Is Education Getting Lost in University Mergers?

Mergers are common phenomena in higher education institutions. Improving educational quality is typically one of the stated goals of university mergers. Yet, little information exists about how merging institutions approach this goal. This paper presents results from a study of planning documents created prior to four mergers in the Finnish higher education system. These documents show that there was little concrete attention given to the educational issues related to the mergers. Most attention was placed on administrative issues and issues related to research. When educational issues were mentioned, it was almost always in the form of vague goals with few details provided about how the goals were to be reached. We conclude that this lack of attention to the educational aspect of mergers is a significant weakness of the planning process in these mergers.

     

“Under pressure I fall back to being a teacher…” confronting contending desires for schooling and teaching in a middle school reform project

This article examines a Victorian high school’s implementation of a new Year 9 program which was intended to interrupt a traditional academic curriculum and to create an imagined oasis of care and personal development for students. It explores ways in which (1) the existing culture and context of the school continues to frame the subjectivities of teachers, students and parents in relation to the new program, (2) the attempt to preserve a competitive academic traditional orientation alongside an alternative approach is a central dilemma for this school, and (3) the new relationships between teachers and students are experienced by them as an interplay of pleasure and surveillance, connection and discipline. The article argues that the conflicts and pressures experienced by the teachers and students are not simply local and contingent ones but indicative of wider tensions in current Australian education policy.     

Modeling Resilience in an Alternative Education Context

Black and Latino students and the educators who serve as their advocates must be resilient in a highly contentious and racialized public education system. Modeling resilience in the public education system relies on individual assets and the extent to which one’s school possesses the resources and support needed to cultivate such assets. This study used interviews and site observations to explore the degree to which educators and students model resilience in an alternative education program. Findings suggest educators engage a sense of agency when they advocate for inclusion of Black and Latino students. In addition, an alternative education context can provide resources and cultivate strong relationships, a sense of self-efficacy and future orientation among educators and students. These findings highlight the assets educators and advocates need and the programs required to promote resilience in the public education system.     

Social Class,Gender and Ethnic Differences in Subjects Taken at Age 14.

In this paper, we identify patterns of subject and qualification choices made at age 14. Much of the previous research on ‘subject choice’ has focussed on the later stages of educational trajectories, particularly Higher Education. However, the choices made at early branching points can limit pupils’ subsequent options, potentially contributing to educational inequalities. This paper identifies the patterns of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) subjects chosen by a cohort of young people born in 1989/1990. We make use of the Next Steps data (formerly the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)) which is linked to the National Pupil Database. We develop an approach to measuring the academic selectivity of subjects and qualifications. We examine the roles of social class, parental education, income, gender and ethnicity in determining participation in these curriculum groupings. Using measures of prior attainment from age thirteen, we address the question of whether curriculum differentials simply reflect differences in prior attainment or whether they actually operate above and beyond existing inequalities. We find clear socio-economic, gender, ethnic and school-level differences in subjects studied which cannot be accounted for by prior attainment.     

Factors influencing research collaborations in Kenyan universities

This paper presents the results of an exploration of factors influencing the organisation and conduct of academic research collaborations in Kenya. A mixed methods research design, involving 248 academics in four disciplines across four major public Kenyan universities, was employed. The study reveals a relatively high level of collaborative research which varies by disciplinary areas. Resource dependence emerged as having a strong influence on decisions to collaborate for this community. This was mainly attributed to low levels of investment in funding research, at both the institutional and national level. At the institutional level, inadequate policies, high levels of bureaucracy, competition among local institutions, weak links with industry, and a major focus on teaching as opposed to research, were reported as barriers to collaborative research. These contextual issues informed the resulting discussion of factors that affect collaborative research in Kenya.