Gilbert de Landsheere

High Achievers in Belgium: A Partial Analysis of I. E. A. Science, Literature and Reading Comprehension Data.

For Population I, we define high achievers as those students who score more than 32 points.1 In Belgium, about 5 percent score more than 32. Many more students attain this level in other countries. In England it is 12.3 percent, Finland 10 percent, Italy 13 percent, Scotland 11.4 percent, United States 9.5 percent, and Sweden 17 percent. We could hypothesize that this low percentage in Belgium results from a large amount of school time and resources devoted to the slow learners. As a matter of fact, only 11 percent of definitely low achievers (scoring 12 or under) are found in Belgium compared to 17 percent in England, 21 percent in the United States, and 16 percent in Scotland. But countries such as Sweden and Italy with a great proportion of high achievers have at the same time the smallest percentage of low achievers in reading (10 percent and 7 percent respectively). It should be pointed out, however, that th6 Italian sample is not fully representative since low performing students were omitted. Nevertheless, we can conclude that both lowering the failures and having high achievement for gifted students is possible at the same time. For Population II, a 40 point cut-off was chosen for the high achievement area in reading comprehension. Only 3.5 percent attain this level in Belgium, while England reaches 9.3 percent, Finland 10 percent, Israel and Italy 7.4 percent, Sweden 7.2 percent, United States 11.8 percent, Scotland 12.6 percent, and New Zealand being first with 15.6 percent. However, the Belgian Population II means (French and Flemish) do not considerably differ from the means in other countries. A glance at the percentages of low achievers shows again that a high percentage of high achievers does not imply necessarily a corresponding high percentage of low achievers. The very small percentage of 14 and 15-year-old low achievers in the French-speaking part of Belgium is probably explained by the curriculum devoted, in all types of schools, to mother tongue teaching.

Educational Research and Development in Europe

Seen as a whole, European educational research is poorly developed, qualitatively and quantitatively. In many universities, the academic level of schools of education is low. Most European primary and secondary school teachers do not enjoy basic training in research and hence are unable to read research reports and comprehend the statistics in them. In some countries, like Belgium, there are neither national research institutions, foundations, nor a network of regional laboratories. This poor development has both historical and political explanations. One of the main tasks of educational research is empirical and critical analysis of existing philosophies, institutions, and methods of education. Since the institutions of a country reflect the values of its dominant political forces, a critical research conclusion can be interpreted as a negative attitude toward the political authority. This perhaps explains why educational research flourishes only in societies that have reached an advanced stage of economic development and in which mature democracy has evolved. As long as democracy is more apparent than real, educational research remains secluded in universities and has a strong if not exclusively philosophical character. Provided research does not concern itself with hard empirical facts, it is no real danger to a government. Only when democracy has become a way of life and an accepted national philosophy does research play a vital role in the transformation and functioning of education. Sweden and to a

4: Educational Research and Development in Europe

Seen as a whole, European educational research is poorly developed, qualitatively and quantitatively. In many universities, the academic level of schools of education is low. Most European primary and secondary school teachers do not enjoy basic training in research and hence are unable to read research reports and comprehend the statistics in them. In some countries, like Belgium, there are neither national research institutions, foundations, nor a network of regional laboratories. This poor development has both historical and political explanations. One of the main tasks of educational research is empirical and critical analysis of existing philosophies, institutions, and methods of education. Since the institutions of a country reflect the values of its dominant political forces, a critical research conclusion can be interpreted as a negative attitude toward the political authority. This perhaps explains why educational research flourishes only in societies that have reached an advanced stage of economic development and in which mature democracy has evolved. As long as democracy is more apparent than real, educational research remains secluded in universities and has a strong if not exclusively philosophical character. Provided research does not concern itself with hard empirical facts, it is no real danger to a government. Only when democracy has become a way of life and an accepted national philosophy does research play a vital role in the transformation and functioning of education. Sweden and to a

Nouvelles technologies de l'information (N.T.I.) et didactique : impasse ou espoir ?

Bien que les N.T.I. appliquées à l’éducation ne se résument pas à l’ordinateur, c’est cependant à celui-ci seul que nous consacrons nos réflexions, parce que son entrée massive dans l’enseignement offre une occasion de repenser tous les problèmes didactiques. L‘enseignement assise par ordinateur (E.A.O.), précisons-le tout de suite, n’a pas l’ambition de remplacer l’enseignant, mais bien de s’y substituer dans des circonstances particulières ou de l’aider à mieux accomplir sa tâche. L’erreur fondamentale commise au cours de ces dernières années a été de limiter les ambitions didactiques à ce qu’autorisait ou ne semblait qu’autoriser l’ordinateur, au lieu de s’interroger sur ce qu’il pourrait apporter dans son état du moment, ou plus tard si les constructeurs et les concepteurs de didacticiels acceptaient de tenir compte de cahiers de charges reflétant une psychologie éducative et une didactique de grande qualité. Faute de cela, qu’avons-nous vu? Un déferlement de didacticiels linéaires, reflets directs de l’ordonnancement des matières selon une logique adulte où le simple ou réputé tel précède le complexe, le facile le difficile (estimés selon quels critères?), le certain l’incertain. Bref, une didactique impositive, centrée sur les contenus et non sur l’apprenant, qui aurait ravi Herbart et ses disciples. Or, si l’on considère les résultats des recherches évaluatives sur le rendement de I’EAO, que constate-t-on? 1. Que les cours réalisés selon les méthodes impositives traditionnelles conduisent grosso modo aux mêmes résultats que l’enseignement fait par des professeurs ou des assistents sans formation pédagogique. 2. Que, suivis à dose suffisante, les programmes d’exercisation et de mécanisation (drifl and practice) des habiletés de base sont bénéfiques sans doute, en partie au moins, parce que la systématisation est souvent négligée par beaucoup d’enseignants d’aujourd’hui. 3. Que les logiciels éducatifs les plus productifs sont ceux qui reflètent des conceptions psychologiques et pédagogiques avancées, ou en constituent des instruments fonctionnels.