Form IV Cambridge School Certificate,Pupils' Aspirations in Zimbabwe

This article is based on two major studies. One study was carried out in 1985 and the other in 1987. The discussion examines Form IV Cambridge School Certificate pupils' aspirations in Zimbabwe with special reference to the post‐independence period. Among the main factors said to determine pupils' aspirations, highlighted in the study include: the class structures of scoiety, parents' occupations, gender, the urban‐rural dichotomy and the type of schools attended.

Pupils' aspirations for a developing country such as Zimbabwe have implications for the country's education policies. These implications are in areas such as the expansion of educational provisions, universal primary education, material provision, educational costs, manpower supply and demand and entry into the University.

As far as cost implications are concerned, there is debate in Zimbabwe as to whether the country can afford free and compulsory primary education given limited resources. At the same time limited resources have affected the quality of education. This article attempts to give suggestions as to what education policy makers could do to improve upon the situation.     

Agri-Manpower Forecasting and Educational Planning

Abstract

Purpose: Developing countries need to plan growth or expansion of education so as to provide required trained manpower for different occupational sectors. The paper assesses supply and demand of professional manpower in Indian agriculture and the demands are translated in to educational requirements.

Methodology: The supply is assessed from the output from agricultural education. The demand in various sub-sectors is assessed employing a mix of quantitative and qualitative forecasting tools. Based on the manpower gaps and extensive interactions with stakeholders, the manpower needs are translated into educational requirements.

Findings: The demand–supply gap in agricultural professionals would cumulate to about 200,000 by 2020, which would need additional annual supply of 10,000 each of diploma holders and graduates.

Practical implications: The study makes three main recommendations: first, to increase the supply of graduates and para-staff to cater to the emerging demand; second, agricultural education needs to meet the changing occupational structure; and third, responsibility for meeting agriculture education to be shared with the private sector.

Originality/value: The paper proposes a mixed method that could be used to forecast human resource requirement in number of sub-sectors having differential information availability and growth patterns in terms of quality and quantity. Since the approach facilitates forecasting in situations of data limitations, it has potential for similar applications in many developing countries.     

One market,two perspectives,three implications: on the development of the special education market in Sweden

ABSTRACT

This study examines the development of the special education market through changes in demand and supply and discusses its implications on the system of education of students in need of special support informed by two theoretical perspectives. The study found out that the number of students and schools in the special education market has increased. The relative size of the special education market on the demand side has remained stable while an increase is observed on the supply side. The results also show that the private sector has grown relatively better than the public sector on both the demand and supply sides. Almost all the market segments have increased on both the demand and supply sides, especially the resource schools in the special education market segment. Based on these results, three implications are observed and discussed, namely a diverse and an extended special education system, increasing segregation within the special education system and a relative stability in the incidence of student exclusion.     

Developing governmentality: conduct3 and education policy

Educational reforms and legislative initiatives in Australia and internationally during the late 1980s imposed new political solutions on to the problems experienced in educational settings. This paper aims to explore the significance of education to politics, through a brief history and reference to comparative studies. While schools in western democracies have always operated within a political context, the paper argues that the radical conservatism of the 1990s makes it even more important that educators take on an assertive policy role. One possibility is identified through reference to a research‐based procedure identified as ‘pragmatic policy development’.     

Education and the Politics of Envy

ABSTRACT:?

This paper addresses the somewhat neglected topic of envy and its relationship to education and social inequality in Britain. Drawing on the work of Rawls, Runciman and Crosland, the paper proposes a distinction between envy as a vice and ‘justified resentment’ aroused by perceived injustices in the social distribution of primary goods, including education. Various pejorative uses of the term ‘the politics of envy’ in UK politics are examined. The conditions necessary for a politics of justified resentment are then analysed. Current developments in higher education in the UK are discussed with reference to signs of the emergence of new social resentments among the relatively highly educated. Prospects for a wider politics of justified resentment are assessed in relation to a range of emergent policies and priorities of New Labour in government.     

Welfare Labourism versus the New Right: the struggle in New Zealand's education policy

ABSTRACT

New Zealand's radical education reforms (1987‐1990) provide a valuable case study for the examination of the politics, ideology and process of educational change. This paper examines the strategy of New Right agencies in attacking the established education settlement which embodies principles of Welfare Labourism. The crucial role of the New Zealand Treasury and of other agencies in bringing this settlement to crisis in the 1980s is analysed and discussed as is the response of the Labour Government. Many of the elements of struggle between Welfare Labourism and New Right market doctrines in education show similar features to struggles in other contexts such as the United Kingdom. However, the struggle in New Zealand makes visible and explicit the political and ideological features in a distinctive way. It also makes visible the significance of both race relations and of gender relations in the formation of education policy.     

Training the Physical Education Teacher: A Worried Re‐Think

Abstract

The increasing demand on nurses to adopt the roles and responsibilities of full professional status have been reflected in nurse training by the move into higher education. However, while there are undoubted benefits to this move, the authors believe that it has been at the expense of student involvement in their courses and a widening of the gap between theory and practice.

This paper presents three strategies for addressing those problems. Firstly, the authors argue for a student‐centred humanistic approach to education within the constraints of a curriculum for professional training. Secondly, they present a strategy for narrowing the theory practice gap through the use of reflective practice. Finally, they outline an approach to continuous and ongoing course evaluation in which findings are immediately applied to produce a flexible and responsive curriculum. The paper concludes by arguing that this broad approach could be successfully employed in any professional training within the further and higher education framework.     

Delivering the DEAL: implementation of a work‐based learning programme at degree level

Abstract

This paper offers a strategy for the development of successful work‐based learning programmes within higher education. It identifies and addresses the key challenges facing such development. Firstly, whether it is possible to develop a work‐based learning programme which provides an effective learning experience at higher education level and which draws upon opportunities within the workplace. Secondly, whether work‐based learning programmes are an appropriate vehicle for structuring and accrediting the continuing development of the workforce. In addressing these challenges, we examine the design and quality assurance of a work‐based learning programme for qualified social workers, placing particular emphasis on the development of an appropriate learning model. We consider some of the criticisms levelled at competence‐based education and argue that work‐based learning programmes composed of learning outcomes achieved entirely through practice can be compatible with the aims of higher education.     

Conceptualizing social justice in education: mapping the territory

Within recent studies of education policy, social justice has been an under‐theorized concept. This paper is an attempt to begin to remedy this situation. It critically examines some of the most prominent ways in which social justice has been and is being thought about within various traditions of social theory and concludes by sketching out a framework for conceptualizing social justice in the context of education policy research. However, the main purpose of the paper is not to provide a definitive conceptualization of social justice but to open up a debate which might usefully inform the work of the education policy research community.     

Presidential address: Power and privilege in education: The perpetual problem of social class

Abstract

... white settlers require native servants, they can only ensure a continuous supply by seeing to it that the servants are kept in a state of decided educational inferiority. To educate them ... (would) inculcate such mischievous and intolerable ideas as democracy, the brotherhood of man, human freedoms and the like (Wellington, 1967, p. 391)

In 1990, after sixty‐seven years of apartheid rule Namibia gained independence from South Africa. The quote above illustrates the influences of political, socio‐economic and ideological factors on the development of Bantu education in Namibia [and South Africa], which sought to entrench and maintain the system of apartheid. The paper will explore the influences of these macro‐factors, specifically on teaching and learning, on the Bantu and other phases of education throughout Namibian history i.e. indigenous education, missionary education and education for all.     

Leadership,Management and Education: Lessons for and from Schooling

Abstract

School based enterprise education and activities are becoming increasingly popular within Australian schools, particularly among students in senior years. However, the objectives of school based business education are still unclear, largely as the demand for activities and courses presently outstrips the development process. As such, the approach taken has centred on the ‘traditional’ style of education, with an overriding concern placed on what can ‘reasonably’ be demanded of students time and resources. This paper outlines the factors contributing to the increased popularity of school based enterprise activities in Australian schools reviewing both past and present teaching methods. An alternative approach to business education is proposed and analysis of the relative merits of this proposal undertaken. The overall objective of the alternative proposed is to remove the artificial environment associated with the approaches employed to‐date. This will require the acceptance of failure as a possible positive outcome and the consideration of issues in a broader social, community and macro‐economic context.     

Pupils in Control: Sex Talk as an Educational Resource

Education for citizenship is now recommended for all primary schools. Whilst primary teachers have long covered social and moral education, they have been less likely to cover teaching about community and political literacy (including the discussion of topical, controversial issues). This paper reports research findings on current practice and identifies key areas for discussion. It argues that there is great scope for enriching and enlivening the primary curriculum through the introduction of education for citizenship, by extending current practice in social and moral education and incorporating the newer themes of community and political literacy into existing teaching.     

Tackling social exclusion at third level: A profile of participants on access programmes

Abstract

There is considerable evidence of substantial class inequalities in the education system in Ireland. Studies point to the overemphasis on academic achievement leading to an under‐representation of certain class groups at third level institutions. Significant resources have been allocated to establish targeted access initiatives to address this form of social exclusion. This paper reports the findings of a survey of 266 access students from four third‐level institutions in Ireland. The survey identifies the socio‐economic background of access programme participants, their pre‐programme education level and the primary influences, which motivated them to avail of the access tiative. The paper examines the role, which financial considerations play in the initial decision to participate and the sustained participation of access students. The paper proposes some additional policy directions for the access programme. It recommends that the projected reduction in the numbers attending third‐level institutions should be seen as an appropriate opportunity to expand the access initiative and target those experiencing educational disadvantage.     

Reclaiming Commitment to Social Justice through Relevant Adult and Continuing Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Reclaiming commitment to social justice through widening access to education, using the medium of relevant adult and continuing education, requires people to have the ability to initiate ideas, to act and to take their destiny in their own hands. This article postulates that deploying relevant adult and continuing education in the quest for social justice leading to freeing oppressed Sub-Saharan Africans is possible. It was partly for this reason that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) came up with standard setting instruments measuring the effectiveness of inclusive education among its member states and, towards that goal, sponsored a limited study to assess how much has been done globally. The outcomes of that study have influenced the propositions made in the article that is structured against the background of the opportunities and/or challenges posed by the demand for social justice by way of widening access to education and learning. The article makes suggestions for ensuring that relevant adult and continuing education provides valuable service in reclaiming the needed commitment to social justice.     

Digital technologies and parental involvement in education: the experiences of mothers of primary school-aged children

Abstract

This paper makes a contribution to the developing field of the political economy of educational technology and to an understanding of the significance of digital technologies for home-school relations. The digitalisation of social life is increasing and the impact of digitalisation on home-school relations, parents, and children is under-researched. This article draws on a new qualitative study where fifteen mothers were interviewed about parenting a primary school aged child in England with a focus on digital technologies, home-school relations, and parenting. I argue that processes of digitalisation are contributing to a bureaucratisation of home-school relations. Drawing on Weber’s social theory, I argue that managing communications and information is taking precedence over other aspects of parental involvement in education. In this process, digital technologies are contributing to increasing demands for involvement in education that are placed on parents, reinforcing the wider norms of the intensification and professionalisation of parenting.     

Telecommunications and an Alternative Practicum: collaborative entrepreneurship in teacher education

ABSTRACT

As in many schools of education, the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta has initiated a number of collaborative projects with partnership schools in an attempt to remove the gap between the traditional, university‐based component of practicum courses, and the practice of the school‐based component. One model, described in this paper, uses telecommunications technology to deliver field‐based experiences. Technology‐based, inter‐institutional collaborative projects contain elements of innovation, that are usually managed with reference to change strategy processes described by Fullan (1982), Havelock (1973), Rogers (1983, 1986) ‐and others. However, these processes take time and planning and may actually mitigate against adoption and implementation of rapidly evolving technologies. In this paper, we argue that telecommunications technology‐based, collaboratively developed models of teacher education may be better served by entrepreneurial thinking than by carefully planned change strategies. One such project is described from initiation through implementation, and components of entrepreneurial partnering are suggested.     

Employability and mobility in the valorisation of higher education qualifications: the experiences and reflections of Chinese students and graduates

ABSTRACT

In the last two decades, we have witnessed a rapid expansion of higher education in Mainland China and Taiwan, recording a significant increase in higher education enrolments in these two Chinese societies. The massification of higher education in China and Taiwan has inevitably resulted in an oversupply of university graduates, with growing social concerns for skills mismatches being found in the labour market, stagnant graduate employment and social mobility. This article critically examines how university students and graduates in these two Chinese societies reflect upon their employment experiences. Human capital theory predicts that other things being equal, raising participation in higher education will initially increase inequality as rates of return rise, and then it will reduce inequality as expansion reaches mass levels and rates of return decline. If the output of graduates outpaces the demand for their skills, which appears to be the current case in many countries, then supply and demand pressures reduce the pay premium for degrees and lower income inequalities. However, this study clearly demonstrates that the massification and the universalisation of higher education in Mainland China and Taiwan, respectively, have actually intensified inequality.     

Institutional policies for part‐time undergraduate higher education in Scotland

Financial pressures, restrictions on full‐time participation and the public commitment to access and lifelong learning, suggest that part‐time provision may be increasingly important in undergraduate‐level higher education. However the scale and organisation of part‐time provision varies across institutions, and its future development may depend on decisions taken at institutional level. This paper describes Scottish institutions’ policies for part‐time provision of first degrees and Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNCs and HNDs). It is based on interviews with senior managers in all 23 Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs), and in 11 further education (FE) colleges. Most institutions planned to expand part‐time provision. New (post‐1992) universities were the most committed to expansion; non‐university HEIs and some old universities were the least committed. Policies for expanding part‐time provision were often part of a broader strategy for flexibility. The research revealed two contrasting models of flexibility: many universities pursued flexible integration, bringing full‐ and part‐time study into a common web of provision, whereas FE colleges typically pursued flexible differentiation, maintaining the distinctions between (and within) the modes. Institutional polices were influenced by four sets of factors: institutional mission, other institution‐specific factors, government policy and funding, and demand; funding arrangements and demand were seen as the main drivers. Finally, we question whether the greater formal autonomy of institutions led in practice to more independent decision‐making, and whether the trends anticipated by our interviewees are in fact well entrenched.