Social justice and school linkages in teacher education programmes

This paper investigates current research into the role of education in combating social injustice, assembles this research to indicate key features of a teacher education programme that would assist education for social justice, and links these features to one innovative university teacher education programme to ascertain some of the practical difficulties in establishing such a programme. The research indicated key approaches that would enhance the probability that graduates from teacher education programmes will be able to pursue social justice initiatives.     

Social justice implications of South African school assessment practices

Abstract

Central to the pursuit of education and its functions like assessment, is social justice. Given the (still) existing inequalities brought about by years of neglect, it is clear that the building of a just society is indeed fraught with challenges. This article explores the extent to which all learners in South Africa are afforded fair treatment and an impartial share of what the education system through assessment practices can offer them. In attempting to illuminate this issue, we will start by providing a brief overview of assessment policy initiatives and the current assessment system in South Africa. This will be followed by a conceptual analysis of assessment practices and their social justice implications for learners by using Cribb and Gerwitz's (2003) key dimensions of social justice, namely the distribution of educational resources, recognition and respect for cultural differences and participation. Through this analysis we conclude that, while acknowledging the massive impact of family/community circumstances and poor educational provision, unfair assessment practices as discussed remain an important dimension of the degradation of social justice in the South African education system. Many learners, despite efforts to ensure more just assessment practices, are still marginalised and do not reap the benefits that can support them in developing their full potential.     

Social justice,capabilities and the quality of education in low income countries

The paper sets out a theoretical approach for understanding the quality of education in low income countries from a social justice perspective. The paper outlines and critiques the two dominant approaches that currently frame the debate about education quality, namely, the human capital and human rights approaches. Drawing principally on the ideas of Nancy Fraser and Amyarta Sen the paper then sets out an alternative approach based on a theory of social justice and of capabilities. The paper develops an overall understanding of how education quality can be understood in relation to the extent to which it fosters key capabilities that individuals, communities and society in general have reason to value. It then analyses three inter-related dimensions of the quality of education from a social justice perspective. Each dimension is considered in relation to contemporary policy debates and research including the work of EdQual. The first dimension, that of inclusion draws attention to the access of different groups of learners to quality inputs that facilitate the development of their capabilities, the cultural and institutional barriers that impact on the learning of different groups and priorities for overcoming these. The second dimension, that of relevance, is concerned with the extent to which the outcomes of education are meaningful for all learners, valued by their communities and consistent with national development priorities in a changing global context, whilst the third dimension, that of democracy considers how decisions about education quality are governed and the nature of participation in debates at the local, national and global levels. It is argued that a social justice framework can provide an alternative rationale for a policy emphasis on quality that encompasses but goes beyond that provided by human capital and rights approaches; that through emphasising the importance of context and through providing a normative basis for thinking about quality in relation to development, it provides a useful starting point for re-conceptualising education quality and how it can be evaluated; and, that it draws attention to the central importance of public dialogue and debate at the local, national and global levels about the nature of a quality education and quality frameworks at these levels.     

Culture and Survival: the role of symbol in improving the quality of a comprehensive school

The relationship between organisational culture and effectiveness is one of the dominant themes in current organisational and management theory. The major problem in the field is to establish a clear link between cultural change and increased effectiveness. The article illustrates one aspect of this relationship. Data for a comprehensive school in a London borough illustrate a steady decline in its intake and in the 11 + component of that intake. It then describes the steps taken by the head and staff collectively to strengthen the culture of the school. The data shows the consequent rise in both the overall intake and its 11 + component.     

Social trust and the growth of schooling

The paper develops a simple model to examine how social trust might affect the growth of schooling through lowering transaction costs associated with employing educated individuals. In a sample of 52 countries, the paper thereafter provides empirical evidence that trust has led to faster growth of schooling in the period 1960–2000. The findings are robust to the inclusion of a set of control variables and being estimated using an instrumental variables approach.     

有效提升小学语文课外阅读质量方法探究

课外阅读是小学语文教学的重要组成部分,不但能够开阔学生的知识视野,为语文课程的学习提供丰富的资源,还可以锻炼学生的思维运转能力。近年以来,随着教育体制的改革,一些学校已对语文教育模式进行了相应的改革,将提升小学语文课外阅读质量作为自己的教学目标之一,取得了一定的教学成果,但是还是不可避免地存在一些问题,特别是通讯不发达的偏远地区。本文分析了提升小学语文课外阅读质量的意义出发,分析了小学语文课外阅读近况,并提出了相应的有效方法。     

Observing justice in the primary school classroom

Justice-related situations are a part of students? everyday life. In order to test the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of (in)justice in school, valid measures of justice are needed. To our knowledge, this is the first study to develop an observer low inference rating instrument that can be applied to measure justice in the primary classroom. In two pre-studies, justice-relevant situations in the classroom were extracted and observable indicators for these situations were developed. In the main study, this instrument was used to observe 208 primary school students with regard to their experiences of justice or injustice. In addition to this, other measures of justice were developed to examine the convergence between observer low inference ratings of classroom justice and high inference rating instruments for teachers, students, and external observers.Factor analyses and correlations between the different indices of the observer low inference rating and the high inference rating items suggested that incidents of justice and injustice in the classroom do not tend to co-occur frequently. Teachers do not appear to have a general tendency to treat a child more or less justly across a large number of situations.The findings suggest that a comprehensive assessment of classroom justice requires a multi-method approach where the justice ratings of students, teachers and external observers are all taken into consideration.     

Globalisation and Societal Culture: Redefining schooling and school leadership in the twenty-first century

This paper highlights the importance of societal culture to developing theory, policy and practice within an increasingly globalising educational context. It argues that tensions exist between globalisation and societal culture and that globalisation makes the recognition of societal culture and cross-cultural similarities and differences more, not less, important. Consequently, the inclusion of societal culture as a factor in investigations covering such themes as the curriculum, teaching and learning, leadership and school-based management is seen as an imperative for the future development of comparative education. Accordingly, the first part of the paper clarifies the concept of 'globalisation'. In the second part, globalisation and societal culture are juxtaposed and the interface between them is explored. The third part offers a set of dimensions by which to gauge the influence of, and to compare, cultures. Finally, we illustrate our argument for greater cultural sensitivity by raising some key issues concerning school reform and improvement.     

Understanding emancipatory forms of educational leadership through schooling justice work: an action research study into second chance schooling development

Concerned about the phenomena of early school leaving in our region, we are two teachers who initiated and developed a new school from the ‘ground up’ to re-engage young people disenfranchised with schooling back into formalised learning. Using critical action research methodology over a three and a half year developmental period, this endeavour involved us in exercising particular dimensions of leadership to engineer a sustainable second chance school. Twelve years after its development, the school continues with enrolments of over 100 senior secondary students in recent years. The schooling justice work we pursued during the developmental period drew us into ‘emancipatory’ leadership work that called us to be; (1) teacher activists embracing social entrepreneurial strategies imbued with (2) relational sensibilities, and (3) architects of socially just school design informed by (4) critical praxis within a university led professional learning community. The ‘second chance school’ has re-engaged over 1000 students back into formalised learning since its inception and has offered pathways into post-school tertiary study, apprenticeships and training for the majority of these students.     

关于提高军校人文社会科学研究生培养质量的几点思考

本文结合人文社会科学研究生培养的特点,指出军校人文社会科学研究生的培养应紧贴党的创新理论前沿,紧贴学科学术前沿,紧贴自然科学前沿;应围绕部队需求,加强质量监控机制、创新教育机制、立体育人机制建设,不断提高研究生的培养质量。     

Social difference and the politics of schooling in Africa: a Ghanaian case study

This paper examines the implications of ‘social difference’ for schooling in African contexts. It highlights theoretical and philosophical engagements with ‘difference’ that could help explore and search for viable educational options in Africa. The paper engages voices of university students interviewed in a longitudinal ethnographic research study on schooling done in Ghana. Issues and questions about knowledge production, identity development and representation in pluralistic schooling contexts are raised. Insights about local knowledges, individual agency and resistance as they relate to possibilities for rethinking schooling and education in Africa are also explored. The students' narratives reveal how dialogues about school and educators' practices about difference and diversity are [not] addressed with respect to the students' schooling. Lessons on the possibilities of inclusive schooling environments are offered.     

加强职业指导提高职校学生综合素质

本文阐述了职业学校开展职业指导工作的必要性，职业指导对提高学生综合素质的重要意义，介绍了怎样结合职校各项教育教学工作进行职业指导的方法。     

Using the dynamic approach to school improvement to promote quality and equity in education: a European study

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - This paper presents the results of a European study investigating the extent to which the Dynamic Approach to School Improvement (DASI) can...     

教师公正研究

教师的教育公正及其实现程度,不仅取决于教师善良的愿望、公正的态度,更取决于教师公正施教的能力。教师公正是基于教师职业道德的要求,但又超越职业道德的范畴,是对教师的教育教学艺术提出的更高要求和挑战。