Intercultural dimensions in the (new) curriculum of Cyprus: the way forward

In 2010, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Cyprus introduced a ‘new’ national curriculum for all public schools of the Cypriot republic. The overarching purpose of this study is to examine how the ongoing educational reform in Cyprus could set a different ideological framework, within which intercultural education may be developed and implemented. To this end, it provides a number of important insights into the intercultural dimension of the ‘new’ national curriculum by exploring the formal and the ideological levels of the curriculum. More specifically, it indicates the ways in which the ideological curriculum has been formed by the complex and often counteractive discourses of monoculturalism, multiculturalism and interculturalism due to the socio-historical context of Cyprus. The conclusions of this study assert that further research should be conducted to examine the implications pertaining to teachers’ practice and student learning with regard to intercultural education.     

Critical Literacy needs teachers as transformative leaders. Reflections on teacher training for the introduction of the (new) Modern Greek language curriculum in Cyprus

The new Curricula of Cyprus aspire to deliver a new ethos in teaching and learning that promotes the notion of ‘the humane and democratic school' and emphasises the right of every child to succeed. In this context, the new Modern Greek language curriculum in Cyprus has been moulded upon the notion of Critical Literacy (CL). CL is neither an instructional strategy nor a lesson plan. It is a philosophical belief committed to a different worldview. As such, CL requires people's acceptance. Not just students but also teachers must first learn, understand and embrace the notion before applying its principles to their practice. This can only be done through a process of transformative leadership enabling teachers to become transformative leaders themselves. Has this axiom been taken into consideration in the case of Cyprus? Do teachers in Cyprus learn about CL in a process of transformative leadership? This article will attempt to answer these questions utilising the testimonies of Sandra, a primary school teacher who attended the seminars and workshops organised for training teachers to use the new language curriculum.     

Programme theory,programme documents and state standards in evaluating teacher education

Across the USA as well as worldwide, numerous universities offer teacher preparation programmes and award such degrees. However, there are no consistent valid or reliable indicators for determining the coherence and quality of these programmes. An effective way of starting to evaluate these programmes is by looking at their standards and their documents. The combination of both could be considered the basis on which all major decisions about the programme are based. Using the example of a Midwestern university in the USA, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method of examining the coherence between the various sets of standards that university programmes have to adhere to (e.g. whether the teacher education standards of the university correspond to the standards for the state that the university is in, as well as to the programme documents). This article ends with some suggestions that could lead to a higher level of coherence within such programmes.     

The perceptions of high-level officers in Cyprus about intercultural education and their underlying assumptions

Abstract

This article is based on a year‐long study of elementary to secondary transition in rural Ontario, Canada. The study considered the experience of transition for rural students within the political context of recently mandated changes to the transition years in Ontario. Research elsewhere suggests that the strong academic orientation of the secondary school creates a polarized and fragmented school culture which leads to student alienation and high drop‐out rates. These issues were regarded as less relevant in the rural area where the study took place and, thus, the teachers, parents and students who participated were sceptical about the need for change. The article examines the influence of contextual factors, including the rural setting, school structure and size, and teacher experience, on school culture and curriculum, and participants’ experiences of transition and their perspectives on change. A dialogical approach to enquiry was taken which attempted to bring together, through dialogue, the disparate views of research and participants to achieve new understandings on the critical issues of rural transition.