No shared vision for achieving Education for All: Turkey at risk

Turkey is still far from realizing any of the six EFA goals. Since the Dakar Conference there have been many policy initiatives aiming at improving the quality of Turkish education. The impact and effectiveness of those policy initiatives are yet to be evaluated. The deficit of high quality analytical and empirical research constitutes a major weakness. So does the level of attention on monitoring and evaluation from policymakers. The recent introduction of strategic planning and performance-based budgeting could promote more emphasis on evaluation and monitoring in the coming years. In addition, a transparent, overarching education policy could foster policy dialogue among stakeholders. Overall, this article draws attention to the following critical factors for the EFA success in Turkey: political and economic support for education reform; the need to adopt strategy-oriented sector policies; increased capacity and emphasis on evaluation and accountability of educational policy-making; the need for a new national impetus to improve quality in education.

Thai students’ choices of vocational education: marketing factors and reference groups

This study aims to identify factors influencing Thai students’ choices of vocational education. By using factor analysis, it reveals five key influencing factors: personal attitude, curriculum, potential employment, attractiveness of campus, and tuition fees. Furthermore, this study also indicates that teachers from secondary school, and parents can insert a strong influence on students’ decision making. In summary, Thai Ministry of Education must carry on promoting a good image of vocational education and its students to the society. Since vocational education has suffered from being perceived as a second class education and taught which militates against effective learning, marketing communication, in an effort to create an on-going understanding with students and community, is strongly recommended.     

中学生同伴冲突特点及其对学校教育的启示

中学生同伴冲突受其身心发展水平的制约具有不可避免性。了解中学生同伴冲突特点,正视同伴冲突价值,开展相应的学校教育,将有助于其身心健康及社会化水平的发展。文章中分析了中学生同伴冲突的起因以及冲突解决策略特点,并针对学校教育的开展提出了相应的建议。     

Literacy's verb: Exploring what literacy is and what literacy does

This article considers contemporary policy claims about “what literacy is” and “what literacy does.” First, the article reviews in-depth the ways in which development discourses define literacy, and the claims made in development discourses about the “consequences” of literacy for economic and political development. I then draw on 24 months of ethnographic research in Brazil with 41 highly impoverished literacy students from four literacy programs in two cities in order to demonstrate that there is no predictable “impact” of literacy on development. Instead, I show that the opportunities afforded by literacy depend greatly on the types of literacy and the types of literacy programs made available to students, as well as students’ cultural understandings of literacy and the social, political, and economic contexts within which they attempt to assert new literacy practices. The article concludes that we should not consider literacy as an actor with some “impact”; instead, we should examine how people use literacy in ways that are conditioned by social and cultural forces.     

学有所教的灵魂在于质量——以电大开放教育模式为例对落实胡锦涛总书记七一讲话精神的思考

胡锦涛在建党九十周年庆祝大会讲话中提出,学有所教是构建和谐社会的基本要求之一。开放教育是实现高等教育阶段学有所教的有效途径,实现高等教育阶段学有所教,关键在于树立质量第一的办学理念,首要问题是全面贯彻以人为本思想,明确提高素质与培养技能并举的培养目标。     

Child-centred education and the promise of democratic learning: Pedagogic messages in rural Indian primary schools

Global and national agendas to achieve universal primary education and improve the ‘quality’ of school provision in developing countries have identified the need to reform classroom pedagogy. Since the 1990s, child-centred ideas in particular have been utilised in teacher-training programmes and school reforms across many parts of Africa and Asia with the intention of creating more child-friendly, democratic learning environments. Analysing episodes from classroom observations conducted in a rural Indian primary school, this paper reveals the tensions experienced by one teacher in handing over greater classroom control to pupils. It provides insight into the complex processes of pedagogic interaction, and sheds light on some of the possibilities and conditions for achieving child-centred pedagogic change in such development contexts.     

Hard-pressed to achieve the EFA goals by 2015 in the Philippines

The Philippines has experienced a setback in its progress towards EFA 2015 Goals. In particular, a decline in primary and secondary education performance indicators and a widening gap between boys’ and girls’ performance were noted. While the present policy environment in the country has been conducive to education reforms, a lack of political will, discontinuity in education leadership and an inability to capitalize on proven educational innovations and major programmes/projects are likely to further undermine EFA progress. The country must immediately introduce efficient and effective measures to arrest this trend. The government must also return to social marketing among all stakeholders, emphasizing the long-term benefits of basic education.

活、实、联──聋教育中职技教育原则的探索

本校创办于八十年代初，十几年来对聋哑学校士。何开展职业技术教育进行了不断的探索，摸索出一条适合我校的办学路子。1．职技教育的生命力在于主动适应形势，灵活调整专业和教学内容。2．职技教育的吸引力在于教学的“实际、实用、实效”。3．职技教育的活力在于把学文化、学技术与就业相联，构建成一条龙职教体系。     

Progress towards EFA in Tanzania

Positive developments are identified, notably a strong policy and planning environment linked to overall strategy for growth and poverty reduction, leading to vigorous commitment to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Abolition of school fees, and a measure of compulsion, resulted in significant gains in school enrolment, including almost equal rates of enrolment for boys and girls since 2000. Poverty is mainly rural and the system struggles to supply education to very poor people. The needs of Tanzania’s sizeable number of children living with disability have been identified and policy is in place, but there is little provision as yet. In responding to HIV/AIDS, more action is essential. Increased enrolment rates have been blamed for a serious negative effect on quality. Modernized curriculum and pedagogy have been prescribed, but realization of these improvements will require a seismic shift in teacher training, support and the provision of education resources.

Does growth in private schooling contribute to Education for All? Evidence from a longitudinal,two cohort study in Andhra Pradesh,India

This paper informs debates about the potential role for low-fee private schooling in achieving Education for All goals in India. It reports Young Lives’ longitudinal data for two cohorts (2906 children) in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Eight year olds uptake of private schooling increased from 24 per cent (children born in 1994–5) to 44 per cent (children born in 2001–2). Children from rural areas, lower socioeconomic backgrounds and girls continue to be under represented. While some access gaps decreased, the gender gap seems to be widening. Evidence on risks to equity strengthen the case for an effectively regulated private sector, along with reforms to government sector schools.     

芬兰全民教育的最新国家行动

在《达喀尔框架》的基础上,为促进全民教育的发展,2004年8月,芬兰出版了《芬兰国家行动计划》,该计划指出了芬兰教育的现状及未来需要采取的行动。本文从儿童早期教育、弱势群体的教育、成人教育、移民教育、为学生提供高质量教育的举措、国家全民教育行动的政策思路等方面对芬兰全民教育最新国家行动进行了评述。     

Aspiration levels and educational choices: An experimental study

The explanation of social inequalities in education is still a debated issue in economics. Recent empirical studies tend to downplay the potential role of credit constraint. This article tests a different potential explanation of social inequalities in education, specifically that social differences in aspiration level result in different educational choices. Having existed for a long time in the sociology of education, this explanation can be justified if aspiration levels are seen as reference points in a prospect theory framework. In order to test this explanation, this article applies the method of experimental economics to the issue of education choice and behaviour. One hundred and twenty-nine individuals participated in an experiment in which they had to perform a task over 15 stages grouped in three blocks or levels. In order to continue through the experiment, a minimum level of success was required at the end of each level. Rewards were dependent on the final level successfully reached. At the end of each level, participants could either choose to stop and take their reward or to pay a cost to continue further in order to possibly receive higher rewards. To test the impact of aspiration levels, outcomes were either presented as gains or losses relative to an initial sum. In accordance with the theoretical predictions, participants in the loss framing group choose to go further in the experiment. There was also a significant and interesting gender effect in the loss framing treatment, such that males performed better and reached higher levels.