Showing papers in "Compare in 2011"

Essays on pedagogy

Abstract: by Robin Alexander, London, Routledge, 2008, 212 pp., £74.00, ISBN 0‐415‐45482‐4 (hardback), £17.98, 0‐415‐45483‐2 (paperback) In comparative education circles Robin Alexander is best known for his...

The Importance of Context: Vietnamese, Somali, and Iranian Refugee Mothers Discuss Their Resettled Lives and Involvement in Their Children's Schools.

Abstract: Parental involvement in schools is regarded as critical to student success in Australia, Canada, and the USA, the world’s top refugee resettlement countries. Refugees can be disadvantaged when they are unfamiliar with the practices and when their own cultural beliefs conflict with expectations in their new communities, or when they are consumed by other pressing needs. As part of an evaluation of a nonprofit US refugee agency’s liaison program, three groups of refugee mothers from different world regions spoke about their lives and connections with their children’s schools. Focus groups revealed satisfaction with many aspects of their children’s schools as well as contrasts between the groups’ needs and experiences. Differences indicate the need for the education community and other service providers to be aware of international backgrounds that bring refugees to the countries of resettlement and cultural differences that create diverse concerns of these groups.

Developing a systemic approach to teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa: emerging lessons from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

Abstract: While many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa are on track for meeting the Education for All targets, there is a growing recognition of the need to improve the quality of basic education and that a focus on pedagogy and its training implications needs to be at the heart of this commitment. By drawing on three East African countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, which are at different stages of development with regard to the reforming of teacher education, this paper explores the challenges and the lessons learned from each of the countries with regard to the development and strengthening of pre- and in-service training. The tension between quality, breadth and cost-effectiveness is explored together with a broader discussion of key principles to be taken into account when enhancing teacher education in the region as a whole.

Self-esteem and academic achievement: a comparative study of adolescent students in England and the United States

Abstract: Utilizing mixed methodology, this paper investigates the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement for young adolescents within two Western cultural contexts: the United States and England. Quantitative and qualitative data from 86 North American and 86 British adolescents were utilized to examine the links between self-esteem and academic achievement from the beginning to the end of their academic year during their 11th–12th year of age. For both samples, quantitative results demonstrated that fall self-esteem was related to multiple indicators of later year academic achievement. While country differences emerge by the end of the year, math appears to have a consistent relationship with self-esteem in both country contexts. Qualitative analyses found some support for British students’ self-perceptions as more accurately reflecting their academic experience than the students from the United States.

The place of social justice in higher education and social change discourses

Abstract: A familiar discourse about higher education and social change today relates to higher education’s socio-economic role within knowledge societies in a globalizing world. This paper addresses how issues of social justice feature in such discourses; whether social justice in higher education has been appropriated into a neo-liberal strategy for growing competitive economies; and whether it is possible to deploy an instrument of new public management for advancing the purposes of social justice in higher education. The paper reflects on some of the normative, policy and strategic ambiguities in the notion of social justice as currently invoked in higher education and social change discourses.

Responding to the gender and education Millennium Development Goals in South Africa and Kenya : reflections on education rights, gender equality, capabilities and global justice

Abstract: This paper explores understandings of gender equality and education and the nature of global goal and target setting, drawing on empirical data collected in central and local government departments in Kenya and South Africa reflecting on their implementation of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1, concerned with poverty, MDG 2, concerned with education, and MDG 3, concerned with gender equality. The study raises questions about the ownership of the MDGs and the reasons for the kinds of changes in meaning about gender and rights made by differently situated officials.

Financing higher education worldwide: who pays? Who should pay?

Abstract: financing higher education: who pays and other issues financing higher education worldwide who pays who should pay ebook pdf financing higher education worldwide should financing higher education worldwide who pays who should pay teaching of development economics cafebr su submission: commission of inquiry into higher education rescued by a highlander clan grant 1 keira montclair all shm textbooks atsu the 2010 comprehensive spending review and higher arizona pay-off pdf freeebookspdf-9ab41rebaseapp pdf research proposal >>>click here<

China’s move to mass higher education in a comparative perspective

Abstract: This paper analyzes how China has managed to embrace mass higher education in a short timeline, and examines how far this move has followed the existing or established patterns elsewhere through comparing its core aspects with those of four identifiable models of mass higher education: the American model, the Western European model, the Latin American model and the East Asian model. While acknowledging that the current structure of the Chinese higher education system appears to resemble the American in many ways, this paper concludes that it is fundamentally different from the American model, as well as from the Western European and the Latin American models. Largely mirroring the East Asian model, the Chinese approach features a strong sense of ‘state instrumentism’ and is also characterized by integral tensions among its various sectors, which could turn into either positive dynamics for vibrant growth or negative forces leading to serious social justice and equity issues. After enjoying an unprecedente...

Exploring equity and quality education in South Africa using multilevel models

Abstract: Educational reform in South Africa envisions schooling where all students, irrespective of their background characteristics, have the opportunity to succeed. To achieve this vision, the South African education system needs to function in such a way that students’ success does not depend on their backgrounds; that is, if school processes and policies in South Africa were inclusive and supportive of the learning of all students then we would expect high-quality schools to compensate for socio-economic disadvantage such that the achievement gap associated with the socio-economic status (SES) would be minimised. The main objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between school quality and socio-economic disadvantage. Our analysis, employing multilevel statistical models, indicates that: 1. schools do make a difference over and above the socio-economic backgrounds of learners they enrol; 2. learners are most successful in schools where they and their parents are actively engaged in the learning pr...

The Quality of Secondary Education in the Middle East and North Africa: What Can We Learn from TIMSS' Results?.

Abstract: Research on educational quality has been scarce in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, whereas the debates over educational quality date from 1966 in the USA with the Coleman Report. Fortunately TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) starts to fill this gap by providing data on students’ achievement and for many MENA countries this is the first time that such data are available. The paper gives an overview of the quality of education in MENA using TIMSS’ 2007 data. The research questions addressed here are why is achievement low? And why is the gap between the top‐performing countries and MENA countries large? In order to answer these questions, the paper focuses on several aspects: the first is the inefficiency of acquiring the language, the second is the inefficiency of time devoted to homework, the third is the meagre intended curriculum which is translated into a weaker implemented curriculum, the fourth aspect deals with the inefficiency of public resources devoted ...

Returnees, student-migrants and second chance learners: case studies of positional and transformative outcomes of Australian international education

Abstract: There is a clear need for new research into the work and life outcomes for graduates of Australian international education. Drawing upon divergent post-study transitions, this article aims to present a multi-faceted, qualitative foundation for the consideration of both positional and transformative impacts of international education on graduates’ post study lives and careers. We compare three divergent study and life pathways for international students via three case studies of different models of Australian international and transnational education provision. The findings show that positional and transformative outcomes were often intertwined in surprising ways in participants’ stories. The pathways that they followed after graduation were strongly influenced by their engagement with international education as a life as well as a learning experience. All three case studies also suggest that concepts of the prestige of the Western degree need further consideration.

The education systems of Europe

Abstract: education and one on the distribution of education and why equality matters. I found the choice of countries appropriate and thought that the balance between background information on the countries and more analytical presentation of the reforms was just right. Researchers and students working on education in one of these countries are more than likely to find something useful and interesting in these chapters.

Global Frameworks, Local Contingencies: Policy Translations and Education Development in India.

Abstract: Policies and programmes pursuing the universalisation of elementary education (UEE) in developing nations have been influenced by a set of complex forces in international, state, and local arenas. This paper explores how a large‐scale standardised assessment programme shaped by international and market‐oriented discourses has been differently re‐worked in the south Indian state of Karnataka. We draw on observation and interview data with educators and administrators to shed some light on their roles in reconstituting the meaning and practice of this programme. The intended frameworks of ‘borrowed’ education policies are not always reproduced or sustained in local contexts. Our paper shows how policies, rather than ‘borrowed’ from one context to another, undergo a process of ‘translation’ involving the contextualisation and inevitable transformation of policies.

Critical approaches to comparative education: vertical case studies from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas

Abstract: edited by Frances Vavrus and Lesley Bartlett, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, 263 pp., US$85.00, ISBN 978‐0‐230‐61597‐7 This book advances vertical case study research as the means to understan...

Making citizens of the world: the political socialization of youth in formal mass education systems

Abstract: Unique cross-national data on adolescents’ civic skills, knowledge, and political attitudes are used to examine the democratic processes of modern mass schooling, effects of national political systems, and patterns of youth political socialization in 27 nations. Compared to the generally weak reported effects on mathematics and reading achievement, we find robust effects of schooling on youths’ civics knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Secondly, there is empirical support for the importance of a supra-national political culture, beyond that of unique national cultures, in the political socialization of youth. Lastly, there is evidence of an emerging common polity among youth across nations. The results extend notions of the institutional influence of mass public schooling on the political socialization of youth.

Gender Gaps in North American Research Productivity: Examining Faculty Publication Rates in Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.

Abstract: The present study addresses gender gaps in North American research productivity, which may be influenced by personal and family variables, as well as professional and work-related variables. The study was conducted as part of the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) International Survey, conducted in 2007–08. Using articles as indicator of research productivity, we analyzed the gender gap in publication rates among full-time higher education faculty in our combined sample (Canada, Mexico, and the United States). This analysis has implications for higher education policy. In terms of research productivity, the relative productivity rates of male and female academics have been a policy priority for many years to increase the cumulative rates of research activity. We found that the variables related to research intensity varied by country, providing a more nuanced understanding of the gender gap between male and female faculty.

Succession planning and leadership development for school principals: comparing English and South African approaches

Abstract: Succession planning has become increasingly important because of the shortage of headship applicants in England, and in many other countries. Leadership development is a central part of any succession planning strategy. This article compares the findings from two longitudinal studies, in England and South Africa, where the governments are seeking to improve the supply and quality of school principals, and links them to the literature. The article concludes that ensuring a good supply of able principals requires a proactive approach and should not be left to chance.

Teaching to Disrupt Preconceptions: Education for Social Justice in the Imperial Aftermath.

Abstract: In this paper I discuss some of the approaches that I take in challenging student teachers to understand education in global context, rather than in a decontextualized or instrumental way. These approaches draw on my experience of being an educator from the ‘global South’ (the Caribbean) now working in the ‘global North’ (Australia). As the first black teacher that most Australian student teachers have encountered in their entire education, I find that I can offer them provocative educational narratives and questions stemming from a lifetime career in education, studying and working in various roles in schools, colleges, universities and ministries of education in Jamaica, Grenada, Hong Kong, the UK, the USA and Australia. I set out to disrupt the preconceptions of my students as a starting point in a collective journey of thinking differently about education.

Multilingual literacies in the global south: language policy, literacy learning and use

Abstract: This special issue focuses on literacy research in multilingual contexts in the global south. It examines the interfaces between language policies and language ideologies at the national level, the...

Gender and higher education in different national spaces: Female Palestinian students attending Israeli and Jordanian universities

Abstract: This study examines the higher education experience among Palestinian Arab females in two national spaces and seeks to determine whether studying at an Arab institution of higher learning in a nearby Arab country can alleviate the emotional and economic difficulties that affect Palestinian women at Israeli universities. What can institutions of higher learning in Israel learn or derive from the proposed model to relieve the alienation and exclusion that their female Palestinian students experience? The study will compare two geographically distinct groups of women students. The first is a group of Palestinian women who attend university in Jordan, while the second consists of Palestinian women of Bedouin origin from southern Israel who study in the Jewish Israeli cultural space. The study seeks to shed light on the experience of Muslim students in Western and Muslim universities.

Imagining Inclusive Teachers: Contesting Policy Assumptions in Relation to the Development of Inclusive Practice in Schools.

Abstract: In this article we reflect on data from two research projects in which inclusive practice in the educational system is at issue, in the light of wider field experience (our own and others’) of school and teacher development. We question what we understand to be relatively common, implicit policy assumptions about how teachers develop, by examining the way in which teachers are portrayed and located in these projects. The examples discussed in this article draw on experience in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Bangladesh, critically exploring teachers’ roles, position and agency in practice. Similarities and differences rooted in cultural, political and institutional contexts highlight in a productive way the significance and potential dangers of policy assumptions about teachers within the process of development. From Bangladesh, a success story is presented: the case of a group of primary and junior high schools with formal and non-formal characteristics facilitate the inclusion of young people...

Instructional approaches: differences between kindergarten and primary school teachers

Abstract: The article discusses kindergarten and primary school teachers’ preferences for instructional approaches and teaching practices. One hundred and thirty‐three teachers from Estonia completed questionnaires. The results showed that the promotion of students’ comprehension and independence, enhancing practical application and individualisation of instruction are highlighted by kindergarten as well as primary school teachers. The major difference between kindergarten and primary school teachers is in the usage of rote learning practices. Using a person‐oriented approach to data analysis, kindergarten teachers’ instructional patterns were shown to be similar to constructivist approaches, and primary school teachers’ patterns similar to traditional and constructivist approaches.

Low-Fee Private Schools in England and in Less Economically Developed Countries. What Can Be Learnt from a Comparison?.

Abstract: There has been a growing amount of research on low‐fee private schools in less economically developed countries, but much less on low‐fee private schools in developed countries. Yet, low‐fee private schools have also been a recent feature of the educational landscape in countries such as Canada, the USA, Australia and Great Britain. This paper draws together some of my previously published work on such schools in England and considers the similarities between low‐fee private schools in developed and less economically developed countries. In particular, it examines sponsors' motivations for starting such schools and the motivations of parents for using such schools for their children.

Talking in, talking around and talking about the L2: three literacy teaching responses to L2 medium of instruction in the Lao PDR

Abstract: With speakers of over one hundred languages, the Lao PDR is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations in Southeast Asia. However, its education policy stipulates that Lao is the language of education at all levels of schooling. Non‐ethnic Lao students are thus required to learn literacy in a language which they do not speak. Within this context, teachers must find ways to balance policy constraints with the needs of their students and with their own beliefs and values around language use. This paper examines talk around reading texts in three ethnic minority primary school classrooms in Laos. It demonstrates that the Lao language‐in‐education policy results in a multiplicity of literacy teaching responses ranging from almost exclusive use of Lao, through combined use of Lao and the mother tongue, to – surprisingly – almost exclusive use of the mother tongue to teach officially prescribed Lao texts.

Exploring the global/local boundary in education in developing countries: the case of the Caribbean

Abstract: This article focuses on education in developing countries in the context of globalization and with specific reference to the Caribbean. It examines the concept of globalization and related concepts and positions developing countries within this context. It explores the possibility of the creation of a third space where the local and the global can co-mingle and new understandings can emerge. The article argues that although the global/local interface constitutes a zone of tension, it can, in the realm of education, become an area of creative opportunity. It outlines some parameters that can guide the way in which the third space can be shaped when Caribbean and other developing countries are faced with the challenge of accommodating external ideas into local education.

The political economy of educational reforms and capacity development in Southeast Asia: cases of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

Abstract: edited by Yasushi Hirosato and Yuto Kitamura, London, Springer, 2009, 326 pp., £76.50(hardcover), ISBN 978-1-4020-9375-3 This is a book about the way education reforms could contribute to national ...

The old man and the letter: repertoires of literacy and languaging in a modern multiethnic Gambian village

Abstract: Recent developments mark a ‘human turn’ in sociolinguistics, i.e., a move away from languages as linguistic systems used by people, toward language or languaging as a sociolinguistic system performed by people. This article inscribes itself in that tradition and offers a micro‐ethnographic analysis of a literacy event in rural Gambia. The incident relates to a letter that was ‘written’ by an old illiterate villager in the process of arranging a family member’s marriage. Although the event in itself is fairly insignificant and trivial, it is mobilised to gain an insight into the social and cultural organisation of literacy and languaging in this village. The old man’s letter is a typical moment of ‘grassroots literacy’ and is not ‘orthographic’ but ‘heterographic’ (reflecting more than one prescriptive regime) and ‘exographic’ (drawing on imported normativity). Local languaging here is not the sum of the local languages (Mandinka plus Jola plus Fula plus English) but is a complexly regimented repertoire in...

An education millennium development goal for quality: complexity and democracy

Abstract: 2008 marked the midway point between the inception and the target year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Whilst UNESCO’s 2008 Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2007) marked this with an a...

Experiencing multiculturalism in Greek‐Cypriot primary schools

Abstract: Within the context of a monocultural and monolingual education system, this paper seeks to explore and compare the experiences of Cypriot and non‐Cypriot pupils in Greek‐Cypriot primary schools with culturally diverse pupil populations. The concept of multiculturalism has been introduced only very recently in Cyprus and there has been little research on pupils’ experience and understanding of multiculturalism. Using a narrative approach, this inquiry seeks to provide an understanding of the experience of studying in multicultural primary school classrooms. The pupils of two classrooms, aged between 10 and 12, describe their experience through terms such as new knowledge, religion, language, racism and stereotypes.