CTE Policy Past,Present, and Future: Driving Forces Behind the Evolution of Federal Priorities

Federal legislation has driven and been receptive to the vision of a rigorous, relevant career and technical education (CTE) system integrated with academics and aligned across middle school, secondary school, and postsecondary education. This article uses a social policy analysis approach to trace the history of federal CTE policy throughout the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Through this overview, we demonstrate how federal CTE policy has repeatedly evolved and responded to changing economic and social needs, while also incorporating policy flexibility that has led to variation in program implementation on the state and local levels.     

Teachers’ perceptions of disruptive behaviour in schools: a psychological perspective

This article reports on an investigation into school teachers’ perceptions of disruptive behaviour from a psychological perspective. The inter-disciplinary nature of this research bridges the understanding between educational and psychological perspectives on disruptive behaviour. This article discusses evidence that for the most troubled pupils, effective behaviour management at school necessitates a more nurturing and collaborative approach alongside current disciplinary policy. Two studies are reported which examine teachers’ perceptions of disruptive behaviour at school. Discussion focuses on findings of a postal questionnaire sent to 426 primary and secondary schools across England, regarding teachers’ perceptions on the extent to which pupils can control their disruptive behaviour. A further 122 primary schools were sent the questionnaire via SurveyMonkey. The findings illustrate that there is variation in how teachers in primary and secondary schools regard their pupils’ behaviour. Implications of the findings are discussed with reference to attachment theory.     

Technology and educational choices: Evidence from a one-laptop-per-child program

This paper provides the first causal estimates of the effect of children’s access to computers and the internet on educational outcomes in early adulthood, such as schooling and choice of major. I exploit cross-cohort variation in access to technology among primary and middle school students in Uruguay, the first country to implement a nationwide one-laptop-per-child program. Despite a notable increase in computer access, educational attainment has not increased; the schooling gap between private and public school students has persisted, despite closing the technology gap. Among college students, those who had been exposed to the program as children were less likely to enroll in science and technology.     

Effects of differentiated school vouchers: Evidence from a policy change and date of birth cutoffs

This paper studies the effects of an increase in school choice by examining a 2008 reform that made the value of Chile’s (previously flat, universal) school voucher a step function of student income. This policy increased the number of private schools that low income children could access free of charge. I identify the impact of the policy by combining its introduction with variation from a date of birth enrollment cutoff. I show that the differentiated voucher lowered, but only slightly, the probability that students used public schools. Students more likely to move to private schools experienced better school characteristics but no increase in test scores. Further analysis suggests a rise in test scores for students most likely to stay in public schools. These results suggest that the effects of the policy on test scores were caused by responses from public schools, instead of by the re-sorting of students into private schools.     

The abolition of secondary school fees in Kenya: Responses by the poor

Following the 2007 presidential election, the Government of Kenya abolished secondary school fees in 2008. In the context of this significant change in policy, this study examines the effect of fees on transition to secondary schooling by following 109 primary school leavers in rural Kenya after the fee abolition, starting in 2007. The study draws on survey data with multiple interviews and finds that the abolition of school fees had limited effects on children from low-income families. The study concludes that although there is a high demand for secondary education in general, whether primary school leavers from low-income families actually enrol in fee-free secondary education depends largely on other direct costs and opportunity costs and their perceived economic returns from such education.     

智利教育券政策述评

1980年,智利开始实施由公共经费资助的政府教育券政策.该政策以弗里德曼的自由市场教育券模式为理论基础,覆盖全国所有的公立和部分私立中小学.教育券政策的实施尽管扩大了学生及其家长选择学校的机会,但研究表明社会经济背景较好的学生才是该政策的更大受益者.此外,在改进学校效益、提高教育质量、促进教育公平等方面,智利的教育券政策也并没有取得预期的效应.因此,有必要重新认识教育券政策的目的与功能,以寻求新的突破.     

A comparison of the governing of primary and secondary schools in England

In England, governing bodies continue to be responsible for the conduct of publicly funded schools. This article compares the governing of publicly funded primary schools (for 5–11 year olds) and secondary schools (for 11–18 year olds). The research analysed policy documents and the governing of 16 primary and 14 secondary schools. The main governance mode for both primary schools and secondary schools is hierarchical and similar in nature, and the governing bodies of primary and secondary schools use broadly similar governing instruments. However, they differ in significant ways. In primary schools, governing is smaller in scale and less complex. Primary school governing is closer to the school and children, and the images held by governors of the system to be governed are better developed in primary schools. Functional knowledge was more useful in primary school governing, and the use of informal meetings as instruments of governance was more widespread in primary school governing. The findings and their implications need to be taken into account in the analysis of and policy making for school governing.     

我国农村中小学布局调整政策执行的评估研究——基于义务教育均衡发展的视角

农村中小学义务教育均衡发展是一个十分重要的课题.近几年,我国农村中小学布局调整在取得一定成效的同时也引发了诸多问题,如：部分地区就学距离明显增加、寄宿制学校条件落后、农村家庭教育支出负担加重以及由于地方生源向县镇学校集中而出现新的教育资源紧张等.本文基于义务教育均衡发展的视角,从宏观、中观、微观三个层面,对“我国农村中小学布局调整政策”执行情况进行评估,明确目前取得的成效与不足,并根据此政策引发的问题提出合理建议.     

Expanding Advocacy

In this last of my series, of policy articles, I conclude with the policy and practice of advocacy. An advocate is one who pleads the cause of another, is a voice for another. The members of Congress who initiated the 1965 legislation enacting the Title I program were the voice of the children who lived in public school areas with high concentrations of low-income families. Clearly expressed in the original legislation and still in force today, the policy provides supplementary federal assistance to school districts in order to improve the performance of children who may not otherwise be successful. The many supporters of the Title I program agree that to "level the playing field" is good public policy and that student success is in the interest of the entire country.     

“Back to the Backlash?” Primary Practitioner Discourses of Resistance to Gender-inclusive Policies

In this article I discuss how observed discourses of resistance indicate the exclusion of the standpoint of primary school practitioners from feminist theorization, as well as the exclusion of feminist perspectives from primary school practice. I do so from a feminist position which sees the modernist policy framework of the gender-inclusive curriculum as still having transformative potential in the postmodern era, whilst also perceiving the need for much more specific analysis of the varied discourses of resistance. The data is selected from a wider longitudinal case study that investigated the conceptualization and enactment of a gender-inclusive curriculum policy in the state of Victoria in Australia since 1975. I focus this discussion on interviewed “exemplars” who observed primary practitioner resistance to gender inclusive curriculum policy. I conclude that this case study empirically demonstrates the failure of “backlash” in accounting for the significant specificities of primary practitioner discourses of resistance.     

教育政策内容分析视角下农村中小学教师补充问题研究

农村教育发展的关键因素在于教师队伍的发展。为了考察2000年以来有关我国农村中小学教师补充政策,文章基于教育政策内容分析的视角,主要围绕我国中小学教师补充政策为何实施、由谁实施、怎样保障等方面进行规范考察,发现我国农村中小学教师补充政策存在配套措施不完善、目标规范不明确、相关补充程序不具体、法律规范不完整等诸多问题,并在分析问题的基础上提出完善我国农村中小学教师补充政策的对策和建议。     

Head Teachers' Perspectives on School Drop-Out in Secondary Schools in Rural Punjab,Pakistan

This study investigates head teachers' perspectives of the school dropout problem at public secondary schools in rural Punjab, Pakistan. The study is based on qualitative methods and included interviews to collect primary data. Sixteen districts of the Punjab where secondary school dropout rate is above 20% were purposively selected for the study. The findings indicate that—other than some socioeconomic and individual factors—different exam patterns at primary, elementary, and secondary levels; easy promotion policy in early classes; English medium syllabus; substandard educational background of students; high failure rate in class 9; and top-down pressures on teachers to perform nonacademic duties are major causes of children dropping out from school. The findings of the study suggest that only through implementation of a socio-culturally compatible syllabus—a corresponding examination system for all levels—allowing students to repeat class 9 in case they fail, setting teachers free from nonteaching duties and providing extra financial support to economically underprivileged students can significantly prevent school dropout at secondary level. The study further argues that easy promotion policy in early classes may retain more children at school but it causes high rates of dropout from secondary classes.     

Primary schools and opting out: Some policy implications

Abstract

Significant differences in perceptions between teachers in primary and secondary grant‐maintained schools are reported and analysed. Parents were more frequently involved in promoting opting‐out in primary schools, primary teachers had more favourable attitudes to the grant‐maintained school policy and, in primary schools, grant‐maintained status delivered improvements in classroom conditions, most notably reduced class size and increased para‐professional support in classrooms. The findings are discussed in terms of the management of primary schools, of theorising about reputation management in grant‐maintained schools, and of the explicit objectives of the grant‐maintained policy. It is further suggested that the evidence provided about grant‐maintained primary schools could be used to inject new life into a policy faltering in secondary schools.     

基于全国23份省级政策文本对中小学生减负中问题的分析与思考

中小学生减负问题一直备受社会关注,随着"最严减负令"的出台,中小学生减负再次成为社会焦点问题。通过对23份省级政策文本的分析,发现政策中的问题与潜在风险主要有:政策目标不明确可能导致执行偏差,强制性措施过多可能引发执行僵化,政策措施缺乏可操作性可能造成政策失真。因此,需要进一步提高政策目标的精准性,实现从"减负"到"提质增效"的跨越;协调配置各类政策工具,形成政策合力;细化减负政策的具体措施,加强各主体间的配合,共同为减轻学生学业负担而努力。     

They Said It Couldn't Be Done: Implementing a Career Academy Program for a Diverse High School Population

The literature on teacher turnover has traditionally focused on teachers whose destinations are external to the school (be it another school, district or state, or profession). In this article I examine internal turnover that takes place among teachers who remain at their school but change their subject assignments. I analyze the levels, causes, and impacts on school reform of internal turnover within the science faculties at three urban middle schools during 4 years of a whole-school reform program. Major findings include the following: (a) Internal turnover levels are high, higher than external turnover; (b) subject assignments made without regard to both teachers' subject interests and stability of assignments appear to be the primary causes of internal turnover; (c) district policies allowing elementary-certified teachers to teach any subject foster internal turnover; and (d) internal turnover has serious detrimental impacts on school reform. I identify district and school-level policy options to reduce the level of internal turnover to support reform.     

推进手机移动学习：中小学教师态度与需求

能否在中小学校普及手机移动学习,这是当前国际教育组织、教育行政部门和产业界共同关注的焦点问题。来自北京市4城区11所学校450名教师和管理者的调查数据表明,绝大多数教师都具有积极的技术产品教育应用意向,但反对中小学生持有手机和利用手机进行移动学习。不同学段的教师对推进手机移动学习的需求差异非常显著,小学教师最为积极,初中教师最不积极。在中小学校推进手机移动学习,应引导学校管理者、教师转变理念,客观认识学生手机,逐步认同手机移动学习;应加强宣传,推进本土实践,吸引学校管理者、教师乐于尝试手机移动学习;应增强手机移动学习产品、资源、服务与教育者、学习者、教学过程、学习过程的融合;在政策推广方面,可以先从小学进行试点推广,中学生手机移动学习可以走社会化推进、产业推动的道路。     

Chancengleichheit und Leistung im sozialen Wandel. Primäre und sekundäre Effekte der sozialen Herkunft am Gymnasialübergang in Hessen 1969 und 2007

The positive impact of families’ higher social origin on the transition into more demanding secondary school forms can be split up into two effects: the primary effect, which is conditioned by higher achievements of children from privileged social origin, and the secondary effect, which is independent of achievement differences and can be explained by the fact that higher school curricula are less costly and promise more benefits for parents of higher social status than for parents of lower social status. It is examined how the relative size of both effects has changed in Germany between 1969 and 2007 using two comparable studies in the federal state Hesse, which measure students’ achievement and their social origin in very similar ways. The transition to the Gymnasium, the most prestigious track of the German tripartite secondary school, is investigated applying the method by Karlson et al. (2012). The primary effect has increased, specifically because of an increasing impact of achievement; and the secondary effect decreased such that school has gained more impact compared to the child’s parental home.     

专注高品质师资培育:多伦多大学MT项目探析

教学硕士(MT)项目是多伦多大学安大略教育研究院教师教育硕士项目,旨在培养杰出的中小学教师及教育行业的卓越领导者。MT项目构建运行非常具有特色,结合了教学硕士学位与中小学教师认证,社群协作的学习模式,满足未来教学需要的特色课程,穿插模块式的教学实习,原创性小规模的课题研究。安大略教育研究院的MT项目与我国教育硕士专业学位研究生培养有很多相似之处,探讨MT项目运行情况,可以为我国完善教育硕士专业学位研究生培养获得一些思考与借鉴。     

How young children view mathematical representations: a study using eye-tracking technology

This paper reports on a study which investigated the support needs of pupils in mainstream school with a chronic illness or physical disability. The research was carried out in three local education authorities covering both rural and urban areas. In-depth, qualitative data were collected from 33 pupils in secondary school; 58 parents of primary and secondary school pupils; and 34 primary and secondary school teachers. Overall, the data from young people suggest variability in the support offered to pupils by teachers, even by teachers within the same school, and highlights the importance of teachers' awareness and understanding of special health needs. A number of areas where young people need support from teachers were identified, including: dealing with school absence; taking part in school activities; peer relationships; explaining the condition to other pupils; and having someone to talk to about health-related worries. Data from teachers and parents indicate that school staff need assistance with obtaining health-related information; ensuring health-related information is passed between and within schools; providing emotional support; the provision of medical care; and coordinating support for this group of pupils. The implications of the findings for teachers, schools and educational policy are discussed.