Cultural Images of Children, Parents and Professionals: Italian Interpretations of Home-School Relationships

This article explicates selected findings from a recently completed collaborative investigation of home-school relations in five Italian cities: Reggio Emilia, Milano, Trento, Parma, and San Miniato. The purpose of the investigation was to understand the transactional relationships among national social policy, cultural values, and local practice relative to infant care and preprimary education. The article focuses on both the continuity and sub-cultural variations associated with two national guidelines-gestione sociale [participatory social management] and l'inserimento [the initial entry of young children into out-of-home care]. These cultural concepts served as the basis for an examination of home-school relationships as interpreted at the policy, programmatic, and interpersonal level. Common themes relative to gestione sociale and l'inserimento were identified across the five cities; local and regional differences were also apparent in the translation of policy into practices. The study revealed diverse sociopolitical and theoretical interpretations of effective home-school relationships, leading to structural variations in how each guideline is operationalized and valued. Collaborative analyses led to a deeper understanding of the Italian cultural value of relationships as central to definitions of program quality, the emotional well- being of adults as well as children, and the situatedness of early childhood education within community and national contexts.     

普惠性学前教育:文化意蕴、现实遭遇与路径创新

普惠性学前教育产生于我国构建以公平公正理念为核心的社会政策体系背景之下,它从国家政策走向地方实践、从学术理想走向社会现实仍需多视角、多维度的拓展研究。普惠性学前教育蕴含国家对学前教育发展的价值期盼和文化寄托,是慈幼文化变迁的时代性表达与彰显、民本文化演进的实践性转化与弘扬、共同体文化复苏的领域性传导与伸张。当前,普惠性学前教育的现实推进遭遇文化困境:系统性误识导致发展进程背离既定目标、文化堕距掣肘政策推进的动力系统、文化冲突阻挠社会群体的通力合作。以文化共鸣为切入点创新普惠性学前教育的发展路径,是中国语境下推动普惠性学前教育发展的必然之选。政策设计者需形塑舆论场域实现文化培育,政策执行者要消除文化区隔促进文化整合,政策目标群体应反思文化立场加快文化调适。     

河北省农村低龄寄宿教育的现状与策略

河北省农村低龄寄宿教育解决了生源不足的问题,促进了儿童社会化,减轻了家长的负担并培养了学生的自主性。同时寄宿教育也存在着不利因素,诸如亲情缺失,环境适应不良,刺激单调,家校教育脱节等。为此,各级政府要在政策和经费上予以倾斜,构建家校共育体系,家长要重视对孩子的亲情关照,学校要加强校本课程的开发,充实学生生活。     

Children's understandings of home-school relations

There is a consensus that close home-school links are beneficial for children's education. However, there is a silence about any part that children may play in, and their views on, this process. This paper reports on research in schools with diverse social intakes, looking at children's understandings and experience of home-school relations. Those in inner city schools were far more likely to talk about separation between their home and school lives, as were working class and ethnic minority children generally, as well as older children. However, all the children expressed strong views about the privacy of their home life in relation to schools and teachers.     

进城务工人员随迁子女在流入地参加中高考的现实困境及政策取向

目前,进城务工人员随迁子女在流入地完成义务教育后不能继续参加升学考试的问题日益突出,已成为复杂的社会问题,需要尽快得到解决.本文基于国家和政府相关部门颁布的有关政策文献、统计数据和实地调研数据,对进城务工人员随迁子女的总体情况、接受义务教育后的升学状况进行了分析,提出了国家制定相关政策措施,应做到包含城镇和农村两类户籍群体人员,同时针对大量进城务工人员随迁子女已经面临升学问题的迫切形式,提出通过分阶段,分情况,从渐进的改革到整体推进,使得这一问题逐渐缓解并彻底解决的政策建议.     

The Importance of Demographic,Social, and Political Context for Estimating Policy Impacts: Comment on “Implementing New York's Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program”

Morrissey, Leikes, and Cochran (this issue) raise concerns about potential negative effects of state pre-kindergarten (pre-K) on the early care and education system. To put their study in context, I reviewed national demographic and enrollment trends. I found little evidence of negative effects from state pre-K policy. One reason may be that population growth and child care policies mitigated potential negative impacts of pre-K expansion. However, national averages could conceal important local variations or even nationwide variations when there are offsetting gains and losses. Children under age 5, their families, and their teachers all likely gained from increases in public pre-K. Infant/toddler care in private programs expanded as quickly as public pre-K. Morrissey and colleagues' small data set from New York has serious limitations, but some of the most salient findings are consistent with the national picture. The study offers lessons and suggests topics for future research on the influence of pre-K policy on the early care and education system.     

How Chinese Perceive Social Presence: An Examination of Interaction in Online Learning Environment

Chinese students utilize more social context cues to communicate with others. They are accustomed to processing information from either a physical context or an internalized appreciation of the person. Current literature documents that computermediated communication (CMC) is unable to deliver social context cues. Because of the burgeoning importance of computers in education it becomes important to determine how Chinese students perceive CMC. An ethnographic approach with a dramaturgy strategy was used in this study to examine the Chinese student's interactions and perceptions of social presence in online learning environments. The results indicated that three dimensions of social presence, social context, online communication and interactivity affected Chinese students' perceptions of CMC. The feeling of private/public was identified as an important factor related to the level of social presence. When integrating CMC into an online learning environment, it is necessary to consider the student's local culture, language skills, keyboarding skills, format of CMC, face saving, computer literacy, use of paralanguage and emoticons, responsiveness of asynchronous communication, use of stylistic communication styles, and feelings of private/public.

Comment les Chinois percoivent la présence sociale : un examen de l'interaction sur la formation en ligne à l'environnement.

Les étudiants Chinois utilisent plus de signes de contacte social pour communiquer avec les autres. Ils ont l'habitude de manière l'information sert dans un contexte physique ou à partir d'une interprétation intériorisée de la personne . Les documents fournis par la littérature qui est une communication médiatisée par l'ordinateur (CMC) sont incapables de fournir ces signes de contextes sociaux. Comme l'information des ordinateurs en éducation augmente, il devient important de déterminer comment les étudiants Chinois percoivent le CMC. Une approche ethnographique avec une stratégie de dramaturgie a été utilisée pour examiner les interactions et les perspectives de présence sociale, de contexte social dans les environnements d'apprentissage en ligne. Les résultats ont montré que les trois dimensions de présence sociale, de contexte social, de communication en ligne et d'interactivité ont affecté les perceptions de CMC pour les Chinois. Le sentiment privé/public a été identifié comme un facteur important pour le niveau de présence sociale. Quand on intègre le CMC dans un apprentissage en ligne, il es nécessaire de considérer la culture locale de l'étudiant, ses qualifications en langues, sa habilité avec le clavier, le format du CMC, la facon de sauver la face, son lettrisme en ordinateur, l'utilisation de paralangages d'émotions, ses réponses à une communication asynchrone, l'utilisation de style de communication stylique et les sentiments privés/publics.

Wie Chinesen soziale Präsenz empfinden: Eine Untersuchung über Interaktion in einer Online Lernumgebung.

Chinesische Studenten nutzen mehr Stichworte aus dem sozialen Kontext um mit anderen zu kommunizieren als andere. Sie sind gewohnt, Informationen entweder aus einem physischen Kontext oder aus einer verinnerlichten Wertschätzung der Person heraus zu verarbeiten. Die gegenwärtige Literatur belegt, dass Computer-vermittelte-Kommunikation (CMC) nicht in der Lage ist, Reize mit sozialem Kontext zu liefern. Wegen der wachsenden Wichtigkeit von Computern in der Erziehung wird es wichtig, herauszufinden, wie chinesische Studenten CMC empfinden. Wir benutzten einen ethnographischen Einstieg mit einer dramaturgischen Strategie, um die Interaktion und Empfindungen von sozialer Präsenz in online-Lernumgebungen zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass drei Dimensionen sozialer Präsenz (Sozialer Bezug, Online-Kommunikation und Interaktivität) die Empfindung von CMC bei den chinesischen Studenten hervorriefen. Das Gefühl von Privatheit/Öffentlichkeit wurde als wichtiger Faktor bezüglich der Stärke der sozialen Präsenz festgestellt. Wenn man CMC in eine Online-Lernumgebung integriert, ist es notwendig, die örtliche Kultur, Sprachkenntnisse, Schreibfertigkeit, das Format von CMC, Verletzlichkeit, Computerkenntnisse, Gebrauch von Para-Sprache und Emoticons, Ansprechbarkeit auf asynchrone Kommunikation, den Gebrauch von stilistischen Kommunikationsweisen und Gefühle von privat/öffentlich zu betrachten.     

Culture,context and the quality of education: evidence from a small‐scale extended case study in England and Denmark

Much recent education policy‐making around the world has focused on a restructuring of the role of the classroom teacher in a bid to increase the ‘quality’ of the educational experience and raise pupil attainment. However, the definition of quality, as expressed through policy, may not always accord with the aims and aspirations of individual teachers who work within a specific cultural context. The rhetoric and intent expressed in policy texts may even have the potential to restrict the quality of what teachers do. This paper draws on some of the findings from a small‐scale comparative study of teachers' work in England and Denmark which used an extended case study approach, set in a socio‐cultural framework, to examine the relationship of policy trends to teacher values and professional practice. Evidence from the study is used to discuss the issue of ‘quality’, highlighting contextually specific variations which impact on the implementation of national policy at the local level. Through a discussion of the study's methodology, attention is also drawn to the need for a more contextually sensitive approach to the creation and evaluation of policy which, while recognising universal concerns, also pays heed to local priorities and teacher values.     

Inclusive education and intellectual disability: a sociological engagement with Martha Nussbaum

As a result of exclusionary tactics, social, cultural or economic disadvantage or disability, vast numbers of pupils have poor educational experiences and are either marginalised or demonised due to ‘difficult differences’. In the context of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach, where she suggests that we ought to be who we want to be, this paper addresses intellectual disability, inclusion and inclusive education. It proposes that care, compassion, creativity and ethics are critical in understanding the education for all children and young people, rather than necessarily pedagogical process. In addition, it suggests that learning should take place within and through relationships and that these relationships are important in developing a healthy sense of self. Therefore politically, rather than following a path of blame whether it is the dysfunctional family, the deficit child or the economically deprived nation, this paper says that we require socially just practices, compassion and care as fundamental to human development, social inclusion and inclusive education. Ultimately, education is failing a large sum of children and young people and therefore needs to be radically reconsidered.     

A Typology of Parental Involvement in Education Centring on Children and Young People: Negotiating familialisation,institutionalisation and individualisation

This article explores the widespread emphasis on parental involvement in education from the perspectives of children and young people. In contrast to the conceptualisation of children as variable social actors, policy initiatives to link home and school more effectively, and research-generated typologies of parental involvement, unthinkingly familialise and institutionalise children by ignoring any part they may play in parental involvement in their education. Drawing on data from our study of children's understandings of home-school relations, we develop and elaborate a typology that centres on the complex ways that children and young people talk about creating, acceding to, and resisting their parents' involvement in their education. The socially patterned differences between the children and young people's understandings and experiences demonstrate how the broad social processes of familialisation, institutionalisation and individualisation are, in fact, concretely lived and negotiated in variable ways. Nevertheless, there are also some commonalities in children and young people's resistance around notions of privacy.     

Globalisation,city development and citizenship education in China's Shanghai

Globalisation has extended the competition between nation-states to that between metropolises of the same or different nations. Many studies have shown how nation-states respond to the challenge of globalisation by reconfiguring their citizenship education curriculum into a multileveled framework comprising personal, social, local, national and global dimensions. However, how metropolises reshape their citizenship education to meet the demands of their nation-state's national solidarity in order to respond to the external challenges of globalisation, and the global–national–local relationships arising from the reconfiguration are under-researched. With reference to Shanghai, the study aims to explore the perceptions of students and teachers about the dynamics and complexities in the juggling of global, national, local, and personal–social dimensions of multiple identity in a multileveled polity. Data are drawn from a questionnaire survey and interviews with students and teachers including principals. The study shows that students and teachers considered these four dimensions important, and that complex relationships between these dimensions exist. The article argues that in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world these dimensions intersect with, and are complementary to, one another. In a multileveled polity, different actors including global forces, nation-state, local government and individuals interact in an intertwined manner in the processes of remaking cities for modernisation and globalisation.     

Research Abstracts and Bibliographies

ABSTRACT

In the last 15 years, social and community cohesion have become key concepts in European social, migration, and education policy. Although their definitions often remain ambiguous, social and community cohesion typically refer to harmonious coexistence of individuals of all cultural backgrounds within a community. Frequently connected with education at the elementary and secondary level, they are regarded a desirable outcome of compulsory schooling. Drawing on longitudinal data from 2 schools in England, the authors analyze the interplay between national policies of community cohesion and local level practices. In a discussion of the findings, the authors show that, despite the gaps between national policy and local practice, parental and community members’ involvement in school and family education are efficient tools to enhance community cohesion at the local level.     

孩子和数字技术在家校合作关系中的作用

通过概述与家校合作关系相关的一些实践和研究,着重关注促进家校合作关系方面孩子的作用以及数字技术所提供的机会。首先讨论了父母在家校关系中的作用,然后转向家庭学习和学校学习之间的联系,最后探讨了孩子是如何实现家校之间的过渡和建立家校之间的联系以及技术在支持家校关系中的应用和潜力。经过综述发现,目前的研究对孩子在家校关系中的作用关注很少,也没有实证证据探究数字技术如何支持孩子在家校关系中的积极作用,需要对这些领域进行进一步的研究。     

Early education and day care: in search of a policy

This paper examines policy issues in the provision of services for children under five and their families. It argues that services have developed in response to political and economic factors rather than in response to the needs of children and their parents. It shows how the separate strands of development that have led to the current confused situation reflect different ideological and philosophical approaches which tend to militate against a more coherent and co‐ordinated service provision. In the absence of a national policy on services for children under five, the paper examines the attempts by some local authorities to rationalize their own services on a local basis. It considers some of the areas in which a policy is required, including the organizational structure of services, flexibility and responsiveness of nurseries and centres to the needs of families, the quality of day care and education, the involvement of parents, equal opportunities, the relationship between the vouluntary and statutory sectors, pay and conditions of pre‐school workers, and initial and in‐service training.     

Home,work, families and children: New labour,new directions and new dilemmas

This article considers the relationships between children, parents and the state in the context of changing global, social and family structures and policy developments, providing a case study of New Labour policies in Britain. It first considers the changing ideological discourses about families, parents, especially lone mothers, children, 'home' and 'work'. Secondly, it reviews the evidence about the changing socio-economic context and for what has been termed the fragmenting family. Thirdly, it provides an analysis of the New Labour government's approach to education, welfare and family policies, including the national child care strategy and supporting families consultation document. It sets this analysis in the context of changing political discourses and from a feminist perspective, arguing that the policies are not 'joined up' but fragmented and diverse, deriving from a variety of sources and targeted on a number of different groups. Thus it is difficult to argue that there is but one modernisation project or 'third way' being espoused by New Labour. However, the underlying theme of all the policy developments is economic and oriented to work. This involves a rebalancing of home and work and the involvement of parents, especially mothers, in work rather than education or child care. The measures taken to achieve this have been both coercive and controlling and involve new methods of surveillance and regulation through standards. Whilst New Labour has developed a new direction for families in balancing home and work, this is fragmented and diverse and covers a variety of policies from education - early childhood through to lifelong learning - and social services, to fiscal measures, to health and welfare and finally involving the Home Office in new parenting initiatives. The balancing of home and work has become the central business of government in its various and diverse activities.     

A Minority within a Minority? Social Justice for Traveller and Roma Children in ECEC

This article discusses recent policy developments in Europe regarding Roma and Traveller integration and Early Childhood Provision. After a long history of oppression, Roma issues have recently become prominent on the EU policy agenda. The article discusses how these relate to developments in other areas of policy: the European children's rights agenda and the recognition that early childhood education and care is a key policy tool to combat social exclusion. It gives background information on Roma and Travellers in Europe and discusses the consequences of subsuming the various communities under one umbrella term: Roma. The EU Commission is concerned with responses from Member States to the European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. The article argues that in order to address Roma children's experience from a holistic perspective, social justice and equality need to be key elements of early childhood education and care provision and training. The European policy developments that frame the article are examined from a local vantage point: the experiences of Traveller and Roma children in Ireland and the Irish Preschool Education Initiative for Children from Minority Communities.     

Digital technologies and parental involvement in education: the experiences of mothers of primary school-aged children

Abstract

This paper makes a contribution to the developing field of the political economy of educational technology and to an understanding of the significance of digital technologies for home-school relations. The digitalisation of social life is increasing and the impact of digitalisation on home-school relations, parents, and children is under-researched. This article draws on a new qualitative study where fifteen mothers were interviewed about parenting a primary school aged child in England with a focus on digital technologies, home-school relations, and parenting. I argue that processes of digitalisation are contributing to a bureaucratisation of home-school relations. Drawing on Weber’s social theory, I argue that managing communications and information is taking precedence over other aspects of parental involvement in education. In this process, digital technologies are contributing to increasing demands for involvement in education that are placed on parents, reinforcing the wider norms of the intensification and professionalisation of parenting.     

Education decentralization in Argentina: a ‘global-local conditions of possibility’ approach to state,market, and society change

This research examined the international origins, national intentions, and local interpretations and actions of the most recent education decentralization movement in Argentina. As a mixed-method, multi-level study, the research was framed with the understanding that current reforms like education decentralization must be approached as contemporaneously constituted policies but historically constructed processes. Using historical methods and archival analysis, this research traced the patterns and pressures of the international policy environment in which policies like privatization, deregulation and decentralization have gained much attention. It reviewed Argentina's recent current educational decentralization laws in light of these global trends as well as their national and subnational context. Employing technical, political, and narrative methods of policy analysis, this research examined the degree of correspondence between the laws' international origins and national intentions and the actors' local interpretations and actions of them. Drawing from the ‘analytic narratives’ that resulted from this study, the bulk of this article compares actors' interpretations, re-actions, and en-actions of education decentralization in three provinces of Argentina. By assessing the relationship between the provinces' political, economic, and cultural contexts and the actors' interpretations and actions of education decentralization, the research concludes that both material capacities and symbolic identities affect the outcomes of education decentralization.     

Tackling early school leaving and the governing of educational transitions in Italy

ABSTRACT

This article presents a critical policy historiography of how Early School Leaving has been understood as a social problem and what policy responses have been enacted to tackle it in the Italian context, devoting a specific attention to the analysis of the translation of EU policy ideas, tools and recipes to reduce ESL. It shows how the formulation of a global and integrated national strategy to tackle ESL in Italy in 2018 can be interpreted as the result of a troubled process of re-culturing. Such a reculturing is the effect of the complex interplay between the legacies of the Italian welfare regime in education and the co-option of the ESL issue within a EU political frame that struggles to combine economic rationalism and social justice. Such a struggle is interpreted as contributing to a profound rethinking of education and its mission.