‘Education is as important for me as water is to sustaining life’: perspectives on the higher education of women in Afghanistan

Progress in education in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban has been described as ‘fragile, limited in reach, depth and uncertainty of sustainability' [UNICEF. 2013 UNICEF. 2013. Annual Report – Afghanistan. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Afghanistan_COAR_2013.pdf. [Google Scholar]. Basic Education and Gender Equality: Afghanistan. United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. http://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/education_2206.htm]. This is particularly true for Afghan women participating in higher education, within a culture that remains resistant to women's education. This article documents the views and attitudes of Afghan women who have sought to gain a higher education, within a context where only 5% of the Afghan population attends university, and less than 20% of university students are female [The World Bank. 2013. World Development Indicators: Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Lines. The World Bank Group. http://data.worldbank.org/country/afghanistan]. It is an attempt to listen to the voices of Afghan women to ascertain what they see as the best ways to improve their educational outcomes. Findings illustrate that while progress has been made in enabling a small percentage of women to pursue higher education, there are still significant and enduring obstacles for Afghan women seeking such a path.     

Change in Teacher Education: interpreting and experiencing new professional roles

In this paper we consider the effect of moves by the British Government to make initial teacher education (ITE) in England and Wales more school‐based (Blake, 1993). To monitor the impact of this shift towards school‐based training we conducted a fine grain study of what was happening on the ground within the one‐year Secondary School‐Based Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the Chichester Institute of Higher Education (ChIHE). * *At the time the research was conducted, the Institute's name was the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education, hence interviewees refer to ‘WSIHE’ and ‘West Sussex’. View all notes Data were gathered from questionnaire surveys and interviews. Findings from our regional case study indicate that while school‐based ITE programmes may offer student teachers greater insight into school life, this should not be at the expense of developing students’ analytical and theoretical understanding of education and schooling promoted within higher education‐based work.     

Higher Education and Women: Deconstructing the Rhetoric of the Education for All (EFA) Policy

The Education for All initiative is one of the best known and most widely referenced policies in the development field. This paper investigates the extent to which the most recent EFA conference in Dakar (2000) addresses the complex issue of women and higher education. Two questions guide this inquiry. First, what are the basic concepts and definitions used in a feminist policy analysis? Second, to what extent, and in what ways is the topic of higher education and women referenced in the document (Dakar Framework for Action, 2000).2 2. Full text available at ?http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtml?. View all notes Employing content analysis, this paper reveals the EFA policy's minimal attention to tertiary education for women throughout the world.     

Transformative Learning Theory in Gerontology: Nontraditional Students

Mezirow (1978) applied and used Transformative Learning Theoretical (TLT) processes while studying women who reentered academics during the 1970s. Similar to Mezirow's original 1975 Mezirow , J. ( 1975 ). Education for perspective transformation: women's reentry programs in community colleges . New York , NY : Center for Adult Education, Teachers College, Columbia University . [Google Scholar] work, we identify “factors that impeded or facilitated” participants' progress to obtain their undergraduate degree during the traditional student time, but then returned later in life, after age 40, to pursue their doctorate. Through semistructured interviews, eight women describe their life course of education through the TLT phases of realization—or in Mezirow's terms, justification, critical reflection, and exploring rational discourse. The women discuss their concerns on technological challenges, rationalization to self and others concerning a return to school, and reactions of family, friends, peers, and professors, including ageist comments. As more women return to the educational system to pursue advanced degrees, specifically within gerontology or aging studies, this research is key to understanding the various events and meaning ascribed to their journey. Data analysis reveals overlapping thoughts to frames of reference in their meaning perspectives and themes when discussing their transformative process to new status as a PhD.     

Opportunity or exploitation? Women and quality assurance in higher education

Based on interviews with 18 UK women academics and managers on quality and power in higher education, this article interrogates the impact of quality assurance discourses and practices on women in higher education. Micro‐level analysis of the effects of audit and the evaluative state seem to suggest that hegemonic masculinities and gendered power relations are being reinforced by the emphasis on competition, targets, audit trails and performance (Morley, 2003a Morley, L. 2003a. Quality and power in higher education, Buckingham: Open University Press.  [Google Scholar]). Furthermore, pedagogic space for exploring social justice issues is closing with the emphasis on learning outcomes and student consumerism (Morley, 2003b Morley, L. 2003b. “Reconstructing students as consumers: new settlements of power or the politics of assimilation?”. In Higher education and the lifecourse, Edited by: Slowey, M. and Watson, D. Buckingham: Open University Press.  [Google Scholar]). Yet women are also gaining new visibility as a consequence of the creation of a new cadre of quality managers. Quality assurance, as a regime of power, appears to offer both repressive and creative potential for women. This article will explore whether quality signs and practices are gendered and whether these represent opportunity or exploitation for women in the academy.     

The field as a ‘pedagogical resource’? A critical analysis of students’ affective engagement with the field environment

This paper presents findings from research into students’ perceptions and experiences of geography fieldwork. The study focused on Year 9 students (13–14 years) from three state secondary schools in urban northern England. Geography fieldwork, depending on its conceptualisation and implementation, has the potential to provide students with a wide range of environmental learning experiences. This paper analyses the implicit values and ideologies underlying the three schools’ approaches to fieldwork using Fien’s (1993 Fien, J. 1993. Education for the environment: Critical curriculum theorising and environmental education, Melbourne, Australia: Deakin University Press.  [Google Scholar]) conceptual distinction between education about, through and for the environment. The significance of these underlying values and ideologies to the students’ affective engagement with the field environment is discussed. The paper concludes that, while some students engaged with the field environment in terms of their personal values and environmental ideologies, broader influences on the fieldwork agenda were also discernable. These findings deepen our understanding of the implicit values underlying environmental education and highlight a potentially important conflict between the cognitive and affective objectives of such work.     

Satisfaction and Retention Among African American Men at Two-Year Community Colleges

A large majority of African American males begin their postsecondary education careers at two-year community colleges. Prior research has focused largely on Black students at four-year institutions, and even theoretical work has assumed that influences on retention are the same at two-year and four-year institutions. Drawing on Tinto's (1993 Tinto , V. ( 1993 ). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition () , 2nd ed. . Chicago , IL : University of Chicago Press . [Google Scholar]) retention theory and Astin's (1993 Astin , A. W. ( 1993 ). What matters in college: Four critical years revisited . San Francisco , CA : Jossey-Bass . [Google Scholar]) input-environment-outcome (IEO) model, this study estimated the impact of academic and social integration on retention—controlling for an array of intervening variables—based on a sample of African American males who responded to the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire. Findings suggest a statistical link between social integration and satisfaction in college; factors explained approximately 27% of the variance in the dependent variable. Implications for future policy and practice are highlighted.     

Women's path into science and engineering majors: a structural equation model

The intent of this study was to investigate the adequacy of Weidman's (1985 Weidman, J. C. 1985. “Undergraduate socialization: A conceptual approach”. In Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, Edited by: Smart, J. C. Vol. V, 298–322. New York: Agathon Press.  [Google Scholar], 1989 Weidman, J. C. 1989. “The world of higher education: A socialization-theoretical perspective”. In The social world of adolescents: International perspectives, Edited by: Hurrelmann, K. and Engel, U. 87–105. New York: W. de Gruyter.  [Google Scholar]) theoretical undergraduate socialization model as an empirical-based causal model pertaining to women's career path choice into a science or engineering (SE) major via structural equation modeling. Data were obtained from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (1996–2001) from the U.S. Department of Education. Results indicate that Weidman's model was somewhat supported. Results from the evaluation of the causal model suggest that women's path into an SE major was influenced by both collegiate and non-collegiate factors, with 1st-year college grades and high school math grades being the dominant indirect influences.     

The sexual politics of introducing women's studies: memories and reflections from North America and the United Kingdom 1965–1995

The paper is part of a wider study into how women's studies was introduced in the academic curriculum in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA. It looks at the sexual politics of the academy during the 1970s and 1980s, and at how they are now remembered. Women's studies was inextricably bound up in the politics of feminist activism in the period, including the ideal of working collectively in women‐only groups. But the academy was male‐dominated and the consent of male colleagues was indispensable. There was a further challenge to separatist practice if men wished to enroll as students. The paper starts by setting the research in the context of influential texts such as Kate Millett's Sexual politics (1972 Millett K (1972) Sexual politics (London, Sphere Books)  [Google Scholar]) and the framework of patriarchy. Using recorded interviews with key activists, the paper traces interaction with male colleagues. The second part reflects on how, thirty years later, the concept of patriarchy has been developed by intellectual work on gender, and by a more complex understanding of sexual identity and its interaction with sexual politics, now reflected in the curriculum, and in the re‐naming of women's studies as gender studies.     

Just one of the boys? A life history case study of a male physical education teacher

Studies of physical education teacher training have already established that hegemonic forms of masculinity are reinforced and reproduced both in the hidden curriculum (Flintoff, 1997 Flintoff A (1997) Gender relations in physical education initial teacher education in: G. Clarke & B. Humberstone (Eds) Researching women and sport Basingstoke Macmillan  [Google Scholar]) and the informal student culture (Skelton, 1993 Skelton, A. (1993). On becoming a male physical education teacher: the informal culture of students and the construction of hegemonic masculinity. Gender and Education, 5(3): 289–303. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]). Given this, an important feminist concern is whether male PE teachers whose own masculine identities are anchored in their athletic prowess simply ‘teach’ their young male charges to construct hegemonic forms of masculinity through PE and school sport and/or whether they necessarily marginalize and inferiorize female students. This paper provides a life history case study of a male PE teacher’s role both in reproducing and challenging gendered norms in his capacity as coach of a schoolboy and schoolgirl Australian Rules football team.     

Selected student and tutor perceptions of ICTs in further and higher education in England

By 2008 a total of 87, 339 students were studying on foundation degrees in the UK (Foundation Degree Forward 2009 Foundation Degree Forward. 2009. “Forward 10.” http://www.fdf.ac.uk/uploads/journal10.pdf. [Google Scholar]). This article reports on the views of selected students and academic tutors regarding ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) associated with the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree (EYSEFD) in England. The students study part time at five further education (FE) colleges working in partnership with a UK higher education institution (HEI). The research project has gathered data on the views of students and programme tutors about ICTs since October 2009. Data has been gathered through questionnaires with students and focus group discussions with selected students and tutors about the perception of ICTs. A main finding is that the students in this study associate ICTs with computers and software whereas their academic tutors focus on the wider pedagogical learning associated with technology. The article discusses some of the debates that surround pedagogical practice and ICTs in further and higher education. The students’ association of computers and pedagogical best practice appears to reiterate current neoliberal educational values as opposed to reflecting the learning goals of their academic programme. This article presents the findings of this study and the conclusions that are drawn will be of relevance to those involved in the delivery and development of higher education in further education contexts.     

Facing and managing dilemmas as a clinical educator

Although clinical educators make an important and irreplaceable contribution to the education of students undertaking qualifications that will enable them to practise as health professionals, little is known about the day‐to‐day experiences of clinical educators and the complexities of clinical education that may contribute to the problems or to the successes of clinical educators. This paper reports on one aspect of a study that sought to increase the understanding and appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of being a clinical educator. The lived experiences of clinical educators in speech pathology ¹ 1. Also known as speech‐language pathology in North America and speech‐language therapy in the UK. View all notes were explored in depth, over a sustained period of time, in an attempt to understand what it is like to be a clinical educator. This paper uses narrative data to illustrate dilemmas faced by clinical educators in our study, and discusses implications pertinent to clinical educators in a range of health disciplines in higher education.     

Measurement of Attitudes of Rural Women Towards Self-Help Groups

Abstract

Self-help groups (SHGs) have emerged as an effective mechanism of empowerment and development of women as well as being on efficient mode of promoting group action and technology dissemination. Initiatives were undertaken at the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana to facilitate the formation of women's SHGs and to develop their capabilities through training programmes for harnessing the benefits of value addition and processing technologies for employment and income generation. The study attempts to assess the attitude changes in women about SHGs as a result of training. The evaluation of SHGs was conducted at attitude construct. A Likert Likert, R. 1932. A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140: 44–53.  [Google Scholar]-type scale consisting of 26 items was developed, for which Cronbach's alpha coefficient of reliability was observed as 0.85. The survey instrument contained five sections; namely, socio-economic upliftment; education and training; marketing and entrepreneurship qualities; technology adoption and participatory research; and banking/credit aspects. The training group consisting of 30 participants of SHGs responded to five-section survey instrument. Significant t-test results for mean values of attitude of women before and after the training showed a significant change in attitude of women in all the five areas as a result of training. Positive orientation towards a task paves the way for success. The study exemplifies the impact of training in instilling positive orientation. For addressing the issues of rural poverty, enrichment of the system with social capital through empowerment and formation of women SHGs; provision of financial and credit support; creation of market-driven and decentralized extension system; use of media-mix for technology transfer and informal education at rural level; conduction of need-based training and strong political will need to be emphasized.     

The ‘self‐interested’ woman academic: a consideration of Beck's model of the ‘individualised individual’

The work of Ulrich Beck, particularly his concept of the ‘individualised individual’, is increasingly cited by educational social scientists. As yet, there have been few empirical investigations that consider how applicable and relevant is the notion of the ‘individualised individual’ in understanding how people make sense of their lives (for an exception, see Reay, 2003 Reay, D. (2003). A risky business? Mature working‐class women students and access to higher education. Gender and Education, 15(3): 301–317. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). This paper considers Beck's assertion that social class is of increasingly less importance as society shifts from a first to a second modernity. Interviews were carried out into the career experiences of a group of academic women working in higher education institutions. The conclusions reached suggest that if Beck's theory is to be useful in understanding contemporary actors in contemporary societies then the critical concepts he introduces need to be articulated by researchers in more complex ways.     

Unpacking Legality Through La Facultad and Cultural Citizenship: Critical and Legal Consciousness Formation for Politicized Latinx Undocumented Youth Activists

Over the last ten years, there has been an increasingly growing body of scholarship devoted to undocumented college students in higher education. Prior scholarship has focused on how undocumented students negotiate their political and civic identity within the undocumented youth movement. However, immigration research within higher education has not addressed how undocumented students come to understand their legal consciousness. I intersect legal consciousness with Anzaldúa's (1987 Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands/La frontera: The new mestiza. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books. [Google Scholar]) la facultad/nepantla and cultural citizenship theory (Rosaldo, 1987 Rosaldo, R. (1987). Cultural citizenship concept paper, IUP Latino cultural studies working group. Stanford: Stanford University. [Google Scholar]) to frame the process of how politicized Latinx¹1. I use Latinx as an attempt to decolonize the Spanish language, center indigeneity and the African roots of Latinx peoples, and neutralize gender (Villalobos, 2015 Villalobos, J. (2015). Applying White followership in campus organizing: A leadership tool for Latinx students working for racial justice. In A. Lozano (Ed.), Latina/o College Student Leadership: Emerging theory, promising practices. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman &; Littlefield. [Google Scholar]). undocumented students come to hone their critical legal consciousness within the context of higher education and social activism. Using data from 39 individual interviews with 13 undocumented student activists who self-identified as “undocumented and unafraid,” the findings reveal four forms of navigation for how undocumented students come to understand their legal consciousness as they negotiate colonized spaces: (a) reconfiguring legality though migration and family experiences; (b) negotiating contexts and disclosure; (c) critical enactment of cultural citizenship; and (d) disrupting and reclaiming colonized spaces.     

Beginning teachers and inclusive education: frustrations,dilemmas and growth

Scholars report desirable outcomes for all participants in classrooms where diverse learners are welcomed members. Data suggest teachers leave the profession early because of the demands of their work made increasingly difficult by the diverse range of students, lack of assistance to support the diverse range of student needs and the resulting burnout. This paper presents qualitative data from six beginning teachers, juxtaposed with the author's personal narrative, to illustrate the ongoing problems beginning teachers face, contending with political, historical and cultural barriers when teaching students with diverse learning needs. Despite policy advances and mandated courses in inclusive education in initial teacher education, beginning teachers are overwhelmed by the magnitude of teaching diverse learners in contemporary classrooms. Of note in the data are the preservice teachers’ fluid conceptions of inclusive education. The polarity of success and failure of inclusive education is re-envisaged through Deleuze and Guattari's [(1987 Deleuze, G., and F. Guattari. 1987. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Trans Brian Massumi. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar]). A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Trans Brian Massumi. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.] rhizome. The data illustrate the challenges and messiness of learning to become an inclusive educator. It is important to listen to the experiences of beginning teachers given the value of supportive classroom environments for students with diverse needs and the impact creating these environments has on beginning teachers’ longevity in the profession.     

Rural Dislocated Women in Career Transition: The Importance of Supports and Strategies

Job loss researchers have focused on the physical and mental well being of White working and middle class men, their families, friends, and coworkers to with immediate reemployment as the outcome. This study focused on low-income rural women dislocated workers and their decision to enroll in community college for retraining or seek immediate reemployment. Participants were 125 women (86 white, 39 African American; x = 42 years) who held a high school diploma or GED and who were laid off from manufacturing jobs within the last 2 years. Differences between two groups of women based on demographic variables and Transition Guide and Questionnaire-Modified (TGQ-M) scores were examined. The TGQ-M was developed to assess an individual's ability to cope with life transitions, based on Schlossberg's (1995 Schlossberg , N. K. , Waters , E. B. , & Goodman , J. ( 1995 ). Counseling adults intransition: Linking practice with theory. , 2nd ed. , New York : Springer . [Google Scholar]) model of 4Ss (situation, self, supports, and strategies). One group enrolled in community college for retraining while the other group sought immediate reemployment. Findings revealed significant relationships between level of education and race/ethnicity and community college retraining. African-American women in this sample perceived themselves as having less support in coping with job loss. Women who chose community college had higher TGQ-M scores overall. Race/ethnicity and perception of support from others were the best predictors of community college retraining. Women, especially older women of color, have the hardest time finding quality employment after layoff. This study raised questions about the reasons why fewer African-American women in this sample enrolled in community college for retraining and had lower Supports scores than white women. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.     

Effective civic education: an educational effectiveness model for explaining students' civic knowledge

In this study, a comprehensive educational effectiveness model is tested in relation to student's civic knowledge. Multilevel analysis was applied on the dataset of the IEA Civic Education Study (CIVED; Torney-Purta, Lehmann, Oswald, & Schulz, 2001 Torney-Purta, J., Lehmann, R., Oswald, H. and Schulz, W. 2001. Citizenship and education in twenty-eight countries: Civic knowledge and engagement at age fourteen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IEA.  [Google Scholar]), which was conducted among junior secondary-school students (age 14), their schools, and their teachers. In total, 28 countries, 4,136 classrooms, and 93,565 students were included in the analysis. The results indicated that the influences on students' civic knowledge are multilevel. Students' civic knowledge and skills were partially explained by individual characteristics, by factors related to quality and opportunities for civic learning offered by classrooms and class composition, and by factors at the national context level. We conclude that most effectiveness factors are relevant for the field of civic and citizenship education and that schooling and educational policy matter for students' success in this field.     

A Qualitative Student Evaluation of Group Learning in Higher Education

The importance of group learning has increased significantly in higher education in the past two decades (Houldsworth and Mathews, 2000 Houldsworth, C. and Mathews, B. P. 2000. “Teaching Group Process Skills to MBA Students: A Short Workshop”. Education + Training, 42(1): 40–53.  [Google Scholar]). The primary focus of this study is to explore the feelings and experience of students regarding group work and group assessment in higher education. The study is exploratory based on a qualitative focus group approach. Interestingly, students felt that group work is a significant method to foster the development of critical thinking through discussion, clarification of ideas, and evaluation of others' ideas. Students consider “poor communication” and “poor attendance at group meetings” as the main challenges they face when working within a group. Also, students identified “dedicated assignment seminars” as the most effective tool, which could be used to enhance the effectiveness of group work. This study reinforces the findings of previous research into group work suggesting that the experience is a generally positive one for students. Results are discussed in the context of current theoretical and empirical work on group‐based learning, education implications and areas for further research are discussed.