Understanding adolescent purpose in the context of high-performance schooling in Singapore

ABSTRACT

International education achievement indicators potentially obscure students’ localised experiences of school. This paper examines adolescent purpose to understand what drives students’ learning experiences in high-performance schooling in Singapore. Purpose is a long-term intention to engage with the world in ways meaningful to oneself and to others. Using clinical interviews, the authors analysed students’ perspectives of the purpose of schooling and learning against the tensions of preparing students for performance-focused outcomes in schools. Findings indicated purpose clusters with prevalent self-oriented academic achievement goals. About one-third of the students with forms of support had nascent beyond-the-self life goals. To think about teaching and learning in a more integrated manner, this study shows it is important to look closely into students’ learning experiences, as these provide critical insights into how policies are implemented in schools, and how curricula can be made significant and meaningful in a more humanising vision of what schools might become.     

Understanding emancipatory forms of educational leadership through schooling justice work: an action research study into second chance schooling development

Concerned about the phenomena of early school leaving in our region, we are two teachers who initiated and developed a new school from the ‘ground up’ to re-engage young people disenfranchised with schooling back into formalised learning. Using critical action research methodology over a three and a half year developmental period, this endeavour involved us in exercising particular dimensions of leadership to engineer a sustainable second chance school. Twelve years after its development, the school continues with enrolments of over 100 senior secondary students in recent years. The schooling justice work we pursued during the developmental period drew us into ‘emancipatory’ leadership work that called us to be; (1) teacher activists embracing social entrepreneurial strategies imbued with (2) relational sensibilities, and (3) architects of socially just school design informed by (4) critical praxis within a university led professional learning community. The ‘second chance school’ has re-engaged over 1000 students back into formalised learning since its inception and has offered pathways into post-school tertiary study, apprenticeships and training for the majority of these students.     

Sexual violence,schooling and silence: teacher narratives from a secondary school in Ethiopia

Sexual violence is recognised as a public health and human rights problem worldwide. Although schools are expected to be safe places for young people and are envisaged as institutions that challenge social injustices, they are increasingly identified as sites where disproportionately high levels of sexual violence occurs. This study seeks to understand how sexual violence in schooling contexts is conceptualised and interrogated by teachers with a focus on lived experiences, the consequences and the underlying causes. The study is based on qualitative research conducted at a secondary school in Ethiopia. The findings point to overwhelming evidence that sexual violence pervades in secondary schools, with a wide range of adverse consequences on girls’ wellbeing and educational attainment. The study demonstrates how nature, culture and society are included in conceptual thinking about the causes of sexual violence and explores teachers’ agency in addressing the phenomenon.     

智慧城市理念与未来城市发展

“智慧城市”(Smart City)从最初的海外概念,逐步成为中国城市建设的重要政策理念和实践载体。基于政策话语视角,刻画中国智慧城市建设不同阶段多元主体的话语特征及其结构,分析智慧城市“海外概念—政策理念—政策实践”的政策话语演化过程发现,智慧城市从概念引入到全国铺开,呈现为三个阶段：智慧城市“概念导入阶段”,地方政府与相关企业组成政策话语联盟,建设智慧城市必要性与合理性的话语初步形成;智慧城市“探索实践阶段”,各主体对如何建设智慧城市,形成具有不同设想的话语分流;智慧城市“全面发展阶段”,智慧城市成为国家战略后,各主体关于智慧城市的话语开始走向合流。从微观话语互动到宏观政策形成的分析视角,考察智慧城市从概念到实践的政策话语过程,有助于理解中国央地关系背景下的政策过程与特点。     

The private direct cost of secondary schooling in Tanzania

This paper presents data relevant to discussions on the financing of secondary education in Tanzania. The issue of financing is important because expansion in public schools is severely limited by budgetary constraints, high unit costs, and the fact that no part of public expenditures is currently recovered through fees. Given the financing difficulties, it may now be appropriate to reconsider the role of fees as a means of mobilizing private resources to supplement government funds. A prior question, however, is whether or not households already incur a significant cost even in the absence of fees, and further, whether or not they are willing to bear additional charges. The empirical analysis for Tanzania shows that although students pay no fees, their school related expenditure is in fact quite substantial, amounting in 1981 to US$139 for state students, and US$439 (including US$242 for fees) for private students. The results also show that students' expenditures vary more by enrollment characteristics than by family background, suggesting that given the substantial expenses involved, students do not spend more or less than what is necessary, regardless of their background. The large proportion of privately enrolled students in Tanzania indicates, however, that wealthier parents are both willing and able to bear a substantial user charge. A possible implication of these results is that user charges for public secondary education could potentially play an important role in mobilizing private household resources for the sector. Their actual relevance in Tanzania needs, however, to be confirmed by additional research.     

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.     

Education,schooling and inclusive practice at a secondary free school in England

Abstract

This paper reports the experiences of staff, parents, governors and students at a secondary free school in the West Midlands of England in relation to the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN). The paper is based on a qualitative research project carried out at a school that opened in 2015, with the explicit aim of examining the extent to which it developed as an inclusive school, particularly for children with SEN. In the paper, we draw on the classic distinction between ‘education’ and ‘schooling’ to identify tensions and overlaps between process and outcome oriented practices and examine the views of different stakeholders on how such practices impact on inclusion. By focusing on the day-to-day practices of the school and linking them to broader notions of schooling and education, we provide a complementary perspective on the current research on free schools, which is overwhelmingly quantitative and focused on admissions.     

(Re)affirming identities: implementing a play-based approach to learning in the early years of schooling

Learning through play has traditionally been a central tenet in early childhood education, however, in recent times primary schools have begun to consider the benefits of introducing a play-based approach into early years classrooms to support young children’s learning, especially in the areas of language and literacy. This study focuses on the introduction of a play-based approach to a Foundation classroom (first year of formal schooling) in one Catholic primary school in Victoria, Australia. Taking a qualitative approach, drawing on interpretivist theory, data collection methods included group interviews with two Foundation teachers and their Early Years Coordinator at different points during the year, and two classroom observation sessions. This paper considers some of the challenges these teachers experienced and how they interpret and make sense of their work and the consequences this has for their identities as teachers. The data highlight tensions for these teachers that relate to issues of accountability and legitimisation.     

International students in the first years of senior secondary schooling in Australia: Longing for belonging

Most research on international students’ experiences has focused on tertiary settings and consistently shows that this cohort negotiates significant risks during their time abroad. This paper draws on data from the first year of a three-year Australian Research Council funded study to address the un(der)examined cohort of young people who complete their secondary school education as international students and temporary sojourners in Australia. We analyse the data from the initial interviews undertaken with 60 Year 10 international students during their first year of the senior secondary schooling. Drawing upon the theoretical resources associated with the politics of belonging, we ask if, and in what ways, students felt themselves to be marked as ‘other’ to constructed educational and social norms. We note the significant role that online activity played in helping students deal with feelings of disconnect and exclusion.     

Education policy and early fertility: Lessons from an expansion of upper secondary schooling

This paper studies the effects of education policy on early fertility. We study a major educational reform in Sweden in which vocational tracks in upper secondary school were prolonged from two to three years and the curricula were made more academic. Our identification strategy takes advantage of cross-regional and cross-time variation in the implementation of a pilot scheme preceding the reform in which several municipalities evaluated the new policy. The empirical analysis draws on rich population micro data. We find that women who enrolled in the new programs were significantly less likely to give birth early in life. There is however, no statistically significant effect on men's fertility decisions. Our results suggest that the social benefits of changes in education policy may extend beyond those usually claimed.     

Understanding genetics: Analysis of secondary students' conceptual status

This article explores the conceptual change of students in Grades 10 and 12 in three Australian senior high schools when the teachers included computer multimedia to a greater or lesser extent in their teaching of a genetics course. The study, underpinned by a multidimensional conceptual‐change framework, used an interpretive approach and a case‐based design with multiple data collection methods. Over 4–8 weeks, the students learned genetics in classroom lessons that included BioLogica activities, which feature multiple representations. Results of the online tests and interview tasks revealed that most students improved their understanding of genetics as evidenced in the development of genetics reasoning. However, using Thorley's (1990) status analysis categories, a cross‐case analysis of the gene conceptions of 9 of the 26 students interviewed indicated that only 4 students' postinstructional conceptions were intelligible–plausible–fruitful. Students' conceptual change was consistent with classroom teaching and learning. Findings suggested that multiple representations supported conceptual understanding of genetics but not in all students. It was also shown that status can be a viable hallmark enabling researchers to identify students' conceptual change that would otherwise be less accessible. Thorley's method for analyzing conceptual status is discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 205–235, 2007