The challenges of geographical inclusive education in rural Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the challenges of promoting inclusive education in geographically isolated rural communities in Bangladesh. Inclusion is explored from both government and non-government (NGO) providers, and identifies challenges and opportunities for implementing inclusive practices. Challenges for implementing inclusion are linked to poverty, gender inequality, ethnicity, remoteness, language barriers, issues for children with disabilities, and the negative impact of climate (e.g. monsoonal flooding, landslides, and other natural calamities that beset Bangladesh on a regular basis) as well as the current humanitarian crisis with the Rohingya children now in Bangladesh. While there is sometimes a mismatch between government policy and the literature on inclusion in relation to practical implementation at the local level, opportunities for inclusion come with the dedication and passion of educators who provide teacher training about inclusive education, assistive technologies (Braille materials, hearing aids, etc.), multi-lingual education (MLE) materials, and advocacy by reaching out to parents and community members. Findings indicate that characteristics such as culture, the development of local resources, and the climate of the local context need to be considered in developing relevant inclusive policy to enact effective geographical inclusive practices in rural Bangladeshi communities.     

谈农村幼儿教育小学化的危害性及其应对策略

近年来,农村幼儿教育小学化教育现象十分严重。幼儿教育小学化现象对幼儿的身心健康发展非常不利,不仅违背幼儿的认知发展规律,且对教育资源造成大量浪费。要想根除这种现象,需从上级部门加强监管、提升幼儿教师的教育理念及改变家长培育观念等方面着手,从根本上杜绝幼儿教育小学化现象。     

Technological challenges and students with disabilities in higher education

This article is based on a previous Spanish study, which aimed to analyze the existence of barriers and aid for 44 students with disabilities enrolled at University. A qualitative methodology was used to collect data. The results analyze both the support and the obstacles provided by new technologies, the opinion students have of technologies in education, and how they affect their academic lives. Some of the training requirements of the faculty members regarding the pedagogical use of these technologies are also described. The conclusions display the university as an institution with potential for improvement, where certain technological limitations persist, thus leading one to believe that as an institution, it must exercise self-criticism and implement measures to facilitate an inclusive education.     

Under Stress: The concerns and coping strategies of teacher education students

Two cohorts of teacher education students provided information on their teaching practicum concerns and the strategies they used to cope with these concerns. Data were analysed to: (1) test the psychometric properties of the survey instrument; (2) identify aspects of the practicum that concern students most and least; (3) examine students' experiences of stress in relation to gender, age, and degree status; (4) define strategies that students report help them cope with practicum stresses; and, (5) investigate the relationship between stress and teaching performance. The data yielded a consistent finding of significant reduction in stress from the first to the second practicum. The critical importance of the student/supervising teacher relationship for student success in the practicum emerged both from the students' reports that seeking support from the teacher was their principal coping strategy, and from the strong link found between stress in the relationship and teachers' poorer rating of the students' performance. Deux groupes d'étudiants en éducation ont fourni des informations sur les préoccupations relatives à leur stage pratique ainsi que sur les stratégies adoptées pour y faire face. Ces données ont été analysées dans le but de: (1) tester les propriétés psychométriques de l'instrument de l'étude; (2) identifier les aspects du stage pratique qui préoccupent le plus et le moins les étudiants; (3) étudier les expériences de stress éprouvées par les étudiants en fonction de leur sexe, âge, et niveau d'éducation; (4) définir les stratégies qui, selon les étudiants, les aident à faire face au stress engendré par les stages pratiques; (5) examiner la relation entre le stress et la qualité de l'enseignement. Les données ont clairement montré une réduction des niveaux de stress entre les premier et second stages pratiques. L'importance critique de la relation étudiant-professeur d'encadrement sur le succès des stages pratiques est ressortie tant des commentaires des étudiants, selon lesquels l'appui du professeur était leur principale stratégie d'adaptation, que du lien étroit existant entre une relation tendue et l'appréciation négative des résultats des étudiants par les professeurs. Dos grupos de estudiantes de magisterio proporcionaron información sobre sus preocupaciones respecto a la práctica de la enseñanza, y las estrategias que usaban para hacer frente a esas preocupaciones. Se analizó la información para: (1) probar las propiedades psicométricas del instrumento de encuesta; (2) identificar los aspectos de la práctica que preocupaban más a los estudiantes y los que los preocupaban menos; (3) examinar las experiencias de los estudiantes relacionadas con la tensión, en cuanto a su sexo, edad, y condición con respecto a su graduación; (4) definir las estrategias que, según los estudiantes, les ayudan a hacer frente a la tensión ocasionada por la práctica; y (5) investigar la relación que existe entre la tensión y el rendimiento en la enseñanza. Los datos indicaron consistentemente que existe una reducción importante de la tensión entre la primera y la segunda práctica. La importancia crítica de la relación estudiante/profesor supervisor para que el estudiante tuviera éxito en la práctica se hizo evidente tanto en los informes de los estudiantes, de que la estrategia principal para hacer frente a la tensión era pedir apoyo al profesor, como del marcado vínculo que existe entre la tensión en la relación y las malas calificaciones que los profesores dan al rendimiento de los estudiantes. Zwei Gruppen von Pädagogikstudenten gaben Informationen über Probleme, die während des Lehrpraktikums auftraten, und über Strategien, die sie zur Bewältigung dieser Probleme benutzten. Die Daten wurden anhand folgender Gesichtspunkte analysiert: (1) Prüfung der psychometrischen Eigenschaften des Untersuchungsinstruments; (2) Identifikation der wichtigsten und unwichtigsten Probleme von Studenten im Lehrpraktikum; (3) Untersuchung der Stresserfahrungen der Studenten in Bezug auf Geschlecht, Alter und Studienfortschritt; (4) Definition der Strategien, die laut Angaben der Studenten bei der Bewältigung von Praktikumsstress behilflich sind; (5) Untersuchung der Beziehung zwischen Stress und Lehrleistung. Die Daten zeigten eindeutig eine signifikante Verringerung des Stressvolumens im zweiten Lehrpraktikum verglichen mit dem ersten Lehrpraktikum. Die entscheidende Bedeutung der Beziehung zwischen Studenten und praktikumsleitendem Lehrer für den Praktikumserfolg wurde sowohl aus den Angaben der Studenten, in denen die Bitte um Unterstützung durch den Lehrer als wichtigste Bewältigungsstrategie genannt wurde, als auch aus der eindeutig festgestellten Verbindung zwischen Stress in dieser Beziehung und der schlechteren Bewertung der Studentenleistung durch die Lehrer deutlich.     

Learning strategies and self-regulation in context: how higher education students approach different courses,assessments, and challenges

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study’s aim was to analyse the decisions higher education students make about learning strategies. We focus on research questions related to...     

Stress,coping strategies and academic achievement in teacher education students

University students experience stress, and how they cope with this stress affects their academic achievement. This study examined stress in teacher education students and had three objectives: to describe different degrees of stress and coping styles; to study the relationship between stress, coping strategies and academic achievement; and to examine whether increased age can moderate the effects of stress on academic achievement in 334 university-students. There were three main findings: many students experienced stress and used avoidance coping strategies; the students who were under less stress and engaged less in cognitive avoidance and more in problem-focused coping were also the students who made more academic achievement; and students under more stress performed worse, but with age stress affected performance less. In teacher education students, it is important to recognize and address the harmful effects of stress on well-being and academic achievement, to avoid long-term problems in professional and personal life.     

Quality assurance for public higher education: context,strategies and challenges in Kenya

Quality assurance (QA) mechanisms used to be highly dependent on national administrative traditions but nowadays there is a convergence of mechanisms. Compared to more developed higher education (HE) systems in the world, QA systems in Africa are still at an infant stage and thus confronted by many challenges. The purpose of this article is to present some of the findings derived from a study analysing the crucial issues and unique challenges facing Kenya's public HE as it struggles to develop QA mechanisms. Using purposive sampling, the researcher chose two public universities who indicated their willingness to participate and a national QA Agency (QAA). The study was done through in-depth interviews and a review of historical materials and records. Overall, respondents strongly emphasised the need for Kenyan universities to have compulsory and effective external and internal QA mechanisms. They indicated that the trends facing HE make it necessary for HE in Kenya to review their traditional QA structures and to create new systems of external QA. The numerous comments in this research indicate deficiency not only in the QAA focus and work but also in the internal QA frameworks within public universities.     

The role of private universities in the provision of higher education in Uganda: Growth and challenges

Abstract

Although the first private university in Uganda was founded in 1988 and the private university sector has since grown rapidly to become one of the most prominent features of higher education (HE) in Uganda, the contribution of private universities (PUs) to the provision of HE has remained largely unexplored and as such, less understood. The purpose of this paper, then, is to analyse the contribution of PUs to the provision of HE in Uganda, using theories of the non-profit organisations and Geiger's conceptual framework about rationales for growth of the PUs. The paper is based on data that were collected through qualitative interviews conducted in 2008 with six faculty deans from Uganda Christian University (UCU); reviews of paper and web-based documents from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and the PUs in Uganda; and reviews of national and internal literature about private higher education (PHE). Data analysis reveals that excess demand for HE, per se, was not responsible for the growth of the PUs in Uganda; instead, it created opportunities for individuals and organisations to establish PUs. Because of their diverse backgrounds and the policy environment in which they exist, PUs undertake various roles in the provision of HE.     

高等教育大众化进程中地方高校发展对策研究

在高等教育大众化进程中,地方高校面临着生源、就业、经费、师资等方面的危机和压力.地方高校应通过借鉴成功经验、加强区域融合、提高师资质量、优化专业结构、参与农村人力资源开发等措施,体现区域特色,实现可持续发展目标.     

我国高等教育大众化进程中的挑战与对策

我国高等教育大众化在取得巨大发展成就的同时,也存在着“三个跟不上”和“三个盲目性”的问题与挑战。即在经费投入,办学理念、制度建设和社会心理,教师队伍建设方面跟不上高等教育大众化的快速进程,在高校发展规模与速度,学校升格、改名和专业设置,高校贷款搞建设方面存在着盲目性。应对这些挑战,未来10年我国高等教育的发展应采取“低速增长、稳步发展”的方针;要在充分借鉴国际高等教育大众化经验的基础上,采取控制发展速度、加大教育投入、完善高等教育结构、提高高等教育质量等对策。     

Gender and higher education in different national spaces: Female Palestinian students attending Israeli and Jordanian universities

This study examines the higher education experience among Palestinian Arab females in two national spaces and seeks to determine whether studying at an Arab institution of higher learning in a nearby Arab country can alleviate the emotional and economic difficulties that affect Palestinian women at Israeli universities. What can institutions of higher learning in Israel learn or derive from the proposed model to relieve the alienation and exclusion that their female Palestinian students experience? The study will compare two geographically distinct groups of women students. The first is a group of Palestinian women who attend university in Jordan, while the second consists of Palestinian women of Bedouin origin from southern Israel who study in the Jewish Israeli cultural space. The study seeks to shed light on the experience of Muslim students in Western and Muslim universities.     

中职幼师学生《幼儿教育学》学习现状及应对策略

如何提高《幼儿教育学》的教学有效性?本文从学生学习现状的调查与分析入手,在学习指导教育、教学内容优化、教学方法改革等方面进行了有益的探索。     

论美国大学生在校学习的持续性问题--城乡学生的对比分析

本文选取了美国国家教育统计中心收集的长期跟踪数据，描述了美国都市和乡村高中毕业生在高等院校的学习持续性问题，同时分析了影响上述两大群体在校学习持续性的因素。     

Internationalising higher education: comparing the challenges of different higher education institutions in Malaysia

Internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia is seen as a means for improving and empowering higher education so that the higher education institutions in the country can become comparable to the best in the world. While the government has spelt out the directions as well as some of the targets for internationalisation, higher education institutions in the country have been internationalising for different reasons and with different levels of priority and intensity. Public universities, especially the older ones, have been engaged in internationalisation as part of their academic growth and development. Concurrently, a variety of private institutions of higher learning has evolved since the opening up of private higher education from the 1980s. These include private universities that have been established by large corporations, smaller private colleges that have been elevated to the status of degree-conferring institutions as well as branch campuses of foreign universities. The objective of this paper is to examine the different concepts and challenges of internationalisation faced by the different types of higher education institutions in the country, using the case study approach. It was found that in each of these cases, the concept of internationalisation and the challenges faced are different, although funding is raised as a problem in three of the four cases. These different challenges imply that current policies may have to be fine-tuned in order to address the different needs of these institutions in their respective efforts to internationalise.     

Contract cheating in Australian higher education: a comparison of non-university higher education providers and universities

Abstract

This article reports on one aspect of a nationally funded research project on contract cheating in Australian higher education. The project explored students' and educators’ experiences of contract cheating, and the contextual factors that may influence it. This article reports the key findings from non-university higher education providers (NUHEPs). It compares survey responses from 961 students and 91 educators at four NUHEPs with previously reported findings from eight universities (14,086 students and 1,147 staff). NUHEP and university students report engaging in contract cheating in similar ways. However, while NUHEP educators spend more time teaching academic literacies and discussing contract cheating, NUHEP students are 12 times more likely than university students to report use of a professional academic writing service. Both NUHEP and university educators require systematic professional development regarding the relationship between the teaching and learning environment and students’ contract cheating behaviour. NUHEPs need to be cognisant of students’ vulnerability to commercial contract cheating services, and ensure they have access to timely academic and social support.     

中国高等教育的国际化:挑战与对策

国际化是世界高等教育发展的一大趋势,也是高等教育跨越国界的交流、合作与竞争过程。在经济全球化的背景下,中国经济的高速发展急需各类具有国际意识和能力的高素质人才;然而,我国高等教育在培养目标、课程设置和教学方法等方面都尚未完全适应经济发展和社会转型的需要。我国宜采取"自上而下"政府主导、院校参与的高等教育国际化战略,既需要政府部门通过法律、政策等手段引导和规范,同时也需要高等院校以提高学生"全球能力"为核心进行系统改革以促进国际化水平。     

Massifying and internationalising higher education,changing labour markets and social mobility: challenges for education and urban governance

ABSTRACT

The major objective of this introductory article is to set the wider policy context for the present special issue with a particular focus to examine how the massification and internationalisation of higher education has taken place in Asia. More specifically, this introduction highlights the major arguments of articles being adopted in this issue. The contributions have been selected and gathered from presentations in various regional and international research events held in the last few years. Having experienced the growing pressure for enhancing their global competitiveness, governments in Asia are determined to expand their higher education systems to provide more learning opportunities for addressing pressing educational demand, putting additional resources to internationalising student experience and raising the research profile in order to quest for regional education hub and world-class university status. However, the rapid expansion of higher education has indeed created more university graduates than the labour market could fully absorb. It has become problematic when the global market currently experiences economic stagnation. This special issue sets out against such a political economy context to examine issues related to changing labour conditions, youth mobility and challenges for education and urban governance.     

农村女大学生就业形势下的心理状态及调适策略

就业难已成为当今社会关注的热点问题。在日益激烈的就业竞争压力下,农村女大学生越来越成为就业边缘化的特殊群体,择业过程存在信心不足、主动性不够、准备不充分、灵活性欠佳、挫折承受力差等不良心理状态。本文对农村女大学生就业形势下的主要心理障碍及其诱因作了分析,并给出了行之有效的调适方法。     

Community universities in the South of Brazil: prospects and challenges of a model of non-state public higher education

In recent years, higher education institutions have been encouraged to engage more strongly with their local communities, and address their historically weak links with their surrounding populations. In the latter part of the twentieth century, a number of community universities were established in the South of Brazil, characterised by democratic local community involvement, expansion of access in non-metropolitan regions, and close ties with local industry. This article analyses these innovative institutions in relation to the complex demands of the so-called knowledge economy and multifaceted relationships between public and private, exploring the ways in which the public good role of universities manifests itself in relation to the local. Given their hybrid nature – independent from the state but with a public good mission – these institutions can be seen to represent a new model of non-state public higher education. Implications are drawn out for the potential role of these institutions in the current policy context of Brazil, and internationally, in light of their context-specificity and the significant challenges from the highly commercialised for-profit sector.