History at Key Stage 2: Covering 1,000 years! Still time for children's questions

This paper argues that recent English education policy has been influenced by external, economic and political factors, rather than founded on a valid understanding of how children's learning actually takes place. I will argue that the ‘performance’ model of education that has dominated the 1990s is inadequate in terms of its implied model of learning. I will review socio-cultural theory and propose it as a more valid conceptualisation. At some point in the future, I believe that the performance model will begin to collapse. An important task for researchers and practitioners is therefore to prepare a more secure alternative.     

Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries: the potential of Sen's capability approach for sociologists of education

Rationality and Freedom AMARTYA SEN, 2002 London, Harvard University Press 736 pp., £25.04 ISBN 0 674 00947 9 Valuing Freedoms. Sen's Capability Approach and Poverty Reduction SABINA ALKIRE, 2002 Oxford, Oxford University Press 340 pp., £45.00 ISBN 0 19 924579 This important selection of essays by the in.uential Nobel Prize winning economist, Amartya Sen, deals with economic theory and social philosophy. Sabina Alkire's book combines a lucid exposition of the significance of Sen's work with an analysis of how it might be operationalised in development practice. Together with Sen's popular and now very widely read exposition of his key ideas in Development as Freedom (Sen, 1999) the works provide a new language to understand important social and economic processes. These recently published works also indicate some new directions debates concerning Sen's innovative ideas are taking. On the one hand, the connections across disciplines that Sen's work represents are being explored, partly by Sen himself and partly by those who have interpreted his ideas. On the other hand, the implications of Sen's work for examining practical approaches to social justice are emerging. While Sen's ideas have posed some central questions for debates in philosophy concerning equality, for discussions on social choice in economics, and for the reframing of the de.nition of ‘development’ in development studies, his work has had surprisingly little impact on discussions in sociology of education. Before considering what some of the potential of his thinking is for sociologists of education, some elements of his thinking need explanation.     

Keeping the Focus on the Child: Supporting and Reporting on Teaching and Learning With a Classroom-Based Performance Assessment System

Abstract

This article describes the findings of studies conducted on a large-scale, classroom-based performance assessment of literacy for the early grades designed to provide information that is useful for reporting, as well as teaching. Technical studies found the assessment to be a promising instrument that is reliable and valid. Follow-up studies of the assessment's use point to its positive impact on teachers' practice and on school and district policies. The studies' findings suggest that classroom-based performance assessment can be a viable accountability, as well as instructional, tool, capturing a range of students' abilities in a range of formats, and that use of such an assessment has the potential to enhance teachers' knowledge about literacy and their abilities to effectively support students' learning.     

The rise of the transnational capitalist class and World Bank 'aid' for higher education

This article looks at globalisation as a process of replacement of the global political order of nation states with the global economic order of transnational corporations. It is argued that this process carries far-reaching consequences, in which a growing number of spheres, including education, are subjected to the interests of the global economic order. Under the disguise of global economic development activities the new world system strives towards maximising the short-term profits of the transnational capitalist class. Following Sklair's global systems theory, this article looks at the World Bank as a transnational organisation. Based on recent World Bank higher education reform loan projects in Eastern Europe, it is argued that the primary outcome of the World Bank loan projects is the redistribution of the resources of the so-called 'recipient countries' to the transnational capitalist class.     

Funding Government Training Schemes: Mechanisms and Consequences

Abstract

This paper follows the path of public funds allocated to private institutions‐‐Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs)‐‐which, in turn, fund the delivery of Youth Training (soon to be replaced by Youth Credits) and Training for Work. The paper argues that the terms on which funds are allocated to TECs offers little financial incentive for TECs to support high cost, high quality training since their success and cost effectiveness is measured by indicators which take no account of the type of training provided, to whom it is provided and by whom. A TECs performance rating can only be improved if it devotes more of its resources to support for the cheapest, easiest and quickest routes to the government's set of output measures. However, this will do little to cure Britain's well‐known deficiencies in intermediate skills in occupations in which it is costly and lengthy to train.     

Presidential canvass,log‐cabin style

In painting and music it is common for one artist to build upon the work of another. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is a composite of variations on Schiller's Ode To Joy, and Picasso readily admitted that he drew heavily from the work of Velasquez in some of his early paintings. The practice of thematic variation is, however, less frequent in works of dramatic literature. Seldom does one writer draw upon the work of another in an obvious manner, use it to reinforce his own thesis, and have his borrowing remain undetected. Yet this is precisely what playwright Arthur Kopit has done in The Day The Whores Came Out To Play Tennis. Although Kopit's thematic variations may not be obvious in the work as produced, they are, however, quite clear if the play is read. The only possible explanation for lack of comment on what is obvious is that very little has been written about any of Kopit's work. Nevertheless, in The Day The Whores Came Out To Play Tennis, Kopit draws extensively from material contained in Anton Chekhov's play, The Cherry Orchard.     

The upward Brain drain and a myth

Abstract

A recent article on education in China succeeded in giving a fresh tweak to the arguments concerning whether aptitude or achievement testing is more likely to promote equality of educational opportunity. In ‘The Diploma Disease’ Ronald Dore expounded the view that aptitude testing is to be preferred for selection purposes on the grounds that it gives more weight to ‘innate potential’ (his term) than does achievement testing which produces results more affected by quality of schooling, an influence which is all too variable, especially in emerging countries. Although shot through with considerable ambivalence, Dore's view could still be instrumental in persuading educational and political authorities in those countries that aptitude testing will do what he says it will do ‐ ‘make for greater equality of educational opportunity and be more effective in mobilizing all available talent’. And even if these authorities have never set eyes on Dore's book, there is sufficient evidence that some of them are acting as if they had taken Dore's view on board for it to be worth re‐opening the question. It is argued here that Dore's position cannot be supported.     

Kohl berg's Cognitive‐Developmental Theory in Educational Settings: Some Possible Abuses

Abstract

Kohlberg's cognitive‐developmental theory provides teachers with a framework for understanding the change and development of moral judgment and decision‐making of their pupils. One major abuse, however, may be when teachers take the stage labels associated with the hypothesized stage levels of moral judgment as indicative of static student qualities or characteristics, by placing more emphasis on perceived and labelled qualities than on the actual moral reasoning of the student. This, it is suggested, together with some empirical examples, may obscure the developmental trend of the student's moral judgment or even affect the teacher's expectations and consequently student's performance, and fails to take into account such factors as environment and interpersonal interaction. A study is reported in which curriculum consultants exposed to moral development theory were tested to determine whether they would use Kohlbergian labels of stage content or actual moral reasoning when required to make assessments. Suggestions are put forward as to how moral development theory can be more closely linked to pedagogy.     

Computer-Assisted Tutoring in Success for All: Reading Outcomes for First Graders

Abstract

This article presents a randomized experiment evaluating a computer-assisted tutoring program. The software program, Alphie's Alley, provides reading tutors with assessment and planning tools and performance support. It provides students with animated presentations and engaging activities. In a yearlong study involving 25 schools using the Success for All reading program, 412 low-achieving first graders were randomly assigned to be tutored daily for 20 min with or without Alphie's Alley. Tutors were also randomly assigned. On individually administered reading measures, controlling for pretests, there were no significant differences overall, but among students with tutors rated as “fully implementing,” those who experienced Alphie's Alley scored significantly better on three of four measures. These results suggest that if well implemented, technology that enhances the performance of tutors has promise in improving the reading performance of at-risk children.     

Recruitment,training and local economic restructuring: an analysis

Abstract

Recruitment and training are key issues for the 1990's, given current demographic changes, skill shortages, new technologies and the advent of 1992 with an emphasis on human resource utilisation. This paper examines current debates on recruitment, training and local economic restructuring, illustrating the complexities of their interconnectedness. Two strands of research are brought together, that of vocational education and training, and that of industrial change and the labour market.     

A Comparative Study of Moral Development of Korean and British Children

The present study explored Kohlberg's theory of moral development in relation to Korean and British children. A total of 128 Korean and British children aged 7-16 years were interviewed individually using Kohlberg's moral dilemmas, Form A. It was thought that the children in both cultural groups would develop moral stages at a similar rate. However, they showed cultural differences in the use of moral orientations. In addition, it was not possible to match some of the responses from the Korean children to Kohlberg's manual, implying that there are some Korean traditional concepts which affect Korean children's moral reasoning that Kohlberg was not aware of. Thus, Kohlberg's system could be used to examine children's general moral stage but was insufficient to understand fully Korean children's moral reasoning. The present study suggests that the interpretation of children's moral reasoning should be made based on consideration of cultural influence.     

Going beyond Kirkpatrick's Training Evaluation Model: The role of workplace factors in distance learning transfer

Abstract

This article emanates from a longitudinal study of the impact of a distance education programme for teacher training on graduates' job performance, in which the authors built on the findings of a previous pilot study. After using Kirkpatrick's Training Evaluation Model in a previous study, one of the authors found there to be a strong relationship between graduates' completion of the programme and their performance at school. However, the model does not probe factors that impede on transfer of learning. Quite a number of the graduate participants indicated that they were faced with this problem. In order to further probe this phenomenon, the authors fused Baldwin's Transfer of Training Model with the second level of Kirkpatrick's model by using a mixed-methods enquiry. It became clear that the organizational climate of schools has a strong influence on the transfer of learning in the workplace. Suggestions are presented on how educators and school managers can work together effectively.     

A Tribute to Richard Paul

Recent research on the brain and how it functions indicate that education methodologies can be altered to expand a student's intellectual capacity.     

The Perspective of an EAZ Director

This paper is a practice-based contribution to the debate about the potential of education action zones to develop a different approach in combating educational performance in disadvantaged areas. Through an examination of the role and functions of a zone Director, the author argues that, notwithstanding the Government's single-minded concentration on the need to drive up educational standards, it remains possible for zones to pursue a more broadly based, innovative and longer-term strategy in order to deliver the required improvements.     

How Father’s Education and Economic Capital Impact Academic Performance—An Analysis Based on the Mediating Effect and Moderating Effect

Abstract:

This paper uses survey data from educational tracking upon graduation from middle schools in Q County, Gansu Province, and explores the mechanism in which the level of father’s education and economic capital affect academic performance. The study finds that the academic performance of male students is significantly higher than that of female students, and household registration, family capital, and school social capital adhere together to impact academic performance. Low economic income affects academic performance, and high economic income does not necessarily facilitate academic performance. School education that pays attention to academic performance has a direct positive impact, and parent-teacher relations, objectified cultural capital, and economic capital have a direct negative impact on academic performance. The level of the father’s education mainly plays a direct role in impacting academic performance. Economic capital indirectly facilitates academic performance through the mediating effect of parents’ educational expectations, educational support, and attention to school education, and objectified cultural capital has a moderating effect on the impact of economic capital on academic performance.     

Education for the Group Worker's Reality

Abstract

Within the social work profession, one's world view, one's beliefs and values based on one's experiences, strongly influences one's practice and comfort with groups.

This paper will examine some of the different ways of viewing the world held by practitioners and students in relation to the likelihood that they will be able to work effectively with groups. Such examination, and the identification of the differences among social workers that results from it has implications for both teaching and supervision in social work. These implications will be discussed and specific principles and techniques for teaching social workers, in education and in supervision, based on their world views will be described. This paper aims to enrich education for group work so that the community of social group work practitioners can grow and continue to thrive.     

Parental Involvement,Instructional Expenditures,Family Socioeconomic Attributes,and Student Achievement

Abstract

The influence of parental involvement, socioeconomic status of parents, and instructional supplies expenditures on mathematics achievement scores of Grade 4 students in a low-income county in North Carolina were examined. An educational production function framework was used to analyze the influence of educational resources on mathematics achievement scores. Pearson product-moment correlation and ordinary least squares regression were used to determine the overall strength of each relation and the variables with the greatest impact on mathematics achievement. Results indicated that instructional supplies expenditures per pupil and parental volunteer hours were not statistically significant in explaining mathematics test scores. Furthermore, results showed that the percentage of students in free/reduced-price lunch programs was related negatively to students' academic performance in mathematics. This finding supports the notion that economic circumstances are correlated with academic achievement.     

The policy reassembly of Afghanistan's higher education system

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how a national higher education sector can be assembled upon a relatively narrow ideological foundation during and in the aftermath of violent conflict. It analyses the case of Afghanistan's higher education system, and argues that the violent disintegration of this system during the 1980s and 1990s created the conditions for a neoliberal reassembly and subsequent expansion of higher education from 2001. This paper draws on data gathered from document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with key policy actors. It identifies an ideological grounding in neoliberalism within higher education policies which are responsible for directing the sector's growth since 2010. I argue that this neoliberal agenda, largely driven by globalised influences, has exploited Afghanistan's conflict-affected context to position higher education primarily as a driver of economic growth, thus limiting policy emphasis on higher education's non-economic dividends. The paper concludes by critiquing the underlying assumption that this role is sufficient if higher education is to serve as a key institution in Afghanistan's ongoing national development.     

Shoring up the pillars of modernity: Teacher education and the quest for certainty

Teacher education is set within countervailing influences. On the one hand, governments seek to minimise their expenditure on the welfare state as they make their national economies competitive within global markets. This is associated with a centralising tendency which is typified by an increasing standardisation of the means and ends of education, including teacher education, especially in England. On the other hand, consumer culture, social fragmentation and intellectual ferment all combine to exert centripetal influences on teacher education. In England, the government's reaffirmation of a highly bureaucratic modernist structure for teacher education can itself be questioned on economic grounds. The emerging knowledge-based, high-value 'new' economy is ill-served by thinly-disguised Taylorist management regimes which impose conformity and engender low levels of trust. Nor will a back-to-basics pedagogy resonate with young people whose affinity for a conformist Protestant ethic may be wearing increasingly thin. The argument is theorized using Toulmin's concept of modernity.     

Amenable performance management in higher education: integrating principles of agency and stewardship theories

ABSTRACT

The considerable transformation of higher education (HE), driven by the South African government's demand for accountability of resources for the attainment of its mandate has altered the ‘business’ of academia. In response to the financial austerity measures, performance management (PM) systems have been implemented in South African HE to monitor and enhance staff performance. This article conceptualizes PM in higher education using agency and stewardship theories. Data emanates from a phenomenological study of academic heads of department's (HOD) experiences of PM. There is evidence that agency theory may be an appropriate mechanism to achieve explicit accountability, and to monitor and enhance performance. However, it is fraught with problems within academic contexts. The findings demonstrate limitations of agency theory with regard to the stewardship of academics. Thus foregrounding the need for the retention of approaches underpinned by stewardship theory. This article thus makes a contribution in terms of providing a proposition for an analytical framework that integrates agency and stewardship theories in researching PM in HE. Central to this proposition is working within a continuum of these theories to mediate the apparent tension between control and collaboration/collegiality.