New Perspectives in Literacy and Education

Au th o r : Ism in i Ka va lla r i e - m a il: ika va l@ g m a il.co m

Te xt Ed ito r : Je n iffe r Ne lso n P r od u ctio n Su p e r viso r : Pla to n M a llia gkas

© 2 0 1 5 , Ism in i Ka va lla r i © 2 0 1 5 , Ca r p e L ib r u m

A l l r i g h t s r e se r ve d . M a y n o t b e r e p r o d u ce d i n any form with o u t p e r m issio n fr o m th e p u b lisher.

ISBN 9 7 8 - 6 1 8 - 8 1 2 4 4 - 8 - 6

Ismini Kavallari

New Perspectives in Literacy and Education

Carpe Librum

To my beloved parents, Demetrios and Aggeliki, who have shaped my life in a meaningful way.

Tabel of Contents About the author 11 Introduction 12 PART 1 Educational Research Engaging Values in Research Methodologies 13 Introduction 14 Discussions: 16 Value-Free Social Research 16 Paradigms: Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology 18 Facts and Values 22 Other sources of bias in the conduct of research 23 Quantitative and qualitative approaches 24 Etic and emic approaches 25 Praxis: A Review of Methdologies of Two Selected Papers 26 Jennie Jahnke’s “Student perceptions of the impact of online discussion forum participation on learning outcomes.”

The research and its methodology 27 Critique of the Methodology 29 Zaffar Ahmed Shaikh’s “Usage, Acceptance, Adoption, and Diffusion of Information & Communication Technologies in Higher Education: A Measurement of Critical Factors.”

The Research Methodology 32 Critique of the Methodology 34 Conclusions 38 References 40 PART 2 Web 2.0 and Learning Literacy: Processes, Barriers and Enablers 43 ‘Towards a Framework for Assessing Literacy Learning Through New Technology: Processes, Barriers and Enablers in the Use of the Web 2.0’.

Background and Problem of the Study 45

Literature Review, Research Approach and Outline of the Study The Social Orientation to Learning The Characteristics of Communities of Practice Situated Learning Autonomous and Ideological Models of Literacy The Use of Web 2.0 in Education The Use of Web 2.0 in Lower Secondary Schools in Greece Factors affecting Web 2.0 Practices: Barriers and Enablers Web 2.0 and Learning Literacy: Skills and Social Practices A Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Use of Technology for Learning Literacy Concluding Remarks References PART 3 Practice-Based Research The Case Study and Survey Methods in Learner Autonomy ‘A Critical Decision on the Use of Research Methodologies: Case Study and Survey Methods.’ Introduction The Case Study Key Approaches for Case Study Methods Application of the Case Study Different Types of Case Studies Strengths of Case Studies Weaknesses of Case Studies Summary The Survey Method Design or Construction of a Questionnaire Distribution to Respondents Strengths of Questionnaire Weaknesses of Questionnaires

47 49 50 53 55 59 62 64 66 69 71

75

77 80 81 82 84 85 87 88 89 90 92

The Structured Interview Strengths of Structured Interviews Weaknesses of Structured Interviews Summary The Application and Use of Research Methods in Learner Autonomy: An Aspect of New Literacies Definition of Learner Autonomy Theoretical Concepts of Learner Autonomy Principles of Learner Autonomy in Greece Issues Preventing Autonomous Learning in Greek Students Importance of Autonomy in the Curriculum and EFL Settings The Characteristics of an Autonomous Learner Promoting Learner Autonomy in Classrooms Conclusion References PART 4 Approaches to Education Policy An examination of the policy area of exclusion in UK schools Policy Analysis of Educational Exclusion: Policy Drivers and Levers in UK schools Introduction Why pupils might be excluded Race Socio-economic status.

Intelligence and opportunity The effects of exclusion How best to manage excluded pupils Conclusion References PART 5 Literacy and Language in Contemporary Society Digital Literacy through Computer Games and its Impact on Literacy in Learning Introduction

93 94 95 96

96 97 98

99 100 102 104

109 111 111 113 115 120 123 125 130 133 135

139 141

I. Review of Related Literature: Learning Made Possible through the Internet Modern Technology and Effective Teaching Perspectives on How Digital Literacies Enhance Learning Effective Virtual Learning through Video Games II. Video Games as an Effective Instrument for Situated Learning Participation is Key in Video Games Situated Learning Identifying Educational Games that Effectively Promote Learning Computer Video Games Can Promote Curriculum-Based Learning Computer Games Can Holistically Improve Reading and Writing Literacies Contextualizing Situated Learning In and Out of School IV. Conclusion References PART 6 Intercultural Sensitivity of EFL Teachers: Research Methods and Design Intercultural Sensitivity of EFL Teachers: Research Methods and Design CHAPTER 1 – BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Theoretical framework 1.3 Objectives of the study 1.4 Statement of the problems 1.5 Statement of the hypothesis 1.6 Scopes and Limitations 1.7 Research approach/es CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of cultural concept and cultural differences 2.2. The concept of Interculturalism 2.3 Intercultural Sensitivity and Communication Competence in teaching 2.4 The DMIS measure

143 146 148 149 152 153 154 155 156 158 160 163

169

171 171 173 177 178 179 179 180 181 181 183 185 188

CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODS AND DESIGN 3.1 Methodology: mixed qualitative and quantitative approaches 3.1.1 Using focus group and sample in qualitative phenomenological method 3.1.2 Adopting quantitative central tendencies and variations analyses 3.2 Data collection and analysis 3.3 Research design/framework 3.4 Ethical considerations References

190 190 191 194 194 195 196 198

About the author Ismini Kavallari is now an appointed State teacher of English at the secondary education in Achaia prefecture (Western Greece). She has been involved in teaching English as a Foreign Language, continuous research and academic writing for the last twelve years.

In her free time she writes articles on Teacher Development, Language Literacy and Intercultural Education. She has also worked as an ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teacher and an Adult Trainer. Her main interest always remains helping colleagues reach their full potential. She sees new technologies as a learning tool and a great communication tool which has engaged her in dialogue with her peers.

She has attended numerous workshops and teacher development courses but her main qualifications are an M.A. in Educational Studies, University of Sheffield-UK, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TEFL, University of Portsmouth-UK, and a B.A. in English language and literature, National Capodistrian University of Athens.

But she still and always feels like a novice and considers herself to be a lifelong learner. Her centre is her work and she runs it without compromises and with great pride.

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INTRODUCTION

This book brings together six unpublished papers that have been produced under supervision while a research student at the University of Sheffield; and where the quality of such papers is appropriate to MA level research in educational studies.

This series of papers presents a flavour of educational themes that continue to provoke debate within the educational field.

They focus on contemporary debates in literacy, processes in educational research and approaches to educational policy.

The book is an attempt to disseminate discussions and praxis in the evolving field of educational research.

PART 1 Educational Research Engaging Values in Research Methodologies

Introduction Pierre Bourdieu once declared that “the will to know is driven by a special kind of will to power” (Bourdieu, 1988, p. xiii). The researcher is inextricably situated in a web of intellectual struggle. He pits his ideas against those of others. And in this field of intellectual practice, he issues forth his person forged from his education and his training matrices of formation that have been internalized in his scholarship and form a habitus that structures his efforts to know. This in turn is reinforced or structured by his own scholarly actions. Bourdieu’s habitus may be regarded, therefore, both as a platform from which, among other scholarships, his research can be launched and as a delimiting framework that limits the researcher as social actor (Ortner, 2005).

It was Bourdieu, perhaps more than any other contemporary sociologist, who lay down the subjectivist issue as a primary concern for present research, although it was Max Weber who has usually been attributed with the introduction of the concept of value-free social research. Weber was quoted to have said, “Statements of facts are one thing, statements of value another, and any confusing of the two is impermissible” (Dahrendorf, 1987, p. 577). This statement is usually thought of as the origins of the value-free debate in social science research which launched a severe rift in social scientific approaches to the

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study of human behavior in societies. Ever since it was allegedly uttered, the approximation of objectivity in social research has become a major concern. This is particularly true in the field of social anthropology where the dominant methodology has become qualitative particularly with regard to constructivist or interpretive ontological or epistemological positions.

It was Bourdieu, however, who redefined the parameters of the debate with his forceful point that since sociology and social science are symbolic enterprises, they are laden with symbolic power as all symbolic systems embody power relations.

Subsequently, since all practices are interested (i.e. driven by interest), intellectual practices – including research – are interested (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992). Bourdieu’s answer to the question of objectivity is called reflexive sociology, which he also posits as ultimately a moral quest “to associate the pursuit of the universal with a constant struggle for the universalization of the privileged conditions of existence which render the pursuit of the universal possible” (Bourdieu, 1989, p. 110).

This paper ventures into this question of objectivity in the study of society. This concern shall be addressed through, first, an examination of the literature on the debate and, second, a review of two peer-reviewed research articles in the field of information and communications technology. The first of these articles is “Student perceptions of the impact of online discussion forum participation on learning outcomes” (Jahnke, 2010).

The second is “Usage, Acceptance, Adoption, and Diffusion of Information & Communication Technologies in Higher Education: A Measurement of Critical Factors” (Shaikh, 2009). These articles admittedly were randomly chosen from typical examples of social research being done in the field of information technology, displaying the characteristics of being, at the same time,

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assessment-driven yet critical and advocative. However, it later appeared to this writer that as typical examples of even the most scholarly of texts, value-freedom is difficult to attain and researchers-authors operate within fields that necessarily reflect their own positions and biases. The full texts of these articles are located at the Appendix of this paper.

The positionality of this writer is essentially Bourdieuian, that is, researchers cannot escape the habitus of their own intellectual fields but they must constantly be conscious of their particular interested stances in order to have results that are objective without being objectivist. In other words, the sociology of information technology need necessarily be reflexive.

Discussions: Value-Free Social Research Social scientists have always been cautioned as early as their formative years to be value-free in the conduct of research. At the very onset, it must be made clear however that, as the stuff of social research is human behavior in society, values are already intrinsic in the field of sociological study. Social values are social facts. Social behavior is normative behavior. They are a product of cultural prescriptions and social expectations.

Thus, any research done on social milieus is value-laden research.

However, Weber did not mean that social research must never involve itself with social values as social facts. What he did mean was that if social values must indeed be studied as social facts, then the researcher must approach the focus of his attention as an objective observer. The researcher, while in the process of researching, must suspend all of his personal value

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judgements and approach his topic without the biases of his own ideologies, preferences and cultural positions. This is what value neutrality means in research. When he suspends his own biases and conducts research without advocating particular values, the researcher contributes to the attainment of true knowledge, one that speaks for itself without being influenced by one strand of philosophy or another. Otherwise, the research becomes unscientific being merely propaganda passed off as science (Dahrendorf, 1968).

Value-free research would therefore be expected to free the researcher from the limitations of his or her own cultural, national and institutional biases. Through the researcher’s internalization of the value-free principle, he or she could have a greater freedom to pursue questions and issues that disinterest the agitator or the demagogue. By freeing the inquirer from the confines of his or her own moral compulsion, it could contribute to the growth of intellectual freedom since it would give the researcher an avenue of escape – at least during the research – from the inhibiting effect of the moral confines of his/her own society (Gouldner, 2009).

This is in theory. In practice, things are not what they appear to be. Values affect any research at any phase in its conduct from its very inception all the way to its re-examination and evaluation after publication. Gunnar Myrdal puts it succinctly albeit in a different context, “Chaos does not organize itself into cosmos. We need viewpoints (to accomplish order)” (Miller & Howell, 1960, p. 661).

Research itself is carried out to search for truth. This makes it a value-guided enterprise since truth, in the same way as order, or justice, or fairness, is a value term. It is also a value goal. The conduct of research, therefore, is a value imperative.

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Moreover, research is carried out within paradigms. Such viewpoints guide the formulation of hypothesis – which becomes, thus, value-laden.

Indeed, Weber himself is ambivalent on this point. Weber believed that a social scientist must declare out in the open his values, aims and ends once he embarked on a social inquiry, but once this had been accomplished, then he or she could proceed to a value-free investigation into the most effective ways possible of accomplishing these purposes. In other words, a value-free methodology could be adopted to accomplish the aims of an objective research (Lassman & Speirs, 1994).

Much later, however, Weber is interpreted to have believed that although values do not rest on any form of ultimate foundation, “it was possible and indeed necessary to argue for them because the tensions between competing values are essential in order to prevent cultural stagnation” (Lassman & Speirs, 1994, p. xxiv). And Weber did so as frequently as he could when dealing with the problems of Germany in his time. He used his social science to critique what he thought were processes that hindered his country’s progress and interests in dealing with the rest of Europe (Portis, 1986).

Paradigms: Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology A scientist is guided by a paradigm, which is a set of first principles or ultimates – the basic beliefs that guide action. These have been theorized to be subject to shifts as the scientific world reorganizes its orientations about the world (Kuhn, 1970). The concept of paradigm underscores the idea that even scientists including those in the physical and natural sciences, work within a particular framework for perceiving and looking at the world.

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This immediately presupposes a privileged position, which is in itself a bias. Shifting paradigms, therefore, mean a shifting of biases from one perspective to another. This is underscored even more so when we note that paradigmatic beliefs are basic in the sense that they must be accepted simply on faith because they cannot ultimately be proven to be true (Guba & Lincoln, 1998).

Consider also that paradigms are human constructions in that they are products of thinking and reasoning. For example, the positivist paradigm emerged from the enlightenment constructions of reason as the ultimate consideration for truth, something that they counterposed against the superstition of the middle ages. The critical theoretical paradigm also emerged as a dialectic to the supposed rational objectivity of the enlightenment, as thinkers realized that not all of reality was subject to the rationalizing, calculating sciences of the enlightenment. As the enlightenment exposed the errors of traditional conceptions of knowledge, critical theory also exposed the errors and missuppositions of the enlightenment – most notably that it created its own mythological stances and attitudes from its false and erroneous assumptions of objectivity (Horkheimer & Adorno, 1990; Horkheimer, 1947).

Paradigms have three major components: ontology, epistemology and methodology. For each of these components, issues of objectivity arise, more so when paradigms compete for acceptability and legitimacy and even when they appear to be complementary. Their implications in the value-free debate will be discussed below.

The ontological question focuses on the form and nature of reality. For positivists, there is a real world out there waiting to be discovered. For constructivists, reality is a construct produced by local and specific experiences and meanings. Guba

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and Lincoln (1998) explain that “if a ‘real’ world is assumed, then what could be known about it is ‘how things really are’ and ‘how things really work.’ Then only those questions that relate to matters of ‘real’ existence and ‘real’ action are permissible; other questions such as those concerning matters of aesthetic or moral significance, fall outside the realm of legitimate scientific inquiry” (p. 201).

The epistemological question stems from the ontological one. If there is a real world out there, for example, as positivists say, then how do we know what this real world is? What is the relationship between us as researchers and the real knowable world? Again from Guba and Lincoln (1998), “if a ‘real’ reality is assumed, then the posture of the knower must be one of objective detachment or value freedom in order to discover ‘how things really are’ and ‘how things really work’” (p. 201).

The methodological question also emerges subsequent to ontology and epistemology. How we gain knowledge about the world is presupposed by our basic stance of what the world is and our relationship toward that world.

Note, however, that if paradigms are basic belief orientations, the ontological, epistemological and methodological stances we adopt are themselves preconditioned choices that are already attached to the specific paradigm that we choose for ourselves. Choosing the positivist paradigm necessitates the adoption of the realist ontology, the objectivist epistemology, and the primarily quantitative methodology as well. We cannot choose a realist ontology and a subjectivist or transactional epistemology, as this is the epistemological stance required or consistent with the critical theory paradigm. We cannot also be positivist and apply hermeneutical or interpretive methodologies to acquire our data. Neither could we change paradigmatic

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frameworks from one research work to another. As a pair of political scientists say, ontology and epistemology “are a skin and not a sweater. They cannot be put on and taken off whenever the researcher sees fit. In our view all students … should recognize and acknowledge their own ontological and epistemological positions and be able to defend these positions against critique from other positions” (Marsh & Furlong, 2002, p. 17).

The search for one’s ontology starts from the time of our training in social research. As we were introduced to the various theories and perspectives that could be employed in our disciplines, we began to weigh for ourselves which paradigms we are in conformity with. Our choices become solidified with further readings, research, and as we do our own writing in the social sciences. At first, we tried ontologies and epistemologies as if they were indeed sweaters but later on we started to favor one paradigm over the others, as we became more convinced of its greater validity and reliability relative to the other paradigms. The sweater became moulded to our research consciousness and we began to use it more and more often, until it becomes as our own skin. The moment we did this, we privileged it over the others. By doing so, we chose a lens through which we wanted to view reality. In Bourdieuian terms, they eventually comprise our habitus (Brubaker, 2000).

In summary, therefore, when we choose paradigms we choose a particular human constructed perspective from which to view the world. This means that even as we adopt a positivist paradigm, the realist ontology, the objectivist epistemology and the quantitative methodology are choices made over and above other alternatives and no matter how we defend them as objective and value-free, they remain choices valued over others. This means that there are really no objective or value free

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approaches to social research, just privileged positions from which we choose to understand reality as we think reality is and how it should be known. The scientist cannot be separated from his science, and if his science is a construct chosen over other constructs, then the scientist himself cannot escape a particular bias, the bias of his chosen paradigm.

Facts and Values Nonetheless, the question on the basic level of the debate remains. If fact be fact, then no matter what methodologies are used, it will be revealed as fact. The problem with this assertion is precisely what critical theory noted as the major flaw in positivism, which it considered as traditional theory.

Horkheimer, as early as 1937, had described traditional theory (and its methodologies) as any view that makes three basic assumptions, to wit (a) that, ontologically, the world is an ensemble of objective and observable facts that the knower passively registers; (b) that, epistemologically, knowledge consists of propositions that are formulated so as to correspond to these facts and hence can be regarded as true; and (c) that, methodologically, these propositions may be joined in such a way that their systematic interrelations form a seamless logical or mathematical relation of necessity with one another (Wiggershaus, 1994).

His critique of traditional theory still stands out as the basic wellspring of critique against the hitherto status of fact in scientific inquiry. In his seminal essay, “Traditional and Critical Theory,� Horkheimer said, against the ontological stance of traditional theory, that science tags a fact as relevant by virtue of a predefined notion of what constitutes a fact. Calling something a fact therefore implies a value judgement, conferring on the al[ 22 ]

leged fact a certain significance or relevance for the scientist’s own project.

Secondly, and against traditional theory’s epistemological stance, Horkheimer said that propositions are not value-neutral expressions of fact but are constructed within an entire social discursive framework that provides its theoretical meaning.

Propositions are thus inseparable from the pre-theoretical discourse that defined its construction. The proposition, for example, that a user’s knowledge is a function of his or her computer use time comes out of the general context of computer technology. It cannot exist outside of this discursive framework.

Finally, the assertion of traditional theory that several propositions could be woven into a seamless thread of reality obscures the actual tensions and controversies inherent in the growth of knowledge and moreover produces a false impression that what has been produced is ‘reality’ that cannot be attacked from non-mathematical perspectives (Surber, 1998).

In other words, we do not regard reality the way it is. We only make up our vision of reality and our perception of the world in general according to how the world is reflected in our subjective natures. There is, therefore, no purely objective world which we are bound to regard as representing reality. There is only a changing, mutating world of symbols where meanings are always based on the interaction between people who impose such meanings over things.

Other sources of bias in the conduct of research The choice of a subject of study, the hypotheses that are tested, and even the measures we use to approximate our variables are all sources of bias. Which is more objective or value free, for example, a four-point Likert scale or a five-point one? In either [ 23 ]

choice, we justify the existence of artificial divisions of a continuum (Senn, 1971). The definition of the variables that we use in our research paradigms may have important implications particularly in methodology. Whose definitions are we really using?

The structures of a class, for example, may have a hand in the conceptualization of these definitions, as a dominant group may have had a hand in imposing its own interpretations of reality over others while claiming objectivity for itself. This means that our choice of concepts and their measurements may reinforce value judgements and social biases (Alford & Friedland, 1985).

Quantitative and qualitative approaches The choice between what methodology to use is a value judgement. Whichever approach is chosen therefore may not be value free and there are certain issues of objectivity leveled against it.

Quantitative approaches are usually designed within theoretical frameworks that specify the variables that are hypothetically related to the study’s purposes. This is of course faulty since the variables that are preselected for the framework are picked from among a list of all possible covariates considered beforehand by the researcher when he conceived of the research project. The selection of the variables means the exclusion of other variables that may have the same or even more effect on the phenomenon being studied.

Such exclusionary designs may, of course, enhance scientific rigor since they attempt to approximate laboratory conditions where other variables are kept constant (ceteris paribus) while the effect of a preselected variable is measured scientifi-

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cally, either as an individual variable or in conjunction with the other preselected variables in multivariate analysis. However, the stripping of other variables may also detract from the contextual relevance of the study, and its results therefore may no longer be generalizable or useful for policy development or decision making.

Quantitative designs are also faulty for privileging the mathematical relationship of variables over the social meaning of their relationships, which is really another form of bias. Furthermore, quantitative designs favor the use of metatheory over local contextualizations of theory such that the theoretical conclusions would be grossly inapplicable to specific contexts and cases.

Qualitative designs, on the other hand, privilege the constructivist, interpretive paradigms. They are often critiqued for their lack of objectivity and their corresponding over-reliance on subjective sources of data. As such, they have been categorized into the ‘soft’ sciences; their findings are not utilized for general societal purposes, being meant only to discover particulars rather than generalizable and thus, policy-friendly patterns and discoveries.The output of qualitative researchers has been described as unscientific, merely exploratory, entirely personal, and full of bias (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998).

Etic and emic approaches The etic approach to research consists of an outsider bringing his or her supposed objectivity to the investigation of a social phenomenon experienced by a society of which he or she is not a member (Jardine, 2004). This operates on the assumption that an insider cannot acquire the necessary objective stance

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needed to truthfully assess the affairs of his or her own society.

Nonetheless, the objectivity of the outside observer may also be colored by his or her own socio-cultural values no matter how much the investigator tries to distance these from the research. It should always be remembered that the scientist’s ontological and epistemological stances are skin and not sweaters to be removed at any time. Thus, the results of the etic investigation may be of little or no practical value at all in relation to the needs and concerns of the communities or groups being studied.

The emic (insider) perspective has the advantage of being able to provide this meaning within the lived experience of the investigator that he or she shares with the society being studied. The results of the investigation may be richer and deeper in terms of meanings and symbols. However, there is always the tendency to commit the fallacy of presenting subjective views as reality. Values are always present in emic research as the investigator privileges the values and meanings of the observed and studied groups of people over his or her own as a scientist.

Praxis: A Review of Methdologies of Two Selected Papers It is time now to look at the selected research papers and critique their methodologies in accordance with the extended theoretical discussions presented above. These two papers are similar in the sense that they are applied researches of existing social conditions and both are in the field of ICT-enhanced education. Both have also utilized the emic approach to research, the authors being insiders of their respective cultures and social groups. Jahnke is involved in e-teaching and policy devel-

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opment of e-learning in the University of Queensland in Australia, and Shaikh is a professor of Information Technology in the University of Pakistan and an IT-policy consultant in Pakistan.

However, the selected papers are also a study in contrasts.

One employed the qualitative approach, while the other utilized a mixed methods (i.e. a qualitative-quantitative) approach to research. They are, therefore, useful in explicating and illustrating the biases of each approach and exposing the myths of valuefree research methodologies and methods.

Jennie Jahnke’s “Student perceptions of the impact of online discussion forum participation on learning outcomes.”

The research and its methodology Jennie Jahnke’s paper evaluated the way an Australian school utilized an online discussion forum to support students in an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in enhancing research skills and developing skills for lifelong learning. It targeted in particular how such an online program could help students develop skills to write the Extended Essay, a compulsory 4,000 word required paper for the completion of the program.

The methodology of Jahnke thus focused on getting data about and from a discussion forum which she herself created at the topic refining stage of the Extended Essay process.

This was open to its members for two weeks on a twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week mode. The discussion forum was meant to help students with their Extended Essays and to initiate discussions from open-ended questions that were

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first asked regarding students’ views on the various essay topics. Online help was then structured into subject related and general helpline areas within the forum, which was expected to generate lively discussions meant to help the participants hone the research and writing skills necessary to complete the Essay. Jahnke herself was the Coordinator of the Extended Essay Program at the school. Her job was primarily “to (monitor) the progress of the students throughout the writing process as well as (to conduct) training sessions in research skills for staff and students” (p. 28).

Jahnke designed a Grounded Theory in the research. Data was gathered from the digital discourses of students posted in the online forum and counter-examined against transcripts of oral interviews with participants designed to capture their experiences in the forum. A theoretical sampling was used to select seven out of the thirty-three forum participants for the oral interviews. Three out of seven interviewees were males and the rest were females, a distribution that reflected the gender ratio in the school, which was incidentally a one-to-one laptop school.

The standard procedures for ensuring adherence to research ethical standards including the seeking of permission from the school authorities, the eliciting of consent from both students and their parents, and the requisite assurances of confidentiality were followed. Pseudonyms were used to protect the respondents’ identities although the voice recordings of the interviews were published in an online symposium “as part of the author’s University Master’s course requirements” (p. 28). The author described the interview process, thus, “Interviews were conducted face to face at the school and were recorded either on audiotape or directly onto a computer using podcasting software. The interviews were approximately 20

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minutes in length, were transcribed verbatim and students were able to read the transcriptions as a member checking process.

Additional verification was provided by triangulation through use of data sources from interviews and forum posts” (p. 28).

However, “Students viewed their archived forum posts before answering interview questions to stimulate recall interactions and to assist in reflection. Respondents were initially asked an open-ended question about the impact of ICT on learning in general. Subsequent questions related to describing the way they participated in the forums, the value of the forum in refining the essay topic, and the way in which students supported each other. The students also had the opportunity to reflect on the concept of learning communities and to give suggestions for subsequent forums” (p. 28-29). Open and axial coding were used in categorizing and subsequently analyzing the interview transcripts.

Critique of the Methodology Jahnke’s methodology is basically a qualitative design, and thus opens itself to critique from the positivist position. We start from the basic paradigmatic stance. Jahnke’s research may be seen as biased on the basis that her grounded theory approach assumed that the reality of ICT-enhanced learning in the academy may be reflected primarily in the views of the participants to the online discussion forum themselves. Qualitative approaches are critiqued for their reliance on constructed concepts and Jahnke’s research would be no exception. Open and axial coding depend on constructed categories where meanings, and the relationships between meanings, are established by the researcher who reflects upon her judgement of her own

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readings of the interview transcripts. Categories devised from grounded theory coding are therefore subjective creations of the researcher and are thus laden with meanings that are often formed during her training with regard to the methodology.

There are still unresolved issues on whether or not a coder unconsciously projects her own set of categories and previously formed mental constructs upon the data she perceives from the interview transcripts.

Discussion forum participants have already invested their time and their efforts in the forum, posting their questions and reading answers to these questions in a two-week period within which they could log in at any time. This means that they have already chosen to use the forum in order to accomplish their Extended Essay requirement.

The research is biased, therefore, in the sense that the respondents have already chosen to utilize whatever help the online forum would be able to give them, and since the success of the forum would be the key to the formulation of a well-written Extended Essay, they would be expected to make the forum successful. The comparison model would have the respondents pit the effect of the forum in which they were the participants to a situation where they would not have been participants to the forum, a very clear case of bias in favor of the forum.

A better way would be an experimental design where the experiences of a control group composed of Extended Essay writers using traditional (i.e. non-ICT) help or skills development programs would be compared to the experimental group of online discussion forum participants. The basis of the comparison would be a pre-test, post-test design that would enable a comparison of writing skills as reflected in the scores on the

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respondents’ pre-Extended Essay essays and their final scores on the Extended Essay.

It should be noted also that the author was herself the coordinator of the training program for the Extended Essay Program of the school and she was in charge of the development of research training programs for the school. This would be another potential source of bias. A researcher, investigating a training program that she herself designed, would be subjected to her own value systems and targets.

Furthermore, the findings of the study were to be utilized for the author’s master’s thesis. This should have warning bells ringing right at the onset. Such an investigator would either focus on discovering the glitches of her training design, so that it could be improved by introducing an embedded slant against the design, or else focus on the functionalities of the design so that it can be further pursued and adopted as an official training program or design. Either way cannot be value-free. At any rate, the choice of subjects for the study already reflect a bias in favor of the ICT-enhanced learning program.

I also note certain inconsistencies in methods. The data gathering process supposedly ensured anonymity of the respondents. However, the voice transcripts were published online for the author’s own research for her master’s degree. This would imperil anonymity and confidentiality, as the very same technology being studied for its effects in learning enhancement can and actually is being used, in all of its state-of-the-art refinement to identify people by their voices. Again, this would militate against the value-free principle.

Finally, there is the flaw in Jahnke’s triangulation scheme where she lets the students review first their online posts before they are interviewed for the validation part. This, in my view, de-

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fies the very purpose of triangulation where separate sources are made to elicit data that are thereafter compared for establishing the validity and reliability of the results of the research. I would expect information elicited from student respondents to be compared with information elicited from other stakeholders for this. Yet it was the students’ postings on the online discussion forum that were compared with the same students’ responses from the interviews. In sum, the research methodology utilized in this paper could be used as illustration that methodology and methods can never be value-free and impartial.

Zaffar Ahmed Shaikh’s “Usage, Acceptance, Adoption, and Diffusion of Information & Communication Technologies in Higher Education: A Measurement of Critical Factors.”

The Research Methodology This research was conducted in Pakistan. In this research, the zone of proximal development (ZPD) gap (defined as gap between what an individual can perform on his own and what he is capable of performing with peer/expert help) among various groups of stakeholders in Pakistan’s higher education (HE) sector was measured to understand the difference between the actual state (of various matters under discussion in this study) and the required state of matters in the country. The concepts selected for the research included ICT use, demand & supply of ICTs, rely on ICTs and help provided by ICTs, and the results of this evaluation were considered in terms of the confidence level of university personnel in using ICTs in their job-related tasks. A

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Delphi design was used to gather data from respondents from around the country.

The research used the Z test to measure difference in perceptions of participants of any two categories regarding preselected collective issues (numbering thirteen in all) under discussion in this study. The one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences in the means of more than two groups for data to be analyzed using perspectives of similarities and differences on the collective issues using data of Round-1 and Round-2 of the Delphi study.

For this study, a 35-item questionnaire instrument developed for Delphi study conducted in Pakistan by Shaikh & Ahmed (2009) was chosen as the data-gathering tool. The questionnaire was supposedly based on a diverse set of issues concerning information and communications technology (ICT) use in Higher Education (HE), ICT-related problems & challenges, demand & supply of ICTs, causes of deprived standard of HE, and suggestions for ICT-enhanced HE. Four hypotheses were proposed in the study: H1. There is no significant ZPD gap in issues regarding common/educational ICT tools/application that Faculty/Students/Staff use in their diverse set of job-related tasks.

H2. There is no significant ZPD gap in selected issues such as reliance on ICTs, help by ICTs, use of ICTs, ICT demand and supply, and problem of attitude in HEIs of Pakistan.

H3. There is no significant difference in perceptions of Delphi participants regarding any of the collective issues under discussion in this study, both category-wise and round-wise.

H4. There is no significant difference in perceptions of Delphi participants regarding any of the collective issues under discussion in this study, at an overall level.

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Shaikh used the normative Delphi method through electronic survey research in order to measure expert views of participants regarding how effectively ICTs can be integrated in HEs of Pakistan. The Delphi questionnaire instrument was sent to participants through emails. The research group consisted of 30 personnel (both male and female) from five categories, namely Faculty members, Students, Parents, Administrative staff, and ICT policy makers.

Critique of the Methodology The methodology employed by Shaikh is a mixed methods approach. It starts with a qualitative design, that is the two-round Deplhi strategy, and subjects the results of the Delphi in each round and subsequently for both rounds to a quantitative analysis, i.e. the z-tests and ANOVA. Again, as with Jahnke’s approach, Shaikh conducted his investigation in the emic manner, as a Pakistani educator dedicated to the improvement of ICT-enhanced modes of teaching in the Higher Educational (HE) institutions in his own country.

Shaikh was also a technology expert, being a Lecturer in Computer Science at the Department of Computer Science at the Pakistani government-owned Islamia Science College at Sukkur.

The choice of his research topic thus reflected his inclinations and preferences, an indicator that the research was not free of values. It was aimed at something good and valuable – the enhancement of education.

The background of the author thus played a large role in the selection of his “collective issues” and in the selection of the variables for his theoretical framework. These were all ITrelated issues and concerns (reliance on ICTs, help by ICTs,

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use of ICTs, ICT demand and supply, and problem of attitude in HEIs), as if Pakistani culture, particularly its religion and beliefs on technology, as well as the various regional and local worldviews and beliefs, do not figure in his paradigm except as qualifying the end results and findings of the research.

The choice of his respondents (i.e. Faculty members, Students, Parents, Administrative staff, and ICT policy makers) also reflect a bias against local leaders, religious authorities, and non-IT sector participants who expectedly would play a significant role in the acceptance, maintenance and sustanability of ICT-programs in the country. Of course, the respondents, being all from the educational and ICT policy-making sector, would be expected to lean towards the adoption of ICT in HEs all over the country. It is likely that this bias in the choice of respondents would aready stem from the basic ontological and epistemological positions of the author.

The Delphi method targets key respondents in a series of group discussions where discourses generated in the first round are sifted through, and from these consensual themes are gleaned. These are subsequently referred back to the discussion groups for validation and further refinement. It is a qualitative approach and much has been said in critique about it, particularly with regard to the choice of participants for the Delphi discussions. Delphis usually target those respondents for whom and from whom consensual decisions are generated.

They usually are the influential persons, chosen for their knowledge of the subject to be discussed.

The selection of Delphi respondents is, therefore, highly dependent on the subjective disposition of the Delphi researcher, and the nature of the Delphi – the formation of agreed upon concepts at each succeeding group discussion – privileges con-

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sensus rather than disagreements. Delphis usually frown at contrasts and attempt to eliminate them in order to arrive at consensual perceptions about a particular phenomenon which, in this case, is the status if ICT in HEs in Pakistan. This alone underscores the high value-ladenness of the data-gathering method.

Why the results of the Delphi per stakeholder group are compared via the z-test and the ANOVA are intriguing to say the least. But this may reflect the bias of the researcher, himself being a hard scientist in the mathematical and technological field, to use quantitative methods to establish the solidity of his findings. But the z-test and the ANOVA are used to determine basically whether or not the grouped differences within the stakeholder groups are outweighed by the differences between two stakeholder groups (in the case of the z-test) or among several stakeholder groups (in the case of the one-way ANOVA).

The question thus begs itself: Why compare group differences in these manners when the Delphi was meant to eliminate within group differences in the first place? This is why I posit that the quantitative design was added mainly to satisfy the author’s preferences for mathematical quantitative approaches even as he employed the qualitative approach to simplify the gathering of his data over a national scope. Perhaps the full utilization of the quantitative approach through a national survey required more significant logistical outlays not covered by his grant? One can only speculate that if indeed this were the case, it would illustrate just how much the economic and the political conditions within which the researcher and his research operate would affect both, to the detriment of objectivity and value-freedom.

I submit also that the Delphi would not work as effectively

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as expected if the questionnaires were administered, answered and collected by e-mail. Several conditions would prevail which would affect the objectivity of the methodology: First, the use of e-mail effectively excludes stakeholders whose voices are necessary in the formulation of a national ICT policy in higher education. Consider parents without internet connectivity but whose children are taking up bachelor’s degrees or even postgraduate studies in Pakistani universities and colleges. Government officials who let their staff and secretaries answer their email for them should also be considered. And how about students themselves who would want to have their voices heard about ICT but who do not have the means to get wired onto the world wide web? The exclusionary effect of the method used to gather primary data therefore admits of several avenues by which bias and values could enter the research design.

Second, the use of e-mail precludes the in-depth discussions and consensus formation required by Delphi. Should the problematic issue of participant exclusion as discussed above be sufficiently addressed, how then could e-mail deliver on the discursive requisite? A more suitable vehicle would have been the online discussion forum similar to Jahnke’s model in the previously critiqued article. But this would entail a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week online architecture which might lead to more exclusions and a much more limited respondent group. There would be therefore the great danger that the Delphi consensus in the first and second rounds, if done in this design, would be limited to the author’s preconceived categorical consensus statements rather than derived from the discursive participation of the discussants. But perhaps this was why the z-test and the

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ANOVA were given applicability, as the Delphi results approximated more quantitative rather than qualitative data.

Conclusions The above discussions, therefore, illustrate to the best of my capabilities the proposition that no methodology or method could be said to be value-free and objective.

This paper started out with a discussion of the theoretical arguments defending this stance. Methodologies and methods are necessitated by the researcher’s own peculiar philosophical orientations about the world, whether this be the social or the natural world. This basic philosophical orientation determines how she or he frames the research design. The researcher’s choice of methods and methodology is necessitated, and perhaps even dictated, by his or her ontological and epistemological position. And since ontologies and epistemologies are human constructions that are established within the framework of prevailing social structures and worldviews, the resultant or subsequent methodological approaches are also laden with the value judgements and preferences inherent in each particular paradigm.

The paper considered two research articles published in peer-reviewed journals and their methodologies as illustrations of the proposition. Both in the field of ICT-enhanced learning and teaching, the methodologies employed in the articles reveal that even as researchers religiously adhere to the rigorous prescription required by their research training, implicitly, their works are ultimately value-laden, dedicated to the pursuit of goals predetermined to be valuable and necessary. Thus, research should seek to discover the flaws in existing educa-

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tional and technological models so as to design ways for their ultimate improvement and development.

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Dahrendorf, R. (1968). Essays in the theory of society. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC. Dahrendorf, R. (1987). Max Weber and modern social science. In lW. J. Mommsen, & J. Osterhammel (Eds.), Max Weber and His Contemporaries (pp. 567-588). London: The German Historical Institute.

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Horkheimer, M. (1947). The eclipse of reason. New York: Oxford University Press.

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tion: A Measurement of Critical Factors. Journal of Information Technology Impact, 9 (2), 63-80.

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PART 2 Web 2.0 and Learning Literacy: Processes, Barriers and Enablers

‘TowardsaFrameworkforAssessingLiteracyLearning Through New Technology: Processes, Barriers and Enablers in the Use of the Web 2.0’.

Background and Problem of the Study As developments in IT continue to bring more and more innovations in life, the educational sector is increasingly under pressure to use new technologies to facilitate teaching and learning.

Davies and Merchant (2009) aptly expound on this idea saying that pedagogical strategies, resources, activities and tasks are chosen according to how they are deemed appropriate to learners, where technology (i.e. different tools employed) is used to determine the scope of the meanings of schooled literacy. Technology, in this sense, shapes both teaching and learning, or what may be called learning literacy.

A most recent example of a new technology that has been shaping learning literacy is the Web 2.0, which is associated with web applications that facilitate interactive learning. While the Web 2.0 has been used as a new teaching tool, its impact, after some years of use, still needs to be studied. Some of the research needs on the impact of web materials might include evaluations to compare different types of learning materials, surveys of current practices in formal and informal settings, analysis of web resources in terms of learning design and usability, analysis of user interaction in online community forums, and, above all, developmental investigation into the potential of integration and exploitation of elements of the Web 2.0 philosophy such as collaboration, sharing and production.

Through this paper, I try to contribute to the literature on learning literacy in the context of the Web 2.0 technology by

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looking at how experiences in the use of the Web 2.0 may be re-shaping teaching and learning and may be setting new boundaries in learning literacy. At the same time, I hope to examine factors which may facilitate or hinder the use of this new technology.

In her study of the Flickr host website, a Web 2.0 site, Davies (2006) conceived of the so-called ‘third space/affinity space’ which describes how teaching and learning as reciprocal partnerships are achieved in a multimodal environment.

She calls on the need to develop an approach that looks at learning literacy in new ways. While learning literacy has been defined in different ways, Hannon (2000) noted that the usual ways of defining literacy stem basically from two conceptions.

Literacy may be seen as a skill, or literacy may be seen as a social practice. A better conception of literacy, he says, would be to reconcile the two since neither is sufficient for understanding literacy in education. I share this conception of literacy in this paper. By definition, literacy in education should be seen in terms of experiences in the acquisition of skills and experiences in social practices. In the context of Web 2.0 technology, this type of literacy is achieved through Web 2.0’s ability to provide an environment for the development of partnership in teaching and learning processes.

There is a general consensus that IT-based technologies could be applied to the development of educational tools.

Writing in the area of knowledge management systems, Boss (2003) argued that a well-designed IT-based system should incorporate necessary processes, tools and techniques, although little is known about how to effectively integrate activities and enabling technology in facilitating knowledge management. He suggested that a comprehensive framework that guides the de-

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sign of knowledge management systems is necessary. I tend to think that designing knowledge management systems in the educational sector has similar needs. A proper understanding of how technology may be used for the benefit of education and the development of learning literacy can also be facilitated by such a framework, which integrates, as Boss suggested, processes and enabling technology.

Therefore my aim in this paper is to develop a conceptual framework, which may be used in assessing the impact of new technology on learning literacy by drawing from corroborative literature in the use of Web 2.0. Such a framework can assist the educational sector to identify teaching practices associated with enabling and hindering factors that affect them and connect them with learning literacy.

Three elements served as the starting point for this research: First is the idea that the Web 2.0 creates new processes in teaching. Second is the idea that certain factors affect the success of the way processes generated by the use of Web 2.0 affect learning. Third is the idea that the impact of the use of Web 2.0 in learning may be measured in terms of new literacy, defined as skills and social practices.

Literature Review, ResearchApproach and Outline of the Study The Social Orientation to Learning The concept that intensive participation in a community of practice leads to effective learning has been considered for some time. The traditional idea is that learning and education is limited to an individual’s capacity; that learning “has a beginning and an

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end; that it is best separated from the rest of our activities; and that it is the result of teaching” (Wenger, 1998, p. 3).

These concepts of learning were improved on by Lave and Wenger (1991) in the late 1980s to the early 1990s proposing a model of situated learning that presents learning that takes place in a community of practice through the process of engagement. Lave (1993) mentions that: “Learning is ubiquitous in ongoing activity, though often unrecognized as such” (p. 5).

Lave and Wenger’s main argument is that communities of practice are universal and that we are commonly drawn into a variety of such communities, as exemplified by work, school, home, or in leisure. Collective learning takes place in a shared sphere of human venture; where a concern or a certain goal is shared, and learning to accomplish the goal together occurs through frequent interaction (Wenger, 2006). Wenger (1998) further mentions that: Over time, this collective learning results in practices that reflect both the pursuit of our enterprises and the attendant social relations. These practices are thus the property of a kind of community created over time by the sustained pursuit of a shared enterprise. It makes sense, therefore to call these kinds of communities communities of practice (p. 45).

These learning communities vary from situation to situation wherein some are recognized as formal communities and some are informal and more fluid.

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The Characteristics of Communities of Practice Wenger (2006) identified three important elements for a community of practice to be recognized as such. These traits include: The domain. This refers to the focus of interest or shared interest between members of the community that implies a commitment and a motivation to overcome issues in that domain. The competence of a member of the group is valued and shared within the group; outsiders may or may not recognize the expertise within the group.

The community. Joint activities, discussions and sharing knowledge and information among members of the group are held in order to pursue their interests in the domain. Such interactions are important for members of the community albeit often they perform individually.

The practice. Members of a community of practice share common resources, tools, experiences and strategies for addressing problems. Achieving a pool of resources involves time and constant interaction developing over time a shared inventory for the community’s practice.

A community of practice, therefore, involves more than technical knowledge or skills related with carrying out tasks.

Members are concerned with developing relationships through time (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 98) and communities are formed around issues that are relevant to people (Wenger, 1998).

These communities, being organized around a particular area of knowledge and activity, provide the members a sense of collective endeavor and personality. For a community of practice to effectively function, it needs to engender and allocate a shared collection of thoughts, obligations and recollections. There is a

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constant need to improve various assets that somehow bear the community’s gathered knowledge.

Communities of practice evolve into self-organizing systems through constant interaction. The benefits involved include the generation of an associational life, as presented in cooperation, and the ability to overcome more complex activities.

Situated Learning Instead of viewing learning as the attainment of knowledge, Lave and Wenger (1991) have placed learning in social relationships or conditions of co-participation. Learners attaining structures or models to understand the world are not sufficient; they have to be involved in structured frameworks of participation in a community of practice. According to Wenger (1998), participation refers not just to local events of engagement in certain activities with certain people, but to a more encompassing process of being active participants in the practices of social communities and constructing identities in relation to these communities (p.4).

Such a theory can be exemplified by various apprenticeships wherein individuals observe and learn at the periphery at first and then gain skill and competence to be more involved in carrying out the tasks of that particular community. They move up from reasonable side-line involvement to ‘full participation’ (Lave & Wenger,1991, p. 37). Figure 1 shows the description of Wenger’s communities of learning, the sources of knowledge being shared within them and the relationship between these.

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Figure 1. Wenger’s elements of communities of learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991)

Therefore, learning is not viewed as the achievement of knowledge by individuals so much as a process of social participation. The nature of the learning situation impacts considerably on the method. Lave and Wenger (1991, p.29) further state that learners must interact with known practitioners in the community. It is only through this method that beginners can acquire the needed knowledge and skills necessary for them to advance to the next stage of their development. This interaction between the newcomers and old-timers relative to their activities, knowledge and practice, and even identities, are what Lave and Wenger (1991) call “Legitimate peripheral participation.” Thus, the learner’s motivation to learn is also embedded in a socio-cultural perspective. There is, therefore, a concern with personality, on learning how to speak, act and get along in ways that are relevant or meaningful to the community. Furthermore, through a relational view of the person and learning an understanding emerges that “increasing participation in com-

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munities of practice concerns the whole person acting in the world” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 49).

Situated learning is an approach that requires more than just experiential or learning-by-doing methods; instead, individuals become full participants in learning and generate meaning.

This direction has the specific advantage of raising awareness of the need to appreciate knowledge and learning in context.

However, situated learning depends on two factors: • Speaking of knowledge that is de-contextualized, abstract or general is considered nonsensical; however, learning still takes place within unrelated contexts or experiences.

• New knowledge and learning are properly conceived as being located in communities of practice (Tennant, 1997, p.77).

Doubts regarding the above factors include situations where the community of practice is feeble or displays power relationships that critically hinder access and participation. There is a possibility of romanticizing communities of practice. The concern for the forms of learning involving communities of practice share a common aspect with Ivan Illich’s advocacy of learning webs and informal education. Ivan Illich began his observations with a macro-analysis of the weakening effects of institutions such as schooling (Smith, 2003).

These concepts have been adapted within organizational development circles, where the apprenticeship model presented associations with important customs of thinking about organizational training and development. The growing interest in ‘the learning organization’ raised the awareness of those associated with organizational development about the importance of informal networks and groupings. Lave and Wenger’s works

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regarding communities of practice proved to be a useful addition to concepts of learning. Their research has led the belief that communities of practice should be recognized as valuable assets; that organizational development and the benefits of achieving overall value are not necessarily dependent on individual members of a community of practice. Additionally, Lesser and Storck (2001) posit that the social capital in communities of practice leads to behavioral change and promotes organizational effectiveness and performance.

Formal education institutions are not yet willing to apply these ideas simply because they bring into question the direction and practices that have long been applied in education.

On the other hand, studies on how institutional learning could accommodate Lave and Wenger’s concepts have been done.

The emergence of communities of practice within schooling has been observed, and studies are being done on how these can be enhanced. Such is the case of using Web 2.0 in the classroom setting today.

Autonomous and Ideological Models of Literacy In Street’s book, Literacy in Theory and Practice (1984), he questioned the view that literacy is autonomous, arguing that the construction of literacy is an ideological construct; not a set of de-contextualized or unrelated skills that are transferable in numerous backgrounds. He proposed that literacy or learning always takes place within social and political contexts, influenced by power relations. Motivated by Street’s work, a shift in academic methods took place from practising singular entity learning to being aware of multiple literacies.

New Literacy Studies or NLS was initiated and the clarifica-

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tion of what should be recognized as learning and literacy was undertaken. The realization that learning takes place among different groups of people has occurred; the consideration of different learning methods affected by factors such as time, place, power relations, social values or even politics has enabled a deeper understanding of how learning should be approached.

NLS, concerned with socio-cultural theory, distinguished factors such as economics, power, tradition and societal values that have an impact on how learning is constructed. Sociocultural theory, therefore, aids in uncovering the belief about vernacular learning’s inferiority which is not a precise description, since learning is constructed because of societal demands (Filipek, 2010).

Barton (1994) established the concept of understanding learning methods as a way to better understand motivations and rationales of local learning practices based on social practices.

Barton primarily explained learning practices as methods by which a culture draws upon a learning experience. With learning considered as an essential part of social practices, Barton and Hamilton (1998) have extended his original definition.

Barton and Hamilton (1998) assert that learning activities are not generally directly observable because they involve tacit aspects such as attitudes, values, feelings, and relationships.

Learning approaches have been said to also include awareness, creation, and communication of literacy, as well as how people bring meaning to literacy. Although they recognize that literacy methods are internal to the individual, approaches also include social processes that link individuals and comprise collective cognitions characterized by principles and social identities created by social rules. Barton and Hamilton suggest that instead of understanding learning as a set of properties innate

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within a person, a deeper understanding should be given to the relationships between people, teams, cultures and societies.

The Use of Web 2.0 in Education The use of the Internet as well as Internet applications for education has so far not fully encompassed all the educational and learning needs of students and educators. However, it has been used as a tool to facilitate group learning and active learning activities in a group setting. These tools enable the initiation of an educational evolution that will lead to dramatic changes where a point will come when education will not be complete without them. Looking at computer applications in the business world, these have become integral parts of everyday operational activities; whereas in education, these applications are currently seen as add-ons. It is high time, especially with the promulgation of globalization and the development of global workers, that computer applications in education be viewed as vital tools in the learning process.

The use of Web 2.0 has been regarded as a process of learning transformation by educational institutions. Web 2.0 has, for education, potentially groundbreaking implications.

However, Selwyn (2007) brings forward several doubts about using Web 2.0 applications. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) like Second Life have been observed being used by educators based on their appeal to students (Selwyn, 2007).

The following factors are presented by Selwyn regarding the importance of Web 2.0 in education:

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• Rigorous and carefully conducted research regading Web 2.0 use and the associated sites and applications is inadequate.

• Informal learning does not easily fit into formal educational goals.

• Despite the widespread use of Web 2.0 applications, there is still a limited prevalence of online activity applications in the everyday digital lives of learners.

• Homogeneity of users.

• E-safety issues.

Selwyn (2007) points out that using Web 2.0 applications must be adequately reviewed prior to importing them into educational use. Although students may use the applications in school, it should be considered that their online behavior and use in school is not the same at home. Still, despite the risks in e-safety, students rarely open up to adults about their experiences with it. The best method therefore in using Web 2.0 applications is to re-establish the need for the learner voice and his or her co-construction of new learning tools. These would raise concerns regarding the extent of the learner’s use of informal tools in a formal learning environment so as to understand which are viewed as motivational, understandable and engaging tools; to understand what applications are viewed as unacceptable for the learning environment; and to overcome e-safety risks without restraining the learning potential of ICTs (Selwyn, 2007).

Although Web 2.0 applications have been deemed as important educational tools, educational institutions must be made aware of how these applications and their uses must fit into educational goals; difficulty can be experienced in transferring essential attributes such as trust, transparency, initiative and self-organization into various current institutional contexts. Ap-

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plications should maintain and preserve the values of learning – trust, transparency, initiative and self-organization – and still impart these to students (Rollett, Lux, Strohmaier, Dosinger, & Tochtermann, 2007).

Vasudevan (2010) examined the context of literacy learning using new media and noted that new technology may be understood as the digital turn. Thus, what may distinguish technological processes in Web 2.0 is digitalization.

Web 2.0 provides an informal manner of learning that promotes educational networking between students and teachers and can act as a real-time, 24/7 educational development tool. Collaboration in real time takes place; there is an ease in searching and connecting with other individuals with the same interests and goals. Web 2.0 provides the opportunity for a hitor-miss approach in organizing and sharing content (Hargadon, 2010).

Hargadon (2010) has listed the characteristics that Web 2.0 building blocks include: Profile page. A short e-portfolio or resume of the participant.

Friending. The group or learning community to which the individual is associated with.

Forums. These are discussion threads found within a community of learning that can easily be followed, read and discussed further.

Photo, video, audio and document uploads. Resources collectively used by members of the group are easily shared.

Directory. A listing of members of a group that can be easily searched and ‘friended’ in order to be accepted into it.

Event Calendars. Milestones, meetings and personal and educational development forums are scheduled herein.

Groups. These are smaller versions of networks that can pro-

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vide a way for individuals to join them for as long as interests are similar.

Chat. These can provide a meaningful and informal way of socializing with another individual from a distance.

The Web 2.0 has been developed as a term to connote web applications that facilitate interactive, user-centered designs in the use of the World Wide Web. A site that uses Web 2.0 technology allows users to interact with each other and to collaborate in a shared environment on the Internet, serving as a kind of social media. The term was developed to distinguish a new experience on the Internet, where consumers of usergenerated content interact in a virtual community versus the old way where users go to websites as passive viewers of website content. Among the more familiar examples of Web 2.0 are social networking sites, blogs, wikis, and photo or video sharing sites (O’Reilly, 2005).

The early Internet and the World Wide Web, or Web for short, is generally described as one-directional. This means that people using early versions of the Web can only view the contents of a website, much like reading a newspaper or watching a TV news program. The ability to change what was written as dictated by the moment and based on users’ understanding was not yet available. On the other hand, Web 2.0, as the name implies, is the next step in the development of how people use the Web. “The new Web 2.0 is a bi-directional collaboration in which users are able to interact with and provide information to central sites, and to see that information collated and made available to others” (Goodchild, 2007). Thus, aside from accessing information and editing contents at will, the interactive nature of Web 2.0 gave power to the users to even control the software applications embedded in the website. This participa-

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tory aspect is a rich avenue for people to obtain updated content, scalability, free expression, and enhance the experience of information technology and to eventually improve human knowledge.

The Use of Web 2.0 in Lower Secondary Schools in Greece I have chosen to use the case of Greek lower secondary schools because I am an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher in a state lower-secondary educational institution (Gymnasio). I have been working in Greek public junior secondary schools in the region of Western Greece for almost ten years. The gathering of data regarding my actual experiences as a teacher in the use of Web 2.0, therefore, would be greatly facilitated if I concentrated on an institutional context familiar to me.

Based on the CIA World Fact Book (2011), Greece has a literacy rate of 96%, and a 4% of GDP expenditure on education. Internet hosts in the country were at 2.574 million in 2010 and Internet users were at 4.971 million in 2009 (CIA, 2011).

Gathered from the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs (2011), the main objective of Lower Secondary Education, or Gymnasio, is to encourage the complete development of students based on their abilities and age (12-15 year olds), linked to the corresponding demands of life.

Greek lower secondary schools have been trying to upgrade teaching through the conscious use of technological innovations for the past many years (Collis, 1996). Since the 1990s, Collis noted that the government has been at the top of the use of technology in education and noted that Greece was an ex-

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ception to the trend in many countries of insufficient computer use in lower secondary schools. This trend has continued until today (Polydorides, Georgakakos, & Zavoudakis, 2006).

Although the use of new technology for educational purposes has been accepted in Greece, it can be observed that many schools still exhibit a limited use of Web 2.0 technology for teaching in their institutions. This was also the observation in a study made by Polydorides, Georgakakos, & Zavoudakis (2006) on the use of computers in Greek secondary schools.

Their study noted that no organized plans have really been set in this area in the educational sector as a whole, and said that the content of informatics in Greek schools is still charactrerized by the instruction of programming with an emphasis on paper and pencil exercises. The replacement of this approach by adoption of an integrated approach using the computer in the curriculum should be the goal of new educational policy.

Grounded on my professional experience, the Internet has significantly improved my abilities to become current with the social as well as learning activities of my students. I consider the Internet as the best vehicle for knowledge sharing among educators. I have benefited from the informal exchange of information with my colleagues, as knowledge flows through the Internet in personal everyday tasks as well as in teaching material. However, the IT support to Greek teachers is lagging behind. This lack of support sometimes affects the flow of knowledge in the secondary school sector.

Through the use of Web 2.0 technology I have been allowed an easier and more systematic collection of electronic information, which helps me to follow a smoother workflow, and to be more innovative in my teaching tasks. As long as the Internet is available, my students and I occupy ourselves online by doing

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social networking for educational purposes or by doing information research. We often visit websites and networking sites devoted to educational purposes. As far as teacher-student relations are concerned, blogging allows my students and me to collaborate with each other online to discuss educational issues or exchange information on the school subject. This provides students with critical feedback to works they have posted or even suggestions that they link to other websites or pieces of information online. In the context of my classrooms, the Wikis also provide a collaborative website which is valuable for research purposes. Used in the right way as an online database, the Wikis provide my students with some research help for their assignments as they can be accessed for homework and are available 24 hours. As with blogging, students seem to be highly motivated to podcast because it is relevant to their socalled world. The podcast provides a handy way to download and play educational files that are available on the Internet, because students carry their pods with them everywhere and at all times. The YouTube video sharing site is also another useful site for my students. Projects are often done by students and posted on YouTube, such as short videos on a topic that classmates may view and comment on. But students are even more excited by the use of social networking such as Facebook and My Space. They see in profiling the possibility to “market� themselves through posts as well as maintain directories with their contacts and classmates. Especially during after-school hours, social networking is the Web 2.0 technology most used by students as they get some rest. Nevertheless, these periods may also be very productive because knowledge can be shared through networking.

All these real life experiences correspond to the points iden-

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tified by KM Magazine (2004), which noted that Web 2.0 allow knowledge workers to become better at capturing, sharing and using knowledge and at maximizing their personal effectiveness in the social aspect of their job.

Factors affecting Web 2.0 Practices: Barriers and Enablers Honan (2009) studied the obstacles confronting the use of web technology in the classroom and concluded that at present, teachers who work with digital texts at any level have to contend with many obstacles. Some of these obstacles are material in nature such as technological hardware or software, but the more important obstacles come by way of normative and conventional currents that have to be surpassed each time innovative practices are forwarded. She called them barriers which affect the use of Web 2.0 technology negatively.

Such a barrier lies in the lack of awareness or direction among teachers and students, as well as educational institutions as a whole, with regard to the use of Web 2.0 for educational purposes. Thus, teachers have to be made aware, first of all, of their knowledge worker roles. They have to learn the value of Web 2.0 technology by understanding knowledge work itself. Teacher preparation was also suggested by Russell et al.

(2003). At the same time, efforts from the Greek government have been made to support teachers in this area. Tsoukalas (2009) corroborates this in a study of the efforts of the Greek Ministry of Education concerning technological processes in the educational sector.

However, a more serious obstacle lies in the fact that

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some students may be careless and irresponsible in their practices related to Web 2.0 technology. An example of such a barrier is the rampant use of Wikis for cut-and-paste purposes. Because it has become so easy to copy information from the Internet, students end up being irresponsible in the data they copy from the web. In the area of blogging, students also exhibit the same kind of irresponsibility. There are times when students post inappropriate materials in blogs, wikis and podcasts shared in class.

The other set of factors, which affects the use of Web 2.0 for educational purposes, are those that more positively influence the use of Web 2.0. Once again, the first set of factors, which help foster the use of Web 2.0 practices, are of a technological nature. The availability of new web tools determine to a great extent the value of Web 2.0 practices. The development of new Internet browsers is considered the most important factor enabling Web 2.0 processes. In effect, these browsers have made the use of the Web much easier. The operations that the new browsers now allow have increased in scope. Above all, new browsers allow much more opportunity for interactivity and they give teachers more opportunities to participate in activities with others, including students.

The second enabler could be the combined innovations of new website designs. Users share experiences on Web 2.0 websites actively, encouraging participation. For example, whereas websites before were limited to allowing users to download content, new website designs now rely on users uploading content. Because of this, it has become much easier to put content on the Web. It was noted that if only because of this fact, teachers are encouraged to make use of Web 2.0

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for teaching purposes. These new website designs are userfriendly by providing an interface that is easy to use.

The third enabler can be the new type of social networking made available through Web 2.0. The easier networking sites become, the more people are encouraged to go online. Since websites have become more interactive and easy to use, teachers have been encouraged to use such sites like Facebook not just purely for social networking but to use networking for learning purposes as well. A very rich online environment that offers many resources has created ways for people to share more and more information.

All the afore-mentioned are supported by the study of AlKhalifa (2008), who concluded his investigation of factors which may have led to the growth of Web 2.0 with the observation that technological innovations may have been the main factor which has enabled the use of Web 2.0, but it is the development of new human capabilities and attitudes which really enable the use of any technology.

Web 2.0 and Learning Literacy: Skills and Social Practices Moursund (2003) referred to a different type of learning, wherein students are allowed to work and present results maturely in undertaking school tasks. This type of learning is known as project-based learning which requires a new set of skills representing new literacy.

Pollard (2008) saw in skills what can be called new literacy.

They are the ultimate building blocks of personal knowledge management. Personal knowledge management focuses on activities of individual knowledge workers. It tries to provide

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ways by which individuals can assess their own work as individuals and in collaboration with others, and to see how they can work more effectively.

Regarding learning literacy in terms of social practices, what may really be unique in the use of Web 2.0 technology is the way learning has been made a social activity through virtual communities. In terms of literacy, this requires and brings out new social practices. For example, when doing research on the Internet, search engines have come to encourage the exchange of files. In the process, communities of shared interests are built around these exchanges. Research activities become learning activities because of Web 2.0 practices. Web tools also allow users to find more information facilitated by the uploading and editing of different people. Social interactions contribute to literacy in this way. Knowledge also grows through these social networks. Uploading and downloading information ceases to be about the simple exchange of files, but more about the shared and collaborative editing and exchanging of ideas leading to social interaction. Lastly, exchange of identities is also facilitated by Web 2.0 practices. People exchange information about themselves by writing in web pages creating new social spaces.

Lee and Berry (2011) support these findings in their study that concluded that Web technology should provide a collaborative medium so that it can be a place where people can meet, read and write. At the same time, such experiences correspond to learning literacy conceived as skill and social practice by Hanon (2000).

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A Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Use of Technology for Learning Literacy As far as practice in the use of Web 2.0 is concerned, certain processes have been identified for both teachers and students.

Some practices facilitate teaching processes while some practices facilitate learning processes. Processes, therefore, should be seen from both the point of view of teachers and students, or in terms of teaching and learning respectively. These processes are affected by certain influencing factors. Thus, there is a need to identify such factors while focusing concretely on factors that hinder processes and factors that facilitate such processes. Influencing factors, therefore, have to be seen in terms of whether they become barriers or enablers. Barriers affect processes negatively while enablers affect them in a positive way. The way processes and influencing factors are managed eventually determine how they will affect success in learning.

Since new skills are required, given Web 2.0 technology, literacy should be measured in terms of these new skills. But significantly, at the same time, Web 2.0 technology has given birth to another aspect of literacy not covered in traditional conceptions of literacy. This lies in the area of social practices significantly identified as part of new learning literacy.

Acknowledgement of the importance of technology use in the case of Web 2.0 has to be more actively promoted, starting with efforts to research teaching and learning processes as well as factors that serve as barriers or enablers. The possibilities and opportunities offered by Web 2.0 to improve learning literacy may be seen in relation to these processes and influencing factors.

Based on these observations, a conceptual framework for

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assessing the use of technology in teaching and measuring its impact in learning literacy is developed below.

Figure 2: A Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Use of Technology in Learning Literacy

The framework suggests that in assessing the use of technology in learning literacy, new processes which are developed because of new technology should be identified. These processes should always be seen in their two faces: processes in teaching and processes in learning. These processes affect learning literacy. But in the same manner, literacy should also be conceptualized in terms of new skills and social practices, which represent new demands coming from the technology itself. These two aspects are the two faces of literacy. The way processes impact on learning literacy, however, have to be considered by looking at intervening factors which influence the way processes developed from new technology actually affect learning literacy. The influencing factors also possess two faces in terms of barriers and enablers. The implication of these factors is that barriers have to be minimized or eliminated [ 67 ]

while enablers have to be maximized or promoted. All these elements should be present in the analysis of the use of technology, although a particular element may become an analytical focus at one time.

The model indicates the interplay between processes, technologies and learning literacy. The processes refer to the tacit and explicit technological knowledge that consists of sets of practices in teaching and learning. To integrate technological factors into the teaching and learning processes and implement the process environment, educational organizations must provide and support technical functions through the treatment of barriers or enablers that will minimize threats and maximize opportunities. This can be done through the deployment of proper technological applications.

The considerations in learning literacy in relation to Web 2.0 made in this paper may have shown that assessments of literacy cannot be made in terms of traditional conceptions of literacy, nor by paying attention simply to technology and corresponding tools. Literacy should be seen in terms of new teaching and learning processes as well as new demands for skills and social practices. Assessing the learning potentials of new technology requires much more than just seeing how to use new technological tools. Teachers may have the primary task of familiarizing themselves with the tools so that they may be translated into practices. Such practices have to be presented to students with the conscious aim of seeing what may happen. Thus practices should be seen in terms of teaching as well as learning. This means seeing them from the point of view of teachers as well as students. Teachers may start with considerations regarding what is practical in the classroom but, in the process, the teacher evolves into a researcher and social

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networker. The same happens with the student; he starts as a learner and evolves to being a knowledge contributor and social networker as well.

The choice and use of technology in learning cannot be done separately from teaching and learning practices, nor without considering their impact on learning literacy. Teachers may determine what and whether technology should be used for instruction, but this cannot be an arbitrary decision or activity. It should require some conscious planning. The introduction of technology into the classroom does not automatically ensure integration of the teacher’s needs, the students’ needs and success in the ultimate aim of achieving learning literacy.

Concluding Remarks In this paper, I have proposed a model which emphasizes the interplay between teaching and learning processes, technical factors in terms of barriers and enablers, and a conception of learning literacy shaped by new demands for skills and social practices. In this model I draw from corroborative literature that serves to validate, support, substantiate, back up or uphold the data gathered from my actual experiences as a teacher introducing new technology by way of Web 2.0 in my educational environment. Thus, my hope is that my model carries some empirical basis and is theoretically grounded.

I see at this conceptual framework as an attempt to utilize the knowledge I have gained in my study of Web 2.0 learning technology. I dare say that I also want to contribute to helping teachers and even educational institutions identify their IT needs, and to plan for the use of technology in their institutions.

Lastly, this model represents an attempt, on my part, to ven-

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ture into theorizing about learning literacy. I can see that my proposed model is far from complete and is just a conceptual framework for further action.

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Davies, J. (2006). Affinities and beyond! Developing ways of seeing in online spaces. E-learning and Digital Media, 3(2), 217234.

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of artificial intelligence. Retrieved February 4, 2011, from uoregon.edu: http://uoregon.edu/%7emoursund/Books/AIBook/index.htm O’Reilly, T. (2005). What is Web 2.0. Retrieved March 8, 2011, from O’Reilly blog: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/ news/2005/09/30/wjat-is-web-2.0.html Pollard, D. (2008). PKM: A bottom-up approach to knowledge management. Information Today, 95-114.

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PART 3 Practice-Based Research The Case Study and Survey Methods in Learner Autonomy

‘A Critical Decision on the Use of Research Methodologies: Case Study and Survey Methods.’

Introduction As an English as a Foreign Language educator to State Junior High School students in Western Greece, I have been exposed to different teaching and literacy guides that are deemed effective, more inclusive and empowering to the continuously changing trends and attitudes of students. Students today, due to innovations in communication, technology and media, are approached differently in teaching; traditional methods are no longer adequate. They are observed to be more independent and seek a more participative teaching environment infused with new media and technology. Additionally, new meanings to what an “educated person” is, the differences in the old-fashioned language learning system, and educators’ mounting trepidation about their roles in the learning and teaching process have been predominantly significant within the ever-changing experience of education (Benson, 2002). The intensification of principles that focus on the information age, globalization, and the knowledgebased economy have led scholastic experts to become more open to autonomy-related thoughts than before (Benson, 2001).

In the late 1960s, humanistic expectations initiated by political instability and cultural disagreements within Europe have led to early academic researches related to autonomy (Gremmo and Riley, cited in Benson, 2006).

Changes in social, political and cultural environments have promoted the continuance of research, making this process a key to progress in almost if not all human endeavours. There-

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fore, for the educational system to progress, the development and use of research is of importance. Relevant studies through the application of different scientific methods, can be aimed to produce solutions to current problems in education (Wellington, 2005). For my research to gain social importance, I should primarily focus on a problem or a phenomenon that needs to be addressed or evaluated, to be able to lay down the correct methodologies that aim to provide understanding of the root cause of a problem or the basis of a phenomenon. Wellington (2005) further stressed the significance of research and the right choice of research methodologies in order to address issues in need of confrontation and resolution; however, due to the social and behavioural constructs included in education today, the main focus of research would be the end-result or explanation gathered through the frequencies of occurrences through the preferred method used by the researcher.

Education, as mentioned by Dewey, is the manner by which the endurance of an individual, a society, culture, religion and norms is safe guarded. The measures of education involve authoritative as well as self-governing structures that necessitate continuous congruence and evaluation on the side of the teacher. Progressive – or liberal – education inspires the freedom of participation and knowledge-sharing. It is a teacher’s obligation, therefore, to increasingly establish topics in a way that mirrors the student’s background, by giving to him/her knowledge experiences that would enable, rather than subdue, the student’s prospect for future development, increasing the student’s conceivable contribution to the social order in the future (Dewey, 2001).

The different modifications taking place in the 20th century concerning social, cultural, psychological and political facets

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lead to tasking the teachers with providing the students options regarding their learning inclinations in line with the rapidly changing future. In this age of the Internet and globalization, English is now being viewed as an international language.

In language education, primarily in EFL (English as a Foreign Language), there has been a shift of focus from the teacher to the student; from emphasis on how to progress teaching methods to an all-encompassing concern on how individual students would go through education successfully (Gremmo & Riley, 1995). Language teaching has evolved to a more communicative tactic, that is learner-centred (Yang, 1998). Benson (2006) has noted the necessity for learner independence as required by the modernizations that have become astoundingly substantial over the last thirty years. These circumstances have given rise to an increasing awareness of learner autonomy: self-access structures, self-directed learning approaches and self-determining learning in second language learning publications have proliferated. These show that learner autonomy must be recognized as important in EFL settings.

On the other hand, English language teachers, such as I, struggle with developing the means of stimulating or encouraging learner autonomy in the classroom (Littlewood, 1997).

Consequently, we have to familiarize ourselves with autonomous skills from teacher preparations and trainings to be able to take an optimistic attitude towards rising learner autonomy in our students.

These and other trends in learning are a few of the concerns that EFL teachers are facing; I am constantly challenged with addressing learner attitudes and behaviours that are easily swayed by social, political, cultural and psychological changes. Recognizing the importance of re-

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search in the field of education is highly needed to come abreast with current and effective methods of education.

The Case Study One research method is the case study. Yin defines the case study research method as “... an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context� (as cited in Davies, 2005, p.7). It is utilized explore issues with limited available theory or unclear measurements, to describe effects of specific events or interventions and to explain an event (Kohn, 1997). According to Abercrombie, Hill and Turner (1984), a case study is: The detailed examination of a single example of a class of phenomena; a case study cannot provide reliable information about the broader class, but it may be useful in the preliminary stages of an investigation since it provides hypotheses, which may be tested systematically with a larger number of cases (p. 34).

De Vaus (2001) mentions that the case study is considered a research design that ensures the substantiation of proof in giving light to the focus of the research as clearly as possible. Case studies are considered as data collection methods, through participant observations and ethnographies, that are not limited to qualitative data alone (De Vaus, 2001). Yin (1981) mentions that the goal of case studies is to establish parameters that can be applied to all research wherein a single, relevant case can be deemed acceptable (Yin, 2005). Case study

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researches produce theories that are particularly appropriate for the focus of the study; theory building does not depend on past literature or earlier empirical evidence (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Key Approaches for Case Study Methods

Although the methods used by these authors are different, Stake (1995) and Yin (2005) emphasize that the focus of the study is well-explored, revealing the essence of the problem or phenomenon; “There is a recognition of the importance of the subjective human creation of meaning but this doesn’t reject outright some notion of objectivity. Pluralism, not relativism, is stressed with focus on the circular dynamic tension of subject and object” (Miller & Crabtree, 1999, p. 10).

Constructivism is established on the principle of a construction of reality through social interaction; where the case study approach presents a close collaboration between the researcher and the participant and is seen as an advantage (Miller & Crabtree, 1999). Through the sharing of experiences and stories of the participants, awareness is raised regarding their choice of action (Lather, 1992).

Application of the Case Study Yin (2005) mentions that a case study design should be deliberated when: (a) the aim of the research is to solve “how” and “why” questions; (b) manipulation of the behavior of the participants involved in the study could not be done; (c) contextual conditions are described with the thought that these are important to the phenomenon being studied; or (d) the limitations concerning the phenomenon and framework are vague. These

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premises have also been discussed in an earlier study by Miles and Huberman (1994).

Different Types of Case Studies Once the aim of a research has been determined (the answers being sought are best determined through a qualitative case study), and boundaries regarding the parameters have been determined, consideration regarding the type of case study should be decided. The overall study purpose should guide the research, with the aim of describing, exploring or comparing between cases. Yin (2005) mentions that case studies could reflect descriptive, explanatory or exploratory aims that could be presented through single, holistic and multiple case studies; whereas Stake (1995) views case studies as instrumental, collective or intrinsic in nature.

Type of Case Study Explanatory

Explanation I would use this type of case study if the aim of my research is to explain apparent causal links in a real-life phenomenon that could not be determined through scientific experimental methods such as surveys or questionnaires. The results of this should be able to associate the application of a program or approach with the effects (Yin, 2005).

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Exploratory

This case study type would be used if the phenomenon being studied has no clear, uniformed set of results (Yin, 2005).

Descriptive

The aim of this type would be to describe a phenomenon or occurrence and the environment or context within which it has taken place (Yin, 2005).

Multiple-case studies

The multiple case studies allow for the exploration and comparison between different cases or situations, with the aim of searching for similarities or differences of such a phenomenon between cases; these are often aimed at supporting or disproving an existing theory (Yin, 2005).

Intrinsic

The aim of this approach is to understand a case exhibiting a particular trait of interest in its entirety; the case is not a commonplace occurrence and the purpose of the study is not to construct a new theory, although this could be the end result (Stake, 1995).

Instrumental

The aim of using this type of case study is to make use of different cases as instruments or tools to support and bring more insight into, or to develop an existing theory (Stake, 1995).

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Collective

Collective case studies are comparable in characteristics and depiction to multiple case studies (Yin, 2005).

Strengths of Case Studies Case study researches present various advantages: • They help bring light to better understand complex interrelationships. Case studies are undertaken under severely restricted focus. One of the main objectives for restricting the scope of the research is to expedite the formulation of comprehensive and in-depth understanding of what is to be studied. Additionally, case studies can engage with complexity.

• Case studies provide explanations to real-life phenomena.

Although most social research simplifies a phenomenon being investigated, case studies strongly relate to the experiences of the participants being observed, retaining the real events and experiences compared to other types of research.

• Case studies present an avenue to explore the unusual and the unexplored. Due to the above-mentioned advantages, case study research can expose substantial issues that were unforeseen at the start of the research.

• Multiple case studies can raise awareness regarding the significance or prevalence of distinctive events. The presentation of idiosyncratic versus common experiences can be

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presented through the comparison of different cases, bringing light to the significance of such phenomena.

• Processes involved in causal relationships are explained through case studies. Most traditional studies of fundamental relationships are grounded upon statistical correlation.

The depth and involvedness of case study data can present the ways in which such correlated features impact each other.

• Case studies can significantly lead to the development of existing concepts and theories. Existing theories can be examined in current complex realities, and the fruitfulness of the data can benefit the production of new concepts.

Though profuse description can be valued in its own right, case study research actually validates its significance when new or revised concepts emerge.

Weaknesses of Case Studies Understanding the weaknesses of case study research balances the examination of the fruitfulness of the research. Such weaknesses include: • Too much supporting data leads to difficult analysis. An example of this weakness is presented in Triumphs and Tears

by Hodkinson, et. al. (1996) where some participants’ experiences and stories were given more weight than others.

Issues across experiences that have been related are often analyzed, leaving the aim of the research unanswered.

• The attempt to bring case study research on a larger scale would be very expensive. Gathering the stories of participants regarding their experiences as well as analyzing the

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•

•

•

• •

data, involve the extensive use of resources; trying to save on such would lead to the decreased value and credibility of the research.

Representing a complex phenomenon in simple terms is difficult. The problem of properly representing a problem or a phenomenon, especially in social or educational backgrounds, is often experienced in the case study method.

The main obstacle is experienced in presenting accessible and realistic images of complex experiences in writing. Writing is principally a non-deviating communication form, with a beginning, middle and end; but much of what case study research divulges does not fall along such a pattern. There are numerous unlike means of presenting a similar group of issues, each one of which is delicately different in its style and importance.

Numerical representation of the data is not often rendered.

By definition, case studies are not typical research methods. Often, samples are small and idiosyncratic and data are generally non-numerical; generalizing the probability of the data occurring in larger populations is not feasible. This trait of case study research often renders the findings unsubstantial for many researchers.

Case studies are not generalizable to some extent. The results of case studies may be applicable to a certain population but could not be true across a larger and more general population. This is attributed to the type of data that are gathered, which is mainly non-numerical and based on experiences.

Doubt regarding the objectivity of the researcher is raised.

Case studies are often easily dismissed especially when the issues raised within are not appreciated.

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• Due to the intense focus included in case study research, a large number of pertinent and appropriate questions are left unanswered.

Summary The case study method, being an empirical inquiry, justifies itself as an effective research method since it provides “real life� measurable data extracted from large samples, which often produce results that are statistically significant. This is even more so when case studies exhibit these characteristics: (a) the method of research and concept can be applied elsewhere from the original site of the study, (b) the findings gathered are similar in other settings, and (c) the findings offer provisional truths. With data gathered from a detailed and holistic investigation, I may be able to formulate generalizations with regard to emerging trends and contribute to an improved understanding of the changes in the society over a certain period of time.

Various contexts have been established to appraise the thoroughness or measure the reliability of qualitative data collected in case study research such as those by Guba (1981), Lincoln & Guba (1985); and approaches for instituting credibility, transferability, constancy, and conformability have been offered by authors such as Krefting (1991) and Sandelowski (1986, 1993). Additionally, general guidelines for analytically reviewing qualitative research have also been published by Forchuk & Roberts (1993), Mays & Pope (2000) (as cited in Baxter and Jack, 2008, p. 555).

The case study research does not only involve conducting a research on an individual or an event; this approach has the capacity to address complex situations through simple revela-

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tions. Answers that address how and why questions are encouraged, giving light to the influence of the environment or context that a phenomenon takes place in. I see that case study research is a good opportunity for me to gather insight into a case or event, having the option to gather data from different sources and compare these to bring more light into the focus of the research.

The Survey Method A questionnaire is a data collection instrument filled out by research participants that is often printed on paper but currently also being spread via the Web. Questionnaires are often referred to as survey instruments, but it must be pointed out that the actual questionnaire is not the survey; survey relates to the process of using the questionnaire as a data collection method. A structured interview refers to the process wherein the researcher asks scripted questions to the participants and records the answers through face-to-face communication. These methods are the most commonly used approaches in gathering information since they are easy to prepare, distribute and collect. Numerous questionnaires can be distributed across a large number of the population and, despite incidences of incomplete answers or unreturned questionnaires, an appropriate sample to support the research can be attained.

Survey research has dramatically changed through the years; paper and pencil forms are often replaced with telephone, and now internet or Web-based surveys. Several researchers have explored the advantages of doing research through the Internet using electronic mail, such as Smith (1997) and through Web-

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based questionnaires, such as Davis (1999) (as cited in Fox, Murray, & Warm, 2003, p. 167).

As a teacher that uses Web-based programs in school, this method seems to be highly practical as it enables me to distribute questions to a large number of students in a limited period of time.

Design or Construction of a Questionnaire Listed herein are some common principles that need to be followed in constructing a questionnaire: • Research objectives should be considered consistent in formulating a questionnaire.

• The demographic, cultural, educational, behavioral, communication styles and other characteristics of the potential participants should be considered in order to make an understandable survey form.

• Familiar language instead of jargons should be used.

• Questions should be precise, clear and short to be more understandable and less stressful to the participant.

• Avoid the use of loaded or leading questions that influence the participants emotionally or sway them to the researcher’s preferences.

• Do not use double-barreled questions or questions that include more than two issues; these make the question confusing and unclear.

• Avoid using double negatives.

• Decide whether open-ended or close-ended questions are more appropriate in gaining answers.

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• For close-ended questions, mutually exclusive and exhaustive answers should be provided.

• There are different types of response categories that can be applied for close-ended questions that should be considered, such as numerical rating scales, fully anchored rating scales, checklists, rankings and semantic differentials.

• Abstract constructs measured by multiple items, such as the use of the Likert Scale, are encouraged so as to lead to higher reliability and validity of results.

• Multiple methods in measuring abstract constructs are encouraged in order to prevent the occurrence of artifact responses to a single method.

• Preventing response sets, or inclining respondents to reply in a specific direction without giving much thought to the content of the question, though rewarding, should be done cautiously.

• A questionnaire should be easy to use, have an easy flow, contain clear directions, and filter questions embedded within it should be easy to follow.

• The questionnaire should be tested before being sent out to the population to expose problem areas and allow for improvement.

Distribution to Respondents For simple questionnaire distribution, such as to small areas like the classroom or within an organization, distribution of survey forms to respondents is fairly easy. However, for internetbased distribution, the following considerations are raised (Fox, Murray, & Warm, 2003; Moayeri, 2010): • Recruitment of respondents: Potential respondents are offered the opportunity to participate in research.

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• Time span of the research: Surveys in the internet need not be managed manually; however, gathering the appropriate sample should be stressed to be able to retrieve more than the right amount needed to lead to a valid and reliable result.

• Technical issues: Internet-related issues such as down-time, web crashes and link problems, and triggered responses without recorded answers.

• Sampling: Web-based questionnaires are only made available to Web users; this alone poses a problem in gathering authentic data across several populations.

• Authenticity of answers: There is always the possibility that individuals not targeted by the study have submitted answers, and that respondents did not answer truthfully. Additionally, multiple submissions by a single individual could have been made.

• Response rates: Internet users have different internet behavior and use; therefore, response rates vary depending on these individual attitudes.

• Data input and analysis: The use of different technical applications such as web browsers, system platforms, and webpage designs affect the design, appeal and reliability of the Web-based questionnaire greatly.

• Ethical considerations: Issues concerning the formulation of discussion groups based on the distribution and completion of questionnaires, keeping the respondents’ anonymity, data security, and other information-sensitive traits of the questionnaire should be upheld. Additionally, most internetbased respondents look forward to having acknowledgement and feedback regarding the surveys they have participated in; therefore, the researcher should go the additional mile in presenting results across different populations.

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Strengths of Questionnaire • An efficient tool in measuring attitudes and eliciting other content from the research participants.

• Inexpensive and cost effective.

• Questionnaires can give information about the participants’ internal meanings and ways of thinking.

• Questionnaires can be given to probability samples.

• There is a quick turnaround.

• Questionnaires can be applied simultaneously to groups.

• There is a high perception of anonymity by the participant.

• Well-constructed and validated questionnaires exhibit a moderately high measurement validity and reliability.

• Closed-ended items present the exact evidence desired by the researcher.

• Detailed information from research participants can be gathered through the use of open-ended questions.

• Data analysis is more easily applied to close-ended questions.

• The questionnaire is a useful tool in exploring and confirming similar situations in different populations.

Weaknesses of Questionnaires • Questionnaires should usually be short; therefore, the issues needed to be raised are limited.

• Reactive effects, or the propensity of respondents to answer what is socially accepted or desirable, may happen.

• Some items may not be answered.

• The respondents may lack information or knowledge regarding some questions.

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• Response frequency for some questionnaires may tend to be low, especially for mail and email questionnaires.

• The verbal ability of the respondents may be challenged by open-ended questions making the answers unclear.

• Similar to case studies, open-ended items lead to an analysis that can be time-consuming.

• Validation needs to be applied on the measures used.

The Structured Interview Face-to-face interviews are effective in collecting data since people tend to express their views more fully compared with just writing them. In a structured interview, pre-listed questions, like those in the questionnaire, are asked, and the answers of the participants are listed by the researcher. Interviewees are more likely to participate with an affective interviewer, and the interaction provides the environment for the researcher to investigate, clarify answers and provide feedback (Kamler & Comber, 2008).

Since structured interviews require personal contact between the interviewer and the subject, the success of gathering information is affected by the following factors: • Physical and Verbal Cues – such as physical appearance, gestures, expressions, posture, voice quality, eye contact and movement of the interviewer can affect the answers of the interviewee. Furthermore, these cues from the subject can also affect the perception of the interviewee.

• Inference and observation – inferences are often representative of reasonable guesses made by the interviewee; observation, on the other hand, should be the main goal.

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•

•

• •

• • •

Interviewers should only record what the interviewee says and not what is inferred.

Discrimination – Three common errors in this area include the acceptance of only bipolar opposites, the inability to accept that people and things change over time, as well as the grouping together of events, people and situations.

Language – meanings of words or the manner by which they are expressed are often different between people, more so between cultures. Time should be allotted in explaining what is meant or heard to gather the correct responses.

Bias – these influences by the interviewer should be set aside by the interviewer to gain a valid response.

Attitudes – the participants in the interview present individual preferences related to face-to-face communication that include self-confidence, the fear of being judged, and anonymity.

Capture – note-taking, audio or video recording may not be appropriate for different individuals being interviewed.

Planning – an agenda for the interview should be scheduled and contingency plans made in case of unforeseen problems.

Interview management – this involves the process of conducting the interview such as the vocalization of the question, the eliciting of the response, the setting of the interview, interview structure and sequence. Ineffective interview management could lead to a potential waste of resources for both the interviewer and interviewee.

Strengths of Structured Interviews • Structured interviews can measure the attitudes of the respondents and can offer the researcher other issues that are of interest.

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• The opportunity to probe and ask follow-up questions is present.

• Compared to a printed form, an interview can give in-depth information.

• The participants can clarify their meanings and methods of thinking with regard to their answers.

• Closed-ended questions in interviews can give exact information.

• Structured interviews provide immediate turnaround.

• Well constructed and tested interview protocols exhibit a moderately high measurement validity and reliability.

• Effectively structured interviews can be used with other probability samples.

• Comparatively high response rates are frequently within reach.

• Beneficial for investigation along with corroboration.

Weaknesses of Structured Interviews • The resources involved, such as expenses and time, for person-to-person interviews are higher.

• The occurrences of reactive effects are higher.

• Investigator effects, where interviewers may alter or distort the data due to personal biases or preconceptions, as well as interviewing skills, may take place.

• The chances of interviewees not recalling important information may happen.

• Perceived secrecy and anonymity by the interviewees may be low.

• For open-ended questions, data analysis can be time consuming.

• Validation of measures needs to be applied.

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Summary The survey method could be used in collecting definitive answers to clear and exact questions that I require answers to.

Survey research demands that similar standards across different research methods be applied; and that emphasis should always be maintained with regard to the main objective of the research. Although it is the most practical method being used, the distribution of questionnaires should not be utilized only as an easy option in fulfilling research needs.

The Application and Use of Research Methods in Learner Autonomy: An Aspect of New Literacies Definition of Learner Autonomy Learner autonomy can not be exactly defined. This is due to the difficulty that arises from two basic theories: (1) that there are degrees of autonomy (Nunan, 1996) and (2) that the characteristics of autonomous learners are various, such as the students’ age, progression of learning and their own perception of what their immediate learning needs are (Little, 1991, p 4).

Therefore, the definition of learner autonomy is varied.

Here are some well-used definitions of learner autonomy: Autonomy is an adapting skill that permits learners to build up supportive structures within themselves rather than having them instituted around them (Trim, 1976, cited in Esch, 1996); the capacity to control one’s own learning (Holec, 1981); a faculty – for withdrawal, fundamental consideration, decision-making and self-regulating action (Little, 1990); the circumstance where a student is wholly accountable for all the elections concerned

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with his/her learning and the progression involved in carrying out those decisions (Dickinson, 1993); the alacrity to take control of an individual’s own learning based on his own necessities and commitments (Dam, 1995); and the recognition of the rights of students inside educational systems (Benson, 2001).

Up to now, Holec’s definition of learner autonomy (1981) is that which is most widely used and cited. But, his explanation only grants what the skills of autonomous learners are, and not how they are able to learn autonomously. Dickinson (1993) has presented learner autonomy as a situation; whereas all other definitions refer to learner autonomy as an ability or skill. Combining these definitions would illustrate that learners placed in conditions where they have the opportunity to make preferences about their own learning process will exhibit various autonomous qualities. On the other hand, this freedom in making choices for learning may not essentially result in learners developing their own autonomy unless they are inclined to show autonomous propensities. This enhances the statement that learner autonomy is more a matter of learners doing things not alone, but for themselves (Little, 2007).

Theoretical Concepts of Learner Autonomy The proposal that learners have the authority and right to learn for themselves is noted as an important element in learner autonomy (Smith, 2008). The basis of learner autonomy, therefore, is that if students are involved in decision-making processes concerning their own language aptitude, they are apt to be more eager about learning (Littlejohn, 1985) resulting in a more focused and purposeful group of students (Little, 1991).

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Chan (2001) has presented evidence that “increasing the level of learner control will increase the level of self-determination, thereby increasing overall motivation in the development of learner authority” (p. 506). It is therefore the responsibility of the teacher to facilitate a classroom environment where autonomy is acknowledged (Barfield, 2001).

Huang (2005, p 205) has presented crucial issues regarding learner autonomy: autonomy should be analyzed from several standpoints, such as technological, psychological, socio-cultural and political (Benson, 1997); learner autonomy is a multidimensional capacity, which could “take different forms for different individuals and even for the same individual in different contexts or at different times” (Benson, 2001, p. 47); autonomy is the student’s and educator’s right (Benson, 2000); autonomy has different degrees (Nunan, 1996); the improvement of autonomy shows collaboration and interdependence instead of learners working alone (Little, 1996); the idea of autonomy can contain different meanings that are suitable to any context (Benson, 2001).

Principles of Learner Autonomy in Greece Greece is a country located in Southern Europe along the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas, located between Turkey and Albania. As of July 2011, the total population is 10,760,136 with 0-14 year-olds at 14.2% and 15-64 year-olds at 66.2% of the population. The literacy rate of the population aged 15 years and over is 96%. As of 2009, there are 4.971 million Internet users in the country. 99% of the population speak Greek and only 1% speaks other languages including English and French (CIA, 2011).

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Issues Preventing Autonomous Learning in Greek Students The difficulties being experienced for EFL students in Greece are mainly due to: • Conceptual Levels – agreement regarding the standardization and translation of vocabulary from Greek to English terms, especially with regards to Greek cultural heritage, is difficult to achieve.

• Individual Levels of Teachers – the lack of teacher training regarding the English language (Sifakis & Sougari, 2005), as well as their job satisfaction and motivation (Karavas, 2010) create difficulty in transferring proper knowledge to students.

Importance of Autonomy in the Curriculum and EFL Settings Learner autonomy in an EFL setting would further metacognitive awareness of the following features: student’s self-awareness, learning process responsiveness, subject matter mindfulness and a deeper social awareness. The self-sufficiency in class would eventually lead to a more sovereign and improved quality of life within the classroom environment (Chuck, 2004).

The Characteristics of an Autonomous Learner Breen and Mann (1997) have listed the anticipated criteria of autonomous language students: Autonomous learners perceive and realize what they need to learn, how they will learn

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this, and recognize the resources available as something they can take control of. They present a genuine relationship with the language they are learning and present an honest desire to learn it. They have an optimistic sense of self that is not destabilized by any actual or implicit detrimental assessments of themselves or their output. They are able to pause and reflect upon their existing learning undertakings and make choices about what learning phases to take next. They are alert and adjustable to change and are imaginative. They have the ability to learn irrespective of the location they are in; they participate and make use of the situation they find themselves in tactically.

They can balance the strategic meeting of their own wants and respond to the necessities and wants of other group members.

The autonomous learner takes on a proactive part in the learning process, producing ideas and availing himself/herself of learning prospects, rather than merely responding to different incitements of the educator. This falls within the theory of constructivism. Learning to the autonomous learner is the result of self-initiated interaction with his/her society, and with the world.

It would be sound to conclude that autonomous learners are good language learners as well, however, it is helpful to know that the premise behind capacity in autonomous learners is that they are not autonomous at all times. Motivational and affective factors, such as mood, psychological and environmental factors affect a learner’s aptitude.

Promoting Learner Autonomy in Classrooms Promoting learner activities, especially in the EFL setting, is gaining importance. Brajcich (2000) has presented different useful methods in promoting learner autonomy.

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1. Encourage students to be inter-reliant and to work cooperatively; the less students rely on their educator, the more autonomy is established.

2. Request students to maintain a journal of their learning experiences. Through practice, they may become extra mindful of their learning inclinations and start to decide on new techniques of becoming more autonomous learners.

3. Clarify teacher/student roles from the start. Probing students to give their views on the issue of roles could be advantageous.

4. Advance slowly from interdependence to independence. Offer the students time to change to new learning tactics and do not anticipate too much too soon.

5. Provide the students with tasks to do outside the classroom.

Such tasks may intensify the motivation to learn.

6. Give students non-classroom responsibilities to accomplish (writing instructions, notices, etc. on the board for the teacher).

7. Let the students plan lessons or materials to be used in class.

8. Teach students how to utilize the school’s resource centres: school library, language lab, and others.

9. Highlight the significance of peer-editing, improvements, and follow-up questioning in the classroom.

10. Embolden the students to use only English in class. Tell the students that this is an opportunity for them to use only English, and few opportunities like this exist for them. Part of the role of the language educator is to generate an atmosphere where students sense they should communicate in the objective language and feel at ease in doing so.

11. Stress fluency instead of exactitude.

12. Do tolerate students using reference books, such as dictionaries in class.

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Conclusion There are different ways a teacher can motivate and facilitate autonomous learning through learner training in class. It must be kept in mind, though, that improving autonomous learning abilities is not about making students work independently.

Instead the goal is to assist students in developing skills that convert them into becoming good learners, so that they take responsibility for learning and are able to apply these skills in any new learning situation (Mynard & Sorflaten, 2003). Learner autonomy does not appear unexpectedly from the learner but is developed from the learner’s communication with the society to which he belongs (Cotterall, 1999). Teachers and educators therefore have to be patient and allow the development of autonomous learning in their students. They should enable the time-dependent process for learners to know how to be responsible for their own education through methods and techniques.

In line with research, education is finely intertwined with the social and cultural norms of the environment; therefore, innovations to existing education theories should always include methods that are not solely scientific in nature but also exhibit social characteristics. In this case, I feel that a qualitative form of research weighs greater than a quantitative form; albeit quantitative methods can be used to support my qualitative goals. For any research endeavor that I would intend to pursue in my field, I feel that the case study method, supported by the survey method in research, would address the issues raised regarding new literacies, such as autonomous learning concerns with regard to EFL in Greece. There should always be an interaction between me and my students, researcher and

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subjects, to further improve and evaluate methods of teaching that can be applied to the current and even future situations.

Case studies, regarding the students’ preferences in learning EFL, through the application of projects such as diaries or journals, social networks in the Web, Web-based projects and film-making are but a few methods that can be applied to observe and elucidate student reactions. The survey method provides the chance for me to get straight answers to exact questions that arise in the process.

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PART 4 Approaches to Education Policy An examination of the policy area of exclusion in UK schools

Policy Analysis of Educational Exclusion: Policy Drivers and Levers in UK schools Introduction The 2010 White Paper entitled ‘The Importance of Teaching’ (Department for Education, 2010) focused on a number of key issues within the education system. One such issue which was seen as an area where improvement was needed was ‘Behaviour’. There is significant debate surrounding the issue of misbehaviour within schools, of poorly disciplined and unruly students and the further problems that can result from that. The executive summary encapsulates the issues that were found, and begins to set the issues in a wider context: The greatest concern voiced by new teachers and a very common reason experienced teachers cite for leaving the profession is poor pupil behaviour. We know that a minority of pupils can cause serious disruption in the classroom. The number of serious physical assaults on teachers has risen. And poorly disciplined children cause misery for other pupils by bullying them and disrupting learning. It is vital that we restore the authority of teachers and head teachers. And it is crucial that we protect them from false allegations of excessive use of force or inappropriate contact. Unless we act more good people will leave the profession – without good discipline teachers cannot teach and pupils cannot learn. (Department for Education, 2010, pp. 9)

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A variety of policy actions have been suggested and put in place in order to attempt to assist with these issues, and to manage poor behaviour in schools. An important element of these measures is exclusion. Exclusion as a consequence and as a means of behaviour management has been an issue which has, over the years, been a source of much debate, scrutiny and careful consideration. The reasons why pupils might be excluded, the effects of the exclusion, and how best to manage excluded pupils are all key issues both historically and currently. A consideration of these issues can draw together an analysis of the White Paper suggestions, the policy that has come from it and, indeed, how policies of individual teachers and schools have affected exclusion rates as a result.

This study aims to examine the issue of misbehaviour in schools, and the resulting exclusion of students. It begins by addressing potential reasons for misbehaviour and exclusion, and draws particularly on the fact that there are disproportionate rates of exclusion for certain minority groups. It is identified that by understanding the reasons for the exclusion of certain factions and individuals from the school community, we may better understand how to engage in interventions that prevent such drastic action being taken.

From there, the study goes on to examine the effects of exclusion on the groups excluded, identifying in particular the potential for future societal exclusion. It then examines the literature in order to identify the solutions that have been forwarded to reduce exclusion rates, and engages in the critical assessment of these proposals.

The study can therefore be identified as having the following aims:

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• To identify the reasons for exclusion from schools, with particular focus on the over-representation of ethnic minorities, boys, low attainment students and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

• To examine the role that theories of race play in explaining whether exclusion is attributable to inherent institutional racism as a result of the structure of society and education within it.

• To critically assess the concept of pedagogical research and methods of understanding in an attempt to understand why there is still such a diversity of opinion in relation to the ‘causes’ of the problem.

• To examine the implications of school exclusion on social exclusion and experiences in later life.

• To identify how educational policy might be developed in light of greater understanding of the issue.

Why pupils might be excluded The question of why students might be excluded may seem straightforward – ‘because their behaviour warrants it’. However, unsurprisingly, the issue is not this straightforward. In particular, the fact that there is a significant over-representation of certain populations in exclusion groups indicate that the question is not so straightforward. Thus, it might be broken down into two more specific lines of enquiry. The first of these are: ‘why are certain factions of society more likely to behave in a way that warrants exclusion?’. This question assumes the ‘justness’ of exclusions and the presence of negative behaviours in all cases of exclusion, which may not necessarily be the case.

The second question that therefore needs to be asked is ‘In

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what ways does the system assume or imply negative behaviours in these groups, and why?’. Thus the question of ‘why pupils are excluded’ is really more ‘why they behave in a way that results in exclusion, and whether they are really acting in that way at all’.

The paragraph above made assertions regarding the overrepresentation of certain factions of society in those excluded from school. This is a statement worthy of more consideration and evidential backing. In the Department for Education’s 2009/10 report on annual school exclusion statistics it was found that ‘The permanent exclusion rate for boys was approximately four times higher than that for girls. The fixed period exclusion rate for boys was almost three times higher than that for girls.’ (Department for Education, 2011). In relation to race, evidence presented by Osler (2002), the DfES (2003, 2004, 2006), Wright et al (2005) and Weekes-Bernard (2010) indicate that there is a significant over-representation of Afro-Carribean heritage children in exclusion rates. That boys and certain minority groups (particularly African Caribbean children and those in social care are identified as significant) are statistically more likely to be excluded from school is potentially significant. Correlation between sex and race and exclusion rates are established. Other factors for which there are identified correlations are that of special educational needs and lower exclusion (DfES, 2011,) and socio-economic status and exclusion (Corwyn and Bradley, 2002, Propper and Rigg, 2007). These areas therefore constitute the headings around which the following section is structured.

Before engaging in an assessment of the literature in each of these sections, it is worth briefly discussing the issue of research methodologies in general, and the approach that this

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study takes towards them. It is identified that there is often an instinctual tendency towards the imposition of a causal link wherever correlation is identified. This section strongly attempts to avoid such mistakes, and also engages critically with literature in instances where assertions of causation are made. However, it is also recognised that it is counter-productive to be overly sceptical of the methodologies adopted. Quantitative data utilised in non-positivist studies is criticised for implying causation when it merely proves correlation. Conversely, qualitative research is criticised for its inevitable methodological weaknesses regarding a lack of universalizability and the inherent researcher bias present. It is right to be cautious of conclusions reached, but their value must not be dismissed out of hand simply because the research paradigm adopted is not perfect.

Race The body of literature pertaining to the issue of race and various social inequalities is vast indeed, and limitations of space preclude exhaustive investigation, though an overview of pedagogical race-related theories can be examined. In particular, the question of whether ‘difference’ objectively exists or is merely constructed is significant.

One framework of assessment that has gained attention in the last decade and a half is that of Critical Race Theory. Ladson-Billings (1995) initially proposed that the issue of exclusion within education and the role of race within it should be viewed according to the ‘CRT’ that had become an integral element of criminal justice and penology analysis. Ladson-Billings’ approach to the issue of race is founded upon three key principles:

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1. Race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States.

2. U.S. (for this, we can substitute Western) society is based on property rights.

3. The intersection of race and property creates an analytic tool through which we can understand social (and, consequently, school) inequity.

The first point is supported by the authors through an assessment of empirical data, which need not be examined here since it both pertains to the US educational system and is 17 years out of date. It can however be substituted with the data identified at the opening of this chapter, which indicates a severe over-representation of ethnic minorities – and in particular, children of Afro-Caribbean heritage – in the exclusion rates of UK schools.

The second proposition is that ‘traditional civil rights approaches to solving inequality have depended on the “rightness” of democracy while ignoring the structural inequality of capitalism’. In societies in which the native population was originally white, the legal, social and political system evolved to protect the property of white people, and therefore inherently promote the values and traditions of a white population. This concept can be carried forward into education, where education is conceived of as a form of intellectual property – a finite and limited resource that must be hoarded to the exclusion of others. Of course, the argument is not that this constitutes the explicit intention of those who dictate educational policy, or those who deliver education ‘on-the-ground’. Instead, the argument is centrally that continued inequality in this area constitutes a ‘hangover’ from the days in which resources were scarce and were to be hoarded to the exclusion of other groups. There is

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thus an inherently ‘white’ bias in the setup and content of educational delivery.

The implications of this theory are that exclusion within UK schools may be attributable to the fact that the school system is inherently aligned with the prioritization of ‘whites’ over minorities, through the promotion of values that those of alternate backgrounds do not align with. However, what is not rendered completely clear is the question of whether the exclusion of minorities is attributable to a) a system built around trying to exclude them, or b) the reaction of non-whites to a system that was not built to accommodate them. In other words, are exclusions of minorities based upon the injust actions of white aggressors who are societally programmed to assume fault and bad behaviour on the part of the minority student?

There are significant criticisms to be leveled at this theory.

The central criticism is that it presupposes a notion of ‘difference’ – an inherent ‘way of being’ for black people that differs from that of white people. Thus, whilst the statement that society is aligned along capitalist, property-driven lines, the assertion that society seeks to exclude African Americans from property acquisition through the promotion of ‘white’ ideals is questioned. CRT can be seen as a direct contrast to a liberal ‘colour blindness’ attitude – supporting the recognition of difference whilst rejecting a value hierarchy as a result of that difference.

Ladson-Billings’ evidence base for this presupposition of difference is the presence of ‘alternative voices’ and counter-stories.

The value afforded to narrative over empirical data is questionable. Furthermore, it never really seeks to identify the source of this ‘differentness’. Is it a cultural concept that evolved apart from of the influence of whites? Is it inherent in the DNA of a race – are people of a certain race drawn to a certain way of be-

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ing by virtue of their very nature? Or is it an identity imposed by whites as a source of differentiation and then embraced by nonwhites as their own? It seems unlikely that proponents of a CRT framework for race accept race as a purely social construct, for this constitutes the basis of a colour blind attitude that CRT proponents reject. This issue is never really explored – instead, the existence of it is ‘proven’ by the presence of non-whites that assert its existence and this in itself is considered sufficient upon which to base a theory of property appropriation. Thus, it might be said that the theory fails to truly get to the roots of the race issue – they classify today’s race issues as residual from days of property acquisition, but they never explore why there was an initial instinct to unify under the banner of colour and race, rather than along other lines that might have better achieved acquisition of scarce resources.

It is further arguable that the underlying mentality of the theory prevents further dialogue. It forwards the promotion of an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality in which whites are precluded from understanding the experience due to a lack of ‘being’. It rejects any research carried out by whites as lacking the experiential element required to understand the inherent differences between the two groups by assuming a position stating that the exclusion of minorities from mainstream society by the whites is a inherent and unavoidable ‘reaction’ to differentness rather than a socially constructed source of differentness. From a personal perspective, this attitude can be understood to a certain degree. I find it impossible to fully comprehend and internalise the feelings that might be felt by groups from specific minorities, despite my experience of minority treatment as a foreign citizen in the UK. Research attempts to allow the researcher to understand as fully as possible the experiences of others – to ‘put

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themselves in their shoes’ – when this is, of course, impossible.

However, to reject attempts to do this can lead to the assertion that those who have experience of a concept are automatically expert in the area, whilst those outside are not. Ladson-Billings’ (1995, 2006) research imbues those of non-white background with the status of expert merely by virtue of ‘being’, but this is misguided.

Nonetheless, despite a questionable methodology for determining the existence of an inherent difference and the reaction of Whites as a mode of controlling resources, the theory holds some persuasive elements. However, even if taken as a solid basis for understanding the possible existence of inherent racism in schools due to underlying difference, the path forward is not clear. As will be seen in the assessment below, males are also underperforming and over-represented in exclusion rates, and there is a significant body of evidence suggesting this is attributable to inherent differences in learning styles. But what does this mean? At what level, or at how many levels, can we divide the system and tailor it to offer the delivery of education in a way that suits girls or boys, or individual racial factions? As part of a multi-cultural society, there has to lie a compromise in the middle. It may well be argued that this compromise falls towards the ‘white’ end of the spectrum, and that this could be changed. However, the segregation of groups completely according to their needs is seen as counter-productive to the promotion of an effectively integrated society.

For these reasons, CRT as it is proposed in the literature is rejected to a certain degree as the explanation, and to a full degree as the answer. However, the CRT can be re-framed to explain the over-representation of ethnic minorities in the exclusion population, by referring to the correlation between lower

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socio-economic circumstances and ethnic minority groups.

This point will be expanded upon in greater detail below, with reference to the idea that a white-orientated society has resulted in the acquisition of property (actual property, not the intellectual property considered by Ladson-Billings) by whites, leading to the reduction of socio-economic status for non-whites, which in turn leads to the reduction of performance in schools.

Thus, what will be asserted is that whilst there is a correlation between all three elements - race, socio-economic status and school performance - there is only causation between race and socio-economic status, and socio-economic status and school performance, but not a direct causal link between race and school performance. This point is largely supported by Kingdon et al (2010). Whilst the authors do not imbue the concept of race and behaviour with considerations of property acquisition and the subjugation of non-whites into lower socio-economic groups, they do explore the basic concept that the issue of race is not central to the issue of behaviour, but merely has correlational association with lower-economic status, and it is that which is the central cause of misbehaviour and resulting exclusion. In order to make this assertion, it is necessary to examine the idea that socio-economic status has a causal link with school performance and explain why this might be the case.

Socio-economic status.

The socio-economic circumstances of students are considered to be an important factor in their being disaffected with schooling and exhibiting behaviour that may ultimately lead to exclusion (Osler, 1997, 2002). Issues such as living below the poverty line, high levels of family unemployment and single par-

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ent families are all seen as significant. The lack of productive role models and the inability of single parents (usually mothers) to discipline their children further contributes to an overall lack of stability and establishment of boundaries which facilitate accepted behaviour within a school environment. Osler’s ‘Exclusion from school and racial equality’ (1997), the Social Exclusion Unit’s report (1998), and more recently the Eastman report (2011), speak of the importance of a supportive home environment and strong, co-operative relationship between the parents and school, citing these as areas where improvements could be made to reduce the exclusion rate. Such a set-up is difficult to achieve in broken, struggling homes. Such issues would largely affect boys and girls similarly, though it is worth noting that single mothers may find disciplining sons more difficult than daughters due to their physical challenge (Sewell, 1997, pp.55).

The Osler study utilises a comprehensive research strategy that examines both correlation (through empirical quantitative data), and attempts to identify causation through qualitative research taken from students and teachers. However, its sampling research can be criticised in the sense that it uses case study schools in which exclusion rates are already low, and generates assumptions that these exclusion rates are low because of actions taken by the schools, rather than inherent socio-economic factors pertaining to the geography of the schools. Its statements regarding the reason for low socio-economic status resulting in exclusion must therefore be viewed with some caution.

More recent research – such as that undertaken by Propper and Rigg (2007) – utilises more rigorous methodologies to grade levels of socio-economic status and investigate the

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causal relationship between lower socio-economic status and poor behaviour (leading to exclusion). Their methodology is entirely quantitative. They seek to examine the impact of particular elements of lifestyle associated with socio-economic status, including the mental health of the mother and her relationship with her partner, and the early diet of the child; all of which are areas that show a variation across the spectrum of socio-economic status, with lower socio-economic status demonstrating correlation with higher mental health issues, more broken relationships and poorer diet. For all of these areas, they identify little explanation of differing school outcomes. Instead, the main areas of correlation that they find are a link between material quality of the home environment and performance, and maternal smoking during pregnancy and performance. Both of these factors also were correlated to socio-economic status, with those from lower backgrounds generally having a poorer material environment and higher rates of maternal smoking.

The Propper and Rigg study is beneficial because it seeks to more specifically examine the precise issues within the field of low socio-economic status, and their impact upon exclusion rates. Their implications, however, are that wider social change – raising economic status, reducing maternal smoking and improving quality of homes – is the only thing that can be done to address the needs of this group. Whilst it is readily acknowledged that there is a strong likelihood that wider social change will have positive knock-on implications for exclusion rates, it practically requires a society-wide overhaul in social and economic policy, which is an unrealistic prospect at present. Whilst research should not be so narrow as to limit exploration to a range that consists exclusively of what we can change, it is beneficial to at least keep this in mind. Therefore, whilst Prop-

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per and Rigg’s assertions may be significant causes of exclusion, investigation into other reasons for exclusion – reasons that could be altered through educational policy and practice change rather than some wider concept of socio-economic realignment – should constitute a focus of pedagogical research.

It is for this reason – the need to focus on elements that can be changed by schools and school policy – that the CRT theories proposed above relating to property acquisition – whilst interesting, give little practical insight on a suitable path forward.

The idea was asserted above in the consideration of race that non-whites fall into lower socio-economic groups because of white acquisition of property. It was then asserted in the following section on ‘socio-economic status’ that presence in lower socio-economic groups correlates with behaviours such as maternal smoking and poorer material environments, and that this correlates with poor behaviour and resulting exclusion. Even if all of this is true, it does not help in the development of an educational policy to counter these elements, short of reconstructing system from the ground up to redistribute wealth equally amongst all races and classes.

Such an assertion is not meant to indicate that any action is futile, as a result of the problems being societally ingrained and unalterable by individual educational policies. Instead, it merely forwards the idea that we must reframe and reduce these wider social inequalities into component parts that have the potential to be addressed by educational policy.

Intelligence and opportunity Another source of frustration for students is a feeling of personal inadequacy. When students do poorly, they fail to see the

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purpose of working hard and well, leaving room for the poor behaviour that can ultimately lead to exclusion. Gillborn and Youdell (2000) cite streaming by ability in schools as a key problem here, with students being pigeon-holed into groups of ‘failure’ and ‘success’ before they even start. Those in the lower streams feel that they are written off and so do not try; the subsequent feeling of worthlessness is of huge detriment to the child. As a child in Gilborn and Youdell’s ethnographic sample put it, ‘They only do revision for the higher people… we don’t even get a chance’ (Gillborn & Youdell, 2000, pp.176).

One can certainly relate the 2009/10 findings that ‘Pupils with SEN (Special Educational Needs) are around eight times more likely to be permanently excluded than those pupils with no SEN to this issue’ (Department for Education, 2011). Indeed, Gillborn and Youdell (2000) suggest that it is teacher reaction to poor attainment that causes feelings of personal inadequacy and resentment which build up and eventually erupt in an angry incident worthy of exclusion. Students in this study felt that teachers only wanted to help those in the class identified as being clever, and that any effort made by others was not valued in the same way. There was a feeling that they were beyond help. Beck and Earl argue that this set-up within education is a result of achievement targets set by the government to get children to achieve a minimum of 5 A* - C grades at GCSE. Helping those who do not seem capable of doing so is not a good use of the teachers’ time – teachers who are already under immense pressure due to large class sizes. Another effect of such imposed pressures means that overworked, tired and stressed teachers (Sewell, 1997) often seek the relatively easy option of avoiding classroom conflict; sorting out problems of discipline ‘can be a difficult, time-consuming and delicate mat-

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ter’. As Cullingford summarises, ‘disliking [teachers] is the final outcome of disaffection’ (Cullingford, 1999, pp. 95).

The effects of exclusion A German proverb provides perhaps one of the most telling insights and, indeed, warnings that can now be applied by way of answering the question of the effect of students being excluded from school: ‘Those who get lost at school will never find their way through life’.

The issue of school exclusion has long been seen as key by government, researchers, teachers and parents for this reason.

Those pupils who are excluded from school struggle later in life in a way which is often of great detriment not only to the student themselves but to society as a whole, with excluded children having a ‘significantly higher likelihood of becoming a teenage parent, being unemployed or homeless later in life, or ending up in prison’ (Social Exclusion Unit report, 1988). That this was 23 years ago makes it a significant starting point from which to consider a long background and history to the issue of the effects of exclusion; to see whether over that time trends have altered, and perhaps, therefore, to see if there is any particular change that we might be able to attribute that alteration to.

One of the (many) impacts that a child being excluded from school can have is for the parents and the family of that child.

This is not insignificant: indeed, issues at home can often be cited (as has been seen) as a reason for the child having prob-

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lems at school. Putting still more pressure on these perhaps already difficult circumstances – or creating a situation where a child has to be exposed to them more frequently – is indeed a situation that can create a great deal of problems.

Another relatively obvious impact of exclusion from school is the future educational attainment of the child concerned and, indeed, their future employment prospects. Cusworth (2009) cites a number of extremely illuminating statistics. She writes that ‘looking first at the impact on education attainment and progression, it is clear that permanent exclusion from school is often associated with long periods without education, educational under-attainment and reduced employment opportunities. She cites a DFES report (2005) that ‘shows that only 20 per cent of pupils who had been excluded in Years 10 or 11 achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at grade C or above compared with 58 per cent of those who had not been excluded’ (DFES, 2005, cited in Cusworth, 2009, pp.118). Indeed, she notably goes on to point out that this already shocking statistic does not take into account those children who had been excluded before they entered year 10. She also suggests that ‘young people excluded from school are also more likely not to be in education, employment or training in young adulthood, and if in employment there is a tendency for it to be low paid and insecure’ (Cusworth, 2009, pp.118). Issues that started with exclusion from school, then, were exacerbated throughout adulthood.

One of the main issues of the impact of being excluded from school is arguably criminality. Indeed, Cullingford (1999) in the very title of his text on exclusion notes that this is a part of the ‘development of young criminals’. This is one of the main issues due to the fact that this does not just have an impact on the individual (as it might if that individual was, for example, un-

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employed, or in a job which did not have a high wage, or good prospects): it impacts the victim, the police force, the justice system. It can, of course, cost life. There have been a number of reports into this issue. In 2001, a group of researchers of the ‘Research Development and Statistics Directorate’ published a report entitled ‘The independent effects of permanent exclusion from school on the offending careers of young people’ (Berridge et al., 2001). The report concluded that there was a connection between exclusion and offending. Berridge et al. (2001) found that ‘of the 343 young people in the overall sample, 224 (65 per cent) were found to have been cautioned or convicted of a criminal offence at some time in their lives’. This may not necessarily have been to do exclusively with their exclusion from school.

As Berridge et al. (2001) further qualify, that was not the only distinguishing factor: ‘more males committed offenses (nearly three-quarters had done so) than females (just under one-half had been convicted or cautioned)…those from ethnic minority backgrounds were slightly less likely to commit offences… there was evidence of some variation between different ethnic groups. A higher proportion of African-Carribbeans and Bangladeshis had committed crimes than Africans, those of mixed parentage and from other ethnic backgrounds’ (Berridge et al., 2001, pp. 45). While these further statistics should of course not be disregarded, Berridge et al.’s (2001) consideration of what happens to individual students after they were excluded – and indeed through asking them directly – might help us to see how the immediate impact of exclusion on pupils can lead ultimately to a criminal record. This could be legitimately considered a (potential) effect of exclusion from school. Some of the quotations from the students that were involved in Berridge et al.’s (2001) report are particularly significant: they directly

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relate to the experiences of students who have been excluded and can therefore be seen as an insight that explores the very direct impact of exclusion and allows an analysis of what might happen as a result of this: ‘I did a lot of housework. Used to help my mum all the time. There was nothing else to do. I watched a lot of daytime television as well.’ (Kamir) ‘It was just boring. I was just bored, bored, bored.

Kind of depressed. Missing out on better things.’

(Hilary) (Berridge et al., 2001, pp.40) When students are at school, they are occupied for a large amount of time, students fell into a pattern of boredom, ‘hung out’ with dubious crowds, in dubious areas and in this way become embroiled in a life of crime. Berridge et al. (2001) found a number of types of crime and reasons behind it that can all be attributed to exclusion. A case study of a specific teenager, Ryan, is one of those cited; ‘his offending began when he was truanting but became more serious following permanent exclusion. Ryan’s mother attributes this to the fact that during this period Ryan spent most of his time out of the house and on the streets instead of in school.’ (Berridge et al., 2001, pp.50).

The issue of crime as both a cause and an effect of exclusion is highly significant. It is a cycle which is very hard for an individual to break out of, as once they have a criminal record, it becomes still more difficult for them to get a job that will allow them to break free, both in terms of their time, psychology, and finances. The impact of exclusion on crime and of an individual’s propensity to commit crime continues; we have considered

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detailed case studies from 1988 (Social Exclusion Report) and 2001 (Berridge et al.) and still the issue continues. The Youth Justice Board, which carries out an annual Youth Crime Survey, has repeatedly linked exclusion to crime in a causal way (cited in Cusworth, 2009, pp.118).

In order to pull all of the suggested impacts of exclusion into one current setting that brings all of the discussion into the same context as the White Paper (Department for Education, 2010), it is important to consider a 2010 report carried out by The Prince’s Trust entitled ‘The Cost of Exclusion’. This not only illuminates some of the current effects of young people’s exclusion from school, but it also serves to illustrate what the wider cost is and why excluding children from school is not something that should be approached lightly. Consequences should be considered in detail, and extremely carefully. There is a massive personal cost, as we have seen and as the Prince’s Trust report emotively states – ‘at The Prince’s Trust we also see the devastating effect on individuals and communities. Every day at The Trust we meet another young person who has grown up without a positive adult role model or has left school without any hope they will find a job’ (The Prince’s Trust, 2010). This is also a massive wider cost, literally. In the current context of a recession, this should not be overlooked. The following figures are extremely sobering: • There is a cost to the taxpayer of £22 million a week in terms of Jobseeker’s Allowance. On top of this, there is the cost to the economy of lost productivity. A conservative estimate for this is approximately the same amount per week again.

An upper bound figure for lost productivity is £133 million,

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making the upper estimate for youth unemployment £155 million a week.

• The cost of youth crime is a further £23 million a week. This is £1.2 billion a year (The sum takes into account the cost of imprisoning children and young people, which is estimated at £587 million for 2008).

• The cost for educational underachievement is estimated at £22 billion for a generation (The Prince’s Trust, 2010).

How best to manage excluded pupils We have considered the potential causes of exclusion, as well as the potential impact. These are extremely important issues and should provide the background for any consideration of how best to manage excluded pupils. In the White Paper that was originally cited, and was the catalyst to examine all of these issues surrounding exclusion from school, there were a number of proposed recommendations that have ultimately been incorporated into legislative policy.

Of course, the specific policies that deal with excluded children ‘on the ground’ are subject to a great deal of variation, dependent on the situation, the teachers, the parents, the school, the Local Education Authority and the resources that are available to assist those children who have been excluded.

I have reviewed research and statistics providing a stark warning that once a child is excluded, their prospects are lessened in the most serious of ways, with a strong link having been drawn between exclusion and involvement in crime. Therefore, it seems urgent that national policy deal with excluded pupils in the manner set forth in various pieces of legislation (the Educa-

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tion Act 1996; Children, Schools and Families Act 2010), which state that excluded children need to be given provision and access to some form of full-time suitable education. Indeed, an article published by the Department for Education placed even more importance on this as an issue, stating that ‘At the time of the White Paper, the provisions in section 3 had not been commenced. The Department has now made a Commencement Order (SI 2011, No 1100) which will bring this duty into force with effect from 1 September 2011. From this date, local authorities must ensure that all children who fall within the scope of section 19 of the 1996 Act receive suitable full-time education’ (Department for Education, 2011). Indeed, there is strong anecdotal evidence that being in some form of education – ‘alternative educational provision’ – is extremely beneficial. This was considered at length by Berridge et al., 2001, after they had considered, and as we have seen, the impact of exclusion for children who are not given some form of education after their exclusion from mainstream school. Berridge et al. (2001, pp.43) considered the ‘exclusion programme’ which was in existence at that time, within their geographical area of concern. Indeed, it is the quotations from the users of this facility that are most telling: It’s better, when it’s one-to-one you can learn more.’ (Ali) Similarly, John commented: ‘You felt you were someone, you felt important. Sheila (project worker) was the only one who ever cared.’ (Berridge et al., 2001, pp.43) Indeed, it is not difficult to justify the following elements of the White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’, and to insist on the implementation of previous legislation (as seen) regarding full time alternatives to mainstream schooling. The White Paper (Department of Education, 2010) states:

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‘Ensure that all children being educated in alternative provision get a full-time education.

Improve the quality of alternative provision by giving existing providers more autonomy and encouraging new providers – including new alternative provision Free Schools.

Pilot a new approach to permanent exclusions where schools have the power, money and responsibility to secure alternative provision for excluded pupils’ (Department for Education, 2010, pp.25) However, whilst the provision of independent education has been identified by authors such as Berridge (2001) as beneficial in affecting more effective outcomes for these students, it is resource inefficient. Whilst it solves the problem (to a limited extent) of excluded students becoming socially excluded later as a result of a lack of education), it can more effectively be classed as a reactionary solution to the problem of misbehaving students, and does not address the underlying issues that result in their initial exclusion from school.

We have seen that disaffection or disengagement with schools is a massive trigger for the kind of behaviour that can result in exclusion. This is particularly exacerbated in particular cases where exclusion rates are disproportionate, such as with certain ethnic minority groups, and with boys. It might perhaps be suggested that getting to the root of some of these issues could prevent at least some cases getting to the point of exclusion. The White Paper on ‘The Importance of Teaching’ promised to allow teachers to get tough on behaviour and, it would

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seem, to make removing problem students easier. It stated the intention of the Government to: ‘Increase the authority of teachers to discipline pupils by strengthening their power to search pupils, issue detentions and use force where necessary.

Change the current system of independent appeal panels for exclusions so that they take less time and ensure that pupils who have committed a serious offence cannot be re-instated’ (Department for Education, 2010, pp.25).

Conclusion We have seen throughout the discussion of exclusion questions about what causes misbehaviour or creates circumstances that lead to exclusion. If, for instance, the theory of inherent difference forwarded by Ladson Billings is accepted, and nonwhite children were engaged within school and asked to learn in ways that were appropriate to them, perhaps they would be more interested, would see the value of education, and would want to learn. Perhaps if those children in the ‘at risk’ groups had role models that they could relate to, they would have a different model on which to base their behaviour. Perhaps if teachers had a better understanding of the cultures and issues facing the students who they were teaching, they would be better placed to effectively deal with their behaviour, to understand why they behaved as they did and to understand and encourage them. As we have seen, it is important to consider how to deal with students who have been excluded from school, but it is also crucial that the focus isn’t on making it easy to exclude problem students, but in making an effort not to let a child get to

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that point. As the study identified, an understanding of the underlying issues causing misbehaviour and/or perception of misbehaviour is vital in formulating effective policy help to re-align school systems to better accommodate these groups. However, as has also been seen – methodological difficulties mean that ascertaining the reasons for misbehaviour and/or perception of misbehaviour resulting in exclusion is incredibly complex and subject to much debate. Moreover, in many cases, the answers are ‘too large’ to be addressed by policy change in education alone. As a result, no definite conclusions can be reached in the course of this study. Instead, the study calls for greater research in the area, with careful methodological construction, that focuses upon identifying elements that have the potential to be changed, rather than on established elements that are ‘too wide’ in implication for use in an educational setting.

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Children, Schools and Families Act 2010 (UK). Retrieved January 19, 2012, from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/26/ contents Corwyn, R. F., & Bradley, R. H. (2002). Stability of maternal socioemotional investment in young children. Parenting: Science and Practice, 2: 27-46.

Cullingford, C. (1999). The causes of exclusion: home, school and the development of young criminals. Routledge.

Cusworth, L. (2009). The impact of parental employment: young people, well-being and educational achievement. Ashgate Publishing.

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Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2011). Special Educational Needs Information Act: An Analysis: 2011.

The Education Act 1996 (UK). Retrieved January 19, 2012, from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/contents The Education Act 2002 (UK). Retrieved January 19, 2012, from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/32/contents Education and Inspections Act 2006 (UK). Retrieved January 19, 2012, from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/40/contents Eastman, A. (2011). No Excuses: a review of educational Exclusion.

London: Centre for Social Justice.

Gillborn, D., & Youdell, D. (2000). Rationing education: policy, practice, reform, and equity. Open University Press.

Kingdon, G., & Cassen, R. (2010). Ethnicity and low achievement in British Schools. British Educational Research Journal, 36(3): 403-433.

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Ladson-Billings, G.J. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97: 47-68.

Ladson-Billings, G.J., & Tate, W. (2006). Education research in the public interest: Social justice, action, and policy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Osler, A. (1997). Exclusion from School and Racial Equality: research report. UK Commission for Racial Equality.

Osler, A., Street, C., Lall, M., & Vincent, C. (2002). Not a Problem? Girls and School Exclusion. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Propper, C., & Rigg, J. (2007). Socio-Economic Status and Child Behaviour: Evidence from a contemporary UK cohort. Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) paper 125, LSE. Sewell, T. (1997). Black masculinities and schooling: How black boys survive modern schooling. Trentham Books.

Social Exclusion Unit (1998). Bringing Britain Together: A National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. HMSO. The Prince’s Trust (2010). The Cost of Exclusion: Counting the cost of youth disadvantage in the UK. Retrieved January 19, 2012, from: http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/about_the_ trust/in_your_region/scotland/news/2010/cost_of_exclusion_2010/report_form.aspx Weekes-Bernard, D. (2010). Did they Get it Right?: A re-examination of school exclusions and race equality. London: Runnymede Trust.

Wright, C., Standen, P., John, G., German, G., & Patel, T. (2005).

School exclusion and transition into adulthood in AfricanCaribbean communities. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

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PART 5 Literacy and Language in Contemporary Society Digital Literacy through Computer Games and its Impact on Literacy in Learning

Introduction Modern technology, involving computers and other related facilities, has added a new dimension to the meaning of literacy.

This paper discusses how in the process of its emergence and evolution, modern technology, particularly in the form of computer video games, has added a new dimension on the meaning of literacy. The reason for choosing this topic is both theoretical and practical.

On the theoretical side, this paper draws from the positive insights of the so-called New Literacy Studies (NLS). The NLS provides a new and powerful concept of literacy, “focusing not so much on acquisition of skills, as in dominant approaches, but rather on what it means to think of literacy as a social practice” (Street, 2003, p. 77). The NLS stresses the importance of going beyond the set of skills that could be learned inside the classroom (Pahl & Rowsell, 2012, p. 4). It extends the concept of literacy from simply formal classroom education to a more elaborate socially ‘situated’ and ‘contextualized’ learning process (Street, 1997, p. 79).

Also as a practical consideration, it is essential to elaborate on the situational and hence positive effect of modern technology, particularly in the case of computer video games, on education, as proven in various studies (Krutka, 2006; Rich, 2008; Dondlinger, 2007; Gee & Levine, 2009). As a teacher in a junior secondary school in Western Greece, I have personally witnessed how computer video games have contributed positively in the literacy of children, and particularly, how they have enhanced their analytical skills as a result of playing these computer games.

Likewise, it is worth-noting how some of my students who

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actively use social spaces and play more collaborative games are the ones who have the more analytical as well as innovative thinking inside the classroom. How can one explain this?

I believe that this is because computer video games can also be an effective means for learning. Learning, as claimed by many, should not only be confined to specific points in curricula as taught in schools, but also should be extended toward the more relevant process of applying the reading and writing skills learned inside the classroom in other situations, i.e., in computer video games (Gee, 2004). This then makes literacy’s concept highly situated or contextualized, meaning that literacy is not limited to classroom materials, but rather also occurs in other places, like at home, so that it can be acquired and expressed in multiple worlds, modalities and contexts, as in the case when one plays computer video games (Williams, 2008).

The possibility of enhancing learning and hence literacy therefore draws itself from situated learning theory, which stresses the idea that learning is made possible not only through the materials or texts used, but more importantly by the event, situation or context in which those materials or texts are interpreted and learned by the students (Barton & Hamilton, 1998; Handley et al, 2007). In turn, situated learning is one wherein literacy takes a social dimension, meaning that literacy transpires in a context where the learners relate not only with themselves, but also in their relation to others. Situated literacy is one which is being referred to as a ‘new kind of literacy’ which is the very subject of NLS (Street, 1997).

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I. Review of Related Literature: Learning Made Possible through the Internet We are living in an age where the use of modern technology has indeed transformed the way different kinds of human social activities are conducted. In the field of education, modern technologies have allowed faster and more innovative ways of delivering teaching materials through the use of various computer tools such as animations, simulations, pictures, and charts.

This process not only facilitates learning but also makes possible ‘collaborative’ and ‘interactive’ learning, both via networking and intra-classroom channels (Davies & Merchant, 2009, p. 7).

Davies & Merchant (2009) explained that the use of computers in this case has also created the so-called ‘virtual classroom’, which makes possible classroom teaching online. Davies & Merchant (2009) also discussed ‘Web 2.0’ as an example of the use of technology and its benefit in classrooms.

In this sense modern technology has improved literacy, since literacy is one of the principal means by which education is being carried out (Hannon, 2000, p. 8). Literacy helps to interpret, communicate and hence, teach ideas. In effect, through the use of modern media in literacy, deriving and conveying the meaning of ideas through the use of written language allows two people, even those who are separated by space, to communicate and make fuller use of shared cultural resources while interacting more fully (Hannon, 2000, p. 9). McGinnis, Goodstein-Stolzenberg, & Saliani (2007, p. 284) used the concept of ‘digital literacy’ to refer to the literacy practice of using online social media in order to establish ‘global’ or ‘transnational’ interaction, communication and even affinities amongst people, particularly youth.

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Positive developments in education and hence on new forms of literacy coincided with the very emergence of the socalled worldwide web or the Internet. Using electronic mail, Internet users can easily type a recipient’s computer address and simply send messages which are received instantly, making this online facility an effective channel by which educational communication is promptly possible (LaMorte & Lilly, 2011).

In Greece, about 46.9% or 5.043.550 of the 10.760.136 population are active users of the Internet (Internet World Stats, 2011b). The Greek Department of Communication and Mass Media reported that about half of Greek youth (aged 15-29) are online (Kapsomenakis, 2005). It should be added that education (7.8% of the survey) is one of the main reasons why Greeks use the Internet, as indicated in a study conducted by V-Project Research Consulting, a leading Greek research company based in Athens (Kapsomenakis, 2005).

In her study of the Flickr host website, Davies (2006) conceived of the so-called ‘third space/affinity space’ which describes how teaching and learning as reciprocal partnerships are achieved in a multimodal environment. She calls on the need to develop an approach that looks at learning literacy in new ways. By definition, literacy in education should be seen in terms of experiences in the acquisition of skills, and experiences in social practices. I share this conception of literacy. In the context of modern technology, this type of literacy attempts to provide an environment for developing partnerships in teaching and learning processes. This is what I constantly witness in my school in Western Greece. I have observed that the more technologically knowledgeable teachers are, the more effectively education is being delivered.

The beneficial use of technology in education also coincides

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with the growth of new online software or applications such as: the “Curious George Learns Phonics” learning software, specifically for kindergarten to first grade students; the “Reader Rabbit’s Math” for children ages 4 -6 as well as the “Rollercoaster Tycoon” for general ages (Krutka, 2006). Such educational programs not only promote improved reading skills, but also enhanced math problem-solving skills, spatial relation skills, as well as hand and eye coordination skills (Krutka, 2006). In turn, online educational software and applications have brought about the rise of distance learning service providers such as Academic Systems, Intelligent Education, NovaNet, eHarcourt ChildU, and Boxer Math (Clark, 2001, p 7).

Online learning has also made possible effective, interactive communication in virtual classroom sessions (Kussmaul et al., 1996). For students, images and texts, sent and received through online communications, push their motivation to learn their courses, because complex materials are made easier to understand, while the pressure that they get from the usual classroom setup is decreased (Kussmaul et al., 1996).

Another benefit of the use of online educational software or applications is its ability to facilitate the link and communication between teachers and students who are most of the time separated by time and space (Kussmaul et. al., 1996). There are instances, for example, when a teacher would find it hard to accommodate students from different sections or school locations who might want to take up the same course or subject – which they might have missed. An online teaching session (which is possible through virtual classroom sessions), can be an effective substitute for the usual classroom setup in this particular situation.

Online teaching that involves real-time video and voice

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capabilities readily allows the conduct of classes, and hence learning, at the most convenient time and manner for both teachers and students (Howell et al, 2003). A virtual classroom can easily be set up for a time when the teacher can be free and easily commit.

Modern Technology and Effective Teaching Hannon (2000, p. 8) explains that modern technology is indeed an effective tool for enhancing the delivery of education through improved literacy. I have always believed that through modern technology, children are able to improve their reading and writing skills. For instance, “some children’s earliest writing experiences today are with computers, using keyboards and making marks on screen with all the power of word processing software for amending text and printing out perfect hard copy” (Hannon, 2000, p. 20). Fletcher (1991) proved in his study that teaching through modern technology can reduce overall teaching time.

In effect, through the use of modern technology, deriving and conveying the meaning of ideas through the use of written language allows two people, who normally involve the teacher and the learner, to communicate effectively and make full use of shared cultural resources (Hannon, 2000, p. 9).

Davies (2006, p. 218) noted that digital literacy practised online, creates a sort of ‘third space’ which allows a new learning experience, by making people engage with one another through the sharing of ideas and discourses, and in the process learn new things. In a sense, the concept of ‘third space’ is somehow similar to what Maybin (2007, p. 6) calls ‘unofficial literacy’, where communication and learning, particularly of

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young people, are closely embedded in their own or ‘local’ negotiations of relationship and identity and that they collaborate with one another given their fragmentary knowledge.

An example of the third space literacy is with online social networking sites such as Flickr, where people post their photos and interactively discuss, collaborate and share their own views, opinions, perceptions and comments about a particular aspect of each of those photos, i.e. the theme, the background, the lighting, etc. (Davies, 2006). In some cases, participants on social networking sites not only read and make comments but also create and operate their own interactive sites through specific computer platforms or applications. Another example is NewLits.org (www.newlits.org), which is currently being utilized particularly by educators to facilitate adult literacy education across the United States and elsewhere (Knobel & Lankshear, 2009, p. 632).

Social networking sites in this case become not only channels for learning through interpretation but also for teaching through the conveyance of knowledge. Individuals acquire and express their own ideas about a particular subject matter through social networking sites. In this sense, the concept of literacy practice using digital means allows social network practitioners not only to assimilate new kinds of knowledge and experiences so that these add to their own ‘knowledge funds,’ but also to make their own kinds of interpretations of these, and to convey them embedded with pedagogical values (Davies, 2006, p. 223). In fact, educational blogs (edublogs) are said to rise daily, and learning platforms used in order to create blogs have become common place, so that educators often use such social networking facilities as part of their teaching instruments (Merchant, 2009).

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Perspectives on How Digital Literacies Enhance Learning The New Literacy Studies (NLS) provides a focal perspective on the importance of situating or contextualizing literacy in a particular setup (Pahl & Rowsell, 2012). According to the NLS, literacy is not only confined to formal classroom learning but goes outside of it to take into consideration the situation, culture, context and the interplay of social interaction factors that affect the understanding and interpretation of a particular subject matter (Pahl & Rowsell, 2012). The emergence of new avenues for effective learning and even teaching through the use of modern technologies has also led to studies and new perspectives on the issue. Crucial to this is the common notion that modern technologies offer new ways for enhancing literacy.

Technology can adapt or ‘situate’ itself to a particular individual or culture. Street (1997, p. 79) for instance highlights the distinction between an ‘ideological model’ and ‘autonomous model’ of literacy. The ‘ideological model’ of literacy points to the concept of literacy as being culturally sensitive and that it adapts to a specific social context or situation (Street, 1997).

This is in contrast with the ‘autonomous model’ of literacy, which proposes that literacy consists of universal technical or autonomous skills which are acquired and taught in school, and hence are common everywhere, and independent or autonomous of any given situation or context (Street, 1997).

As for these new ways of delivering education and enhancing literacy through the use of modern technologies, the term “Web 2.0” was coined in 2005 to refer to the emergence of computer applications and their corresponding use to transform the processes and ways by which education is provided

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to learners (Davies & Merchant, 2009, p.2). To a certain extent, the concept of Web 2.0 was an evolution from the previous ‘Web 1.0’, which involved a more shallow engagement with the web and was ‘often characterized in terms of a proliferation of banal or frivolous publication commixed with misinformation’ (Merchant, 2009, p. 10). The idea of Web 2.0 hence presents people in general interacting and strengthening their involvement with one another so that participation, networking and collaboration are actively encouraged through the use of computer applications (Davies & Merchant, 2009). Web 2.0 supporters also emphasize the important role of such a phenomenon in education (Merchant, 2009).

Effective Virtual Learning through Video Games The role of video games in education has recently been acknowledged in various educational literatures (Gee, 2010; Gajendra, Sun & Ye, 2010; Prebble, 2012; Duncan, 2010). Gee (2010, p. 2) for instance, talked about video games like SWAT4 or Civilization 4, being instrumental in learning because they lead to understanding and ability to apply one’s knowledge in a specific situation – which is what is referred to as “situated understanding”. Gajendra, Sun and Ye (2010) noted that the use of Second Life, an online, virtual world, electronic environment, and others like ActiveWorlds, Whyville, HiPiHi and Entropia, create many learning opportunities through players’ imaginative analysis, evaluation and creation of particular situations, that require cognitive skills and strategy.

Duncan (2010) described the video game Zelda, which features a digital space in which participants are free to work

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through the designs and redesigns of elaborate game metanarratives. Participants are forced to pay particular attention to details and hence to understand how they can achieve the objective of the game (that is, to save the land Hyrule and its princess Zelda from the machinations of the evil sorcerer Ganon).

In the course of the game, through automated simulations and using avatars or controlled animation agents, players –who in this case become learners– not only view what they learn but also understand or find solutions to what they see or hear in the game (Duncan, 2010). Gamers then are ‘taught’ not only the “what” and the “which”, but also the “how” and “why” of the subject matter they are presented with (Gee, 2010).

Connelly (2010, p. 3) called for ‘a stop to the practice of demonizing new media literacies as a potential social problem’ and rather use this new model of literacies to foster students’ interpretive skills, challenging them to think what may be possible to go beyond the conventional procedures of learning. It will be noted that many young people today are engaged in long hours of playing difficult video games which require complex thinking and problem-solving (Gee & Levine, 2009). Playing video games orients and familiarizes players, who are generally young, to various kinds of information ranging from culture, history and even geography.

For instance, Civilization and Rise of Nations bring players to think about history, the development of nations across time, and their civilizations (Gee & Levine, 2009). Also games like SimCity, The Sims and Animal Crossing force players to create knowledge about how to build cities and communities, while Age of Mythology requires players to have knowledge about mythologies across the world, particularly Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythologies (Gee & Levine, 2009). In all these, players

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are made to develop the tactical and strategic thinking required for intellectual maturity by learning how to set goals, and at the same time to monitor, control and regulate their cognition and behaviour (Azevedo, 2007).

Jenkins et al. (2009) noted that video games – over and above the traditional skills of research, technical knowledge, and critical analysis taught inside the classroom – create new kinds of literacy skills, involving Play (i.e. the ability to experiment with one’s surroundings while doing problem-solving); Performance (i.e. the ability to adopt alternative identities for new performance and discovery); Simulation (i.e. the ability to interpret and create dynamic models of real-world happenings); Appropriation (i.e. the ability to meaningfully combine resources from media content); Multitasking (i.e. the ability to maximize the utilization of resources); Distributed Cognition (i.e the ability to use and interact meaningfully with tools thereby expanding mental capacities); Collective Intelligence (i.e. the ability to collaborate with others by comparing notes and knowledge for the achievement of common goals); Judgment (i.e. the ability to evaluate and assess the relevance of different information sources); Transmedia Navigation (i.e the ability to follow the pattern or flow of stories and information from different perspectives); Networking (i.e the ability to look for, collate, organize and disseminate information); Negotiation (i.e, the ability to travel across different communities, admiring and respecting multiple points of views, beliefs or norms).

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II. Video Games as an Effective Instrument for Situated Learning Following the Situated Learning theory, video games can be considered important learning channels through which true-tolife experiences in virtual reality transpire with player-learners.

The Situated Learning paradigm speaks of learning or acquisition of knowledge, not solely determined by the ‘objective’ process of acquisition of knowledge, but rather by the ‘setup’ defining that process of acquiring knowledge, such as the place, arrangement and facilities that comprise the learning set (Handley et al, 2007). Learning, from its very nomenclature, is based on situations and not solely on the materials being provided by educators to learners. This means that for students to learn, they have to accomplish learning not only from what is known but also from what is practised (Handley et al., 2007).

In online games, virtual worlds are where learning happens and it is where situational learning is made possible. In Second Life, for example, the player learns by designing virtual buildings and becoming a “landowner,” or creating and “becoming just about anything one can imagine” through avatars (Hayes, 2006).

Key constructs of the situated learning paradigm include identification, participation and practice (Handley et al., 2007).

This means that: firstly, in situated learning, learners attempt to identify with the situation in which they learn through experience; secondly, they become participants in a specific situational reality and they tend to move and act in that given reality; and thirdly, given the situation, they practise what they intend to learn in the process (Handley et al., 2007). In other words, in situated learning, learners become part of a situation, where

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they learn. In video games, learners are players who get to learn what they practise in a situation they are in.

Participation is Key in Video Games Situated Learning Participation is an important component of situated learning, whereby in a given context, the learners tend to interact with other learners (Sole & Edmondson, 2001). It is here that situated learning is made different from ‘de-contextualized’ objective knowledge learning, which in a sense is conceiving a learning process based purely on materials, rather than the context or situation in which it takes place (Handley et al., 2007). Hence, in situated learning, knowledge acquisition is determined both by the materials being provided and by the context in which those materials are being delivered to students.

In learning, discourse could not be possible with only one individual. Interaction is important so that learners have to communicate with each other, enriching the learning experience by sharing and communicating their respective identities (Handley et al., 2007). Through discourse, participants learn each others’ ways. Barton & Hamilton (1998) noted that it is through discourse that participants become aware of and learn about the culture and language of others who participate in the same discussion. In the New Literacy Studies, these learning discourses become the learners’ very venue of exchange of ideas, and hence understanding of each other (Handley et al., 2007).

Through learning discourse, people who know each other can create their own discourse communities (Barton & Hamilton, 1998). Such participative discourse in turn brings about different forms of literacies among participants (Barton & Ham-

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ilton, 1998). In the case of computer video games, participative practices bring about literacies for the players.

Identifying Educational Games that Effectively Promote Learning To effectively promote learning, computer video games that truly lead to learning must be differentiated from those that do not.

Dondlinger (2007) explained that some computer games are truly educational games because they have educational content and they go out of the usual action patterns. Video games that do not effectively lead to learning are sometimes referred to as ‘edutainments’, or those which are limited to ‘skill and drill’ linear progressions where possibilities for alternatives in the scheme of the game are zero (Dondlinger, 2007).

‘Edutainments’ are limited to presenting the same action patterns over and over again, and do not have capabilities for ‘strategizing, hypothesis testing, or problem-solving’, which require higher order thinking (Dondlinger, 2007, p. 22). ‘Edutainments’ do not bring about complete learning as they only promote rote memorization or simple comprehension (Dondlinger, 2007).

Computer games that bring one to effective learning are those that involve the following distinctive ingredients such as: a system of ‘rewards and goals’ that motivate players, a ‘narrative context’ which puts one into a particular activity and establishes rules of engagement, ‘learning content’ that is essential and relevant to the narrative plot, and ‘interactive cues’ that move one to learn through feedback (Dondlinger, 2007, p. 22).

When provided ‘rewards and goals’ content in computer

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games, learners are motivated to increase their achievements (Dondlinger, 2007). One may imagine Rise of Nations, where one of the objectives is to build one’s territory, including cities.

Here, players develop their strategic skills of thinking and acting on how to remove all obstacles just to achieve this objective (Gee & Levine, 2009). In the process, players are motivated to strive hard to achieve their objectives (Dondlinger, 2007). With such motivation, players increase and, hence, improve their own performance (Jenkins et al., 2009).

With narrative content, computer games can put one into a particular progressive narration of events, wherein playerlearners must constantly watch and monitor in order for them to strategically arrive at more advanced stages of the game (Dondlinger, 2007). In this way, some distinctively designed educational computer games can bring a sort of active-learner rather than passive-learner stance to learning. To be considered educational and of pedagogical value, the design of computer games must involve an active-learner scheme in its progression (Dondlinger, 2007). As understood, the active-learner approach tends to promote participatory learning as opposed to the monolithic learning of traditional, teacher-limited or teacherdriven communication and delivery of learning materials, which does not allow much collaboration from students (Fletcher, 2003).

ComputerVideoGamesCanPromoteCurriculum-Based Learning While learner-centered learning is being given attention, more importantly in computer games, curriculum-based learning can

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essentially be promoted. Here learning environments are given attention for how these can situate and contextualize learning (Dondlinger, 2007). Therefore, if game-based learning is curriculum-based, the design of games must also be student-centered to result in effective learning (Dondlinger, 2007; Mayer, 2003). Traditional teaching seeks to adopt a teaching approach that strives to become student­-centered, which is important to truly develop the skills and talents of students (Mayer, 2003). But it is through a curriculum-based approach to teaching that learning becomes student-centered. To develop good educational games, they must possess contents or materials (or curricula) that will address the needs of the students (Dondlinger, 2007). In the same manner, while putting stress on curriculum or material educational contents, teaching and hence learning becomes situational and contextual to students (Dondlinger, 2007; Mayer, 2003).

This is why, with computer games putting stress on learning contents, players as students can develop their capabilities of assimilating materials even faster. It should be noted that computer games’ learning contents have undergone continuous development and innovations in gaming software throughout the years (Gee, 2010; Gajendra, Sun & Ye, 2010). It is also worthnoting that the computer gaming systems including online learning applications, where teaching is founded, have been made more ”user-friendly” or more responsive to the needs of students (Dondlinger, 2007; Fletcher, 2003).

ComputerGamesCanHolisticallyImproveReadingand Writing Literacies While computer games have not abandoned their being student-centered tools for learning, it will be noted that computer

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games have ultimately improved the reading and writing skills of their users (Rich, 2008). This is inevitable since by simply playing games, players become immersed in reading texts and in writing to communicate within the game. One may consider, for instance, the case of a certain “Mr. Haarsma”, who wrote his first science fiction novel which was a game at the same time – where he not only wrote about the fictional planetary system Orbis, but he also challenged players to describe and write about it within the video game (Rich, 2008).

Mr. Haarsma not only produced a fictional world to be read as a novel by readers, but he also placed the readers in a position to play with it (Rich, 2008). It is not only Mr. Haarsma who inspired children to read books, but increasingly, authors, teachers, librarians and publishers have utilized this fast-paced, image-laden world to create games and draw children to read (Rich, 2008).

By letting children play, they become engaged in language reading and writing literacy. This is because in computer games, there are essentially texts included in the graphics. To be able to advance through a particular game, the player must read, write and communicate with his or her co-participants in the game. Up to a certain extent, not only are they driven to develop their skills through reading texts, in the process of playing games they are also ‘forced’ to assimilate, or construct and process information, that they read or receive from the games.

Gee (2004, p. 21) explained that there are many different ways by which reading and writing can be practised and that each way is connected to a historically “changing set of discursive practices” over time. What this means is that discursive practices are evolving through time as a result of changing circumstances. In the same manner, as children try to de-

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velop their reading and writing skills, these skills must adapt to the dynamics of the times that the children-learners are in (Alberti, 2008). Through discursive practices well-adjusted to tcontemporary life, children are able to develop literacies that are attuned to what they see and experience in the present.

In a sense again, this assertion is very much linked to Situated Learning Theory wherein effective learning must be wellsituated or well-placed in a given context (Handley et al., 2007).

In a globalised context, cross-border collaboration among institutions or organizations has been intensified, as there is a freer flow of commodities, knowledge, and information, resulting in an increase in technological progress (Held et al., 1999). In many cases, communication now happens not simply between citizens of the same country but between citizens of different countries. The implication of this is clear: new modes of communication must be adopted. Teaching of reading and writing literacy henceforth must make use of a language that is understandable by all cultures. Gee (2004) seems to suggest that such a universal language may be the product of frequent transactions among cultures, i.e. virtual cultures.

ContextualizingSituatedLearningInandOutofSchool The importance of situated learning and the applicability of its propositions to computer video games as channels of learning have been discussed in previous sections. Situated learning takes into consideration not only the materials used in the delivery of education to students, but also the context and situation where those materials are being delivered (Handley et al., 2007). It is necessary to look at this context because delivery of materials can be effective only if, for instance, facilities for

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learning are made convenient for both teacher and students.

Also, if learning materials are motivating and interesting in the context for learners, then this can facilitate and hence speed up the learning process for students – just like in the case of using computer video games in learning.

Another crucial proposition in the situated learning model is the necessity that learners be connected with other learners or with other individuals within the ambit where learning is a process (Davies & Merchant, 2009; Davies, 2006). This means that in a situated learning setup, learners get to understand the meanings of pedagogical materials by interacting with other learners.

If learning is situated and learners get to understand pedagogical materials by interacting with ‘other individuals’, as in the case of computer video games, this then implies that learning can be achieved not only inside but also outside the school or classroom setup. This is probably one of the greatest advantages that the use of computer video games can offer, that is, it can ‘situate’ learning both inside and outside classroom contexts (Williams, 2005). In fact, learning should not be limited to the classroom, because there are other kinds of knowledge that can be derived outside the classroom.

For instance, part of most primary and secondary school activities is done outside the classroom, i.e, children’s learning through field trips or class visits to museums (Hook, 1999).

Children tend to derive some meaning from what they see in the excursions – particularly when the contents of excursions are relevant to syllabi and schools’ teaching programs (Hook, 1999). This then enhances students’ learning opportunities as they get to understand different cultures and have a ‘feel’ of it in a real sense (Hook, 1999; Lave, 1991).

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Likewise, so-called out-of-class children’s literacy including printed genres such as comic books, magazines, as well as fiction novels have now been made more complex, yet pedagogically powerful, through technology-based facilities such as computer games (Williams, 2005). At home, children most of the time, are immersed in reading and writing while playing games, helping them improve their reading and writing competencies and skills while enhancing their knowledge and experiences as well (Williams, 2005).

Situated learning through video games are also said to be a product of collaborative or interactive effort on the part of the learners. Collaborative learning actually draws from both cognition and interpretative theoretical views (Lave, 1991). In the former view, cognitive processes, representations and problemsolving are not undertaken by the individual himself or herself alone in the process of cognitive learning, but also by other individuals, with whom such an individual relates (Lave, 1991).

In the latter view, what is highlighted is the need for interacting with other individuals in order to assign and derive meanings from words, and it is only through this process that learners can fully communicate the meaning of words or texts to others (Lave, 1991). Inside classrooms, the complete meaning of words cannot be fully achieved, so that learning outside classrooms in interaction with other individuals is necessary in order for learners to be able to use and express words appropriately.

IV. Conclusion In this paper, it was discussed that technology-based education, through the use of various media, particularly the computer and its related facilities has changed the ways by which education

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is delivered to students. The rise of technology starting with computer software and the Internet, has made delivery and acquisition of knowledge easier and faster for both teachers and students. In this sense, it could readily be argued that technology has indeed aided both teaching and learning of students.

The Internet has paved the way for a closer and more interactive relationship between individuals even from different nations around the world. With the Internet, virtual or digital space has been created where communication, and even affinities among people, particularly youth, have been facilitated for people around the world. This has made possible the provision of online education, particularly the many educational software and platforms that have come into reality in this age of the computer.

Computer technology has also made possible learning through the use of video games. With such games, it is claimed that players as students tend to develop many kinds of skills, including analytical reading and writing skills as well as problemsolving skills. Through computer video games as an alternative learning channel, players become motivated and challenged.

They find computer games-based learning not only interesting and easier to perform than learning inside classroom, but also challenging since they have to constantly look into whether they are achieving their game’s specific objectives.

It is here that computer video games can be said to be beneficial when it comes to situated learning. Students can learn while being in the proper context of both individual cognitive acquisition of knowledge and active interaction with other individuals. With computer video games, situated learning is achieved not simply by looking at materials being delivered to students, but also by considering the context and situation where these materials are delivered.

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This paper has been crucial particularly to how I had earlier conceived of literacy. Through the paper’s discussion, I, in the same manner, was able to know how literacy should be practised by children. In future teachings I intend to allow and create more situations for students’ learning so that they not only learn the formal components of learning (i.e., specific books for each subject) but also the situational and hence social context.

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PART 6 Intercultural Sensitivity of EFL Teachers: Research Methods and Design

Intercultural Sensitivity of EFL Teachers: Research Methods and Design CHAPTER 1 – BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.1 Introduction For the past several decades, the world has been characterized by a trend towards globalization, which has heightened transactions among nations. Globalization has presented a condition of increasingly integrated global economy marked by freer trade of commodities as well as flow of labor and capital (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Although this description applies to a rather limited ‘economic’ scope of globalization, the idea of freer movement of both human and non-human capitals is important to highlight in this study.

Truly, freer movement of human and non-human capital has brought to the fore issues such as migration, health, trade, and culture (Friedman, 2004). Nations are forced to address the related concern of diversity between different people of the world because people can move faster today. Globalization has not only increased international interconnectedness among nations creating a ‘global village’, but also the necessity for people of one cultural background to adapt and communicate with other people of different cultural backgrounds (Markovic, 2012).

Figures from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) showed that the number of international students around the world rose by more than 75% to 3.43 million since 2000 (Coughlan, 2011). Likewise in 2011, the Institute of International Education or IEE (2011) indicated that the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, and China are the

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top five host destinations of international students (IEE, 2011).

Greece is on the 15th spot, serving as host for 3,700 international students during the period, representing an increase of 2 percent from the previous period (Coughlan, 2011). Students mostly from Balkan countries migrate to Greece to study, which signals the need to really develop intercultural competence among teachers, especially high school language teachers. In general, intercultural competence is understood as teachers’ ability to effectively communicate with their students from other cultural backgrounds (Spinthourakis & Karatzia-Stavlioti, 2006, p. 491; Wolfgang et al., 2001).

There is a need to develop a pedagogical language practice that is culturally sensitive and that respects, recognizes, accepts and integrates different cultures within the whole educational spectrum (Chen & Starosta, 2000, p. 4; Spinthourakis, & Karatzia-Stavlioti, 2006; Hammer et al., 2003; Greenholtz, 2000). ‘Intercultural sensitivity’ is necessary in order to develop teachers’ intercultural communication capability, as the effects of globalization are now widely seen in the field of education.

For teachers, intercultural communication competence allows them to effectively deliver their lessons to students from other cultural backgrounds (Bennett & Bennett, 2001; Wolfgang et al., 2001; Makri, 2003).

Intercultural communication competence among teachers refers also to their ability to be able to adopt culturally responsive pedagogy and overcome conditions of cultural difference when teaching (Siwatu, 2007). It allows them to recognize students of other cultures, hence, producing in them students who do not withhold themselves from effectively communicating and competing in their highly globalized and competitive classroom environment (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007, p.3). Bennett &

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Bennett (2001, p. 7) explained that intercultural communication is a result of individual or community development when knowledge, attitude and behavior work together for the best intellectual formation of students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

In short, intercultural communication competence is a result of teachers’ effective sensitivity to the distinct cultures of students who come from other places and the ability to allow them to relate and communicate effectively with other students from distinct cultural backgrounds.

In Greece, various efforts to promote intercultural sensitivity at a policy level have been undertaken, particularly on the part of the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs and the Pedagogical Institute (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). The Greek Constitution also provides for equality before the law and the right of all children to attend compulsory education without prejudice on the financial or social condition of their parents (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). More particularly, the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs has been working on enhancing intercultural communication competence among school teachers, thereby promoting respect for cultural diversity and creating a pedagogical system that is ‘less ethnocentric’ in nature (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). All these efforts in turn create an ideal situation in learning, based on ‘interculturalism’ that promotes inclusiveness rather than ‘exclusivity’ among students (Coulby, 2006).

1.2 Theoretical framework Since this research is essentially about cultural differences, it is important to have a foundational knowledge about culture and its differences among individuals. Tylor (1871) first provided a

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clear definition of culture. According to him, culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society” (Tylor, 1871, p.1). This definition is similar to a more concise meaning of culture provided by Hatch (1985, p. 178) who referred to culture as a ‘way of life’, consisting of different patterns of thoughts and actions among groups of people that are passed from one generation to another.

What is worthy to note in these definitions is the idea of culture being common among groups of people. In this sense, culture is about things (what people have), thoughts (what they think) and actions (what they do) being possessed by individuals belonging to a particular group (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2010).

Culture hence can be distinguished between or among groups of persons and the distinction is in most cases based on nationality (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2010).

Culture is generally identifiable to a specific nationality (Scarborough, 1998). People belonging to a specific geographical location or national boundary share common knowledge and patterns of behavior (Peoples & Bailey, 2012). In the process, people in that location develop their own ‘cultural identity’ (Peoples & Bailey, 2012; Scarborough, 1998). Although national boundaries bind people within a specific cultural identity, such a view is countered by those who support the idea of intra-cultural diversity. Intra-cultural diversity is the difference between subcultures within a culture and could be based on differences in religious, political, economic, kinship, ecological systems and other social dimensions (Fetterman, 1998). The concept of intra-cultural diversity is important in social research since it helps the researcher to not just see a specific culture as ‘one’ culture but rather a culture of various perspectives (Fetterman, 1998).

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For people from different locations with different cultural identities, their distinct culture presents them with difficulties in adapting to a newfound culture. Students, for instance, who migrate to another country have their own difficulties in adapting to the ways of host country’s people (Zhou & Todman, 2009).

Teachers, for their part, have their duty to facilitate this process of cultural adaptation (Spinthourakis, & Karatzia-Stavlioti, 2006).

Teachers, particularly English as a Foreign Language (EFL) inservice teachers, should be culturally sensitive to the needs of their students. They must be able to understand how cultural barriers, such as language, beliefs, and behaviors, can affect either positively or negatively the way lessons are provided inside classrooms or in any other situation of learning (Ditton, 2007).

Intercultural sensitivity, which is teachers’ capacity to provide culturally sensitive education, requires that they successfully go through Bennett’s (1986) stages of development model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS) consisting of: 1) three ethnocentric stages, such as the Denial, Defense, Minimization stages; and 2) three ethnorelative stages, such as the Acceptance, Adaptation, and Integration stages (Paige et al., 2003; Dong et al., 2008). The first three “ethnocentric” stages describe an individual’s behavior whereby he or she considers his or her own culture as central and superior to reality so that other cultures are found to ‘lack substance or significance’ (Greenholtz, 2000). The “ethnorelative” stages refer to an individual’s behavior whereby he or she realizes that his or her own culture is merely one of many equally valid views of reality around the world, enabling him or her to acknowledge integration of other cultural views into his or her own culture (Greenholtz, 2000).

The “ethnorelative” stages are valid affirmations since they pro-

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vide appropriate grounds for intercultural sensitivity for any individual, including teachers.

This study is anchored on the DMIS which delineates how teachers, particularly EFL in-service high school teachers, can be considered interculturally sensitive as well as communication competent by overcoming ethnocentric behavior towards ethnorelative behavior. But the extent to which teachers would possess intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication competence would depend upon their manner of teaching, which incidentally is going to be the main focus of this research. Such manner of teaching will be examined through the lens of DMIS. One way of examining EFL in-service Greek teachers’ manner of teaching through DMIS is to determine whether they have remained ethnocentric in their manner of teaching. What specific teaching practices have the teachers adopted (or have not adopted) to recognize, respect and accept the cultural orientations of their students? Are they using only local events or instances as examples in classroom discussion? Do they view their culture as the central or superior culture when they are in the classroom?

Dong et al. (2008) explained that on the one hand ethnocentrism may promote patriotism and preservation of one’s cultural identity. On the other hand, ethnocentrism may also create misunderstandings and reduced manifestations of intercultural willingness to communicate (Dong et al., 2008). Hence, one may also ask: how many times in a single classroom session have teachers translated specific teaching materials into the local language of their students in order to help them a) become more interested, and b) understand lessons while attending classroom discussions?

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The overall conceptual framework or design for this study is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 – Conceptual Framework

1.3 Objectives of the study This study intends to investigate the factors and conditions by which EFL in-service high school teachers in the western Greek region teach their students English as a Foreign Language lessons – that affect their capacity for intercultural sensitivity as well as intercultural communication competence. In other words, adopting Bennett’s DMIS model, this study seeks to determine the circumstances surrounding the manner by which EFL in-service high school teachers, particularly those from prefectures of Achaia, Ileia, and Aetoloakarnania in the western Greek region, deliver lessons to their students from various cultural backgrounds. Secondly, after identifying the factors and conditions that characterize EFL teachers’ manner of teaching to their ‘multi-cultural’ students, this study will proceed with investigating whether EFL in-service teachers in the western Greek region have surpassed their ethnocentric

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behavior towards ethnorelativist behavior, to be considered not only as interculturally sensitive but also interculturally-communication-competent in teaching EFL to their students.

At a more theoretical level, this paper, particularly its findings, would be valuable in identifying pedagogical factors and conditions that either lead to or deviate from an ideal interculturally sensitive and communication-competent EFL teaching.

This paper hence is a valuable contribution not only to the literature about culturally anchored teaching practices but also on other subjects related to cultural difference, cultural adaptation and intercultural education. On a more practical level, this paper intends to provide policymakers direction as to how they can tackle the problem of ethnocentrism among teachers, particularly those in the western Greek region.

1.4 Statement of the problems The general problem posed in this study is: What are the factors and conditions that shape culturally sensitive language teaching practices, leading to intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication competence among EFL in-service teachers in Greek high schools?

From this general question, this study intends to pursue specific sub-questions about wetern Greek High schools such as: 1) What are the factors and conditions affecting teachers’ delivery of EFL subject to their students that contribute to their ethnocentric behavior; 2) What are the positive factors and conditions in teachers’ delivery of EFL subject to their students that contribute to their ethnorelativist behavior; 3) Do the majority of the western Greek region’s high schools teachers demonstrate

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successful ethnorelativism and hence intercultural sensitivity and communication competence when teaching EFL subject to the students?

1.5 Statement of the hypothesis The DMIS model highlights the stages that teachers, particularly high school teachers, undergo in order to become interculturally sensitive and communication-competent in their process of educating students. With factors and conditions that effectively lead to successful ethnorelativism, teachers become interculturally sensitive and communication-competent, and well-disposed to integrate and adapt to the cultural differences of students from other cultural backgrounds. Using the DMIS model, this research will not only identify the factors and conditions describing the intercultural modes of teaching EFL inservice teachers in Greek high schools, but also in the process determining whether teachers in general displayed an ethnocentric or ethnorelative mentality.

1.6 Scopes and Limitations The research is limited to the study of EFL in-service high school teachers in the western Greek prefectures of Achaia, Ileia, and Aetoloakarnania. The selection of this area of study for this research is due to the fact that I am also an EFL in-service high school teacher, giving classes in the area of Achaia in the western Greek region. The paper is also a static analysis of the pedagogical factors and conditions that affect intercultural sensitivity as well as intercultural communication competence of

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teachers. Hence, the study is not conducted over a long period of time but rather within a specific period of time.

1.7 Research approach/es This research adopts a two-prong approach in seeking to find answers to the problems under consideration in the study. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, this research is intended to discuss and consolidate an understanding of the factors and conditions that either do or do not lead to intercultural sensitivity and communication-competence of EFL in-service teachers in the western Greek region. Through a qualitative approach, this paper intends to create a sort of meta-analysis of current literature in line with the study’s arguments. Likewise, through the use of quantitative analysis, this paper intends to substantiate the arguments as analyzed and discussed in this research.

Both research approaches are expected to bring about a resolution to the problems being undertaken in the investigation.

Qualitative and quantitative approaches, particularly through descriptive technique combined with methods of survey and questionnaires, will be used to determine whether in general EFL in-service teachers in the western region of Greece have demonstrated a significant degree of intercultural sensitivity in the practice of their profession.

Combining qualitative and quantitative methods allows a more definitive and concrete description of the problems to be tackled in the research (Thomas et al., 2011). By establishing an appropriate connection between theory and practice through the use of both approaches, problems and issues pertaining to

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intercultural sensitivity in the case of EFL in-service teachers become more verified. Qualitative and quantitative analytical and descriptive analyses besides allow elaborative and more comprehensive discussions on answers and arguments about intercultural sensitivity.

Qualitative and quantitative approaches in this research are intended to strengthen the arguments under consideration in this study. In turn, through qualitative and quantitative approaches, investigation follows a more scientific method of first solving the problems, then establishing a hypothesis at the beginning part of the study, and finally laying down points to provide the answers and proof of them as the discussion moves on (Kothari, 2004). In sum, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches is intended to make the investigation of this research in-depth, providing the reader with a more substantial understanding of the topic being tackled in the study.

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of cultural concept and cultural differences Culture is a ‘way of life’, consisting of things, ideas, and patterns of behavior, common to individuals belonging to a particular group (Hatch, 1985; Ferraro & Andreatta, 2010). Culture is a shared system, consisting of ‘hidden codes’ of behavior and conduct common among groups of individuals (Hall & Hall, 1990). Culture conveys non-verbal messages which are used by humans to communicate between each other most of the time (Hall & Hall, 1990). Scarborough (1998) refers to core values as the common denominator among people pertaining to

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the same culture. The same core values ‘govern the fundamental beliefs, attitudes and acceptable behavior’ that the members of a particular cultural group hold most deeply and widely (Scarborough, 1998).

In Greece, annual net migration reached 154,004 in 2010 (Trading Economics, 2012). Migration includes parents who migrate to work or their children who study in the country. The number of students of migrating parents in Greece reached 138,193, comprising about 9.5% of the total school population in 2010 (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). As expected, migrating children in Greece have to adjust to their new environment.

The adjustments that they have to make in order to adapt to their newfound culture are well documented (see Zhou & Todman, 2009 for example).

Without effective support, migrant students find it hard to adjust to the new culture they are faced with. In most cases, they find mental and emotional hardships (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). In the end, their studies suffer to the detriment not only of their own selves and their family but also to the society as a whole. One of the visible consequences of failed education is unemployment.

A large number of immigrant students in Greece have experienced school failure for not being able to complete either junior high school (gymnasium) or senior high school (lyceum) due to a lack of language proficiency and to adaptation problems (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007; Nikolaou, 2000; Bombas, 2001).

This failure in education has either forced them to work in subpar job positions or become jobless in their lives.

Authorities have adopted various means to deal with this problem. Greek authorities have, for instance, established reception, support and intercultural (also referred to as cross-cul-

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tural) schools as special categories of schools, specifically for students who have little or no knowledge of Greek (Paleologou, 2004). Reception and support classes were the main initiatives of Ministerial Act of the Ministry of Education while intercultural schools were introduced with the enactment of Law 2413/96 (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007; Maniatis, 2012). A total of 26 intercultural schools have been established across Greece following the enactment of the law representing about 17% of the total 15,174 state schools prior to high schools in Greece (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). As for reception and support classes, there were about 548 with 7,863 foreign students and 127 with 1,663 students enrolled respectively for the school year 2002-2003 (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007).

2.2. The concept of Interculturalism In dealing with intercultural concerns, various distinct approaches can be adopted not only by school authorities, but also by teachers. One approach may be based on the Cultural Universalism theory, which underscores the existence of common ground between cultures (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). Another approach may put emphasis on cultural relativism while underscoring the differences between cultures (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007). The other approach is based on the ethics of justice aimed at providing the conditions for individuals’ equal social participation within a multicultural society (Triandafyllidou & Gropas, 2007).

Makri (2003, p. 5) defines interculturalism as a democratic approach of dealing with people of other cultures, by promoting ‘dialectical’ communication with them. Dialectical is taken in this sense as a more logical understanding of cultural reality. When

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applied to education, international organizations, such as the UNESCO and the European Union, refer to interculturalism as any school program’s spirit of promoting equal opportunities for everyone (Makri, 2003).

Interculturalism in education has an emancipatory and transforming character by not disregarding the needs of students from different cultural backgrounds but rather by strengthening and enriching their cultural identity (Maniatis, 2012). Interculturalism in education is a complete approach, underscoring the need for cooperation and understanding, through proper communication between the different cultural groups (Makri, 2003).

Intercultural education considers cultural diversity and respects the opportunity of people to express themselves given their own cultural particularities (Makri, 2003). Intercultural approach to education promotes mutual interaction between people of different cultural traditions (Maniatis, 2012).

The intercultural model as an approach to education was initiated in Europe during the 80’s. The model follows the principles of equality, mutual understanding, solidarity, empathy, tolerance, and respect in the midst of cultural differences, while doing away with ethnic and racial prejudices (Makri, 2003). In Greece, it was in 1996 that an intercultural approach to education was given due consideration with the enactment of Law 2413/96 on Greek Education Abroad, Intercultural Education, and Other Provisions (Maniatis, 2012). Through Law 2413/96, the term ‘intercultural’ was first introduced in official language, and multiculturalism and diversity of culture in education was acknowledged (Maniatis, 2012).

However, the concept of interculturalism should be distinguished from multiculturalism, in the sense that the latter involves the retention of the concept of structure, and the domi-

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nant and superior culture vis-Ă -vis a subordinate and inferior culture (Makri, 2003; Maniatis, 2012). Multicultural existence in this sense presupposes merely an elimination of threat and hence cohesion among multicultural structural setups of education. Likewise, multiculturalism plainly recognizes differences in culture but does not go beyond to look after the needs of those in other cultural backgrounds.

The concept of interculturalism is also distinguished from a plain ‘assimilation’ approach wherein individuals, particularly in the case of children of different cultural backgrounds, are required to comply with the prevailing culture of the majority and forget their own particularities (Maniatis, 2012). The children in the assimilation approach are also required to learn the language (as their own native language is deliberately ignored) and the culture in order to be able to take part and act well with people of the dominant culture (Maniatis, 2012). Also in the process of assimilation, children are considered a burden for the state as they hinder the evolution of other children and the procedure of education (Maniatis, 2012). In fact some Greek parents are influenced and affected by racial prejudices and xenophobic attitudes, since they do not like the presence of foreign children at school because they think that these children are responsible for a delay in progress and, to a large extent, for violations and the phenomena of violence at school.

2.3 Intercultural Sensitivity and Communication Competence in teaching In education, interculturalism involves intercultural communication competence. This requires that teachers, particularly in

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teaching language to students, i.e., in the case of EFL teachers, have intercultural sensitivity, referring to their affective desire to motivate themselves to understand, recognize and accept differences among cultures (Chen & Starosta, 2000, p. 4). Likewise, intercultural communication requires a need for intercultural adroitness which is one’s behavioral ability to achieve communication goals in intercultural interaction (Chen & Starosta, 2000, p. 4).

EFL teachers are expected to develop intercultural awareness, in order to develop intercultural communication competence (Chen & Starosta, 2000). Intercultural awareness refers to the intellectual cognitive ability of teachers to understand and adjust to different cultural setups or backgrounds that affect the students’ way of thinking and acting (Chen & Starosta, 2000). For Siwatu (2007), intercultural communication competence is a function of teachers’ efficacy and refers to their ability to do away with conditions of cultural biases and prejudices when teaching. Intercultural communication competence in this sense can be equated to the ability of teachers to understand, accept, relate, develop interest, adapt and integrate to the diverse cultures of their students or trainees – all of which are traits considered to inculcate ‘ethnorelativism’ on the part of the teachers (Hammer et al., 2003; Greenholtz, 2000).

Teachers in this age of globalization should be culturally sensitive to the different cultural backgrounds of their students (Spinthourakis & Karatzia-Stavlioti, 2006, p. 491). Also, teachers should recognize that cultural barriers, such as language incapacity, different beliefs, and behaviors, as well as distinct ways, are obstacle to the students’ ability to participate in student life and perform “normal” classroom taks, and can affect negatively their effort to learn their lessons inside the class-

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room, or in any situation of learning for that matter (Ditton, 2007). Spencer-Oatey & Xiong (2006) noted that migrating students have to cope with adaptations both psychological (migrants’ desire for physical and psychological well-being) and socio-cultural (migrants’ effort to ‘fit in’ to the new situation or environment that they are in).

Teachers should be able to effectively handle the cultural heterogeneity of their class and assist foreign pupils with their difficulties (Makri, 2003). They have to know how to treat with sensitivity the cultural needs of their students, espousing the principles of equal treatment in education (Makri, 2003). At some point, teachers have to maintain constant communication with their parents (Makri, 2003). This is to relate to them not only the performance and progress of their children, but also the prospects or possibilities available in order to enhance their learning.

Teachers should also employ classroom language that is suited for learning. They should be able to distinguish the structure of the language they are using inside their classrooms vis-à-vis the nationalities of their students (Friedlander, 2011).

Teachers should be able to recognize that words in language are expressions of thoughts and thoughts can be expressed in many ways (Friedlander, 2011). Their language should be culturally neutral so as to accommodate the learning of foreign students, even if such foreign students have already attended reception, support, or intercultural schools previously. An expression of emotions or feelings may be different from one nation to another.

As for EFL teachers, they should be able to explain to their students the difference in language structures from one culture to another. For example, teachers should be able to explain

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to some students, i.e. Hindi or Muslim students, that English greetings are rather related to time of day, and not as a reflection of religious identity. Such an explanation will allow students to avoid the possibility of literally translating from one language to another (Friedlander, 2011).

Appropriate language used in teaching can also serve to motivate teachers, as language is a means for extrinsic motivation (Friedlander, 2011). Hence, language has specific levels of complexity whose selection in use would depend on particular situations. Language used in different primary grade levels, for instance, would be different from language used at the high school level.

2.4 The DMIS measure Bennett (1986) first introduced the development model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS). The model is designed to measure the stages that individuals belonging to a particular culture would go through in their relation with other individuals belonging to another culture. The stages include: denial of difference, defense against difference, minimization of difference, acceptance of difference, adaptation of difference, and integration of difference (Paige et al., 2003).

The first three stages are referred to as ‘ethnocentric’ stages, in the sense that individuals in these stages are still in a condition of ‘incomplete’ acceptance of the culture of other people and integration with their own. Ethnocentrism could be, in its most extreme form, a denial of difference, which is described by an isolationist attitude wherein an individual ‘isolates’ his or her culture and considers it as the only one that exists – hence, other cultures are just considered ‘naive’ expressions of real-

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ity. The less extreme form of ethnocentrism, a defense against difference, describes an individual’s attitude of recognizing the existence of other cultures, but likewise labelling such cultures as inferior to his or her own. The third, which is the most subtle form of ethnocentrism, the minimization of difference, is a step towards an individual’s acceptance of cultural difference, although the emphasis is on the similarity among humans, so that cultural difference can just be minimized, without the hope of integrating the ‘foreign’ culture with the individual’s own culture.

The next three stages are referred to as ‘ethnorelativist’, in the sense that individuals in these stages can now ‘completely accept’, relate with, and integrate the culture of other people with their own. The milder form of ethnorelativism, an acceptance of difference, shows that an individual sees culture as relative and hence not different nor unequal to his or her own.

The more ‘integrative’ form of ethnorelativism, adaptation of difference, is when the individual not only accepts the relativity between his or her culture and cultures of other individuals, but also tries to make some effort to understand, learn and adapt to the principles of those ‘other’ cultures. The fuller and more ‘integrative’ form of ethnorelativism, the integration of difference, is when an individual now is able to integrate other cultures with his or her own by facilitating not only constructive contact with them, but also by adapting and accepting identity from those other cultures.

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CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODS AND DESIGN 3.1 Methodology: mixed qualitative and quantitative approaches This research will employ both qualitative and quantitative approaches in order to substantiate its arguments and findings.

Likewise, both descriptive and analytical methods are going to be used in proceeding with both approaches in the study. Using descriptive method, this research intends to ‘identify’ and ‘describe’ the important issues and discussions that surround the topic on intercultural sensitivity and communication competence in education. In the case of the analytical method, this study would like to evaluate all available information about the topic by asking how and why specific phenomena may have contributed or not to the practice of intercultural sensitivity and communication competence particularly in the case of EFL inservice teachers (Thomas et al., 2011). This procedure then provides richer understanding of the topic being tackled in the research (Currall et al., 1999).

Through descriptive method, observation in the case of qualitative research will allow for a more comprehensive, interactive, sustained, and intimate analysis of the individual ‘subject’ or ‘subjects’ (i.e. teachers under consideration) in relation to the topic being tackled in the study. Through analytical method, experiments in the case of quantitative research will make possible the use of statistical procedure to determine ‘with precision’ the strengths and significance of variables (Currall et al., 1999, p.7). Through statistical techniques, determining central tendencies and scattered-ness of the sample in the population distribution shall provide support for specific arguments in the

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study, i.e. whether or not a majority of the western Greek region’s high school EFL in-service teachers have demonstrated successful ethnorelativism and hence intercultural sensitivity and communication competence when teaching EFL to their students.

3.1.1 Using focus group and sample in qualitative phenomenological method Use of focus group. I propose to adopt phenomenology when dealing with the qualitative procedure of answering the questions in the study. Phenomenology is a research method in which researchers try to derive the essence or basic underlying structure, e.g., loneliness, anger, love, etc., of a human experience, making it the object of the study (Merriam, 2009). Specifically, phenomenological method will be used in dealing with the intercultural practices of EFL in-service teachers in Greek high schools, and in obtaining data and information about them in the study.

A focus group, which includes a number of individuals, such as the EFL in-service high school teachers from the prefectures of Achaia, Ileia, and Aetoloakarnania in the western Greek region, is called together in an informal assembly to help explain the relationship between given ‘stimulus’ and ‘effect’ and will be helpful in ascertaining and verifying the understanding of an event or circumstance in the study “by obtaining target people’s interpretation of it” (Vaughn et al., 1999, p. 6). The event or circumstance, whose understanding will be verified and ascertained, will be the factors and conditions underlying the mode

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of teaching by the EFL teachers that may or may not have led them to intercultural sensitivity and intercultural communication competence.

The use of a focus group is expected to provide a natural and more relaxed way of getting important information from people (Vaughn et al., 1999). In a typical phenomenological approach through the use of a focus group, the researcher brackets in a particular phenomenon, and performs analysis on the relevant experiences of a specific group of people, which in this case, are the EFL in-service high school teachers from the three prefectures of Achaia, Ileia, and Aetoloakarnania located in the western Greek region (Creswell, 2003, p.60). Phenomenological analysis in turn becomes effective in research when the researcher gets a feel of the experiences of the group of the participants, while reading and reviewing all specific information about a phenomenon and pulling out or segregating important statements from this information to validate claims (Creswell, 2003).

A phenomenological approach through interview will be used in cross–reviewing or –analyzing the experiences of EFL in-service high school teachers in the three prefectures in the western Greek region, while adopting a modified Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) concept, in order to determine their intercultural sensitivity practice (Spinthourakis & Karatzia-Stavlioti, 2006, p. 493; Hammer et al., 2003; Chen & Starosta, 2000).

Use of sample. The purpose of the qualitative method in this study is not only to choose or identify specific groups of people who either possess characteristics or live in circumstances relevant to the social condition being studied (i.e. teachers), but also to establish a representative sample drawn from a population (Creswell, 2003). The sample in turn shall be the basis

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for survey questionnaires and hence statistical experimentation, whose findings shall also form part of the arguments in the study (Thomas, 2003; Creswell, 2003). In conducting the sampling procedure, purposive and cluster sampling techniques will be adopted.

On one hand, purposive sampling allows the selection of individuals (i.e. EFL teachers) who have their own experiences of the phenomenon (i.e. teaching students with other cultural backgrounds) under study in this research (Gliner & Morgan, 2000).

On the other hand, cluster or area sampling allows a selection of samples based on geographical considerations, such as for this research, the three prefectures of Achaia, Ileia, and Aetoloakarnania in the western Greek region. Selection of the sample’s location in this research is based on proximity with the researcher.

Survey questionnaires shall be provided to the selected sample in the study. Questionnaires shall be formulated according to the IDI measurement of intercultural sensitivity. However, such questionnaires shall be modified to identify factors and conditions in the teaching methodologies of the teachers in the three prefectures that either did or did not lead to their intercultural sensitivity and communication competence.

The IDI is a quantitative elaboration of the previous Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), in which Bennett (1986) identified six key variables to measure the development process of individuals toward intercultural competence (Hammer et al, 2003). In this study, specific items for these variables or stages of IDI will be modified and identified in the questionnaires to be provided to the participants in the survey and the interview. In turn, qualitative analysis will be used to substantiate the statistical findings in the qualitative portion of the research.

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3.1.2 Adopting quantitative central tendencies and variations analyses For the quantitative portion of this research, I will be employing statistical techniques to determine and test the findings in the questionnaires in the study. The quantitative approach, which will employ numeric or statistical verification, will serve as a tool for analysing and discussing patterns of relationship and significance of variables. It will be used to arrive at an objective understanding about whether or not a majority of EFL in-service high school teachers in the western Greek region have demonstrated successful ethnorelativism and hence intercultural sensitivity and communication competence (Bellini & Rumrill, 2009).

An advantage of using a quantitative approach in this research is that the vast amount of information or data collected could be aggregated, summarized, and analyzed to provide key information and answers to the questions in the research (Bellini & Rumrill, 2009). Statistical testing serves to strengthen the findings in the qualitative analysis. Besides the use of a focus group which is usually the “first step in a research study,� quantitative techniques are needed to refine and further explain the qualitative findings (Vaughn et al., 1999, p. 6).

3.2 Data collection and analysis This study will extensively use primary data derived from interview and questionnaire-survey techniques, as well as secondary supporting materials that will be derived from sources such as books, journals, pertinent database agencies and appropriate data-generating organizations. The interview using focus groups will be the main basis for determining the answers to the [ 194 ]

first two problems as discussed in the preceding section of this paper. The interview will be done in an unstructured manner, where there will be no ‘concrete’ questions, but rather ‘guide’ questions to offer direction in the process of conducting the interview (Daymon & Holloway, 2011).

Survey questionnaires will also be distributed to the EFL inservice high school teachers from three of the western Greek region’s prefectures. The survey questionnaires will be the main basis for determining the answer/s to the third problem as discussed in the first part of this paper. The answer to the third question shall help in finding out whether or not a majority of western Greek region’s EFL in-service high school teachers have demonstrated successful ethnorelativism, and hence intercultural sensitivity and communication competence practice in teaching EFL to their students.

3.3 Research design/framework The design/framework for this research, shown in Figure 4 below, illustrates the procedure on how the whole study will be conducted, by using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research.

Figure 4 – Research Design [ 195 ]

With qualitative and quantitative approaches, this research first and foremost shall follow a scientific mode for conducting research. Research problems will first be formulated, and corresponding hypotheses shall be stated. Likewise, descriptive and analytical methods shall be employed once the qualitative survey (using interview with focus groups and survey through questionnaires) and quantitative statistical analysis (using statistical testing of central tendencies and deviations) have been conducted and results derived. From the findings, corresponding elaborations and conclusions will be derived.

3.4 Ethical considerations Any possible ethical issues that may arise from the study would mainly come from the collection and use of data, information, and materials as well as findings in the study. Therefore, I will make sure that all these shall not in any way prejudice the individuals or institutions that will be involved in the study. All participants in the survey and interview shall be informed beforehand and be given complete orientation about the objective expectations, relevance and purpose of the interview. Focus group participants will be provided a document indicating that all interview processes and information derived shall be used objectively and be subject to strict confidentiality.

Participants who will voluntarily share information shall be included in the sample groups, so that trust and confidence, proper disclosure, and awareness will be observed in the research process. In the conduct of research, I will also maintain utmost respect for the participants’ rights and dignity. No offensive language shall be adopted in any of the questionnaires.

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Participants will be advised that their participation is voluntary.

Non-participation will have no adverse impact on their present careers or situations, particularly on their being EFL in-service high school teachers.

Participants will also be advised that they are free to withdraw, without any unwanted consequences, from the interview or survey in strict deference of their own individual rights. Finally, information relating to individuals (i.e., teachers or students) or institutions (schools) involved in the interview will be treated with confidentiality in the study, and copyrighted materials shall be properly acknowledged.

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