The changing role of the academic journal: the coverage of higher education in History of Education as a case study, 1972–2011

This article briefly reviews the coverage of higher education in the pages of this journal since its inception. It reflects on the changing role of the academic journal during this period, on some of the related changes which have taken place in academia itself as well as changing fashions in the study of history of education. Its central arguments are that the ways in which the history of universities and higher education have been treated in History of Education are, at one and the same time, both a reflection of these developments and a commentary on them. It concludes with a call for new and wider approaches to the study of higher education which go well beyond the narrow institutional and national accounts which have dominated recent writing to reflect contemporary globalisation and the swiftly changing world in which we live now.     

Education,culture and politics: the evolution of Chinese education at The University of Hong Kong, 1911–1941

The University of Hong Kong (HKU), following its establishment in 1911, has assumed the mission of bridging British and Chinese cultures, to prepare European and Chinese elite youth for political and other professional careers, and thus to improve Britain’s cultural influence in competition with other western powers with regard to China. Dominated by its colonial character and pragmatic orientation, Chinese education at HKU was confined to no more than a supplementary subject at the initial stage. However, colonial crisis and cultural changes in the 1920s and 1930s, together with the endeavours of local cultural and commercial elites, made advanced Chinese education at HKU necessary and possible, and led to an independent unit for Chinese education and Chinese studies being established and strengthened. Organisational and curricular reforms before the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941 led to further modernisation and solidified the structure of Chinese education at this university, laying the essential foundation for its post-war recovery and development. The evolution of Chinese education at HKU demonstrated well the subtle entanglements of education, culture and politics in a colonial context, through which coexistence and tensions between tradition and modernity, between China and the West, and between the imperial and republican intellectuals were also vividly revealed.     

Education as Séance: Specters,Spirits, and the Expansion of Memory

In this essay I propose that education be conceived as séance: a place where ghosts are summoned in order that we may come to (speaking) terms with them. Against the backdrop of my own summoning of the ghosts haunting my childhood visits to a nearby castle, I draw on the work of Jacques Derrida to provide a theoretical rationale for the importance of spirits and ghosts. The concepts of inheritance and hospitality place a central role in understanding how to come to terms with ghosts. I conclude with a reflection on the summoning of ghosts in education, and the role of the curriculum as medium in this séance.     

Discourse as Representation of Design Thinking and Beyond: Considering the Tripod of Architecture–Media,Education, & Practice

Discourse is often considered as a taken-for-granted notion, however, it is already a representational genre of design thinking whether written/ unwritten, spoken/unspoken, designed/ undesigned, realised/unrealised. This article explores current architectural discourse to understand its relations with the design thinking transmitted through various modes of representations in media, education and practice, and to find out how such discourse might implicitly influence design ideas. The article argues that discourse, in this context, will stand as a product in itself in architectural culture. Moreover, a cross-view of today's architectural discourses will inform us about the present state of architecture, how contemporary architects express themselves or communicate from such points of view, and what might be the emergent issues and possibilities in architecture and design representation.     

A study of the first destinations of graduates of national universities in the Tohoku region of Japan, 1980–1985

This study, of seven national universities in the North Eastern region of Japan, compares the first destinations of their graduates over a five year period - the proportions entering employment, undertaking further study and remaining at home or unemployed. In comparing three different groups, engineers and scientists, teachers, and arts and social scientists the author finds differences between the employment patterns of these three different groups, as between men and women, between the oldest national university in the region, and the others. International comparisons are interesting as unemployment rates in Japan are very low and in the case of several groups, have decreased over the five year period. Setting this study in the context of the evaluation of performance of universities and in particular in the light of current deliberations on the future of higher education in Japan, the author speculates about the ways in which first destinations may change in the future.     

Scientists,Engineers and the Society of Free Choice: Enrollment as Policy and Practice in Swedish Science and Technology Education 1960–1990

This article portrays the formation of a new problem area within Swedish educational policy in the 1960s, namely the need of scientific manpower and the demands to entice more individuals into studies in science and technology. As a consequence school science was given the mission to be interesting, fun and to change young people’s attitudes towards these subjects. In the 1970s and 1980s many initiatives were taken to increase the numbers of applicants at high school and university levels, both within curricular frames and out-of-school activities such as science clubs. Through an approach inspired by governmentality studies, I describe the strategies deployed to remedy the problem as rationalities of liberal governmentality. The actions taken were executed in a way to make school children choose science or technology out of their free will. It was an exercise of power that was not meant to restrain but instead to enable action.     

The Rise and Decline of Comprehensive Education: Key Factors in the History of Reformed Secondary Education in Belgium, 1969–1989

In answer to economic needs and social demands, a structural innovation was introduced in secondary education in most West European countries, mainly in the 1960s. Contrary to the traditional schools, organized in vertical categories, the so‐called comprehensive schools brought together all branches in one school. There was protest against this type of school from the start but it was mainly in the 1980s and 1990s that comprehensive schools came under siege. In most countries the comprehensive structures have been abandoned or adjusted to a more moderate form.

This paper tries to explain the factors that stimulated innovation in the 1960s, and those that counteracted comprehensive education. As will be shown, these factors were not always related to ideological positions. In fact, the reasons for local educational authorities to “go comprehensive” (or not) were often practically rather than ideologically inspired. Theories of “dominant rationality” by Matthijssen and the “referential” by Jobert succeed in surpassing ideological parameters, and can be interesting tools to explain changing mentalities. However, a satisfying explanation for the history of comprehensive education cannot be offered without paying attention to everyday pragmatics, that – in the author's view – have been decisive for the evolution of comprehensive education.

The paper will be illustrated with examples from the Belgian case. Comprehensive schools were introduced in Belgium in 1969. All state public schools went comprehensive in the 1970s, and the number of comprehensive private schools grew rapidly until growth ceased around 1980. The ongoing struggle between Catholic comprehensive and traditional schools led to a compromise created by the Catholic educational authorities, a fusion of comprehensive and traditional elements. This structure was imposed by the Flemish government as a unitary structure for all secondary schools in the Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium in 1989.     

Braille,amma and integration: the hybrid evolution of education for the blind in Taiwan, 1870s–1970s

Industrialisation and mass education have long been considered two main determinants in the emergence of special education, but in many formerly colonised countries, such as Taiwan, historical development did not follow along these lines. In Taiwan, schools for the blind were initially set up by missionaries and colonisers, and were primarily designed to meet the latter’s preconceptions and needs. However, pedagogic knowledge and techniques were unexpectedly displaced and transformed as they crossed borders. This study examines the emergence and development of education for the blind in Taiwan from the 1870s to the 1970s. Documentary sources, government statistics and proclamations and oral histories were used in the analysis; they reveal how in Taiwan, education for the blind was shaped under different foreign and domestic influences within specific historical–social contexts.     

Special Education–Non-Special Education Achievement Gap in Math: Effects of Reporting Methods,Analytical Techniques,and Reclassification

Federal regulations indicate that the achievement gap must be closed between subgroups, including the gap between special education and non-special education students. We explored the ways in which achievement trends are influenced by three methods of reporting (cross-sectional, cohort–static, and cohort–dynamic). We also investigated (a) the ways in which achievement gaps change when different analytical techniques (proficiency levels, scale scores, effect size) are used, and (b) the relationship between student achievement and the extent to which students’ special education status changes across years. We conclude by discussing the practical and policy implications of using the three methods for reporting data about the performance gap.