Toward a cosmic sociology of education

We old warriors of ideology critique and wissensoziologie should not be too hard on ourselves for having forgotten reflexivity and the labors of putting paradigms, including our own, back into the context of history and social movement. Normal science is our necessary bread and butter. We achieved a lot by shaking the liberal foundations of sociology of education, although in America, despite a mandatory ‘inclusiveness’ in educational studies, in the higher science of sociology of education, liberalism still holds sway, underneath the triumphant pyrotechnics of advanced multivariate analyses. You may have some qualitative research, however, even focused on studies of race and gender. Still, class analysis did, and again now, does, make a dent, accumulating careful empirical research, both in ethnographies and models of statistical causality. Likewise, when postmodernism took the stage, curriculum studies added new light and meaning to understanding the school text. More recently and less prominently, ‘spirituality’ now revitalizes interest in ‘holistic’ education, even ‘transcendental learning’, as Miller calls his revival of the nineteenth-century American Transcendentalist movement, in education.     

Wasteland revisited: defining an agenda for a sociology of education and migration

Abstract

In 2007, we argued that, when it comes to sociology of education, the lives and education of refugee children were invisible. Sociology of education was ‘a wasteland’ as far as studies of the social effects of migration were concerned. Here, we revisit this argument exploring whether education and migration has been developed into a viable specialism in the discipline, and whether one of the great societal challenges of our age is being addressed. Examining the work published on migration and education since 2005 in BJSE, we see that the majority of studies focus on the global mobility of students and on school experiences of migrant children. While these are valuable foci, what is missing is a more extensive consideration of how ‘the age of migration’ and the characteristics of global migration in the 21st century challenge the values, the policies and practices associated with state education institutions and social order.     

Globalisation and internationalisation of teacher education: a comparative case study of Canada and Greater China

This article begins with a brief overview of the relationship between globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education. This serves as a backdrop for the focus of the article, which is the internationalisation of teacher education. In order to see the diverse ways that teacher education programmes have been internationalised over the past 15 years, a case study comparing internationalisation initiatives in Greater China and Canada is presented. This comparative case study demonstrates how different globalising processes influence various forms of internationalisation. Comparison also sheds light on the importance of attending not only to broader, global processes, but specific, local contextual factors. Rather than consider internationalisation as one set of practices that have been taken up globally, this article suggests that there are many different forms of internationalisation in teacher education that are influenced by both global and local contexts. In this respect, the study moves us towards a more nuanced and complex understanding of how teacher education institutions across diverse settings are being internationalised in the twenty-first century.     

The study on the core concepts of contemporary sociology of education and its theoretical construction

Within the sphere of contemporary social sciences, the terms “modernity,” “post-modernity” and “globalization” have penetrated, as the core concepts, into various fields of social sciences in a logical way. In constituting the concept of “modernity,” sociology of education develops the educational theory, as sociological theory does, into a “grand narrative” and “foundationalist” theory; the contribution of post-modernity is pluralism and self-examination in an attempt to transcend modernity. Globalization, a kind of expanded modernity, makes education sociologists broaden their perspective from single and traditional “nationality,” “society” and “nation” to an international society and even to the global society, which has broken through the research paradigm of modernity with ethnocentrism, anthropocentrism and Euro-centrism. These changes have required urgent constitution of the conceptions and theoretical frameworks of sociology of education to be applied on a global level. __________ Translated from Peking University Education Review, 2006 (1)     

Conceptualising the sociology of education: an analysis of contested intellectual trajectories

Abstract

This paper presents an account of the development of the sociology of education in the UK, by means of an analysis of papers published in the field’s flagship journal, the British Journal of Sociology of Education and its US equivalent, Sociology of Education. In particular, we examine the representation of two contrasting traditions in addressing social inequalities: ‘political arithmetic’; and the more recent ‘cultural turn’. We find that in the UK, the cultural turn dominates; whilst in the US, it is political arithmetic which does so. In accounting for these contrasting national profiles, we argue that they are underpinned by divergent social infrastructure and organisation. We also discuss some of the implications of the dominance of the cultural turn in the UK, specifically in terms of the relationship between the fields of academic research and policy and the development of a cumulative evidence base to address social inequalities in education.     

我国教育社会学研究的回顾与前瞻

我国教育社会学自恢复以来,经过20余年的发展,形成了两种理论框架(注重体系和问题取向)及两种理论视角(社会学和教育学),具有了初步的学科自我意识。但总的说来,目前中国教育社会学研究似乎进入了"高原期",有待新的提升与突破。     

全球化语境下对外汉语教学中的跨文化教育

当今时代,文化越来越成为民族凝聚力和创造力的重要源泉、越来越成为综合国力竞争的重要因素,跨文化交际越来越成为各国人民的热切愿望。本文在分析全球化语境下对外汉语教学新变化的基础上,指出了对外汉语教学本质上是在跨文化交际基础上进行的语言教育活动,跨文化教育是对外汉语教学的一大特色,阐述了在对外汉语教学中培养跨文化意识的具体策略。     

Anti-austerity adult education in Canada: a survey of a nascent field

As the realities of austerity agendas exert pressure on adult education around the globe, this paper attempts to map the developing, albeit small, field of anti-austerity adult education in Canada. In doing so, I attempt to trace the connections between anti-austerity education and existing fields of adult education. I argue that the cases we see of anti-austerity education have distinctive features of new political realities. While not unrelated to popular pedagogical projects of the past, anti-austerity adult education sits in compulsory opposition to what Albo and Fanelli describe as the austerity initiated ‘disciplinary democracy’ project of neo-liberalism. As a result, new adult educators and educational initiatives are emerging in relation to a morphing political-economic hegemony.     

Creating a niche in the education market: the rise of internationalised secondary education in the Netherlands

The past decades saw a rise in internationalised education in Europe. Based on case studies at Dutch schools, I argue that the introduction of this type of education can be understood by the increased need for schools to adapt to the social reproduction strategies of privileged social classes. School managers regard internationalised streams as a way to counter a decline of pupils or as a strategy to improve an already secure position. In both cases, they resisted protesting staff in their efforts to establish an exclusive image of their internationalised stream. I argue that school managers’ inclination to emphasise the exclusive and ‘high‐quality’ profile of their internationalised streams and their propensity to celebrate the abilities of their pupils stem from their competitive engagement with local education markets.     

加拿大高职能力本位课程教学大纲探析

加拿大高职能力本位课程教学大纲具有以下特点:课程大纲理念与内容始终贯穿职业能力这一主线,课程大纲开发与结果始终贯穿"行业、企业导向",课程大纲目标与实施始终体现能力本位的整合能力观。借鉴其经验,我国高职教育课程大纲开发应体现全面的职业能力,设计能力培养方案,规划"教、学、做一体化"。     

职业社会学视域下我国大学生职业发展教育研究

当前,我国大学生的就业形式非常的严峻,高校也认识到了此种就业形式,因此有针对性的开展了大学生职业发展教育,旨在帮助大学生毕业之后更好的进行就业。然而,当前各个高校的职业发展教育体系还不完善,在对大学生进行教育时还存在着一些问题,制约了职业发展教育的发展,因此,本文在介绍职业发展教育的概念和内容的基础上,分析了职业发展教育存在的问题,并提出了具体的改进措施。     

Teaching quality matters in higher education: a case study from Turkey and Slovakia

Despite a growing number of studies on the effectiveness of teaching and quality in higher education, reports indicate that more work is needed regarding meeting expectations in teaching quality, in particular, in investigating lecturers’ application of pedagogical knowledge when transferring discipline-specific knowledge. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of both students and lecturers on teaching in higher education in two countries. The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the research problems and to obtain sufficiently detailed data. The results indicated a difference between students’ and lecturers’ perceptions regardless of country, highlighting a discrepancy over views on the pedagogical competence of lecturers. Although this was a small-scale study in two countries, the results pointed to the failure of university lecturers to meet students’ expectations in terms of teaching quality. The study suggested that, regardless of subject area, it would be beneficial to emphasize self-reflection, awareness, improvement of teaching skills, and consequent changes in students learning. University administrations should also have realistic expectations of lecturers.     

对加拿大和中国教师教育的探究:一个跨文化的对话

This article compares teacher education in China with Canada, with the aim of fostering a cross-cultural dialogue between the two systems. Using case studies the article attempts to address the following questions: What can the two countries learn from each other? Can Canadian teacher education be a possible alternative model for China? Can Canada’s teacher education curriculum be used to enhance greater pedagogical preparation and more pre-service teaching practice for China? Is Canada’s move towards strengthening professionalism in teaching of value to China?     

加拿大高中数学课程标准和教学评价的启示

加拿大高中数学课程标准,关于数学学习过程,强调问题解决、推理和证明、反思回顾、选择工具和计算策略、联系、表述、数学交流;对学生的数学学习技能的掌握要求较低,但强调数学学习中用工具、强调数学理解与交流;在数学课程实施和保障中强调学生家长的积极作用;对教材编写提出明确要求;强调对数学知识方法的归纳和概括;对数学教学评价目标指向明确.因此,就目前中国高中数学课堂,应改进课堂教学环节;应树立全过程关注数学学习困难学生的意识;应讲道理、重过程,促进学生的理解;应利用教学评价促进学生的发展和优化教师的教学行为.     

Assessing the importance of cultural capital on post-secondary education attendance in Canada

This paper extends the current literature on access to post-secondary education by investigating the role played by various family background characteristics related to the home environment and family habits and behaviours. Exploiting the extraordinary richness of the Youth in Transition Survey in this regard, we include whether the family ate dinner together, whether they discussed current affairs, and how often their children went to concerts – and if so, what kind of concerts. Many of these factors are found to have a significant relationship with attending post-secondary education, university in particular. Furthermore, these factors are in addition to – and at least to some degree independent of – more conventional influences such as parental education and family income. With appeal to the paradigm of ‘cultural capital’ – which refers to the knowledge, experiences, and connections which help individuals succeed in life – these results indicate how advantages in accessing higher levels of education accrue to those from families that are rich in this kind of asset, while others are left behind.     

论数学教育社会学的“理论背景”“体系建构”与“实践价值”

数学教育社会学在学理上具有跨学科和交叉学科的性质。它受到知识社会学和数学社会学的交互作用和影响。科学知识社会学和数学知识社会学关于科学与数学的认识对数学教育的社会学研究都有很好的启迪。在借鉴上述两种知识社会学理论成果的基础上,作为21世纪以来全球范围内数学教育研究的一个热点和重点,探讨了数学教育社会学的内涵、层次和基本范畴以及对于中国数学教育实践的现实意义。     

二十年来"社会学概论"教材建设的回顾与思考

社会学恢复重建20年来，“社会学概论”类教材建设经历了起步初建，充实探索和完善提高三个阶段。社会学教材实现了从无到有的突破，而且在将西方成熟理论与中国社会现实相结合的基础上，初步形成了具有中国特色的社会学教材体系。但是，现有教材在编写指导思想，结构和内容，基础理论的创新与概括，教材特点与篇幅等方面也存在着一些值得探讨的改进的问题。     

Ethno-cultural diversity education in Canada,the USA and India: the experience of the Tibetan diaspora

Abstract

This paper contrasts approaches to supporting ethno-cultural diversity in education in Canada, the USA and India through the lens of the experiences of the Tibetan diaspora. All three countries self-identify as linguistic and ethnically diverse states that value multiculturalism. These shared values make them insightful comparative cases to consider the role of public education vis-a-vis its impact on ethno-cultural diversity within pluralistic societies. The case used to conduct the comparison is that of the Tibetan diaspora, an ethno-cultural migrant minority found in each country. Three prevailing ethno-cultural diversity orientations are identified – integration, achievement and sustainability – to describe prevalent approaches in Canada, the USA and India, respectively. The paper concludes with implications of the skewed orientations in each context, proposing a more balanced use of all three orientations for more robust and comprehensive supports for ethno-cultural diversity in education.     

Anomalous beasts and the sociology of education

Abstract

The author reflects on continuities and changes in the subdiscipline, using Mary Douglas and Basil Bernstein. In 2000 the millennial issue of Sociology, the generic journal of the British Sociological Association, included a paper about the sociology of education called ‘The anomalous beasts: Hooligans and the sociology of education’. It focused on hooligans as anomalous beasts in the sociology of education, and the sub-discipline as an anomalous beast within the discipline of sociology itself. It concluded with, very poor, predictions about the likely state of sociology of education and UK sociology in 2025. The fortieth anniversary of BJSE is a good time to revisit that millennial evaluation in order to offer a new sociologically informed re-evaluation of the field in 2020, set an agenda to highlight some of the current weaknesses in the sub-discipline and update the analysis of the uneasy relationship with the wider discipline of Sociology itself.     

Teachers and teacher education: a call for a renewed sociological research agenda

This article provides an overview of the main sociological approaches applicable to the study and analysis of teaching, teachers and teacher education. Analytical perspectives from sociology are then compared to research on teachers from two other disciplines, education economics and educational psychology, which have produced the lion’s share of recent research on teachers. In the article’s final section, recent results are reported from surveys of student teachers and teachers in two Nordic countries, Denmark and Finland, to exemplify the importance of institutional and other contextual variables for the study of teachers and teaching. The article ends with a plea for a renewed sociological research agenda that studies teachers and teacher education.