The politics of privatisation, decentralisation and education reform in Mexico

Reform in the Mexican education system accords with global patterns of liberalisation, decentralisation, compensatory programs and accountability. The present study analyses reform in that country during the past 15 years. It reveals that despite expectations of change attending the installation of the new government which replaced the ruling party dominant for 70 years, there has been far more continuity than change in educational politics. It also shows that these have been constrained by the militant and powerful National Teachers Union. Although the new government has achieved some progress in equity and management, the quality of education can be seen to remain inferior.     

The politics of privatisation,decentralisation and education reform in Mexico

Reform in the Mexican education system accords with global patterns of liberalisation, decentralisation, compensatory programs and accountability. The present study analyses reform in that country during the past 15 years. It reveals that despite expectations of change attending the installation of the new government which replaced the ruling party dominant for 70 years, there has been far more continuity than change in educational politics. It also shows that these have been constrained by the militant and powerful National Teachers Union. Although the new government has achieved some progress in equity and management, the quality of education can be seen to remain inferior.     

Young,black and failed by school: the market,education reform and black students

The late 1980s and early 1990s have witnessed an unprecedented period of top‐down reform in the English educational system. Successive Conservative administrations (first led by Margaret Thatcher, and subsequently by John Major) have sought to introduce the principles and discipline of the market‐place as a means of ‘raising standards’ for ‘every child’. Simultaneously, issues of ‘racial’ and ethnic diversity have been swept from the policy agenda, which is now dominated by a de‐racialized discourse that assumes an avowedly ‘colour‐blind’ approach. This paper explores the position of black/African Caribbean young people within this changing picture. Drawing on a range of data (including statistical material on rates of expulsion from school and the examination achievements of successive cohorts of students in major centres of ethnic minority residence), the paper concludes that the reforms have done little to improve the lot of black students. Indeed, in certain areas, the scale of black/white inequality has grown. It seems that black students are suffering disproportionately as schools face increasing pressure to prove their worth in relation to crude performance indicators. In conclusion, attention is drawn to the need to keep sight of ethnic diversity as a major field of ideological and political struggle, where apparently de‐racialized reforms can serve to increase existing divisions and inequalities.     

Cross-cultural Perspectives of Successful Aging: Young Turks and Europeans

Successful aging (SA) has been conceptualized in a number of ways. Despite increasing research into how laypersons define SA, few studies capturing lay perspectives of SA in younger cohorts and in non-English speaking countries have been undertaken. The current study examines cross-cultural perspectives of SA in young (aged 18–35), lay adults from a variety of continental European countries and Turkey. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling from social network sites and invited to participate in an online survey. Persons between 18–35 years from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, or Turkey were included. Respondents (total: 390; Belgian: 32; Estonian: 96; German: 76; Romanian: 47; Swiss: 39; Dutch: 30; Turkish: 70), were primarily women (56.4%) and students (66.2%), with an average age of 24.1 years (SD 3.7). Personal resources, social and active engagement all emerged as dominant themes across countries, but were articulated in subtly different ways in the participant countries. Positive perspectives, desirable attributes and satisfaction themes were intertwined within themes of acceptance and engagement. The current study provides a first step in the inclusion of geographic and cultural diversity into the SA literature. These results suggest that layperson conceptualizations of SA have broad-sweeping similarities, but further research is required to articulate the nuance of cultural influences on SA.     

Liberal education and politics: Lessons from the American founding

Editor's Note: This essay was delivered at a Carleton University conference titled “Politicizing the Classroom” and will be published with the other papers by the University of Toronto Press in 1995. This essay is printed by permission of the University of Toronto Press.     

试论素质教育背景下的体育教学改革

在素质教育背景下实施体育教学改革,必须牢固树立健康第一的指导思想,转变学校领导办学思想观念;必须面向全体学生,尊重学生个体差异,因材施教;必须以学生健康为中心,加强体育课程建设;必须建立以增强体质、增进健康实效为中心的考试制度;必须加强体育教师队伍建设。     

Young people,education and hope: bringing VET in from the margins

Vocational Education and Training (VET) plays an important role in the reshaping of upper secondary school curriculum. Retention to the end of secondary education in Australia went from 35% in 1980 to 72% in 2000. This increase caused major problems for the senior school curriculum which historically prepared students for university entrance but now has to serve multiple purposes. While the purposes of VET suit different groups, our interest is those students alienated from, reluctant to complete, or attempting re-entry into senior secondary education. Our objective is to understand policy reforms in this area, in order to assist stopping the spiral of disadvantage in which these young people are caught. We shall argue that VET has the potential to re-engage young people with education. With the labour market becoming more knowledge-based, such re-engagement becomes increasingly important. We ask to what extent is the post-compulsory curriculum serving student and family ambitions for employment in a way that is equitable and inclusive?     

论终身教育思想指导下的学校教育改革

终身教育思想是当今国际教育改革的指导思想，它具有连续性、整体性、灵活性、开放性、人本性待基本特征。终身教育思想所倡导的先进教育理念为我国的学校教育改革提供了新思路。     

基础教育改革背景下高等师范院校职前教育改革探析

当前,基础教育正在进行新一轮的课程改革,对教师教育提出了巨大挑战。高等师范院校应积极关注基础教育改革的趋势,反思师范职前教育存在的问题;把握基础教育变革对师范毕业新入职教师的要求;重建高等师范院校职前教育的理念和行动策略,以更好地承担为基础教育输送合格师资的重任。     

The cultural politics of constructivist pedagogies: Teacher education reform in the United Republic of Tanzania

This article examines recent educational reforms in Tanzania by looking at the cultural politics of pedagogical change in secondary and teacher education. It presents an ethnography of a teachers college founded on the principles of social constructivism in a country where formalistic, teacher-centered pedagogy is the norm. Using data collected through a year of participant observation, it argues that the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of teachers’ practice need to be considered alongside efforts to reform the country's educational system. It offers contingent constructivism as an alternative to the international consensus on a single model of excellent teaching.     

通识教育视野下的大学体育教学改革

百年大计,教育为先。近年来,我国的教育事业不断发展,教育改革被提上了日程。通识教育作为一种较先进的教育类型,能够促进学生进行学科方面的交流,培养学生的综合素质,倍受教育人士的推崇,纳入我国教育改革方案中。体育作为保障学生身体健康发展的基础性课程,更应该以通识教育思想为基本教学思想。在此,我们对通识教育视野下的大学体育教学改革进行探讨研究。     

新形势下我国新闻教育面临的挑战及改革探析

新闻教育质量高低将会影响到我国未来新闻行业的发展水平,因此高校在进行相关教学时应该要制定出比较科学的教学方案,从新闻教学实际需求出发,为社会培养更多优秀的新闻人才。随着我国社会经济的发展,高校新闻教育面临着巨大的挑战,学校需要制定积极的应对策略,从而提升其教学质量,为学生以后新闻知识的学习奠定基础。本文通过对当前我国新闻教育面临的挑战进行分析,并探索相应的改革措施,增强我国新闻教育水平。     

Citizenship,civic education and politics: the education policy context for young Australian citizens

Citizenship education in Australia is embedded throughout the school curriculum. Despite a coherent policy context for the inclusion of citizenship and civic education at all levels of schooling, the links between education and civic minded citizens are tenuous. This paper explores these connections by drawing on the views of participants in an international community service program between Western Australia and Tanzania. By situating the interview data in relation to the policy goals, the paper argues that the current policy framework ‘sanitises’ the political nature of modern citizenship. The results from this study demonstrate that students have little understanding of the connections between the civic, the social and the political realms of citizenship. These results suggest that the current policy context does not adequately prepare young people to position themselves in the political realm.