Showing papers on "Compulsory education published in 2001"

The Prevalence and Effects of Test Anxiety in School Children

Abstract: This paper reviews the literature on the prevalence and effects of test anxiety on children in compulsory education. Tests are identified as a major source of concern to many children, and the overall prevalence of test anxiety appears to be increasing, possibly due to increased testing in schools and pressures associated with this. Studies of children are generally in accordance with the wider literature, namely that test anxiety impairs test performance, although this is moderated by individual differences and the testing environment. Methodological problems in the literature are discussed and suggestions for further research made.

The Relationship Between Education and Adult Mortality in the U. S

Abstract: Prior research has uncovered a large and positive correlation between educa- tion and health, but there are difficulties in determining whether this relation- ship is causal. In this paper I reexamine whether education has a causal impact on health. I follow synthetic cohorts using successive U.S. censuses to estimate the impact of educational attainment on mortality rates. I then use compulsory education laws from 1915 to 1939 as instruments to obtain a consistent causal estimate of this effect. While least squares estimates suggest that an additional year of education lowers the probability of dying in the next 10 years by ap- proximately 1.3 percentage points, results from the IV estimation show that the effect is in fact much larger, at least 3.6 percentage points. Overall, one more year of education increases life expectancy at age 35 by 1.2 years. These results provide evidence of a causal effect from education to health and suggest that the income returns to education substantially underestimate the overall returns to education.

Widening Participation in Post-Compulsory Education

Abstract: Introduction Modernizers and the economic drive for expansion Progressives and the personal and social benefits of post-compulsory education Access to post-compulsory education by "non-traditional" students Identifying assumptions and barriers to participation Schools and progression: barriers created by the compulsory education system Barriers and opportunities created by the post-compulsory education system The labour market and participation in post-compulsory education and training. The influence of social and cultural factors on participation in post-compulsory education. Individualizing the problem of problematizing the individual? A strategic approach - but whose startegy? Case study 1: regional distance learning scheme Case study 2: community outreach partnership Case study 3: a tailor-made programme of courses This approach to widening participation Appendix 1: key questions Appendix 2: Further case studies Bibliography Index

Minority Ethnic Participation and Achievements in Education, Training and the Labour Market

Abstract: This full-text research report about the participation and achievements of minority ethnic pupils in the UK education system and their future employment prospects was commissioned by the Department for Education and Employment. Divided into ten chapters, this 157-page report highlights information about the following issues: participation and attainment in compulsory education; activities of 16-19 year olds following compulsory schooling; patterns of labour market participation; skills and work-related training; lifelong learning.

English with Chinese Characteristics: China's New Curriculum

Abstract: In 1993, a new English language curriculum for junior secondary schools in China was introduced as part of the nation's moves towards nine years' compulsory education. This paper analyses the curri...

Intergovernmental grants and the financing of compulsory education in china

Abstract: Since the mid-1980s, China has made substantial progress in the reform of the financing of education, including the establishment of a decentralized and diversified system of financing and the mobilization of additional resources for the education sector. In compulsory education, however, significant challenges remain; they include, in particular, the financial difficulties of poor and rural areas as well as large and widening disparities in per-student spending across areas. Intergovernmental grants from central and provincial levels could be used to address these challenges but their use in China has so far been very limited. This paper argues for the establishment of a regularized and substantial scheme of intergovernmental grants in the financing of compulsory education and highlights some of the issues to be explored in the future. The analysis draws upon information on educational financing in China and examines the potential relevance of the experience of other large decentralized systems in the use of intergovernmental grants.

'Free, compulsory and secular'? The re-invention of Australian public education

Abstract: This paper reviews the changes, which have been introduced to public education in Australia, particularly over the last decade. These changes are analysed against the background of the free, compulsory and secular Education Acts that were implemented in every Australian colony during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This legislation has formed the cornerstone of public education in Australia since that time. The principles of free, compulsory and secular public education and the underlying social values which underpinned the legislation are re-examined, together with the factors leading to the development of the centralized state education bureaucracies which were set up to administer the Acts. In considering current changes to public education policy in Australia, the paper argues that the principles underlying the establishment of public education have been significantly eroded. In the space of little more than a decade, the social values underpinning the Education Acts have been dramatically...

Decentralizing education in transition societies : case studies from Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract: Starting in the fall of 1997, the World Bank Institute organized a learning program on Intergovernmental Roles in the Delivery of Education Services in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. Bulgaria and Albania joined in 1998. The program aimed to help build analytical capacity to understand the ways that existing and future intergovernmental arrangements infringe on the effectiveness of service delivery in the education sector. Country teams prepared country assessments of intergovernmental arrangements in the education sector. Each country report reviewed the roles being played by different actors in the system, analyzed the main contradictions emerging from those roles, and developed a set of proposals directed to resolving those contradictions. These reports provided basis for a program of group learning under which the teams from different countries exchanged views and learned from each other through a series of workshops and seminars. The overview in this book introduces the concept of institutions and the methodology of institutional analysis used in the program, It also discusses the group learning approach used. It also presents a preliminary assessment of substantive lessons regarding the implications of service delivery. The following country chapters provide a systematic and updated view of where the different countries involved are in terms of reforming the governance structure in their education systems.

Home Education in Europe and the Implementation of Changes to the Law

Abstract: This paper discusses the various definitions of home education and how the term can give rise to misinterpretations. In addition it covers recent changes to legislation and policy relating to home education in some European countries, such as France, Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium. These changes have been based on a misunderstanding of the nature of home education. Little attention has been paid to the difference between children who are absconding from school and those who are being conscientiously educated by their parents at home. By contrast, there has been a slight but positive change in attitudes towards home education in some of the Lander (regions) of Germany. The author argues that governments should conduct well reasoned, objective research before considering measures to limit home education in any way.

Turkey - Secondary education and training

Abstract: Turkish secondary education faces a number of serious and deep-rooted problems which adversely affect its capacity to respond to the growing and changing demand from employers for educated labor market entrants. Within the Ministry of Education there is considerable resistance to change at middle and lower levels, the peoccupation being with needs for expansion in response to growing enrollments. Although senior officials tend to be more receptive to innovative thinking, and have sometimes initiated it, they seldom survive in office long enough to implement their proposals. In recent years, there has been a significant body of opinion which gave priority to expanding religious education, though this now appears to be somewhat eclipsed. Aspects of the Turkish system which pose as obstacles to its efficient operation and responsiveness to changing demand include over-centralization and employer participation. On the other hand, there is a need for school-level contacts between principals (and teachers) and local emplyers in order to initiate localy relevant program changes without having to wait for te results of a lengthy centralized approval process. Also needed are systematic the provision of career guidance and the systematic follow-up of the employement experiences of graduates. the low status and pay of teachers, combined with limited promotion opportunities and lack of recognition of performance, produce unmotivated teachers.

Hungary : secondary education and training

Abstract: While the educational system of Hungary has been well-established, particularly since the Austro-Hungarian Empire (reflected by the achievements of a number of Nobel Prize personalities in different fields), it was not elitist in its excellence, and, the secondary education legacy left by the communist period, was a system highly concentrated on vocational, and technical education, at the expense of the general education stream. The paper reviews the process educational quality, and learning the society is undergoing during the economic transition, revealing the significant part of the community whose expectations on education are outdated, and rather oriented to the former education system. However, and although equity of access to education has not been a major issue, it is suggested that secondary education may be becoming more stratified, so in some respects elitist, which may adversely affect basic education performance of those unable to make the transition. Hence, the impact of reform has raised issues of concern, i.e., decentralization as it concerns the efficacy of small, local authorities in school administration; discrimination, particularly towards the Roma community (or gypsy community), as decentralization may potentially introduce ethnic discrimination at the local level, an issue of concern given that European Union accession requires the absence of discrimination; and, elitism, if it adversely affects students falling behind basic education.

Expectant times : rural education in Russia

Abstract: Education in rural Russia has always played a significant role in ameliorating the life of rural communities and enhancing the agrarian sector of the economy. Rural schools constitute 68.8% of all Russia's primary and secondary schools. Unfortunately, it is the rural school that has been badly affected by the current socio-economic crisis. Among a myriad of factors, the efficacy of rural education is largely dependent on teacher preparation. The paper concentrates on the contemporary condition of rural schools, some issues of rural teacher preparation and requirements of the teacher whose mission is to promote quality education in Russia's rural educational institutions.

The role of counselling and guidance in promoting lifelong learning in france

Abstract: Until the latter part of the twentieth century, education and training were confined mainly to the first phase of a person's life. Young people progressed on a straight line from school to work or to vocational education and training or to higher education, with little opportunity to change direction. Once they had left the educational system they were unlikely to return. But, nowadays, in all developed countries, the structure of people's lives is undergoing radical change in the distribution of activities by age, leading to a shift to older age groups undertaking functions previously reserved for an earlier time in life. These tendencies are linked to changes in the labour market structure, and are accompanied by readjustments in the social arrangements that regulate ‘who does what, when’. These include policies to defer statutory retirement ages, extend compulsory education and training, and to postpone the age at which young people become entitled to unemployment and social benefits in the tr...

What are pathways?: concepts and evidence from cross-national research

Abstract: In this paper, the author discusses three ways in which the pathways concept has been used to express aspects of the school to work transitions. These are: (1) to describe and contrast the main educational options after compulsory education; (2) the focuses on the interconnectedness of pathways; and (3) to treat pathways and navigations as complements, expressing young people's active role in shaping their lives within the opportunities and constraints they are faced with. The author uses these three themes to summarise some of the themes of cross-national research, focussing on OECD countries.

Contesting forces: The political and economic context of curriculum development in New Zealand

Abstract: In the 1980s and 1990s many countries felt the impact of new right economic ideology on their social policies: New Zealand was no exception. Education was seen as the key to improving economic competitiveness and to this end it was deemed necessary to upgrade the system. The reforms arising from the adoption of this position were to take two paths: administrative and curricular. This paper focuses on the curricular reforms and the development of two key national curriculum statements within their political and economic context. The curriculum for compulsory schooling became centrally controlled, subject-based, and achievement oriented. In contrast the early childhood document outlined a child-centred, thematic and experiential curriculum. This paper explores how such divergence arose out of the same socio-political context. The content of the documents is analysed using a theoretical model after Bernstein (1971).

Regional Differences in Labour Market Participation of Young People in the European Union

Abstract: The passage from education to employment is one of a number of 'transitions' experienced by young people. There was a tendency in the 1980s and 1990s for youth transitions to lengthen and become more diverse. It is now the norm for young people to undergo further education/training after the end of compulsory education. As a result, labour market entry has often been delayed, and has become more protracted and complex. Labour market participation is moulded by a number of interrelated factors, including: the demographic and economic context, the organization and structure of the labour market and of education and training systems, the role of the state in shaping labour supply and the organization of the family economy. Using the economic activity rate, together with other measures constructed from the European Labour Force Survey for 1993-7, this paper is concerned with describing, exploring and tentatively explaining labour market participation rates of young people in NUTS 2 regions across the European Union. A range of exploratory data analysis and multivariate regression analysis techniques are employed, and the implications of the findings for understanding current and future regional variations in labour market activity are addressed.

Ten Years after Special Education: Socially Maladjusted Boys on the Labor Market

Abstract: In modern industrialized societies, the importance of education can hardly be overemphasized in determining the course of an individual's later life. On one hand, education separates childhood from adulthood by placing the young person in the hands of a massive and impersonal system of control and evaluation. On the other hand, education offers young people the tools needed to cope with the numerous responsibilities connected with adult life. The significance of education is not reducible merely to the individual level; it extends beyond an entire generation. The educational level of parents has a great influence on the educational success and choices of their children (Lenhardt, 1992; Meyer, 1992). As the significance of education grows, the situation of those with no education or a poor education is weakened. Those who fall off the ladder of educational advancement or make the wrong choices end up in labor market sectors that offer more modest rewards than those available to people with a longer education in more lucrative fields. Those who lose in the "educational tournament" (Rosenbaum, 1986, p. 155) go through their own miniature tournament in the labor market later on. At a special disadvantage are students who, for one reason or another, have difficulty learning at the same speed as others. The gap between these children and other students and between their own performance and official goals grows continually. For many, the period of compulsory education is long enough, and so they either do not apply for further education or leave it unfinished. Coleman and Husen (1985) described this group of students as the "new educational lower class" (p. 36). This group is new in at least three ways. First, it is composed of only 10% to 20% of the population, whereas formerly the proportion of uneducated people was higher. At present the majority of students are able to take advantage of the increase in educational offerings. During the era of the parallel school system in Finland, the majority of students were from the lower economic class. This class had its own politically selected and influential representatives defending its interests when the education system was reformed and broadened. Second, the new educational lower class comes from an environment that is culturally and educationally, rather than economically, unfavorable. The old lower class often came from economically deprived homes. Instead of clear economic want, the defining features of the new lower class include new types of problems. In the European setting, such features are single-parent families and immigrant status. Third, unlike the old lower class, the new lower class is, at least formally, offered the same educational possibilities as the majority of the population. Schooling is free of charge and does not include early tracking as was previously the case. The problem of the new lower class is that its members are not able to take full advantage of this public commodity that is offered freely to all. Schooling based mostly on theoretical studying still seems to be too far away from their cultural interests. Method Participants This article is based on interviews with 28 young men who had been transferred to special classes for pupils with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties during their school career. In Finland, these special classes are administratively called classes for socially maladjusted children (i.e., SMA classes). They are most often located as self-contained classrooms inside mainstream, comprehensive schools. (For more about the Finnish special education system, see Jahnukainen, 2000b; Kivirauma, 1991.) The reasons for transfer to an SMA class typically have been (a) difficulty in concentration and (b) acting-out type disturbances. One half (14) of the transfers occurred during grade school (grades 1-6), and the other half (14) during junior high school (grades 7-9). Those transferred from grade school had been in SMA classes on average 7. …

Social exclusion and public policy: The relationship between local school admission arrangements and segregation by poverty

Abstract: Examines patterns of social exclusion in the compulsory school system of England and Wales. Suggests that the weakening of local government control of the school system from the 1980s onwards led to a very real fear that market forces would lead to increased polarisation of school intakes and results in terms of social background. Lists key policy changes and early research relevant to the increased use of market forces in compulsory education. Describes the methods used to investigate the impact of this policy change on the secondary school system. Summarises the findings before presenting some tentative explanations and conclusion. States that the Local Education Authority still have a significant role to play.

School quality and stayin-on in Northern Ireland: Resources, peer groups and ethos?

Abstract: The paper examines career choice at age 16 in Northern Ireland using micro data for young people completing compulsory education in 1993. Explanatory variables include resourcerelated school characteristics, ethos-related characteristics and peer-group factors. The results suggest resources, ethos and peer group effects all play a significant role in career choice at age 16. Some of these factors, including pupil/teacher ratios, act in opposite directions on the probability of entry into Further Education College and of staying-on at school, suggesting studies of school quality on choice at age 16 should disaggregate post-compulsory education where possible.

Decentralisation, school autonomy and the state in England and Portugal: 1986-1996.

Abstract: In 1987 the Portuguese and British governments initiated 'radical' changes to the organisation and provision of school education. Influenced by a programme which combined political and economic neo-liberalism, conservative social doctrines on family and nation and traditional forms of education, these two governments proposed to 'innovate' and to 'modernise' public management and governance. 'Decentralisation' and 'autonomy' were both essential principles and goals underlying the introduction of private market principles and mechanisms in public education. The translation of those principles and goals into policy and the objectives which they conveyed were at the centre of political and professional disputes in the two countries. This thesis traces the emergence and development of principles and objectives informing the reform of school management and governance and maps the change in administration, governance, financing and provision. The comparative study of this change begins with the consideration of why governments, in countries at different stages of social development and democratisation and with an increasingly diverse social and ethnic composition, embraced policy solutions derived from similar libertarian and individualistic economic and political definitions of social freedoms and rights. The aims of the thesis are to explain and to contrast the transformation of existing mandates for compulsory education and of the nature of professional practice and school relations; to map the trajectory of changes in management and governance in two local areas in each country; to discuss the early impact of these reforms on teaching and learning and the anticipated lasting effect on schooling. An integrated comparative approach is combined with policy sociology and a perspective of the state which takes into account national specificity and complexity and the emergence of a transnational new form of social regulation. Interviews were undertaken with key actors in both central and local national government, in regional services, representative groups with an interest in education and with those responsible for the management and governance of schools in the two countries. These interviews provide the core material to trace the influence of adopted principles over practice at local and school level. The thesis concludes with the analysis of the impact of reforms at the institutional and local community levels. It discusses comparatively the way in which political deregulation, re-regulation and combined deregulation/re-regulation coexist at the school level and influence change in the following areas; curriculum, assessment, financing, teachers' recruitment, pay and working conditions, inspection, school admissions, special educational needs and discipline. Similarities in political regulation are contrasted with the way in which principles and reform initiatives were expressed differently in Portugal and England. The various forms and mandates which reforms took nationally and internationally across areas of social reform and across education's sub-systems and, the different ways in which principles were translated into policy initiatives are taken into account when considering the long-term anticipated impact of reforms in both countries.

[Medical education for students in compulsory education: the conception of the preparation of three graded textbooks and preliminary evaluation of lectures using these textbooks].

Abstract: The school pharmacist in our hospital pharmacy used three graded textbooks about medicine for students at the Sukagawa School for the Health-Impaired (Fukushima Medical University Hospital Branch (H. I. school)). A revised textbook for 4th-6th grade elementary school students containing 12 important items of information about medicine, a new picture textbook for 1st-3rd grade elementary school students, and a new textbook containing practical data for junior high school students were prepared by supplementing original information with illustrations, simplified expression and large type face. Additionally, the pronunciation of Chinese characters was included in the textbook for the 1st-3rd grade elementary school students. In this study, 9 students from H. I. school and 37 students from Koyase junior high school took part in a questionnaire and an examination evaluating the usefulness of the lectures, and these textbooks, in regard to the student's recognition and understanding of medicine. Most students answered that the lectures and textbooks helped them to understand medicine. Furthermore, the results of the examination indicated that the students had a general understanding of medicine. In conclusion, we suggest that it is important for students in compulsory education to learn about medicine, and that according to the preliminary result of questionnaires and examinations, both the lectures and textbooks were useful to help the students to understand more about medicine.

The importance of schools and families for the identity formation of children and adolescents

Abstract: From the introduction of compulsory education on, there is a competition between the state and parents with regard to the question who is responsible for the education of children. The author holds a playdoyer for partnership between school and parents. Schools need this partnership if one looks to the importance of the family for the formation of identity of children. At the end of the article, different forms of partnership are presented and also results of research carried out by the author.

Exploring Math Education for Girls: How to Select Materials for Mathematics Activity Classes in Girls' Middle Schools

Abstract: The Provisional Course Plan promulgated by the state has clearly stipulated that curricula in the phase of compulsory education in China shall consist of two parts—courses and activities—and that educational departments at all levels and all secondary and elementary schools should gradually try out this system.

Public Finance and Public Education in a General Equilibrium Endogenous Growth Model

Abstract: This paper aims to examine the growth effects of human capital investment achieved through publicly-provided, compulsory education, financed from income and consumption taxes.

What Happened to the Consensus on Higher Still? CES Briefing.

Abstract: The Scottish ‘exam results crisis’ of August 2000 appeared to reveal widespread dissatisfaction with the Higher Still reforms introduced the previous year. For a time the future of the reform seemed to hang in the balance. Yet Higher Still was the product of the consensus which emerged from the ‘Howie debates’ of the early 1990s, it involved a massive consultation exercise with the educational community, and more recent surveys reveal continued support for its broad aims. So how can we account for the feelings of resentment and frustration released by the exam results crisis?

Detention Home Teachers in Virginia: Who Are They and What Is Their Job Like?.

Abstract: Detention home facilities, unlike correctional facilities, provide short-term care for juveniles awaiting court dates, incarceration, or parental supervision. These juveniles range in age from 7 to 18, therefore, detention homes must provide educational services and most establish their own school programs. In this study, we asked detention home teachers in Virginia about their beliefs, necessary teaching skills, student and school demographics, and personal demographics. On average, these teachers are white females, between 41 and 50 years old, with 1 to 5 or over 20 years of teaching experience, and with relatively strong feelings of efficacy. There are a variety of names for detention homes, including correctional facility and detainment center. In 1989, the National Juvenile Detention Association adopted the following definition: "juvenile detention is the temporary and safe custody of juveniles who are accused of conduct subject to the jurisdiction of the court who require a restricted environment for their own or the community's protection while pending legal action (Rousch, 1996, p. 33). To avoid confusion, Smith, Roush, and Kelley (1990) identified seven essential characteristics of juvenile detention homes: (a) temporary custody (b) safe custody (c) restricted environment (d) community protection (e) pending legal action (0 helpful services (g) clinical observation and assessment Detention homes differ from long-term correctional facilities that incarcerate youths; they are facilities for the temporary placement of juveniles. They provide the juvenile court with some assurance that juveniles will make court dates, be free from harm, and are unable to commit any other crimes while awaiting trial. The American Correctional Association has identified minimum program standards for juvenile detention facilities. One such standard, as in all juvenile facilities, is compulsory education. While being detained, juveniles must attend school and receive educational services similar to those in the sending public school. Therefore, detention homes must operate their own schools within the facility. The standards state "the school program is under the supervision of the local board of education, and curriculum adjustment is made to stimulate the interest of pupils and to meet their individual needs" (Rousch, 1996, p. 13). However, providing education in this setting can be problematic. Delivery of effective educational services is affected by inadequate funding, lack of space, lack of time, inconsistency between school and detention, and philosophical differences among detention home staff and teachers. The provision of special education services is also problematic due to difficulties with identification, problems in application of school-based procedures to detention settings, and shortages of qualified personnel (Leone, 1986). Finally, communication and exchange of paperwork between the sending school and the detention facility is often difficult due to short stays in detention and truancy before detention (Lewis, Schwartz, & Ianacone, 1988). In Virginia, the Department of Education is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of educational programs in detention homes. In 1997, the Commonwealth maintained approximately 21 detention homes around the state, serving over 16,000 students (Va. Department of Education, 1997). In these facilities, students are required to attend school daily and certified teachers provide both general and special education services. The average length of stay in a juvenile det ntion home is 15 days. Juveniles arrive at all times of e day and night and they range in age from 8 to 18. (Va. Department of Education, 1997). Short stays and random arrivals are just two ways in which the constraints and conditions of detention homes are different from public schools or long term correctional facilities. However, there are few published studies or databases of information about the education programs or teachers in these detention homes. In fact, in a search of the ERIC database (1966-1997), the term "detention home" produced 144 hits, most of which were microfiche educational documents, position papers, or studies of long term correctional facilities. This is in contrast to the educational statistics published for public school facilities, such as the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) (U.S. D partment of Education, 1996). In the SASS data, more than 1,000 teachers from across the country provide information about themselves and their working conditions. This includes demographic information, student-teacher ratio, degree achieved, and amount of time preparing for school. This information is not available

Singapore Legislation: Digest of Acts Passed between 1st September 2000 and 28th February 2001 (Correct as at 31st March 2001)

Abstract: Compulsory Education Act 2000 (No 27 of 2000), Statutes (Miscellaneous Amend-ments and Repeal) Act 2000 (No 28 of 2000), Supplementary Supply No 2 Act 2000 (No 29 of 2000), Estate Duty (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 30 of 2000), Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 31 of 2000), Stamp Duties (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 32 of 2000), Customs (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 33 of 2000), Traditional Chinese Medicines Practitioners Act 2000 (No 34 of 2000), Public Entertainments (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 35 of 2000), Companies (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 36 of 2000), Accountants (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 37 of 2000), Oaths and Declarations Act 2000 (No 38 of 2000), Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Act 2000 (No 39 of 2000), Silver Jubilee Fund (Singapore) (Repeal) Act 2000 (No 40 of 2000), Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund Act 2001 (No 1 of 2001), Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 2001 (No 2 of 2001), Intellectual Property Office of Singapore Act 2001 (No 3 of 2001), Health Sciences Authority Act 2001 (No 4 of 2001), Health Promotion Board Act 2001 (No 5 of 2001).