Influences of shadow education on the ecology of education – A review of the literature

Shadow education, also widely known as private tutoring or supplementary education, has attracted increasing research attention in the past two decades. The global expansion of shadow education, as well as its penetration to different educational stages and social classes, are believed to have far-reaching implications for the overall educational landscape. However, despite a steadily growing body of literature, no study to date has systematically reviewed the influences of shadow education from an ecological perspective. Therefore, borrowing Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of how shadow education influences different levels of educational ecosystems (i.e. individuals, micro-, meso-, exo-, and macro-system). Based on 74 empirical studies published between 2000 and 2020, the review reveals complex influences exerted by shadow education on multiple systems (e.g., students, mainstream schooling, families, and larger socioeconomic structures), contributing to a more sophisticated understanding of this phenomenon. The paper then discusses how the rise of shadow education creates significant changes to the ecology of education in which it operates, and concludes with implications for future practice and research.     

Dancing on the deck of the Titanic? Adult education, the nation-state and new social movements

This article begins with a discussion of the implications of CONFINTEA VI having been organised in Brazil ?C the author uses the term ??Brazilian effect?? ?C and the role of social movements challenging neoliberalism. Next, drawing from the experience of Latin America, this paper analyses the counter-hegemonic practice of the new social movements. The concluding section highlights the dilemmas faced by UNESCO in trying to create a democratic and efficient process of policy-making and institutional service in adult education in the nation-states. Furthermore, the proposal of popular education portrayed by the new social movements is described as a tool for empowerment. CONFINTEA VI??s recommendation of moving from rhetoric to action in adult education programmes, practices and policies demands that we take the agendas of the new social movements in the post-neoliberalism era seriously.     

Dual learning — a challenge for higher education in the new landscape of governance

Tertiary Education and Management - In many countries, practice-oriented programmes have been recast as university programmes, fuelling debate on the purpose of higher education. We highlight two...     

Management as ideology: the case of ‘new managerialism’ in higher education

The paper explores ideological conceptions of management, especially ‘new managerialism’, with particular reference to their role in the reform of higher education. It is suggested that attempts to reform public services in general are political as well as technical, though there is no single unitary ideology of ‘new managerialism’. Whilst some argue that managers have become a class and have particular interests, this may not be so for all public services. The arguments presented are illustrated by data taken from a recent research project on the management of UK higher education. It is suggested that managers in public service organisations such as universities do not constitute a class. However, as in the case of manager‐academics, managing a contemporary public service such as higher education may involve taking on the ideologies and values of ‘new managerialism’, and for some, embracing these. So management ideologies do seem to serve the interests of manager‐academics and help cement relations of power and dominance, even in contexts like universities which were not traditionally associated with the dominance of management.     

Changing the landscape of cybersecurity education in the EU: Will the new approach produce the required cybersecurity skills?

Education and Information Technologies - Recruiting, retaining, and maintaining sufficient numbers of cybersecurity professionals in the workplace is a constant battle, not only for the technical...     

Between education and the economy: high‐stakes testing and the contradictory location of the new middle class

This paper analyzes the contradictory location of the professional and managerial new middle class within the rising tension between old systems of the industrial capitalist model of education, epitomized by a reliance on high‐stakes, standardized testing and the newer forms of production associated with the ‘fast’ capitalism of the global economy. The author argues that the professional and managerial new middle class is faced with a dilemma since they benefit from systems of high‐stakes, standardized testing, yet require schools to also teach the types of skills and flexibility associated with knowledge economy. The analysis suggests that this dilemma represents the contradictory class location of the new middle class relative to both discursive and productive resources.     

The segmentation of elite education institutions and of their students: the new preparatory courses for the French grandes écoles

The present paper focuses on the preparatory courses for the French grandes écoles (CPGEs), which are selective higher education programmes that enable ‘good’ students to bypass mass higher education and study under ‘favourable’ conditions. These CPGEs, originally intended to educate the children of the social and cultural elite, are now accepting young people from more diverse social backgrounds. Our investigation of this ‘new’ student population is based on a survey (1000 students and 350 teachers) and on interviews conducted with students (82) and teaching staff (24). Our research leads us to conclude that under the pretext of democratisation and adaptation to the labour market, CPGEs recruiting these new students are, paradoxically, helping to maintain social stratification.     

Assessment and the improvement of education∗

This article explores the school coordinator role in initial teacher training (ITT) in England. Recognising that mentoring is fully embedded and highly researched in ITT, it argues the role of the coordinator, while integral to partnerships, is far less researched. This paper investigates tensions in the role, between managing programme-wide quality assurance, teaching professional studies and developing school-based mentors. These questions were explored through multi-site case-studies with four HEIs and their partner schools in four linked phases of data collection. Data analysis established a range of different conceptualisations of the role, with only limited evidence of a development role with their mentors. The authors argue for policies which establish a more coherent conceptualisation of the role, and an agreed nomenclature. A key recommendation is to free coordinators from bureaucratic demands on their time to enable them to exemplify a new ‘professional multilingualism’.     

Research-based teacher education? Exploring the meaning potentials of Swedish teacher education

In this article, we explore the meaning potentials of teacher education in terms of the significance of a research-based approach and the different pedagogic identities that such an approach implies. The study’s aim is to examine the important factors for education to be considered research-based and to identify and analyse the research base of teacher education in Sweden. The results from the analysis of a large number of course documents and from a survey administered to teachers and students in four teacher education programmes indicate that the emerging potential meaning is that teacher education is generally a strongly framed professional education with a relatively weak and adapted research base. The analysis of the classification and framing of disciplinary content and pedagogy in the Swedish teacher education curriculum points at different pedagogic identities emerging from the different meaning potentials that are made available to the students. We argue that a thorough understanding of research-based teacher education needs to be grounded in both course content and its research base as well as other possible pedagogical aspects of research-based education; the education as a whole must be included in the concept of research-based education.     

Towards new teacher education models ∗

In 1977 more than 2500 Israeli student‐teacher applicants were tested on a variety of cognitive and affective measures. Based on multivariate analytical techniques, the results showed three selection phases:

1. Self‐selection by the potential teacher for the vocation, characterized by a conservative modal personality.

2. Admission by the teacher‐training program, when the more able students are accepted.

3. Election, once admitted, to undergo the course of instruction. This phase cancels cognitive ability differences apparent in the admission phase; and elevates personality traits of a conforming and a conservative type, as the most discriminatory modality between future teachers and those who elected not to become teachers. The findings are discussed in terms of a type‐placement model.

     

Educating ‘the new Norwegian we’: an examination of national and cosmopolitan education policy discourses in the context of extremism and Islamophobia

Across Europe there are growing concerns about Islamophobia and far-right and anti-democratic movements. Until Anders Behring Breivik’s July 2011 attacks in which 77 died, Norway’s vulnerability was not perceived as great as that of other jurisdictions. Breivik declared his abhorrence of multiculturalism but also drew the world’s attention to intolerance and xenophobia in Europe, increasingly directed towards Muslims. In response, Prime Minister Stoltenberg spoke widely of ‘the new Norwegian we’, cautioning against exclusionary discourses and underlining that minorities are an equal part of Norwegian society. This paper examines education policy in the context both of extreme right political activity and national and international debates about nationalism and cosmopolitanism, considering ways in which policy supports an inclusive notion of nationhood, and ways in which it promotes an exclusive model of national identity. Drawing on framing questions from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement’s 1995 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (1995). National case studies final guidelines. Amsterdam: IEA. [Google Scholar] civic education study, relating to national identity and social cohesion, it examines how programmes address social cohesion, human rights, cultural diversity, and conceptualise minorities. It assesses the effectiveness of cross-curricular approaches to contribute to justice and equality and challenge racism in a multicultural society, proposing an inclusive model of education for cosmopolitan citizenship, which incorporates diversity.     

Reflections on the application of the western reproduction theory in the research into the education of China

The ＂reproduction theory＂ was conceived and born in the research into educational inequalities in Western countries. Famous as the theory is, when it is to be applied in the research into education in China, a few factors must be taken into consideration： the subjects investigated must be educational inequalities that have come into being in the context of China; a shift in theoretical approach and expression is needed, with the Functional approach as the dominant research method; in terms of the standpoint of the researcher, whose academic mission and realization of social ideals should be closely and fully integrated; in terms of research method, the principle of combining both the macroscopic and microscopic approaches and analysis on the basis of actual facts should be adopted so as to effectively analyze and solve the problems plaguing the education of China and to promote the localization of the western reproduction theory in China.     

Kenyan students’ perceptions of new technologies to improve access to education

The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a qualitative study carried out on perceptions of high school students on the use of ICT in learning in a secondary school in Mombasa, Kenya. The study involved 18 students in the 11th grade (form three). The students took part in three focus group discussions and six one-on-one interviews over a period of 2 weeks. Several themes on the learners’ understanding of and reaction to ICT were identified. It was revealed that learners had a sound understanding of the various types of ICT and could even define them while explaining the uses of these ICT tools. Findings showed that the learners were generally motivated about using ICT and that ICT encouraged student-centered learning leading to better understanding and performance in their studies. All in all, the findings from this study indicate that learners are aware of the importance of ICT in their learning and feel that at the moment the use of ICT in school is no longer a luxury but a necessity that has taken too long to materialize.     

The use of ICT in the teaching and learning of physical education in compulsory education: how do we prepare the workforce of the future?

This paper reports on research into the use of ICT within a one‐year initial teacher education (ITE) course in the UK, specialising in physical education (PE). The study examined how the course, which operates in both university and school‐based settings, endeavoured to support trainees' use of ICT in PE and then to identify areas where the programme could be improved in this respect. It also noted any specific training or resourcing needs which may be required to implement the recommended improvements. The findings showed the high level of enthusiasm of the trainees, university tutors and school‐based PE teachers for making more use of ICT in teaching and learning PE, and their willingness to make changes in their practice to accommodate this. It also revealed a severe shortage of subject‐specific professional development, and a widespread lack of understanding of needs, which was felt to have contributed to the lack of relevant ICT resources to which most school PE departments had access.

Cet article résume l'étude sur l'utilisation de l'informatique en Angleterre durant la première année de formation à l'enseignement de l'éducation physique (EPS). Cette étude examine comment le cours basé à la fois à l'université et à l'école, encourage les étudiants en formation à utiliser l'informatique en EPS et à identifier éventuellement les différents points d'amélioration à apporter à ce programme. Il est également rapporté la liste de toutes les formations où les ressources qui pourraient éventuellement être nécessaires à l'application de ces points d'amélioration. Les résultats montrent le haut niveau d'enthousiasme des étudiants en formation, des tuteurs de l'université et des professeurs d'EPS dans les écoles pour une extension de l'utilisation de l'informatique durant l'enseignement et l'apprentissage en EPS, ainsi que leur volonté d'apporter les changements nécessaires pour accommoder le programme dans la pratique de leur cours. Il est également révélé un sévère manque de sujets spécifiques au développement professionnel et une large incompréhension des besoins requis, qui ont ralenti le développement des ressources pour l'informatique, ressources auxquelles la plupart des département de EPS des écoles avaient accès.

Dieses Paper berichtet über die Forschung im Gebrauch von Informatik im Rahmen einer Einjahr‐Lehrerausbildung im Sportunterricht in Grossbritannien. Die Studie untersuchte, wie die Ausbildung, die sowohl auf der Universität als auch in der Schule stattfindet, versuchte, Auszubildende im Gebrauch von Informatik zu unterstützen. Infolgedessen identifizierte sie Gebiete, in denen das Programm in dieser Hinsicht verbessert werden könnte. Auch merkte die Studie spezifische Ausbildungs‐ bzw. Resourcingsbedürfnisse, die erforderlich sein könnten, um die empfohlenen Verbesserungen zu fördern. Die Ergebnisse zeigten unter Auszubildenden, Universitätstutoren und Sportlehrern eine hohe Begeisterung, eine erhöhte Verwendung von Informatik im Sportunterricht und Änderungen in der eigenen Praxis einzuführen. Die Studie zeigte auch einen schweren Mangel an fachbezogener Berufsausbildung und ein weitverbreitetes, mangelhaftes Verständnis für die entsprechenden Bedürfnisse, was zum Mangel an Informatikressourcen, zu denen die meisten Sportfachbereichen Zugang hatten, beigetragen habe.

Este papel informa de la investigación del uso de la informática dentro de un curso de la formación inicial de profesores que se especializa en la educación física en Gran Bretaña que duro un año. La investigación estudió como el curso, que tiene lugar en las universidades y en los colegios, tuvo la intención de apoyar los aprendices a usar la informática dentro de la educación física y de identificar aspectos donde se podría mejorar la programa. También, la investigación notó la formación específica y los recursos que podrían ser necesarios para realizar las reformas recomendadas. Los resultados mostraron el entusiasmo alto de los aprendices, de los profesores de las universidades y de los profesores de la educación física en los colegios por el uso de la informática en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de la educación física y por su deseo de cambiar su práctica. También, la investigación mostró una falta severa de la formación profesional y de la comprensión de necesidades que han contribuido a una falta de recursos apropiados para la mayoría de departamentos escolares de la educación física.