Education Commons^™

Neo-Liberal Education Policy In China: Issues And Challenges In Curriculum Reform, Charlene Tan, Vicente C. Reyes Jr

Dr. Vicente C Reyes Jr

This chapter critically discusses the key characteristics and ideological assumptions of neo-liberal education policy, and its impact on curriculum reform in China. To illustrate the adoption and consequences of neo-liberal education policy in China, this chapter focuses on recent curriculum reform in Shanghai. It is argued that there is a shift, through the implementation of neo-liberal education policy, from a “one-size-fits-all” educational model to one that focuses on individual interests and needs in China. However, the neo-liberal education policy in China faces two main challenges. First, although the educational changes attempt to promote more student- centred curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, …

Preparing For Life In A Digital Age: The Iea International Computer And Information Literacy Study International Report, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Tim Friedman, Eveline Gebhardt

Dr Wolfram Schulz

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. ICILS is a response to the increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in modern society and the need for citizens to develop relevant skills in order to participate effectively in the digital age. It also addresses the necessity for policymakers and education systems to have a better understanding of the contexts and outcomes of CIL-related education programs in their countries. ICILS is the first crossnational study …

Religion, Forced Migration And Schooling: Varying Influences Of Religious Capital Among Iraqi Christian Refugee Students In Jordan And The Usa, Bruce A. Collet

Bruce A Collet

This study is based on focus groups conducted with Christian Iraqi refugee secondary school students in the metropolitan Detroit area, and interviews with staff from volunteer aide agencies, non-governmental organizations, churches, and independent researchers in both Amman, Jordan as well as the Detroit metropolitan area. The article examines varying influences of religious capital among Iraqi Christian students. Examination of the operation of this capital within the context of the two countries’ economic and foreign policy interests including their refugee policies exposes macro-level forces that render religious capital to function in countervailing manners. Iraqi Christian students in both Amman and Detroit …

Sites Of Refuge: Refugees, Religiosity, And Public Schools In The United States, Bruce A. Collet

Bruce A Collet

In this article the author examines public schools in the United States as sites where immigrants and refugees express their religious identities as part of their integration processes. In particular, the author examines the schools as “sites of refuge” for refugee students. Although public schools provide refugees with opportunity for study without regard to race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (areas of potential persecution under the 1951 UN Convention Regarding the Status of Refugees), owing to their liberal and secular nature they necessarily put constraints on the degree to which students may exercise their …

Girls’ Schooling Empowerment In Rural China: Identifying Capabilities And Social Change In The Village, Vilma Seeberg

Vilma Seeberg

This study is explicitly anchored in an emerging grounded paradigm, the human development capability approach, and proposes its elaboration using empowerment as a perspective, in this case, on the education of excluded village girls. The person-centered development imperative of the empowerment-capability approach provided the conceptual tools that brought together a holistic observation of social location, subjectivities, agency, achievements and transformative change. Seeking to explain village girls' demand for schooling, the work identifies intangible and instrumental capabilities often unrecognized and "their indirect role through influencing social change" (Sen 1999, 296) contributing grounded findings on the concept of empowerment. Findings further show …

“Used-Book Sales” Report : Key Factors Determining The Publisher’S Success, Lissa Coffey

LissaCoffey

In March, 2006, the Book Industry Study Group published the first study of the used book market. Somewhat miraculously, BISG got data from the major players in the used book marketplace. Because the study is so detailed and broad, The Idea Logical Company prepared a precis of the high points. That summary follows; it is, of course, much more useful reading if you have the study in hand, which is available from www.Bisg.org. The material below refers to tables which are contained in the original report. report on “Used-Book Sales” contains a huge amount of information. How helpful it will …

Thinking It Through: Australian Students’ Skills In Creative Problem Solving, Lisa De Bortoli, Greg Macaskill

Lisa De Bortoli

In every PISA survey, students from every participating country are assessed in the core domains of mathematics, science and reading literacy. In addition to assessing these literacy domains, the OECD proposes additional assessments in other domains. In PISA 2003, a paper-based assessment of cross- disciplinary problem solving was first assessed, when it was included as a core domain. In PISA 2012, problem solving was once again assessed, this time as an optional computer-based assessment.

The focus of the PISA 2012 assessment of problem solving was: Are today’s 15-year-old students acquiring the problem-solving skills that will prepare them to meet the …

Promoting Regional Education Services Integration: Apec University Associations Cross-Border Education Cooperation Workshop: Discussion Paper, Sarah Richardson, Ali Radloff

Dr Sarah Richardson

This discussion paper was prepared to inform the APEC workshop on Promoting Regional Education Services Integration: APEC University Associations Cross-Border Education Cooperation held in Kuala Lumpur from 20–22 May 2014. The workshop brings together university associations to support, pursue and work towards the achievement of the priorities outlined by APEC Economic Leaders. This includes the recognition of best practice in cross-border education (CBE), the identification of existing barriers to CBE, and an examination of ways to progress the priority areas identified. The paper highlights the key considerations for APEC economies in strengthening collaboration around CBE in the university sector and …

Promoting Regional Education Services Integration: Apec University Associations Cross-Border Education Cooperation Workshop: Discussion Paper, Sarah Richardson, Ali Radloff

Ali Radloff

This discussion paper was prepared to inform the APEC workshop on Promoting Regional Education Services Integration: APEC University Associations Cross-Border Education Cooperation held in Kuala Lumpur from 20–22 May 2014. The workshop brings together university associations to support, pursue and work towards the achievement of the priorities outlined by APEC Economic Leaders. This includes the recognition of best practice in cross-border education (CBE), the identification of existing barriers to CBE, and an examination of ways to progress the priority areas identified. The paper highlights the key considerations for APEC economies in strengthening collaboration around CBE in the university sector and …

Creating Sustainable Education Projects In Roatan, Honduras Through Continuous Process Improvement, Arjan Raven, Adriane B. Randolph, Shelli Heil

Adriane B. Randolph

The investigators worked together with permanent residents of Roatán, Honduras on sustainable initiatives to help improve the island’s troubled educational programs. Our initiatives focused on increasing the number of students eligible and likely to attend a university. Using a methodology based in continuous process improvement, we developed tutoring programs, college preparation workshops, long-term plans for a local school, and solicited involvement by an island educational coalition. Lessons learned from these initiatives may be used to expand other efforts on the island and can be generalized to other programs in Central America.

Introduction, Daniel Paracka, Darina Lepadatu

Daniel Paracka

Introduction to the issue.

Global Learning And The Engaging Questions Of Globalization, Daniel Paracka

Daniel Paracka

While universities can act as important mediators amidst the highly disruptive and contentious change processes of globalization, very few institutions are intentionally fulfilling such a mission. Moreover, there are significant ethnocentric and ideological barriers to overcome before intercultural understanding and cooperation may occur. Nonetheless, universities in the global age are increasingly called upon to help prepare students to better perceive, understand, interpret, translate, and negotiate complex interdependent global contexts. This article examines the significance of several common reactions to the challenges of globalization for teaching and learning in higher education. It also outlines primary areas of focus for global educators …

Faculty Attitudes Toward International Education: A Campus Experience, Susan Carley, Sutham Cheurprakobkit, Daniel Paracka

Daniel Paracka

Because of the important role of the faculty in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and curriculum development, a crucial component in internationalizing the campus is the internationalization of the faculty itself. Despite the important role played by faculty, little is known about their current support for and interest in internationalization, and available information is largely qualitative and anecdotal. To learn more about faculty views, the authors conducted an empirical study on faculty attitudes about international learning, perceptions of institutional support, perceived benefits of international learning, and the impact of demographic factors and prior international experience on faculty perceptions. Policy implications …

The Demoralization Of Teachers: Crisis In A Rural School In China - Book Review, Vilma Seeberg

Vilma Seeberg

Author Dan Wang describes how the daily experiences of students, teachers, administrators, and parents are shaped and impacted by national education reforms that are an ill-fit with local school conditions and student's educational needs. Teachers are scrambling to get out of what they see as a trap that stifles their aspirations and robs their lives of meaning.

Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up : The Pisa 2012 Assessment Of Students’ Mathematical, Scientific And Reading Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Lisa De Bortoli

PISA seeks to measure how well young adults at age 15 (and, therefore, near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems) are prepared to use their knowledge and skills in particular areas to meet real-life challenges. PISA’s orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula, which increasingly address how well students are able to apply what they learn at school. This report presents the results of the PISA 2012 assessment for Australia. It presents the results for Australia as a whole, for the Australian jurisdictions and (where relevant) for the other participants in the …

Does It All Add Up? What’S The Story With Mathematical Literacy And Numeracy? Where To Next?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

Does It All Add Up? What’S The Story With Mathematical Literacy And Numeracy? Where To Next?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout

Ross Turner

Lessons From Pisa For Mathematical Literacy, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

An Exercise In Institutional Reflection: The Learning Analytics Readiness Instrument (Lari), Kimberly E. Arnold, Steven Lonn, Matthew Pistilli

Matthew Pistilli

The Confucian Factor And Good Fortune In The National College Entrance Examination In China, Samuel Hinton

Samuel Hinton

No abstract provided.

The Globalizing Labor Market In Education: Teachers As Cultural Ambassadors Or Agents Of Institutional Isomorphism?, Kara D. Brown, E. Doyle Stevick

Kara D. Brown

Institutional isomorphists and other proponents of world culture theory argue that schools around the world are converging in many ways, while anthropologists and others question this conclusion, often arguing that local cultural differences belie superficial similarities. These viewpoints are not merely academic explanations of the spread and apparent convergence of education policies and practices around the world, but are often present in policy and practice. The authors seek both to shed new light on these often-entrenched positions and to refocus the debate by considering the presence and influence of such views in the policies and practices of international teacher exchanges. …

Pisa Problems, Christopher Tienken

Christopher Tienken

Assessing The Need For Graduate Global Education Programs In The United States, Krishna Bista, Amany Saleh

Krishna Bista

Global education plays an increasingly important role in enriching students’ learning experiences in US institutions of higher education. Students are connected to the world through global culture, economics, politics, technology and immigration. This paper examines the perceptions of 305 graduate students and alumni concerning the need for global education programs in the United States. Participants shared their views of the importance of global education in understanding today’s economy, culture, and environment, while addressing our future needs and challenges. There were no significant statistical differences between the perceptions of graduate students and alumni or between those of international and American students …

Engaging Students In Disaster Relief Training Exercises

Dr. John R. Fisher