Adequacy, efficiency and equity of higher education financing: The case of Egypt

To meet its future challenges in financing higher education, Egypt has no option but to search for alternative funding arrangements. This article considers the question of how to do so, keeping in mind the need to ensure equitable access to good quality education for those who cannot afford it. To this end, the article begins by assessing public expenditure on higher education in Egypt, with respect to its adequacy, efficiency, and equity. Next, it analyzes the impacts that demographic changes, the demand for quality education, and the transition to private provision of education will have on the nature of financing higher education in the future. It concludes by suggesting alternative strategies to address the problem of financing higher education in Egypt.     

Turkish elementary student teachers’ epistemological beliefs and moral reasoning

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationships among Turkish elementary student teachers’ epistemological beliefs and moral reasoning, and to determine which types of epistemological beliefs elementary student teachers exhibit. The findings of the present study demonstrated that epistemological beliefs did not make a unique contribution to moral reasoning and student teachers’ epistemological beliefs developed as more or less independent beliefs. The factor analyses results suggest that multidimensional theory is more appropriate than unidimensional theory in explaining student teachers’ epistemological beliefs.     

Digital Technology Usage of Young Children: Screen Time and Families

Early Childhood Education Journal - This study aimed to explore the digital environments of 3–6-year-old children within the home setting. A total of 537 children aged...     

Cultural and socio-political influences on counseling and career guidance: The case of Arabs in the Jewish State

Conclusion Counseling in Arab schools in Israel is part and parcel of the whole Arab educationsystem. Like the system itself, counseling is also an object of many socio-politicalfactors which influence it negatively in such a status of affairs. However, unlikeother components of the system and due to its very nature, it is more susceptibleto these influences superimposed upon it. Its weakness is readily observable, morethan that of any other educational delivery service This weakness is due to itshigh level of susceptibility stemming from its nature as a reflector of both themacro and micro problems of education and society, to its being an object ofdifferent factors of cultural restraints since it is a super modern service plantedinto a traditional setting, to the lack of strong leadership and backing, and finally,at as due to the tact that at is at the cross-roads of conflicting political forces stemmingfrom the authonty's expectations on the one hand and from the community onthe other.Even though counseling and career guidance are found to be under varyingcultural and socio-political constraints in the Arab educational system in Israel,it is nonetheless a most meaningful educational service. Its meaningfulness isrecognized beyond its micro level of functioning (i e helping students in personalproblems, family issues and learning difficulties and/or guiding a student more orless successfully into a suitable career ). Its meaningfulness is notable also inthe following contributions.Firstly, it has a modernizing effect on the total educational system. It is aninnovation which Arab schools have had to cope with as they absorbed it. It createdpositive orientation towards innovations, especially those aiming at the well-beingof students. Secondly, counseling as a reflector of micro and macro problems hasuncovered those problems and brought them to the attention of students, teachers,authorities and communities. Thirdly, the introduction of counseling services intoArab schools opened a whole new path of vocational choice in that it familiarizedArab youth with a new area of vocations, namely the helping services in theirmodern sense. Finally, its introduction into the Arab educational system hassensitized students in particular, and the wider community an general, to look forprofessional help. Especially under conditions of cultural transition, this contributionis of special significance. Traditional ways of providing help to people haveeither vanished or become outdated and unsatisfactory.     

Microbial control of diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) using bacteria (Xenorhabdus nematophila) and its metabolites from the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae

Cells and cell-free solutions of the culture filtrate of the bacterial symbiont, Xenorhabdus nematophila taken from the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae in aqueous broth suspensions were lethal to larvae of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella. Their application on leaves of Chinese cabbage indicated that the cells can penetrate into the insects in the absence of the nematode vector. Cell-free solutions containing metabolites were also proved as effective as bacterial cells suspension. The application of aqueous suspensions of cells of X. nematophila or solutions containing its toxic metabolites to the leaves represents a possible new strategy for controlling insect pests on foliage.     

A Conceptual Model (The Six Mirrors of the Classroom) and It’s Application to Teaching and Learning About Microorganisms

In this paper a conceptual model of instruction “the six mirrors of the classroom” used as a frame for teaching a learning topic, the microorganisms are depicted. The paper consists of four sections: (a) the six mirrors of the classroom model (SMC); (b) the SMC as implemented in the expository and cooperative modes of instruction in classrooms and results; (c) a “Journey of Inquiry into the Wonderful World of Microorganisms” (JIWWM), developed according to the Science–Technology–Environment–Peace–Society (STEPS) approach; and (d) teaching and learning the JIWWM, in ninth-grade classes, within the SMC model. The results show that science topic can be taught in the frame of the mirrors of the classroom. When the instructional goals of the teachers used the mirror “1, classroom organization” and mirror “6, pupils’ social behavior” and the third ring around the all six mirrors cooperative skills were practiced, academic outcomes were achieved, and attitudes toward environmental preservation and peace improved. The SMC model can serve as a valuable tool for teachers, since it can design their teaching and learning settings in a more controlled environment, in terms of objectives, teachers’ and students’ social behaviors, and academic outcomes.