The marketization of education in Singapore: prospects for inclusive education

The marketization of education in Singapore has produced features within the regular education system that emphasize school autonomy and competition among schools. While the intention of these initiatives is to foster educational excellence, there is evidence that schools are under increasing pressure to attract students who are assets in terms of contributing to higher rankings in school league tables. At the same time, current government rhetoric claims to emphasize a valuing of difference, the ability to relate to diversity and social cohesion. This paper discusses key features of the marketization of education in Singapore and the associated prospects for inclusive education. It concludes by suggesting several policy changes that are needed before any progress can be made towards a more inclusive education system.     

Evaluating parent education programs: Problems and prospects

In this article it is argued that further development of the research knowledge base regarding the effectiveness of parent education programs depends on a major shift in conventional strategies of program evaluation. The prevalent evaluation method has been dominated by an interest in the outcomes of parent education programs; thus, a variety of evaluations has established that parent training programs have an immediate impact on such outcomes as child's IQ scores (see Clarke-Stewart, 1978). Little is known about why parent programs are effective, however. The typical evaluation approach is severely limited in its ability to identify factors which contribute to program effectiveness. Yet information about the processes of change in parent education programs is essential to the replication and improvement of program models.This article suggests that program evaluations should examine relations between parent characteristics and program attributes. An investigation of the goodness of fit between different program dimensions and a parent's needs and background is likely to extend our knowledge about the circumstances which lead to certain types of program outcomes. The article discusses the inadequate attention given to the complexity of the treatment variable in evaluation studies, and suggests that future evaluations consider variations in parents' experiences in a program, environmental characteristics, and child-rearing attitudes and practices.     

ICT enabled Almajiri education in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects

Education and Information Technologies - The Almajiri children in Nigeria are deserving of special interventions to reduce the life-long divide in educational achievement, social status, and...     

Transnational corporations and education: Current issues and prospects

Two main questions are discussed. First, how might transnational corporations contribute to various forms of education in developing countries? Secondly, what measures should states take in education to help them get better advantage from the transnational corporations? Adopting a pragmatic approach, the paper points out that the most important form of education is often the most overlooked, namely, on-the-job training in a range of occupations from low skilled to top management. Although this is indeed supplemented by in-service training programmes, the latter are not always on offer. In general, transnational corporations are interested in education in their host countries only insofar as it affects their own operations. For their part, host country governments have a difficult task. On the one hand they need to educate their young people to be able to take advantage of the technology and expertise made available by the transnational corporations. On the other hand, they need to give them an education which will help them to preserve their culture, despite absorbing the technology and thereby also the culture of foreign firms. More particularly, host countries seem to lack the specialized training, which is necessary for dealing effectively and advantageously with the transnational corporations. In a final note, the paper considers what might happen if a ‘real’ NIEO were introduced.     

The economics of education: Current debates and prospects

The Education of Feeling and Emotion. By Francis Dunlop. Pp. ix and 129. London: George Allen &; Unwin, 1984. HB £9.50; PB £4.25.

Reason and Feeling in the Arts. By David Best. Pp. 200. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1985. £6.95.

Metaphors of Education. By W. Taylor (Editor). Pp. ix, 150. London: Heineman Educational Books Ltd, 1984. £5.95 paperback.

Studies in Religion and Education. By John M. Hull. Pp. vii, 292. London and New York: The Falmer Press, 1984. £12.95 cloth, £6.95 paper.

The Making of a Moonie: Brainwashing or Choice. By Eileen Barker. Pp. ix. 305. Basil Blackwell, 1984. £12.00.

Theory and Practice in Education. By R. F. Dearden, Pp. xiii, 169. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul 1984. £11.95.

Giving Teaching Back to Teachers: A Critical Introduction to Curriculum Theory. By Robin Barrow. Pp. xvi, 301. Brighton: Wheatsheaf, 1984. £20.00 hardback, £8.95 paperback.

Science versus Practice: chemistry in Victorian Britain. By Robert Bud and Gerrylynn K. Roberts. Manchester University Press 1984. £25.00.

Education and Psychology: Plato, Piaget and Scientific Psychology. By Kieran Egan. Pp. xiii, 210. London: Methuen, 1984. £10.50. PB £4.95.

Understanding History of Education. Edited by Robert R. Sherman, Pp. xii, 345. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Shenkman Publishing Company Inc., 1984.     

Globalisation and Internationalism: Democratic prospects for world education

The logic of globalisation contrasts markedly with that of internationalism. The latter, with its intrinsically democratic foundation, looks to a world ordered by structures supportive of that functionalism which is embedded in accountability. Globalisation, by contrast, implies few logical imperatives in favour of accountability, but rather looks to the pursuit of interest on the global level through the operation of unfettered capitalism. Implications for the sustaining of multilateral post-war arrangements are explored and analysed particularly in terms of war, its causes and its prevention. The notion of peace as human rights in action leads to the consideration of multilateral agenda in education, and the stances in a globalising world of the key multilaterals in education-UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank-with conclusions put forward concerning their relative grounding in the logic of internationalism or, alternatively, in the logic of globalisation.     

Challenges and prospects for Indian education in Mexico

Author of several books and articles on the ethnic question in Peru and Mexico, and on indigenous education.     

Reflections on internationalisation of higher education in Taiwan: perspectives and prospects

This paper aims to investigate the possible framework for encouraging the presence of local dimensions in an internationalised and globally competitive system by using Taiwan’s higher education system as a case. It begins by discussing the notion of internationalisation and its implications for higher education. It then turns to look at Taiwan’s responses to these global developments. It also reviews different opinions on the position and importance of local dimensions in the world of globalised higher education. Based on these perspectives, the paper advocates promoting the concept of state-building in Taiwan’s as well as in other higher education systems for preserving or even strengthening the local dimensions of individual academic systems operating in the international knowledge network.     

Embracing distance education in a blended learning model: challenges and prospects

Abstract

Distance education reaches out to non-traditional students in geographically dispersed locations, who are unable to attend face-to-face classes. Contact institutions have been quick to realise the many advantages of distance (online) learning, such as easy access to learning materials, interactive activities, assessment and communication tools. However, the path to anything approaching dual-mode provision has not been without obstacles. In South Africa in the early 2000s, the Council on Higher Education reinforced the mandate of distance education universities and decreed that contact institutions should not encroach on this territory. Subsequently, various frameworks and guidelines emerged which can inform current consideration of dual-mode provision. This practitioner report presents two case studies (University of Pretoria, South Africa; and University of Oxford, United Kingdom) which explore the implications for contact institutions in expanding their provision to include distance education.     

网络智能在E-learning中的应用:教育语义网络

网络智能是E-learning发展的趋势,其中语义网络的使用已经成为诸多学者研究的热点。笔者首先对语义网络进行分析,然后针对语义网络最关键的系统互用来阐述影响WBES实现互用的四个主要因素:AWBES的概念和本体、语义网络的教育技术标准、语义网络的教育服务和AWBES的体系结构的模块化,最后提出教育语义网络的创作模型。     

成人教育研究:回顾与前瞻

我国现代成人教育的系统研究勃发于20世纪80年代。二十余年来,成人教育研究成就和问题并存,动力和干扰共有。新世纪前期,成人教育研究必须全面更新研究意识,大力推进改革步伐,通过自主创新,努力构建我国成人教育的科学理论体系。