Priced out: the renegotiation of aspirations and individualized HE ‘choices’ in England.

ABSTRACT

Official policy texts in England have long assumed that students make their Higher Education choices in an individualized, rational and context-free manner. Under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government (2010–2015), a greater emphasis was placed on accomplishing higher levels of widening participation in elite institutions. Those who do not progress to such institutions, or to HE at all, are presented as having ‘low aspirations’. Using data from an ESRC funded narrative inquiry of socioeconomically underrepresented Further Education students’ HE decision-making and choices, I demonstrate how they aspired highly while initially showing competitive and individualized choice strategies. However, financial constraints led to the renegotiation of their aspirations over time, leading them to compromise for ‘reasonable’ rather than ‘preferred’ HE options. Subsequently, this had negative impacts upon the participants’ subjectivities. The article provides support for arguments against current individualized conceptualizations of ‘aspiration’ presented by policy, and proposes approaches to move away from this.     

Re/cognising the discursive fr/Ames of equity and widening participation in higher education

ABSTRACT

Policy and program language in the UK and Australian higher education sectors consistently deploys the term aspiration in ways that adhere to the hegemonic neo-liberal ideal of the entrepreneurial competitor-individual, de-meaning and de-valuing ‘other’ personhoods. University Equity and Widening Participation (EWP) outreach programs that engage with marginalised groups in school and community settings challenge people to perform particular aspirations from what can be a deeply uncertain present. This paper presents a cautionary tale from the Australian Equity and Widening Participation (EWP) context that emerged from a research-informed practice PhD, spanning two methodologically different phases. The paper argues that the discursive framing of certain aspirations as legitimate works in subtle ways to shape the perceptual horizons of EWP practitioners and participants. Specifically, the work takes issue with policy frames that create conditions for misrecognition(s) that are themselves difficult to re/cognise. A metaphorical pedagogical tool is developed using the Ames Room illusion.     

壮志凌云的“新华”梦——全面抗战前张善琨电影之路的起步

张善琨是中国电影史上最具争议性的人物之一,其作为制片人的电影之路长久以来少被关注。从制片人的角度来看,张善琨由戏剧片进军电影业,受自身电影王国梦想的鼓动,在短短两年间于日益严峻的国族危机之际完成了"新华"影业生产行销模式的基本确立。这既是张善琨电影之路的起步,同时也是全面抗战前中国国产电影发展的一个见证。     

义务的道德与愿望的道德的内在逻辑探析

法律与道德的关系一直成为不少的哲学家和法学家广泛探讨的问题,近现代的实证法学家们提出法律与道德的不相关性,而代表自然法学派的法哲学家富勒则提出法律与道德的相关性观点,将社会的道德分为义务的道德与愿望的道德,认为义务的道德是维持社会得以正常进行而遵守的道德义务,是一种底端的要求。而愿望的道德是促使个人得以很好的发展及社会更加进步而崇尚的道德规范,属于一种高端的要求。二者有着内在的逻辑性,表现在义务的道德是愿望的道德的逻辑基础,愿望的道德以义务的道德为奠基并成为其必要性,二者共同成为了法律的内在逻辑要求,并赋予法律以内在的道德性。     

Through Student Eyes: Perceptions and Aspirations of Students from the Armenian State Agrarian University and Selected European Universities

Abstract

This research compared attributes of students enrolled in the Armenian State Agrarian University (ASAU) with university students from 30 European countries (EFMD) about graduate study policy issues. A cross-national comparative design used a survey questionnaire to explore contextual, social and cultural phenomena. Samples included 801 ASAU and 3,265 EFMD students. Demographics of samples were similar. Students were largely unaware of the Bologna reforms and the impact on study abroad. Slightly more than half of EFMD participants were in a bachelor's programme compared to 96% of ASAU students. ASAU students held a more pragmatic rationale for foreign study, ranking ‘advancing professional careers’ as the top reason, while EFMD students chose ‘overall experience’. Obstacles included bureaucracy, funding and accommodations. Although groups had similar geographical preferences for foreign study, Eastern Europe was more preferred by ASAU students. Half of the EFMD students planned graduate enrollment ‘immediately following the degree’ compared to one-quarter of ASAU students. Half of the EFMD students were aware of mobility scholarships compared to three-quarters of ASAU students. One in two EFMD students reported university media rankings important compared to one in seven ASAU students.

The Bologna Declaration accelerated horizontal collaboration among European universities. Students have a larger collective voice in curriculum change. The findings of this research provide a better understanding of student aspirations, motivations, expectations and barriers. These findings can contribute to guiding policies and procedures for recruitment, admission, retention and mobility.     

美国教师专业发展学校ABC

美国教师专业发展学校是由学校和大学教育学院共同创建的一种"新型学校"。本文结合美国近30年教师专业发展学校发展的历史,通过对其所取得的成效、发展特点以及愿景的分析,探讨了美国教师专业发展学校对我国建立开放灵活的教师教育体系提供的诸多有益启示。