Showing papers in "Compare in 2012"
104 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors adopt the critical theory approach to reflect and analyse the impacts of globalization on the internationalization process of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region, arguing that globalization forces many of the higher education institutions in the region to follow global practices and ideologies of the Anglo-American paradigm without developing their own unique systems and honouring the rich cultures of their own countries.
Abstract: This article adopts the critical theory approach to reflect and analyse the impacts of globalization on the internationalization process of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region. It argues that globalization forces many of the higher education institutions in the region to follow global practices and ideologies of the Anglo-American paradigm without developing their own unique systems and honouring the rich cultures of their own countries. While higher education institutions are indulging in internationalization in terms of marketization and economic pragmatism, they have to ask themselves, ‘What is missing in the process of internationalization?’ This article argues that internationalization of higher education contributes to building more than economically competitive and politically powerful states. It represents a commitment to the development of an internationalized curriculum where the pursuit of global citizenship, human harmony and a climate of global peace is of paramount importance.
87 citations
TL;DR: In the more middle class general secondary track, pressure to enrol in tutoring is less direct and the market is promoted as a necessity for competitive exam readiness, despite its unclear dividends.
Abstract: Most secondary school students in Egypt enrol in private tutoring in almost all subjects throughout the school year. A large proportion of students have stopped attending school altogether due to their reliance on tutoring. This study of how educational markets are perpetuated at school level finds that in the technical track catering to the working classes, the market is forced upon students through physical and verbal intimidation by teachers receiving below subsistence wages. In the more middle class general secondary track, pressure to enrol in tutoring is less direct and the market is promoted as a necessity for competitive exam readiness, despite its unclear dividends. The result has been a de-facto privatization of secondary education facilitated by a state that has determined the material conditions of teachers, failed to prevent related abuse and corruption, and reduced its investment in education to the point that the market has effectively emptied out and displaced public schooling.
76 citations
TL;DR: The BAICE Presidential Address as mentioned in this paper discusses debates on the use of a foreign and ex-colonized language as a language of instruction (LOI) in African schools and argues that the quality of education cannot be seen as an issue separate from the LOI.
Abstract: This article is an abbreviated version of the BAICE Presidential Address held at the 11th UKFIET International Conference in Oxford on September 16, 2011. It discusses debates on the use of a foreign and ex-colonial language as a language of instruction (LOI) in African schools and argues that the quality of education cannot be seen as an issue separate from the LOI. Nevertheless, the World Bank 2020 strategy, ‘Learning for All’, does not mention the language in which learning is to take place. The article then discusses policy changes in Rwanda where English was made the LOI from the first grade in 2008, and examines the use of ‘Timms-like’ testing. Taking the example of text messaging and chat amongst students in Dakar and Dar es Salaam, it considers how new information and communication technologies seem to offer opportunities for change where linguistic policy has failed.
56 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in Australian curricula occurs within a space of tension, "the cultural interface", in negotiation and contestation with other dominant knowledge systems.
Abstract: This paper argues from the standpoint that embedding Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in Australian curricula occurs within a space of tension, ‘the cultural interface’, in negotiation and contestation with other dominant knowledge systems. In this interface, Indigenous knowledge is in a state of constancy and flux, invisible and simultaneously pronounced depending on the teaching and learning contexts. More often than not, Indigenous knowledge competes for validity and is vexed by questions of racial and cultural authenticity and, therefore, struggles to be located centrally in educational systems, curricula and pedagogies. Interrogating normative western notions of what constitutes authentic or legitimate knowledge is critical to teaching Indigenous studies and embedding Indigenous knowledge. The inclusion (and exclusion) of Indigenous knowledge at the interface is central to developing curriculum that allows teachers to test and prod and create new knowledge and teaching approaches. From this pers...
48 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed estimates of the numbers of children in each sub-group, focussing on countries endorsed by the Fast Track Initiative, and estimates that 21 million rather than 14 million children are out-of-school in those countries; and that worldwide 115 million instead of 67.5 million are out of school.
Abstract: In developing countries, population estimates and assessments of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals are based increasingly on household surveys. It is not recognised that they are inappropriate for obtaining information about the poorest of the poor. Typically, they omit by design: those not in households because they are homeless; those who are in institutions; and mobile, nomadic or pastoralist populations. In addition, in practice, because they are difficult to reach, household surveys will typically under-represent: those in fragile, disjointed or multiple occupancy households; those in urban slums; and may omit certain areas of a country because of security considerations. This article reviews estimates of the numbers of children in each sub-group, focussing on countries endorsed by the Fast Track Initiative, and estimates that 21 million rather than 14 million children are out-of-school in those countries; and that worldwide 115 million rather than 67.5 million are out-of-school. Methods of improving population counts are briefly discussed.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how blame and disconnection from the lives of the poor feature in a nexus of ideas about implementing education policy articulated by education officials and teachers in Kenya.
Abstract: The article examines how blame and disconnection from the lives of the poor feature in a nexus of ideas about implementing education policy articulated by education officials and teachers in Kenya. Three different approaches to understanding marginality are distinguished, each associated with a different process of setting a boundary concerning the marginalised. This differentiation is used to analyse qualitative data collected between 2007 and 2011 in three sites – a school, a provincial education department, and the national education ministry. Analysis shows how work practices in all sites entail processes of distancing and exclusion which confirm the boundaries associated with marginalisation, rather than overcoming them. We conclude on the need to pay attention to shifting cultural perceptions concerning the marginalised, opening educational opportunities for officials and teachers to examine their presuppositions, and making space for the poor and the marginal to engage politically and culturally in...
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of how an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, prepared students for a multicultural Indonesia, using schoolyard and classroom ethnographies, along with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with teachers and students, the study found that classroom and non-classroom practices of the pesantren promote the development of multicultural education.
Abstract: This article aims to report a single case study of how an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, prepared students for a multicultural Indonesia. Despite negative portrayal by the Western media about increasing Islamic radicalism in some pesantren, many pesantren are in fact transforming into modern Islamic institutions, incorporating the teaching of democratic values and practices, endorsing civil society and community development, and inculcating cultural/religious diversity and tolerance in students. Using schoolyard and classroom ethnographies, along with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) with teachers and students, the study found that classroom and non-classroom practices of the pesantren promote the development of multicultural education. Several subjects within both curriculum developed by the government and curriculum developed by pesantrens discuss a considerable number of issues that relate to cultural and religious diversity, tolerance, citizenship an...
33 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored how policymakers and other stakeholders in the field of education have defined the notion of interculturalism and its implementation in schools and discussed the intercultural education policy which was introduced in 1996, in response to the migration and diversity the country has seen since the mid-1980s.
Abstract: Schools in Greece particularly in inner-city areas, have seen a considerable increase in the number of migrant students over the past two decades. In this article, we discuss the intercultural education policy, which was introduced in 1996, in response to the migration and diversity the country has seen since the mid-1980s. We explore how policymakers and other stakeholders in the field of education have defined the notion of interculturalism and its implementation in schools. Our discussions draw on two separate studies, which used very similar tools and methods to elicit information. The article provides new insights from educators about how to respond to Greece’s diverse student population. The results not only highlight gaps between government policy and school practice, differences between traditionalists and progressivists, but also show that Greece has still a long way to go, to leave behind its ethnocentric image and fully implement intercultural education within all public schools, not only in th...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on impressions gained in the process of collecting and analysing data for a doctoral study still in progress, which indicates that in most urban and peri-urban schools, where the learner population is highly multilingual, the policy has been implemented in such a way that in effect either the notion of "mother tongue" seems to have been red...
Abstract: Kenya’s language-in-education policy supports mother-tongue education as the ideal approach to developing language and literacy skills of young learners. The policy has been informed by findings of various past national education commissions as well as international declarations such as the UNESCO declaration on the use of Vernacular Languages in Education of 1953, the World Declaration on Education for All of 1990 and the Dakar framework of 2000. The country’s Constitution of 2010 re-affirms this policy. However, available reports indicate that little progress has been made in implementing the use of Kenyan mother tongues in education. This paper reports on impressions gained in the process of collecting and analysing data for a doctoral study still in progress. Preliminary findings indicate that in most urban and peri-urban schools, where the learner population is highly multilingual, the policy has been implemented in such a way that in effect either the notion of ‘mother tongue’ seems to have been red...
32 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of networking has played, at local and national levels, in facilitating communication between key actors involved in challenging the marginalisation of disabled people from education and from wider Bangladeshi society.
Abstract: This article examines the role networking has played, at local and national levels, in facilitating communication between key actors involved in challenging the marginalisation of disabled people from education and from wider Bangladeshi society. Efforts to promote awareness of the importance of including disabled children in their local schools have gained ground at national level through a complex web of networking relationships, including government departments concerned with education and social welfare, disability-focused NGOs and mainstream development agencies and networks. The article explores the experience of blind people, (in their role as members of self-help groups linked to Community-Based Rehabilitation programmes in rural areas) in supporting disabled children to access their local school, and in ensuring their safety. Some evidence is provided for the role of networking in challenging marginalising policies, in accessing services (including financial benefits), and in resisting marginalis...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the schooling for youth of Haitian descent born and living in the Dominican Republic and found that, despite claims to the contrary, some immigrant children are still being denied access to basic education; once enrolled in school, children and youth of Haiti descent, and especially darker-skinned boys, are subject to intense verbal abuse and, in some cases, physical abuse.
Abstract: The world is witnessing an era of unprecedented human mobility and much of this movement entails migration between countries in the global south. This article contributes to the development of an important new line of inquiry within the field of comparative and international education: South-South migration and education. In the first section, I review the available literature to sketch the outlines of this phenomenon. I then examine a particular case: schooling for youth of Haitian descent born and living in the Dominican Republic. The qualitative data reveals two important findings: first, despite claims to the contrary, some immigrant children are still being denied access to basic education; second, once enrolled in school, children and youth of Haitian descent, and especially darker-skinned boys, are subject to intense verbal abuse and, in some cases, physical abuse. As I discuss in the conclusion, the case of Haitians in the Dominican Republic raises significant questions regarding south-south migra...
TL;DR: The aftermath of the international financial crisis of 2008/09 and current economic downturn in the world economy has unsurprisingly put publicly-funded higher education (HE) systems under immense strain this article.
Abstract: The aftermath of the international financial crisis of 2008/09 and current economic downturn in the world economy has unsurprisingly put publicly-funded higher education (HE) systems under immense ...
TL;DR: This paper conducted a qualitative study of a British Muslim community education project initiated by home-schooling mothers who believe in "Holistic Islamic Education" and demonstrated parallels between the experiences and motivations of these mothers and indigenous education movements in that they seek to provide a "Qur'an-centered" worldview, reviving classical Islamic education and synthesizing it with modern pedagogy as a defence against the dominant secular culture.
Abstract: Drawing upon Islamic epistemology to confront the challenges of a postcolonial world, some European Muslims are rejecting existing educational provision, seeking to formulate culturally-coherent pedagogy. This paper contributes to the debate on Islamic schools in Britain through the findings of a qualitative study of a British Muslim community education project initiated by home-schooling mothers who believe in ‘Holistic Islamic Education’. The study demonstrates parallels between the experiences and motivations of these mothers and indigenous education movements in that they seek to provide a ‘Qur’an-centred’ worldview, reviving classical Islamic education and synthesizing it with modern pedagogy as a defence against the dominant secular culture. Their pedagogy involves the nurturing of shakhsiyah (personality/identity) through tarbiyah (holistic upbringing) as a means to navigate the complexity of multiple identities and the challenges of modernity faced by Muslims in Britain.
TL;DR: In the past decade, international and national education agencies have begun to emphasize the improvement of the quality (rather than quantity) of education in developing countries as mentioned in this paper, and this trend ha...
Abstract: Over the past decade, international and national education agencies have begun to emphasize the improvement of the quality (rather than quantity) of education in developing countries. This trend ha...
TL;DR: The authors examines discourses of intercultural education, locating them socially, culturally, politically and historically, and draws distinctions between educational analyses of diversity that emphasise identity and difference and those that prioritise interculturalism.
Abstract: This article investigates discourses of intercultural education, taking as its starting point two ‘encounters’ in 2010 with contrasting aims and expectations of intercultural education. One is the launch of the 2010 Global Monitoring Report, where intercultural education is viewed as a means of overcoming marginalisation and promoting inclusion, and the other is in a rural Amazonian community context, where intercultural education serves to actively compound processes of exclusion. The article examines these discourses of intercultural education, locating them socially, culturally, politically and historically, and draws distinctions between educational analyses of diversity that emphasise identity and difference and those that prioritise interculturalism. It exposes complex and intersecting dynamics of social change and political contestation in the Amazonian ‘encounter’, which question the viability of globalised (technical-adaptive) strategies for inclusion of people whose intercultural lives are chara...
TL;DR: In this paper, a public-good, capabilities-based approach to professional education in South African universities is outlined and proposed as a contribution to wider social transformation and the relevance and importance of understanding what Amartya Sen describes as "capability failure" in the lives of people living in poverty is explored and, following from this, how professionals ought to contribute by virtue of their university education, and hence privilege, to making people's lives go better.
Abstract: The generation of a public-good, capabilities-based approach to professional education in South African universities is outlined and proposed as a contribution to wider social transformation. The relevance and importance of understanding what Amartya Sen describes as ‘capability failure' in the lives of people living in poverty is explored and, following from this, how professionals ought to contribute by virtue of their university education, and hence privilege, to making people's lives go better. The key criterion in developing and evaluating professional education is then how professionals are educated to expand the scope of effective freedoms each person has to lead a life she has reason to value, underpinned at all times with respect for human dignity. The process by which a Professional Capabilities Index (PCI) was generated theoretically and empirically is explained and the argument advanced for the PCI as a practical tool for professional education oriented to improving public services for the poo...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the barriers to education inclusion for pastoralists in India: a conflation of education with schooling; and ambiguity over whether pastoralism is a relevant contemporary livelihood.
Abstract: The education exclusion of pastoralists is increasingly recognised as a critical area for attention in progress towards Education For All. This article sets out two interlinked propositions as to what underlies barriers to education inclusion for pastoralists in India: a conflation of ‘education’ with schooling; and ambiguity over whether pastoralism is a relevant contemporary livelihood. Taking an adverse incorporation and social exclusion perspective on marginality, policy narratives of education inclusion are explored using its construct of ‘terms of inclusion’. Empirical evidence showing how pastoralism and formal education intersect demonstrates multi-faceted exclusions which simultaneously drive demand for schooling and impose highly adverse terms of incorporation for pastoralism in the globalising economy. Policy strategies currently undervalue ‘education’ as situated learning with a crucial role in pastoralist livelihood sustainability, recognition of which is essential to considering how such ‘ed...
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the post-war development of the Philippines, focusing on the role that education played, and contrasted it with the East Asian Tigers, arguing that the Philippines was distinctive in the state's failure to exercise strong central control, especially of the education system, which was neither harnessed to promote economic development nor national unity.
Abstract: After WWII, the economic prospects of the Philippines, then the second-largest economy in Asia, were viewed positively, but by the mid-1970s it had become Asia’s developmental puzzle for its failure to sustain economic growth. In contrast during the same period, regional neighbours, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore, achieved previously unknown levels of economic growth and were dubbed the ‘East Asian Tigers’. This article analyses the post-war development of the Philippines, focusing on the role that education played, and contrasts it with the East Asian Tigers. It is argued that the Philippines was distinctive in the state’s failure to exercise strong central control, especially of the education system, which was neither harnessed to promote economic development nor national unity. The status quo, which has its origins in a plantation economy, prevailed, and this ensured the country remained an unequal and impoverished democracy.
TL;DR: Based on 16 months of ethnographic research, this paper examined the disjuncture between the official education policy known as the Two Basics Project (TBP) and the lived practices and beliefs observed in two rural ethnic communities, and investigated how students' disenchantment and withdrawal from school challenges compulsory education as a fragile universalist attempt at social progress.
Abstract: Despite the state’s unrelenting efforts to enforce compulsory basic education, schooling in rural ethnic China remains an elusive ideal that leads to massive dropout and prepares many only for factory sweatshops. Based on 16 months of ethnographic research, this article examines the disjuncture between the official education policy known as the Two Basics Project (TBP) and the lived practices and beliefs observed in two rural ethnic communities. It investigates how students’ disenchantment and withdrawal from school challenges compulsory education as a fragile universalist attempt at social progress. Instead of merely examining what factors contribute to the policy failure, the analysis questions the very ‘progressive’ ideals and teleological visions at work in China’s educational programming, and challenges binaries such as literacy/illiteracy, cultured/uncultured, modernity/traditionalism.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A questionnaire for evaluating interactive verification systems based on Green and Petre’s Cognitive Dimensions is presented and used to evaluate the KeY System, a user-friendly interactive verification system.
Abstract: Usability is an important criterion for measuring and comparing the quality of software systems. It is particularly important for interactive verification systems, which heavily rely on user support to find proofs and that require various complex user interactions. In this paper, we present a questionnaire for evaluating interactive verification systems based on Green and Petre’s Cognitive Dimensions. In a first case study, we have used this questionnaire to evaluate our own tool, the KeY System. The lessons learned from this evaluation relate (1) to the usability of the KeY System and interactive verification systems in general and also (2) gave us insights on how to perform usability evaluations for interactive verification systems.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The competition was organized by the three authors on a 48 hours period on November 8-10, 2011, and the five problems that were proposed to the participants and the solutions sent by the 29 teams that entered the competition are presented.
Abstract: We report on the second verified software competition. It was organized by the three authors on a 48 hours period on November 8-10, 2011. This paper describes the competition, presents the five problems that were proposed to the participants, and gives an overview of the solutions sent by the 29 teams that entered the competition.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the legal legitimacy of unrecognised schools in Delhi whose actual existence was challenged by the Delhi High Court and the Right to Education Act, 2009, and illustrate the practical legitimacy of the unrecognized schools by comparing perspectives of different actors (the government, NGOs and managers, teachers and parents) based primarily on interviews with these actors.
Abstract: Studies to date show how low-fee private (LFP) schools, including unrecognised ones, have gained practical legitimacy and continue to increase in number. However, little explanation is offered regarding the legal legitimacy of such unrecognised LFP schools. This paper intends to fill this gap by examining the legal legitimacy of unrecognised schools in Delhi whose actual existence was challenged by the Delhi High Court and the Right to Education Act, 2009. The paper also illustrates the practical legitimacy of unrecognised schools by comparing perspectives of different actors (the government, NGOs and managers, teachers and parents at nine unrecognised schools in Delhi) based primarily on the author’s interviews with these actors.
TL;DR: In this paper, Ryan and Slethaug present a collection of essays about the role of gender and race in the development of women's empowerment in Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 2010, 216 pp., US$25.00/HK$150.00 (hardback), ISBN 97...
Abstract: edited by Janette Ryan and Gordon Slethaug, Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 2010, 216 pp., US$25.00/HK$150.00 (paperback), ISBN 9789888028450, 208 pp., US$50.00/HK$325.00 (hardback), ISBN 97...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted classroom observations and teacher interview-discussions in classes for immigrant children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the language of instruction is French, and in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa, where children from many different language backgrounds are taught in English.
Abstract: Comparative research in multilingual urban primary schools indicates that the pedagogical and political goals of schooling may operate at cross-purposes. Classroom observations and teacher interview-discussions were conducted in classes for immigrant children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the language of instruction is French, and in classes in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa, where children from many different language backgrounds are taught in English. Two main themes emerged: (1) pedagogically, effective teacher–learner communication can break down when teachers are unaware of the roles that language and culture play in second language classrooms; (2) politically, efforts to assimilate learners into new socio-cultural/political contexts sometimes take precedence over sound pedagogical practice, such as drawing on the linguistic and cultural repertoire that learners bring to the classroom. This ongoing qualitative research underlines the importance of preparing pre-service and in-service t...
TL;DR: The authors have long promoted the expansion and improvement of education systems as a means to foster more inclusive societies and a better quality of education for all students in the United States and the world.
Abstract: Governments, donor agencies and other interested parties have long promoted the expansion and improvement of education systems as a means to foster more inclusive societies and a better quality of ...
TL;DR: Avelino Sinani Elizardo Perez (ASEPE) as discussed by the authors is a pre-service teacher education in Bolivia's Normales, which is seen as a crucial step in these processes of socio-political processes of social justice.
Abstract: In line with a broader Latin American turn to the left, since 2006 Bolivia’s ‘politics of change’ of president Evo Morales includes a new ‘decolonising’ education reform called Avelino Sinani Elizardo Perez (ASEP). With the aim to break down deep historical processes of indigenous denial and exclusion in education, this ‘revolutionary reform’ envisions a radical restructuring of Bolivian society and a revaluation of indigenous epistemological, cultural and linguistic heritage through education. Inspired by Latin America debates on coloniality theory and theories of alternative knowledges, and geared towards broader socio-political processes of social justice, Bolivia’s envisaged education transformation is built around four pillars, being: (1) decolonization, (2) intra- and inter-culturalism together with plurilingualism, (3) productive education and (4) communitarian education. The transformation of pre-service teacher education in Bolivia’s Normales is seen as a crucial step in these processes of socio-...
TL;DR: In this article, the rationale for VET reforms in Norway and Spain by scrutinising attempts to strengthen the coherence of their VET systems is explored, and the authors explore the rationale and rationale of these reforms.
Abstract: Coherence of national education and training systems is increasingly tabled in European policy debates. Leaning on literature about the emergence and consolidation of national education systems, this article explores the rationale for VET reforms in Norway and Spain by scrutinising attempts to strengthen the coherence of their VET systems. Coherence has been sought through the unification of different strands of vocational education; initial, continuing and active labour market policies (what we call ‘horizontal coherence’) and the mainstreaming of VET curricular elements; plus the systematisation of VET practices across educational levels (‘vertical coherence’). While both countries looked for coherence, their motivations, how they operationalised the term and the emphasis of their actions differed substantially. Spain has experienced a move from the three largely unrelated strands into a more unified system; Norway from a fragile VET system to the availability of more VET courses and apprenticeship arrangements at all educational levels.
TL;DR: Byamugisha et al. as discussed by the authors conducted a qualitative, field-based study of 16 primary leavers and pioneer beneficiaries of the 1997 UPE policy and 34 adults, with the latter identified by the nature of their role and position in relation to these UPE graduates.
Abstract: Past research has addressed the disparities in educational achievement for primary seven school leavers in Uganda but it did not take into account the multidimensional perspectives: those on poverty (as reported by the poor) and on educational inequalities between and within regions, particularly with regard to the impacts of the 1997 Universal Primary Education (UPE) policy. The central question for this enquiry was: whether the UPE policy reforms have eradicated the regional poverty and educational inequalities in Uganda given the evidence of a decade of UPE implementation (1997-2007). Five research questions arose: (1) What is the state of the regional poverty and educational inequalities in Uganda a decade after the launching of the 1997 UPE policy? (2) What are the perceptions of Primary leavers and adults on UPE and NFE and the effects of these interventions in reducing poverty and educational inequalities? (3) Is there evidence that UPE is helping poor people to escape from poverty? (4) How are poor people in Uganda socially constructed? What is the impact of the social construction of UPE on the learning outcomes of learners across the three different locations? and (5) How can UPE be meaningfully designed to help reduce regional poverty and educational inequalities in Uganda? The field data was collected during a year-long (June 2007 - May 2008) qualitative, field-based study of 16 Primary school graduates and pioneer beneficiaries of the 1997 UPE policy and of 34 adults – the latter identified by the nature of their role and position in relation to these UPE graduates. Broadly, the typology provides the central framework for a comparative study, through the diverse perspectives of Primary leavers, head teachers, education officials, community leaders and Education Executive Committee members and others chosen through a purposive sampling strategy, in three distinct education settings (the City, the peri-urban Municipality and the Village) using face-to-face interviews, focus groups and participatory techniques. The research adopted an integrated approach using critical ethnography, social constructionist and the emancipatory paradigms for triangulation. The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ II 2005 - Byamugisha and Ssenabulya) Survey on Numeracy and Literacy levels for Grade 6 in Uganda provided data to validate the findings from the integrated account and to support the thesis that UPE has not reduced regional inequality in Uganda.
The study identified the following gaps for further research: (a) gathering robust disaggregated data to address exclusion – gender, disability, socio-economic status, ethnic origin and place of residence; (b) an investigation of the most practical and cost-effective approach to meet the education aspirations of the disadvantaged school-age out-of-school children and youths; c) a study of the impact of the language policy implemented through the thematic curriculum in the multi-lingual and multi-ethnic classrooms, (d) an investigation of the high attrition rates and the attribution of poor quality of UPE to teachers, and (e) a clarification of the meaning of UPE in Uganda from an inclusive and an equity perspective.
TL;DR: Hong Kong Chinese brought up in the 1960s and 1970s could testify that, even though Chinese History was a subject in secondary school, they learned little in class about contemporary China as the curriculum covered the country’s developments only up to 1945, when invading Japanese forces surrendered at the end of World War II as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: What students should learn and how they should be taught are key issues on which theory does not always dovetail with practice. In Hong Kong, the former British colony which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, what has happened inside the classroom over the years is fascinating, as it reveals ways in which generations of educators have coped with changing definitions of political correctness. Hong Kong Chinese brought up in the 1960s and 1970s could testify that, even though Chinese History was a subject in secondary school, they learned little in class about contemporary China as the curriculum covered the country’s developments only up to 1945, when invading Japanese forces surrendered at the end of World War II. They had to learn through other channels that a civil war then broke out and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) eventually drove the Kuomintang (KMT) out of the Chinese mainland to establish the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Even as hundreds of thousands of mainland Chinese fled to Hong Kong to escape communist rule, teachers were discouraged from discussing Chinese politics or current affairs with their students. With local affiliates of the CCP and KMT locked in fierce ideological battles, sometimes with bloody consequences as in riots that broke out in 1956 and 1967, the colonial government maintained a tight grip over the curriculum to prevent schools from becoming hotbeds of rival brands of Chinese nationalism. While citizenship was promoted in Economic and Public Affairs textbooks as the hallmark of a socially responsible person, there was little in the subject syllabus about political representation that might prompt young people to question colonial rule. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s that the contents of civic education were reformed to include nationalistic education to prepare for the city’s scheduled return to China in 1997. Even though most local teachers and students had difficulties teaching and learning in English, there was much talk but no action by the departing colonial administration to push schools to teach in Chinese. Yet, when the first post-1997 government mandated Chinese as the medium of instruction in most secondary schools, there was a huge backlash from irate parents who shunned nationalistic considerations to demand that English, as the international language vital for a successful career, should remain the teaching language. Compare Vol. 42, No. 1, January 2012, 159–170