EDUCATIONAL DECENTRALIZATION IN COMMUNIST AND POST-COMMUNIST HUNGARY

National political reorganization in a post-communist era has reconceptualized both the societal role of education and the cultural significance of schooling for citizens in emerging democracies. To date, attention has focused primarily on changing structures rather than on participant perceptions within those structures. In this policy analysis of Hungary's overlapping decentralization and de-sovietization process, the author constructs macro and micro depictions of contemporary social and educational change. These two columns of inquiry illuminate the interactive dynamics between political, economic, and educational systems and the reidentification process of individuals within evolving systems. Because the decentralization of Hungary's educational system began long before the political break with Moscow in 1989, this case enables a more comprehensive and comparative perspective regarding the reorganization of power between school and state.     

Teaching without a blackboard and chalk: conflicting attitudes towards using ICTs in higher education teaching and learning

This article, derived from a three-year ethnography of distributed medical education provision in a Canadian university, explores the ways in which information and communication technologies are used by teachers and students in their everyday work within technologically rich teaching environments. The environments being researched are two university campuses: a campus at the main university site and a satellite campus in a neighbouring province. The article seeks to contrast dominant, institutional discourses of technology use in higher education teaching with the everyday practices of staff and students. The article concludes that there is a gap between policy and practice in distributed education and that the teaching and learning experience and context of staff and students in different sites need to be analysed in depth, in terms of: whether the experience of learning across sites can be positioned as being comparable; the extent to which technology ameliorates learning and teaching; and understanding the work done by staff.     

Does childhood victimization increase the risk of early death? A 25-year prospective study

BACKGROUND: Abuse and neglect have been shown to influence the mental and physical health of children; however, few studies have examined whether childhood victimization leads to an increased risk of early death. PURPOSE: This paper compares mortality data and examines cause of death for a sample of 908 abused and/or neglected individuals and 667 matched controls who were followed up into young adulthood. METHODS: Using data from a prospective cohort design study, a large group of children with substantiated cases of abuse (physical and sexual) and/or neglect approximately 25 years ago were matched with a control group of children and both groups were followed up into adulthood. The National Death Index was searched twice and official death certificates were collected for most individuals who had died. RESULTS: Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in rates of mortality for the two groups (abuse and neglect = 3.5%, controls = 3.0%). Furthermore, victims of child abuse and neglect were not more likely to experience a violent death. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not provide support for a heightened rate of early death in abused and neglected children followed up into young adulthood. Limitations of the study are discussed as well as potential reasons for these unexpected findings.     

Exploring the effects of talking book software in UK primary classrooms

This paper reports on an exploratory study concerning the effectiveness of specific design features in talking book software. Talking book software has the potential to complement current approaches to literacy instruction. In addition to common features such as word pronunciations, the implementation included sub‐syllabic word pronunciations, hints to encourage independent word identification and activities to reinforce specific reading skills. Two versions of the software were compared using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. One software version had minimal functionality (‘Basic’) and the other incorporated all design features (‘Enhanced’). Each version of the software was used daily for a period of four weeks by 16 children, aged 5 to 6 years. The findings of the study were complex due to variations in learner preferences and reading abilities. Nevertheless, it seems that electronic books can complement teaching approaches in infant classrooms and can positively affect both cognitive and affective learning outcomes. It is evident that children beginning to recognise words can benefit from common features alone. Those children using the Enhanced software who had already acquired a limited sight vocabulary can benefit from exposure to reinforcement activities. Children with more advanced reading skills may benefit from hints to support independent word identification.     

The role of orthographic flexibility in Chinese word reading among kindergarten children

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the potential importance of orthographic flexibility for Chinese reading acquisition. Orthographic flexibility is a novel concept that represents the ability to manage and switch attention among multiple aspects of orthographic information. A total of 92 Chinese kindergarten children at age 6 were assessed on measures of orthographic flexibility, orthographic knowledge, executive functions (EF) skills (i.e. cognitive flexibility and working memory) and Chinese word reading. Results of hierarchical regressions showed that orthographic flexibility uniquely and significantly contributed to word reading beyond the effects of established predictors, namely orthographic knowledge and EF skills. Path analysis further indicated that orthographic flexibility significantly mediated the contribution of EF skills to word reading. These findings provided theoretical insights into the linkage between domain-general EF skills and domain-specific reading ability. The present study also provided practical implication that training on orthographic flexibility in addition to orthographic knowledge could be beneficial to early acquisition of Chinese word reading.     

DE-Sovietizing educational systems,learning from past policy and practice

All 21st century societies face the dilemma of reforming educational systems to meet changing social demands. In order to enable new beginnings to be made, this article examines the ending of reform efforts in the former Soviet Union immediately prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Educational policy had followed a shifting course under changing Soviet leadership, much supposed reform consisting of little more than reworked statements of intent. In the second half of the 1980's, more serious attempts were made to raise enrollment of six-year olds, to upgrade instructional materials and teaching quality, and to redesign vocational education. Inadequate facilities and resources, lack of trained personnel, promotion on non-educational grounds, economic hardship and bureaucratic resistance hindered these reforms. As successor states to the Soviet Union — and others — face structural change, knowledge of why certain reforms were previously resisted will help future planning.

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Zusammenfassung Alle Gesellschaften des 21. Jahrhunderts stehen dem Dilemma einer Reform ihrer Bildungssysteme gegenüber, um den sich ändernden sozialen Anforderungen gerecht zu werden. Um neue Anfänge zu ermöglichen, untersucht dieser Artikel das Ende der Reformbemühungen in der früheren Sowjetunion kurz vor Errichtung der Gemeinschaft Unabhängiger Staaten. Die Bildungspolitik war großen Schwankungen unter wechselnder sowjetischer Führung ausgesetzt; viele Reformpläne bestanden aus wenig mehr als aufgearbeiteten Absichten. In der zweiten Hälfte der 80er Jahre wurden ernsthaftere Versuche unternommen, die Einschulungsquoten der Sechsjährigen zu erhöhen, das Unterrichtsmaterial und die Lehrqualität zu verbessern und die berufliche Bildung neu zu gestalten. Unzulängliche Einrichtungen und Ressourcen, ein Mangel an ausgebildetem Personal, Beförderungen nach nicht-pädagogischen Kriterien, wirtschaftliche Engpässe und bürokratischer Widerstand standen diesen Reformen entgegen. Da die Nachfolgestaaten der Sowjetunion — und andere Staaten — strukturellen Veränderungen entgegensehen, wird das Wissen um die Gründe für den vorangegangenen Widerstand gegen gewisse Reformen künftigen Planungen von Nutzen sein.

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Résumé Au siècle prochain, toutes nos sociétés devront faire face au dilemme posé par la réforme des systèmes d'éducation, afin de répondre à l'évolution des exigences sociales. Afin de permettre de nouveaux points de départ, cet article étudie la conclusion des efforts de réforme tentés par l'ancienne Union Soviétique immédiatement avant la création de la Communauté des Etats Indépendants. La politique éducative avait connu un cours changeant sous un gouvernement soviétique instable, de nombreuses réformes attendues se résumant plus ou moins à la modification de déclarations d'intention. Dans la seconde moitié des années 80, des tentatives plus sé rieuses ont été réalisées pour augmenter la scolarisation des enfants de six ans, actualiser le matériel scolaire et la qualité de l'enseignement, et pour remanier la formation professionnelle. Des installations et moyens insuffisants, le manque de personnel formé, l'avancement pour des raisons autres que professionnelles, les importantes difficultés économiques et la résistance bureaucratique ont mis un frein à ces réformes. Du fait que les Etats succédant à l'Union Soviétique — et à d'autres nations réformées — font face aux changements structurels, ils pourront programmer l'avenir, conscients des raisons pour lesquelles certaines réformes ont échoué par le passé.

     

Consultation with Parents of Handicapped Children

One of the most important responsibilities facing professionals in the educational setting is consultation with parents; few areas are as sensitive as consultation with parents of handicapped children. Various stages of adjustment tend to be experienced by these parents, and these need to be taken into consideration when consulting with them. Professionals should become more cognizant of the emotional factors which may be present in the lives of parents of handicapped youngsters.     

The Unification of Post-Compulsory Education: Towards a Conceptual Framework

The drive to 'unify'post-compulsory education and training systems is one of the most important current developments in education policy. However the concept of 'unification' lacks clarity, is not widely recognised, and is pursued through different measures in different countries. In this paper we propose a conceptual framework with which to analyse the different meanings of and debates about unification. Using England and Scotland as examples, we show how the framework may be used to analyse existing systems, reform strategies, and processes and pressures for change. The framework is exploratory and will need to be tested and developed in relation to a wider variety of education systems.     

“That's more like how they know me as a person”: one primary pre‐service teacher's stories of her personal and ‘professional’ digital practices

In contributing to debates about how student‐teachers might draw from personal experience in addressing digital literacy in the classroom, this paper explores the stories that one primary student‐teacher told of her digital practices during a larger study of the role of digital literacy in student‐teachers' lives. The paper investigates the ‘recognition work’ this student‐teacher did as she aligned herself with different discourses and notes how themes of ‘control’ and ‘professionalism’ seemed to pattern her stories of informal and formal practices both within and beyond her professional education. The paper calls for further research into how student‐teachers perceive the relevance of their personal experience to their professional role and argues for encouraging pre‐service and practising teachers to tell stories of their digital practices and reflect upon the discourses which frame them.