Towards a rural sociological imagination: ethnography and schooling in mobile modernity

In 1959, C. Wright Mills coined the phrase ‘the sociological imagination’ to offer a critical assessment of a discipline he saw descending into a technical or abstract empiricist practice that he feared would ultimately deepen human alienation and oppression. Mills positioned the sociologist as a careful, critical scholar working in the space between biography and history. In this paper, I offer a meta-ethnographic analysis of several recent critical ethnographies in the rural sociology of education using my own experience as a rural education ethnographer to frame the analysis. I argue that critical ethnographic work is crucial to developing educational analysis that is attuned to the nuances of place and the kind of metrocentric analysis that effectively ‘traps’ rural places in larger structural educational reform narratives.     

Ideology,rationality and reproduction in education: a critical discourse analysis

In undertaking a critical discourse analysis of the professed aims and objectives of one of the most influential curricula in the teaching of thinking, this article foregrounds issues of power and ideology latent in curricular discourses of rationality. Specifically, it documents the subtle but powerful ways in which political and class commitments are (re-)produced in the forms of thinking that are valued in schools and societies. Through a nuanced analysis of the language features of the text and the social and political ideologies that underpin it, the article argues that such curricula engage in shaping our common-sense understandings of what thinking and rationality is and should be in instrumental forms that both connect to neoliberal prerogatives and that facilitate the social reproduction of a particular fraction of the middle class.     

Understanding aspirations and expectations of international students in Australian higher education

The aspirations and expectations of the growing international student cohort in Australia are implicitly incorporated into recruitment and internationalization strategies but have received little academic analysis. To address this gap in the literature, this paper develops a conceptual model built upon earlier research by Tim Mazzarol and Geoffrey Soutar, which focuses on the push and pull factors relating to home country and country of destination, respectively, in relation to students' decisions to seek international study. Focusing predominantly on Chinese and Indian students, we conceptualise, extend and place the push and pull factors within a social psychological framework in relation to students' aspirations and expectations of international education, indicating factors that can be influenced by higher education (HE) institutions and their programmes, and those which cannot. We then interrogate the model and its applicability in Australian HE through the case study of an Indian international Study Tour conducted in our Australian HE institution in 2009. In the present context of decreased international student enrolments in Australia in 2010, where we seek to better understand our international students, the proposed model provides a basis for identifying international students' expectations and aspirations and developing prospective international relations.     

Democratization of secondary education in Malaysia: attitudes towards schooling and educational aspirations

As a consequence of the democratization of secondary education in Malaysia beginning in the 1990s, many students who do not have academic credentials are allowed to progress to upper secondary education. This study examines the attitudes of these students towards two important aspects of schooling – namely, learning and examinations, as well as their educational aspirations – to assess the extent to which they have fulfilled the aims of the democratization of secondary education, among which is to produce more highly trained and well-educated manpower. A questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews were conducted in five sampled schools to explore the issues from various perspectives. The attitudes of the students towards learning and examinations as well as their levels of educational aspirations were generally found to be wanting regardless of their background. This study has revealed the internal contradiction of the democratization of secondary education in Malaysia. The democratization of secondary education within the ambit of a highly academic and examination-oriented education system has not served the needs of academically weak students. This study has also revealed the lack of alternative educational opportunities available to these students. The lack of resolve among teachers to handle these students and enough counsellors to guide them through the schooling process further complicate their problems.     

Learning (abroad) mobility in the European Union: A comparison of youth in and out of higher education

In the European Union (EU) context, learning abroad mobility (LAM) also includes non-formal learning activities. Young people can participate in LAM whether they are in tertiary education or not. Nevertheless, studies focusing on the participation of out-of-higher-education (Out-HE) youth in LAM are often scarce. The current study aims to explore the role of several sociodemographic factors in participation in LAM among Out-HE youth, based on the analysis of a large-scale survey conducted across EU member countries. Findings show that Out-HE youth is less likely to participate in LAM than the youth in higher education as expected. However, some socioeconomic factors, such as gender and age, play different roles among Out-HE youth and the youth in higher education in old (EU15) and new member countries (NMS) of the EU.     

To nail a pudding: metaphorical analysis of the social studies education discourse community on globalization

Despite the abundance of studies on globalization in educational research, globalization is often approached as a monolithic and standardized concept. Focusing on the social studies education in the USA, this study explores how the various metaphors through which globalization is framed embrace particular perspectives on how to conceive and educate about globalization. Specifically, this study discusses seven conceptual metaphors: the global as a place, time, container, spectacle, person, threat, and as a force of nature. In doing so, it illustrates how globalization is predominately rendered as an inclusive structure, a disembedded process, and as a permanent threat. The different metaphors, this paper argues, fulfill a twofold role. First, they define a domain of their own, the global domain, creating a distinctive global viewpoint on human agency and social change. Second, these metaphors also release a political imagination structured around particular expectations of what exactly the global means and does.     

Education and nationalism: the discourse of education policy in Scotland

The paper draws on critical discourse analysis to examine and discuss some of the key developments in the governing of education in Scotland since the election of the Scottish National Party (SNP) government in May 2007. It analyses these developments, drawing on a study of key policy texts and suggests that discourse analysis has much to contribute to the understanding of the governing strategy of the minority SNP administration as reflected in its education policy. We suggest that there is a self-conscious strategy of ‘crafting the narrative’ of government that seeks to discursively re-position ‘smarter Scotland’ alongside small, social democratic states within the wider context of transnational pressures for conformity with global policy agendas. Thus the paper connects to current debates on the relationship between an emergent global education policy ‘field’ and the capacity of ‘local’ contexts to develop and sustain particular, embedded assumptions and practices.     

Empowering discourse: discourse analysis as method and practice in the sociology classroom

Collaborative learning and critical pedagogy are widely recognized as ‘empowering’ pedagogies for higher education. Yet, the practical implementation of both has a mixed record. The question, then, is: How could collaborative and critical pedagogies be empowered themselves? This paper makes a primarily theoretical case for discourse analysis (DA) as a form of classroom practice that provides a structured framework for collaborative and critical pedagogies in higher education, with a special reference to sociology classroom practice. I develop a tripartite scheme for building a framework for sociological imagination that is, first, sensitive to the discursive aspects of social reality (learning about DA). Second, I illustrate the use of DA as pedagogical tool and classroom practice (learning with DA). Third, I discuss how discourse analytical ideas can be used in evaluating classroom interaction and how these reflexive insights can be used to enhance student empowerment (learning through DA).     

Metaphors of hierarchy in mathematics education discourse: the narrow path

This paper adopts a rhetorical perspective in order to examine language about children in the discourse of mathematics education through a study of metaphor. Previous research has tended to emphasize the notion of ‘beliefs’, which locates responsibility for problematic conceptions of children within the heads of individuals, particularly practising and preservice teachers. Using the notion of metaphor, this paper examines several texts in US mathematics education, including conversations in an elementary classroom, a university mathematics methods classroom, mathematics textbooks, and standards documents. All of these texts draw on the metaphor of children’s learning as travel along a physical path, which supports talking and thinking about children in hierarchical ways. The dominance of this metaphor presents a new challenge for teacher educators concerned with equity: that of examining their own language and practices for hierarchical language.     

Aiming high: the educational and occupational aspirations and of young disabled people

This article provides an overview of the aspirations and expectations disabled teenagers form for their future education and employment and the factors which are associated with positive aspirations. After reviewing what is already known about the formation of aspirations in general, and among young disabled people in particular, Tania Burchardt presents preliminary analysis from original research using two large‐scale representative surveys: the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). The results indicate that young disabled people have similar aspirations to their non‐disabled counterparts, although tempered in some cases with a recognition that there are likely to be obstacles in the world of work. There is also some–tentative–evidence that young disabled people feel less well served by advice and support services. SEN coordinators in secondary schools and further education, and Connexions advisors, need to ensure that they encourage positive aspirations, especially among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, while offering practical support in overcoming disabling barriers.     

对农村成人教育中心向农村社区教育中心转变的思考——基于常州金坛市农村成人教育的调研

常州金坛市各乡镇积极推进、深化社区教育和终身教育的改革,初步形成了一些成人教育、社区教育的特色乡镇。薛埠、指前、儒林三个乡镇对成人教育工作十分重视,成人教育工作得到了不同程度的发展,形成了各自的特色,积累了一些宝贵的经验。但是,在成人教育中心向社区教育中心转变的过程中还存在很多问题需要解决,为此,在开展农村社区教育时必须正确定位,统筹规划;整合资源,理顺关系;建立一支稳定的专职教师队伍;充分发挥教育督导的作用;加强社区教育特色项目的建设。     

Physical education for health and wellbeing: a discourse analysis of Scottish physical education curricular documentation

This paper provides an analysis of the discourses associated with physical education in Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence. We implement a poststructural perspective in order to identify the discourses that underpin the physical education sections of the Curriculum for Excellence ‘health and well-being’ documentation. Discourses related to physical activity and health are particularly prominent, along with a related concern with motor skill development. Our focus lies with the ways in which these discourses are likely to be taken up and deployed within Scottish educational establishments. The paper thus explores the ways in which these discourses might ‘work’ to produce specific effects on practitioners and pupils. This involves speculating about how practitioners and students might engage in specific practices relative to these discourses. We conclude that the discourses identified lend themselves to interpretation and negotiation in multiple ways in the context of Scottish physical education, with specific consequences for the experiences and subjectivities of practitioners and children.     

A focused analysis of TVET: unique opportunities and strategies for investing in and engaging youth in Nicaraguan society

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is increasingly emphasised by international education organisations. In Nicaragua, particularly, this type of engagement is viewed as a potential for boosting the economy, improving employment and building the infrastructure and sustainability of remote and marginalised communities. To date, one specific region in Nicaragua has thoughtfully engaged multiple sectors to support TVET through public–private partnerships (PPPs) and community-level networks. The data for this article were collected through in-person interviews with TVET stakeholders over a two-week site visit in support of a USAID evaluation. In addition to interviews, data collection included analyses of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of TVET providers in the region. This study considers the demographics, economics and educational realities of Nicaragua and the potential for PPPs to enhance opportunities for youth and community development.     

Rationality and rationalisation in teacher education policy discourse in New Zealand

Background:?A newly elected centre-right coalition government in New Zealand was forced to deal with the cumulative fiscal consequences of two unforeseen challenges: a global financial crisis in September 2008 and two major seismic events in the country's second largest city in 2009 and 2010. This paper examines the way in which policies for initial and continuing teacher education were reshaped thereafter and the justifications provided by government for these changes.

Purpose:?The paper examines the plausibility of the government's contemporary ‘crisis’ discourse and aims to show how ‘rational’ education policy changes also carry broader ideological and political agendas for teacher education. Thus, current changes to teacher education policy are located in the historical context of trends over the last two decades.

Sources of Evidence:?The paper uses official statements by government and officials to show how they justified the policy changes as the only possible responses to an external economic crisis. Secondary sources of statistical economic data and policy texts are used to demonstrate that equally plausible alternative responses were overlooked, rejected or ignored.

Main argument:?The paper construes teacher education policy as both text and discourse. It is argued that the media statements of politicians and officials are intended to secure popular approval for public education austerity measures, while at the same time masking an underlying political and ideological project and ignoring the informed policy rebuttals of some educationists.

Conclusions:?The steps taken in New Zealand to respond to a short- to medium-term national fiscal crisis have major long-term consequences for teacher education. Most apparent is the continued failure to acknowledge the major incremental reductions in public subsidies for initial teacher education that have occurred year on year since the early 1990s and, instead, to reiterate the new public management ideology of further public service efficiencies.     

对高校青年理想信念教育的探索

信念是高校青年的重要精神支柱.做好理想信念教育,对于传播社会主义核心价值理念,确立科学的世界现、人生现和价值观具有重要意义.当代高校“80后”、“90后”青年(包括青年教师与大学生)理想信念受文化背景的影响,经历了与社会整体的主流价值观统一、分离和相对独立的发展过程,要进一步确立并巩固青年一代崇高的理想信念,就必须切实加强社会主义核心价值观教育,做到“四个始终坚持”、落实“四项结合”,重点加强大学精神教育.     

UK university part-time higher education: a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of undergraduate prospectuses

ABSTRACT

In the UK, higher education (HE) policy discourse over the past 60 years has advocated flexible part-time HE for social mobility, personal development, economic advantage and leisure. However, part-time undergraduate HE in the UK is in steep decline. Against this backdrop, we were interested in how universities promote, or fail to promote, part-time study options today. We built a corpus of 90 UK undergraduate prospectuses for 2018 entry (5,673,799 words). Using a corpus-assisted discourse analysis approach, we found significant mismatch between policy discourse and marketing discourse regarding part-time study. In particular, we found that UK university marketing discourse positions full-time study as the dominant mode of study and writes of part-time study as ‘second-best’. This discourse mismatch is particularly marked when it comes to the elite Russell Group of universities. Viewing the absence of strong promotional discourse relating to part-time study alongside other factors such as increased tuition fees and the rise of global online education platforms adds a new perspective to the decline of flexible part-time undergraduate HE at campus-based universities in the UK.     

Interrogating an omission: the absence of a rights-based approach to education in World Bank policy discourse

This study provides a discursive analysis of World Bank policy documents in order to reveal the stark omission of a rights-based approach to education, while highlighting instead the support of an economic-instrumentalist approach. Plausible explanations are provided to shed light on this exclusion, including the feasibility critique of education as a right, and the Bank's limited institutional mandate. However, the rationales are presented as unsound and unacceptable justifications for the omission. By drawing on Amartya Sen's theoretical work on human rights and development policy frameworks, this study concludes by arguing for the Bank to integrate into their mandate a conception of education as a human right.     

Returning to rural origins after higher education: gendered social space

This study is important for rural actors interested in developing recruitment and retention strategies directed towards attracting the tertiary educated to rural areas. The aim of this study is to examine the demographic characteristics and economic and cultural resources that have the greatest influence on a tertiary educated individual of rural origin returning to a rural area after higher education. Gender-divided binary logistic regression is used to examine the influence of an individual’s social space position (i.e. their economic and cultural resources and demographic background) on returning to rural areas. Through the use of Bourdieu’s concept ‘social space’, this paper contributes an alternative perspective to the study of students’ destinations after higher education, which has been dominated by economic perspectives. The results indicate that while there are social space characteristics common to men and women that increase their probability of a rural return, there are gender differences in the degree of influence of many of these characteristics.     

Schooling experiences and career aspirations of indigenous vocational high school students: a case study in Taiwan

In Taiwan, substantial resources have been invested in upper-secondary vocational education for Aborigines as a solution to their lack of career development opportunities. This study examined the schooling experiences and career aspirations of Taiwanese indigenous vocational high school students. A case study was designed to collect data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 aboriginal students in twelfth grade at a Major Indigenous Vocational High School (MIVHS). The findings indicated that aboriginal students experienced mainstream-centric schooling that focused on preparing students for college education with additional support. The schooling contributed to their solid educational aspirations to attend non-prestigious technological colleges and vague occupational aspirations with low occupational self-efficacy. It also enforced their strong cultural aspirations of living in their homelands and benefiting their people. The findings suggest that the MIVHS could provide the culturally responsive schooling for aboriginal students' diversity to facilitate their career development.     

Trauma-informed sexuality education: recognising the rights and resilience of youth

Experiences of maltreatment during childhood and the emergence of sexuality during adolescence are both critical developmental issues that intersect in meaningful ways, yet the two are often isolated from each other in practice. Despite the prevalence of childhood maltreatment, sexuality education does not accommodate young people with trauma histories. This results in curricula and content that ignore the particular needs and experiences of a proportion of students in sexuality education classrooms. Trauma interventions commit a similar oversight by neglecting the prospects for positive, growth-promoting sexual experiences and relationships among young people who have been abused. The failure to account for young people's resilience in the sexual domain results in treatment approaches that emphasise sexual risks (e.g. revictimisation) and problem behaviours to the exclusion of guidance in cultivating positive sexualities. Consequently, many forms of sexuality education and maltreatment interventions may be of limited effectiveness and relevance in promoting the future sexual well-being of young people with histories of trauma. To redress this gap, we advocate for trauma-informed sexuality education, an approach that acknowledges past experiences of abuse, the promise of resilience, and young people's right to positive sexualities.