Lifelong learning and the limitations of economic determinism

The contemporary efflorescence of lifelong learning discourse in education and social planning is argued here to be, substantially, the product of economic determinism. That discourse is evaluated from the perspective of three progressive sentiments that have informed lifelong learning advocacy: the individual, the democratic and the adaptive. Each progressive sentiment is seen as expressing a central programmatic purpose for educational reform and as capturing its ethical thrust. Contemporary lifelong learning discourse is found to be only superficially expressive of these informing sentiments. The progressive, ethical, liberatory nature of each sentiment is marginalized or excluded from the discourse, which may best be seen, accordingly, as seriously regressive, counter-ethical and non-liberatory. It is substantially lacking in critical concern, social vision, and any commitment to social justice and equity. It constructs education as a commodified private good, for which individuals should pay. It focuses strongly on individual interests and on vocational skills development. That education which is funded by the state, is focused increasingly on the development of basic life and vocational skills in the interests of engagement in and service to the global economy. Educational engagement is increasingly seen as desirably embedded in the economically productive activities that are its desired outcomes, further limiting any opportunity for socially progressive learning. It is suggested that if the prevailing lifelong learning discourse is to be made more culturally progressive- in both its educational activities and its learning outcomes- it cannot be through a return to traditional progressive ideologies. Rather, it must accept prevailing epistemology in refocusing that discourse. Paradoxically, although non-compliant educationists are now largely marginalized and ineffectual in their influence on the nature of the contemporary lifelong learning agenda, their vocation and their increasing suffusion throughout contemporary cultural formations places them in a potentially strong position to lead cultural and educational change in directions that are more culturally progressive.     

高职院校师德建设刍议

师德建设在高职院校党建和思想政治工作中占据着重要的地位.随着社会主义市场经济体制改革的不断深入,新时期师德建设也被赋予了新的更高的要求.针对当前高职院校师德建设中存在的问题,以及影响师德建设的教师文化底蕴厚度、师德行为规范意识、职业技术等因素,通过抓学习、抓宣传、抓治理、抓教师发展、抓师生交流、抓考评等策略来提高教师的师德修养.     

当代道德生活伦理底线

当代道德生活中底线伦理问题的提出,有着深刻的社会根源和学科基础。对于“底线伦理”问题的考察,必须把它纳入到关于整个社会道德生活的理论框架中去。其作为个人行为规范的底线伦理的保障,主要有待于“文化生态”的完善;至于作为社会制度道德的底线伦理的保障,则呈现出更复杂的状态;处理好底线伦理问题要正确处理好其与道德结构、文化生态以及政治正义的关系。     

The Ethics of Post-compulsory Education and Training in a Democracy

This paper critically examines the ethical justification of non-advanced PostCompulsory Education and Training institutions, hereafter known as PCET, in a democracy. It concludes that, in terms of the major ethical theories, justification in this context is currently conducted primarily in terms of utilitarianism. References to PCET, both by government and by the institutions themselves, are frequently given in utilitarian terms. The organisations which comprise PCET, from Private Training Organisations to Colleges of Further Education, are presented as being instrumental in preparing individuals for work or fulfilling student (vocational) needs. Despite the current emphasis on vocationalism in PCET, the paper finds in democracy an ethical imperative to encourage the development of conceptual schemes and value literacy amongst all citizens. It concludes that policy measures have, despite the weaknesses in utilitarianism, encouraged wholesale vocationalism in PCET to the extent of neglecting the emergence of the reflective citizen. PCET is a stage in the educational process in which a democratic government should continue, through the curriculum, to realise its moral obligation to support a further generation of choosers.     

Issues for Higher Education in the Teaching of Ethics

This paper presents a general case for the teaching of ethics in the contemporary Australian university, both across the curriculum generally and within a range of professional preparations specifically. It claims that social ethics has a central place in the mission of the university. Furthermore, recent developments in the Australian community and its universities have created a context which gives the teaching of ethics enhanced priority. Current initiatives in applied ethics are discussed. Vexed questions of implementation (such as who should teach these courses and how they should teach) are also examined.

The author claims that applied ethics courses require interdisciplinary expertise, but demand a sufficient basis in moral philosophy to allow for the critical appraisal essential to ethics, and to go beyond a narrow discourse about professional codes of conduct. The argument supporting this perspective is informed by Habermasian critical theory, which maintains that the ethical should engage the technical and professional reality.     

Epistemology As Ethics In Research And Policy: The Use of Case Studies

This article examines the ethnographic case study in education in the context of policy making with particular emphasis on the practice of research and policy making. The central claim of the article is that it is impossible to establish a transcendental epistemology of the case study on instrumental rationality. Instead it argues for the notion of situated judgement that needs to be made by practitioners in context, practitioners being both researchers and policy makers. In other words, questions about the level of confidence or warrant that can be placed in different sorts of research evidence and findings cannot be answered independently of forming a view about the appropriateness of the policy culture that shapes political decision‐making. The article draws a distinction between the general, which is internal to the data as construed by a particular discipline, and the universal, which is the result of embedded human deliberation. This applies to all research findings and not only to case study, although since case study has long had to defend itself against accusations of the lack of generality, it can be a useful starting point for the discussion. This article is not meant to be yet another defence of the case study research genre, although a summary of other defences is offered. Rather it focuses on how use of the case study points to the limits of epistemology as rationality and offers a view of epistemology as ethics.     

The didactics of vocational Bildung: how stories matter in VET research

In the research on education, the field roughly covered by the concept of Bildung has seen a wide-ranging discussion philosophically but less has been said and done from an empirical and vocational perspective. Bildung includes matters such as: formation of character, ethical and aesthetic knowledge/capability, capacity for wise deliberation and reflection as well as the development of personal autonomy. The focus here is on how narratives about teaching and curricula, both enacted and experienced, can be used to articulate significant aspects of Bildung-related practical knowledge. The empirical basis for this draws on a variety of narrative sources. By presenting, comparing and discussing narratives, it will be argued that there is a number of Bildung-related educational matters, not least in vocational education and training, where a narrative articulation can contribute. These can be differentiated in at least five groups: enriching knowledge of vocational tasks; conceptual development and critical reflection; advancement of practice; development of ‘practice fields’ and the articulation of patterns of vocational Bildung affordances. In distinguishing these different ways in which vocational Bildung as a form of practical knowledge can be enriched through narrative studies, the article contributes to our capacity for doing systematic research in the subject area.     

论司法会计人员的职业道德

职业道德是从事一定职业的人在工作或劳动过程中所应遵循的、与其特定职业活动相应的道德原则和行为规范。司法会计作为一项具有极强专业技能特点的职业,有着区别于其他职业特有的职业道德原则和行为规范,司法会计人员应坚守诚信、客观、公正、独立以及廉洁的职业道德规范,更好的为司法实践服务。     

论地方性知识及其局部合理性

经典认识论具有非文化中性、语境无涉和覆盖面过窄的特点。因此,有必要进一步探讨不同文化的地方性知识,扩展认识论的研究领域。首先,在认识论、文化人类学、知识社会学和科学哲学相关研究的基础上,地方性知识概念的内涵可以被概括为:它是文化的一个组成部分,具有社会-文化语境相关性和本土文化空间内嵌性等特点,以及评述和适应环境的功能。其次,从描述性辩护和规范性辩护两条途径为地方性知识的局部合理性辩护,进而表明对于它在其中产生的文化社群及其语境而言,地方性知识是能够被社群接受、满足需求、适应环境的恰当手段,而没有任何出于他文化的理由可以拒绝这种局部合理性。最后,我们提出一个面向地方性知识的跨学科研究领域:地方化认识论。     

Competence-Based Vocational Education and Training and Its Cultural Context Sensitivity

This article addresses the question of whether the concept of competence-based vocational education and training (VET) is transferable from one cultural context to another. Drawing on theoretical concepts of comparative education and sociological neo-institutionalism, the competence-based VET is defined as a new paradigm and situated within its cultural context. Then a case study of an educational transfer from Switzerland to India is presented. The article concludes that the pedagogical concept of competence-based VET is not universally applicable but includes culturally coined ideas, which need to be taken into account when trying to implement it in distant institutional contexts.     

立足地方文化资源的高职实践德育模式创新

地方文化作为中华民族传统历史文化中具有地域特征的文化形态,是高职院校德育的文化环境和教育资源。改变高职院校德育低效的状况,要遵循德育的本质特征——实践性规律,遵循职业院校人才培养的实践性、开放性、地方性特征,挖掘和利用地方德育文化资源,将德育模式创新作为提高德育实效和人才培养质量的重要突破口。结合顺德职业技术学院的探索和实践,文章试图探讨高职院校立足地方文化资源,创新实践德育模式的意义和策略。     

论现代化过程中的文化伦理迟滞及其后果

现代化是人的生存方式的根本转变,在文化意义上它是文化模式的转变。我国的现代化可归结为主导性文化模式的转型,即从农本社会以血缘、地域、经验、天然情感为文化基因的文化伦理模式过渡到以理性的、法制的、主体性的、创造性的、契约型的文化伦理模式,目的是要形成以现代性文化伦理为基础的社会运行机制。但是,我国传统的文化伦理迟滞于现代化的要求,对现代化是一种阻滞。这种文化伦理的迟滞从某种程度上导致了现代化的动荡,出现发展的异化、反现代化、道德危机等后果。     

伦理理论在“思想道德教育与法律基础”课教学中的作用

所有人类行为都具有伦理含义,而且在所有时代与地点,都会提出有关道德行为与道德原则的问题,并尝试解答它们。对道德进行系统反思的伦理理论,可以为实施道德教育的"思想道德教育与法律基础"课教学提供理论基础。如何将伦理理论对道德的理性反思融入到"思想道德教育与法律基础"课的教学中成为摆在每一位任课教师面前的一个迫切需要解决的现实问题。     

A reflective account of the VET FEE-HELP initiative as a driver of ethical dilemmas for vocational education teachers in Australia

This paper reviews the nature and implementation of the Australian VET FEE-HELP (VFH) policy initiative: a scheme introduced in 2008 to extend income-contingent loans to the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia. We argue that the implementation of the scheme has been seriously flawed, leading to a range of counter-educational and unethical practices on the part of some VET providers. An ongoing research project into the impact of the changing contemporary cultural context of VET on the creation of moral dilemmas facing VET teachers in their work has identified four dilemmas that were seen by teachers to be significantly driven by the VFH scheme. Those dilemmas arose from (1) unethical student recruitment and enrolment practices, (2) overlooking traditional educational standards, (3) constraining teacher responsiveness and (4) manipulating learning assessment. The identifying teachers saw themselves as being professionally unprepared to handle such moral dilemmas, leading to discomfort and inappropriate handling of the dilemmas.     

Exploring ethical issues associated with using online surveys in educational research

Online surveys are increasingly used in educational research, yet little attention has focused on ethical issues associated with their use in educational settings. Here, we draw on the broader literature to discuss 5 key ethical issues in the context of educational survey research: dual teacher/researcher roles; informed consent; use of incentives; privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality; and data quality. We illustrate methods of addressing these issues with our experiences conducing online surveys in educational contexts. Moving beyond the procedural ethics approach commonly adopted in quantitative educational research, we recommend adopting a situated/process ethics approach to identify and respond to ethical issues that may arise during the conduct, analysis, and reporting of online survey research. The benefits of online surveying in comparison to traditional survey methods are highlighted, including the potential for online surveys to provide ethically defensible methods of conducting research that would not be feasible in offline education research settings.     

浅论高职艺术设计专业公共基础课教学

在高职艺术设计院校开设公共基础课,旨在培养学生具有较高的文化修养、良好的职业道德、完善的交往能力等,为达到此目的,必须依据专业特点,依托职业需求,重新审视公共基础课内涵、各学科人才培养目标,并对课程教学在观念、内容、方法等方面进行相应的改革。     

弘扬中国传统节日文化 加强高职校园文化建设

中国传统文化以其深厚的人文底蕴,成为引导大学生"学会做人"的宝贵资源。然而高职院校的传统文化教育普遍比较淡薄。中国传统节日是传统文化的一个非常重要的载体。校园文化建设又是高职院校的"软实力"之一,是打造学校品牌竞争力的重要因素。为此,可以采取积极有效的途径和手段,将传统节日文化融入校园文化的"现实土壤",加强高职校园文化建设,从而增强学校德育效果,提高学生人文素养。     

唐君毅伦理思想研究现状及方向展望

近年,对唐君毅伦理思想的专门研究趋向日益增强,成果也日渐丰厚,但学科性、系统性地探讨唐君毅伦理思想的成果并不多见,唐君毅伦理思想研究亟待深入和拓展。在现有研究基础上,对唐君毅伦理思想的研究应基于本体论、认识论、价值观、文化观与伦理观相统一的立场,重视唐君毅道德哲学强调道德实践性的特征,对其以仁心感通为基础而形成的伦理思想体系进行深入的考察和剖析,对其伦理思想的中心范畴和核心精神进行透彻的把握,并深化对近代西方理性主义的反思比较。     

Codes of Ethics on Assessment Practice: confronting a quandary or inculcating ethical character? — overview of two sample documents

This article reviews two examples of ethical codes produced to provide a set of standards, principles, or guidelines for professional conduct relating to educational assessment. Both codes classify professional responsibilities under key functions of assessment described in the article. The commentary identifies as important uses of the Codes self‐regulation of ethical standards within the profession and facilitation of teaching about ethical conduct. Although institutions and bureaucracies are increasingly regulating professional and research practice through ethics committees, it is argued that ethical behaviour is likely to be more effective and more pervasive when developed through education, reflection and deliberate modelling. Similarly, such behaviour is more likely to be sustained through peer scrutiny and professional self‐regulation than through monitoring via bureaucratic control. Such a stance implies the need for ready access to ethics codes widely known and endorsed within the profession.     

Book Reviews

This paper reviews an ongoing debate about moral standards for vocational education in German speaking countries. At the centre of the controversy is the question of universalistic versus domain‐specific moral orientations, namely the question of whether business people ought to develop different moral points of view in different situations (such as ‘private’ versus ‘professional’). Of pivotal importance in this context is also a prominent ethical approach (by Karl Homann, a philosopher in the tradition of liberal economists) which serves as a foundation for those who advocate domain specificity and which is strongly criticized by their counterparts. This approach is also presented, since the author believes that it does not entail all of what its protagonists claim. Moreover, as argued in the last section, the purported dichotomy of universalism versus domain specificity may even be entirely overcome. The point is that Homann's ethics perhaps do not fit into the framework of Kohlberg's six stages and might therefore be reconstructed as entailing moral segmentation. However, it is well accommodated by a more comprehensive stage taxonomy suggested by the author.