Charting the development of knowledge on Soviet and post-Soviet education through the pages of comparative and international education journals

This paper examines 126 research articles from three comparative education journals to chart the development of knowledge within comparative education on the Soviet Union and post-Soviet countries. Thematic, theoretical, discursive, and methodological aspects of scholarship are linked with changing geopolitical realities in a systematic analysis of scholarship published since the late 1950s. A new framework of multi-layered colonialism is introduced to explore different features of the double disadvantage that comparative education knowledge production on post-Soviet countries has faced – Russian imperialism and Western academic colonialism. The paper contributes to comparative education knowledge creation by historicising our understanding of Western academic output and outlining a potential future direction in the development of knowledge on post-Soviet systems, policies, and practices of education.     

Knowledge production in a constructed field: reflections on comparative and international education

Adopting Maria Manzon’s theoretical framework, which draws on Foucault and proposes that comparative education as an academic field is socially constructed, I suggest that the field is neither stable nor well defined. To demonstrate this, I conduct a content analysis of the Comparative Education Review, using Klaus Krippendorff’s methodological framework to study comparative and international education (CIE) researchers’ understanding of the national—and of their related knowledge production in the field. Many comparativists express interests in multiple countries, and their knowledge production takes the form of individual country studies. The countries are habitually studied using a “problem approach” focusing on one specific aspect of the country under investigation and using an associated social science methodology deemed appropriate. Few comparativists are making explicit use of or reference to any methodology that is unique to comparative education. Efforts to catalog and systematize CIE research have demonstrated that the field is becoming so inclusive that it hardly is distinguishable from educational studies as a whole. Hence, I suggest that instead of speaking about unifying features of the field, it may be more relevant to speak about frequent elements, such as a focus on the national, and a knowledge production characterized by the academic practitioner who desires to improve the education systems studied. A third frequent element may be the focus on educational development, thus justifying the label of “comparative, international, and development education.” One challenge of the field is its dependence on Western social science discourses, which may be marginalizing other voices.     

从传统教育的缺陷看终身教育的价值

终身教育是现代教育思想的一个重要组成部分，自20世纪60年代后普遍被世界各国接受，激荡着世界各国教育改革浪潮。它在铸造人格、发展个性、增强行动能力，建立新的教育制度、评估制度及改革教育模式、内容、方法等方面正在改写着传统教育的历史，透溢着巨大的现实意义与价值。     

The role of HE in professional development: some reflections on a foundation degree for teaching assistants

Rapid change in higher education (HE) has lead to a reappraisal and debate about the role and ‘mission’ of the university and the university teacher. In the diversification of the HE sector, it is possible to see a shift away from the ‘advancement of knowledge’ as the primary purpose of the HE sector as a whole. This article focuses on a particular dimension of this change referred to as the ‘vocationalisation’ of HE and evident in the growing role of work-based learning (WBL) in the academy. In particular, foundation degrees provide a context for examining the role of WBL and the university in professional development. Analysis of interviews with 19 students on, or progressing from a foundation degree for teaching assistants reveals how they construct their learning and the relationship between work-based and academic learning. The author concludes that notions of ‘equivalence’ between work-based and academic learning are flawed and fail to recognise HE's distinctive contribution to professional learning, and argues for recognition of the distinctive contributions that both WBL and ‘academic’ learning make to professional development.     

Implementation of inquiry-based science education in different countries: some reflections

In this forum article, I reflect on issues related to the implementation of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) in different countries. Regarding education within the European Union (EU), the Bologna system has in later years provided extended coordination and comparability at an organizational level. However, the possibility of the EU to influence the member countries regarding the actual teaching and learning in the classrooms is more limited. In later years, several EU-projects focusing on IBSE have been funded in order to make science education in Europe better, and more motivating for students. Highlighting what Heinz and her colleagues call the policy of ‘soft governance’ of the EU regarding how to improve science education in Europe, I discuss the focus on IBSE in the seventh framework projects, and how it is possible to maintain more long-lasting results in schools through well-designed teacher professional development programs. Another aspect highlighted by Heinz and her colleagues is how global pressures on convergence in education interact with educational structures and traditions in the individual countries. The rise of science and science education as a global culture, encompassing contributions from all around the world, is a phenomenon of great potential and value to humankind. However, it is important to bear in mind that if science and science education is going to become a truly global culture, local variation and differences regarding foci and applications of science in different cultures must be acknowledged.     

对研究生教育的扩招以及发展的若干思考

研究生扩招是近年来广受社会关注的高等教育新热点,提及扩招人们必然会想到质量问题。研究生扩招和质量到底有着怎样的关系?扩招到底有哪些因素对研究生培养质量产生了影响?研究生教育应该如何应对扩招?这些问题都值得我们进行思考与探索。     

Listening as translation: reflections on professional development work in a cross-cultural setting

As part of a campus-wide response by the University of Pennsylvania to the large-scale disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, a team of teacher educators and graduate students worked with teachers, teacher educators, and administrators in Banda Aceh, Indonesia during July of 2005 and 2006. Working in Indonesia highlighted for us the inadequacy of literal translation; it also highlighted the related role of deep listening in teaching and learning. This article uses vignettes from workshops in Banda Aceh to illustrate how untranslated (and untranslatable) words, concepts, contexts, gestures and silences sometimes made it difficult to develop the relationships that are central to teaching. It also explores the interconnections between translation and listening, demonstrating how listening only to the literal meanings of words in a classroom limits a teacher’s ability to connect, to respond, and to engage students in thoughtful and meaningful learning.     

试论我国高等教育管理学学科的发展:后现代知识观的视角

知识观对学科的内涵具有极大的诠释意义,对于学科的建设与发展也具有重要的指导意义。我国高等教育管理学学科是一门新兴学科,后现代主义及其知识观是建设和发展我国高等教育管理学学科的新的视角。基于后现代知识观,我国高等教育管理学在研究对象及领域、理论知识体系、研究模式及方法等方面还有着广阔的发展空间,有待于进一步建设和发展。     

"问题研究":高等教育管理学学科建设路径

高等教育管理学学科建设经历了一个曲折的发展过程.以"问题研究"促进学科建设是发展高等教育管理学的有效途径,"问题研究"反映了高等教育管理学的学科实践特性,是高等教育管理学学科建设的必由之路和理论生成活动.在以"问题研究"促进高等教育管理学学科建设中,要倡导理论与实践相结合.推进研究人员和研究活动的专业化发展.     

Reflection literacy: A multilevel perspective on the challenges of using reflections in higher education through a comprehensive literature review

It is well established that the use of reflections influences and supports learning in important ways. However, student-learning, teacher-pedagogical, institutional, and sociocultural factors can hinder initiatives to promote student reflection in universities. This literature review aims to provide an overview of the challenges of encouraging reflection in higher education through a multilevel perspective. Based on the analysis of 66 selected empirical and non-empirical articles, the results show that there is a reciprocal relationship between barriers that occur at the macro and micro levels. In addition, it is found that reflection literacy is necessary at all four levels to overcome the barriers identified. The multilevel framework is proposed as a model for coordinating institutional efforts to address the challenges of reflection and upon which a shared discourse can be developed by key stakeholders who are interested in promoting reflective practice in higher education.     

The political economy of education and inequality: reflections on Piketty

Piketty’s Capitalism in the twenty-first century provides a superb, detailed historical analysis of the evolution of income and wealth inequality. Piketty demonstrates vast and increasing inequality that he argues might possibly be tempered in the future by economic growth and educational expansion supplemented by government redistributive policies. However, Piketty has little understanding of the reproductive nature of education, the limits of economic growth, or the fundamental problems of capitalism. In this paper, I depart from a political economy perspective to examine the bankruptcy of the underlying neoclassical economic theory he relies upon. In particular, I discuss how Piketty mistakenly sees capitalism as, in large part, a meritocracy, and the implications for education.     

关于学校事业发展规划的若干思考

２０００年３月，华东师范大学第十次党代会确定了学校中长期奋斗目标：“坚持社会主义方向，经过不懈努力，把华东师范大学建设成为拥有若干一流学科，多学科高水平协调发展，教师教育领先的综合性研究型大学。”这标志着华东师范大学进入一个新的发展阶段。在学校发展目标指导下，制定学校的事业发展规划，特别是“十五”事业发展计划，成为凝聚学校人心、开拓奋进的关键之举。以下是我们在凝炼学校发展目标，制定学校发展规划过程中的一些心得和体会。一、发展规划在学校发展中的重要性和必要性（一）制定学校发展规划的重要性和必要性学…     

浅谈高等教育强国建设的大背景下地方高等教育的发展

人力资源强国呼唤着高等教育强国,人才强国也对高等教育强国提出了迫切的要求,高等教育强国不仅是教育强国的重要特点,而且是建设人力资源强国的最根本的要求。我国的教育纲要指出,提高质量是高等教育发展的核心任务,是建设高等教育强国的基本要求。高等教育强国并不仅仅是一个数量的概念,更是一个质量的概念。高等教育强国是新时代下建设社会主义国家的必然选择。