The labor market returns to a for-profit college education

A lengthy literature estimating the returns to education has largely ignored the for-profit sector. In this paper, we estimate the earnings gains to for-profit college attendance using restricted-access data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97). Using an individual fixed effects estimation strategy that allows us to control for time-invariant unobservable characteristics of students, we find that students who enroll in associate's degree programs in for-profit colleges experience earnings gains of about 10% relative to high school graduates with no college degree, conditional on employment. Since associate's degree students attend for an average of 2.6 years, this translates to a 4% return per year of education in a for-profit college, slightly lower than estimates of returns for other sectors found in the literature.     

Efficiency in the community college sector: stochastic frontier analysis

This paper estimates technical efficiency scores across the community college sector in the United States. Using stochastic frontier analysis and data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System for 2003–2010, we estimate efficiency scores for 950 community colleges and perform a series of sensitivity tests to check for robustness. We find that community colleges have become more efficient over time, but no evidence of economies of scale. We also find significant variation in efficiency across colleges, with only part of this variation explained by exogenous differences by state and across student characteristics.     

职业院校混合所有制办学的行动策略——合法性视角的多案例研究

基于组织社会学新制度主义理论的合法性视角,本研究采用多案例研究方法对4所职业院校混合所有制办学过程中合法性获取的行动策略和类型展开探讨,通过对语料库进行分析识别混合所有制办学阶段、行动策略与合法性类型之间的关系。研究发现:职业院校混合所有制办学获取合法性的联盟策略主要包括谈判、利益协调、构建并利用社会网络;分析策略主要包括辨识详述、制定标准、身份建构和治理体系建构;文化策略主要包括宣传和嵌入。职业院校在混合所有制办学的创建期主要采用分析策略,重点获取的合法性类型是规范合法性;在发展期,文化策略显著增加,三种策略比例较为均衡,职业院校着力于规制和文化认知合法性获取。职业院校规制合法性主要通过联盟策略获取;规范合法性主要通过分析和联盟策略获取;文化认知合法性主要通过文化策略获取。因此,职业院校在探索混合所有制办学的过程中要尝试定义不同的发展阶段,根据所处阶段选择相应的行动策略。     

关于大学生弱势群体救助正当性的思考

不论是从伦理视角、教育视角,还是从政治视角,对大学生弱势群体的救助都有着深刻的正当性。它是人道主义的彰显、受教育权的要求、教育公平的寻求、社会稳定的需要。     

起源与路向：独立学院合法性问题分析

独立学院合法性起源于母体高校的＂魅力＂和教育环境的危机,它拥有经验主义和规范主义双重路向的合法化来源。虽然它从一诞生就持续地进行着后天的合法性建构,但是仍难以摆脱合法性危机。具体表现在：价值目标与教育应然价值间的紧张,与母体高校和投资方之间的必然的矛盾性,制度设计的缺失,对民办高等教育的冲击等。独立学院必须持续地寻求规范化,更加努力地进行合法性建构,其合法化有四条途径可选。一是,独立成为普通民办高校;二是,回归母体高校或二者整合形成战略联盟;三是,与其他民办高校甚至公办转制高校合并;四是,合并组建综合性的民办大学。在现实中第一条道路正成为主导的选择。     

E-assessment: challenges to the legitimacy of VET practitioners and auditors

This research examines what practitioners in vocational education and training (VET) organisations and external auditors judge to be the key issues in the current and future use of e-assessment. Applying the framework of legitimacy theory, the study examined the tensions around the use and growth of e-assessment in training organisations, and challenges to both training bodies and auditors around their legitimacy to operate. Forty-eight interviews, 10 focus groups and 2 industry workshops were completed with practitioners and auditors who had in-depth experience in e-assessment and audit practices. Results revealed tensions between training providers and auditors around the current validity, authenticity and security of e-assessment. However, there was also strong agreement between the groups about the practical steps for resolving these tensions between auditors and VET institutions.     

Private for-profit higher education in Australia: widening access,participation and opportunities for public-private collaboration

Private for-profit higher education has grown rapidly in many parts of the world. This growth is attributed to many factors, including a broadening of the student population and the recognition that wider access to higher education will be economically beneficial to individuals, governments and society as a whole. In Australia, the number of students in private for-profit higher education is rising, with dramatic projections for the next 10 years. The Australian government has set a target to increase the participation of students in higher education, with a focus on increasing the access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is unclear, however, what role the burgeoning private for-profit institutions will play in meeting the government's targets, and what incentives will be provided for them to increase the access and participation of students from disadvantaged groups. This paper analyses the key drivers of growth in private for-profit higher education in Australia, and discusses issues around quality and standards. It examines the strengths and limitations of the sector, and the extent to which it contributes to diversity, access and the participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It argues that the sector needs clear government directions to improve levels of access, and new government policies to encourage public-private collaborations to help ensure sustainability. The paper also briefly touches on the need for a review into the current structure of Australia's higher education sector as a whole, and whether higher education would benefit from the formation of public community colleges with the explicit aim of widening access for disadvantaged student groups. Further, the paper suggests that encouraging such public-private collaboration may be beneficial to ensure access and participation of students from all walks of life, including disadvantaged groups.     

Interdisciplinary scholars: negotiating legitimacy at the core and from the margins

In response to the incessant calls for interdisciplinary scholarship, universities adopt initiatives and encourage faculty to collaborate across discipline lines. Yet, the literature shows that it is difficult to institutionalise such work as faculty members are heavily influenced by their discipline-bound training. When faculty do participate, they wonder how their work will be regarded. Thus, in this paper, we set out to investigate the experience of STEM faculty who conduct work in the area of K-20 education. We were particularly interested in exploring how these faculty, whom we refer to as boundary crossers, position themselves as scholars and their work as scholarship to their discipline-based peers. Our analysis shows that boundary crossers assume great personal responsibility as their university failed to make firm structural or policy-based reforms in support of this particular initiative. Personal responsibility manifests in three distinct ways: working overtime, unpacking one’s work, and framing one’s work as a public good. We argue that these responses are grounded in a larger sociocultural framework, and that they reinforce the marginal position of these scholars.     

Examining the legitimacy of unrecognised low-fee private schools in India: comparing different perspectives

Studies to date show how low-fee private (LFP) schools, including unrecognised ones, have gained practical legitimacy and continue to increase in number. However, little explanation is offered regarding the legal legitimacy of such unrecognised LFP schools. This paper intends to fill this gap by examining the legal legitimacy of unrecognised schools in Delhi whose actual existence was challenged by the Delhi High Court and the Right to Education Act, 2009. The paper also illustrates the practical legitimacy of unrecognised schools by comparing perspectives of different actors (the government, NGOs and managers, teachers and parents at nine unrecognised schools in Delhi) based primarily on the author’s interviews with these actors.     

透视新世纪中国共产党传统合法性资源面临的挑战

合法性建设直接关系到新世纪中国共产党的执政地位和中国特色社会主义事业的前途命运 ,在党的建设中占有十分重要的地位。中国共产党在历史上的合法性资源十分丰富 ,但随着时代环境的变化和党的工作重点的转移 ,党的传统合法性资源也面临着新的挑战 ,迫切需要我们在挖掘传统资源潜力的基础上 ,不断进行新的合法性资源的开发 ,以巩固党的执政地位 ,提高党的执政能力     

Legitimacy through alternate means: schools without professionals in the private sector

The new institutionalism predicts that professionalism is a key element of organizations’ ability to be seen as legitimate. Emphasizing the professionalism and formal credentials of its members lends legitimacy to the organization, protecting it from scrutiny. What happens when this norm of professionalism is absent? How do schools legitimate themselves, if not through professionalism? This paper examines a population of small, secular non‐elite private schools that overwhelmingly hire uncertified teachers. Using data from 60 private school principals in Toronto, Canada, I examine the ways in which private schools tap into alternate means of legitimacy. This study finds that small, secular ‘rogue’ private schools fail to invoke norms of professionalism as a means to garner constituent support and legitimacy. I argue that these schools substitute an innovative, unconventional ‘caring consumer ethos’ in place of teacher professionalism.     

The legitimacy of curriculum development in post-colonial Hong Kong: insights from the case of Liberal Studies

Liberal Studies was initially introduced as a non-statutory subject in Hong Kong in 1992. It then confronted intense opposition and a bumpy implementation path before securing mandatory status in the new senior secondary curriculum introduced in 2009. Recently, this core subject has been under review. Whilst it is considered to promote students’ socio-political participation, the subject has also been accused of triggering antagonism towards the government. In view of these concerns, this article probes teachers’ perceptions of the recent development of Liberal Studies and examines the dynamic interplay between the curriculum review and the potential political controversies surrounding the subject in post-colonial Hong Kong. Reporting the results of a study comprising questionnaire-based surveys and follow-up semi-structured interviews, it reveals that whilst teachers are worried about the proposed reduction of socio-political topics in the curriculum, they approve of incorporating additional China-related content. Furthermore, the participating teachers praised Liberal Studies for its notable impact on raising students’ social consciousness, which has motivated them to learn about community affairs and fight for justice. Finally, the article also explores the study’s profound implications for the further development of Liberal Studies and citizenship education in Hong Kong and beyond.     

Constructing bullying in Ontario,Canada: a critical policy analysis

As the prevalence and negative effects of bullying become widely known, people around the world seem desperate to solve the bullying “problem”. A sizeable body of research about many aspects of bullying and a plethora of anti-bullying programmes and policies now exist. This critical policy analysis asks: how does Ontario, Canada’s bullying policy support and/or undermine critical democracy; and how does it reflect, support and further the interests of neoliberalism and/or neoconservatism? Findings indicate that the policy constructs the problem of bullying as a problem of individuals and a “behaviour for learning” problem. The policy also prescribes standardised responses to bullying incidents. We explore ways in which these constructions are undemocratic and unjust. The findings are particularly concerning because bullying policies are often viewed as innocuous by practitioners. This paper offers more than just critique by providing suggestions for how research and policies can become more just and equitable and how bullying policy may be enacted to support critical democracy.     

农民政治参与价值探析——以“三农”政策合法性为视角

涉及农业、农村和农民的"三农"政策是我国政府协调平衡城乡利益关系的基本工具,在价值指向上应当以平等性和正义性为利益取向.作为政府公共政策的一部分,"三农"政策合法性的社会基础源于农民的政治认同和支持.社会转型期,"三农"政策遭遇合法性危机,根本原因是农民政治参与权利缺失和社会公正原则被忽视.解决矛盾、化解危机的最终路径在于以公正为价值导向,重构农民政治参与这一社会基础.     

加拿大安大略省教师专业发展政策述评

吸引、发展和维系有效教师是当今世界各国教师教育改革政策的主题。加拿大具有推动教师专业发展的优良传统。20世纪90年代以来,加拿大教师教育政策发生了深刻的变革,其中一个重要目的是培养高效能教师,推动教师专业发展。本文以安大略省为例,阐述其教师专业发展政策,包括教师专业的伦理标准、教师专业的实践标准、新任教师的入门指导计划、教师绩效评价体系、教师专业学习与领导项目,并分析安大略省教师专业发展政策的价值取向。     

Alternative research paradigms in the analysis of mnemonics

Four types of comparisons for evaluation of mnemonics are identified, two based on equating exposure to the critical to-be-learned associations and two based on total study time. Two experiments on a new mnemonic, the cueword method, are reported, each of which incorporated three of the four comparison procedures. In general, the cueword method proved useful only in comparisons involving control of exposures to the critical to-be-learned associations. The experiments illustrated how highly analytical experiments on mnemonics can be conducted, and the results illustrated that choice of comparison in mnemonics research can greatly affect the evaluation of a mnemonic. General design suggestions for mnemonics research are made.     

The new articulation of equity education in neoliberal times: the changing conception of social justice in Ontario

In this paper, we draw attention to the impact of neoliberal globalisation in rearticulating conceptions of equity within the Ontario context. The Ontario education system has been hailed for its top performance on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as a high-equity/high-quality education system and created ‘PISA envy’ in the international context. Our aim in this paper is to provide some critical analysis of the neoliberal rationality and to examine its manifestations for rearticulating conceptions of social justice. Drawing on equity education policies in Ontario and one in-depth interview with an equity practitioner in one of Ontario’s large and most diverse school boards, this paper illustrates how a redefinition of equity has been made possible through neoliberal systems of accountability and performativity involving measurement and facticity. As a result of these strategies, equity policy in education has been concerned with outcome measurement and boys’ underachievement, while racial and class inequalities have become invisible. While this paper is focused on Ontario equity policy, we believe that it serves much broader interest given the current context of global education policy field.     

Mental testing and educational streaming in Ontario and Denmark in the early twentieth century: a comparative and transnational perspective

ABSTRACT

This article compares and contrasts the use of mental testing and the formation of educational streaming in Denmark and Ontario during the interwar years. In this sense, the article adds nuances to the meaning of internationalism as well as contributing to our knowledge about how ideas of testing practices circulated among countries and continents. One way ideas and practices circulated was via informal networks promoted by the education traveller. Key proponents of mental testing in both Denmark and Ontario travelled to continental Europe, England, and the United States studying and observing the practices and institutional arrangements associated with educational streaming. Our main findings are that the processes used to implement mental testing in the two countries differed significantly. Mental testing was implemented much later in Denmark than in Ontario. This was due to different contextual, cultural, and historical factors that promoted changes to the existing system, or, alternatively, represented a barrier or even obstructed changes to it. Nevertheless, mental testing was implemented in both education systems as a relatively coherent technology rooted in transnational movements and exchange, but was attended by highly different practices and local meaning-making.     

信息时代下的高校信息化建设研究

阐述了信息时代下的高校教育信息化的问题、目的和意义.并结合实践探讨了高校教育信息化建设的基本内容和有效途径,提出了信息一体化建设开放系统的观点、整合优化的观点、可持续发展的观点,对当前正在蓬勃开展的高校信息化建设具有一定的借鉴作用.     

完善高校学生社团管理机制的探索

从高校学生社团的作用入手,通过对我国高校学生社团现状的分析,探索改进我国高校学生社团管理机制的新思路,为进一步丰富高校学生社团活动,完善高校学生社团管理,促进学生社团健康发展,提供一些有益的帮助。