Skip to content

Volume 13, Issue 6

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 6
IMPACT FACTOR 4.428

1) Teachers as ‘Powerless Elites’: Emotions and Transformative Learning— a Refined Profession in an Era of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence
Author Details: Eunice Yin-yung CHIU-Heidelberg University, Germany

Abstract:
Teaching is an art and a process embedded with emotions. From past till present, the role of school teachers have changed immensely depending on the needs of students in each era. School teachers have always been expected to be the ones who bring out and nurture skills in students, which are considered as productive and useful for the development of societies. For instance, the idea of 21st century skills, etc (Chalkiadaki, 2018). At the same time, since the pandemic when schools across the globe have undergone school suspension and emergency remote teaching, whether or not the teaching profession still plays the same indispensable role in education has become questionable. Other existent problems such as lack of novice teachers and the concerning phenomenon of teachers burnout that has been observed across educational contexts have added weights to the issue at hand. As a matter of fact, teachers are arguably powerless elites under the drastic changes in both the macro environment and the micro environment. The macro level refers to the rapid shift to digitalisation; and the micro level refers to their internal coping mechanism and mental well-being. The rapid development and reliance on artificial intelligence and digitalisation accompanied in the current educational movements have in fact brought many unknowns and challenges to teachers, especially on how they perceive their own professional identities. This research is qualitative based and makes use of focus group study, through analysing the dialogue amongst five school teachers who teach in five different schools in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The dialogue analyses an exploration on how school teachers themselves have contradictory views regarding whether the profession can be and will be replaceable by artificial intelligence in the future. The findings include i. school teachers have mixed feelings about the complete reliance of digitalisation in the classroom; ii. they see a deeper meaning in teaching and think it is an irreplaceable profession; iii. they could also experience self-doubt regarding the changes in their roles in the classroom. It is therefore recommended that teachers’ view and perception be taken into account before education systems completely shift to digitalisation, or to employ artificial intelligence, as teachers also expressed concerns regarding the potential negative effects that such a phenomena could have on students’ cognitive development, socio-emotional development and the development of empathy.
Keywords:Artificial intelligence; digitalisation; education; teachers’ emotions; students’ emphatic development

[Download Full Paper] [Page 01-25]
================================================================================

2) “Do I Have To Hire Female Drivers Too?” A Puv/Pub Operator Asks
Author Details: Jose P. Pichay-University of Northern Philippines,Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Abstract:
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a motor vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. Various types of drivers include transit drivers, school bus drivers, among others. In the Philippines where a female group constitutes a bigger population than the male group, driving is a lucrative job. Certainly even in other countries, if one is adept is driving, this means a huge amount of money if utilized with patience and diligence. Despite This is a male dominated profession; rarely do we find women drivers in control of public utility vehicles . It is in this light that the researcher would like to look into the insights, perceptions and the real reasons why public utility vehicle operators do not hire women as drivers. Results of this study will provide empirical data that might be beneficial for future plans favorable to women who appear discriminated in this kind of profession. This aims to: identify the criteria set by the PUB/PUV operators in the recruitment and the selection of their drivers; elicit some insights from operators and drivers on the dominance of males in driving as a profession; craft viable recommendations which aim at genderizing the driving profession. The researcher employed qualitative research method with narrative inquiry as to design. Narrative inquiry weaves together a sequence of events usually from just one or two individuals to form a cohesive story. Conversational partners gave their reasons in hiring male drivers: culture; physical endurance and agility; conservativeness; types of vehicles driven; absence of law requiring them to hire female drivers; and social security and welfare. The reality that rarely do we find female drivers of public utility buses/vehicles is attributed to our culture and physical endurance/agility. Public utility vehicles are not equipped with GPS and most of them are non-power steering. Most of the conversational partners said that the government must require bus operators such that a certain percentage of their driver employees should be females. Lectures and trainings on Automotive Technology where males and female participants are encouraged to attend has to be conducted. Upgrading these buses/vehicles has to be strictly implemented.
Keywords: Gender development, Culture, Education, Technology, Equality; Sensitivity

[Download Full Paper] [Page 26-31]
================================================================================

3) Figurational Social and Cultural Sciences (VI)
Author Details: Jeroen Staring-Retired Dr. mult. Jeroen Staring taught mathematics at secondary schools in The Netherlands. His 2005 Medical Sciences dissertation describes the life, work, and technique of F. Matthias Alexander. In 2013 he successfully defended a second dissertation, on the early history of the NYC Bureau of Educational Experiments.

Abstract:
This final episode of a series on ‘Figurational social and cultural sciences’ revisits in a special way the shortcomings of figurational scholars in explaining and applying one of their core concepts of Norbert Elias’s theories, namely the concept of homo clausus self-experience. Elias’ advice was to investigate whether the skin in humans is the ‘frontier’ between ‘inside’ and ‘outside.’ Physiologist and anthropologist Hans Friedenthal had already initiated such research in the past. Discussion of his work leads to a historiography of the research work of Hermann Klaatsch, Otto Hauser, Eugen Fischer, Hans Weinert and Johan Goudsblom on ideas about human ‘naked’ skin and the use and control of fire (and smoke) in anthropogenesis. The concluding paragraph actually holds up a mirror to us: we must investigate the physiogenesis of homo clausus self-experiences of contemporary people in Western European societies.
Keywords: Theodora J. Kalikow (1942); Gabriele Klein (1957). Paul Alsberg (1883-1965); Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1928-2018); Norbert Elias (1897-1990); Eugen Franz Leopold Fischer (1874-1967); Hans Wilhelm Carl Friedenthal (1870-1942); Johan Goudsblom (1932-2020); Otto Hauser (1874-1932); Friedrich Herig, 1890-1969; Hermann Klaatsch (1863-1916); Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (1903-1989); Benno Müller-Hill (1933-2018): Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960); Frans Veldman (1921-2010); Carl Johannes Weinert (1887-1967); Nico Wilterdink (1946). Domestication of fire; Control of fire and smoke; Figurational Social and Cultural Sciences; Homo clausus self-experience; Körperausschaltungsprinzip (principle of body-liberation); Skin and control of fire (and smoke).

[Download Full Paper] [Page 32-76]
================================================================================