Excluded from school: getting a second chance at a ‘meaningful’ education

In this paper, we draw upon the experiences of a group of young people who have been excluded from mainstream schools in two Australian states to provide an account of the ways in which they have found their way to education in educational sites that are variously referred to as ‘flexible learning centres', ‘second chance schools' and ‘alternative schools'. Whilst often clashing with school authorities in their original schools, these young people described how, when given the opportunity, they were able to engage in more meaningful learning in environments that recognised and accommodated their personal circumstances, and avoided authoritarian rule. A question we address is: What kinds of educational experiences facilitate ‘meaningful learning’ for these students?     

Repositioning of special schools within a specialist,personalised educational marketplace – the need for a representative principle

This paper considers how notions of inclusive education as defined in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Salamanca Agreement (1994 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 1994. The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, Paris: UNESCO. http://www.unesco.org/education/information/nfsunesco/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF (accessed September 1, 2003) [Google Scholar]) have become dissipated, and can be developed and reframed to encourage their progress. It analyses the discourse within a range of academic, legal and media texts, exploring how this dissipation has taken place within the UK. Using data from 78 specialist school websites it contextualises this change in the use of the terms and ideas of inclusion with the rise of two other constructs, the ‘specialist school’ and ‘personalisation’. It identifies the need for a precisely defined representative principle to theorise the type of school which inclusion aims to achieve, which cannot be subsumed by segregated providers. It suggests that this principle should not focus on the individual, but draw upon a liberal/democratic view of social justice, underlining inclusive education’s role in removing social barriers that prevent equity, access and participation for all.     

Fostering Cross‐Cultural Learning and Advocacy for Social Justice through an Immersion Experience in Puerto Rico

Our country's increasing social diversity, the richness and complexity of cultures, diversity of self‐defined individual identities, and complexity of cross‐cultural interactions make effective diversity teaching a challenging but critical need. In addition, for services to be provided in culturally competent manner educators must prepare social work students to understand and address the causes, dynamics and consequences of oppression in the life experiences of diverse populations. This article will describe a graduate travel study social work course designed to provide a cultural immersion experience in Puerto Rico. Anecdotal evidence of the students' transformative learning experiences and commitment to social justice advocacy are offered.     

The identification of able socially deprived pupils: LEA advice to primary schools

This article examines the advice that local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales give to primary schools on the identification of able socially deprived pupils. The research described here is situated within the context of the theoretical literature and central government policy regarding these children. It is noted that identification of able pupils has become more inclusive, although limited research has been undertaken on socially deprived able pupils. The role of central government in supporting these pupils through flagship initiatives such as Excellence in Cities is then analysed and the identification advice that LEAs provide to primary schools is examined. It was found that, whilst LEAs provide systematic and inclusive identification advice, the identification of able socially deprived pupils is only tangentially addressed. The problems associated with the use of checklists by LEAs are examined and the implications of the research are discussed.     

Identifying and Nurturing Gifted Children in Israel

The article describes Israel’s approach to the education of gifted and talented children. It describes the programs for gifted and talented children in Israel and the process for selecting students for these programs. The method of selecting students for programs is consistent with the Ministry of Education’s definition of giftedness, the goals of the giftedness programs, and the characteristics of these programs. The selection method is affected by the standards required of the instruments as well as other constraints, such as the constraints on funding for this purpose.The author of this article is the director of the Szold Institute program for identifying gifted children. The project is funded by the Israeli Ministry of Education     

Challenging educational injustice: ‘Grassroots’ privatisation in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa

The phenomenon of low-cost private schools ‘mushrooming’ in poor areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and elsewhere, is now well-documented. Findings from research by the author’s teams and others show that these schools are serving a majority (urban and peri-urban) or significant minority (rural) of the poor, including significant proportions of the poorest of the poor. Concerns are raised in the literature about their implications for social justice. In The Idea of Justice, Amartya Sen asks us to rethink ideas about justice; instead of the quest for a Rawlsian ‘transcendental institutionalism’, he argues for a comparative approach, grounded in the practicalities of human behaviour. Linking Sen’s ideas on justice with the grassroots privatisation leads to the tentative conclusion that those concerned with promoting social justice could agree to help improve access to, and quality in, the low-cost private school sector, rather than focus on the public education sector. Paradoxically, this could be true even for those whose ideal is an egalitarian public education system.     

台湾资优教育探析

台湾资优教育始于1962年,到现在已有五十余年的发展历史。了解台湾地区资优教育的发展概况,探讨台湾资优学生鉴别的相关规定和程序,分析其多元化的实施模式,讨论资优教育的原因和存在的问题,以期对我们的拔尖创新人才培养有所启发。     

School diversity and social justice: policy and politics

This paper focuses on the long established diversity in the English education system – independent schools, grammar schools and religious schools – and in so doing explores tensions between education policy, politics and social justice. It explores the differential access to these different types of school, their social composition and implications for social justice and for wider society. It is argued that if social justice is to be a goal of government, further policy changes are needed over and above those that have already been made. However, the political challenges, which have limited policy changes to date, would be significant.     

Counselling the Gifted and Talented in France: Minimizing Gift and Maximizing Talent

After a presentation of the French school system, we describe how the three principal practices—acceleration, enrichment, and special classes—for the education of the gifted are functioning in France. Then, we deal with the counselling of the gifted through 1) the presentation of the professional involved in these tasks, 2) the role played by the parent associations of gifted children, and 3) the identification practices. For the talented, there are many practices, from primary education onwards, which allow schooling to be reconciled with sports studies or artistic tuition. The concept of “dual project” is introduced: the need for sportsmen/women to elaborate their career plan at the same time as their sporting project. The conclusion stresses that in France, measures for the gifted are not clearly laid out; whereas, provisions benefiting from clear and explicit information have been made for the talented and are encouraged by various institutions.     

‘Towards a society of equals’: democracy,education, cooperation and the practice of radical inclusion1

ABSTRACT

The radical inclusion of the different interests and powers of all is fundamental to social equality. Moreover, both democracy and the associated practices of cooperation depend upon an equality of different voices if they are not to fall into forms of authoritarianism. Cooperation involves the free association of individuals who aggregate their individual powers to complete projects they could not accomplish alone. Those mutual dependencies require equality of participation and reward if co-operation is not to become hierarchical line management where the powers and participation of some are more greatly rewarded than those of others. And if education is employed to privilege the development of the powers and interests of some over others, it becomes reduced to a form of engineering to fit the interests of the powerful. Thus, I argue that discourses of equality and radical inclusion are co-extensive with democracy, co-operation and education.     

Is being gifted always an advantage? Peer relations and self-concept of gifted students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between identified gifted adolescents and adolescents not identified as gifted in terms of social acceptance and self-concept (peer relations, academic, and general). In addition, we aimed to investigate the differences between two groups of students identified according to different identification criteria (i.e. intelligence test and teacher assessment), and whether the relationship between students’ giftedness and the indicators of their social adjustment was moderated by gender. A total of 404 Slovenian elementary school students (191 males; 47%, 213 females; 53%) participated in the study; among them 85 (21%) were identified as gifted. No significant differences were found between gifted and non-gifted students in positive sociometric nominations and social preference; gifted students received less negative nominations and had lower social impact, but were assessed as more socially accepted by their teachers. Gifted students reported higher academic and general but not peer relations self-concept. No differences in social acceptance and self-concept were found between the groups of gifted students identified with regard to different identification criteria. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between gender and giftedness for peer relations self-concept. The results indicate the importance of investigating individual differences among gifted students in future studies.