Showing papers on "Compulsory education published in 1994"

Flexibility and Individualisation: A Comparison of Transitions into Employment in England and Germany

Abstract: In virtually all advanced capitalist industrial societies, transitions from compulsory education into employment have been prolonged since the 1970s. The basic reasons are the same everywhere, but ...

Gender and Science in the Swedish Compulsory School

Abstract: This study investigates how Swedish pupils meet chemistry, physics and technology in compulsory school. It explores girls' and boys' actions in and thoughts about these subjects during grades 7 to 9. The pupils come from different worlds determined by gender and social background. In the classroom girls are given, and take upon themselves, the role of keeping lessons together, while boys' attempts to dominate the public arena create disorder. Girls and boys prefer different subject areas. Boys have a practical while girls have a more theoretical approach to science. Girls seek ‘connected knowledge’, and even the successful girls question their understanding. Girls who take an interest in physics and chemistry often have supporting scientist fathers or at least parents with a higher education. Technology is rejected by all girls. The mutual construction and reconstruction of gender and of science/technology contribute to gendered choices of study programmes in upper secondary school.

Exclusion from School and Victim-blaming

Abstract: Over recent years evidence of increasing levels of exclusion from British schools has been provided by individual researchers, teaching associations, local education authorities, the media and the government. Current dominant perceptions tend to focus on the pathological behaviour of individual children (children who ‘behave badly’ in the Government's terms) or the inability of schools to manage such challenging behaviour. Less readily acknowledged are the inherent tensions resulting from processes that permit certain children to be denied access to the compulsory education system and the interaction between exclusion from school and race, gender and class stratification. Exclusion must, therefore, be seen not only in terms of young people's experiences of education and schooling but also as part of the complex relationship between individuals, families, the labour market, health and state support and surveillance services. The paper aims to contribute to increasing awareness of the disadvantage ...

Educational Stratification, School Expansion, and Public Policy in Hong Kong.

Abstract: During the 1970s, there was increased state action in Hong Kong's previously privatized educational system. In 1971, primary education was made free and compulsory, and in 1978, free and compulsory education was extended to the first three years of secondary education. This article examines the consequences of this deliberate expansion of secondary school participation using samples from the 1976, 1981, and 1986 Hong Kong censuses to predict continuation in the two levels of secondary schools on the basis of family resources and gender. Hong Kong's expansion of education, the evidence suggests, had a substantial impact on the ability of young people, especially girls, to continue to secondary school, regardless of income.

Education, training, and economic performance, 1944 to 1990

Abstract: Education and the economy the failure of compulsory education vocational education and training higher education the education and training of management economic consequences why didn't we do better?

Common, Delinquent, and Special: On the Formalization of Common Schooling in the American States

Abstract: This article proposes that the formalization of common schooling in the American states derives from the sequence of institutional formation beginning with the state asylum, moving to the reformatory, and then moving to compulsory attendance. The analysis of this sequence broadens the conception of American education and demonstrates that it is composed of three worlds: the common, the delinquent, and the special. Although distinguished by their separate institutional settings, the enactment of compulsory attendance linked each world through the criteria that regulated access to the common school. From the early 19th century, these institutional linkages demonstrate an integration of delinquent and exceptional youth within public education. The midcentury formalization of special education categories is one contemporary outcome, inverting the original organization and purpose of common schooling.

Home Sweet ... School

Abstract: AT THE TURN of the century, only 10% of the school-age children in Texas attended public schools. Almost all the rest were taught at home: private academies and parochial schools were few. In 1915 Texas enacted its first compulsory education law. Exempted was "[a]ny child in attendance upon a private or parochial school or who is being properly instructed by a private tutor." In 1923 the legislature amended the exemption to drop the private-tutor option and to add a requirement of instruction in good citizenship. The legality of bona fide home instruction for reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship was unaffected. The clear majority (estimated to be in excess of 70%) of the school-age population continued to be taught at home. In 1981 the Texas Education Agency announced its new position that home instruction and correspondence courses did not qualify for the private- or parochial-school exemption. As a result of the agency's direction, school districts initiated approximately 150 truancy prosecutions of families that were educating their children at home. In March 1985 a group of parents and providers of home schooling filed a class action suit in state court against the new enforcement policy. The plaintiffs included families subject to prosecution: private schools furnishing curriculum support, such as the Christian Liberty Academy Satellite Schools and the Calvert School: and providers of curricula for home schooling, such as Reform Publications (doing business as Basic Education) and American Christian Schools. At the time of the trial, approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Texas families taught their children at home. The defendants included the Texas Education Agency and the local school districts. In 1986 the state board of education formally requested that the legislature either define the terms "private or parochial school" or specifically authorize the state board to do so. Pending legislative action, the state board recommended to school districts that, to qualify as a private or parochial school, a provider of education would be required 1) to comply with applicable local fire and sanitation codes, 2) to provide a written plan of instruction sufficient to meet basic goals for student education, and 3) to administer annually a recognized nationally normed standard achievement test and to supply the test results on request to the local school district. The legislature did not accept the state board's invitation to resolve the issue,(1) and the defendants effectively abandoned their previous position by deeming that most, if not all, of the plaintiff parents met the recommended criteria. After the trial judge rejected the defendants' motion for dismissal, the parties tentatively agreed that they would accept a court judgment that would be based on whether the plaintiffs met the second and third criteria -- an adequate curriculum and reasonable progress on standardized tests. However, before the judge could consider this proposal, the parties' agreement disintegrated because of differing interpretations of its terms. In April 1987, after the trial, the court ruled in the plaintiffs' favor, concluding that the prosecutions constituted arbitrary enforcement and were in violation of the 14th Amendment rights of due process and equal protection. The court declared that the proper interpretation of the statutory language allowed instruction under a parent's direction in the home, as long as it was conducted "in a bona fide (good faith, not a sham or subterfuge) manner," with a "curriculum designed to meet basic education goals of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and . . . good citizenship." Standardized testing, the court clarified, was permissible but not a required or controlling factor. The court also declared that the plaintiff parents and any children pursuing the curricula of the plaintiff providers complied with this interpretation. Finally, the court permanently enjoined all Texas school districts from initiating prosecutions based on any contrary interpretation of the statutory exemption, and it awarded the plaintiffs a whopping $360,000 in attorneys' fees. …

Nigerian Primary School Teachers' Perceptions of Schooling During the Second Decade of Universal Primary Education

Abstract: In 1976 Nigeria committed itself to the provision of universal primary education (UPE) to its children. A basic, six-year level of education was seen as a means of creating unity between the many disparate groups making up Nigeria's citizenry. It was also seen as a means of working towards the equalization of educational opportunities throughout the nation by providing a minimum level to which all children would be educated (Ozigi and Ocho 1981; Adesina 1982). The national commitment to UPE was endorsed by many, although not all, Nigerians (Casapo 1981, 1983). A large commitment of money and the endorsement of many Nigerians were not enough to prevent a multitude of problems as UPE was put in place. The program has been a success in that many millions of children have received a primary education. However, a low quality of education was noted as an accompaniment to quantity education (Bray 1981). A survey of inspectors responsible for primary schools completed a decade after the initiation of UPE suggested that conditions in primary education were continuing to be such that quality education was difficult to obtain (Sunal, Osa, Gaba and Saleemi 1989). While some data are available describing primary schooling under the UPE program, little data are available from the teachers involved in it. The experience of primary school teachers as they perceive and report it has not been documented.

Open for business?: knowledge, rhetoric and reality in further education and training reform

Abstract: This paper considers the contradictory effects in the UK of a range of influences on what is fast becoming a critical mass of post 16 compulsory education and training: the influence of the market, those of the employer and those resulting from qualification-led reform. In the face of continuing economic crisis the paper examines the extent to which such reform either deskills or creates new skills for the 21st century. These issues are looked at both in relation to wider conceptions of work and the impact of post-industrial perspectives on the content of education and training.

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Education in Japan: System Overview

Abstract: This paper describes some of the fundamental aspects related to civil engineering undergraduate education in Japan. It focuses on the overall educational system and how civil engineering fits into this context. The topics addressed include the educational system (compulsory education, high school, and university), university ranking (public and private), university entrance examination (difficulty and types), university admission, curricula (university requirements, engineering, and civil engineering), faculty (rank and duties), and job perspective (government and private industry). The fundamental differences between U.S. and Japanese systems are the result of different values and traditions, rather than differences in university organization.

E.G. West and state intervention in education : a philosophical exploration

Abstract: E.G. West raises, but does not adequately address, philosophical issues concerning the justification for state intervention in education. West's market model is outlined, and likely objections - based on recent arguments against 'internal markets' in education - are explored. Chapter 1 outlines West's role for the state in inspecting a 'minimum adequate education for all'. Chapter 2 examines whether this could overcome the objection that markets won't satisfy equality of opportunity. Williams', Rawls' and Dworkin's arguments on equality are found compatible with West's model. The curriculum for West's model is then investigated: Chapter 3 considers 'education for democracy', and whether compulsion is needed to ensure the desired qualities for democratic participation emerge, or whether they could emerge freely in civil society. A reductio ad absurdum argument brings out the illiberal consequence of a compulsory curriculum, of a 'fitness test' for democratic participation. Chapter 4 explores 'education for autonomy'. John White's argument for a compulsory curriculum for autonomy could undermine other autonomy-promoting institutions in civil society, it is suggested. White's argument depends upon Joseph Raz's argument for state promotion of autonomy, which is explored, raising the 'epistemic argument' for markets. John Gray's argument to this effect is extended, to suggest that there will be difficulties with any 'fleshing out' of West's curriculum if it is to be promoted by the state. One way around this, democratic control of the curriculum, is explored in chapter 5. Difficulties with John White's approach arise because of logical constraints on improving democracy, raised by consideration of social choice theory (Arrow's theorem and its corollaries) and public choice theory (logrolling). Chapter 6 considers the objection to markets that education is a 'public good', using the arguments of Gerald Grace and Ruth Jonathan. These are put in the context of the game. theory literature of De Jasay, Taylor, and Axelrod. The 'public goods dilemma' is explored, to arrive at less pessimistic conclusions about markets in education than the critics of markets we consider. Finally, chapter 7 briefly relates the issues to the contemporary discussion about markets, including internal markets and vouchers, in education.

Rural Disadvantage and Post Compulsory Participation in Education and Training.

Abstract: Attitudes of rural parents toward postcompulstry education were examined ',1-irough in-depth structured interviews with 140 parents of students in 4 rural Tasmanian high schools. The students were all in Year 10, which is the last year of compulsory education in AusLralia. Most parents had lived in the same community for over 10 years. The proportion of parents who had gone beyond Year 10 varied among communities (approximately 10-40 percent) . When asked what they would like their child to be doing the following year, about half preferred secondary college (general education in Years 11 and 12), and 23 percent preferred employment. However, parents reported that a larger proportion of children wanted to go s:raight into employment. About 79 percent of parents thought that their child would benefi' from further education, an idealized preference at odds with intentions. An overwhelming perception was that education is a means to a job and to getting along in society. Parents who saw education solely as a means to employment tended to see further education as irrelevant, considering the lack of employment opportunities in rural communities. The results suggest that the discrepancy between what parents think would be good for their children and what they believe their children will be able to achieve educationally is a product of barriers that rural poverty and disadvantage place on educational participation. Contains 13 references.

Education for Reconstruction and Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Policy Discourse.

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the role of education and training in the reconstruction and development of South Africa It describes the history of education and the rationale for reconstruction and development programs Issues and transitional reform initiatives pertaining to educational policies, general education, tertiary education, adult basic education, and partnerships are summarized Future tasks to be undertaken in the area of education and training include: (1) building new and renovating existing institutions at the national, provincial, and local levels; (2) linking UNESCO's Education for All principles to the 10-year compulsory education system; (3) strengthening policy research, analysis, and development functions; and (4) renewing and qualitatively improving educational content Plans for tertiary education in the following areas are also described: science and technical education, population and preventive education, girls' and women's education, programs for out-of-school youth, adult basic education, distance education, and coordination and integration

Consultants face compulsory education

Abstract: Consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists in Britain will have to continue their medical education, said the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists last week. This will be the first time that continuing medical education has been made compulsory in Britain. From this month each consultant member of the college will have to enter a programme of continuing medical education and register a minimum of 200 credits over five years. These will be earned from a range of educational …

Algunas caracteristicas del curriculum de geometria en la enseñanza secundaria obligatoria. sugerencias didacticas

Abstract: In this paper we try to prove that the failure of the curriculum changes made during the last decades in school Geometry and the research in the field of Mathematical Education have led to the ellaboration of a new curriculum of Geometry for the Secondary Compulsory Education. A number of essential characteristics are stressed in this paper, the ones we consider must be present when ellaborating of geometrical content learning. In the same way, we introduce some activities for 15-16 year-old students that can illustrate the above mentioned characteristics.

International year of the family 1994: Family and gender equity in education∗

Abstract: “Building the smallest democracy at the heart of society,” is the motto of the International Year of the Family being celebrated during 1994. The year 1994 has been designated by the United Nations to highlight issues concerning families locally, nationally, and globally during the year and to suggest recommendations for changes in policies and programs. Since 1975, when the world celebrated International Women's Year, and again, in 1979 during International Year of the Child, evidence has been accruing regarding gender disparities in all countries. It is discouraging, yet perhaps not surprising, that in 1994 the world still awaits gender equity, even though a considerable amount of progress has been made since 1975. ∗Presented at the Non‐governmental Organization Forum on InternationalYear of the Family 1994 held in Valletta, Malta, November 30 through December 3, 1993.