Why educational reforms fail: A comparative analysis

The paper reviews a number of educational policy statements of East African countries ranging from combining education with production at the primary level, to the financing of higher education. An assessment is made of how successful the policies have been in achieving their original intention. The paper's conclusion is that policy outcomes are far from matching expectations, mainly because of insufficient or no implementation. The reason most educational policies are not implemented is that they are vaguely stated and the financing implications are not always worked out. Another reason for failure is that the content of a policy is based on an empirically unsustained theoretical relationship between instruments and outcomes. The paper makes a plea for the formulation of more concrete, feasible and implementable policies based on documented cause-effect relationships.

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Zusammenfassung In dem Artikel werden eine Reihe von erziehungspolitischen Aussagen ostafrikanischer Länder untersucht. Sie reichen von der Verbindung der Erziehung mit der Produktion auf der Grundstufe bis hin zur Finanzierung der Hochschulausbildung. Es wird eine Bestandsaufnahme gemacht hinsichtlich des Erfolgs, der den erziehungspolitischen Programmen beim Erreichen ihrer ursprünglichen Ziele beschieden war, wobei man zu dem Schluß kommt, daß die Resultate der Programme hauptsächlich dadurch, daß diese nicht oder nur unzureichend durchgeführt wurden, weit davon entfernt sind, die Erwartungen zu erfüllen. Der Grund dafür, daß die meisten erziehungspolitischen Programme nicht durchgeführt werden, liegt darin, daß sie nur vage umrissen und die finanziellen Auswirkungen nicht immer ausgearbeitet sind. Ein weiterer Grund für ihr Fehlschlagen liegt darin, daß der Inhalt eines Programms auf einer empirisch unhaltbaren theoretischen Beziehung zwischen Mitteln und Resultaten basiert. In dem Artikel wird daher für die Formulierung konkreterer, geeigneterer und durchführbarerer Programme plädiert, die auf bereits belegten Beziehungen von Ursache und Wirkung beruhen.

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Résumé Le présent article examine quelques déclarations de pays de l'Afrique orientale relatives à la politique éducative, allant d'un système combiné d'éducation et de travail productif dans l'enseignement primaire, au financement de l'enseignement supérieur. Une analyse est effectuée pour savoir combien ces politiques ont réussi à mettre en oeuvre leur objectif premier. Cet article conclut que les résultats de ces politiques sont loin de répondre aux exigences, en raison essentiellement d'une mise en oeuvre insuffisante, voire nulle. La raison pour laquelle la plupart des politiques éducatives ne sont pas appliquées est due au fait qu'elles sont vaguement formulées et les implications financières rarement élaborées. La seconde raison de cet échec est que le contenu d'une politique se fonde sur une relation théorique entre instruments et résultats qui n'a pas été vérifiée empiriquement. Cet article plaide en faveur de politiques concrètes, réalisables et applicables fondées sur un rapport de cause à effet bien documenté.

     

If 'we' can succeed, 'I' can too: Identity-based motivation and gender in the classroom

Gender matters in the classroom, but not in the way people may assume; girls are outperforming boys. Identity-Based Motivation (IBM) theory explains why: People prefer to act in ways that feel in-line with important social identities such as gender. If a behavior feels identity-congruent, difficulty is interpreted as meaning that the behavior is important, not impossible, but what feels identity-congruent is context-dependent. IBM implies that boys (and girls) scan the classroom for clues about how to be male (or female); school effort will feel worthwhile if successful engagement with school feels gender-congruent, not otherwise. A between-subjects experimental design tested this prediction, manipulating whether gender and success felt congruent, incongruent, or not linked (control). Students in the success is gender-congruent condition described more school-focused possible identities, rated their likely future academic and occupational success higher, and tried harder on an academic task (this latter effect was significant only for boys).     

How children learn to read and why they fail

The present article considers the contrast between conceptions of reading as a natural and as an unnatural act, relying on the simple view of reading as a theoretical framework (Gough and Tunmer 1986). According to the simple view, reading comprehension is a product of both listening comprehension and decoding. Here it is argued that the comprehension aspect of reading depends on those same—natural—forces that govern acquisition of spoken language, whereas decoding depends on explicit tutelage, with little evidence that children will induce the cipher from simple exposure to written words and their pronunciations (sight-word instruction). Rejecting both sight-word and phonics instruction as inadequate in and of themselves, evidence is reviewed suggesting that successful readers require explicit awareness of the phonological structure of spoken words, which can and should be taught in kindergarten, prior to formal reading instruction. Beyond this point, reading success depends on a modicum of phonics instruction together with extensive practice with reading itself.     

Hijab and principalship: the interplay between belief systems,educational management and gender among Arab Muslim women in Israel

This paper discusses the decision of Muslim female principals in Israel to don the hijab following their appointment to school principalship. This research employed narrative life-story interviews to understand the women's decision to alter their appearance and how this transition is connected to their role as female school principals in the indigenous Muslim community in Israel and the reaction they faced both in personal and professional spheres. The principals' narratives elucidate that transition to wearing the hijab was a matter of choice and collective belonging; it empowers them and affected their leadership style, although it also provokes others' resistance and reactions. Findings clarify the social and personal identity of Arab Muslim women school principals in Israel, and point to the need for consideration of traditional cultural contexts, to enrich managerial theory. This understanding also supports the argument that governmental and organizational policies and initiatives should recognize the diversity in Muslim women's backgrounds and the dangers of privileging mainstream women's perspectives.     

Achieving desire: Narrative of a black male teacher

Based on a life history account of Craig Francis, a young black male teacher living and working in Toronto, Canada, this paper examines his route to teaching, his perceptions and understandings of what it means to be a teacher, and the role of race in his aspirations and experiences. Significant to this examination is the ways in which Craig makes sense of his experiences growing up in Canada as a black immigrant male, the circumstances and structural factors that have shaped his life and informed his choice of teaching as a career, and his perceptions of the opportunities and possibilities that teaching provides him. The evidence indicates that Craig constructs his role as a teacher in relation to his identity as an immigrant black male and his desire to influence the education system and make a contribution to his community.     

Single-sex schooling,gender and educational performance: Evidence using PISA data

The advantages and disadvantages of single-sex schooling continue to be a source of policy and public debate. Previous empirical evidence is somewhat ambiguous, with some studies finding a positive impact of single-sex schooling on education achievement and others finding no differences across school types. The relationship between single-sex schooling on academic outcomes is typically problematic to examine, as in most countries single-sex schools are selective and the numbers attending them are relatively small. In Ireland, a high proportion of secondary school children (~1/3) attend a single-sex school. In addition, these schools are largely state-funded and non-selective but differing in composition compared to mixed-sex schools. For this reason, the Irish educational system provides an interesting setting for exploring the outcomes of single-sex schooling. In this context, this study utilises the 2018 PISA data for Ireland to examine the relationship between single-sex education and mathematics, reading and science literacy performance for boys and girls, respectively, as well as differences across gender in these outcomes. We find significant raw gaps in reading, science and mathematics scores between females in single-sex and mixed-sex schools and in mathematics scores for males across the same school types. However, after controlling for a rich set of individual, parental and school-level factors we find that, on average, there is no significant difference in performance for girls or boys who attend single-sex schools compared to their mixed-school peers in science, mathematics or reading. In terms of heterogeneous analysis, this finding is consistent across the performance distribution.     

Transcending the gender dichotomy in educational gender gap research: The association between gender identity and academic self-efficacy

Educational gender gap research tends to focus on differences between boys' and girls' achievement. However, substantial variation exists within the sexes concerning this educational achievement. In this study, we investigate the inter- and intrasexual differences in academic self-efficacy in a sample of 6380 Flemish seventh graders collected in the school year 2012–2013. To adequately consider masculinity and femininity on a micro level, we employ the concept of gender identity. Results show that considerable inter- and intrasexual differences exist. In line with the educational gender gap, girls scoring high on self-perceived femininity are at the top of the pack. Self-perceived masculine boys score considerably lower on academic self-efficacy; however, they still do much better than cross-gender boys and girls. The poor results of boys and girls who perceive themselves to be gender atypical are partly explained by the students' lower well-being. The results are discussed in light of masculinity and femininity.     

Parental educational level,gender differences,and seniors' aspirations for advanced study

Many factors affect an undergraduate student's postbaccalaureate plans. Academic interests, career-related factors, finances, and various psychological and sociological factors all have been found to be related to interest in advanced education. Few studies, however, are gender-specific in examining the relation of parental educational attainment to their children's aspirations. Such data would be helpful in the attempts to understand the continued underrepresentation of women in most fields requiring advanced degrees. All seniors at a large Midwestern university with at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average planning to graduate in spring or summer of 1986 were sent questionnaires dealing with their postgraduation plans. Of these 1900 surveys, 791 (42%) were returned. Results reported here examine the relation of future educational plans to gender of student, educational level of parent, and field of study. A modeling effect not noted in previous literature is discussed.     

过程哲学的视角:教育理论缘何脱离教育实践

在过程哲学的视野中，教育理论与实践脱离的原因主要有教育中“具体性误置的谬误”、教育理论的抽象层级性、实践性教育理论与基础性教育理论研究的混淆以及教育研究者的主观性介入等四个方面。这几个方面使得教育理论本质上不是完整、具体的教育事实的反映，从而导致教育理论与实践之间存在着难以逾越的距离。     

Race,school choice and transfers to opportunity: implications for educational stratification in South Africa

This study investigates the links between race, school choice and educational stratification in South Africa. It focuses on racial differences in families’ efforts to take advantage of choice by transferring to opportunity (i.e., transferring to a school perceived to offer students better access to educational opportunity than their current school) and explores the implications of those transfers for emerging patterns of racial stratification in access to high quality schools. Findings reveal significant racial variation in transfers to opportunity and suggest a complex link between race and the ways in which historically disadvantaged groups have engaged with the post-apartheid educational opportunity structure.     

Slippage and/or symbolism: gender,policy and educational governance in Scotland and Sweden

This article provides an overview and analysis of the relationship between gender, educational policy, and governance in Scotland and Sweden and the two countries’ response to European Union and global legislative and policy change. In Scotland, gender is mainly invisible in recent policies on inclusion, achievement beyond academic attainment, and the idealisation of the child. Gender is thus marginalised within a range of factors contributing to social in/equality. In Sweden, in contrast, gender has higher visibility in policy and governance as both an indicator of democracy and a means of preserving social democratic consensus and prosperity. However, recently its privileged position has come under attack. We draw on social capital, gender, and policy theory to analyse the range of influences on gender and educational governance in the two countries including that of the social capital of organised feminism.     

Critical Race Theory and Education: Racism and anti-racism in educational theory and praxis

What is Critical Race Theory (CRT) and what does it offer educational researchers and practitioners outside the US? This paper addresses these questions by examining the recent history of anti-racist research and policy in the UK. In particular, the paper argues that conventional forms of anti-racism have proven unable to keep pace with the development of increasingly racist and exclusionary education polices that operate beneath a veneer of professed tolerance and diversity. In particular, contemporary anti-racism lacks clear statements of principle and theory that risk reinventing the wheel with each new study; it is increasingly reduced to a meaningless slogan; and it risks appropriation within a reformist “can do” perspective dominated by the de-politicized and managerialist language of school effectiveness and improvement. In contrast, CRT offers a genuinely radical and coherent set of approaches that could revitalize critical research in education across a range of inquiries, not only in self-consciously “multicultural” studies. The paper reviews the developing terrain of CRT in education, identifying its key defining elements and the conceptual tools that characterize the work. CRT in education is a fast-changing and incomplete project but it can no longer be ignored by the academy beyond North America.