Evaluation of fellowships awarded to developing countries — What do the studies tell?

Despite the expansion in the developing countries of institutions of higher education the award of fellowships to nationals from these countries for study abroad, in particular in developed countries, is still important. In order to learn about the effectiveness of various elements of the fellowship programmes - for example, the selection process, the relevance and use of the training, and the brain drain - many donor agencies as well as a few recipient countries have evaluated the activity. However, as most of these studies are never published, there is very little readily available information about the outcome of the fellowship training. Against this background, the present article analyses and discusses the findings of a number of evaluations undertaken. The analysis points out the more important problem areas in the activity. It also draws attention to some methodological issues which, if not considered, may invalidate the findings of studies.     

From university to comprehensive higher education: on the widening gap between ‘Lehre und Leben’

The idea of a university is, ever since Humboldt, synonymous with the examplary life form. Here, the search for truth should be combined with an ambition to live a correct life. It is doubtful if Humboldt's idea of a university ever materialized, but it is nevertheless a regulative ideal of a rational society which within itself also contains the value of science and of education.The four imperatives of Humboldt's idea of a university are discussed: They are (1) the unity of research and teaching, (2) the unity of the various empirical sciences achieved through philosophy, once the queen of the sciences, (3) the unity of science and general upbringing (Bildung), and (4) the unity of science and universal enlightenment. There are tensions with regard to each one of these unities in the modern world, and the modern university has lost the extravagant position that it once occupied. It is argued in the end, however, that the greatest challenge for the modern university is to retain the spirit of the four imperatives, and seek to embody them in new, and modern forms.An earlier version of this article appeared in Studies of Higher Education and Research 1991(1), a newsletter distributed by the Swedish Council for Studies of Higher Education. We are grateful to the Council for permission to publish this revised version.     

“Areas of Instruction”—A Tool for Assessing the Quality of Instructional Situations

A model for analysing the nature of the dyadic teacher–student interplay in instructional situations including one teacher and one student is described. The “teacher” may be a regular teacher, a parent, or any other person who is in the position of teacher. The “student” may be a student of any age. The model may discern (a) if the teacher merely asks for information preknown to the teacher and the teacher evaluates the student's answer according to the teacher's preknowledge, (b) if the teacher asks for information preknown to the teacher, the teacher then scaffolds the student's learning by giving clues to the correct answer and then evaluates the answer according to the teacher's preknowledge, or (c) the teacher asks for information not preknown to her/him and the teacher is genuinely interested in the student's answer. This last scenario (c) is thought to give optimal conditions for cognitive development for the student.     

Bureaucracies in Schools—Approaches to Support Measures in Swedish Schools Seen in the Light of Skrtic’s Theories

In Sweden, policy changes for provision of special support have been introduced, implying that teachers are obliged to provide and evaluate extra adaptations in regular classrooms prior to referring pupils to special support. The policy changes raise questions about school staffs’ views of support measures and of necessary professional competence for provision of the support measures. We conducted focus group interviews with 60 school staff representatives—headmasters, general education teachers, and special educators/school welfare teams—about their understandings of the new policy. The data were analyzed qualitatively, with the objective to explore school staffs’ approaches to the policy changes. Two main “ideal type approaches” were discerned, using Skrtic’s theories, viz. the bureaucracy approach and adhocracy approach. In the light of Skrtic’s theory, professionals’ reasoning about the new policy may reflect difficulties that are encountered in the process of implementing the policy in bureaucracy-steered schools.     

Is heat generated from a crematorium an appropriate source for district heating? Student teachers' reasoning about a complex environmental issue

This paper reports on a longitudinal study on how science student teachers' reasoning about a complex environmental issue developed through a teacher education programme in mathematics and science for grades 1–7 (ages 7–13). Of special interest was to follow the ways in which student teachers used scientific knowledge in their reasoning. The issue was taken from a newspaper article discussing the use of surplus heat from a crematorium for district heating. A group of 14 student teachers were followed through 2½ years of a teacher education programme, during which they were interviewed three times. The results showed that the student teachers drew upon scientific knowledge only to a limited degree when they were asked to clarify the situation in the article, quickly taking standpoints based upon emotional arguments. Several student teachers experienced a contradiction between science and their emotions. It was also shown that there was a conceptual problem, which could be important for how the student teachers understood the issue, and thereby influenced their decision‐making.     

Student‐teachers' Learning Outcomes during Science Subject Matter Courses

This paper is about a longitudinal study to investigate how student‐teachers developed understanding of some key ecological concepts during a teacher education programme. Another aim was to interpret the student‐teachers' intentions in respect of the programme and to examine how these intentions influenced their learning. A group of students were followed through 2.5 years of a teacher education programme. The whole student group (n = 47–60) answered a questionnaire three times. Their understanding of scientific concepts, relevant to environmental education, was examined. Fourteen students were interviewed three times about a newspaper article discussing the use of surplus heat from a crematorium. The students were also asked about expectations of the teaching programme and of learning experiences from their science courses and from school practice. It is concluded that many of the student‐teachers did not develop the conceptual understanding necessary to be able to engage with the socio‐scientific issue presented to them. It also concludes that many of the student‐teachers approach the learning of science content from the perspective of their personal notions of the tasks of a primary schoolteacher, which is significantly different from the perspectives underpinning the curriculum and the intention of teacher educators. The connection between these two conclusions is discussed.