Education for All in India: assessing progress towards Dakar goals

About 60 years ago India established a policy of providing free and compulsory education to all children and began transforming the elite education system inherited from its colonial past into a mass education program. The task became a race against a rapidly growing population, which outstripped the pace at which children could be enrolled and educated in schools. Notwithstanding this demographic challenge, the system grew in size and the number of children participating in school grew many-fold. The struggle to reach the long cherished goal of universal elementary education continues even today. The present paper highlights two decades of EFA progress, paying particular attention to quantitative trends since 2001, and the policies framed and the strategies implemented to achieve greater equity and quality in the provision of basic education.

Achieving the educational standards we need

This article is based on remarks presented by Donald M. Stewart at the Open Forum on National Standards held at the Second National Conference on School/College Collaboration, cosponsored by the American Association for Higher Education and the College Board in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 26, 1991.     

Double Visions: Educational Technology in Standards and Assessments for Science and Mathematics

For educational technology integration in content disciplines to succeed, teachers and teacher educators need clear standards delineating why, how, where, and how much educational technology they should include in their teaching. This paper examines the visions offered by current science, mathematics, and educational technology standards for educational technology integration in K-12 schools. Since national assessments exert a profound influence on what teachers and students choose to teach and learn, the vision of educational technology use supported by national assessments is also examined. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards (NCTM, 2000. Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Retrieved April 6, 2002 from http://standards.nctm.org), the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council (NRC) 1996. National Science Education Standards. Available at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/4962.html), and the National Educational Technology Standards (International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2000. National Educational Technology Standards for Students: Connecting Curriculum and Technology, ISTE, Eugene, Oregon) provide different visions of educational technology use in the classroom. In addition, the current technology use policies for national assessments in science and mathematics, in particular the college admission tests (ACT, SAT I and SAT II subject area tests), Advanced Placement (AP) course assessments, and the Praxis Series assessments indicate that while mathematics assessments often recommend or require the use of educational technology, few science assessments permit the use of educational technology by students. Recommendations are offered for science educators regarding teacher preparation for the technology-rich classrooms of the future.     

Audio-Visual aids in education - the beginning

The many achievements of the Educational Foundation for Visual Aids and the National Committee for Audio-Visual Aids to Education, under the leadership of the late Dr J A Harrison from their inception until his death last year, might lead many ‘Educational Media’ leaders to think that the audio-visual movement in Education was essentially a postwar development. That this is not so is evidenced by the fact that more classroom teaching films were being made in Britain n i each of the years 1934—39 than are being made today! There were annual conferences organised by the British Film Institute and the Educational Handwork Association; there were frequent articles on the subject and reviews of new films in Sight & Sound, World Film News, The Schoolmaster, The Times Educational Supplement, British Journal of Photography, even one on Schools' television etc, and several books had been published: ‘The Cinema in Education’ in 1925, ‘Report on Educational and Documentary Films’ by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1930; ‘The Film in National Life’ 1932; ‘The Film in the Classroom’ 1932; ‘The Cinema in School’ 1933; ‘The Film in the School’ 1935; etc.     

Reviews

Achievement in Education: the Work of Michael Ernest Sadler, 1885–1935. By Lynda Grier. Pp. xxviii+267. London: Constable, 1952. 30s.

A. J. Mundella, 1825–97: the Liberal Background to the Labour Movement. By W. H. G. Armytage. 386 pp. London: Benn, 1952. 30s.

The Child's Conception of Number. By J. Piaget. Pp. ix+248. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1952. 25s.

Freedom and Authority in Education. By G. H. Bantock. Pp. 212. London: Faber & Faber, 1952. 18s.

Secondary School Entrance Examinations: Second Interim Report on the Allocation of Primary School Leavers to Courses of Secondary Education, by A. F. Watts, D. A. Pidgeon and A. Yates. Pp. 80. National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales, Publication No. 6, 1952. 6s. 6d.

Intelligence Testing. Special Articles from The Times Educational Supplement. Pp. 32. London: The Times Publishing Co. Ltd., 1952. 1s.

A Second List of Researches in Education and Educational Psychology … in the years 1949, 1950, and 195z. By A. M. Blackwell, Pp. 127. Published for the National Foundation for Educational Research by Newnes Educational Publishing Co. Ltd., London, 1952. 21s.     

Statistical Techniques Employed in AERJ and JCP Articles from 1988 to 1997: A Methodological Review

The authors of the present methodological review investigated the patterns of statistical usage and reporting practices in 756 articles published in the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) and in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) over a 10-year period. First, some findings from other similar reviews are summarized. Second, the authors present a framework for characterizing selected research practices that emphasizes, in part, elements of the recent report of the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Statistical Inference (Wilkinson & APA Task Force on Statistical Inference, 1999). Third, characterizations of 10 years of analytic practices in 2 journals are presented and evaluated within that framework. The article concludes with a discussion of the changes that may be necessary to improve the statistical state of affairs in behavioral research.     

Comparative investigation of education: An evolutionary process

co-founder of the journal Comparative Educationand editor and chairman of its Board since 1978. Chairman (until 1989) of the Research Committee of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. His numerous publications include: Other Schools and Ours, Comparative Studies and Educational Decision, Education and Development in Western Europeand Technological/Occupational Challenge, Social Transformation and Educational Response.     

Samuel wilderspin and the early infant schools

A Mirror to Kathleen's Face: Education in Independent Ireland 1922–60. By D. H. Akenson. Pp. x, 224. Montreal and London: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1975. n.p.

Childhood in China. Edited by William Kassan. Pp. xiii, 221. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1975. £6.80 cloth, £2.20 paper.

Theory and the Practice of Education. Edited by Anthony Hartnett and Michael Naish. Vol. One, pp. 204; Vol. Two, pp. 189. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1976. £3.50 each vol.

Curriculum Design. Edited by M. Golby et al. Pp. iv, 536. London: Croom Helm, 1975. £8.50 (Open University Reader).

Curriculum Innovation. Edited by A. Harris et al. Pp. x, 388. London: Groom Helm, 1975. £7.50 (Open University Reader).

Curriculum Development: Theory into Practice. By D. Tanner and L. N. Tanner. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1975. £8.50.

Curriculum, School and Society. Edited by P. H. Taylor and K. A. Tye. Windsor: National Foundation for Educational Research, 1975. £5.65.

Dissemination of Innovation: The Humanities Curriculum Project. By Jean Rudduck. Pp. 173. London: Evans Methuen Educational, 1976, for the Schools Council. £2.10 net.

Sociology, Equality and Education. By Anthony Flew. Pp. 143. London: Macmillan, 1976. £4.95.

Political Education and Stability. By Ted Tapper. Pp. 265. London and New York, 1976. £7.75 and $17.05.

? There is a surprising number of misprints for a book which seeks above all to be ‘scholarly’. The most extravagant is the retitling of Rose's well‐known book on Ulster as Governing With Consensus! (at p. 235)

English Popular Education, 1780–1975. By David Wardle. Pp. 197. Cambridge University Press, 1976. £3.95. Paperback £1.95.

Women Teachers in the 20th Century in England and Wales. By Geoffrey Partington. Pp. ix, 107. Windsor: NFER Publishing Co., 1976. £2.95.

Management in Education: The Management of Organizations and Individuals. Edited by V. Houghton, R. McHugh and G. Morgan. Pp. 436.

Management in Education: Some Techniques and Systems. Edited by L. Dobson, T. Gear and A. Westoby. Pp. 405.

Both from Ward Lock Educational in association with the Open University Press, 1975. Each volume £10.50 hardback, £4.45 paperback.

Religious Education for Secondary Schools. By David Konstant. Pp. 359. London: Search Press and Macmillan. £4.25.

Piaget Sampler. By Sarah F. Campbell. Pp. x, 154. U.S.A.: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1976. £6.10 cloth, £2.65 paper.     

Software review: Groupware gains momentum

Theoretical Principles of Distance Education. D. Keegan, ed. (London: Routledge, 1993, 272 pp., $54.95).

Open Learning Courses for Adults: A Model of Student Progress. David Kember (Educational Technology Publications, 1995, 271 pp.)     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article: Rita Cheminais, Developing Inclusive School Practice Chris Abbott (ed.), Special Educational Needs and the Internet: Issues for the Inclusive Classroom The Royal National Institute for Deaf People, Guidelines for mainstream teachers with deaf pupils in their class Education Guidelines Project Nita Jackson, Standing Down Falling Up — Asperger's Syndrome from the Inside Out Jim Docking, revised and updated by Michelle MacGrath (3rd edition), Managing Behaviour in the Primary School Sheila M. Oglethorpe (2nd edition), Instrumental music for dyslexics: A Teaching Handbook Diana Seach, Michele Lloyd and Miranda Preston, Supporting Children with Autism in Mainstream Schools     

The Oxford Verse Speaking Contest

The Role of Speech in the Secondary School. Prepared for The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals by the National Association of Teachers of Speech with the assistance of the American Educational Theatre Association, the American Speech Correction Association, the Association for Education by Radio: Franklin H. Knower, Committee Chairman. Washington, D. C: National Association of Secondary School Principals of the National Education Association, November, 1945, pp. 9–160. $1.00.

Speech for All. By Lyman M. Fort. New York: Allyn and Bacon, 1945; pp. viii+336. $1.05.

The Use of Drama. By HartleV Granvilie‐Barker. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945; pp. 91. $1.50.

Speech and the Teacher. By Seth A. Fessenden. New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1946; pp. 1–290. $2.50.

Radio Research, 1942–43. Edited by Paul F. Lazarfield and Frank Stanton. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1944; pp. 1–599. $5.00.

Clinical Audiometry. By C. C. Bunch. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Co., 1943; pp. 186.

Literary Study and The Scholarly Profession. By Hardin Craig. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1944; pp. xiii+150. $2.25.

Speech. By Andrew Thomas Weaver and Gladys Louise Borchers. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1946. pp. 1–5C6. $ 1.96     

Book reviews

David Warner and Charles Leonard. The Income Generation Handbook, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for Educational Institutions, Buckingham, UK: The Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and Open University Press, 1997. ISBN 0–335–19858–9 (hard); 0–335–19862–7 (paper)

Henry D.R. Miller. The Management of Change in Universities: Universities, State and Economy in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, Buckingham, UK: The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, 1995. ISBN 0–33.5–19089–8 Price £50.00. 183 pp     

Principles of Technology Integration and Curriculum Development

Abstract

To better prepare pre-service candidates for teaching in the information age, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has defined National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) to guide technology integration into teacher education programs. Based on these standards, Brigham Young University (BYU) has implemented strategies for technology integration into their teacher education program by creating curriculum design teams composed of School of Education faculty, public school personnel, and instructional design and technology specialists. This paper describes basic principles that have led to the successful development of curriculum design teams for systemic reform in teacher education.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Open and Closed Minds: The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students, Allan Bloom Democratic Education, Amy Gutmann The State and the University: Calling British Universities to Account, Tony Becher and Maurice Kogan Diamonds into Glass: the Government and the Universities, Elie Kedourie The Enterprise Culture in Australian Higher Education: Privatizing Higher Education: A New Australian Issue, David R. Jones and John Amyl A British Bias against Adult Participation in Higher Education?: Adults in Higher Education, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation     

What is open learning?

The recent change in this journal's title, from Teaching at a Distance to Open Learning, poses obvious questions of definition. What is open learning? And how does it relate to distance education and adult education? In this article, Roger Lewis, Head of Educational Development Unit at North Staffordshire Polytechnic, makes use of his considerable and varied experience of working with the Open University, the Council for Educational Technology, the Open Tech, the National Extension College and other practitioners of open learning in providing some answers. Readers should find the analytical tools and examples included in the article of considerable use in examining their own experiences in the open learning field.     

Some challenges for educational research in Latin America

Founding director of the Centro de Estudios Educativos (Centre for Educational Studies) in Mexico City and of the Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos(Latin American Journal of Educational Studies). He was in charge of the National Programme of Educational Research of the National Council for Science and Technology. He now carries out research at the Regional Centre for Adult Education and Functional Literacy for Latin America. His recent publications include: La política de alfabetización de seis países latinoamericanos, Participatory Research: A New Research Paradigm?and Elementos para una propuesta orientada a elevar la calidad: La enseñanza tutorial.     

Great expectations: a critical perspective on Open Educational Resources in Brazil

ABSTRACT

Nearly two decades have passed since the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement was launched. Its success in Brazil can be illustrated with the establishment of a UNESCO Chair in Open Education in 2014, in one of the country’s most prestigious universities. Crucially, OER were included in the 2014–2024 National Education Plan, a key piece of national educational legislation, as a category of educational technologies framed as tools. Assuming metaphors such as this play a key role in the ways we think, speak and act, this article presents a critical perspective on OER in Brazil. Examining the implications of the main metaphors used to construe OER in local media and academic sources, the text argues that these metaphors reflect hegemonic discourses on educational technology, concealing the non-neutrality of technological artefacts, obscuring issues concerning curriculum and pedagogy, and overlooking actual local needs. The article discusses issues concerning local OER advocacy, positioned in respect to specificities of a context where education, albeit a constitutionally established right, may be poised to undergo radical changes in the near future.     

Book Reviews

Steve Adams, Derbyshire LEA/University of Nottingham, Perspectives on Pastoral Care, Woocester, A. and Hall, E. 1986, University of Nottingham School of Education, (No. 5 in Human Relations in Education Series)

Eileen Callely, University of Cardiff, Educational Systems for Disruptive Adolescents, Topping, Keith 1983, Croom Helm Ltd., Beckenham, Kent, U.K. (also St. Martin's Press Inc, New York) £7.95

Susan Heyes, Essex Institute of Higher Education, All in a day's work, Walker, D. 1985, Edward Arnold; Them and Us, Parkes, R. 1985, Edward Arnold

Peter Ribbins, University of Birmingham, GO 87: Graduate Opportunities, Pierce, Liz, (Ed), 1986, Newpoint Publishing, £15.00 pp. 920

Barbara Sharples, Worden High School, Lanes, Child Psychology in Action , John Harris, 1986, Croom Helm

Colin J. Smith, University of Birmingham, Special Need in Ordinary Classrooms, G. Hanko, Publisher: Basil Blackwell     

Assessing teacher effectiveness in India: overview and critical appraisal

Conclusion Assessing teacher effectiveness is a complex issue with social and historical dimensions. Assessment of teacher effectiveness was an alien concept in ancient and medieval India. The teacher's moral authority, scholarship, wisdom and role in shaping the lives of the youth and the society was unquestionable. The place of the teacher ('the Guru’) was always considered much higher than that of the parents. Original language: English J. S. Rajput (India) Has contributed in the areas of science education, elementary education and teacher education. Has guided research in the field of concept formation in science, education of minorities and tribal groups, and non-formal education. In addition to numerous research papers and articles, recent publications includeExperiences and expectations in elementary education andUniversalisation of elementary education—role of the teacher education. Appointed first Chairperson of National Council for Teacher Education. K. Walia (India) Doctorate in teacher education from the Central University of Jamia Millia Islamia (1992). Interest in elementary-stage teacher education and in the development of a competency-based teacher-education curriculum at elementary stage. Has conducted a major study on the profiles of teacher educators in India. Is co-ordinating the development of a curriculum framework for teacher education in India, a task undertaken by the National Council for Teacher Education where she is presently working as a research officer. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help rendered by Prof. O.S. Dewal in the preparation of this paper. Several ideas and suggestions offered by R.H. Dave, S.C. Behar and R. Govinda are also acknowledged. John A. Smyth of UNESCO provided the opportunity and motivation for developing this paper.     

Books also received

Studies in the History of Educational Theory. Vol. I, Artifice and Nature, 1350–1765. By G. H. Bantock. Pp. 309. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1980. £15.00

Higher Education and the Needs of Society. By Ulrich Teichler, Dirk Harting and Reinhard Nuthmann. Pp. 141. Windsor: N.F.E.R. Publishing Company. 1980. £3.95.

The Meritocratic Intellect: Studies in the History of Educational Research, edited by James V. Smith and David Hamilton. Pp. 142. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press. 1980. £9.50.

The City University: A History. By S. John Teague. Pp. 270. London: The City University, 1980. £5.25 casebound, £3.50 paperback.

The University and the Colleges of Education in Wales 1925–1978. By D. Gerwyn Lewis. Pp. 280. University of Wales Press, 1980.

Education and the Social Condition. By Harold Silver. Pp. viii. 213, London &; New York: Methuen, 1980. £4.50.

Perspectives on the Sociology of Education: an Introduction. By Philip Robinson. Pp. 242. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980. £4.95.

David H. Hargreaves (Ed.) Classroom Studies. Falmer Press: Educational Analysis 2, 2 (Winter 1980). Pp. 95. £5.50.

Schools in Society. By Eric Midwinter. Pp. 191. London: Batsford Academic and Education Ltd, 1980. £4.95.

Building a School System: a sociological study of Catholic Education. By Helen Praetz. Pp. xi, 178. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1980. $Aus 19.60.

Ideology and Curriculum. By Michael W. Apple. Pp. viii, 203. London and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Paperback edition 1980. £3.95.

Arts and the Schools. Edited by Jerome J. Hausman, assisted by Joyce Wright. New York: McGrawHill, 1980. £8.95.

Women and the Mathematical Mystique. By Fox, Brody and Tobin (Eds.). Pp. 208. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980. £3.50.

Standards, Schooling and Education. Edited by Alex Finch and Peter Scrimshae. Pp. 406. Dunton Greene, Hodder &; Stoughton Educational in association with the Open University, 1980. £5.60.

Comparative Education: Some considerations of Method. By Brian Holmes. Pp. 193. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1981. Hardback (ISBN 0–04–370101–9) £10.00, Paperback (ISBN 0–04–370102–7) £3.95.