Restructuring reforms in Turkish teacher education: Modernisation and development in a dynamic environment

The paper examines the effectiveness of recent reforms in teacher education in Turkey, specifically the restructuring of programmes in university faculties of education. It first, briefly, sets the reforms of the 1990s in an historical context, prior to the 1997 Act which increased the length of compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years, and the 1998 restructuring of faculties of education. It considers the national need for the restructuring of teacher education and the issues involved. The thrust of the paper is a study of how teacher educators across the country perceive both the changes and their effect on the quality of teacher education, methodology as a discipline, school partnerships, and relationships with the Ministry of National Education.     

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.     

The duration of compulsory education and the transition to secondary education: Panel data evidence from low-income countries

A straightforward way of keeping children in school is increasing the duration of compulsory education. Evidence of the impact of this type of policy in Western countries is abundant. However, its effectiveness has been rarely tested in low-income countries. Using panel data of low-income and lower-middle-income countries covering the period 1996–2017, this paper analyzes the impact of lengthening the duration of compulsory education on the progression of children from primary to secondary education. The empirical results show that in those countries where this policy is implemented, there is a significant increase in the share of children progressing from primary to secondary education but only in those countries where after the reform the duration of compulsory education becomes longer than the duration of primary education.     

试论高校思想政治教学系统的优化

高校思想政治教育是由多个子系统构成的复杂整体。思想政治教学系统是其关键的组成部分,包括思想政治理论课教学子系统和其他课程教学子系统。思想政治教学系统存在保障机制不健全、教学内容滞后、教学方法单调呆板和教师队伍素质尚待提高等问题,严重影响了思想政治教学效果的巩固与提高。因此,深入探究并优化师资队伍、教学内容、教学环境和教学方法等思想政治教学系统的构成要素,对于保证高校思想政治教学效果的提高具有重要的现实意义。     

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.     

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.     

Curriculum reform in Turkish teacher education: Attitudes of teacher educators towards change in an EU candidate nation

Educational development is one way through which Turkey enhances progress towards its social goals and prepares itself for European Union membership. A major effort to upgrade the Turkish educational system was made through a multi-phased comprehensive reform of the sector introduced during the 1990s. One part of this reform, perhaps most crucial to the long-term effectiveness of other developments in education, was a transformation of the approach to teacher education. This paper utilizes recently conducted research to assess the nature and extent of that reform as well as identifying the factors which enhanced its effectiveness.     

Inclusive education and social inequality: an update of the question and some geographical considerations

The aim of this article is to review the current state of inclusive education in the world and to suggest a few relevant considerations. The first section “Two parallel concerns” retraces the inescapable connections between the educational aspects of inclusive education and more general concerns regarding inequality. The second section “Inclusive education in academic publications” scrutinizes academic publications and identifies two major themes among their contents: at first sight the internal transformations occurring in schools attract attention, but subsequently the territorial environment also gives rise to some concern. The third section “Inclusive education in the publications of international organizations” notes our search criteria for sifting through the documentation of the World Bank, OECD and UNESCO. The IBE/UNESCO workshops reflect varied, though converging interpretations of the concept of inclusive education in different parts of the world. All the official publications, however, tend to concentrate on the internal dynamics of schools, and there are not many that take a look at relations between inclusive education and public policy. Our last section “The geographical dimension of inclusive education” puts forward a few arguments in favour of paying more attention to inclusive education at the local and national levels. The main reasons for highlighting the local dimension arise from the combined factors of social deprivation, the need to co-ordinate measures taken in schools and the possibility of allowing a significant opening for community participation. The main reasons for paying attention to the national dimension relate to possible synergies between inclusive education and the expansion of education (for example, is schooling progressing at the same pace at different educational levels?), as well as between inclusive education and social protection (for example, do the many educational conditions applied to cash transfers have consistent pedagogic implications?).     

The impact of aid on education policy in India

In the early 1990s, large numbers of children in India remained out of school. International commitments to achieve education for all (EFA) globally meant that India was an important case for donors. India was pressed to accept aid for primary education, and agreed with some reluctance. Although subsequent donor involvement was substantial and influenced aspects of both policy implementation and management, it is shown that Indian education policy priorities remained self-determined. The Government of India – though falling short of securing universal education for its children – succeeded in using external resources and expertise in ways which suited its own purposes, whilst minimising external impact on policy development. The politics and economics of this process are discussed.     

Media representations of national and international standardized testing in the Israeli education system

This study applies discourse analysis to Israeli media coverage of national and international standardized examinations within Israel's public education system. Through systematic analysis of the topic in the two main Israeli financial publications between the years 2000 and 2013, we explore the nature and narrative of the media and compare the coverage of national and international standardized testing. We find that most of the media attention was devoted to international examinations, while national examinations were covered in a more limited yet critical way, perceived as unnecessary and even dubious. International examinations, in contrast, were described as axiomatic components of the education system. Articles on both national and international standardized testing criticize the education system, blaming teachers, the Ministry of Education, budget constraints, and marginalized populations for Israeli students’ inadequate results. We frame our analysis by alignment of the articles along global–local and also neoliberal–humanistic axes. We structure our assessment within the global–local nexus and discuss the broader implications of the role of the testing in framing the local educational public discourse.     

Education decentralization,school resources,and student outcomes in Korea

Government decentralization is in worldwide use for education reforms. It takes different forms across countries from political and fiscal perspectives. It is a unique feature that the governance of Korea is politically decentralized, but it remains fiscally federalized. In this article, we utilized both political and fiscal perspectives to evaluate her decentralization by school resources and student outcomes. After analyzing the panel data, we find that fiscal decentralization is positively related to student outcomes. In contrast, we find little evidence on any relationship between political decentralization, school resources, and student outcomes. Lastly, we draw useful policy implications for developing countries whose decentralization moves like Korea.     

论传统文化教育与高校思想政治教育的契合

加强大学生思想政治教育是当前急剧转型时期高校教育工作者面临的现实而紧迫的重大课题,人文教育是其重要的一环,而传统文化又是人文教育中最重要的因素之一。中国传统文化中蕴含着非常丰富的道德观和人文思想,对中国传统文化的学习将有利于提高大学生的传统文化素质。特别是在当代,西方价值观横行肆虐,更加要求在高校思想政治教育中渗透传统文化的因素,并将两者有机结合,更好地促进高校思想政治工作的顺利开展,大力提升当代大学生的思想道德水平。     

New partnerships and education policy in Asia and the Pacific

Forming more effective partnerships with national governments in the Asia-Pacific region has been an important policy focus for the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) since 2006. AusAID is increasingly engaging in sector-wide approaches and working through partner government systems. This paper explores how new partnerships are impacting education policy in the vastly different contexts of Lao PDR, Vanuatu, Indonesia, and the Philippines from 2006 to 2009. Conclusions are that policy discourse and current practice indicate an active effort to develop partnerships in education with donors and partner governments. But the reality in the field is that while sector-wide approaches are outlined in policy discourse, practice indicates loosely harmonized arrangements with like-minded donors, and slow progress toward sector-wide involvement.     

Early childhood education and care: politics,policies and possibilities

This paper considers some of the current knowledge about our understanding of and provision for early childhood internationally. It looks at its relative importance, offers a short overview of research and terminology, outlines a global perspective (the big picture) and provides a brief summary of the current South Australian policy and position.     

Through the nominations of principals: Effective teachers of African American students share limitations of high-stakes testing

This study examines how elementary school teachers, nominated by their principals as effective teachers of African American students, perceive their effectiveness in an era of high-stakes testing that is influenced and constrained by policy dominance. The implications in this study might be useful in preparing prospective and practicing teachers to examine their instructional practices as they pursue successful outcomes with culturally diverse students.     

论高校思想政治教育中人文关怀的价值核心地位的确立

大学生思想政治教育应体现科学的人文关怀。传统高校思想政治教育“社会本位”的价值定位，在某种程度上遮蔽了思想政治教育自身所内涵的人文关怀价值。是教育实效性不佳的重要原因。应从个体价值与社会价值，内在价值和外在价值统一的维度中确立高校思想政治教育人文关怀价值的核心地位。     

Inequality in social capital: social capital,social risk and drop-out in the Turkish education system

This article examines the effects of social capital on the likelihood of dropping out from the compulsory education system (Grades One through Eight) in Turkey. It focuses on the question of whether school-related social capital can provide the means to stay in school in the presence of risk factors such as socioeconomic status, race, or gender that cannot be easily modified. Despite major progress in enrollment rates due to policies enacted in recent years, the overall drop-out rate in compulsory education is close to 15% in Turkey. Data collected from 764 student–mother pairs show that drop-outs are exposed to higher number of social risk factors. We further illustrate that school-related social capital, as measured by quality of in-school teacher–student interactions as well as parental involvement in school, significantly and positively contributes to adolescents’ likelihood of staying in school even in the presence of severe social inequalities.     

新时代信息化促进高校思想政治教育的思路、框架与建议

新时代,高校思想政治教育工作需要因事而化,因时而进,因势而新。近年来,持续迭代建设的高校教育信息化推进了思想政治教育模式转变,育人效果得到有效提升,但仍存在教学方式单一、资源供需失衡、评价结果失准、保障机制不健全等问题。为此,高校应对未来信息化赋能的思想政治教育进行全局性顶层设计、深度推进思想政治教育数据治理、扩大思想政治教育优质资源供给、创新思想政治教育制度机制。基于此逻辑进路,高校信息化赋能的思想政治教育实践需搭建与之相适应的智能化底层环境、建设场景化教育数据中台、打造数据化思想政治教育场景、完善技术支持与保障体系。同时,高校还需着力提升教师数据素养、创新优化建设体系、探索精准思想政教育模式和重视数据隐私安全,以期系统性推进未来信息化赋能思想政治教育工作的高效开展,更好地深化落实“三全育人”任务。     

Towards a change in the role of the support teacher in the Spanish education system

This paper presents a research study carried out in Murcia, Spain. The research explores the way support teachers understand their role and how they carry it out. We have analysed certain aspects of the schools studied, the students with special educational needs who attend these schools and the support teachers' training. This information allows us to assess their role and to determine the changes necessary to understand it from the curricular model characteristic of an inclusive school.     

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.