How inclusive education is understood by principals of independent schools

Inclusive education has become a practice that has been adopted by many schools across the globe and most usually in first-world countries. As a whole-school system, it occurs less frequently in developing countries including South Africa which unlike many developing countries has a sound infrastructure and many excellent schools in both the state and the independent sectors. Education White Paper 6: Special education: Building an inclusive education and training system was published in 2001 with the express intention of developing an inclusive education system in South Africa. Some South African independent schools have successfully implemented valuable forms of inclusion in their schools and this is the phenomenon that was studied. This study reveals various aspects of the inclusive process including the pivotal role that principals play in the transformation process of which inclusive education is the harbinger. It also analyses why principals choose to embrace a paradigm that on the surface is uncomfortable and not an easy option. We used narrative research as methodology for this qualitative research. The basic tenet was that inclusion leads to belonging and excellence in education. The major findings were that inclusion to most principals was about taking action, humanity and emotion. The principals also described inclusion as personal and pragmatic. The implications for action are of interest not only to principals, but to anyone who is seriously interested in innovative and more humane forms of anti-oppressive education.     

Academic standards in South African universities and proposals for quality assurance

In South Africa an obvious need for the clarification of problems concerning academic standards and quality assurance has been identified. Some of the reasons for the differences in this regard between developing and established universities in South Africa are explained with reference to the causes thereof, namely a fragmented system of education, disparities in student enrolment and staffing and the lack of a culture of learning. Areas that require special attention to set the scene for quality assurance to be successfully implemented are identified and, based on research, proposals are made for quality assurance mechanisms for South African universities.     

Nurturing quality of higher education through national ranking: a potential empowerment model for developing countries

This paper reviews the recently introduced National Higher Education ranking system in Indonesia in order to evaluate its potential as a sustainable model to improve the quality of higher education in the country. It is a scaffold towards an established world-universities ranking system that may prove formidable for a developing country. This ranking system is based on four quality criteria, namely quality of academics, of management, of research and of students, each with its own weighting factor and scale. It is found that the actions and inactions of institutions vis á vis their continuous quality improvement may reflect their ranks. In countries where the thirst for higher education is high such as in developing countries, institutions’ ranks play a decisive competitive role. A rational, transparent, bona fide and dependable national ranking system is realistic in helping to improve the quality of higher education in the country.     

Specific remedy for specific problem: measuring service quality in South African higher education

This study commences a process of developing a scale for the measurement of service quality in higher education in South Africa and also examines the relationship between the measures of service quality on the one hand and some other related variables such as intention to leave the university, trust in management of the university and the overall satisfaction with the university. Using structured questionnaires, survey data was collected from students (n = 391) in two South African universities. Findings indicate that the 52-item measure of service quality in higher education is a multidimensional construct loading on 13 factors with a high reliability coefficient (0.93) and some construct validity. Significant relationships were also found between service quality in HE and other study variables—intention to leave university, trust in management of the university and overall satisfaction with the university. Some further research directions were suggested and policy implications of findings discussed.     

Education for Sustainable Development in South Africa: A Model Case Scenario

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an educational approach that, by being a catalyst of social change, promotes sustainability. Although South African education policy and practice appear to be oriented towards ESD, the concept is contested, and ragged with ambiguity and vagueness. Because the transformation of South African education is primarily aimed at social change, such vagueness and ambiguity could prevent the achievement of the vision of an education system that contributes to social change and sustainable development. In this article, we construct a model case scenario to assist in clarifying the concept of ESD. A model case scenario, we contend, might not only lead to an advanced understanding of the concept, but could also serve as an informative tool with which to comment on the extent to which an education system has responded to the call to promote sustainable development. A model case scenario could therefore assist the promotion of the appropriate and unambiguous use of the concept ESD and the alignment of education policy and practice to achieve the transformational goals of the South African Constitution, and of South African education.     

南非高等教育质量外部保障体系探析——以开普敦大学为例

以教育评估认证为中心的质量保障体系是确保大众化阶段高等教育健康发展的重要基础。文章介绍了南非高等教育质量外部保障体系的内容及标准,包括其项目认证与协调、机构审核、质量促进与能力发展建设;重点讲述了开普敦大学高等教育质量的外部保障实践。这给我们带来了借鉴意义,即外部质量保障体系要官方主控化,法制要先行,要重视国际合作交流。     

韩国私立高等教育发展的特点

1945年韩国光复之后,韩国高等教育特别是私立高等教育迅猛发展,取得令人瞩目的成果,并形成具有韩国特色的私立高等教育体系。韩国私立高等教育享有国、公立大学一样的法律地位,成为韩国高等教育的重要组成部分。韩国私立高等教育不仅规模大,而且其质量可与国、公立大学媲美。     

Leveraging information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance education equity,quality, and efficiency: case studies of Bangladesh and Nepal

ABSTRACT

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have had significant impacts on many sectors in today’s knowledge economy. In developing and emerging countries, ICT have enhanced equity, quality, and efficiency in the education sector. However, the adoption of ICT in the South Asian countries’ education sector has not been at scale and its impacts have been limited. There are several gaps and issues that are hindering the wider adoption of ICT and limiting its impacts in the education sector. Through the case studies of the adoption of ICT for education in Bangladesh and Nepal, this paper examines the gaps and issues to be addressed in order to better leverage ICT to enhance education equity, quality, and efficiency. This discussion is guided by the ICT in the education framework that has been developed by the authors, and could provide insights into the state of ICT in education and offer strategies to better leverage ICT for the education sector of other countries in South Asia and the region.     

东南亚高等教育质量研究及其发展动态--东南亚高等教育研究协会(SEAAIR)第三届年会综述

东南亚高等教育研究协会第三届年会与会专家、学根据东南亚地区发展高校的战略与提高高等教育质量的实践和研究，指出高等教育在社会发展中的作用已使得高等教育质量问题超出了系统本身而成为社会性的问题和国际性问题，直接关系着一个国家综合实力和国民综合素质的提高。     

A roadblock to social justice? An analysis and critique of the South African education Roadmap

The article provides an analysis and critique of contemporary debates concerning the quality of education in South Africa from a social justice perspective. In particular the article focuses on the Education Roadmap which has gained support from a range of stakeholders in South Africa including key members of the newly elected government. The Education Roadmap is considered in relation to dominant approaches to understanding education quality within the education literature, namely the human capital and human rights based approaches. It is argued that the Roadmap shares characteristics of both approaches although it is particularly influenced by the former. The article sets out an alternative approach based on social justice principle that, whilst developing and extending aspects of dominant approaches, is considered pertinent because it articulates with historical struggles around education in South Africa. It is suggested that although the Roadmap demonstrates limited characteristics of a social justice approach, it falls short in other key aspects and it is these aspects that must form the basis for ongoing struggles for a more equitable education system.     

The idealism of education policies and the realities in schools: the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa

Inclusive education as a global movement emerged over the past 30 years to ensure quality mainstream education for all learners. Since 1994 the newly democratic South Africa also had expectations as well as the political will to change education by adjusting legislation and policies. However, the vision of a truly inclusive education system in South Africa has been difficult to achieve and results regarding the implementation of inclusive education remain questionable. There has been a growing realisation that the advent of democracy was not in itself a sufficient condition for the elimination of historical and structural inequalities in education with as recurring theme the dissonance between the government's socio-political imperative for change and economic realities. This article focuses on the development of policy and guidelines on inclusive education in dynamic interaction with the complexity of realities in South African schools with a special focus on the policy recommendations regarding the development of full-service schools. The constant comparative analysis of the two phased case study of a full-service school in a rural town revealed interesting results illustrating the complexities regarding the implementation of inclusive education and the challenges and opportunities in bridging the gap between the idealism of policies and the realities in schools.     

Khanya College Johannesburg: ten years of ‘education for liberation’: an assessment

Khanya College, a small tertiary access programme in Johannesburg, South Africa began operation in 1986. Making use of Freirian methodology and targeting activists involved in the anti‐apartheid struggle, the college has made a serious attempt to embody the notion of education for liberation. However, the college has faced serious constraints due to the conservative nature of the education system within which Khanya was forced to operate. Despite these constraints the college has succeeded in producing a number of politically active professionals as well as developing working relationships with mass organizations in the country. With the advent of democratic rule in South Africa in 1994, the college has been forced to evaluate its strategic orientation. The conclusion of Khanya has been to try to develop into a larger scale, comprehensive community college which still adheres to the ethos and methodology which inspired Khanya's founding.     

Poverty reduction and adult education: beyond basic education

One of the Millennium Development Goals declared by the United Nations in 2000 was to reduce by half the population of people living in extreme poverty, by 2015. Adult education can and should contribute significantly to this development goal. Nevertheless it has hardly been explored so far in the national Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers. In as far as attention has been given to the contribution of adult education to the reduction of poverty, the trend has been to focus on literacy or basic education. Nevertheless, adult education is potentially much more than literacy or basic education. Successful contribution of adult education to poverty reduction programmes includes also agricultural extension, vocational education, community development and training for active citizenship. In this introduction of the special issue of the International Journal of Lifelong Education, we will sketch the state of the art for each of these branches of adult education. Moreover, our central argument will be that developing countries do not only need a more extended system for adult education, but also a more flexible and more targeted system than the rather traditional practices in most developing countries.     

Teacher education for rural–regional sustainability: changing agendas,challenging futures,chasing chimeras?

Rural schooling has remained a concern for policy‐makers, employers, teacher education providers and schools throughout our recent history. In particular, the allegedly variable quality of teaching and learning in rural Australia is a major concern for teacher educators and educational leaders alike, with the provision of quality services for rural Australians a major equity issue in social as well as political terms. Working from an explicitly situated perspective, this paper explores these issues in relation to a set of current and recent research projects and government reports, with particular reference to a study currently exploring the articulation of teacher education and rural schooling in New South Wales. This is contextualized within a larger agenda of national and environmental sustainability which raises the key issue of social policy and educational priorities as we look forward into a radically uncertain future for teacher education, rural schooling and rural‐regional sustainability.     

论韩国中小学教师薪酬制度及其对我国的启示

韩国是当今世界教育最发达的国家之一,韩国民众对教育的热情非常高,而这主要得益于韩国政府在保障教师待遇方面作出的不懈努力。韩国中小学教师薪酬制度极大地调动了教师的从教热情,对提高教育教学质量产生了重要影响。本文着重分析韩国中小学教师薪酬制度的特点,以期为我国教育改革与发展提供借鉴。     

The didactics tradition in South Africa: a reply to Richard Krüger

There has been a growing interest in the European Didaktik tradition as part of a process of ‘internationalizing’ curriculum studies. Krüger provides useful insights into some aspects of Didaktiek in South Africa. However, the essay does not contextualize this tradition within the broader history of South African education. This reply contends that Didaktiek was interwoven with ‘fundamental pedagogics’ and as a consequence played a role in reproducing apartheid ideology—it did not provide a language of critique or possibility. This is one reason why the tradition has seen its demise in post‐apartheid South Africa. I argue that curriculum theory, which crucially deals with the relationship between schooling and society and highlights the socially constructed nature of schooling, offers a more useful alternative for critiquing apartheid education policy and for charting a process of transformation of education in South Africa.     

Exploiting Curriculum Commonality in Small Island States: Some Strategies for Primary Science Curriculum Development in the South Pacific

Improving primary science education in the small, developing island nations of the South Pacific is of increasing importance if these countries are to improve the quality of life of their citizens and achieve sustainable economic growth. The education systems in the South Pacific are commonly legacies of old colonial powers and are dominated by external summative examinations that drive a teacher-dominated didactic pedagogy. Changing this situation is likely to be a long-term issue. However, in the short to medium term science education at the primary level would likely benefit from some strategies that are achievable, sustainable and relatively inexpensive when compared with many aid-funded projects. The authors propose a regional approach to curriculum development and the employment of simple readers to deliver science concepts to students through literacy as a means of improving the current situation.     

A posthumanist approach to environmental education in South Africa: implications for teachers,teacher development,and teacher training programs

As we enter the sixth great mass extinction event, an event that points to humanity’s exploitative attitude towards nature, posthumanist ethics offers a different way of engaging with the world, a way which has clear and extensive implications for the way environmental education is taught in South African schools. However, given the official curriculum and assessment practices currently in use in South Africa, can a posthumanist approach to environmental education actually work within the current educational framework of discrete discipline/subject areas and specializations? The paper diffractively engages with the Department of Basic Education National Curriculum Statement: Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement: Foundation Phase Grades R-3: Life Skills for South Africa (the phase where environmental education is most likely to take place), and superpositions this text with a research study on environmental education undertaken in Canada and key posthumanist notions as they relate to environmental education. The paper concludes with a section on the implications for teachers, teacher development, and teacher training programs (not solely in South Africa) of using such an approach in the teaching of environmental studies.     

Decentralisation as and for Education Reform in Trinidad and Tobago

Centralisation is the traditional mode of decision‐making in the education system in Trinidad and Tobago, but proposals have now been put forward to decentralise. The purpose of decentralisation, as claimed in the recent Report of the National Task Force on Education, is to improve the quality of education that has been falling for some time, despite significant inputs since political independence about 30 years ago. The article reviews both the proposals made and the problems that are inherent in the concept of decentralisation, and against this background specifies what Trinidad and Tobago might do in order to make its plans for decentralisation work. Why the state has turned to decentralisation at this period in its educational development drive is also critically examined. Findings indicate that the political agenda, and not necessarily immediate concern for quality improvement, is the driving force behind the decentralisation move. The proposals, however, still have a good chance of successful implementation and of achieving the stated goal of quality improvement, but before these can be realised, inputs, among them factors relating to the core technology of teaching and learning as well as training of personnel to undertake implementation, are needed. Some suggestions as to how these might be accomplished are given.