The economics of education in developing countries: An assessment of the state of the art

This paper assesses the present state of the art of the economics of education in developing countries in the context of the papers in this special issue. These papers help fill analytical gaps in the field by addressing the frequently overlooked roles of organization and incentives in shaping more efficient and equitable educational outcomes. Additional work needs to be done to broaden the field's analytical framework if economists are to have more influence in favor of such outcomes. High on the list is to include within the field's analytical framework the behavioral relationships that shape decisions whether to implement more efficient or equitable policies.     

Navigating the demands of the English schooling context: problematics and possibilities for social equity

The English schooling context has seen radical and rapid reform in recent times with the processes of devolution or deconcentration of centralised school governance, on the one hand, and the instating of ever-increasing and rigid external accountabilities, on the other. These reforms driven as they are by neo-liberal and neoconservative ideologies have created a new kind of ‘system’ of schooling in England, one that is ‘heterarchical’ in governance, increasingly complex in its overlap, multiplicity and asymmetric power dynamics, but one that remains strongly tied to and regulated by the reductive and narrow measures of ‘success’ imposed by the state. Against this complex and changing backdrop, what constitutes quality and equitable schooling has been transformed. This special issue explores these concerns and, in particular, focuses on how the current demands of the English schooling context construct student achievement and identity, teachers' work, conceptualisations of knowledge and pedagogy, and school organisation and collaboration. The issue has a strong equity focus. Many of the papers to this end focus on how teachers and schools are navigating through the demands of current policy reform to mobilise spaces of possibility for equity and good schooling. In this paper, we provide a context and framework to set the scene for the subsequent papers in the issue.     

教育研究价值取向重心的转移:从“学科本位”到“问题本位”——以《哈佛教育评论》为例

通过对1931年-2000年间发表在《哈佛教育评论》论文的统计分析,显示出教育研究的价值取向发生了由"学科本位"到"问题本位"的重心转移。以1960年为界,其之前的教育研究特别注重以教育哲学为基础的"学科本位"的研究,之后的教育研究则越来越体现出"问题本位"的研究趋势,突出地表现为对教育政策的关注。     

Inclusive Education in New Zealand: culture,context and ideology

Parents and teachers in New Zealand who have developed inclusive, non‐ discriminatory classrooms and schools are supported by education and human rights legislation and by recent policy on special education. Resistance to inclusion within the education system may be seen as reflecting disablist attitudes and practices. Inclusion values diversity, not assimilation. It is consistent with separate development, which might be chosen, for example, by those in the deaf and Maori communities as a means to maintain their language and culture. Education policies and practices are examined from the perspective of disability as a sociopolitical issue within a broader context of new right, libertarian ideologies that have impacted on the resources and structure of education and other state activities in New Zealand over the last decade.     

Inclusive Practice in English Secondary Schools: Lessons learned

This paper considers how some secondary schools in England have been able to respond to the conflicting demands of school improvement policies, as measured by high academic standards and the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs. It begins with a discussion of the context in which all English schools are currently operating and a summary of the extent to which research on school effectiveness and school improvement has influenced research on inclusion and vice versa. Key findings from our work in secondary schools committed to inclusion are presented and discussed in light of teacher, subject department and whole school responses to pupil diversity. The paper concludes with a conceptualisation of inclusive schools as those that meet the dual criteria of enrolling a diverse student population and improving academic standards for all.     

Two decades of charter schools: Expectations,reality, and the future

The first charter school law was passed in Minnesota in 1991 and with it, a new school reform movement began. After two decades, 41 states and Washington D.C. have adopted charter legislation. This special issue provides an opportunity for scholars to reflect upon the promises and limitations of charter schools and to offer policy advice for those in a position to influence future reforms. Together, the papers within this special issue examine the achievement effects of charter schools, their cost effectiveness, the competitive pressure created by charter schools, the degree to which charter schools are innovative and how some of the operational and policy features of charter schools may affect outcomes.     

‘Their churches are at home’: the communication and definition of values in four aided Church of England secondary schools

The role of head teachers in the formation and transmission of values within schools has long been viewed as pivotal. At a time when the place of faith schools, as part of state funded educational provision, is openly questioned, this paper reports on a small-scale study of the views that four head teachers have of their place in their school's values framework. Special reference is made to the formation of values and to their communication. The expression of these values is then examined with special reference to their application in the context of school admissions policies. It is then suggested that some critiques of church schools adopt an oversimplistic approach and that there is no one overarching understanding of what it means to be a Church of England school.     

Whole School Policies in the New Era

Now that mainstream schools have a duty under the 1993 Education Act to state their policies on provision for special educational needs, they will have to decide on the content of their policies in detail. Hazel Bines, School of Education, Oxford Brookes University, offers some suggestions.     

Reconsidering the role of the primary special educational needs co-ordinator: policy, practice and future priorities

This article considers the impact of recent policy designed to define the roles and responsibilities of special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCos). The international drive towards the inclusion of children with special educational needs within the mainstream has led many schools to reconsider their structures and practices. In the UK, the SENCo role lies at the heart of these structures and the Government has sought to define this role both within a revised Code of Practice for special educational needs and in a set of national standards. In this article, Christine Szwed, Director of Studies for Initial Teacher Education at the University of Birmingham, reports the findings of a survey examining the context of SENCo role management within a group of primary schools. The findings indicate that the role cannot be generalisd and that SENCos are operating in increasingly complex contexts within very different management structures. Christine Szwed argues that, to be effective, SENCos must be enabled to work at a whole-school level and that the co-ordination of special needs is a development issue for the whole staff.     

Far away and nearby: Holocaust remembrance and human rights education in Switzerland

The article considers how young people in Swiss schools are taught about the history and background of the Holocaust within the wider perspective of human rights education, as an important basis for education concerning democratic citizenship. Given the country’s specific history, for decades the Holocaust was not a matter of great interest in Swiss schools, or a topic that pupils often learned about as a part of their own history. Recently, however, sensitivity about historical incidents and the processes of the Third Reich has increased. Holocaust education has also become more important in the context of Swiss state institutional policy and non-governmental initiatives and has also become an issue in schools. This article includes an overview of relevant Swiss history and the current political situation, and a review of Swiss educational policies and especially of activities related to Holocaust remembrance and human rights education.     

In search of inclusion

This article provides a context within which other contributions to this issue might be read. It examines the position of special educational needs (SEN) within the evolving continuum of education in Northern Ireland, specifically within the context of educational inclusion. It describes recent changes in educational policy and legislation which are likely to impact on the inclusion of children with special educational needs, examines inclusion within the mainstream schools and the role of special schools.     

Language,Experience and Professional Learning (What Walter Benjamin Can Teach Us)

This essay raises questions about how language educators might construct and further develop their epistemology of practice in and through the situations in which they work from day to day. The occasion for this paper is our work as guest editors of a special issue of L-1: Educational Studies in Language and Literature, when we invited L1 teachers to reflect on the role that language plays in their professional learning, whether it be in the form of conversations with peers, reflective writing, or by other means. We begin this essay by locating our reflections within our current policy context, namely the standards-based reforms that have come to dominate educational thinking around the world, offering a brief critique of the values and attitudes embedded within them. We then outline a philosophical framework as an alternative to the world-view reflected by such reforms, focusing specifically on the work of Walter Benjamin. In the final sections, we review our work as guest editors of the special issue of L-1, reflecting on what we have learned from the papers we have assembled for this issue, and locating our learning within the philosophical framework that we have drawn from Benjamin. We argue that it is timely for language educators to articulate the assumptions that inhere within their work, in contradistinction to the common sense embedded in standards. Thus we might begin to reconceptualise the relation between language, experience and professional learning in opposition to the hegemony of standards.     

Emotional and behavioural difficulties: the effects of structures,ethos and understandings on provision in Irish post-primary schools

Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) in mainstream schools in Ireland attract much attention and significant resources, yet little research has been conducted in the Irish context about how this concept is understood by practitioners, what influences that understanding nor how that influences provision in schools. This paper is based on the findings of a study which investigated these issues among principals, special education teachers and guidance counsellors in mainstream post-primary schools, employing questionnaires (n = 36) and semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Several themes are presented regarding how EBD is conceptualised and responded to. The findings of the study suggest definitions of EBD appear to focus mostly on intrapersonal characteristics of students and suggest a resignation in the attitude of practitioners. The effectiveness of behaviour policies is ambiguous due to an imperative to produce written policies in many areas, traditional views of the homogeneity of the school population and a tendency to rely on SEN policy to address EBD issues. Responses to EBD vary considerably. Responsibility for most aspects of the school experience of students presenting with EBD appears to rest predominantly with special education teachers, even where there is access to guidance counsellors. Gender impacts on several of these issues, particularly in the type of language used in schools when discussing EBD.     

Schools for the deaf and the No Child Left Behind Act

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) emphasizes educational accountability for all students. Twenty-eight states have policies to aggregate student participation and proficiency data for schools for the deaf in NCLB reports. The remaining states account for these students in other ways: referring student data to "sending" schools and aggregating data to the district or state level are most prominent. In reports of student assessment results for academic year 2002-2003, three schools for the deaf made "Adequate Yearly Progress" under NCLB: These schools demonstrated at least a 95% participation rate in assessments, and at least 95% of their students met or surpassed state proficiency benchmarks in reading and mathematics. Proficiency levels for other schools varied by report, but were often comparable to those of students with disabilities. Challenges and strategies for capturing the impact of NCLB accountability policies on deaf students are discussed.     

美国私立中小学财政资助政策合法化过程透析

政府对私立教育的财政资助问题是各国教育政策的一个重要内容。20世纪30年代以来,伴随美国政府对私立中小学进行财政资助的政策尝试,逐步开启法院对该类政策的合法性审查。在近百年的财政资助诉讼史中,美国联邦最高法院对该类政策的态度经历了完全禁止—开始允许—严格限制—摇摆不定—积极资助的发展轨迹,逐渐形成了以“莱蒙检验”为框架、以“中立性”准则为重心、以“儿童受益”准则和“支持检验”为辅助的多元审查体系。其“以学生为中心”、尊重家长“教育选择”和“平等”的价值理念,以及资助的内容和实现方式均具有重要的启示意义。     

Preparing Teachers for Diversity: Examination of Teacher Certification and Program Accreditation Standards in the 50 States and Washington,DC

State departments of education can play an important role in preparing teachers for effectively teaching diverse learners in our schools through state policies and standards on teacher certification and teacher education program accreditation. We conducted a content analysis of state standards on teacher certification and program accreditation in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to understand the type and characteristics of diversity-related requirements. We found that while all states addressed diversity in their standards, the type and characteristics of requirements varied across the states. The diversity requirements are ambiguous in most states, and only a small number of states utilize a “social reconstructionist” approach that focuses on preparing teachers to identify social inequality and take an active role to achieve educational and social equity.     

Keeping Up Appearances: Uniform Policy for School Diversity?

This paper analyses policies pertaining to school dress codes which have been formulated recently by all state education bureaucracies in Australia. It examines these policies and their implementation in the context of devolution, the marketisation of schools, and cognate social legislation. In doing so it seeks to understand the textual hiatus between government policy and schooling practices.     

漳州市房地产市场走向分析与调控对策研究

近几年,随着各地房价的持续攀升,房价问题成为了社会广泛关注和争议的经济问题。随着海西经济及厦漳泉"同城化"建设的进一步发展,漳州作为发展海西的重点城市,房价问题也日益成为了人们关注的焦点。漳州房价问题既有与全国宏观情况雷同的"共性"问题,也有与本地特殊情况相关的"个性"问题。调控漳州房地产一方面应结合当前国家有关部门为抑制房价涨幅过快等而出台的一系列宏观调控政策,另一方面也应结合在此宏观背景下漳州市房地产市场的现实走向,这样才能有的放矢地解决漳州房价的调控任务。     

The complexity of data-based decision making: An introduction to the special issue

This special issue explores the complexity and interconnectedness of the many components of data-based decision making. The selection of papers represents many countries (i.e., Belgium, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States), theories, methods, and foci. All the papers seek to explicate how data are used at the different level of the system, ranging from students, teachers, schools, and districts. Together these papers offer a view of the current data-based decision making landscape, including in- and pre-service professional development, district and school organizational capacity, the data use process (from goal setting to collaborative instructional decision making), and effects on student achievement. The intent of the special issue is to stimulate future work in terms of impact on research, theory, policy, and practice.     

Discussion: With Choices Come Consequences

The Growth Model Pilot Program (GMPP) was introduced as a response to criticism of the reliance of No Child Left Behind on status‐based indicators. Although incorporating a growth component appears to be a step in the right direction, it adds a level of complexity that brings to the fore new concerns. Three of the four papers in this special issue address different manifestations of a common problem: how choices related to implementation of the GMPP, made on technical or practical grounds, can have substantial consequences for schools and teachers. The fourth paper explicates a different approach to growth modeling. Together these papers add considerably to our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of growth‐based indicators. In this discussion, I attempt to set these papers in a larger context before providing brief reviews. I conclude by arguing that the nation will be better served if policy makers appreciated the consequences of choices before they crafted legislation and the accompanying regulations.