors shaped their understandings and presentations of culture and interculturality in the classrooms. Five teachers working in general, vocational and Islamic high schools participated in this study. I made classroom observations, conducted stimulated recall and in-depth interviews, and administered narrative frames to glean the teachers’ insights. I also used document analysis and students’ focus group discussion to corroborate the teachers’ practices and illuminate the situatedness of Indonesia’s EFL pedagogy. Triangulations within the data set occurred throughout the iterative research process. In addition, I paid close attention to the sociolinguistic, cultural, educational, political and religious factors that were simultaneously at play and likely to impact on the teachers’ beliefs and practices. The cases of the EFL teachers reveal some significant evidence. First, the ways the teachers worked with culture and interculturality was to a certain extent influenced by Indonesia’s policies on language, general education, and EFL pedagogy. The policies and underlying ideology shaped the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards English and the NSs of English as well as towards values and behaviours associated with Western culture. Second, the teachers’ conceptions of culture had an important bearing on how they represented culture in the classrooms. The teachers’ “large culture” (Holliday, 1999; Holliday, Hide, & Kullman, 2010) approach to culture and interculturality intersected with the expected role of the teachers and influenced their instructional decisions. Third, despite the hegemonic State policies, the fact remains that the teachers demonstrated an active agency in dealing with the complexities of culture and interculturality. A variety of linguistic, cultural and political factors present in the immediate classroom and school contexts as well as in the wider socio-educational setting contributed to their agency. The teachers negotiated and mediated between home and target language-and-cultures. Fourth, the paths of EFL pedagogy and Islamic worldview ineluctably cross in predominantly-Muslim Indonesia. Both the teachers and learners came to terms with sometimes conflicting cultural beliefs and behaviours embodied in English and perceived to be incompatible with–or even threatening to–cultural values, meanings, and practices ingrained in the local societies. In the light of the findings, I explore some wider pedagogic implications for various stakeholders in Indonesia’s educational setting in particular and in other similar EFL contexts. An intercultural EFL pedagogy could and ought to go beyond equipping learners with a mere English skill to providing them with opportunities to develop critical openness, informed understanding, and constructive engagement with the “foreign, culturally different others”.</p>

Predicting Supervisor and Student Competency Ratings from a Developmental Assessment Center: A Longitudinal Validation Study

The current study examined the ability of a developmental assessment center to support and predict professional competency development in a vocational education context. A longitudinal study was conducted where graduate organizational psychology students (N = 157 students and 501 placements) completed a developmental assessment center at the beginning of their degree, along with measures of Big Five personality and self-efficacy. Their performance was then assessed throughout the degree in three or four separate work placements using student and placement supervisor ratings. Both assessment center and placement ratings assessed students on seven work-relevant competencies. Competence developed linearly over placements with student-rated competency lower than supervisor-rated competency at the first placement but with these differences disappearing by the final placement. Consistent with the students undergoing a period of rapid professional development and principles of dynamic validity, the predictive validity of assessment center performance declined over time. The research also presents a rich picture of how competency ratings converge across raters and develop at different rates. The research provides novel longitudinal evidence regarding how objective competence and self-confidence are developed in a professional educational setting. It also shows how developmental assessment centers can be implemented within professional educational training to support career development.