Performance evaluation of compulsory education system in Taiwan: A modified dynamic network data envelopment analysis approach

The purpose of this study is to examine changes in the efficiency of Taiwan's compulsory education system between 2011 and 2020, identify the priority school sub-system for improving the system, and determine the input/output inefficiencies responsible for the sub-system inefficiencies. To achieve these objectives, a modified dynamic network data envelopment analysis model is used to assess the efficiency of the compulsory education systems and their internal primary and middle school sub-systems regulated by local governments. The findings indicate that both primary and middle school efficiency are crucial for evaluating the compulsory education system efficiency, and teacher and staff excesses in most local government's compulsory education systems are the primary sources of inefficiency. Therefore, the prompt adjustment of teacher and staff allocation based on student numbers is the primary approach to enhancing system efficiency.     

Disciplining the conduct of young people in compulsory education policy and practice

Disciplining and pastoral power are central to the strategies and practices of intervening in the lives of young people deemed at risk of disengaging from school, or not completing their compulsory education. As an expression of power concerned with young people's welfare and self-improvement, disciplining and pastoral practices push young people towards greater responsibilism and employability. From 2004 to 2008, the State Government of Western Australia embarked on legislative change and policy implementation to increase the minimum compulsory school leaving age from 15 to 17. This facilitated a programme of interventions with some groups of young people deemed at risk of not meeting the newly minted minimum education requirements. Drawing on governmentality theory, research into this policy identifies and problematises its disciplining and pastoral practices. Interview data and policy documents are analysed to reveal the way that practices with young people, although framed as empowering and benign, worked to further connect them with the imperatives of neoliberalism.     

农村义务教育公共投资对经济增长的影响——基于分组面板数据的考察

利用1998~2004年间省际农村义务教育公共投资的数据,借助分组混合面板的计量方法,考察了我国各区域农村义务教育公共支出对经济增长影响的差异。结果表明,义务教育公共投资对经济增长的弹性系数在不同区域之间存在差异,最高的不是经济增长最快的东部地区,而是中部地区,西部地区义务教育公共投资对经济增长的贡献最小。     

The relationship between schooling and migration: Evidence from compulsory schooling laws

I estimate the effect of schooling on the propensity to migrate by exploiting variation in schooling due to compulsory schooling laws (CSLs) in the United States. I obtain negative estimates of this effect among those with relatively little schooling. In contrast, previous research estimates positive schooling effects on migration at higher levels of schooling. I speculate that additional schooling at low levels enhances local labor market contacts and thereby increases the opportunity cost of migration (leaving those contacts behind).     

Language,culture and identity in the transition to primary school: Challenges to indigenous children's rights to education in Peru

This paper analyses a ‘critical moment’ in the educational trajectories of young indigenous children in Peru: the transition to primary school. It addresses the inequalities in educational services that affect indigenous children, before looking at the micro-level processes that take place in school settings, through a focus on two selected case studies from the Young Lives study of childhood poverty. Using longitudinal information collected in two consecutive years, the case studies show how the children's language and culture are excluded from school premises and their very identity as children and indigenous people is disregarded, negatively affecting their educational performance.     

Understanding caregivers' attitudes towards physical punishment of children: evidence from 34 low- and middle-income countries

Objectives

This article presents findings on caregivers’ attitudes towards physical punishment of children from 34 household surveys conducted in low- and middle-income countries in 2005 and 2006. The article analyzes the variability in attitudes by background characteristics of the respondents to examine whether various factors at the individual and family levels correlate with the caregivers’ beliefs in the need for violent discipline. The article also examines to what extent attitudes influence behaviors and compares groups of respondents to see how attitudes relate to disciplinary practices across caregivers of different socio-economic backgrounds.

Methods

The analysis is based on nationally representative data from 33 MICS and 1 DHS surveys. Questions on child discipline were addressed to the mother (or primary caregiver) of one randomly selected child aged 2–14 years in each household. The questionnaire asked whether any member of the household had used various violent and non-violent disciplinary practices with that child during the past month. Additionally, the interviewers asked the respondent if she believed that, in order to bring up that child properly, physical punishment was necessary. The sample included 166,635 mothers/primary caregivers.

Results

The analysis shows that, in most countries, the majority of mothers/primary caregivers did not think there was a need for physical punishment. Overall, characteristics such as household wealth and size, educational level and age, as well as place of residence were significantly associated with caregivers’ attitudes. The analysis confirms that beliefs influence disciplinary practices to a large degree: in all the countries but two, children were significantly more likely to experience physical punishment if their mothers/primary caregivers thought such punishment was needed. However, large proportions of children were found to be subject to physical punishment even if their mothers/primary caregivers did not consider this method necessary. This discrepancy between attitudes and behaviors is observed, although to different extents, in all the countries and across groups of mothers/primary caregivers with different levels of education and wealth.

Conclusions

The data presented in this article are among the few resources available to help develop a more global understanding of caregivers’ motivation in using violent discipline across a multitude of low- and middle-income countries. As such, the analysis of these data provides important insights for the development of effective strategies that will promote positive parenting practices. However, further data collection and analysis are needed to fully understand the reasons why physical punishment is used – even when caregivers do not think such method is necessary – opening the door for an even sharper programmatic response to change the practice.     

Is the World Bank education policy adequate for fighting poverty? Some evidence from Latin America

This paper focuses on the relationship between the World Bank’s education policy and the recent anti-poverty priorities and strategies that shape the present Bank’s agenda for development. The paper provides a critical assessment of the explicit strategies of the World Bank’s education policies aimed at fighting poverty by identifying the contradictions embedded in anti-poverty discourses and strategies, and relating them to an education policy that generates inequalities and shows little effectiveness in helping people to escape from poverty. This analysis is applied to the situation of Latin American education systems, which have, during the last decade, experienced an important expansion but have also maintained strong inequalities in educational performance and access to post-compulsory education.     

Free but inaccessible primary education: A critique of the pedagogy of English and Mathematics in Lesotho

The Free Primary Education programme in Lesotho has enabled nearly all children to attend primary school, but the prevailing pedagogy denies or restricts the opportunities of these children for effective learning. This paper focuses on the theme of the inaccessibility of learning in the key subjects of English and Mathematics, reporting recent research. Some of the major problems identified are specific to each subject, while others are common to both. Referring to previous theoretical and empirical work on primary education in developing countries, the paper identifies the major factors shaping restrictive pedagogy in Lesotho.     

教育信息化是实现义务教育优质、均衡发展的必由之路

经济的发展可以推动社会进步,但不能摆脱社会贫富不均、社会矛盾激化的困境。只有促进义务教育均衡发展,使社会全体成员都尽可能享受到优质教育才有可能解决这个问题。当前国内外义务教育均衡发展的理论与实践主要是从＂教育机会均等＂角度,通过加大资金投入改善办学条件、提高学科成绩测试标准并建立绩效责任机制、实施教育专项计划或重大工程等举措,实现教育的均衡发展。教育信息化的基本内涵和特性,使它在提升教育质量、实现义务教育均衡发展方面具有很大的潜在优越性,但要有信息化教学创新理论才能使这种优越性真正发挥出来。＂基础教育跨越式发展创新试验研究＂项目的10年实施经验证明,在信息化教学创新理论指引下,教育信息化确实可以提升薄弱校（特别是农村校）义务教育阶段各学科的教学质量与学生的综合素质,从而促进义务教育优质、均衡发展,使教育公平的目标落到实处。     

On global absences: Reflections on the failings in the education and poverty relationship in Latin America

This paper explores some of the aspects of the relationship between education and poverty as it has been constructed by international organisations and national governments in Latin America. The analysis is carried out from two separate angles. On the one hand, the paper highlights the main failings that underlie the positive and hoped-for relationship between investment in education and the reduction of poverty. On the other, it demonstrates how a good number of these failings can be attributed to an underestimation of the inverse relationship, i.e. the effects that poverty has on education. Though this analysis can be understood from a general perspective, evidence from Latin America is used to illustrate the consequences of these global absences.     

Education collaboration to promote school participation in northern Ghana: A case study of a complementary education program

This study explores the perceived benefits and challenges of the collaboration model of a complementary education program which operates in marginalized communities in northern Ghana. The scope of the paper includes the background, collaboration as a transformative process, research methodology, findings, and discussion. The study revealed that: (a) the collaborative partners’ “shared values” were a major drive of the collaboration; (b) the collaboration model was fluid, contextual, and an unstructured process; (c) the process provided new strategies promoting school participation in northern Ghana; and (d) the collaborative partners’ idiosyncrasies posed a major challenge to the collaboration.     

Inequalities in the financing of compulsory education in China: A comparative study of Gansu and Jiangsu Provinces with spatial analysis

In 1993 China made a decision to achieve universal 9-year compulsory education by 2000, but equity and adequacy of public financing of education have been questioned ever since. The core issue rests on resource allocation. During the same period, China implemented fiscal reform and introduced socialist market economy reform in the uncharted water, which then exacerbated regional disparities. At the same time, intra-province inequalities have been rising in the last two decades, which has been masked by national aggregated data. By using county-level data from 1994 to 2001, GIS mapping and spatial analysis, this study examines patterns of inequalities in school expenditure, and their association with government expenditure and economic growth in a poverty-stricken province, Gansu and in the wealthiest province, Jiangsu. The purpose is to examine how inequalities have evolved over time in different provinces and what factors have triggered rising inequalities in the transition. The findings show that the rising inequalities are due to: (1) the ever widening gap among spatially stratified counties, particularly between the top 25% and the lower 75% of the counties in both provinces; and, (2) little diffusion over 8 years in spatial structure of educational financing, government resource allocation or economic growth. Issues of localized financing but centralized administration as developmental strategy across China and their impact on perpetuating and rising inequalities are discussed.     

Pre-primary education in Tanzania: Observations from urban and rural classrooms

This study examined the relationship between pre-primary educational policy and actual practice in Tanzania. Policy relevant to pre-primary education was analyzed and 15 pre-primary lessons from two urban and two rural schools were videotaped. Although the national educational policy specifies the same standards for pre-primary education regardless of location, there were considerable differences across schools. Compared to urban classes, rural ones had considerably less space, larger group sizes, less favorable teacher/pupil ratios, fewer instructional resources and less qualified teachers. Teacher professional qualifications appeared to influence the quality of classroom interaction more than the physical setting and resources.     

The economic benefits of higher education in Cyprus: The expectations of prospective students

The paper investigates the economic benefits and costs of higher education as these are perceived by higher education candidates and labour market entrants in Cyprus. It provides further evidence on the topic after a similar study which preceded the present project by 10 years. Perceived rates of return to education are presented for two points in time, namely, 1993 and 2003. The findings point to an increasing awareness of the link between education and earnings on the part of young people, which can be linked to the country's economic development. The main influences on the respondents’ expected lifetime earnings are examined through multiple regression analysis. Gender and ability are found to be significantly related to expected earnings.     

Framing education policies and transitions of Roma students in Europe

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to identify the contexts and conditions that allow for successful education transitions and opportunities for the Roma minority in Europe. Thus far, transnational and national policies have failed to ensure Roma inclusion and education equality, even though some progress is visible. Using a combination of policy analysis and interviews with NGO and European Union actors, University academics and Roma students, the article examines the key contexts that frame education policies and create the necessary conditions for education transitions. It identifies the problems and challenges within the contemporary EU education policy frameworks and highlights the tensions between political rhetoric and policy commitments that are visible at national, transnational, and local levels. In addition, through a focus on individual student experiences, the article captures the lived reality of Roma students who have managed their education transitions with success.     

发达国家终身教育发展的特征及其启示

发达国家终身教育的发展已历三十余年,积累了丰富的实践经验,形成了较为成熟的终身教育理论体系。比较研究发达国家终身教育发展的特征,借鉴发达国家成熟的终身教育理论和丰富的终身教育实践经验,可为在此领域处于起步阶段的我国开展终身教育,构建终身教育体系、学习化社会提供重要启示。     

Democratization of secondary education in Malaysia: Emerging problems and challenges of educational reform

The democratization of education in Malaysia has come a long way since the early 1960s. In the early 1990s, the government decided to democratize secondary education in order to widen formal access to secondary education, especially at the upper secondary level. It is the contention of this paper that the widening of formal access to education may not lead to real access to education if effective measures are not put in place. It is also the contention of this paper that the democratization of education that leads to the massification of education or mass education should not be at the expense of educational quality and excellence if it wants to have a more significant impact on the actual outcomes of schooling. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part provides the background information on educational expansion that stems from the democratization of secondary education such as enrolment rates, number of schools and teachers as well as organizational adjustments. The second part examines the problems and challenges of the democratization of secondary education in relation to issues such as diverse needs of students, disciplinary problems, school dropouts, urban and rural disparity, preferential policy and educational quality and excellence. All these issues have an impact on the desirable outcomes of the democratization of secondary education as far as real access to education as well as equality and quality of education are concerned.     

Disability and transition from state education to community life: next steps for parents

In this paper we explore the experiences of mothers of young adults with Down syndrome as their daughters and sons transition from schooling to adult life. These transitions occurred in a society shaped by neo-liberal political reform that commenced in the mid-1980s. The hallmarks of education are now expressed in terms of national achievement standards, aligned with the goals of economic gain, and efficiency in government services. In this climate being called disabled is a bad thing. For the mothers participating in this research, the roles and tasks associated with disability created a map of expectation for themselves and their children. Speaking with authority and reclaiming control so as to undertake their role in the longer term was to be as much a part of the transition from school as were the changes experienced by their daughters and sons. The shortcomings identified through the mothers' narratives signal a need for clarity and cohesion in professional and support processes for their disabled family members. The position is offered that the potential of the secondary school as a place for school-linked service integration and support warrants consideration. Understanding the value and impact of outcomes this model brings for a wide range of vulnerable school leavers would enhance the efforts around individuals such as those whose transition is discussed in this article.