Moral Education of Youths in the Information Age

In Chinese societies, moral education has always been considered the most essential component of education because the nurturing of moral persons is the prime function of schooling. The implementation of moral education has relied on the inculcation of values that reflect moral ideals. The emergence of the Information Age, with a plethora of information and ideas being disseminated instantly through informational technologies, has altered the educational landscape of the world and challenged the conventional approach to moral education. Given this context, we argue that it is important for Chinese educators to find an alternative approach to moral education that can embrace the new realities of our networked world. In this approach, lofty moral ideals should give way to simple and easily understood concepts such as respect, information and ideas in the ＂cyber world＂ should be exploited rather than shunned, and the genuine interests of children and youths should form the basis of moral education that is at once relevant and enlightening. In proposing this approach to moral education, we also assume that moral educators in Chinese societies, which include school teachers, parents, and organizers of nonformal education programs, would endeavor to understand the complex world of cyber realities and devise feasible ways to suit contextual educational needs.     

Reflections on Family Tutors as Moral Educators

Reading Locke＇s Some Thoughts Concerning Education and Its Reflections ZHAO Tai-hu （Beijing New Oriental School, Beijing 100080, China） Abstract： Moral education has always been a problem in China. Family education and school education should have played an important role in moral education, but it is not the ease in reality. Locke＇s Some Thoughts Concerning Education encourages family tutors to become the moral educators for the kids; and maybe, this kind of educational philosophy can become an approach to solving the current problems in moral education and shed light on the research on moral education. Key words： moral education; family tutor; moral education as the main subject     

Principles of Interest in Education and Their Implementation——On Dewey＇s ＂View of Interest＂

Interest has always been an important topic in education. Based on the interpretation of Dewey＇s view of interest, this study makes an analysis of the characteristics of interest and gives an answer to the question of how to make proper use of interest in the process of education. Dewey＇s view of interest has important implications to contemporary Chinese education.     

The amoeboid neo-liberalism and the rising state commercialism in education

Recently, the pros and cons scholars of educational marketization all refer to the enormous influences affected by neo-liberalism. Without doubt, it occurs to the related researches that the function and characters of market will create a decisive impact on education development. Nevertheless, according to this authors＇ study, neo-liberalism is not the way as it was, it is because the role of the state has been shifted from shrinking back to swelling out in terms of the ways of manipulating policies. The state is no longer the rolled back actor as a small government following the original neo-liberalism context, but becomes an invisible hand behind serial discourses and standards making. This study has taken England for an example to review the spread of marketization in education, especially under New Labor＇s authority. Context and developed discourses on neo-liberalism are analyzed before examining the related policies in England. The result of the research argues that, though neo-liberalism still firmly wins its high value in running education, it has been through an ingenious change in terms of spreading processes. Under New Labor＇s authority, serial legitimate discourses from public sector were released and formed another new ideology. The boundary of public and private sector of running education, especially in secondary education, has been redefined. This change has turned England into a new type of ＂neo-liberalism＂ territory. Based on the involvement of public sector in manipulating serial privatizations, it reveals the phenomenon of ＂state commercialism＂.     

What should count as worthwhile knowledge in determining a curriculum for supporting out-of-school children and youth？

Due to the increasing number of children and youth dropping out of school, the Malawi government came up with a strategy to address their learning needs through non-formal means in its EFA plan. This resulted in the introduction of a three-year cycle pilot programme known as Complementary Basic Education （CBE）. Funded by GTZ, a German funding agency, the CBE programme has since entered its second year of implementation. This paper reports an evaluation study of the CBE programme so far, with a view of highlighting some of the challenges affecting its implementation. Using a qualitative methodology, the study found that the programme is in many respects, potentially beneficial to various groups of stakeholders including learners, their parents and the community in general. However, the study finds that the major setback in achieving this potential lies in the differences in perception of what should count as curriculum for the CBE programme between providers and beneficiaries. There is a mismatch between ＂needs＂ as perceived by learners and community members on the one hand, and ＂needs＂ as perceived by the providers on the other hand. The paper discusses some of the issues that the providers need to respond to if CBE implementation is going to be beneficial to the livelihood needs of the learners and the immediate community.     

Vocational and Technical Education Master’s Employment-oriented Study

In recent years,as China’s rapid economic development,vocational and technical education has been gradually recognized by the society.As highly educated people,vocational and technical education graduate is an important force in the development of vocational education.But in reality,their employment orientation deviate from the trend of the profession and only a small part of them do related work after graducation.Combined with the current development status of vocational education,the article analysis the reasons of this problem and give policy recommendations,so as to create a good environment for vocational and technical education talented people.     

Why not Intercultural Education?

Now more than ever teachers and those in teacher training positions are being confronted with the prevalence of multicultural and multilingual classroom environments. Along with this presence, they also face international and national policies which call for effective and successful strategy building for coping with diverse settings. This appeal often manifests with an inability on the teacher＇s part to effectively facilitate these multicultural classrooms, as well as an inability on the students＇ part to interact and finally contribute to a larger national and global goal of intercultural cooperation. A growing body of research suggests that as those in the field of teaching and teacher education seek to improve classroom techniques, curricula, and teaching practice in the area of diversity they continue to face disparaging and almost disillusioning results. What were traditionally seen as venues in dealing with issues in multiculturalism and diversity through multicultural education have been left unanswered？ The purpose of this article thus seeks to explore the pedagogical concept of intercultural education as a way to suggest discourse of dealing with the challenges to diversity in the classroom.     

A Solution to Both Moral Education and Language Learning in International Education

Students in international education are required not only to master both second language and their major courses,but also sustain their moral development.Nevertheless,due to lack of time,these two goals can hardly be satisfied at the same time.This article aims to analyze the necessity and feasibility of instructing morals and second language simultaneously by designing moral-based tasks.An experiment on implementing task-based language learning with moral emphasis has been carried out in an international education class in China.The findings reveal that the majority of students admit that moral education is of great importance and using moral-based task to instruct morals is time saving and efficient,though the frequency of assigning tasks should be reduced.     

From lofty ideals to painful failures： Lessons from the rapid expansion of higher education in Taiwan

For the past few decades, many countries have been giving increasing stress on expanding their higher education system, in the belief that greater access to higher education will bring abundant rewards in the era of globalization and knowledge-based economies. Taiwan is no exception. Between 1986 and 2006, the government of Taiwan dramatically expanded the number of higher educational institutions from 28 to 147, expecting that this action would enhance educational equity and lead to greater economic prosperity. Popularization, however, does not necessarily result in equity. To be sure, the increase in the number of institutes of higher education in Taiwan has made it possible to accommodate almost all interested students. Yet, because the government has failed to make commensurate increases in public funding for higher education, the quality of university education in Taiwan has seriously deteriorated. Moreover, since many students from poor families still cannot afford the increasingly expensive cost of higher education, neither equity nor equality of opportunity has been achieved. In light of this phenomenon, this article focuses on： （1） describing the changes which Taiwan＇s higher education system has undergone over the past two decades; （2） examining the equity issues relating to higher education in Taiwan; and （3） putting forth some suggestions which Taiwan＇s policy makers can use to address the problems which have arisen as a result of the expansion of higher education.     

School Voucher Program and Its Enlightenments to the Education Reform in China

This article roughly retrospects the idea of school voucher program proposed by Milton Friedman, lately developed by Peacock, Wiseman and Jencks. The reasons like privatization in education, deterioration of public schooling and school choice promote this program. Then taking a simple look at the ramification of voucher program＂ and its value inclination and the practice of school voucher program in the USA and the problems existing in America. Finally, this paper introduces the school voucher program practiced in China and the enlightenments that school voucher program can offer to the education reform in China. With the idea and practice of school voucher program, the introduction of the market mechanism benefits the innovation of education fiscal system, the competition between schools, improvement of the education quality and parents＇ needs of school choice; it benefits the development of non-governmental education; it helps to build a better school governance situation. We should use two forms of constitutional transformation to ensure the widespread of school voucher program in China.     

E-learning Contribution to the Enhancement of Higher Education Opportunities for Women in Saudi Arabia （Pilot Study）

Establishing the NCEDL （National Centre for E-learning and Distance Learning）, electronic universities are some initiatives to introduce e-learning to the KSA （Kingdom of Saudi Arabia）, which have led to a fast, strong, and impressive movement toward e-learning in the Kingdom. However, e-learning in Saudi Arabia is still in the early stage of its development due to many challenges of e-learning that will still have to be faced. E-learning in Saudi higher education has been examined in a number of studies. Yet, focusing on e-learning among Saudi women through the social and religious customs of society is not sufficiently examined. Therefore, this research seeks to investigate the possibilities that exist for the utilization of e-learning in the enhancement of the higher education opportunities of women in Saudi Arabia within the social customs and religious beliefs by identifying the barriers to higher education for Saudi women, the modes of e-learning that currently exist within the higher education programmes in the Saudi higher education system, how e-learning can support higher education opportunities for women in Saudi Arabia, and a successful model of e-learning to improve higher education opportunities for women in the KSA. In order to achieve the aim of this research, a pilot study was made by using a semi-structured interview as a method of data collection from Saudi females who live with their related （mahram） male in the United Kingdom and a three stage coding analysis of the grounded theory analyzing the data collected from the field to formulate a theory and a model. A primarily model was presented which described the contributions of e-learning to higher education of Saudi women. The model is presented consisting of three main categories： （1） social and religious barriers; （2） women＇s use of the Intemet; and （3） women＇s use of e-learning, as well as a number of sub-subcategories. In addition, the need to illuminate the ability of Saudi women to convert e-learning into a valuable educational achievement is demonstrated. The next stage of our research will investigate all of the issues indicated by the pilot study in order to improve the success of using e-learning for Saudi women＇s higher education and eventually to devise a research theory.     

The Contribution of International Student Mobility to Human Development and Global Understanding

International student mobility has been an important indicator for the degree of internationalisation in higher education. Today, international student mobility has moved from unorganised or self-organised study abroad to a variety of mobility forms organised within programmes. It has also become an issue of economic competitiveness, like attracting best talent, wealth creation and brain drain. This paper focuses on mobility as a limited period of study abroad （typically between six and 12 months） and not on mobility for the purpose of studying a whole degree programme abroad. Meanwhile, it takes ERASMUS program in Germany for example, analyzes the barriers to student mobility and possible solutions, and draws conclusions that widening participation and broadening geographical scope.     

The Regulation of Teacher Education in South Africa through the Development and Implementation of the National Qualifications Framework （1995 to 2005）

Together with National Qualifications Frameworks （NQFs）in England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia, the South African NQF is part of a somewhat elite, even notorious, and often criticized group of first generation NQFs that were established between the late 1980s and early 1990s. These NQFs were rooted in the thinking on competency, lifelong learning and outcomes-based education that prevailed in the United Kingdom at the timeH. In the subsequent period up to 2005, more than 30 additional countries have embarked on NQF development, while three regional qualification framework initiatives are also currently underway, one in the Southern African Development Community （SADC）, another in the European Union （EU）, and yet another amongst English-speaking Caribbean countries （Tuck et al., 2006）. In the background of this continued drive for NQF development across the world, I use this paper to reflect critically on the extent to which the development and implementation of the South African NQF has impacted on the regulation of teacher education. In particular I discuss the extent to which： （1） provisioning of teacher education has been quality assured through NQF sub-systems; （2） teacher qualifications and standards have been developed and realigned to NQF requirements to accommodate, amongst others, un- and under-qualified teachers; and （3） professional development points for teachers are being introduced to complement the NQF credit systemt. The paper is concluded with specific observations that may be of value to other countries that are using, or plan to use, NQFs to regulate and improve teacher education.     

民族地区义务教育财政支出的绩效评价研究——基于湖北恩施土家族苗族自治州的调查

2006年春季我国在西部实施农村义务教育经费保障措施,至今已在全国城乡推广开来。湖北省恩施土家族苗族自治州是民族聚居地区、农村地区和贫困地区在地理空间上为交互＂叠加＂关系的地区。如何把国家对该地区有限的义务教育投入进行优化配置,提高教育质量和相关制度建设,树立民族地区可持续减贫的理念,使有限的公共财政支出发挥更大的绩效是亟待解决的问题。本研究深入恩施州几县市进行实地调查,分析恩施州义务教育经费新机制实施之后经费的投入和使用状况,从而发现存在的问题并提出相应的政策建议。

Abstract：

The financial guarantee mechanism for rural compulsory education in the Western China started in the spring of 2006.By now,it has been carried out in urban and rural areas all over the country.Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is not only a compact community of minorities but also a poverty-stricken rural area.The problems demanding prompt solution are how to optimize limited disposition of the state input for compulsory education in this region,how to improve education quality and construct relevant systems,and how to uphold the concept of sustainable poverty reduction in ethnic regions to give full play to better performance of limited public finance expenditure.In this study,a field investigation was made in a few counties in Enshi Prefecture to analyze financial input and application after the implementation of the new financial mechanism for compulsory education so as to find out problems and put forward policy suggestions.     

Chinese public understanding of the use of agricultural biotechnology A case study from Zhejiang Province of China

This study explores the Chinese public＇s perceptions of, and attitudes to, agriculture and food applications of biotechnology; and investigates the effect of socio-demographic factors on attitudes. A questionnaire survey and interviews were used in an attempt to combine quantitative analysis with qualitative review. The main finding of this study is that the Chinese population has a superficial, optimistic attitude to agricultural biotechnology; and that, in accordance with public attitudes, a cautious policy, with obligatory labelling, should be adopted. The study reveals that education is the factor among socio-demographic variables with the strongest impact on public attitudes. Higher education leads to a more positive evaluation of GM （genetically modified） foods and applications of biotechnology with respect to usefulness, moral acceptability, and suitability for encouragement. In addition, public attitudinal differences depend significantly on area of residence. Compared with their more urban compatriots, members of the public in less developed areas of China have more optimistic attitudes, perceive more benefits, and are more risk tolerant in relation to GM foods and agricultural biotechnology. Finally we obtained a very high rate of＂don＇t know＂ answers to our survey questions. This suggests that many people do not have settled attitudes, and correspondingly, that the overall public attitude to agricultural biotechnology and GM foods in China is at present somewhat unstable.     

On the Realistic Significance of Confucius＇ Fair Educational Concept

Confucius has been eminent throughout histories in terms of his profound educational concepts. In this paper the author attempts to investigate the contributions Confucius had made in promoting the popularization of education at that time. The ultimate goal of this paper is to demonstrate the realistic significance of Confucius＇s educational concept, namely, ＂education should be done without the difference between the rich and the poor, or the noble and the mean＂.     

Feature Solution in the Process of Parameterizing Port Model

Aimed at attaining to an integrated and effective pattern to guide the port design process, this paper pats forward a new conception of feature solution, which is based on the parameterized feature modeling. With this solution, the overall port pre-design process can be conducted in a virtual pattern. Moreover, to evaluate the advantages of the new design pattern, an application of port system has been involved in this paper; and in the process of application a computational fluid dynamic analysis is concerned. An ideal effect of cleanness, high efficiency and high precision has been achieved.     

Bridging the gap between higher education and the Telecommunications Engineering Sector

In this paper, the growth of the telecommunication sector in Pakistan and consequent development in the related professional education is studied. The widening gap between the telecommunication industry and associated education sector is identified. The higher educational programs in Pakistan have grown very rapidly to meet the needs of the explosive growth in the telecommunications＇ engineering sector but this growth is not in synchronization with the requirements of the industry due to non-existence of collaboration and co-operation between the two. The professional education in telecommunication in Pakistan and the higher educational degree programs are very precisely focused on producing quality graduates with refined technical and mathematical skills While the telecom sector in Pakistan is in principle a service provider and a consumer market that mainly requires engineers for operation and maintenance related activities. As such the skills imparted by the education sector are rarely utilized, which results in dissatisfaction among the telecommunications＇ engineers. A survey of both the telecommunication sector and the academia has been conducted along with detailed discussions to explore the reasons for this ever-increasing gap, ways and means to arrest this trend and future course of action for the academia and the telecom sector to develop. A study related to other emerging technical fields like computer science has also been made for the comparison. On the basis of this extensive exercise outlined above, measures have been suggested to bridge the gap between the education and the industrial needs of the telecom sector. By adopting these measures not only our education sector will become more beneficial to the industry, but the industry would also get the advantage of immense potential of young graduates and the academic research.     

A Study on Task-based Approach in Vocational College English Teaching

The traditional teaching approach has long been concerned with imparting knowledge,and many college teachers still opt for this method in their practice In English class teachers choose to emphasize ma the language points,ignoring that English language mainly functions as a tool of communication.On the other hand,for students the purpose of learning English is to pass the examination.This traditional approach fails to cultivate students’ communicative ability in English.In recent years,however,the general shift from a knowledge-based education to an ability-oriented one makes it an imperative to reform the traditional teaching methods.As a new kind of teaching theory and teaching activity,task-based approach(TBA) has been introduced and applieded by English teachers in China,especially those engaged in English teaching in higher vocational colleges.