'Poisoned history': a comparative study of nationalism,propaganda and the treatment of war and peace in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century school curriculum

This paper investigates the educational philosophy and practices of Achimota School, which was established in the Gold Coast Colony (the southern part of today’s Ghana) in 1927 as the governmental model school for leadership education. Achimota’s education aimed to develop leaders who were ‘Western in intellectual attitude’, ‘African in sympathy’. To fulfil this objective, Achimota attempted to develop a curriculum that took into account the sociocultural background of African students while trying to provide an education on a par with that available at English public schools. The paper first examines the discourse surrounding the establishment of a model secondary school for African leadership, which involved diverse groups of people – colonial officials, missionaries, European educationists, traditional chiefs and African nationalists – and then reviews the relevant educational philosophies of the twentieth century. Finally, the paper describes the Achimota education as experienced by students, a mixed product of English public school tradition and ‘African tradition’. Regardless of the efforts to balance the two ‘traditions’, what was actually created was a new Achimota culture that selected essences from different ‘traditions’ and remoulded them for a novel purpose.     

实施就业创业教育深化教育教学改革

在社会飞速发展的今天,大学生就业创业成为了我们共同关注的问题。作为高校来讲,应从强化学生的创业意识、构建合理课程体系、加强师资队伍建设、重视实践活动等方面入手,培养高素质人才,从而承担起改革的重任,为社会主义现代化建设服务。     

Intermediate-level ICT skills and development in South Africa: Private provision form suited to national purpose!

Abstract   ICT skills are critical to the success of enhancing national development in a globalised era (see World Bank 2006). Rudimentary intermediate-level ICT skills necessary to function optimally in basic computer-related environments are crucial to national competitiveness in a developing context. The supply of these skills provided predominantly by private, non-state institutions in most developing contexts is considerably under-researched (see Atchoarena and Esquieu 2002). This paper provides a rationale for the suitability of private sector intermediate-level ICT provisioning, exploring peculiarities of provisioning in the South African context. The features associated with the varied provider types and the response to the multiplicity of learner and client groups serve as crucial features of suitability. It posits the view that the capacity of the sector to respond effectively to skill needs provides the basis for national development in the South African context. The culpability of the sector in responding effectively to rapid technological developments provides the basis for its suitability to private provision forms. Lessons from this work and its impacts on national regulation of private ICT provision will provide important insights for other developing contexts.

多层面语言政策视角下美国高等院校继承语教育的发展

文章从语言政策的角度出发,分析了来自于不同层面、不同语言政策行为主体的语言政策活动对高校继承语教育产生的影响,以此说明美国高校的继承语教育政策是多方语言政策行为主体互相影响、互相协调、互相妥协的结果,微妙地促成了一个能够暂时平衡各方利益和需求的现状。但是,目前美国高校的继承语教育政策实际上是在努力规避触及“种族”这一核心问题,尽量维护表面和谐。严格来讲,美国高校的继承语教育并不能从真正意义上保护和促进少数族裔的语言权利,它更多的是一个单纯的外语教育促进政策。     

Dearth of early education experience: a significant barrier to educational and social inclusion in the Western Balkans

The article summarises the socio-political, cultural, economic and educational background to the Western Balkans region and outlines the wider qualitative research study that provided the data on early and pre-school educational opportunities in the seven countries involved; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244), the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The authors examine international research and literature on early education that identifies it as an important means of enabling subsequent educational and social inclusion and attainment. They proceed to discuss and illustrate from the research data five inter-linked factors showing that provision of early education in the Western Balkans is inadequate and exclusive and that children who are already at greatest socio-economic and cultural disadvantage and at potential risk in elementary and secondary education are least likely to participate in, or benefit from, it. Some recent more encouraging developments are noted but the article concludes that substantially more investment and positive actions are needed in raising awareness of the importance of early education and in developing policies and provision for it that will benefit children currently at greatest disadvantage.     

社会转型期乡村教育变革的困境及原因分析——以清末安徽为中心的考察

清末民国时期,在外力的冲击下,中国开始近代化历程。社会转型期教育的变革是社会变革的重要组成部分。以清末内陆省份安徽为例,梳理乡村教育变革的措施,考察变革的成效,揭示变革陷入困境的表现并分析其原因。     

从世界意识到全球素养:美国中小学国际理解教育政策的演进

美国中小学国际理解教育政策的发展经历了三个阶段:培养世界意识的初创阶段、在争议中前行的稳步发展阶段和强调全球素养培养的深入阶段。其发展呈现出始终服务于国家利益,由政府与社会力量共同推进,以课程建设为核心等特征。这为我国中小学国际理解教育政策的发展提供了有益启示,即需要加强重视国际理解素养培养的力度,建立完备的中小学国际理解教育政策体系,扩大国际理解教育政策的研究主体和制定主体,注重中小学国际理解教育课程建设。     

Coloniality of knowledge,hybridisation, and indigenous survival: exploring transnational higher education development in Africa from the 1920s to the 1960s

This historical multi-case study uses the concepts of coloniality of knowledge, critical hybridity, and indigeneity in examining higher education development in Africa through the efforts of Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, two educational reformers and former international students in the USA. We develop a framework for examining how transnational interactions between the Global North and the Global South shape higher education development. Implications are presented for the importance of flexible theoretical understandings of transnational higher education interactions as well as higher education practices in international student and scholar exchange and other transnational higher education engagement.     

高水平教育对外开放视域下来华留学生奖学金政策转型的困境、逻辑与进路

来华留学生教育是构建高水平教育对外开放格局的关键组成部分,但相关奖学金政策亟须转型。基于对来华留学生奖学金政策结构、类型和功能的研判,并结合对国内外多个城市的实地调查和经验研究,分析提出奖学金政策转型面临的挑战集中在发展理念、政策实施形式、政策结构、政策效益等方面。来华留学生奖学金政策转型的逻辑在于提升政策的核心议程地位、构建多元的政策主体结构、开发多样的政策工具类型、设置多元关联的政策目标。奖学金政策转型的进路如下：转变指导理念,增强服务中国式现代化的能力;开发政策新类型,拓展留学生教育新功能;搭建政策新组合,扩展政策实施单元;切实下放政策实施权,提升多元主体参与度。     

From numerical to comprehensive inclusion: utilizing experiences in the USA and South Africa to conceptualize a multicultural environment

This paper offers a critique of approaches to racial inclusion in the USA, and recommends that institutions of higher education adopt a more comprehensive approach. In particular, it argues that most approaches to racial inclusion in the USA focus on increasing the numbers of racially diverse students, or numerical inclusion. Despite the relative success of this approach, inequalities experienced by African American and other minority-group students attending predominantly white universities suggest that a more comprehensive approach to inclusion should be pursued. A comprehensive approach to inclusion would involve an examination of institutional characteristics to determine how policies, practices and programmes challenge African American and other minority-group students' success. For example, such an approach would involve a reconceptualization of the measures used to determine access, the nature and structure of curricula and teaching pedagogy.     

The role of the Connexions service in supporting the transition from school to post-16 education, employment training and work for young people with a history of specific speech and language difficulties or learning difficulties

The transition from school to the world of post-compulsory education is a major landmark in the lives of young people with special educational needs (SEN). In England the Connexions service set up to support young people during transition was planned to provide both a universal service and one that provided special support to vulnerable young people, particularly those at risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET). The present paper reports the findings of a study of 46 Connexions personal advisers (PAs) who were supporting young people with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) or general learning difficulties, as part of a longitudinal study of these young people's development. Interviews were held with the PAs to identify patterns of organisation, the nature of services delivered to these young people and the factors that influenced successful support. The findings highlight the diversity among Connexions services, the limited expertise with young people with SEN and the structural barriers that may limit effectiveness. In addition, the Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Review Framework was not consistently used. The Connexions service has the potential to provide important support to young people with SEN at this key transition point but our study indicates the need for modifications to its operation.     

以"资源共享"推进县域义务教育优质均衡发展:动因、问题与对策

在教育优质均衡发展进程中,县域内义务教育资源共享可以克服优质资源短缺和不均衡的困境,进而达到“节省成本”和“质量提升”的双重目的。但当前县域内教育资源共享依然不足,通过对西北三省四县的实证调查发现:教师资源共享整体不足且教学点问题最为突出、校际共享教育经费过程中对教学资源投入不足、教育物力资源共享缺失且校际呈现等级差异。其主要原因在于:教育优质均衡发展中公平与效率冲突导致共享理念被忽视;现行农村义务教育财政管理体制不完善,导致校际共享缺乏资源基础;教育资源共享机制缺失,导致共享主体间博弈难消除;学校布局过于分散,导致校际资源共享可达性较低。因此,各级政府应从建立共享理念、完善财政管理体制、构建教育资源共享机制、优化学校布局等方面着手,有效促进县域教育资源共享,推动义务教育优质均衡发展。     

Professional roles and responsibilities in meeting the needs of children with speech,language and communication needs: joint working between educational psychologists and speech and language therapists

There is a large population of children with speech, language and communication needs who have additional special educational needs (SEN). Whilst professional collaboration between education and health professionals is recommended to ensure an integrated delivery of statutory services for this population of children, formal frameworks should be developed for the exchange of information during identification and assessment of needs and planning of intervention strategies. In this study an audit was carried out to examine practical and conceptual issues which might arise in a piloted communication system between educational psychologists and speech and language therapists. Whilst it was found that 62.8% of newly referred children with SEN had some history of co‐existing communication and education needs, it was shown that duplication of work exists and communication is onerous. It was also shown that schools were not fully informed about children’s needs. Joint commissioning of services is required to facilitate individual practitioners in collaborating to serve the needs of these children.     

Making the transition to post-secondary education: opportunities and challenges experienced by students with ASD in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Internationally there are increasing numbers of young people on the ASD spectrum attending higher education. Early transition planning is essential and students with ASD often require support to articulate their post-school educational goals and actively participate in transition planning meetings. Services within higher education are primarily designed to provide academic supports however, non-academic supports may be an even more crucial factor in enabling successful transitions for young people on the ASD spectrum who often experience heightened anxiety within an unfamiliar environment. Within this paper, the results of a small-scale exploratory study of the transition experiences of six young people on the ASD spectrum to post-secondary education will be shared. There was limited evidence that transition planning had been initiated as a formal process for the six students. Accessing support in higher education proved to be a complex process for some students who required sustained input from parents to ensure that they would utilise the supports available. Encouraging the development of self-determination skills, a key predictor of success in higher education, needs to begin in secondary school. It is anticipated insights from this study can contribute to the development of an embedded infrastructure to support effective transitions for students with ASD to post-secondary education.     

Messy but meaningful: exploring the transition to reform-based pedagogy with teachers of mathematics and coordinators in Ontario,Canada

The RE4MUL8 Project involved the creation of an online/mobile resource for Intermediate Division (Grade 7 and 8) teachers of mathematics. This resource showcases video documentaries of seven key mathematics topic lessons (fractions, integers, proportional reasoning, composite shapes and solids, solving equations, and, patterning and algebraic thinking), as delivered by seven teachers in Ontario, Canada who were nominated by their respective District School Boards as being, or becoming, highly effective practitioners in the area of reform-based mathematics education. As part of a qualitative case study research design, these teachers, often along with their math coordinators, were then interviewed following the lesson, and shared reflections on the lesson itself and, more generally, on their ongoing journey towards reform-based mathematics teaching. This paper reports on three major themes that emerged from these discussions, namely, problem-based learning, the reality and necessity of ‘messy time’ transition to reform-based pedagogy, and, balancing instructional planning and practices.     

Unequal access,unequal participation: some spatial and socio‐economic dimensions of the gender gap in education in Africa with special reference to Ghana,Zimbabwe and Kenya

The question of unequal access to education among males and females appears to be universal in the developing world. However, females in Africa seem to suffer more discrimination in terms of access to education. This study revisits the question of gender disparities in educational access in Africa by analyzing data from recent comparative national surveys including the Demographic and Health Surveys, Living Standards Surveys, and World Bank data, focusing on Ghana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. It concludes that while substantial progress has been made in the last 40 years, female illiteracy rates are still high compared to males, and entrenched attitudes continue to keep females out of the educational system, thereby perpetuating the gender gap. Furthermore, while females are generally disadvantaged vis a vis their male counterparts, females living in the urban areas and some core regions tend to be better off than those living in the rural areas and peripheral regions. The paper suggests a number of policy recommendations that would enable African countries, especially the three countries used as case studies, to reap the full benefits that accrue from female education. These include the need for African governments to rededicate their efforts towards giving female education the highest priority, creating girl‐friendly school environments, helping resolve parental poverty issues that compel them to force girls into early marriages, legislating and enforcing laws that compel all children to stay in school for at least 12 years, and wiping out the long existing spatial inequities that enable people in certain locations to have better access to education than others.     

Supporting the transition from Primary to Secondary school for pupils with social,emotional and behavioural needs: a focus on the socio-emotional aspects of transfer for an adolescent boy

Transitions represent an important milestone for children and are experienced differentially. For some children, transitions represent a critical period that can have a long-term impact on their lives. This paper examines the socio-emotional aspects of the transition through an exploration of the findings derived from an evaluative case study of a group-work intervention to support children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs across the Primary-Secondary transition, seen through the eyes of an adolescent boy and related stakeholders. The study took place in two local authorities in Scotland. The intervention is informed by the ‘Teaching for Understanding Framework’ (Project Zero, Harvard University) and ‘Multiple Intelligence Theory.’ The study examines the impact of the intervention on participating pupils, in the process exploring the variables that impacted on pupil progress both internal and external to the intervention. The findings highlight the importance of: building trustful and respectful relationships between adults and children; creating a safe environment in which children will be listened to and cared for; high quality pedagogy and continuity and progression across the transition; and understanding the complexity of factors which may impact on the transition for individual children, particularly for those who may be at greater risk across it.