Educational vouchers: A viable option for urban settings?

Educational vouchers have been proposed as a way to give parents more choice in their child's education. The economic and social consequences that vouchers will have for education is discussed. From a historical perspective, vouchers have never been fully implemented. Educational vouchers have the potential to drain public education of valuable resources. Educators have suggested that vouchers will not increase choice among parents or improve the quality of education in general. It is likely that vouchers will lead to larger inequalities between children of the middle and poor classes. Alternative approaches are provided that will give parents more choices within the public school system.     

Socio-economic Segregation in the Argentine Education System: School choice without vouchers

The main purpose of this paper is to review the Argentine case regarding school choice in view of the conclusions of recent research on socio-economic segregation in the educational system. In this context, the study of the Argentine educational system becomes a rather interesting one since Argentina has neither demand subsidy programs, nor voucher systems. On the contrary, the continuous actions by the State in matters of supply-oriented financing rule out any thoughts of a generalized existence of either educational markets or quasi-markets. Nevertheless, the strong regulating mechanisms imposed by the State seem to breed deregulated areas that promote actions by sectors with a greater economic or political capacity to satisfy their preferences in terms of their children's education.     

Education and selective vouchers

A widely accepted result in the literature is that the majority of voters are against the introduction of universal vouchers. Chen and West (2000) predict that voters’ attitudes towards selective vouchers (SV) may be different. They claim that voters are indifferent between the no-voucher and SV regimes, unless competition leads to a reduction in the education price. I show that, when public schools are congested, the majority of voters are in favour of SV. Furthermore, SV induces a Pareto improvement. In equilibrium, the introduction of SV induces a reduction in income stratification at school, with some relatively poor students attending private schools.     

Adolescents' mobility histories and present social adjustment

This study compared three groups of high school students: frequent movers (6 to 13 relocations), moderate movers (3 to 5 relocations), and nonmovers on depression, appraised social support, and participation in extracurricular activities. The sample was examined further according to the primary reason for relocation, the timing (before or after the seventh grade), and whether student shyness, socioeconomic status (SES), and family cohesion influenced any potential effects. Despite methodological improvements over past research including the exclusion of students who recently moved or reported other current stressors, few significant effects were obtained. Findings did reveal that students whose families relocated because of divorce and those who experienced early life relocations had lower levels of participation in extracurricular activities. Students reported less negative effects of relocation than did their mothers. Further, mothers' negative attitudes toward relocation were significantly correlated with student depression. It is concluded that there is little current or prior research evidence that high rates of social mobility are associated with long‐term social adjustment problems for adolescents. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Educational choice and persistence in male- and female-dominated fields

Even though female students now make up more than half of all higher education students in many countries, the distribution of women across fields of study is still very uneven. This study examines the gendered nature of recruitment and dropout in higher education. Our results show that students who made gender traditional choices more often had an early preference for the study programme they enrolled in. Moreover, female students reported more often than male students that they had been encouraged by their parents and friends. However, unlike what we expected, there are no differences between students in gender traditional and non-traditional programmes with regard to encouragement from parents and students’ confidence that they had made the right choice. While male students’ dropout is unrelated to the gender composition of educational programmes, women drop out of female-dominated programmes to a lesser extent.

Educational Partnerships (book)

Latino children living in the United States are not faring well in an educational system that increasingly is turning to "high-stakes" exams to make important decisions in the lives of students. While some argue that these exams have the potential to equalize educational opportunity, we review information that challenges this view. In this article we cite the mismatch between Latino children's home and school settings as a primary factor diminishing their school performance. We also describe three distinct Latino cultural practices and values (respeto, familismo, and allocentrism) and contrast these with U.S. school practices and values. We then discuss some of the specific challenges posed by high stakes testing to the educational success of Latino students. Finally, we offer ideas for consulting psychologists to develop culturally sensitive educational strategies to address the academic needs of Latino children and the problems posed by the high stake movement.     

当代中国知识分子的社会流动与成人教育

社会流动是社会学研究的一个重要课题,但知识分子的社会流动作为社会流动的重要组成部分却很少为人关注,知识分子社会流动与教育尤其是成人教育关系的研究更为欠缺。本文尝试从知识分子社会流动的现状、对成人教育的促动以及成人教育在知识分子社会流动中的作用等方面进行探讨。     

Chaos and cosmos: Educational discourse and social change

School textbooks are assumed to be important socializers. However, because of the complexity and methodological stumbling blocks involved in the subject matter, the impact of specific textbooks and the interaction between pupils and textbooks have seldom been studied. I discuss the methodological problems in explorations of the role of school textbooks as agents of socialization, and suggest methods for exploring and understanding the dynamic interaction between textbooks and their readers.     

我国社保基金的投资分析及对象选择

在对我国社保基金的资金构成、投资渠道及其收益状况进行评析的基础上,借鉴国外养老基金的投资领域及运作方式,结合我国社保基金的特点及投资中出现的问题,提出了以资本市场、产业投资、创新的投资工具为主导的具有多元化、多层次和超前性的投资组合模式,借以分散社保基金的投资风险和实现保值增值.     

陕西省进城务工妇女职业培训与社会流动问题研究

社会分层理论、人口质量理论、人的社会化理论等是职业培训与社会流动关系的基本理论。本文审视理论要求和现实情况.提出了应完善进城务工妇女职业培训的宏观政策和法律法规、加大政策信息宣传,营造良好培训氛围、推出基于移动设备的线上培训模式、建立以就业为导向的职业培训机制、加强培训跟踪服务,反馈就业信息、发挥高校尤其是职业院校的优势等具体解决问题的方案和思路。     

Problematising social mobility in relation to Higher Education policy

This paper problematises the concept of social mobility through an exploration of it in relation to Higher Education policy in England. Based upon a content analysis of a number of key policy documents from distinct eras, it identifies definitions and understandings of social mobility within them, exploring how such references have changed over time, and critiquing the differences between the imagined ideals of what policy rhetoric seeks to do and the reality of policy implementation. In particular, it considers the characterisation of social mobility as an individualised concern; it positions aspirations of improving social mobility within the market of Higher Education; and it ultimately asks whether Higher Education can solve the government's social mobility problem.     

The Globalisation of (Educational) Language rights

Languages are today being murdered faster than ever before in human history: 90% of the world's oral languages may be dead or moribund (no longer learned by children) in a hundred years' time. The media and the educational systems are the most important direct agents in language murder. Behind them are the real culprits, the global economic, military and political systems. Linguistic human rights might be one way of promoting conflict prevention and self-determination, preventing linguistic genocide, and maintaining linguistic diversity and biodiversity (which are correlationally and also causally related). The most basic linguistic human rights for maintenance of linguistic diversity, specifically the right to mother tongue medium education, are not protected by the present provisions in human rights law. Linguistically, formal education is today often 'forcibly transferring children of one group to another group' (one of the definitions of genocide in the UN Genocide Convention). Human rights are supposed to act as correctives to the 'free market'. Despite good intentions, forces behind economic globalisation have instead given brutal market forces free range.     

The Globalisation of (Educational) Language rights

Languages are today being murdered faster than ever before in human history: 90% of the world's oral languages may be dead or moribund (no longer learned by children) in a hundred years' time. The media and the educational systems are the most important direct agents in language murder. Behind them are the real culprits, the global economic, military and political systems. Linguistic human rights might be one way of promoting conflict prevention and self-determination, preventing linguistic genocide, and maintaining linguistic diversity and biodiversity (which are correlationally and also causally related). The most basic linguistic human rights for maintenance of linguistic diversity, specifically the right to mother tongue medium education, are not protected by the present provisions in human rights law. Linguistically, formal education is today often 'forcibly transferring children of one group to another group' (one of the definitions of genocide in the UN Genocide Convention). Human rights are supposed to act as correctives to the 'free market'. Despite good intentions, forces behind economic globalisation have instead given brutal market forces free range.     

Chayanov and social agronomy in Russia (1918)

Abstract

In an effort to stimulate innovation and development, notions like “projects”, “planning”, “participation” and “platforms” have become increasingly important. This article evaluates critically current practices of these notions, and the modes of thinking which underlie such practices. Drawing on case-study material, it also points to the practical problems associated with various conceptual omissions. In doing so, the author reflects on the artificiality of the various types of boundaries which can be associated with projects. Similarly, attention is drawn to the shortcomings of the implicit rationalism that characterizes mainstream planning models. Furthermore, contradictions and difficulties are identified in various modes of thinking which are associated with participatory approaches (e.g. in relation to the evaluation of endogenous development capacity, need assessment, target group differentiation, and the celebration of consensus and accommodation). Finally, the author points to various opportunities for improving intervention practice.