WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN TURKEY

An examination of the statistics indicates that Turkish women have made great strides with respect to their recruitment to positions at all levels in the higher education institutions of their country, particularly in such fields as medicine, the hard sciences, and engineering in which women in very many countries are usually thought to be underrepresented. The author attributes this achievement to the Republican ideology of post‐1923 Turkey, the opportunities which were opened to élite women by the correspondence of the latter with the developmental needs of the country, the availability of domestic service provided by non‐elite women, and the existence of family solidarity networks. Women, however, have not been so well represented in such fields as law and political science which, were traditionally close to the loci of political power. In recent years, however, with the expansion of the higher education system, competition between men and women for posts has greatly increased, and economic change and urbanization have dried up the supply of inexpensive domestic help and have stymied family solidarity networks. Thus academic women are increasingly beset by conflicts between their professional and their family roles. This new situation has caused Turkish women to lose ground with regard to recruitment to prestigious positions in higher education and to seek conservative Islamic solutions to the conflicts in question. Reforms based on a renewed Republican ideal are needed to improve the situation and to enable Turkish women academics to build on their past achievements.     

Degree performance as a function of discipline studied,parental occupation and gender

Degree performance in England and Wales was investigated as a function of social class and gender for several disciplines of study. Three performance criteria were considered: FIRST class; GOOD, and COMPETENT. The findings are complex, and some of them conflict with widely held class and gender stereotypes. Women performed better than men at the FIRST class and/or GOOD criteria, in all professional disciplines and in biological sciences. At the FIRST and GOOD criteria women performed best relative to men in biological content areas, next best in physical and mathematical content areas and worst in humanities content areas. A similar ordering of content areas was obtained when comparing students of lower class origins with those of upper and middle class origins. At the COMPETENT criterion, women performed better than men; and students of lower social class origins performed better than students of upper and middle social class origins. There was a trend, particularly marked in the humanities, for women to perform less well at the FIRST class criterion than would have been predicted by their achievements at the GOOD criterion. The implications of these patterns for theories of group differences in excellent academic performance and for educational policy are discussed.     

MEN AND WOMEN IN ACADEMIC CAREERS AT BELARUS STATE UNIVERSITY

The author has focussed on the situation of women academics at Belarus State University. Wishing to ascertain whether or not women are objects of discrimination, she concludes, despite statistics which indicate a paucity of women at the upper levels of the academic hierarchy and in all levels in the sciences, that the problem is that women are barred from competing effectively for the top positions by heavy household and family duties which are not borne by men. Were this burden to be shared equally by men and women, the career chances of women in the academic world might be roughly equal to those of men. However, because of the socio‐economic crisis which Belarus is experiencing and the resulting effects on the university, the normal university career structure is in disarray. Nevertheless, even in today's conditions, it would be difficult to prove the existence of deliberate discrimination against women academics.     

Consequences of Project Organisation in Graduate Education

It is a common assumption that disciplinary differences in the organisation of research and knowledge structure have implications for graduate students' learning processes. The present study indicates, however, that even though the inclusion of master's degree students in faculty member's research projects are much more common in the natural sciences than in the humanities and the social sciences, such projects improve quality and effectiveness of graduate education in all fields of learning. Disciplinary differences imply, nevertheless, that projects should be organised differently. Graduate education in the humanities and the social sciences should be organised as research seminars and umbrella projects of individual student theses to a greater extent, rather than trying to apply a research organisation model developed in laboratory fields.     

中国诗文化与文化诗学

化诗学，于世界之交崛起于美国，是一种广义的诗学，属于人社会科学领域中的交叉性学科。中国引进“化诗学”以后，其化背景与社会历史条件之差异，其概念内涵与外延则有广义与狭义之分。化诗学之崛起，是21世纪全球化语境下一个重大的社会化现象，代表着世界人社会科学领域中前沿学术研究的发展趋势。中国学的化诗学研究，可以从广义与狭义两个不同的学术基点来构建辉煌的化诗学大厦。其研究前景是相当广阔的。     

STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS ON GENDER EQUALITIES WITH REGARD TO UNIVERSITY CAREERS IN FINLAND

This article begins by recognizing that Finnish women, like those in the other Nordic countries, were admitted to universities relatively early. Although they now constitute some 52 percent of enrolled students in Finnish higher education and 47 percent of the labour force, they have lagged behind men in terms of obtaining academic employment and even more so with regard to being appointed to leadership positions in universities and in other academic organizations. A combination of factors accounts for this situation: the tendency to channel aspiring women academics into non‐scientific fields, the failure of women academics to be included in the informal professional networks, the deprecating attitudes of male academics towards the research results of women, and in general, a societal power structure which favours men. Finally, an economic climate which is leading to cutbacks in higher education budgets is creating a situation which makes catching up by women academics next to impossible. Only major structural changes in Finnish society will lead to further progress for Finnish women in academic careers.     

Women's participation in higher education in Poland 1970–1984

Recent changes in women's education in Poland are described in the context of Polish higher education. The proportion of female students rose from 42.3% in 1970 to 50.8% in 1984 but the increase is concentrated in departments such as humanities, mathematics and natural sciences where women were already well-represented. In the period under review there was a decline in interest in technical studies but this affected men as well as women and is to be explained by reference to the labour market which is currently over-supplied with technical school graduates. Women seem to prefer more general courses especially those offering social and occupational mobility. The period 1977/78 to 1984/85 saw a significant decrease in students especially in technical schools, law and administration, mathematics and the natural sciences. The preferred fields in recent years from the point of view of the needs of the economy have been medicine and teacher training. The decline is due to demographic factors and the situation in the labour market. These changes are discussed in relation to mode of attendance (full-time, evening, extramural).Particular attention is paid to the slow increase in the proportion of women university teachers; in 1970/71 the percentage was 30.7% and in 1984/85 it was 34.9%. However the higher the academic grade or degree the lower is the proportion of women and factors explaining this are discussed. Throughout the article comparisons are made with other socialist and with industrialized capitalist countries.     

Research output among the three faculties of business, education, humanities & social sciences in six Hong Kong universities

Academics in Hong Kong universities are urged to increase their research output. This article investigates the measurement of publication outputs among the three faculties of business, education, humanities & social sciences in the six universities of Hong Kong. Data were collected from the 1990–95 annual reports of research and publication outputs of each university. In order to have a fair comparison of publication outputs of each academic, rank, faculty and university, a framework was developed from practical experience and from literature to investigate the problem. Results indicate that the publication outputs of academics in Hong Kong were about the same as other countries in many aspects. Pressing academics for more research publications may raise the figure in the start, but would not necessarily increase the output in the long run.     

THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN: A COMMON EUROPEAN CONCERN

The true emancipation of women should become a common European concern and a common European goal. Emancipation means that no socio‐cultural or biological constraint should prevent women from obtaining the same chances and opportunities as men. True emancipation, which is still a distant objective in most of the European countries, implies that access to professional life should not have to be paid for by an exhausting cumulation of domestic and professional roles. A recent research programme on the student population of the University of Geneva provides data which are relevant in this respect. Female students are less likely to have internalized norms of behaviour which facilitate adaptation to a competitive environment in which women have to compete with men. Being subject to cross pressures and torn between two sets of behavioural norms, young women are often ambivalent in their attitudes. The conclusions of the Geneva research are consistent with other research results in other countries. The major explanatory factor is early socialization. True emancipation of women requires a long‐range education policy aiming at gradually reducing the differences in the socialization patterns of boys and girls.     

Gender Implications in Curriculum and Entrance Exam Grouping

While access to higher education has reached gender parity in Taiwan, the phenomenon of gender segregation and stratification by fields of study and by division of labor persist. In this article, we trace the historical evolution of Taiwan's education system and data using large-scale educational databases to analyze the association of institutional factors and educational outcomes. Grouping in the college entrance examinations in the 1950s led to grouping in the high school curriculum, which, in turn, seems to have enlarged the mathematics performance gap between the natural sciences group and the social studies group, and extended to a performance gap between the two groups on the college entrance examination. Because men concentrate in science and engineering and women concentrate in humanities, the superiority of the former disciplines over the latter was consolidated along with the stereotype that male fields were better than female fields.     

THE POSITION OF WOMEN ACADEMICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UKRAINE

In the 152 Ukrainian universities, colleges, and other varieties of higher education institutions, women hold positions in large numbers at only the lowest levels of the academic hierarchy and in only certain disciplines, like those of the humanities, in which in some cases women hold the majority of staff positions, even if invariably the heads of such chairs are men. In the same vein, not a single Ukrainian institution of higher education is headed by a woman, nor does Kiev State University, the principal Ukrainian university, have a female pro‐ or deputy rector or a female dean. Part of the problem stems from the fact that there is little mass realization on the part of women academics in the Ukraine that they are objects of discrimination. Another aspect of the problem is the small number of women who earn the doctor of sciences degree, the prerequisite for a senior administrative position. Finally, there are structural problems such as the diminution in the number of openings for teachers of the Russian language, an area where women are concentrated. The solutions called for include the creation of international exchange programmes, particularly for teachers of languages, and affirmative action programmes for women in all academic domains.     

Mentoring and sponsorship in higher education institutions: men’s invisible advantage in STEM?

ABSTRACT

This article is concerned with the source of men’s invisible advantage in the male-dominated disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It is suggested that this advantage has been obscured by combining sponsorship and mentoring. The research asks: Are men or women most likely to be mentored? Is it possible to distinguish between mentoring and sponsorship? Is there gender variation in either or both of these depending on the source – whether from the academic supervisor, line manager or other senior academics? This qualitative study draws on interview data from 106 respondents (57 men and 48 women) at high, mid and early levels, in four universities: one each in Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, and Turkey. It shows that both men and women received mentoring from their PhD supervisor, albeit with slightly different reported nuances. Men were more likely than women to receive sponsorship in that relationship. Both men and women received sponsorship from the Head of Department, whose wider responsibilities may have reduced homophily. Men were more likely than women to receive sponsorship and mentoring from senior men, with most women indicating a lack of access to such senior academics. By distinguishing between mentoring and sponsorship, this article contributes to our understanding of the way male dominance in STEM is perpetuated and suggests the source of men’s invisible advantage in STEM.     

Feedback from the coal-face: how the lived experience of women casual academics can inform human resources and academic development policy and practice

Abstract

Casual academics form the backbone of learning and teaching practice in higher education in many developed countries and in many respects can be considered the norm around which academic policy and practice might be formed. Yet a narrative inquiry into the lived experience of women casual academics within Australian universities reveals that recruitment and management of casual teaching staff is generally ad hoc, and although they are committed to and enjoy teaching, casual academics rarely engage in professional and career development. Consequently, recommendations to contemporise recruitment and professional development policy for casual academics are made.     

The how and why of academic collaboration: disciplinary differences and policy implications

This paper examines how and why academics in different parts of the academy collaborate. In this paper we argue that: (1) There is a useful analytical distinction to be made between collaboration (fluid and expressive) and Collaboration (concrete and instrumental); (2) These two are not mutually exclusive and their use varies between disciplines; and (3) This distinction is an informative one for policy making that aims to encourage collaboration. Two interview based studies were used to explore the differences in collaborative practices across disciplines. The first was small and confined to a single university (n = 36) and the second was a larger study conducted in three countries (n = 274). Cross tabulations and analysis of open ended questions demonstrated many differences across the humanities, sciences and social sciences in collaboration. The C/collaboration distinction proves useful in understanding different disciplinary approaches to research, and in pointing to implications for research policy and funding. Attempts to increase collaborative research through Collaboration only, may well have deleterious effects on both collaboration and Collaboration. Research policy and funding should bear these differences in mind when seeking to stimulate collaborative research, so as to gain better outcomes across a range of disciplines.     

Transforming Doctoral Studies: Competencies and Artistry

This article examines the effects of recent attempts, particularly in the humanities and the social sciences, to make doctoral studies in the United Kingdom more efficient and effective and to produce the sorts of skilled researchers the economy is thought to need. It draws on the literature about the transformational effects of current state managerialism on the public services and on the nature of education for the professions to look specifically at the situation of the greatly increased numbers of research students. It also uses insights from feminist scholarship on the ''projects of masculinity'' embedded in late-modernist thinking to suggest that a general repositioning of the academic profession is occurring, and of women academics specifically, and that there are deleterious consequences for intellectual creativity from over-stressing certain ''masculine values''.     

Women and professional development in higher education: A search for understanding

Abstract

Participation in professional development related to teaching is higher for female academics than for male academics at the University of Canberra. There is some evidence that this trend is widespread although variable across different universities and professional development activities. Various explanations are suggested as to why this occurs, including: that more teaching in universities is done by women than men; that women are naturally more committed to teaching than men; that structural inequities cause women to be more concentrated in the lower academic ranks and, therefore, more involved in teaching‐related activities; that women more than men believe professional development is important to enhance their teaching practice; that they are less confident in their academic role than men; that they feel more alienated and isolated in their work environment; and, that they are seeking role models and mentors. The paper explores these various explanations and suggests that a combination of factors probably causes the observed differential participation by women in professional development activities. What is more important than a search for explanations is an acknowledgment of the need to value and reward such behaviour. The paper concludes with an argument for valuing women's emphasis on teaching and their continued involvement in professional development related to teaching.     

Humanities in the primary school – philosophical considerations

ABSTRACT

Drawing on a range of philosophical traditions, this article argues that the humanities are essential aspects of the development of the whole child. The humanities help children to understand themselves and other people in relation to place, time, belief, identity and culture and to become empathetic, thoughtful and critical citizens. Learning the content, language, concepts, skills and ways of working associated with separate disciplines is important, as is exploration of key ideas related to human experience and culture, including controversial ones. Defining the humanities in the primary years by the types of knowledge, qualities and values involved may be more appropriate than by subject. These can be learned, and reinforced, in all subject areas, with some offering particularly fertile opportunities, and through cross-curricular approaches. An emphasis on factual knowledge is too limiting, with active, first-hand experience helping to engage and include children. To teach and demonstrate appropriate ways of working and thinking, teachers require pedagogical content knowledge and enthusiasm as well as subject knowledge.     

Cognitive style predicts entry into physical sciences and humanities: Questionnaire and performance tests of empathy and systemizing

It is often questioned as to why fewer women enter science. This study assesses whether a cognitive style characterized by systemizing being at a higher level than empathizing (S > E) is better than sex in predicating entry into the physical sciences compared to humanities. 415 students in both types of discipline (203 males, 212 females) were given questionnaire and performance measures of systemizing and empathy. 59.1% of the science students were male and 70.1% of the humanities students were female. There were significant sex differences on the Empathy Quotient (EQ) (females on average scoring higher) and on the Systemizing Quotient (SQ) (males on average scoring higher), confirming earlier studies. Scientists also scored higher on the SQ, and scored lower on the EQ, compared to those in the humanities. Thus, independent of sex, SQ was a significant predictor of entry into the physical sciences. Results from questionnaire data and performance data indicate an S > E profile for physical science students as a group, and an E > S profile for humanities students as a group, regardless of sex. We interpret this as evidence that whilst on average males show stronger systemizing and females show stronger empathizing, individuals with a strong systemizing drive are more likely to enter the physical sciences, irrespective of their sex.     

Gender Equity: Still Knocking at the Classroom Door

Much of what U.S. students know about history is shaped by the textbook presentation of the subject. By high school, students should be exposed to an inclusive view of U.S. history. Previous research suggests that U.S. history has often centered on the stories of men, particularly from the perspective of white men in positions of power. It is important to continually assess how far textbooks have come in terms of including women—not just the quantity of such inclusion, but the quality as well. In our research, we use Banks' scale of curriculum integration to evaluate how well women's experiences during WWII have been integrated into high school textbooks. Our findings suggest that women are “counted” in the depiction of WWII; however, this inclusion lacks attention to women's agency during the war and to the unique experiences of African American women during the war. Without such explorations in the textbooks, the written version of history becomes an exclusive and distorted body of knowledge.     

教育学:人文科学抑或社会科学?——兼与张楚廷先生商榷

教育学属于人文科学还是社会科学,这是一个非常基本的命题。回答该问题的方式不同,答案也就不同,而且回答方式对教育学的建设思路有着非常直接的影响。从历史上看,教育学学科属性发生了很大变化,它由传统的人文科学逐渐转向社会科学。而在20世纪中叶之后,教育学出现了向综合科学方向发展的态势。这说明教育学既具有人文科学的禀赋,也具有社会科学的倾向,而目下则呈现出多元化发展态势。面对教育功利化趋向,教育必须回归其自身,教育应成为价值主体而不能单纯地作为工具出现。其中,教育学的人文价值取向是教育学必须时刻观照的一个目标,而作为综合科学的教育学更有利于教育学学科的自身发展。