Education as a Positional Good: Implications for Market-Based Reforms of State Schooling

Analyses of market-based reforms of state schooling have occasionally acknowledged positional elements in parental demand, but none has fully examined their nature and implications. Contrary to the normal predictions of orthodox economic analysis, competition in positional markets can result in inefficient outcomes. Predominantly relying upon recent British experience, we examine the extent to which compulsory schooling can be viewed as a positional good and explore its implica-tions for policy. In particular, we consider whether policies targeting increases in parental choice assist a rise in the overall level of educa-tional attainment.     

The impact of National Qualifications Frameworks: by which yardstick do we measure dreams?

National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) are a global phenomenon. This is evidenced by their scale, coverage and intrinsic link with education policy across Europe and beyond. Research into their impact has encompassed a number of perspectives; theoretical, practical and evaluative. Yet, despite the existence of critical literature related to the development, design and impact of NQFs, little research has questioned the actual feasibility of researching the ‘impact’ of NQFs per se. The arguments in this paper position such research as both unfeasible and futile: a dream for which it is impossible to identify a suitable yardstick to measure. We base our argument around three broad themes: linguistics and semantics; homogeneity; and methodological complexity. Around these themes, we aim to show why such research has proved problematic and, in doing so, contribute to the field as it explores the impact of NQFs in the future.     

Theorising simulation in higher education: difficulty for learners as an emergent phenomenon†

Despite the widespread interest in using and researching simulation in higher education, little discussion has yet to address a key pedagogical concern: difficulty. A ‘sociomaterial’ view of learning, explained in this paper, goes beyond cognitive considerations to highlight dimensions of material, situational, representational and relational difficulty confronted by students in experiential learning activities such as simulation. In this paper we explore these dimensions of difficulty through three contrasting scenarios of simulation education. The scenarios are drawn from studies conducted in three international contexts: Australia, Sweden and the UK, which illustrate diverse approaches to simulation and associated differences in the forms of difficulty being produced. For educators using simulation, the key implications are the importance of noting and understanding (1) the effects on students of interaction among multiple forms of difficulty; (2) the emergent and unpredictable nature of difficulty; and (3) the need to teach students strategies for managing emergent difficulty.     

Community participation and emerging surfing tourism destinations: a case study of the Mentawai Islands

The Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, are an emerging surfing tourism destination. Surfing tourism has the potential to provide significant economic income and employment opportunities for remote communities in less-developed destinations. However, much of the current surfing tourism development is controlled by foreign investors and the actual reported benefits to local community are marginal. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to explore the local community participation in the Mentawai Islands surfing tourism industry. The paper also investigated possible future directions for increasing the local community involvement in the surfing tourism industry. Field research was conducted in the period between July and September of 2010, through in-depth interviews with local stakeholder representatives. In conclusion, the local community perceived foreign ownership and lack of government support as the major barriers to participation. A key finding of this paper was that the local community recognised education and training as the most effective way to increase their participation in the surfing tourism industry; therefore, it is recommended that future studies examine the viability of implementing tourism-specific education and training.     

Elements of improvement in secondary science teacher preparation

Conclusion There are strong indications that the courses developed under the Teacher Preparation Project at Utah State University are providing new dimensions to the education of prospective science teachers and liberal art students who select a science emphasis at the undergraduate level. To date, the courses have institutional support in both staffing and funding that should keep them in place in the coming years. Clearly, the project made adjustments along the way, learning from early mistakes, and building team rapport and commitment required to bring about the completion of the project. Certain issues have been raised and resolved to some extent. Mixing liberal arts majors with secondary science teaching majors appears to be good for the integrative course, bringing diversity of background and viewpoint into the class. The kinds of teaching behaviors in evidence in these classes require high expectations for student performance but also a willingness on the part of the professor to stand back and let the student explore or to allow a discussion to run. This is clearly a more facilitative and less directive teaching role than is expected for most undergraduate courses. Finally, one can expect to get mixed reactions from students, positive about their newfound independence but, for some at least, a lack of tolerance for ambiguity and some discomfort at having a new (and sometimes threatening) set of grading procedures thrust upon them. In the USU Teacher Preparation Project, these decisions have charted a course of action for the future-a course derived from cognitive psychology principles requiring growth on the part of both faculty and students. This material is based upon work supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. TPE-8850642). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations exprtessed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.     

Producing assessment truths: a Foucauldian analysis of teachers’ reorganisation of levels in English primary schools

This article considers a recent policy initiative in assessment in English primary schools (ages 5–11?years) in which curriculum ‘levels’ used by teachers to judge pupils’ attainment were suddenly removed. Previous work has largely focused on assessment of pupils, but we examine assessment as an activity through which teachers reproduce their professional standing. Using data from a small-scale study we investigate how teachers responded to these changes and what this tells us about the way in which the economy, and politics, of assessment practices operate at school level. Using Foucault as a theoretical framework, we make visible how this system was reorganised by teachers through the construction of new regimes of truth. Implications include evidence of a potentially damaging changing relationship between teachers and pupils, the key role of technology and the deleterious effect of neoliberalism on teachers’ and pupils’ relationships with both the process and subject matter of learning.     

Can massive communities of teachers facilitate collaborative reflection? Fractal design as a possible answer

This paper explores the possibility that virtual communities of teachers with large numbers of members (referred to as massive communities of teachers) can offer support to novice teachers by means of collaborative reflection. The paper examines and conceptualises some problems found in professional massive communities and proposes that massification can dilute what some authors have called social presence or engagement. It is argued that this dilution, among other problems, very much hinders collaborative reflection among members of the community. Collaborative reflection is argued to be a crucial part of the support that novice teachers need in their first years in the profession. Therefore, a challenge is envisioned for massive communities of teachers to avoid the dilution of social presence or engagement. The authors argue that this dilution can be overcome by the use of multiple layers within a platform, referred to as fractal design.