Onderwijs. Finse professor over Finse onderwijsbluf van Pasi Sahlberg en co
Finse professor over Finse
onderwijsbluf van Pasi Sahlberg en co
Fred Dervin, prof. in Finland, hekelt de Finse bluf van Pasi Sahlberg en co
in de bijdrage La Finlande au-delà des mythes? in: Recherches en Education -
n°16 - Juin 2013
1. Finland-propaganda van Pasi Sahlberg
e.d. ; negatie van binnenlandse kritiek
Ce
qui surprend a priori lorsque lon sintéresse à léducation finlandaise « de
lintérieur », cest le sentimentde«doublebind »,voiredeschizophrénie,quinoustraverse.Duncôté,ilyaleslouanges en dehors du pays mais dun autre,
les critiques répétées à lintérieur (qui sont très peuvéhiculées à létranger).(NvdR: volgens een uitgebreid onderzoekvan de Oxford-prof Jennifer Chung luidt de
algemene kritiek bij leraars, directies, onderwijskundigen: Along with one of the great strengths of
Finnish education, the excellent support for weak students, comes its great
faults, the lack of support for the academically talented.In this situation, one can observe a
limitation of egalitarian values.The
interviewees also consistently mention the students lack of enjoyment in
school. De heterogeniteit in veel
klassen binnen de gemeenschappelijke lagere cyclus is volgens de praktijkmensen
al te groot en dat leidt tot een aanzienlijke nivellering. Zie bijdrage hier
over in vorige blog).
Fred Dervin
verwijst vervolgens naar het optreden van de Finse propagandist Pasi Sahlberg. PrenonslexempleintéressantdePasiSahlberg.Cechercheur,directeurduCentrepour la Mobilité Internationale (CIMO) à Helsinki, a publié en 2011 un
ouvrage intitulé Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational
Change in Finland? Depuis la publication du livre, Sahlberg fait le tour du
monde pour promouvoir léducation finlandaise (mais aussi son livre) . La
plupart de ses interventions sont disponibles en ligne. Ce qui surprend en les
écoutant, cest lemanque de
positionnements critiques du chercheur par rapport à ce qui se passe en Finlande
maisaussidesesinterlocuteurs.LaseulecritiquequejaipunotéeestapparuelorsdesdiscussionsàlafindudiscoursdeSahlbergauStanfordCentreforOpportunityPolicyin Educationenmars2012,àlinvitationdeLindaDarling-Hammond Professor of Education à la
Stanford University).Lors des questions, un collègue de Darling-Hammond accuse
Sahlberg dembellir sadescriptiondeléducationfinlandaise: « Youdontincludethatyouhavethemostexpensiveearly childhood
education, you dont include that they start at 2 years old ». Il continue : «
Your PISAscoreswentdownbetween2003and2009 inliteracy. Why ? »(faisant référenceaux différences marquées entre les garçons et
les filles mais aussi aux classes sociales) avant de conclure: « if you dont include that stuff, if you
dont include the social welfare, you really nottelling the whole story ». Darling-Hammond
semblait clairement irritée par ces remarques : « I was just askingifyouhadaquestion »,(linterrompant)« Ido
wanttogetotherfolksin ». Sahlberg na pas vraiment répondu à ces attaques
Je me souviens très bien de quand on ma posé des questions
sur le « miracle » de léducationfinlandaise pour la première fois. Cétait en 2007 lorsque la Finlande
était lhôte de lEurovision,après la
victoire très remarquée du groupe de hard rock Lordi qui ressemblait à une
tribu de monstres. Un journaliste dune grande radio française était venu
couvrir lévénement et souhaitaitme
rencontrer pour discuter de léducation finlandaise. Il avait entendu parler du
« miracle » et il voulait en savoir plus. Un peu comme un lance balles de
tennis, il ma mitraillé de questions : « Commentvous expliquezPISA ?Pourquoilesélèvesfinlandaissont-ilssi autonomes ? Pourquoi sont-ils tous si
bons ? Cest le fait quil ny a pas de classes sociales ? Il ny a pas décole
privée, cest bien ça ? Et les profs, ils sont excellents, nest-ce pas ? ».
Pour être honnête, je ne savais pas quoi répondre et je retournais souvent la
question à l‟envoyeur :que voulez-vous dire par autonomie ? Pourquoi
pensez-vous quil ny a pas de classes sociales ? Quest-ce un prof excellent ?
A lépoque on ne connaissait presque rien de ce pays on savait à peinequelacompagniedetéléphonesportablesactuellement « agonisante »,Nokia,était finlandaise.Depuisquejetravailledansundépartementdeformationdesenseignantsà Helsinki,cesquestionssemblentvenirdetouslescôtés.Presquechaquejour,jereçoisun message dun journaliste, dun chercheur,
ou dun doctorant étranger : ils veulent tous savoir ce qui se cache derrière
ce « miracle ». Au Canada, il y a quelques mois, une collègue, fascinée par le
cas finlandais, était ravie de me rencontrer pour parler du système éducatif
finlandais. Quand jeluiaiditquilnestpassiparfaitqueça(caraucunsystèmenestimpeccable),ellemerépondit
: « ça, ça ne mintéresse pas, je veux seulement le positif, je veux continuer
à rêver ». (NvdR:ook wij legden Sahlberg via twitter en andere reacties op het
Internet al een aantal kritische vragen voor. Maar telkens ontwijkt Sahlberg
het antwoord.)
Rêver,cesteffectivementcequeléducationfinlandaisesemblefaire.Mais,commetout « produit », il a des défauts, souvent
mis à lécart par les « marchands » de mythes, finlandais comme étrangers.
Ainsi, il y a quelques jours jassistais à la grande conférence de lEuropean
ConferenceonEducationalResearch àCadizenEspagne (3000inscrits).De nombreuxcollègues finlandais
y participaient aussi. Jai pu écouter un certain nombre de leurs
interventionset à chaque fois, je suis
intervenu pour tenter de « re-balancer » un peu limage positive (tropparfois)quecertainsétaiententraindecréeràpartirderecherchesquime
semblaient essentiellementquantitatives(jenairiencontre lequantitatif) etparfoisbancalesauniveauméthodologique(manquedecritiquesetderéflexivitédelapartdeceschercheurs).A une collègue qui présentait un papier sur
le « bonheur » (happiness) des collégiens finlandais, je lui demandais, à la
fin de sa présentation un peu trop « féerique », dabord comment elle
définissait le bonheur (aucune réponse) et ensuite comment interpréter par
exemple les fusillades dans les écoles qui avaient eu lieu ces dernières années
en Finlande, les problèmes dalcool et de drogueouencore le faitqueleministredeléducationavaitrécemment appeléàsebattrecontre lintimidation (bullying en anglais, kiusaminen en finnois) dans
les écoles. Sa réponse ?On ne peut pas
généraliser Venue « vendre » léducation finlandaise, je la gênais, cétait
clair (NvdR: volgens PISA-2012 voelen de Finse 15-jarigen zich allerminst
gelukkig op school.)
Cestenfaitdepuis2008quecetaspectmarketingdeléducationfinlandaiseestapparu.Le Ministredesaffairesétrangèresdelépoque,AlexanderStubb,avaitlui-mêmeofficialiséce « pouvoir de la
marque finlandaise » (branding) en mettant en place un comité de réflexion et
de proposition. Dans le cadre des travaux de ce groupe, qui se donnait pour
objectif de réfléchir à commentlaFinlandepourrarésoudreles « problèmes lesplus diaboliques dumondeentier » (theworld‟smostwickedproblems enanglais) àtraverstroismotsclés: lafonctionnalité (design),
la nature et léducation. Ainsi, dès la troisième page du document Mission For
Finland(2010) , léducation finlandaise
est présentée comme un des aspects importants: « Right now, the state of the
world seems in many ways impossible. We are facing global-level challenges: the
worldmustfindasustainableway of life, ways to reduce povertyand ways toproduce fewer disposable solutions. [ ] Finland is simply duty-bound to
demonstrate that we are able to solve such problems. Finland offers the world
functionality and sustainable solutions in the form of both productsandservicesaswellasafunctionalsociety.Finland offers the
worldits ability to negotiate so that
the world can be a better place to live. Finland offers the world clean water
and food and related expertise. Finland offers the world better education and
teachers ».
Depuis 2008, dans les milieux académiques travaillant en
éducation, lexpression « exportation de
léducation » (koulutusvienti en finnois) sest répandue et les programmes se multiplient pour vendreléducation finlandaise. Actuellement,diversesinstitutions« exportent »des formations, desenseignants,desformateurs denseignantsetmême desécoles. Lesacheteurssontnombreux maisil sembleraitque les plusgrosclientssoientlArabie Saoudite, la
Chineet lesEmirats. Pour les universités finlandaises, «
autonomes » depuis trois ans (cest-à-dire quellesdoivent subvenir à leurs besoins plus ou
moins toutes seules, avec de moins en moins de soutien desministères),lexportationdeléducationfinlandaisereprésenteuneaubaine,unevanne financière peunégligeable.Ainsi,dansmondépartement, nousrecevons régulièrementdes collèguesétrangersàquinousprésentonsle« miraclefinlandais ». Cesvisitesne sontpas gratuitesetsicesvisiteurssouhaitentvisiter parexemple lOfficeNational delEducation (Opetushallitus), ils doivent sacquitter dune somme de
mille euros pour deux heures pour vingt personnes (communication e-mail avec
une représentante de lOffice).
2Et les critiques ?
Ayant luetécoutélaplupart desdocumentssurléducationfinlandaisedesdeuxdernières années,jaimeraisprésenterdefaçonsélectivequelquesmythesquejaipuidentifierencomparant ce qui se discute au quotidien dans
les médias finlandais.
Les élèves finlandais
sont bons. Faux : pas tous. Reinikainen (2011, p.12-13) note une grande
différence entre les sexes (en 2009 pour PISA les filles avaient largement
lavantage ; différence laplusmarquéedetouslespaysmembresdelOCDE).Unautrephénomènetrèspeumentionné ou commenté dans les écrits internationaux, est celui des résultats
discordants entre la minorité suédophone et la majorité finnophone (le pays a
les deux langues comme langues officielles pour des raisons historiques ;
minorité suédophone : 5%). Selon PISA 2009, les élèves suédophonesontdemoinsbonsrésultats,surtoutpourlalitéracie.Comparésaux élèves finnophones, les suédophones ont les
résultats suivants au total : 511 vs. 538 en litéracie, 527 vs. 541enmathématiqueset528vs.556en culturesscientifiques(Sulkunen&al.,2010). DaprèsHeidiHarju-Luukkainen, cettedifférencesexplique par lapénuriedenseignants enéducation spécialisée dans les écoles
suédophones du pays, voire une formation de moins bon niveau (journal national
suédophone, Hufvudstatsbladet, 27 janvier 2012).
Touslesélèvesontlamêmeégalitédeschances.Faux : onleditpeumaislesenseignants finlandaissontrecrutéslocalementlorsdunentretien.Lescritèresdesélectionsontpeutransparents, même si lon
sait que les résultats au master comptent pour beaucoup (la mention).
Cettesélectionsignifie théoriquementquelesmeilleursenseignantssontrecrutésparles
meilleursétablissements,quisetrouventconcentrésdanslesuddupays. Unautreélément important,souventtûaussi,estquechaqueannéeles journauxpublientlalistedes meilleurs collègesetlycéesdupays.Daprèsunrécentarticle,lesécartsentrelesétablissementssecreusentenFinlande,cequimènecertainsparentsàbiensélectionnerlesécolesdeleurs enfants (surtout si celles-ci ont une population immigrée
importante) (Taloussanomat, 12 juillet 2012). Limmigration augmente depuis une vingtaine dannées et en même temps
les inégalités. Ainsi,en 2010, les enfants dimmigrés ont trois
fois plus de risque de quitter le système éducatif à la fin des études de base.
Ainsi pour le lycée de Vuosaari à lest dHelsinki (classé numéro 146 sur la
liste des 182 lycées qui envoient des élèves à luniversité, quartier souvent
décrit comme étant« immigré »),
seulement 7,5% des élèves entrent à luniversité (Yle News, 4 mai 2012).
Ilnyapasdécoles privéesenFinlande.Faux:lepayscomptequatre-vingtsétablissements privés,dontunevingtainesetrouveàHelsinki. Ces écoles
recevraient en moyenne plus de financements de la part de lEtat (ibid.).
Lesélèvesfinlandaissont« heureux ».Faux :enmars2012, unétudiantatirésur unautre étudiant dans une
école à Orivesi (troisième événement violent dans une école en trois mois). En
conséquence, la ministre de lintérieur appelle à revoir les consignes de
sécurité dans les écoles(Yle News,30 mars 2012).Rappelons quilyadegravesantécédents :novembre2007,cinq élèves, le principal de lécole et linfirmière sont tués à Jokela
; septembre 2008, dix personnes sont massacrées dans une école à Kauhajoki.
(NvdR: volgens PISA-2012 stelden de meeste Finse 15-jarigen dat ze zich niet
gelukkig voelden op school. Het welbevinden bij de Vlaamse leerlingen was
opvallend hoger.)
Les résultats de PISA sont liés à lexcellente formation des
enseignants. Pas sûr : lenseignement delalanguematernelle par
exempleestprisau sérieuxdans lepays nordiqueetest certainement de bon
niveau. Toutefois, pour expliquer les résultats, on devrait prendre en compte
la langue 1 des élèves (morphologie, syntaxe et prononciation, entre autres)
qui sont testés mais aussi des éléments contextuels importants comme le fait
que tous les programmes à la télévision ou au cinéma sont sous-titrés en
Finlande (à linverse de la plupart des pays européens où londouble par exemple). Le finnois a une
orthographe régulière et un son correspond à une lettre, ce quipermettraitpeut-êtredapprendreàlireplusfacilement.Dansdautreslanguescommelanglais ou le français, un ensemble de phonèmes peut se prononcer très
différemment de leurs transcriptions(enanglais par exempleLeicestershirequiseprononceˈlestəʃə(r)).IlfaudraitcroiseretexaminercesaspectslinguistiquesetcontextuelsaveclesrésultatsdePISApar exemple pour pouvoir répondre à ce point.
Onderwijs : Finse gemeenschappelijke lagere cyclus = enorme nivellering. Advies voor minister Crevits.
Finse leerkrachten
maken zich grote zorgen over nivellerende gemeenschappelijke lagere cyclus
Oxford- Prof. Jennifer Chung publiceerde een uitgebreide
studie over het Fins onderwijs waarin vooral via diepte-interviews gepolst
wordt naar de mening van de leerkrachten, directies,beleidsmakers ( AN INVESTIGATION OF REASONS FOR FINLANDS
SUCCESS IN PISA (University of Oxford 2008).
Het valt op dat de geïnterviewde leraars zich alle grote
zorgen maken over het nivellerend karakter van de gemeenschappelijke lagere
cyclus die de betere leerlingen geen faire kansen en veel te weinig uitdaging
biedt. We citeren even een aantal getuigenissen.
"Many of the teachers mentioned the converse of the great
strength of Finnish education (= de grote aandacht voor kinderen met
leerproblemen) as the great weakness.Jukka S. (BM) believes that school does not provide enough challenges
for intelligent students: I think my
only concern is that we give lots of support to those pupils who are underachievers,
and we dont give that much to the brightest pupils.I find it a problem, since I think, for the future of a whole nation, those pupils who are
really the stars should be supported, given some more challenges, given some
more difficulty in their exercises and so on.To not just spend their time here
but to make some effort and have the idea to become something, no matter what
field you are choosing, you must not only be talented like they are, but work
hard.That is needed.
Pia (EL)feels that
the schools do not motivate very intelligent students to work.She thinks the schools should provide more challenges for the academically
talented students.In fact, she
thinks the current school system in Finland does not provide well for its
students.Mixed-ability classrooms, she
feels, are worse than the previous selective system: I think this school is for nobody.That is my private opinion. Actually I think so, because when you have
all these people at mixed levels in your class, then you have to concentrate on
the ones who need the most help, of course.Those who are really good, they get lazy.
Pia believes these students become bored and lazy, and float
through school with no study skills.Jonny (EM) describes how comprehensive education places the academically
gifted at a disadvantage: We have lost a great possibility when we dont have
the segregated levels of math and natural sciences That should be once again
taken back and started with.The good
talents are now torturing themselves with not very interesting education and teaching in classes that arent for their
best.
Pia (EL) finds the PISA frenzy about Finland amusing, since
she believes the schools have declined in recent years: I think [the
attention] is quite funny because school isnt as good as it used to be I used
to be proud of being a teacher and proud of this school, but I cant say I m
proud any more.
Aino (BS) states that the evenness and equality of the education
system has a dark side. Teaching to the middle student in a class of
heterogeneous ability bores the gifted students, who commonly do not perform
well in school.Maarit (DMS) finds
teaching heterogeneous classrooms very difficult.She admits that dividing the students into ability
levels would make the teaching easier, but worries that it may affect the self-esteem
of the weaker worse than a more egalitarian system Similarly, Terttu (FMS) thinks that the
class size is a detriment to the students learning.Even though Finnish schools have relatively
small class sizes, she thinks that a group of twenty is too large, since she
does not have time for all of the students: You dont have enough time for everyone
All children have to be in the same class.That is not so nice.You have the
better pupils.I cant give them as much
as I want.You have to go so slowly in
the classroom.Curiously, Jukka E.
(DL) thinks that the special education students need more support and the
education system needs to improve in that area.
Miikka (FL) describes how he will give extra work to
students who want to have more academic challenges, but admits that they can
get quite good grades, excellent grades, by doing nothing actually, or very
little.Miikka (FL) describes
discussion in educational circles about creating schools and universities for academically
talented students: 3 Everyone has the same chances One problem is that it can
be too easy for talented students.There has been now discussion in Finland if
there should be schools and universities for talented students I think it will
happen, but I dont know if it is good, but it will happen, I think so.I am also afraid there will be private
schools again in Finland in the future [There] will be more rich people and
more poor people, and then will come so [many] problems in comprehensive
schools that some day quite soon
parents will demand that we should have private schools again, and that is quite sad.
Linda (AL), however, feels the love of reading has declined
in the younger generation, as they tend to gravitate more to video games and
television.Miikka (FL), also a teacher
of mother tongue, also cites a decline in reading interest and an increase of
video game and computer play.Saij a
(BL) agrees. As a teacher of Finnish, she feels that she has difficulty motivating
her students to learn: I think my subject is not the easiest one to teach.They dont read so much, newspapers or
novels.Her students, especially the
boys, do not like their assignments in Finnish language.She also thinks the respect for teachers has
declined in this past generation.Miikka
(FL) also thinks his students do not respect their teachers: They dont
respect the teachers.They respect them
very little I think it has changed a
lot in recent years.In Helsinki, it was
actually earlier.When I came here six
years ago, I thought this was
heaven.I thought it was incredible,
how the children were like that after
Helsinki, but now I think it is the same.
Linda (AL) notes deficiency in the amount of time available
for subjects.With more time, she would
implement more creative activities, such as speech and drama, into her
lessons.Saij a (BL) also thinks that
her students need more arts subjects like drama and art.She worries that they consider mathematics as
the only important subject.Shefeels
countries such as Sweden, Norway, and England have better arts programs than in
Finnish schools.Arts subjects,
according to Saij a, help the students get to know themselves.Maarit (DMS), a Finnish-speaker, thinks that
schools need to spend more time cultivating social skills.
Onderwijs. Meer gestructureerde en klassieke aanpak kan rekenproblemen voorkomen
Meer gestructureerde
en klassieke aanpak van hetrekenen kan volgens een recente AERA-studie
rekenproblemen voorkomen (zie bijlage).
In het boek 'Rekenen
tot 100' (Raf Feys, Wolters-Plantyn, Mechelen) beschreven we uitvoerig zo'n
aanpak. We namen er ook - en volgens de recente AERA-studie terecht - afstand van de constructivistische
en context-gebonden aanpak van het Nederlandse Freudenthal-Instituut. Vanaf de
jaren zeventig bestreden we de te
abstracte en hemelse Moderne Wiskunde (New Math) en met succes. Zie b.v. Moderne
wiskunde: een vlag op een Modderschuit, Onderwijskrant nr. 24, april 1882. Bij het verdwijnen van de Moderne Wiskunde
dreigde die extreme benadering vervangen te worden door het andere extreem: de aardse,
contextgebonden en constructivistische wiskunde à la Freudenthal-Instituut.
Volgens de AERA-studie gebruiken Amerikaanse leerkrachten
veelal een ineffectieve methodiek in de richting van de constructivistische -
en child-centred-aanpak. In Vlaanderen deden we de voorbije decennia
ons best om dergelijke aanpakken te bestrijden. Net als voor het leren lezen en
spellen werkten we voor wiskunde aanpakken uit waarmee we ook zwakkere
leerlingen vlot kunnen leren rekenen.
We stelden de voorbije decennia ook vast dat aanpakken die
rendeerden voor zwakkere leerlingen, ook rendeerden voor sterkere leerlingen.
Met onze Directe SysteemMethodiek (DSM) voor het leren lezen (Beter leren lezen,
Acco-2010), leren o.i. niet enkel de zwakkere leerlingen, maar ook de sterkere
vlotter lezen. Samen met collega Pieter Van Biervliet werkten we ook aan
effectieve aanpakken voor het spelling-onderwijs en aan een meer
gestructureerde aanpak met afzonderlijke spellingpakketten.
Bijlage: AERA Study: Teachers More Likely to Use Ineffective
Instruction When Teaching Students with
Mathematics Difficulties
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 26, 2014 ─ First-grade teachers in
the United States may need to change their instructional practices if they are
to raise the mathematics achievement of students with mathematics difficulties
(MD), according to new research published online today in Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a peer-reviewed journal of the American
Educational Research Association.
VIDEO: Co-author Paul L. Morgan discusses key findings.
Which Instructional Practices Most Help First-Grade
Students with and without Mathematics Difficulties? by Paul L. Morgan of
Pennsylvania State University, George Farkas of the University of California,
Irvine, and Steve Maczuga of Pennsylvania State University, examined nationally
representative groups of first-grade students with and without MD to determine
the relationship between the instructional practices used by teachers and the
mathematics achievement of their students.
The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and
the National Institutes of Health, found that first-grade teachers in
classrooms with higher percentages of students with MD were more likely to be
using ineffective instructional practices with these students.
When first-grade classes had larger percentages of students
with MD, their teachers were more often using non-traditional instructional
practices, in which students use manipulatives, calculators, movement, and
music to learn mathematics. The researchers found these types of practices were
not associated with achievement gains. These practices were ineffective for
both MD and non-MD students.
Instead, the researchers found that only use by first-grade
teachers of more traditional, teacher-directed instruction in which teachers
used textbooks, worksheets, chalkboards, and routine practice to instruct
students in mathematics facts, skills, and concepts was associated with
achievement gains for students with MD.
According to study findings, the most effective
instructional practice that first-grade teachers could use for students with MD
was to provide them with routine practice and drill opportunities to learn
mathematics. The findings held true for first-grade students who had shown
either persistent or transitory MD in kindergarten. Results were extensively
controlled for students prior mathematics and reading achievement, family
income, and other factors.
Use by first-grade teachers of non-teacher-directed
instruction is surprising and troubling, given our findings and what prior
research has shown about the instructional needs of students with MD, said
lead study author Paul L. Morgan. It suggests that first-grade teachers are
mismatching their instruction to the learning needs of students with MD.
Our findings suggest that students with MD are more likely
to benefit from more traditional, explicit instructional practices, Morgan
said, This is particularly the case for students who are more likely to
persistently struggle to learn mathematics.
Effectively instructing students with MD at an early age
matters immensely to their future academic achievement and opportunities in
life, said Morgan. We know that students who continue struggling to learn
mathematics in the primary grades are highly likely to continue to struggle
throughout elementary school. Others have reported that students who
subsequently complete high school with relatively low mathematics achievement
are more likely to be unemployed or paid lower wages, even if they have
relatively higher reading skills.
For students without a history of MD, teacher-directed
instruction is also associated with achievement gains. However, unlike their
schoolmates with MD, the mathematics achievement for these students is also
associated with some, but not all, types of student-centered instruction, which
focuses on giving students opportunities to be actively involved in generating
mathematical knowledge. Student-centered activities associated with achievement
gains by first graders without MD include working on problems with several
solutions, peer tutoring, and activities involving real-life math. Students
without MD benefited about equally well from either more traditional
teacher-directed instruction or less traditional student-centered instruction.
While previous research has identified instructional
practices that can be used by elementary school teachers to increase reading
achievement for those with and without reading difficulties, very few empirical
studies have tried to identify instructional practices being used by teachers
that are effective in increasing the mathematics achievement of their students
with and without MD.
For their study, the researchers analyzed survey responses
from 3,635 teachers and data from a subsample of 13,393 children in the Early
Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 199899, a nationally
representative dataset maintained by the U.S. Department of Educations
National Center for Education Statistics.
About the Authors
Paul L. Morgan is an associate professor of education at
the Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park College of Education, and the
director of the Educational Risk Initiative.
George Farkas is a professor at the University of
CaliforniaIrvine School of Education.
Steve Maczuga is a research programmer/analyst at the
Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park Population Research Institute.
About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the
largest national professional organization devoted to the scientific study of
education. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages
scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve
education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook and Twitter.
by Marcus Harmes, Henk Huijser
and Patrick Alan Danaher (Palgrave,2014).
Voorstelling boek door prof. Fred
Dervin
At bottom, the intellectual, in
my sense of the word, is neither a pacifier nor a consensus-builder, but
someone whose whole being is staked on a criticalsense, a sense of being unwilling to accept
easy formulas, or ready-madeclichés, or
the smooth, ever-so-accommodation confirmations of what thepowerful or conventional have to say, and
what they do.Edward Said ( 1996: 23)
The idea of myths, but also of
acolytes such as imaginaries and even hoaxes, has been centralinmywork(Auger,Dervin&Suomela-Salmi,2009;Dervin,2012). Many myths from
the field of education are reflected in the titles of my books and articles:
the myth of the native speaker, myths around the notion of the intercultural,
myths about study abroad and myths about Finnish education, among others.
Whattheeditors andtheauthorsproposecorrespondstowhat Iwouldliketocall Mythologies of Education ,inreferencetoabookbyRolandBarthes,publishedin 1957. In this collection of essays Barthes examines myths of
bourgeois culture and dissectstheirfunctioningineverydaypractices.Barthes(ibid.)showshow myths naturalize certain norms and prevent
people from being reflective about them. In other words myths can easily become
ideologies. Some of his analyses resonate with many argumentsmadebythevolumeauthors:ForBarthes(ibid.)certainmyths remove history thus giving the impression that
something simply exists and does not need to be questioned; myths allow the
mere statement of fact to emerge and thus a certain idea of unquestionable
Truth. Based on these two examples, one can easily see how dangerous myths can
be for education.
NowletusexaminehowtheMythologiesofEducationare enactedinthevolume. Theeditors,MarcusK.Harmes,HenkHuijserandPatrickAlanDanaher,justify rightly the need for such a volume by explaining that Given this diversity of myths concerningcontemporaryeducation,it istimelytointerrogate aselectionofthem, withaviewto elucidatingtheiroriginsandcomposition,theireffectsand implications,andappropriatewaysofengagingwiththem.Somechapters deconstruct, challenge but also and
that is very important propose alternative ways of thinking, doing and
researching. Interestingly some chapters consider myths to be verypowerfulandproductive,especiallyindidacticalterms.Thisis, Ibelieve, another stimulating vista for future research.
The list of topics (read myths)
covered in the volume corresponds to a very up-to-date carnivalofmyths.Thevolumeopenswithmythsaboutteachingandlearning: Learner-centrednessvs.Teacher;
Intrinsicandextrinsic motivation; Curriculum on paper vs. the observed teaching practice and implementation
of staff.Thereader willnodoubtrecognizetheseold butstill topical myths, which need to be revisited again and again.
I found the second part of the
volume to be so exciting that I could not put the volume down. It deals with
the much-hyped context of digital and
online education. In all the countries I have visited recently everyone
seems obsessed with jumping on the digital bandwagon.Inmyowndepartmentforexamplewehavebeenurgedtocreate Massive Open Online
Courses (MOOCs). I remember asking the person who made thissuggestionwhatMOOCswerehehadnoideabutsaidAmericansare producing many !
The authors of this section cover
the following myths in relation to digital and online education: The rhetoric
that surrounds digital literacy); Social, organisational, instructional andtechnologicalmythsMythsaboutonlineeducation.
Two sub-myths that appear in
many chapters are, in my opinion, essential. The first myth concerns the idea of Digital natives (as opposed to
Digital migrants). I was born in1974andownedmyfirstcomputerattheendofthe1980s .. Does this make me an immigrant when I have owned a computer
nearly my whole life? Using such labels in research and practice can give the
impression of newness and innovation (yet another mythical term). As such the
Academy of Finland is currently sponsoring a project under the label Newvisions
of learning and teaching which centres on Digital Natives. When one reads thedescriptionoftheproject,thetermisnotquestioned butbasicallyacceptedas true:(theresearchers) arecurrentlystudyingthedevelopmentofthemindand
brain of a generation they call digital natives. These are the young people
who were bornandwhohavegrownupsurroundedbynewtechnologyandcommunications.
(The research leader) says that a
gap is now opening up between earlier generations and the children and young
people of the digital age. If we go back to Said (ibid.), is this the work of
someone whose whole being is staked on a critical sense, a sense of being
unwilling to accept easy formulas, or ready-made clichés, or the smooth, ever- so-accommodation
confirmations of what the powerful or conventional have to say, andwhattheydo?Anotherimportantsub-myththatappears inthe chapter repetitivelyrelatestotheideathattheinternet isapanaceaforthe issuesof increasing costs of higher education and increasing demand by
students for authentic andinteractivelearningopportunities .
The authors also suggest many
ways out of myths in education. Barbara A. H. Harmes confirmsmypreviouscommentonMythologieswhensheassertsIt isonlyby understanding these myths
and by interrogating the research relating to them that positive action can
be taken to address them. In a similar vein, Adriana Ornellas and Juana Sancho
explain Deconstructing mythical thinking, in this case about the use of digitalICTineducation,seemsfundamentaltopromotecritical thinking,construct sound knowledgeandpreventignorance-basedmistakes.ForFedericoBorgesand Anna Forés myths as
pockets of belief or understanding (that) require clarification, or revision.
The two scholars also propose a model for analysing myths whichisintriguinganddeservesexploring.Theyproposetocategorizemythsinto out-datedmyths,over-optimisticmyths,drawbackmyths,andconfronted myths(where therearetwosidestothesamemyth,an overstatementandan understatement). These are just examples of
ways of examining myths, all the other chapters represent a minefield which
will no doubt lead to more research on myths in education.
To conclude I would like to
insist on the fact that research and practice need to be more politicalandlesspoliticallycorrecttoday.Deconstructingmythsthusattackingtruthsand beliefs canbepainfulforboththelistenerandtheutterer. However this is
more and more necessary. Research on education is full of myths that still
require our attention. My next targets arealreadydecided(inorderof irritation):overrelianceonBourdieu,theideaof social justice, and the concept of
communities of practice. Like this volume, lets now take myths seriously