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Item Borrowing modernity : a comparison of educational change in Japan, China, and Thailand from the early seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2005) Batchelor, Randal Shon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Marilyn Lockhart.In the pre-modern era, the Japanese, Chinese and Siamese sustained sophisticated educational systems that buttressed complex political, social, and cultural institutions. In the nineteenth century, the rise of Western imperialism threatened the survivals of all three realms. Unlike their East Asian neighbors, Japan, China, and Siam preserved a large measure of self-rule though they had to cede significant amounts of sovereignty. To defend their societiesα interests, their leaders sought to modernize their political, social, and economic structures. In the process, they abandoned existing educational systems in favor of Western models and practices. The purpose of this comparative study was to better understand the motivations, methods, and results of their educational modernizations by examining their educational development from the seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century. The study answered four main questions: (1) What motivated these societies to modernize their educational systems using Western models and practices? (2) How did they accomplish their educational modernizations? (3) How did they adapt Western models to suit their political, social, economic, and cultural circumstances? (4) What were the broad results of their educational modernizations? Although the inquiry heavily relies on English secondary sources, some primary-source and Japanese materials were considered. The analysis employed such recognized qualitative/historical methods as constant comparison, triangulation, negative case analysis, and internal criticism. The study found that the Japanese, Chinese, and Siamese made the adoption of European and American educational approaches a central component of their modernization strategies. While employing similar borrowing methods, namely textual study, foreign experts, study abroad, and external help, they incrementally rebuilt their educational systems through trial and error experimentation. In adapting Western models, all three added elements of their traditional ideologies. Although each nation recovered their full sovereignty, the political, social, and economic consequences of their educational modernizations differed. Nonetheless, educational reform was uniformly a catalyst for far-reaching change. Ultimately, their eclectic borrowing and shrewd adaption of foreign ideas and practices allowed the Japanese, Chinese, and Thais to create their own versions of modernity. Without the successful creation of modern educational systems, these three societies could not have become the strong nations they are today.Item An educational ethnography of teacher developed science curriculum implementation : enacting conceptual change based science inquiry with Hispanic students(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2006) Brunsell, Eric Steven; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elisabeth SwansonAn achievement gap exists between White and Hispanic students in the United States. Research has shown that improving the quality of instruction for minority students is an effective way to narrow this gap. Science education reform movements emphasize that science should be taught using a science inquiry approach. Extensive research in teaching and learning science also shows that a conceptual change model of teaching is effective in helping students learn science. Finally, research into how Hispanic students learn best has provided a number of suggestions for science instruction. The Inquiry for Conceptual Change model merges these three research strands into a comprehensive yet accessible model for instruction. This study investigates two questions. First, what are teachers' perceptions of science inquiry and its implementation in the classroom? Second, how does the use of the Inquiry for Conceptual Change model affect the learning of students in a predominantly Hispanic, urban neighborhood.