Equity, Participation and Opportunity
Promoting Intrinsic Motivation in an Action for Science Communication
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Michele Hidemi Ueno Guimaraes, Jonny Teixeira
Among the experiments used in Science Centers and Museums some of them stand out for calling and holding more attention of visitors. The characteristics of these experiments, by emitting sounds, lights, colors or causing any kind of surprise when visitors interact with them, turn them into venues for Non-formal Education sites. These devices were called by the authors of surprising experiments, because they caused diverse sensations to the visitors. Within itinerant scientific divulgation projects in parks and schools, these experiments are present in the exhibitions often mounted on tables. In this work, we identify and discuss the influence of the characteristics of these experiments on the motivation and behavioral change of the visitors present in the Centers and Museums of Science and on the itinerant actions of Scientific Divulgation. We could observe that both the surprising and the challenging experiments had a great influence in increasing of the intrinsic levels of motivation of the visitors, changing the behavior towards the elements of the exhibition, improving the quality of the interaction and stimulating the interest and the curiosity of the visitors.
Inclusive Education in Tanzania: Movement Beyond Barriers?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kathy-Anne Jordan
The purpose of this paper is to share a proposal for research that seeks to identify and examine examples of effective inclusive education practice at one school in Tanzania. Effective inclusive practice is defined using the objectives and strategies outlined in the country’s comprehensive inclusive education plan, the National Strategy on Inclusive Education report. Since the publication of this document in 2009, many children with disabilities remain under enrolled in Tanzania’s primary and secondary schools. According to a United Nations report, children with disabilities represented approximately 8% of Tanzania’s resident population in 2011, yet they accounted for less than 1% of all attendees at the primary level. Similarly, at the secondary level, boys with disabilities represented 0.3% of those enrolled whereas girls accounted for only 0.25%. Compounding the problem is the fact that there is still no national system in place to facilitate identification and assessment of children with disabilities (UNICEF, n.d.). Many research studies identify barriers to inclusive education in Tanzania, but few examine how schools, despite substantial challenges and barriers, are working toward effective inclusive education practice. Because this research seeks to document effective inclusive education practice and identify the factors that support such practice, it will hold implications for educators and school administrators working toward equitable and inclusive education practices within their own schools. The proposal is a work currently in progress. I will share aspects of the proposal and literature review.
Historically Black Colleges in the Western United States
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Roger Hardaway
Slavery existed in the United States of America until 1865. One of the innumerable inhumane aspects of slavery was that state statutes prohibited anyone from teaching slaves to read and write. Among the reasons for these laws was to prevent slaves from forging the freedom papers that all free African Americans possessed. Once slavery was abolished, however, so did the reasons for keeping former slaves illiterate. In the years after slavery ended several organizations and individuals supported the idea of formal education for African Americans from the elementary through the post-secondary levels. Before long, colleges for black Americans existed in every jurisdiction that had sanctioned slavery. Most slave states and territories were east of the Mississippi River, but a few were west of that major American waterway. Thus, an examination of the history of black colleges west of the Mississippi will shed light not only on the advent of education for black citizens in the United States but also on the experiences of African Americans in the American West.
