The Transition-Reform Dilemma: Kosovo – Emerging Democracy and Resistance Factors at its Faculty of Education

Kosovo emerged from a period of conflict with Serbia only after an extensive NATO bombing campaign against Serbia. While the final political status seems settled with its declaration of independence in 2008, much remains to be determined. Preceding the declaration of independence and following it, Kosovo is an emerging democracy which is actively developing its own distinct institutions. In support of teacher development in Kosovo is the Kosovo Educator Development Program (KEDP) which was to act as the lead agency for teacher training in the region. The KEDP was an $8 million development initiative funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). As the lead agency for teacher training promoted a major reform of preservice teacher training, and in particular the establishment of a new Faculty of Education for the University of Prishtina (UP). By the end of 2004, the consensus was that the new Faculty of Education seemed to be a success but that it was still in a very fragile state. Fragile indeed – the reform process has been seriously challenged as the initial and reformed-minded Dean was replaced in controversial (allegedly illegal) decanal elections which installed a more conservative and anti-reformist Dean and Pro-Deans. Each side has strong views, but what are they? What are the issues of the antagonists and protagonists in this dispute? To answer these questions the authors will discuss the changing context of Kosovo teacher education, and using a reflective narrative as a methodology will frame the perspectives key sources and their views of the reform challenges facing to new Faculty of Education. This is followed by a discussion seeking a greater understanding of these conflicting perspectives.     

Building trust and shared knowledge in communities of e-learning practice: collaborative leadership in the JISC eLISA and CAMEL lifelong learning projects

Trust and collective learning are useful features that are enabled by effective collaborative leadership of e‐learning projects across higher and further education (HE/FE) institutions promoting lifelong learning. These features contribute effectively to the development of design for learning in communities of e‐learning practice. For this, reflexivity, good leadership and the capacity to engage in innovation is crucial to team performance. This paper outlines a serendipitously useful combination of innovative models of collaboration emerging from two 2005–06 UK e‐learning pilots: the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) e‐Learning Independent Study Award (eLISA) and JISC infoNet Collaborative Approaches to the Management of e‐Learning (CAMEL) projects. The JISC‐funded eLISA Distributed e‐Learning (DeL) project set up a collaborative partnership among teachers to try out LAMS and Moodle using study skills in e‐learning. Simultaneously, the JISC infoNet CAMEL project developed a model of collaborative approaches to e‐learning leadership and management across four UK HE/FE institutions. This paper proposes two new theoretical collaborative team leadership and operational models for e‐learning projects, including indices of trust, reflexivity and shared procedural knowledge, recommending that these models are further developed in future communities of e‐learning practice in institutions promoting lifelong learning.     

Good School/Bad School: paradox and fabrication

This paper, drawn from an ESRC‐funded research project, deploys data from one secondary school to raise some general issues about the development of disciplinary technologies of surveillance and uses of performativity in education. It is argued that the use of Total Quality Management, School Development Planning and Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education) Inspections, individually and collectively produce an intensification of teachers’ work, submit teachers more directly to the ‘gaze’ of policy, and encourage schools and teachers to ‘fabricate’ themselves for the purposes of evaluation and comparison. The paper is premised on the argument that schools cannot be represented adequately within research (or evaluation) by simple stories or single essentialising tags; ‘good/bad’, ‘successful/failing’ ‐‐ they are inherently paradoxical institutions.     

‘I was dead restorative today’: from restorative justice to restorative approaches in school

This paper explores definitions and understandings of restorative practices in education. It offers a critique of current theoretical models of restorative justice originally derived from the criminal justice system and now becoming popular in educational settings. It questions the appropriateness of these concepts as they are being introduced to schools in parts of the UK and refers to a recent Scottish Executive funded pilot initiative to implement restorative practices in schools. The paper then reflects on some findings from the evaluation of this pilot project, outlines a new notion of restorative approaches and suggests that this broader conceptualisation may offer an important way in which to promote social justice in education and to reassess the importance and inevitability of conflicting social interaction and structures inherent in schools as complex social institutions.     

Professional inspector or inspecting professional? Teachers as inspectors in a new regulatory regime for education in England

The advent of a new inspection system in January 2012 has created new challenges for both the teaching profession and for the inspectors of education given the task of implementing it, as the new framework demands increased involvement by serving teachers and head teachers as part of the inspection process. This paper draws on evidence from a current funded research project to examine the implications of engaging current practitioners in the inspection role. It explores the professional values and skills that are required in order to successfully effect the new framework and considers whether these may conflict with professional teaching identities, thus raising the possibility of further tensions in the inspection – and governance – of education in England.     

Preparing Primary Teachers to Teach Art & Design Effectively

This paper is an account of an action research project funded by the Teacher Training Agency and co‐ordinated by the Institute of Education, University of London. It critically considers the features, methodology and main findings of an enquiry into the nature of art and design components of courses of primary initial teacher education in nine institutions of higher education in the U.K. The project provides evidence to support ways in which primary teachers can effectively transform their subject knowledge in art and design into subject‐specific pedagogical knowledge. The value — for the participants — of a collective case study approach to research, along with some wider implications for art and design courses in initial teacher education are also identified.     

Using quantitative data in World Bank per-student funding reform projects: data,designs and dilemmas in transition countries

Since the late 1980s, education systems have increasingly moved to allocating funding for general education by means of a per-student formula. The trend started with developed economies and moved to transition and developing economies, where the World Bank has promoted the adoption of per-student funding (PSF). But promoting a particular reform, such as PSF, by including it in a package of sector-specific development projects funded by World Bank grants or loans, and employing local and international specialist staff do not guarantee successful implementation. This paper examines experience with implementing PSF to school level in transition countries, comparing varying degrees of success to date (2013) in Bulgaria, Moldova and Kosovo. The paper considers the dilemmas inherent in designing PSF formulae for schools, how this played out in each of the countries and the reasons for varying success in implementation.     

Issues and trends in teacher education in international perspective

Abstract

Many education systems worldwide have undergone major reforms over the last two decades or more. Educational reform cannot take place without major consequences for teacher education. This article focuses on the way teacher education has responded to education reform in two countries, namely the United States of America and England. In the former, the reform efforts were widespread but each endeavour was guided by different priorities. In particular, the trend towards Professional Development Schools has been viewed as encouraging but ultimately their success must be measured by longitudinal research over a period of time. In England the reform movement can be described as a shift towards school-based training of teachers with schools as the lead partners in educating novice teachers. The experience of these countries has particular relevance for the South African education system. It shows that what is needed is a revitalisation of research on teacher education. Successful teacher education institutions and programmes share distinct features, inter alia, a clear shared vision of good teaching, well-defined standards of practice and performance, intensively supervised practical experiences, and strong relationships between training institutions and reformminded local schools.     

The Impact of Globalization on Teacher Education: The Philippine Perspective

This qualitative study is an attempt to describe how administrators, teachers and researchers in a select group of teacher education institutions (TEIs) in the capital of the Philippines collectively view globalization. Specifically, concepts of a globalized teacher education, impact of globalization in teacher education, and problems of teacher education in the context of globalization were the delineated factors investigated in this study. A total of 23 respondents comprising 13 university teachers, 6 deans and 4 educational researchers were asked to participate in an audio-taped interview and written responses. Data yielded by the interview were transcribed and categorized based on saliency, meaning and homogeneity. Clearly, this study has disclosed efforts initiated at both pre-service and in-service education levels in response to the challenges of globalization consistent with the collective view of the various sectors. This research segment is part of a research project submitted to the Asia-Pacific Education Policy Research Initiative/KEDI (AP-EPRI/KEDI) and funded by the World Bank/GDN.     

谈高校校院系三级管理体制改革

高校内部管理体制改革是高等教育改革的重要组成部分,建立校院系三级管理体系的实质是对学校内部管理的责权利的重新分配和调整.本文从分析高校实行校院系三级管理体制改革的必要性出发,阐述了改革的思路,提出了改革过程中应注意的事项.     

“互联创未来”项目对基础教育信息化的影响及启示

随着信息技术的快速发展,利用一对一数字化学习环境促进基础教育质量提升,已成为当前世界范围内研究和实践的热点。在“一对一环境带来教学变革”理念的影响下,中国教育发展基金会和中央电化教育馆在戴尔公司资助下．启动的“互联创未来”项目在我国部分地区开展实验研究。通过运用问卷调查、座谈与访谈、课堂观察及信息技术能力测试等方法,分析项目,实施对于项目学校基础环境、网络支撑保障体系、教师和学生的发展等方面取得的成效,总结一对一数字化学习环境下的教学模式变革和促进城乡教师互动、实现优质教育资源共享的区域基础教育信息化发展模式等项目成功经验．为我国基础教育信息化发展提供有意义的借鉴,促进我国基础教育信息化科学合理的发展。     

绩效考核下高校研究生教改项目研究——以上海高校为例

随着教学改革的不断深入,当前大部分高校都十分重视教改项目的立项工作,但对项目的过程、结题及推广管理却重视不足。由于教改项目管理流程不规范、过程监控体系不健全、项目评价指标不合理等,教学改革的进程中逐渐凸显绩效不达标、项目无法结题等问题。文章以上海高校为例,围绕高校研究生教改项目的现状,分析目前教改项目存在的问题,并且就高校研究生教改项目的改革创新提出若干思考。     

新世纪英国教师教育改革取向与现实启示

英国教师教育进入新世纪以来,在教育全球化、新自由主义的背景下,进行了一系列的适应性改革。这些改革本质上是以原有政策为基础的改良,具有温和坚定的特点。这些改革取向主要包括加强教师教育质量的评估,实施管理与评估分离的政策,引入第三方的专业化评估,激励各方教师教育主体的活力,使得教师教育机构与实习生质量得以改善,以反思性培养为教师教育价值取向等。这些方面的改革与调整,使得英国教师质量状况有了明显改善。英国教师教育改革对于我国目前的教师教育制度建设与教育实践具有现实的意义。     

Shared education in Northern Ireland: school collaboration in divided societies

Abstract

During the years of political violence in Northern Ireland many looked to schools to contribute to reconciliation. A variety of interventions were attempted throughout those years, but there was little evidence that any had produced systemic change. The peace process provided an opportunity for renewed efforts. This paper outlines the experience of a series of projects on 'shared education', or the establishment of collaborative networks of Protestant, Catholic and integrated schools in which teachers and pupils moved between schools to take classes and share experiences. The paper outlines the genesis of the idea and the research which helped inform the shape of the shared education project. The paper also outlines the corpus of research which has examined various aspects of shared education practice and lays out the emergent model which is helping to inform current government practice in Northern Ireland, and is being adopted in other jurisdictions. The paper concludes by looking at the prospects for real transformation of education in Northern Ireland.     

论高师办学与课程实践的互动发展

培育高素质师资是教师教育改革与基础教育发展的共同责任。实施新课程六年来,中小学教师存在诸多矛盾和困惑,既有教师在职专业持续发展方面的原因,也有职前教育中高师院校办学方面的原因。互动新课程中,基于教师专业化理念,高师院校重审教师教育的优势和特色,实施切实可行的专业引领策略,促进课程改革不断深入,既是坚定教师专业情意态度的职责使然,也是提升教师教育理性价值的现实要求。     

Retraining chemistry teachers in the Philippines

A recent large scale educational aid program to the Philippines included the retraining of secondary chemistry teachers. Teachers were introduced to new content and to alternative teaching strategies. An initial resistance to change arose as it was perceived that the new approaches did not take into account very limited school facilities and very large teaching groups. The lecturing style of teaching, which predominates at all levels throughout the country, was seen as the most effective method to handle overwhelming classroom problems. Resistance was overcome after alternative teaching styles were modelled. This paper gives an overview of the aid program and outlines the introduced teaching strategies. It contends that Asian teachers have been largely unaffected by western educational aid due in part to the fact that such aid is rarely accompanied by the modelling of introduced strategies. Specialisations: primary teacher education, primary mathematics, pre- and in-service science education.     

The Role of External Professionals in Education about Sexual Orientation−towards good practice

Throughout England, young people in schools are entitled to a comprehensive programme of sex education as part of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). Current debate about the content of such a programme is informed by new government guidance on sex and relationship education as well as pre-existing concerns about homophobic bullying, sexual health and mental health. In an English local authority, an externally funded Young Gay and Bisexual Men's Development Worker provided educational activities to address sexual orientation and identity issues to four schools. An evaluation sought to identify whether successes had been achieved and why. A further aim was to identify useful learning about the role of external professionals in carrying out effective education about sexual orientation with young people in schools. The evaluation was developed within the context of a number of 'real-world' limitations. Nevertheless, a significant number of project successes (and areas for development) were documented. Successes included raising awareness of key issues among pupils and supporting teachers engaged in PSHE. Key factors contributing to success included: adequate preparation of teachers and pupils in schools; an appropriately skilled and experienced project worker; and a considered approach to building partnerships with schools and working with young people.     

Promoting sustainable development through whole school approaches: an international,intercultural teacher education research and development project

This paper focuses on a British Council funded Higher Education Link project involving three institutions—Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in the UK and two South African institutions, the University of South Africa (UNISA) and Rhodes University. The link is a research and development project that has three main research strands: contextual profiling that will establish the applicability of a European teacher education project to the South African context, evaluative materials development and piloting predicated on a respect for indigenous and contextual knowledge, and impact analysis that will examine the role of multidirectional intergenerational mentoring in disseminating messages about sustainable lifestyles. The project is strongly influenced by the South African Revised National Curriculum statements pertaining to environment and an analysis of the impact that these materials have had on promoting whole school approaches to environmental education in South Africa. The link's initial purpose is to develop advanced certificate in education (ACE) course materials that will promote whole school approaches to environmental education, based on developing concepts of collaboration, pupil participation, educational process and action in schools in South Africa. Materials from the MMU‐based, European Commission funded Sustainability Education in European Primary Schools (SEEPS) Project will be adapted for use in South Africa by UNISA and Rhodes.

This paper reports on the development of the project and explores some of its activities and results to date. It documents how the project team approached the integrating redevelopment of SEEPS ideas and materials to use these resources in the design of continuing professional development (CPD) activities for ACE courses in environmental education at UNISA and Rhodes. The second section is written in semi‐dialogue form to try to reflect the nature of the discussions that occurred between the partners in the link during meetings in the UK. This dialogue outlines the conceptual and philosophical background to the SEEPS Project before examining continuities and tensions that arose in clarifying and situating guiding perspectives for CPD and whole school approaches in and for South African school contexts through the medium of teacher education. The paper also reviews how the South African team are interacting with ideas and materials from SEEPS to clarify whole school approaches to environmental education in South Africa and discusses the contexts within which the outcomes of the link will unfold.     

Education et société dans la première moitié du XVIIIe siècle: de Vallange et ses projets de réforme complète de l'éducation 1710–1740

At the beginning of the 18th century, M. de Vallange proposed a wide‐ranging programme to reform education in France. He intended to introduce teaching methods based on John Locke's works and to create a full‐scale system of new educational institutions. The royal institutions called “collèges” were to be abolished and a secular body of academics in charge of the new ones was to be appointed. The new curriculum proposed by M. de Vallange responded better than the former to the requirements of society, the children's capacity for work, and the new intellectual attainments brought about by the scientific progress of the 17th century.

This project formed part of a larger educational trend that, between 1710 and 1740, brought the notion of education closer to the concept of society.     

高等师范院校“综合型”教师人才培养模式的探索

本文针对当前我国高等师范院校教师教育培养模式存在的问题,以及基础教育新一轮新课程改革对新型师资规格的需求,总结了当前部分高师院校进行的综合型教师教育改革试点的状况,提出了构建适应基础教育改革需求,特别是适应西部民族贫困地区基础教育改革的高师院校教师教育"综合型"教师培养模式,包括主辅式、整合式、分—综式(专升本)培养模式等。