Mobilities of policy and mobile parents – creating a new dynamic in policy borrowing within state schooling

ABSTRACT

In this article, we focus on the transformations imposed on schools by individual parents, arguing that schools as modern organisations change not only through top-down pressures orchestrated by an array of international organisations, for-profit companies and media as shown in previous research, but also through the agency of mobile parents, who seek to import reforms from elsewhere, based on their previous schooling experiences abroad. We focus on a specific group of middle class parents, who are continuously mobile, moving between global cities for employment. This paper brings into the discussion the role of individual parental strategies as they seek to promote education policy-borrowing. By applying the theoretical lens of stakeholder identification and salience, using a multi case study research design, we suggest that parents express high levels of power, legitimacy and a sense of urgency, thus being able to successfully advocate for change. We argue that while exploring organisational reform occurring due to the globalisation of education, we must view parents as central actors in this new space.     

What’s in a word? Practices associated with ‘feedforward’ in higher education

Abstract

The term ‘feedforward’ is increasingly employed in higher education, and this paper focuses on the way in which it fits into contemporary debates about feedback and its impact on practitioners. Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate the practices academics associate with feedforward and the ways in which their intentions and understandings varied. The term resulted in practices being framed as a process and prompted academics to consider the points in the future when students were expected to deploy information and improve. Three future horizons were identified: the ‘within-module’ future horizon dominated, while the challenges of ‘beyond-module’ and ‘beyond-programme’ horizons became apparent. Written comments, guidance, formative assessment and design practices were associated with feedforward, comprising both transmission and student-focused approaches. It is concluded that the modular system restricts longer-term future horizons and sustainable practices, and more must be done to address the divide between theoretical and practitioners’ perspectives.     

The synergy of minority student persistence and faculty renewal

In response to increased student assessment and accountability concerns, colleges and universities have been called on to increase their efforts to improve the retention rates of an increasingly diverse student body. This article outlines a synergistic strategy for promoting minority student persistence through faculty renewal efforts that encourage faculty to question their cultural beliefs and academic values concerning the teaching and learning enterprise.Dr. Kay F. Norman is currently with Delaware State University where she is Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching. She also teaches graduate courses in Educational Assessment and Special Education Administration and Supervision. She holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration with emphasis in Student Services from Texas Southern University. Her research interests are in student retention, assessment, and effective teaching. James Norman, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Education at Delaware State University's School of Education. He is a graduate of Ohio State University. Dr. Norman's research interest include special education monitoring and compliance issues, and behavioral management systems.     

A nine‐country survey of youth in Europe: selected findings and issues

A nine‐country survey of the life orientations, values and institutional trust of 8948 young people at the upper end of the secondary school age range was set up at the University of Würzburg in the year 2000. Key findings demonstrate that these young people value personal autonomy and are orientated to success in their professional lives and that they especially trust human rights and environmental groups. Religion is associated positively with humanitarianism and in some countries negatively with modernity. These findings provide an indication of the typical life stances of future opinion‐formers and illustrate methodological issues thrown up by international research.     

International Collaboration for In-service: The Bhutanese Multigrade Attachment Program

The Bhutanese Multigrade Attachment Program has developed through collaboration between a number of agencies and institutions in Australia and Bhutan. The collaboration between funding bodies, the Education Division in Bhutan, the University of New England (UNE) and school communities around Armidale features a shared knowledge of what is needed, an approach that does not privilege one partner over another and processes which focus on mutual understanding. It depends upon trust within continuing relationships, and hard work from those involved. The program has developed considerably and it is evident that there have been a range of positive professional and cultural outcomes for those involved in Bhutan and in Australia. Some difficulties are also identified. The paper is a useful case study for workers and academics involved in, or contemplating, development assistance projects.     

Access and Equity: A Case Analysis of Local Implementation under the Higher Education Equity Programme

The Access and Equity Programme at the University of Southern Queensland is an example of a program supported by the Commonwealth Government's Higher Education Equity Programme. The characteristics of this program are discussed in terms of its context, focus and rationale, structure and components, and outcomes. The program is seen to be successful in fulfilling the aim of such programs to promote greater access to higher education from disadvantaged groups. However, it is also concluded that: the required focus on defined target groups can itself be inequitable by ignoring cases of individual disadvantage; the need for quota selection leaves the least capable without any support for their aspirations; and the almost exclusive concentration on prerequisite academic knowledge leaves some without sufficient awareness and adaptability to cope with the demands of higher education.     

Tell another story,teacher!

The classroom is still. The children are watching the teacher, wide-eyed. The teacher is dressed in a red cape and hood. Softly she begins: Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Red Riding Hood ...Kay Singley is a former Kindergarten Teacher who lives in Moulton, Iowa.     

Teacher candidates research,teach, and learn in the nation's first net zero school

Teacher candidates conducted field hours in the nation's first net zero school, which uses the same amount of energy, measured annually, as it produces. These teacher candidates saw firsthand integration of the net zero advantages by completing a Collaborative Research Project and a Net Zero Lesson, which incorporated the use of the net zero building features as part of the lesson plan criteria. As a result, teacher candidates experienced how students can learn from their constructed environment and how that learning could contribute to a more sustainable world.