Culture, Education, and Future

A Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Publication

Russ Marion — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0300

Recently, journal editors (and academics generally) have become aware of a breakout headache, or perhaps a breakout boon they need to confront: Artificial intelligence, AI—specifically Chat GPT. This technology first appeared on November 30, 2022—about a year ago—and is already a major concern and attractant for academics and higher ed students. University faculty (and I suspect high school as well) are alarmed particularly by this new tool’s implications for student plagiarism, but there is even more than that to be concerned about, as we will discuss. Academics and publishers have similar concerns about publications. I and the other editors of Culture, Education, and Future (CEF) are troubled by the potential unintended consequences that Chat GPT will have on the quality and depth of research in our field.

The Dynamic Dance of Nonviolence in Education: Embracing Tensions and Embodiment in Critical Times

Hongyu Wang, Jon L. Smythe, Jennifer Schneider — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0300

The lack of attention to nonviolence in education is highly problematic, and this article elaborates nonviolence as a new direction in a time of crisis. First, nonviolence is conceptualized as holding tensions to contest violence and cultivate nonviolent relations in the everyday praxis of education in both inner work and outer work in engaging social differences. Second, an aesthetics-based approach at intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal levels is introduced to address violence and nonviolence in curriculum. Third, we conceptualize how embodied living and mindfulness are crucial components in understanding and practicing nonviolence. This article brings philosophical understanding, artistic attunement, and a meditative stance together to demonstrate what possibilities can be opened by embracing nonviolence in curriculum studies. Throughout the article, we argue that nonviolence not only opposes violence but is also a positive, integrative force that we should become attuned to in order to transform curriculum and education. In addition, we discuss three theoretical and practical implications of our work, as well as four domains for further research.

In-School Suspension and Number of Days Assigned by the Ethnicity-Race of Grades 4 and 5 Girls: A Texas, Multiyear Analysis

Matthew D. Griffin, John R. Slate — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0300

In this statewide, multiyear investigation, the extent to which student ethnicity/race was related to the rate and number of days that Grades 4 and 5 Black, Hispanic, and White girls were assigned to an in-school suspension was addressed. Separate analyses were conducted for each grade level and for each of the four school years. Established in this investigation was the clear presence of differences in the frequency and number of days that Grades 4 and 5 Black, Hispanic, and White girls were assigned to an in-school suspension in the 2016-2017 through the 2019-2020 school years. In both grade levels, Black and Hispanic girls were assigned to an in-school suspension at a statistically significantly higher rate than White girls. Black girls were assigned the highest average number of days to an in-school suspension, followed by White girls and Hispanic girls. Implications and recommendations for future research were made.

Examining English Teachers’ Perspectives on Competency Levels in Technopedagogical Education

Eyup Yünkül, Mustafa Çam — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0300

This study aimed at analyzing English teachers’ technopedagogical education competence in Türkiye. This study was carried out as a quantitative design and survey model study. Within the scope of the study, the data collected from 218 English teachers were evaluated. This sample was chosen through the convenience sampling method among the teachers in the population. With the purpose of identifying the technopedagogical levels of English teachers, the “Technopedagogical Content Knowledge Scale” was used in the study. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, average, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U tests were used. As a result of the study, it was determined that English teachers’ technopedagogical education level is “Advanced”. A significant difference was determined in Technopedagogical education competencies according to various personal characteristics of teachers. Within the scope of the research, it is recommended that future research should be carried out in-depth studies on the reasons why English teachers' technopedagogical education competency levels are high.

Economic Status Differences in Reading Performance: A Multiyear Study of Grade 4 Black Boys in Texas

Rhonda D. Mason, Fred C. Lunenburg, John R. Slate — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0300

In this statewide, multiyear analysis conducted in the United States, the extent to which Grade 4 Black boys differed in their reading performance on the Texas state-mandated reading assessment as function of their economic status (i.e., economically disadvantaged and not economically disadvantaged) was determined. Analysis of three school years of Texas statewide data yielded statistically significant differences in reading by the economic status of Black boys. In all three school years and in all three reporting categories, Black boys who were in poverty answered statistically significantly fewer items correctly than Black boys who were not in poverty. Similarly, statistically significantly lower percentages of Black boys who were in poverty met the three grade level standards than Black boys who were not in poverty. Implications for policy and for practice, along with recommendations for future research, were provided.

Roles-Based Engagement in Collaborative Online Discussions to Promote EFL Speaking

Angla Florensia Sauhenda, Ranta Butarbutar — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0300

This qualitative case study examines students’ perceptions of role-based engagement in collaborative online discussions to promote English as a foreign language (EFL) speaking. For this reason, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 students and one educator. The results showed that teachers applied three basic educators’ collaborative competencies (ECC) during online discussions. Thus, group activities are evident through the following: speaking skills (peer grammar repetition and peer pronunciation correction), cognitive boosting (criticizing and confirming specific opinions), social interaction (praising group accomplishments and help-seeking problem-solving), and collaborative skills. The study suggests more research into role-based discussions that occur on the spot or without teachers planning ahead, open-ended speaking diagnostic tasks, designs for online assessment and evaluation of speaking rubrics, fluency-oriented speaking tasks, and technology-assisted peer-learning assessments.