Numbers and Narratives: Further reflections in the sociology of education

A realist framework, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods, is advocated for the sociology of education. The case for a 'numbers and narratives' approach is supported by an analysis of several fundamental problems. Realist forms of sociological explanation require specification of properties at the three distinct levels of social structure, individual disposition, and action within social practice. It is argued that the quantification of these properties is most satisfactorily achieved within a materialist theory of measurement. Many of the problems that arise with quantitative work are shown to have their origin in an inadequate theory of measurement and to be sustained by an unsound concept of 'statistical explanation'. It is concluded that the most satisfactory response to these problems, however, lies not in the celebration of qualitative work, situated in a relationship of opposition, but in the development of an integrated structure-disposition-practice explanatory scheme for the sociology of education.     

Participation and equity towards a sociology of policy language in education

The problem of making education policies explicit and context independent is addressed in this paper. As a vehicle for discussion the paper examines a contemporary policy that has major shortcomings in the explicitness of its language: Australia’s “Participation and Equity Program”, a policy directed at increasing access to education by post-compulsory level students. Problems in making policies explicit and context independent are discussed. Policies are seen as complex messages whose meanings can become scrambled for implementers remote from the language community of policy framers. The links between speech communities and the limited contexts of policies are examined. The paper suggests the inauguration of a sociology of policy language in education to assist in policy design and dissemination. Its concluding sections recommend the kinds of applied work that that sub-discipline might engage in and strategies for improving the explicitness of policy language generally.     

From Students to Consumers: reflections on the marketisation of Portuguese higher education

A progressive attempt to replace traditional public administration values and concepts by others that are closer to private management can be observed in the replacement of the service user concept by that of consumer or client. This redefinition's more implicit or explicit intent is to increase consumers'/clients' status, their capacity to choose and make rational choices in the market, and, ultimately, to ensure that organisations fulfil their needs. Influenced by this tendency, higher education institutions (HEIs) also started to see students as clients or consumers and to influence their choices by trying to define HE demand. This is evident in the shift in their external communication strategies: ‘institutional information’, based on HEIs' prestige, is being progressively replaced by ‘marketed information’, based on economic consumer logic. In trying to understand how students are perceived by Portuguese HEIs, we undertook qualitative research based on the content analysis of undergraduate degrees' announcements in newspapers. Major findings evidence that their content: (1) can be classified in a continuum bounded by two poles: the use of ‘institutional information’ and the use of ‘marketed information’; (2) show the presence of a social representation of students as clients or consumers; (3) seems related to HEIs' nature (public vs. private), positioning in the HE system (universities and polytechnics) and ‘symbolic capital’ (traditional vs. new institutions).     

Towards a new higher education law in Lithuania: reflections on the process of policy formulation

The process of transition in countries formerly under Soviet domination has involved the necessity to formulate new legislation. This article traces the process of policy formulation in Lithuania as the country moved towards a new Law on Higher Education. It commences by briefly outlining the recent development of higher education in Lithuania and highlights some of the critical issues facing the higher education community. The various phases of the policy formulation process are described and the experience is analysed. The article concludes with a discussion of findings that may be of relevance to others working in the area of legislative reform in countries moving to a market economy.     

Governing education through data: Scotland,England and the European education policy space

This paper draws on interview data from national policy makers in England, Scotland and the European Commission to illustrate differences in the referencing of ‘Europe’ in education policy‐making in England and Scotland in order to highlight the emergent complexity of post‐devolution policy‐making in education through a focus on relations and interactions with Europe, as expressed in the negotiation and development of performance data systems. We suggest that policy‐makers in England reference global influences, rather than Europe, while policy‐makers in Scotland reference Europe in order to project a new positioning of Scotland in closer alignment with Europe. Europeanisation in education thus produces differing policy responses from closely aligned, indeed, in the case of England and Scotland, contiguous policy spaces. Thus the paper seeks to contribute to the literature on ‘travelling’ education policy and its ‘local’ mediation and to connect the development of devolution and the changing policy space of education in Europe.     

Virtual Learning Environments in teacher education: a journal,a journey

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in teacher education have a short history which is little longer than that of this journal. Twenty years ago they were the province of early adopters only and limited to email and, more unusually, asynchronous conferencing. Today, VLEs are widespread and mainstream, sophisticated and officially sanctioned components of many courses. Research in this field has borne some of the hallmarks of Underwood’s seminal critique of research in education technology more generally, namely, failure to construct and build upon the history of the field; failure to use the language and theoretical perspectives of the field; a focus on technology rather than on its impact on practice; and an over-reliance on qualitative methods. The three snapshots which are used as a basis of the study show, to an extent, that the technology has moved from unreliable and primitive, to reliable, ambient and versatile. Less obvious in these snapshots are any substantial changes in pedagogy over time although social learning theories seem to have increasing prevalence in support of collaborative learning praxis. Throughout the sample, it is notable that the impact of teachers’ online learning on teaching and learning in schools is still relatively rarely investigated.     

Changing times of feminism and higher education: from community to employability

This article discusses the creation of space and time for feminist approaches in higher education in the context of shifting community and employment relations and the restructuring of higher education space‐time. It draws on the reflections of three feminist academics concerning aspects of their work biographies in two very different higher education settings. It explores the shift from working in an academic department concerned with community studies to one concerned with education and related employment. The article focuses on the attempt to sustain feminist practices through these changing times and settings and is informed by the work on time and space by Barbara Adam, Henri Lefebvre and Doreen Massey.     

From rhetoric to action: Implementing sts education through action research

This article outlines the arguments for an action research approach to the implementation of STS education, and describes some of the experiences and outcomes of an action research group of six teachers (one elementary, five secondary) based at The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto. The teachers' initial views, and their changing perceptions throughout the duration of the project (the 1992-93 academic year), are presented in terms of four categories: the nature of STS education; the development of curriculum materials; personal/professional development; collaborative work. The emergence of an additional complex theme involving reinforcement, extending horizons, and building professional confidence, is considered the most significant outcome of the project.     

Basil Bernstein's sociology of language applied to education: deficits,differences and bewitchment

The publication of A‐level examination results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has become one of the major diary items in the news media’s calendar. This paper is based, in part, upon the findings of an inter‐disciplinary study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It explores two key questions about the relationship between the education sector and news media in the UK. Firstly, it asks why educationalists appear to have become pessimistic about the possibilities for raising the quality of media debate about education. Secondly, it takes the example of the annual coverage of A‐level results, in order to discuss why education news coverage tends to adhere to templates that many educationalists criticize as producing ritualistic and polarized coverage. The paper concludes by exploring some suggestions for those who are seeking ways to influence the quality of education news coverage.