Education and Policy: Changing Paradigms and Issues

The aim of the article is to consider the treatment of education and policy in the International Review of Education between 1955 and 2001. The article focuses on the changing prominence given to various topics in education and policy in IRE during the period and the way conceptual thinking in this area has changed and developed. An attempt is made to link both the shifts in focus on various educational planning policy themes and issues, and the major paradigm shifts in the area, to the changes in perceived education and policy needs and problems in each decade during the period.     

我国农村信息化建设及远程教育的有关政策问题

发展农村远程教育和培训,提高农村人口素质,对加速我国城乡一体化建设,建立学习型社会,转变政府职能及发展现代农业具有重大意义.目前,除广播电视大学和普通高校网络教育之外,面向农村提供远程教育服务的还有中央农业广播电视学校以及2003年教育部开始实施的"农村中小学现代远程教育工程".文章总结了以上四个案例的基本情况和发展成就,分析了农村远程教育中仍然存在的问题,并对更好地开展农村远程教育进行了政策透视.     

Internationalization of Canadian Agriculture: Policy and Governing Paradigms

Abstract

Purpose: To identify various organizational climatic factors responsible for role performances of veterinary officers in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Design/methodology/approach: Study was conducted in 11 selected districts. Data were collected from 220 respondents through a pretested interview schedule and subjected to correlation and multiple regression to draw valid inferences. Organizational climate was measured by using the index specially prepared for the study.

Findings: Around 76% of the respondents perceived that the organizational climate prevailing in the department of animal husbandry was favorable. Leadership, teamwork and trust had significant contribution towards perception of organizational climate. The respondents were least satisfied with motivation, decision-making and goal setting components of the organizational climate. The model with seven variables out of 16 independent variables was a good fit with R square of 85.59%. Work motivation, persistence disposition, participativeness, job satisfaction, physical facilities availability and timeliness of availability of facilities were found to have significant positive influence while job stress had significant negative influence on perceived organizational climate.

Practical implications: This investigation has an organizational and social significance for development of livestock organizations not only in India, but also to other SAARC countries as well.

Originality/value: No empirical evidence on inter-relation between organizational climate and job performance of veterinarians is available at present in Andhra Pradesh.     

The Changing Landscape of Early Childhood Education: Implications for Policy and Practice

Early childhood education is changing rapidly due to the dynamic nature of positive and negative trends affecting the profession. In this article, the changing landscape of early childhood education is discussed and analyzed. Both the positive and negative forces contributing to the changing landscape are examined. The focus of this discussion includes changing demographics, changes in early childhood curriculum and instruction, increased focus on accountability, advances in research that inform early childhood education, influences affecting teacher preparation and professional development, and global trends affecting early education and care. We relate these trends to the need for holistic systems-thinking, integrated curricula, child-centered pedagogical standards, deeper commitment to social justice and a corresponding moral vision capable of inspiring educational policy, practice and research in the midst of a competitive global economy and the commodification of early childhood programs and curricula. By discussing practical examples and research findings to illustrate current positive and negative trends, this paper serves as a meaningful resource for all stakeholders. Taking recent dynamics into account, we provide a vision for evaluating change and analyzing major trends. Both implications and responses to the changes in the early childhood landscape are discussed.     

远程教育与高等教育大众化

高等教育大众化是经济建设和社会发展对教育的需求，也是人民群众希望接受高等教育的需求。推进现代化，必须推进高等教育大众化。本文在分析实施高等教育大众化进程中有关制约因素及其对策的基础上，提出大力发展现代远程教育，为实现高等教育大众化服务的观点。     

关于基础教育几个问题的思考

义务教育是国家（区别于地方）的责任。包括根据国家分税制制度安排的中央和地方各级财政均负有发展义务教育的财政责任。中央政府应当确保按照国家义务教育办学的基本标准最终补足经费。政府应当对“择校费”加大统筹力度．统筹部分用于改善区域内的薄弱学校和资助贫困学生，实现教育在更高质量基础上的公平。素质教育不是要简单地取消考试．它更加重视考试和教育评价制度的改革。在教育内部，要改革招生考试制度，重点高中可把招生名额分配到初中学校；可选择若干所高等学校进行自主招生试验。     

Development Co-operation and Linkages in Higher Education: Key Issues Concerning Policy and Organisation

The term linkage is used to indicate co-operation between an institution in the North and an institution in the South. Donor organisations have generally used linkages to support the development of higher education and research in developing countries. Over time, there has been a trend away from co-operation on individual academic projects towards broader development co- operation and concentration on selected institutions. This shift raises questions about organisation, procedures and support mechanisms, and about the mandate and capabilities of universities in the North, given the frequently asymmetrical relationship between Northern institutions with their own research agendas and Southern beneficiaries. The recent restructuring of Canadian, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish support for higher education and research is the result of a search for new, more appropriate models of co-operation. This paper examines the evolution of key issues of policy and organisation within the international donor community.     

欧洲高等教育研究与高等教育政策及实践的关系

根据不同的主题领域高等教育研究可被划分为:定量—结构方面,与知识、学科相关的方面,与人相关或与教学相关的方面,以及组织与行政方面等。因此,高等教育研究是涉及教育学、心理学、社会学、政治学、经济学和商学、法律和历史等的跨学科研究。与美国和中国相比,欧洲的高等教育研究较少建立在教育院系基础之上,而是依靠大学里的跨学科研究机构把提高学术质量和相关的政策与实践连接起来。近几年,公众对高等教育研究系统知识的兴趣开始增长,但是从中获利较多的却是那些评估研究、所谓的专家报告以及指标研究等非学术性的高等教育研究。总之,高等教育研究的制度基础在不同的欧洲国家呈现出前所未有的多样化。     

论农村教育政策制定中的资源集约化问题

在公平社会价值背景下.教育领域内探讨农村教育资源匮乏的相关问题,已经成为关注的热点和焦点.国家为了达到教育公平发展与和谐发展的目的.采取了诸多有效措施.但是.从目前我国农村教育发展的现实来看,依然难以从根本上改善教育资源匮乏的问题.从经济集约化的角度来看,在教育政策制定体制中应通过程序集约、人员集约及机构集约.方能最终实现教育资源的最大化利用.     

远程教育政策评估基本问题研究

远程教育政策是发展远程教育的主导性因素,政策评估的规范化和科学化是其发展的一种必然趋势。由于我国教育政策评估起步较晚,目前远程教育政策评估缺乏系统的理论指导和经验积累。因此有必要借鉴公共政策评估和教育政策评估的相关理论和经验,研究远程教育政策评估的内涵、类型、方法和模型,探讨构建远程教育政策评估理论的途径,以提高我国远程教育政策评估实践的有效性。     

高等教育大众化路径错位问题与政策选择

发达国家推进高等教育大众化进程，是通过扩张低水平大学的数目和规模来实现的，我国则是通过扩张原有高水平大学的办学规模来实现的，形成了我国高等教育大众化的路径选择错位。文章在指出我国高等教育大众化错位发展的基础上，分析了错位发展给我国高等教育发展带来的负面影响，最后提出了解决错位发展的政策选择措施。     

课程政策:问题与思路

对课程政策展开研究需要明确三大类问题,把握三条基本思路。这三大类问题是:为什么中外程政策的发展变化会出现两极融合的趋势,如何建立有效的课程政策分析的框架以及什么是好的课程政制定思路;三条基本思路是:解决好课程权力的着眼点———集中与分散的基本问题,把握住课程权力分配着力点———合情与合理的根本要求,实现课程权力的着陆点———分享与共有的原则或目标。     

Policy Issues Surrounding Processes of Centralization and Decentralization in European Education Systems

Four levels of authority within the educational decision‐making structure in seven European countries and states for primary and lower secondary education are analyzed. Next, the results of an investigation on loci, domains and modes of decision making are presented, indicating a slightly higher degree of school autonomy in England/Wales, the Netherlands and Sweden than in the other countries and states. A more evaluative assessment shows that democratization, market orientation, recession and general aims of improving the quality and equality of education are important background forces in shifting patterns of centralization and decentralization in the investigated countries and states.     

当前我国实施高等教育成本分担政策面临的问题与挑战

当前我国高等教育成本分担政策面临着技术上的、政治上的、观念上的三个方面的问题。充分认清这些问题,积极寻求解决问题之策是我国高等教育成本分担政策得以健康、可持续实施的关键。