What works,for whom,and in what circumstances? Towards a critical realist understanding of learning in international and comparative education

The article explores the potential for a critical realist approach to researching learning in international and comparative education (ICE) with a particular focus on the emerging post-2015 education and development agenda. It provides a critique of existing empiricist and interpretivist approaches to researching learning. It is suggested that whilst both have strengths, they are based on an ontologically reductionist view of learning with implications for research, policy and practice. As a ‘third’ research approach critical realism has the potential to build on the strengths whilst avoiding the pitfalls of both empiricism and interpretivism. Such an approach it is argued needs to start from an ontologically inclusive and laminated view of learning. Further, it is suggested that comparative research should focus on the development of theories of learning that are able to explain the natural and social structures and causal mechanisms that give rise to and inhibit learning at different scales and levels and in different contexts. The development of theory ought to embrace epistemological pluralism drawing critically on, cross-cultural, inter-disciplinary and mixed methods enquiry and making use of abductive and retroductive forms of inference. In this way it is argued it becomes possible to move beyond the dominant ‘what works’ agenda favoured by empiricists to critically consider what works, for who and under what circumstances.     

Technical and vocational skills and post-2015: Avoiding another vague skills goal?

Education appears to be receiving quite a lot of attention in post-2015 discussions, but how this will translate into goals and targets remains to be seen. Meanwhile, despite increased global recognition and awareness of the importance of technical and vocational skills development (TVSD) – as evidenced in the bumper year of reports on TVSD in 2012, TVSD does not appear to be getting as much focus in post-2015 discussions. It is known that the EFA ‘skills’ goal never got any traction: no one could even agree on what ‘life-skills’ meant, let alone how it should be measured or tracked. Are we in danger of a re-run? What's the alternative? How will TVSD feature in the post-MDG framework and the post-EFA framework, if at all? This paper will take a look at some lessons from history and then explore the current state of affairs to analyse the latest post-2015 suggestions and the way they cover TVSD.     

Who are the custodians of Pacific ‘post-2015’ education futures? Policy discourses,education for all and the millennium development goals

This article discusses influences of Education for All (EFA) and the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education policies in the Pacific sub-region in the context of ongoing ‘post-2015 development agenda’ deliberations, focusing on Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. It is based on doctoral work undertaken as a component of an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, partially supported by the former Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and continuing postdoctoral research.Pacific postcolonial nations’ engagement with EFA and the MDGs was compared through a critical discourse analysis of multi-scalar education policy formation processes. The research identified paradoxical influences of global approaches, and multi-level processes. While such frameworks at once facilitated educational debate and legitimized broader education policy participation, they also supported a status quo in mainstream donor and state dominance of educational development agendas. There is some evidence of wider national participation in the emerging ‘post-2015′ policy processes, but the extent of its influence on multi-level policy deliberations globally and regionally is yet to be seen. Many of the education issues currently being raised in both nations, and regionally, have endured since colonial occupation and independence. This article focuses on educational relevance and gender issues in education, and positions them in relation to the concept of ownership within post-colonial political dynamics and multilevel discursive contexts for participation, which I interpret as being of continued importance to understanding these enduring education concerns.     

Transformation or continuation? A critical analysis of the making of the post-2015 education agenda

As the target date of 2015 draws near for both the Education for All and Millennium Development Goals, consultations are well-underway to begin defining the shape and scope of the post-2015 development agenda. Between September 2012 and March 2013, UN Member States, private sector representatives, multilateral development agencies, epistemic communities and non-governmental organisations participated in the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Participants involved emphasised education as a societal good and a fundamental human right. Participants also highlighted the importance of education in addressing broader global challenges, stating that ‘education and learning should be transformative and foster global citizenship, thereby assuming its central role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies’. Such discourse suggests a shift in the objectives and priorities of global education in the post-2015 context. Is it possible that the post-2015 education agenda will represent a counter-hegemonic vision for global education? This paper engages in discursal analysis of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda to offer a preliminary answer to this question.     

Post-2015 agendas: Northern tsunami,southern ripple? The case of education and skills

This paper examines the architecture of post-2015, paying particular attention to the role of the South and the place of education and skills development in this. A battery of different levels of meetings and consultations has sought to influence the outcome. So another dimension analyses the route map itself, and explores the process whereby any post-2015 goals or targets might be established, and what are the milestones on the journey. A particular education challenge in this safari is that there are three processes for proposing an education dimension of post-2015 frameworks: a post-MDG one, a post-EFA, and a SDG process.     

论网络思想政治教育可接受性的心理学设计

思想政治教育的一个重要原则就是可接受性,教育内容只有被接受才能被内化。网络思想政治教育作为现代思想政治教育的一个重要领域,其可接受性具有特殊性和十分重要的意义。对网络思想政治教育可接受性进行心理学设计,需要从话语更新和议程控制两个角度入手。     

Engineering education in Bangladesh – an indicator of economic development

Developing nations including Bangladesh are significantly lagging behind the millennium development target due to the lack of science, technology and engineering education. Bangladesh as a least developing country has only 44 engineers per million people. Its technological education and gross domestic product growth are not collinear. Although limited progress was made in humanities, basic sciences, agriculture and medical sciences, a vast gap is left in technical and engineering education. This paper describes the present condition of engineering education in the country and explores ways to improve engineering education in order to meet the national as well as global skills demand.     

Can lifelong learning be the post-2015 agenda for the Least Developed Countries?

This paper discusses what approaches to ‘lifelong learning’ should guide the post-2015 education agenda for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which refers to a group of 49 countries that are off-track in achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Education for All goals. Reports prepared by major consultation groups such as the High Level Panel established by the United Nations and Global Thematic Consultation Group have proposed that ‘providing quality education and lifelong learning’ is an overarching post-2015 education agenda. It is an important breakthrough since ‘lifelong learning’ has been recommended; however, it is not clear what understanding(s) of lifelong learning has been articulated in those documents. How have those recommendations addressed the issues and challenges of the LDCs? In this paper, I review literature on lifelong learning and analyse major documents related to the post-2015 education agenda, especially the one prepared by UN High Level Panel. I conclude that unless the LDCs are given a leadership role for setting their goals—according to their contextual realities—the post-2015 millennium initiatives, such as ‘lifelong learning’ as a new educational agenda, will make no sense.     

“90后”高职生心理发展的基本特征分析

2008年,一批被人称之为"90后"的学子步入了高职校园。他们被贴上了特有的标签并成为被关注的重点。作为教育者,我们应该全面综合地对"90后"这个群体进行考察。通过与高职生密切接触,发放大量问卷,可以比较贴切地总结出"90后"高职生在年龄、社会、时代和个性方面独有的特征。     

Evaluating an improved quality preschool program in rural Bangladesh

An important goal of education in developing countries is to implement and improve early childhood education. A pre–post intervention–control design was used to compare a piloted-revised versus a regular preschool program offered by an organization in rural Bangladesh. After 7 months in operation, the quality of the piloted-revised program was higher than the regular program, though the regular program had also improved. Children attending pilot preschools made greater gains than children attending regular preschools on most outcome measures. Action research was conducted alongside the quantitative evaluation to study the process of the implementation and to identify areas for further improvement.     

Teacher Education for Sustainability. I. Global Change Education: The Scientific Foundation for Sustainability

Our schools and educators face a compelling responsibility to serve society by fostering the transformations needed to set us on a path to sustainable development in the 21st century. Education for Sustainability is a new paradigm, that is based on a life long learning process that leads to an informed and involved citizenry having the creative problem solving skills, scientific, technological, and social literacy, and a commitment to engage in responsible actions that will help ensure an environmentally sound and economically prosperous future for all. This paper and the following paper, from a soon to be published book, Education for a Sustainable Future: A Paradigm of Hope, edited by Keith A. Wheeler, focus on the need to have science imbedded at the core of the Education for Sustainability paradigm and the need to increase and enhance teacher education to better be able to create the necessary interdisciplinary thinking critical to transform learners for the next millennium.     

议程设置与议程建构线性过程浅析——以2008年“两会”新闻报道为例

“两会”报道是一个“议程设置”的过程,也是公众议程（舆论）、媒介议程和政策议程相互作用的过程。“议程设置”研究与我国的舆论导向研究之间有一定的理论连接点。大众传播媒体的“议程设置”作用会受到各种因素的影响;“两会”报道中的“议程设置”研究对详细考察传媒的舆论导向过程具有一定的启发意义。     

Nursery schools or nursery classes? Choosing and failing to choose between policy alternatives in nursery education in England, 1918–1972

This article analyses early years education policy in England from 1918 to 1972, applying the theoretical ideas of John Kingdon. Throughout this period, the educational needs of young children were a low political priority, but they did occasionally rise on the agenda. When the issue gained prominence, politicians considered two key policy alternatives for potential investment: the expensive, self-governing nursery school, orientated towards promoting children’s physical health, and the cheaper nursery class, attached to an infant school, perhaps better at easing transition to formal education. After an initial period of damaging indecisiveness, the choice fell first on nursery schools and then on nursery classes. The reason that such fundamental changes in approach were possible was that an underlying lack of political commitment meant policies were only ever partially implemented. This chaotic pattern of development has had a damaging effect on the coherence of early years services offered today.     

Developing a Research Agenda in Science Education

The Science Summit reinforced a question upon which many of us in science education are focused: How can we, the science education community of researchers, practitioners, and consumers, lead policy? We include a brief review of the No Child Left Behind Act and its implications for teachers, and elaborate about one ongoing and growing effort to answer the concerns about the paucity of research expressed at the Summit. We describe a unique and growing collaboration across professional science education and science organizations and societies that focuses on the development of a research agenda. The term ‘consilience’ refers to the “jumping together of knowledge” that leads to scientific advancements, progressive, creative, fluid scientific research and intellectual capacity to move a research community toward an enlightened research agenda. A coherent research agenda enables us to specify what we know, what we need to know, and how research can be employed for creating and implementing policy. The use of a dynamic organizer (such as Pasteur’s Quadrant) for a research matrix of topics provides a possible structure for organizing and cataloging research questions, designs, findings from past studies, needed areas for research, and policy implications. Through this unique collaboration, the science education community can better focus on needs and priorities and ensure that teachers, policy makers, scientists, and researchers in education at local through national levels have an important stake in research priorities and actions.     

网络语境下思想政治教育话语创新探析

随着网络信息时代的到来,网络话语这种新的社会话语体系应运而生,并呈现出无中心性、虚拟性、情境性、飘浮性、全球性特征,这对思想政治教育的实施提出了严峻的挑战。唯有对现有的思想政治教育话语进行创新,在内容和方式上进行变革,更多地吸收、借鉴网络话语积极向上、进步的内容和形式,才能不断提高思想政治教育话语的可接受性和实效性,进一步完善思想政治教育话语体系。