From access to quality: migrant children’s education in urban China

An increasing number of migrant children are involved in public education due largely to the policy for migrant children education outlined by the Government of China from the late 1990s. In this article, we describe the unique and often difficult situation rural migrant children face after they enter urban public schools. Drawing from the Theory of Inclusive Education and data collected at two public junior high schools in Beijing, we provide an in-depth analysis on migrant children’s education from their own viewpoint and from the perspectives of their parents, teachers, and school administrators. Our survey results identify the need for further adjustments of the existing education system which can help improve migrant children’s education in China. Findings also highlight the dilemmas regarding how to best meet the needs for teachers, migrant parents, and migrant children who attend public schools. In order to provide a quality education for migrant children, we conclude by arguing that there must be a three-pronged partnership to best accommodate the unique education needs of migrant children in urban China.     

From education for peace to education in conflict: changes in UNESCO discourse, 1945–2015

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, the global education community has focused significant attention on the promotion of education in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, embodied in the growth of a new sub-field called Education in Emergencies. This article points out the surprising distinction of this new sub-field from the more established and closely related field of peace education. It examines United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) documents for insight into the changing global ideas that have facilitated the shift in focus from peace to conflict. Empirically, we draw on a quantitative content analysis of more than 450 UNESCO documents published between 1945 and 2015. We find that education for peace remains a constant, if evolving, concern in these texts, but that a powerful emphasis on individual rights has shifted the discursive focus away from inter-state relations and towards the educational needs of young people. In the documents, conflict is now theorised as a threat to education and peace is re-envisioned not just as the desirable outcome of education, but also as its pre-condition. We show how this ideational transformation has re-cast an expansive array of conflicts, natural disasters, and other emergencies as threats to education.     

From environment to sustainable development: China’s strategies for ESD in basic education

This paper intends to provide an overview of the reorientation of education in China in the period 1998–2009 with regard to development issues. During this time, the focus has shifted gradually from the environment and health to education for sustainable development. The article centres on highlighting the main interventions and strategies adopted by China’s schools to make this reorientation possible, including: the introduction of new visions of sustainable development and project planning; the establishment of organisational mechanisms and capacity-building measures for their implementation in the field; the integration of ESD into teaching and learning processes; the maintenance of an action-research mechanism for innovations; and the sharing of lessons with both the national and the international community in order to make the implementation of ESD more effective.     

From lifelong learning to youth employment: back to the future for higher education in Scotland’s colleges

This article explores aspects of the experience of higher education students in a Scottish college within the context of widespread contemporary concern about youth unemployment. Analysis of published data reveals a marked shift in the demographic profile of higher education students in colleges in favour of young people. An unseen consequence of this change has been a decline in opportunities for older students, particularly women wishing to study part time at an advanced level. Survey data from one college follows up an earlier case study and explores new dimensions of the work/life/study balance. In this study the respective experiences of school leavers, young adults and adults are compared. Over half of the students were in paid work, an increase compared with the previous survey. The relationship between work or family life and study was significant in influencing the quality of the students’ experience. Young part-time students, many of whom were following modern apprenticeships, achieved a more successful work/life/study balance compared with full-time students who were in paid work. It is recommended that colleges should devote attention to enabling students to maximise the benefits of combining work with study, to prepare them for transition into a difficult labour market. It is also argued that the different priorities of older lifelong learners should continue to be recognised as their numbers decline.     

From ‘no’ to ‘yes’: postcolonial perspectives on resistance to neoliberal higher education

Various scholars have suggested ways to resist neoliberal conditions in higher education (HE). In analysing current neoliberal policies and practices in HE, I suggest that postcolonial theories of resistance can enhance our ability as faculty and administrators to understand and ‘resist’ these policies and practices. In this article, I review four modes of postcolonial resistance as described by David Jeffress (2008), mobilizing a critique of resistance as writing and cultural practice and challenging the reactionary nature of subversion and opposition. I argue that we need to place emphasis on transformational resistance, or the creation of new ways of being, knowing and doing in HE in order to transform the academy.     

From an essential being to an actor’s becoming: political ecology transformational learning experiences in adult education

Adult education in political ecology entails critically and constructively observing the interactions among the actors involved in socioecological conflicts at global and local scales. This definition invites transcending environmental education and education for sustainability’s frontiers, examining the ontology, or the ‘place’, from where actors co-construct these conflicts. If actors don’t question the reified and divided assumptions of the ‘self’ and ‘reality’ at the base of these conflicts, the creative and transformative potential of becoming together cannot unfold. The transformational learning approach is a coherent way of addressing this challenge, as it promotes an ontological change in actors and their worldview. The training experience offered by the University of Santiago provides insights into how transformational education’s perspective can contribute to education in political ecology, inciting an acknowledgment of the self and the world as a complex and dynamic entanglement of actors.     

From preschool teachers’ professional development to children’s knowledge: comparing sets

Recently, there have been increased calls for enhancing preschool children’s mathematics knowledge along with increasing calls for preparing preschool teachers to meet the demands of new preschool mathematics curricula. This article describes the professional development program Starting Right: Mathematics in Preschools. Focusing on four episodes that revolve around the topic of equivalent sets, it demonstrates how engaging preschool teachers with challenging tasks may promote their subject matter knowledge as well as their pedagogical content knowledge, leading to an interweaving of knowledge and practice. Assessment of the program included assessing the children’s knowledge. Results indicated that students of participating teachers learned to be more flexible and to give more possible answers than students of non-participating teachers.     

Children’s rights in education research: from aims to outcomes

One approach to children’s rights in research is to adopt a methodology that focuses on eliciting children’s perspectives. Ensuring representative participation from all children allows a diversity of contexts to be reflected in the results, and points to ways in which improvements can be made in specific settings. In cultural contexts where participation in decision-making is not a traditional role for children, their viewpoints are likely to provide results that highlight differences between cultural norms and children’s rights, and can offer an important focus of dialogue among stakeholders. It is proposed that children’s rights can therefore become integral to the whole process of a quantitative research project. This paper describes such an approach used in a Pacific Islands study, which investigated the quality of schooling through a probability-based sample survey of 1560 children in the first three years of formal education in 55 schools in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.     

Learning to Live Together: A Review of UNESCO’s Associated Schools Project Network

Some 7400 schools belong to the global network of UNESCO’s Associated School Project Network. They are committed to promoting ideals such as human rights, intercultural understanding, peace and environmental protection. This study is based on an extensive review undertaken in 2003. It discusses the origins and analyzes the achievements of the Associated School Project Network in bringing change to schools, communities and national policy. The analysis employs a variety of models of educational innovation and reform in order to assess the horizontal and vertical impact of the Associated School Project Network. It draws general conclusions on the usefulness of such networks for intercultural learning and educational and social change. Key issues include the commitment of stakeholders; the treatment of culturally sensitive issues; cultural interpretations of certain subjects; the value of horizontal networks; and the difficulty of achieving vertical impact on national policy-making.

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Zusammenfassung LERNEN, ZUSAMMEN ZU LEBEN: EINE ÜBERPRÜFUNG DES ASSOCIATED SCHOOLS PROJECT NETWORK DER UNESCO – Ungefähr 7400 Schulen gehören dem weltweiten Netzwerk des Associated Schools Project Network der UNESCO an. Sie widmen sich der Förderung von Idealen wie Menschenrechten, interkulturellem Verständnis, Frieden und Umweltschutz. Diese Studie basiert auf einer ausführlichen Überprüfung, die im Jahre 2003 durchgeführt wurde. Sie diskutiert die Ursprünge und analysiert die Errungenschaften des Associated Schools Project Network im Herbeiführen von Veränderungen an Schulen, Gemeinden und nationaler Politik. Die Analyse bedient sich einer Vielzahl von Beispielen erzieherischer Erneuerung und Reform, um die horizontalen und vertikalen Auswirkungen des Associated Schools Project Network einzuschätzen. Sie zieht allgemeine Schlüsse bezüglich des Nutzens derartiger Netzwerke für interkulturelles Lernen und erzieherischen sowie gesellschaftlichen Wandel. Schlüsselthemen sind das Engagement der verantwortlichen Personen, die Behandlung kulturell sensibler Themen, kulturelle Interpretationen bestimmter Gegenstände, der Wert breit gestreuter Netzwerke und die Schwierigkeit, tief greifenden Einfluß auf die Gestaltung nationaler Politik zu gewinnen.

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Resumen APRENDER A CONVIVIR: UNA PRESENTACIÓN GENERAL DE LA RED DEL PROYECTO DE ESCUELAS ASOCIADAS A LA UNESCO – La Red del Proyecto de Escuelas Asociadas a la UNESCO está integrada por unas 7.400 escuelas que se han comprometido a promover ideales tales como derechos humanos, entendimiento intercultural, convivencia pacífica y protección ambiental. Este trabajo está basado en una extensa investigación realizada en el año 2003. El estudio enfoca los orígenes y analiza los resultados obtenidos por la Red del Proyecto de Escuelas Asociadas en cuanto a los cambios que ha ocasionado en las escuelas, comunidades y políticas nacionales. El análisis emplea una serie de modelos de innovación y reforma educativa para evaluar el impacto horizontal y vertical de la Red del Proyecto de Escuelas Asociadas, esbozando conclusiones generales sobre la utilidad que tienen estas redes para el aprendizaje intercultural y el cambio educativo y social. Algunos de los aspectos esenciales del trabajo son la participación comprometida de individuos y grupos implicados (stakeholders), el tratamiento de temas culturalmente sensibles, las interpretaciones culturales de determinados asuntos, el valor de las redes horizontales y la dificultad de conseguir un impacto vertical sobre la elaboración de políticas a nivel nacional.

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Résumé APPRENDRE À VIVRE ENSEMBLE : COMPTE RENDU DU RÉSEAU DU PROJET DES COLES ASSOCIÉÉES DE L’UNESCO – Quelques 7400 écoles appartiennent au réseau global du Réseau du Projet des Écoles Associées de l’UNESCO. Elles ont le devoir de promouvoir des idéaux tels que les droits de l’Homme, la compréhension interculturelle, la paix et la protection de l’environnement. Cette étude est basée sur un vaste compte rendu entrepris en 2003. Elle délibère des origines et analyse les acquis du Réseau du Projet des Écoles Associées par rapport à ce qu’il a apporté comme changements au sein des écoles, des communautés et de la politique nationale. L’analyse utilise une variété de modèles d’innovation et de réforme éducative afin d’évaluer l’impact horizontal et vertical du Réseau du Projet des Écoles Associées. Elle en tire des conclusions générales quant à l’utilité de ce genre de réseaux pour l’apprentissage interculturel et le changement éducatif et social. Les thèmes clés comprennent l’engagement des intéressés, le traitement des débouchés sensibles sur le plan culturel ; les interprétations culturelles de certains sujets ; la valeur de réseaux horizontaux ; et la difficulté d’acquérir un impact vertical sur l’élaboration de la politique nationale.

     

Funding and the attainment of transformation goals in South Africa’s higher education

The link between the funding of higher education and the attainment of higher education transformation goals in South Africa, especially access by students from previously under‐represented communities, is the main focus of this paper. Specifically, the paper examines three questions: (a) How does public funding of higher education encourage (or discourage) the attainment of higher education transformation goals in South Africa? (b) What challenges do frequent tuition fee increases pose to the attainment of higher education transformation goals? (c) How can South Africa’s higher education be made affordable for indigent (mostly black) students? The paper concludes that although South Africa’s higher education funding formula is generally geared towards attaining the goals of transformation, several of its aspects are inimical to the achievement of these goals. Further, declining public funding of higher education and frequent tuition fee increases by public universities vis‐à‐vis higher education’s natural inclination to reproduce, and even to exacerbate, existing social disparities and inequalities do not bode well for the attainment of transformation in South Africa’s higher education. This is aggravated by existing high levels of poverty and inequality mostly affecting the majority of the communities that were marginalised during apartheid.     

Perceived parental stress in face of kindergarten children’s academic setback: roles of parents’ goals and education

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Previous research studies have demonstrated the link between parents’ education and parental stress level. However, these studies have not taken...     

From PISA to national branding: exploring Finnish education®

Since the recent global paradigm shift in the governance of higher education toward business and marketing, internationally competitive education is increasingly considered as an asset for governments. Consequently, governments started to invest in education branding and marketing their educational systems. In Finland, national interest in education branding rose especially since the country's success in the programme for international student assessment studies created a positive reputation of its basic education. In this article, the authors investigate how this reputation is transformed into a general Finnish education brand, based upon Finland's official Country Brand Report (2010). The governmental discourse on Finnish education reveals a fusion of education and national branding, which is why the authors suggest to discuss the Finnish education brand as Finnish education®. The article provides an analysis of the elements constituting the brand and opens up a critical discussion on the ethics of branding education through cultural and national characteristics.     

From Jatz to God’s Boy: On the Greatness of Gatsby

As the spokesman of the Jazz Age,F.Scott Fitzgerald presents readers a panoramic view of the 1920s American life with his publications.Considered as his best-written book and the most widely read one,the success or greatness of The Great Gatsby,to a large degree,owes to the protagonist–Jay Gatsby.Through a brief literature review,this paper mainly focuses on the analysis of the greatness of Gatsby from three aspects-the consummate hero of intense will and belief,the notion of"Appearance made Real"and his endeavors in the pursuit of spiritual values.     

Children’s education rights at the transition to secondary education: School choice in Northern Ireland

The principles of school choice and diverse provision underpin transition to secondary education in a majority of countries. This article focuses on the potential for structural diversity to constrain rather than promote choice. Although intended to improve equity in access and quality of provision, choice-based systems serve to homogenise school intakes and magnify attainment differences between schools. School choice decisions become high-stakes in such contexts, because eventual school placements influence the future character of children’s schooling. In Northern Ireland, existing community divisions are reflected in the available school types, with a majority of places at either Catholic or de facto Protestant schools, and only a small number at Integrated schools. This results in high levels of homogenisation along community lines. In addition, the provision of separate grammar and non-grammar schools means that intakes are also academically stratified, resulting in the extreme between-school attainment differences characteristic of systems arranged in this way. Drawing on documentary evidence and a survey of transition-age children, this research discusses how school choice within structurally complex systems can be constrained. The main focus is on how children’s education rights, as set down in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, are placed at risk by the interaction of system-level divisions. It concludes that school choice arrangements in Northern Ireland do not operate in compliance with children’s education rights when tested against each of the requirements set out in Tomasevski’s 4-As scheme, namely that education provision must be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable.