Search

This volume contains selected papers submitted to the XVIII Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES) held virtually in June 2020. The XVIII BCES Conference theme is Educational Reforms Worldwide. The Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society is a traditional, scholarly, interdisciplinary, high-level event. Education specialists from all over the world every year attend the Conference so as to present their studies. The Conference purposefully keeps to a small size, aiming at organizing the selection of papers of the best quality and providing excellent opportunities for presentations and discussions. The goal of the XVIII BCES Conference is to provide a platform for in-depth discussions on educational reforms worldwide. The Conference attracts case, international, and comparative studies on reforms at all levels of the educational systems – preschool, primary, lower and upper secondary, postsecondary, and higher education; and in all educational streams – general, vocational, and special education. Authors present their theoretical, methodological or empirical studies on reforms of various educational aspects – aims, priorities, missions, governance, finance, structures, curricula, syllabi, textbooks, teaching and learning styles, innovations, examinations, graduation requirements, academic degrees, etc. Authors also focus on past and present educational reforms.

This paper presents and discusses findings from a European project concerning strengthening the teacher´s voice in defining professional quality. In the project tools were developed and evaluated to help teachers reflect on their professional quality. Twelve countries participated and twelve tools were tested with help of student teachers, teachers, teacher educators, school leaders and policy makers. Evaluations were completed by the tool testers and the test leaders through questionnaires and, in the case of the tool designers, through reflective journals on their experiences. Findings showed that the tool design was a success in aiding professional development via discussion about teacher quality amongst the participants. Even though the result was mainly positive, findings also showed that the tools can be further developed. Overall, the findings demonstrate that there are other ways of encouraging teachers to consider what constitutes good quality in teaching rather than imposing external standards., CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, UM (UI 317 da FCT)

This article describes the preferences expressed by 16‐year‐old and 17‐year‐old boys when they were asked what they want to learn from sex and relationship education classes and how they want to be taught. Research was carried out in eight secondary schools with boys in year 12. Qualitative responses from questionnaires issued to 307 boys were analysed together with the results from three focus groups carried out in three of the schools. The research found that in most areas boys are not being taught what they want to know. The areas of feelings and emotions, sexuality, sexual techniques, sexually transmitted infections, pornography and the effects of the ‘boy culture’ are not being addressed sufficiently, or in some cases at all. Boys also called for smaller class groups, and for more active methods of teaching and some of them asked for time away from girls to express themselves without censure. They called for more education at an earlier age and that their desire for a safe, non‐critical environment s...

Scenario writing is a method to promote creative thinking and a proactive approach to dealing with the future. ATEE's Research and Development Centre Curricula in Teacher Education has adapted this method for use in teacher education. A Comenius funded course on Scenario writing was run over five days with teachers, teacher–educators, and persons in training management from several European countries. The paper reports the results of the summative evaluation which proves the course was very successful. In addition, on the basis of the formative evaluation indications, a detailed analysis makes clear which cognitive, motivational, and social problems are fundamental to courses like this and how these difficulties are to be dealt with. Ecrire des scenarios est une methode qui promeut la reflexion creative et en meme temps c'est une approche proactive au traitement de l'avenir. Dans le cadre des Curricula de Formation des Enseignants du Centre de Recherche et de Developpement de l'ATEE (Association pour la F...

Introduction Using blended-learning allows our medical system to work in accordance with intern duty hour restrictions. With this method the learner starts to become familiar with managing pregnant patients at home by reviewing prework. The information is then reinforced during an abbreviated class-time that incorporates active learning strategies that allow for critical thinking. This module uses a blended-learning curriculum to teach the physiology of pregnancy and postpartum hemorrhage to anesthesiology interns participating in an internal medicine internship. Methods The current clinical base year at our institution includes clinical experiences in general medicine, the intensive care unit, emergency room, and elective time in anesthesiology. These disciplines do not include pediatrics or obstetrics. The preclassroom activity includes a premodule survey and test and a 12-minute video podcast outlining the physiology of pregnancy. This can be completed at each resident's leisure at home. The in-person portions of the course include a problem-based discussion, peer-to-peer learning, and simulation-based educational activities. The video and pre- and posttests were available online to additional learners who were not able to attend the in-classroom activities. After the course, all participants received a personalized “report card” with the results of their multiple choice question tests, a summary of their group's simulation result, and any answers to specific unanswered questions they had after the conclusion of the case. Feedback was collected verbally at the conclusion of the case during the group debriefing session. In addition, all learners completed a posttest and survey. Results This educational module was tested in our simulation center over 2 years with 14 anesthesiology interns. Learner pre- and posttesting demonstrated improvement in mastery of material as a result of using this module. All learners who completed the module reported increase in their confidence with obstetric care from “very insecure” and “could complete moderately well” prior to the module to “could complete moderately well” and “secure and confident” after the module. Lastly, the students completed the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare Student Version. The average rating was 6.2/7 for faculty-led debriefing, a surrogate for effective debriefing. Discussion This blended-learning module was effective not only for the learners, but for the program as well. Simulated experiences allow for a consistent set of clinical scenarios to ensure a common educational curriculum for all interns.

This paper explores the preferences of boys regarding the characteristics of teachers of sex education. Sex education in English schools is delivered as a compulsory part of National Curriculum Science and in most schools is further explored in time given over to personal, social and health education. Research was carried out in a variety of schools from both the state and private sectors, by the use of focus group interviews and questionnaires. Due to the existing law in England and Wales regarding parents' right of withdrawal from classes, only boys of 16 or over were used in this research. Boys want teachers to be empathetic, non-judgemental and able to create a 'safe environment' in order to facilitate the discussion of difficult subjects. Most boys believed that the age and sex of the teacher had little bearing on whether they could deliver the subject well; more important was their ability to generate trust, keep control of classes and use relaxed and informal methods of delivery. Unanimously the bo...

SUMMARY In this paper four scenarios are presented which illustrate possible futures of teacher education in Europe. These scenarios are the result of a project of Research and Development Centre 19 of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe. 1 The four scenarios differ from each other in their emphasis on four driving forces: pragmatism, idealism, individualism and social coherence. Each scenario is described in terms of characteristics of society, education and teacher education, roles of teachers and teacher educators, and is illustrated in a short scene.

In scientific literature a large number of different conceptual definitions of status found that can be applied as a framework for the analysis of different professions although it should be noted that there is no single, universally accepted, unambiguous definition or theoretical construct. For example, Haralambos (1994) defined reputation as the amount of respect and honor associated with social status, characteristics of an individual and his or her lifestyle, while social status, as a determined position in the society that includes a certain role, is a set of standards that define the behavior expected of members of a certain status. In this paper, we will try to establish what points of view elementary school teachers hold regarding the reputation of the teaching profession in the society and how they rank the level of reputation of elementary teachers in relation to the reputation of other professions.