The paper focuses on discovering the relationships between pedagogical architecture and classroom didactics. It is looking for an answer to the question what beliefs teacher trainees have about pedagogical spaces, what connections they see between efficient learning and the organisation of pedagogical spaces, and how they would organise space during their own teaching practice. During the study, two methods were used: unstructured reflective diaries (N=29) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The key point of fsQCA data analysis was the conversion of qualitative data into fuzzy sets. This process was done in several steps. Results shed light on the functional space model of the school, and highlighted the significance of individual, social, learning, and private spaces. The complex space representation of the students showed the school architecture, the inner world of the institution, forms, colours, and the unity of objects and internal space. All this has an effect on methodological culture as non-classical space organisation facilitates the use of new generation methods.

In recent years, discourse in education sciences has focussed on the study of the reflective thinking of teachers. Researchers, however, do not agree on how the reflective thinking of teachers can be measured. This qualitative study looks for an answer to the question whether a cognitive map is suitable for the discovery of teachers’ reflections. The study analyses the reflections of a secondary school teacher of mathematics using an unstructured cognitive map. The sample was selected on the basis of availability. The analysis of the map was done deductively, in a concept-driven way, on the basis of the number of contacts (edges) and concepts, central, peripheral and isolated concepts and their degrees, and the levels of the map. The teacher involved was recorded commenting on the process of map-making, which was then transferred to writing. The text corpus was then analysed inductively, in a data-driven way. The results show that the teacher interpreted his own activity - which depends on pedagogical knowledge, beliefs and pedagogical situations - in a complex manner. The filter function of beliefs can be observed when the teacher’s activities and thinking did not match because some internal and external factors. The data from the map contributed to analysis of reflections and the analysis of the map added new elements to existing techniques.

China – forming the cultural and civilization centre of the Far East. Part I

The paper aims at presenting the processes of forming China as the cultural and civilisation centre of the Far East. It is important, which is noticed, in the area of human and social relations towards the environment in which the most important cultural and civilisational transformations occur. In addition, the influence of relations with the outside world and factors influencing the formation of the first cultural formations are observed. The research space of the first part of the paper also involves the analysis of phenomena occurring in the process of the development of Chinese agriculture and the formation of cults, beliefs and religious rituals – important elements of shaping the cultural and civilisation distinctiveness of China.

In the recent past there was a realization of the significant role a head teacher can play to initiate and sustain change in educational institutions. To have a fuller understanding and to bring a meaningful change in the educational leadership practices we need to study lives and beliefs of head teachers and the way they view themselves as a person and as a head teacher. Inspired by this perspective the belief-practice relationship is now considered to be a powerful strategy in the reconceptualization process of teachers. Marland (1993) refers to this relationship by suggesting that teachers’ classroom actions are guided by internal frames of reference which are deeply rooted in personal experiences. Tillema (1998) supports this view by suggesting that in a teacher education programme, study of teachers’ beliefs becomes more important as teachers view new concepts through the lenses of their existing beliefs and do not practise new strategies unless these strategies are congruent with their beliefs. This view advocates that head teachers cannot become change agents unless an inner change, at the belief level, takes place. To tap the belief system “Metaphor” is considered to be a powerful tool. The essence of Metaphor is to understand and experience one kind of thing in terms of another. This paper is based on my experience of working with heads of educational institutions in a course organized by the ICI Pakistan-British Council Management Centre on Educational Leadership in Pakistan. The core of the metaphor activity, which was just an opening activity for the course, was to facilitate the course participants to critically review their existing beliefs about educational leadership and reflect on the potential alternatives suitable to their own context. In most of the cases the metaphors selected by the head teachers depicted the notion of a ‘giver’, placing their colleagues/subordinates at the receiving end. Some ways that helped the course participants to re-conceptualize the notion of educational leadership were pair work, group work, brainstorming, debriefing session, cooperative learning and presentations.