Democratization of secondary education in Malaysia: attitudes towards schooling and educational aspirations

As a consequence of the democratization of secondary education in Malaysia beginning in the 1990s, many students who do not have academic credentials are allowed to progress to upper secondary education. This study examines the attitudes of these students towards two important aspects of schooling – namely, learning and examinations, as well as their educational aspirations – to assess the extent to which they have fulfilled the aims of the democratization of secondary education, among which is to produce more highly trained and well-educated manpower. A questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews were conducted in five sampled schools to explore the issues from various perspectives. The attitudes of the students towards learning and examinations as well as their levels of educational aspirations were generally found to be wanting regardless of their background. This study has revealed the internal contradiction of the democratization of secondary education in Malaysia. The democratization of secondary education within the ambit of a highly academic and examination-oriented education system has not served the needs of academically weak students. This study has also revealed the lack of alternative educational opportunities available to these students. The lack of resolve among teachers to handle these students and enough counsellors to guide them through the schooling process further complicate their problems.     

Constructions of locality and gender and their impact on the educational aspirations of working-class children

Over recent years the moral panic that has surrounded 'boys' underachievement' has tended to encourage crude and essentialist comparisons between allboys and allgirls and to eclipse the continuing and more profound effects on educational achievement exerted by social class and 'race'/ethnicity. While there are differences in educational achievement between working-class boys and girls, these differences are relatively minor when comparing the overall achievement levels of working-class children with those from higher, professional social class backgrounds. This article argues that a need exists therefore for researchers to fully contextualize the gender differences that exist in educational achievement within the overriding contexts provided by social class and 'race'/ethnicity. The article provides an example of how this can be done through a case study of 11-year-old children from a Catholic, working-class area in Belfast. The article shows how the children's general educational aspirations are significantly mediated by their experiences of the local area in which they live. However, the way in which the children come to experience and construct a sense of locality differs between the boys and girls and this, it is argued, helps to explain the more positive educational aspirations held by some of the girls compared with the boys. The article concludes by considering the relevance of locality for understanding its effects on educational aspirations among other working-class and/or minority ethnic communities.     

A cross-cultural study of parents' academic standards and educational aspirations for their children

The present study was an investigation of Asian Australian and Anglo-Celtic Australian parents' educational expectations of, and aspirations for, their children. It was predicted that parents from Asian backgrounds would have higher academic standards and higher aspirations for their children's education, compared with Anglo-Celtic Australian parents. These hypotheses were largely supported by a survey of 239 Australian parents from Chinese, Vietnamese and Anglo-Celtic cultural backgrounds. There was evidence of a preference for university education among the Chinese and Vietnamese parents, while Anglo-Celtic Australian parents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to prefer their children to attend TAFE or complete an apprenticeship. The results are discussed in terms of the role of parental factors in children's academic achievements.     

Experiencing an ‘inclusive’ education: parents and their children with ‘special educational needs’

This paper focuses on the experiences of British parents who have children identified with ‘special education needs’ within mainstream education. Expectations of mainstream education can have a negative affect on parents when a child is unable to maintain his or her education within a mainstream school. In England and Wales, ‘inclusion’ within mainstream schools is implemented by the current government and promoted as anti‐exclusionary. However, current research indicates that actual ‘inclusion’ (the child experiencing inclusion as well as being placed in a mainstream environment) is not necessarily occurring in practice. As it stands, the conflict is between desires to embrace difference based on a philosophy of ‘equal rights’ (‘inclusive’ education) and prioritising educational performance, structuring it in such a way that it leaves little room for difference and creativity due to the highly structured testing and examination culture. Qualitative analysis of parents who have children identified with special educational needs indicate that they have hopes and expectations for their children. These hopes and expectations are challenged recurrently.     

高等职业教育“教育性”研究

在当今市场经济体制下,我国高等职业教育成为了高等教育的重要组成部分之一,已成为促使高等教育加速进入大众化的重要因素,但是职业教育在发展过程中也出现了重市场轻教育、重训练轻文化的现象,为了教育质量的持久提升、优化高等职业教育的办学层次和健康发展,有必要加强其"教育性"属性。     

高职思政课实践育人实效性的思考

目前,我国对于高职思政课实践育人实效性的研究较少,但是,高职思政课实践育人实效性的研究不仅具有很强的现实价值,而且,其时代价值也是不容小觑的,笔者以当前的国内高职院校思政课实践育人的状况为基础,深入分析当前国内决定高职思政课实效性的主要因素,并提出了一些可行性的建议:提高认识、全员育人,突出职业特色、全过程育人,以人为本、全方位育人等。     

Parental aspirations for their children's educational attainment and the realisation of universal primary education (UPE) in Kenya: Evidence from slum and non-slum residences

There is a sound research base attesting to the importance of parental involvement and to the many potential benefits it can offer for children's education. This study sought to examine differences in parental aspirations (as a mechanism of parental involvement in their children's education) for their children's educational attainment between slum and non-slum residing parents in Kenya. The study used cross-sectional household data for a sample of 4065 parents, collected in 2007 by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) in Nairobi. A multinomial logistic model was used for the analysis to explore the factors determining parental aspirations. The results indicate the following: (i) that parents who live in the slums have lower aspirations for their children's educational attainment when compared to those who live in non-slum areas; (ii) that parents in the slums have aspirations for higher levels of educational attainment for their children than their own levels of education. We conclude that parents in urban Kenya have a strong belief in the education of their children irrespective of their slum or non-slum residence but aspirations are higher in non-slums than in slums.     

Performing desires: The dilemma of aspirations and educational attainment

The authors critique the mechanistic notion of aspirations running through much research and policy‐making on educational and vocational outcomes. They present a performative model, with individuals drawing on limited social resources to express aspirations within constrained contexts. This argument is illustrated by discussion of the findings of large‐scale empirical investigation of the aspirations of 490 young people in three UK schools. Five themes from this analysis are presented and it is argued that these need to be explored in order to enrich and expand our understanding of young people's expression of aspirations.     

The significance of faith for Black men's educational aspirations

It is uncontested that British African Caribbean men are minimally represented in elite UK higher education institutions. Even as data demonstrates that African Caribbean males are more likely to study further education than White males 1 1 Research indicates that the proportion of UK‐domiciled Black students pursuing higher education degree courses has increased since the academic year 2003/04 (ECU, 2014 ).
and that the proportion of UK ‐domiciled Black students pursuing higher education has increased since the 2003/04 academic year (ECU , 2014), the representation of Black students throughout the Russell Group remains low. 2 2 It is important to acknowledge that on the whole, undergraduate Black students are over‐represented in higher education and in 2012/13 experienced the largest increase in the proportion of all BME students attending university to 6.3% (ECU, 2014 , p. 114). However, the majority of this increase in Black student representation is accounted for in non‐Russell Group institutions, particularly at the less prestigious universities that comprise the Million+ Group. The Million+ Group comprises the following universities: Abertay University, Anglia Ruskin University, Bath Spa University, University of Bedfordshire, University of Bolton, Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Cumbria, University of East London, Edinburgh Napier University, London Metropolitan University, London South Bank University, Middlesex University, Staffordshire University, University of Sunderland, University of West London, University of the West of Scotland and Southampton Solent University ( www.millionplus.ac.uk/who-we-are/our-affiliates/ ).
Less than 3% of the entire Russell Group's student population comprised British African Caribbean students in 2011/12 and 2012/2013 (ECU , 2013, p. 203; ECU , 2014, p. 358). However, according to the 2011 Census, ‘Black’ people represent 5.5% (3.1 million) of the total UK population (ONS , 2015). For the few Black men who are successful in attaining acceptance at these exclusive universities, to what assets or capitals do these young men attribute their ability to get to and successful graduate from these institutions? Interviews with 15 Black male students who attended Russell Group universities in England and Wales were analysed and several ‘capitals’ or resources were identified as beneficial to their ability to succeed. Drawing on Bourdieu's work on cultural and social capital, this paper advances the concept of ‘faith capital’ as a unique recognised asset that six of the participants described and reflected upon as being influential on their academic trajectories. Based on findings from the ESRC ‐funded research Exploring the narratives of the few: British African Caribbean male graduates of elite universities in England and Wales , this paper discusses these six participants’ accounts of their higher education journeys in relation to how they identified faith as a resource that was influential to their academic success.     

The role of parent expectations on adolescent educational aspirations

Parental expectations have long been studied as a factor in increasing adolescent educational aspirations, often linking these expectations to parental level of education and involvement in academic endeavours. This study further explores this relationship in a statewide Midwestern sample of parents and their adolescent children. Regression analysis and independent samples t‐tests were used to predict adolescent aspirations and compare groups. Results suggest that adolescent educational aspirations can to some degree be predicted by parental expectations. Parents reported high expectations for their children despite low levels of personal educational attainment. However, these high expectations were buffered by a reported unfamiliarity with college requirements and an expressed concern about college affordability and limited awareness of financial aid opportunities. Limitations and suggestions for future research and intervention are discussed.     

Aiming high: the educational and occupational aspirations and of young disabled people

This article provides an overview of the aspirations and expectations disabled teenagers form for their future education and employment and the factors which are associated with positive aspirations. After reviewing what is already known about the formation of aspirations in general, and among young disabled people in particular, Tania Burchardt presents preliminary analysis from original research using two large‐scale representative surveys: the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). The results indicate that young disabled people have similar aspirations to their non‐disabled counterparts, although tempered in some cases with a recognition that there are likely to be obstacles in the world of work. There is also some–tentative–evidence that young disabled people feel less well served by advice and support services. SEN coordinators in secondary schools and further education, and Connexions advisors, need to ensure that they encourage positive aspirations, especially among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, while offering practical support in overcoming disabling barriers.     

谈青少年的科技教育

加强对青少年的科技教育，加速培养科技人才，是时代的要求，也是国家发展的需要。但当前中小学对青少年的科技教育未引起足够的重视。因此，应提高学校的积极性，加强科技教师队伍建设，多方筹措资金。     

Helping parents to become partners in the education of their handicapped child

Conclusions Educators are beginning to seek methods of improving parent-child relationships and school and parent relationships, as the evidence accrues and is assimilated, which shows how much more important is the child's family experience. The handicapped child brings the desirability of successful home and school links into clear focus, as the six-hour school day is clearly inadequate for the needs of many severely handicapped children, who require a consistent programme of developmental experiences from waking to sleeping. The only way in which the trust and confidence imposed by close relationships in the home may be continued in the school is by a mutual effort directed at common goals: the development of the child's capacity to learn and care for himself. Perhaps it is the similarity of the tasks undertaken in home and in school, with the severely and profoundly handicapped child, the severely and profoundly handicapped child, which has shown just how powerful the home-and-school combination can be when working in harmony. There are clearly lessons here for the education system at large. Perhaps the longstanding schism between parents and schools can be bridged in the next decades.The importance of social abilities, self-help skills and the confidence which all emanate from a successful family life, are emphasized by Smith and Sykes (1981) and others, who show that social competency is perhaps the key factor in determining vocational and post-school success for handicapped students. These competencies and confidence cannot come from school alone. The initiatives alluded to in this article, and described in full in the literature cited, show that schools have come a long way from believing that they alone can cope.Has written a number of studies on the development of education for the visually handicapped.     

Higher education journals: their characteristics and contribution

The study of higher education journals – that is, refereed academic journals wholly focused on higher education – reveals much about the field of higher education research. This analysis identified 86 such journals published in the English language, considering their focus, ownership, location, orientation, age, size and ranking. From this analysis, a shorter list of 28 key journals is identified. It is argued that, given the scale of the contribution being made to higher education research – for example, the 86 journals between them published over 16,000,000 words in 2016, with this total increasing year on year – it may be time to spend more effort on synthesising and disseminating what we have already learnt, rather than, or before, undertaking fresh research.     

青少年道德教育浅析

本文针对青少年道德问题产生的原因分别从家庭、学校和社会等方面进行了分析并且提出了一些解决的对策。