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tandfonline.com – Competence in educational theory and practice: a critical discussion

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT This paper first provides a brief overview of the history and current usage of the concept of competence in academic research, and then undertakes a critical discussion of how the term is currently used in educational policy. The running example used throughout the paper is competence in foreign language learning. The PISA study is discussed to demonstrate how the concept of competence has come to prominence in the international discourse on education in recent years. Following this, particular attention is given to the situation in Germany where there has been a shift towards competence as an aim of teaching in recent years, coupled with an increased focus on standards and accountability. The relationship between competence and standards is… Continue Reading

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tandfonline.com – What data do practitioners use and why? Evidence from Germany comparing schools in different contexts

tandfonline.com har udgivet en rapport under søgningen “Teacher Education Mathematics”: ABSTRACT ABSTRACT Poor performance in international student assessment has led to calls to enhance evidence-based practice in the German educational system. Yet indications about the extent to which German practitioners use data is limited, and little is known about factors influencing data-driven school improvement. Using data from three studies and comparing schools in different circumstances, we examined the perceived usefulness and the application of 13 different sources of information that can inform teachers’ and school leaders’ practice by means of standardised questionnaires. The results showed that practitioners attributed little usefulness to a standards-based reform and consequently hardly used these data. Instead, they claimed to prefer process-oriented information sources, such as student feedback. A comparison of the different samples indicated that… Continue Reading