Labour migration in Moldova: context and controls

The Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence in 1991. Like other republics of the former USSR, during the last decade of the Twentieth Century, Moldova initiated social and economic reforms aimed at the country's transition to a market economy. A series of relevant social changes were achieved in Moldova but, contrary to initial estimates, they failed to provide the expected results. Moreover, this phase led to a deepening economic crisis, and subsequently to a catastrophic decline in living standards, the depreciation of moral and ethical norms, and insecurity. The departure of a large part of the labour force abroad, in search of jobs, has considerably diminished Moldova's human resources. Year by year, the emigration of the country's intellectuals has intensified. More and more higher education graduates, academics, school teachers and scientific researchers emigrate. No systematic and detailed studies of brain drain in Moldova exist, as the phenomenon has not been monitored at national level. The present study attempts a brief analysis of brain drain from the Republic of Moldova and offers some recommendations.     

Translating norms from Europe to Turkey: Turkey in the Bologna Process

This article focuses on the structural changes Turkish higher education is going through as a result of Turkey’s integration into the European educational space. The focus of the article is the process of policy transfer. For this purpose, the article outlines the changes in Turkish higher education comprehensively to explain the dynamics of the policy transfer. Creation of a national qualifications system and establishment of a quality assurance system are given as examples of policy transfer. The article concludes that while the system is becoming more student-centred, change in higher education is happening in a very top-down fashion, where participation of relevant stakeholders is not ensured.     

Student Learning Through Participation in Inquiry Activities: Two Case Studies in Teacher and Computer Engineering Education

The two case studies reported in this article contribute to a better understanding of how inquiry tasks and activities are employed as resourceful means for learning in higher professional education. An observation-based approach was used to explore characteristics of and challenges in students’ participation in collaborative inquiry activities in two first-year introductory courses in teacher and computer engineering education. The findings highlight that the students’ activities varied with regard to focus and structure and were shaped by the types of inquiry tasks, i.e. case analysis and project-based work, by how the inquiry process was guided and supported and the way the domain-specific knowledge resources and practices were introduced. An exploratory strategy and rather confined use of resources characterised the teacher education students’ inquiry, while collaborative programming, a trial-and-error approach and extensive use of external resources that of the engineering education students’. For the teacher students, the main challenge was to construct meaning of conceptual knowledge and to integrate different forms of knowledge as a lens for analysing practice. The computer engineering students experienced challenges with unpacking the underlying principles and knowledge black-boxed in the widely available resources. The article suggests that future research and curriculum designs should depart from a more refined understanding of inquiry as a learning means, by connecting inquiry activities to the specific knowledge domains, the type of tasks most suited to explore each of this domains and the challenges that may arise for students.     

Higher Education for the Twenty‐First Century

The author begins by distinguishing between culture and civilization; one is particular and characteristic of given peoples and nations; the other is global and based on science. Education is called upon to impart, to transmit, and to promote both cultures and civilization drawing upon the latter to promote tolerance among the former. Four major components of learning are participation, anticipation, concentration, and motivation. For the future, learning, particularly higher learning, must become life‐long, computer assisted, international in character, and modularized. Learning of this sort should reduce the tensions between civilization and cultures.     

A model for Islamic education from Turkey: the Imam-Hatip schools

The aim of this article is to examine the Imam-Hatip schools and their basic features, the characteristic model of Islamic education in Turkey that was proposed as an alternative model for other Muslim countries during their madrasa reform movements in the aftermath of the September 11 events in the USA. In the continuation of the madrasa tradition during the Saljuki period under state supervision, along with the modernisation efforts in education since the late Ottoman period, these schools have been revitalised and adapted to the contemporary conditions of educational institutions. At the foundation of these schools, there lay a notion of reconciliation between the ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’. Throughout the years of the Turkish Republic, these schools have constantly become a controversial issue in terms of their number, structure, and student and alumni profiles. Especially after the opening process of the Turkish people and Turkish foreign policies to the world, the issue has become an international one since the 1980s. After the events of 11 September 2001, these schools were offered as an alternative model for madrasas in Muslim countries and therefore drew international attention to themselves.     

Facilitating place-based environmental education through bird studies: an action research investigation

This study involved a workshop designed to support biology teachers in conducting birdwatching activities with their students and to promote place-based environmental education in Turkey. The instruments for collecting data were a workshop questionnaire and interviews. The findings revealed that initial response to the workshop was positive; participating teachers reported that the resources and strategies motivated them to conduct bird studies with students. They identified barriers and noted that the place-based education approach might help overcome many of these barriers. After the workshop, it became clear that participants’ initial intentions to integrate birdwatching into their lessons were challenged by lack of confidence and time. To gain deeper insights into the outcomes of the project, the project coordinator used action research strategies to reflect on her practice and reveal implications for her continued efforts to promote bird and environmental education. She kept a journal, used reiterative reflection, and content analysis to analyse workshop evaluations and interviews. The coordinator recognized potentials and challenges for facilitating birdwatching and environmental education as part of her teaching career. This study shares some of her efforts to provide ongoing support and emphasizes that facilitation of environmental education needs time, commitment, and passion.     

COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES AND DISCIPLINES: THE BUCHAREST READING GROUP AS EMBODIED SOCIAL KNOWING

This article reports on a pedagogical experiment conducted by three American Soros Foundation‐sponsored professors and several Romanian sociology students who formed a reading circle. Its purpose was to encourage an exchange of ideas among students and teachers in an informal setting. Beginning in 1994, its first topic of discussion was Sex, Love, and Death in Postmodern Literature. During the following year, the topic was Public and Private Space in Society, and for the current (1996‐1997) academic year, it is Communication: Embodied Action in Culture. Partially presented in an interview format, this article serves as an interim evaluation of this type of teaching‐learning experience and also of the possibilities of academic mobility.     

Question types and wait-time during science related activities in Turkish preschools

The aim of the study is to investigate the types of questions that preschool teachers used during the science-related activities and preschool teachers’ behaviors in terms of wait-time. Through this study, the types of questions (lower level and higher level), the time that teachers allocate to their students to respond, and the teachers’ responses to the students’ answers were investigated. The study was conducted with six teachers working with six-year-old children in preschool institutions. In this qualitative study, the data were obtained through classroom observations. The findings of the study revealed that the teachers mostly asked lower level questions to the students and that they did not use the wait-time strategy effectively. Additionally, the findings showed that the teachers did not pay enough attention to the students’ responses. The teachers allowed students answer the questions as quickly as possible without encouraging them to think over their answers. Moreover, the teachers answered the questions themselves when the students did not give the correct answers. Finally, the teachers mostly dealt with the children actively participating much more than the other students who were less attentive.     

A quantitative investigation of prospective teachers’ hopes and their motivational forces

The present study aimed to investigate the diverse aspects of prospective teachers’ dispositional hopes, teaching-specific hopes, and their sources, as well as to explore whether these would significantly predict their preparation for the teaching profession. A total of 851 prospective teachers voluntarily participated in the study. A series of confirmatory factor analyses, multiple regression analyses, and structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to answer the research questions appropriately. The results showed that prospective teachers’ dispositional hopes can be examined based on four factors (i.e. active hope, passive hope, internal sources, and external sources), whereas their teaching-specific hopes can be examined based on seven factors (i.e. student motivation, student development, student achievement, teaching, relationships with students, internal sources, and external sources). The results also demonstrated that the teaching-specific hopes in relation to student development, relationships with students, teaching, and their external sources significantly motivated prospective teachers to be involved in a number of activities related to teaching during teacher education.