Education & Pedagogy

Purpose: This study aims to selects a teacher training program located in China's rural area and focus on its preservice teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in China and their expectations of teacher training programs. Design/methodology/approach: The selected teacher training program is in School of Education of a comprehensive university, located in a small town in Northeast China. Five preservice teachers in the Department of Teacher Education were interviewed. The interviewees were randomly selected among those who have already gained at least 60 credits of coursework prior to the interview. Each interview lasted for approximately 0.5 h. Interview notes were summarized and coded using Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-step approach. In addition to interview data, other data sources were used, such as classroom observation and review of curriculum and program requirement. Findings Although the selected teacher preparation program started offering some selective special education courses to preservice teachers, there are limited number of offerings and a lack of field placement in inclusive settings, and stereotypical opinions towards disabilities still exist as a roadblock for choosing special education teacher profession. Research limitations/implications: The current study only focuses on one rural teacher training institution and report preservice teachers' opinions toward teacher education curriculum, factors that lead to their decision in the teacher education major and their vision towards inclusion in China. Recommendations are provided to increase public awareness of disability, and create more field based experience in inclusive settings for preservice teachers. However, the result may not be generalized to reflect preservice teachers of teacher training institutions located in developed areas where there are rich opportunities for field experience in inclusive setting or special education programs, and who offer more extensive special education courses. Practical implications: It is recommended that teacher preparation program modify curriculum and offer more special education courses, as well as develop connections with local special education schools and inclusive programs, thus creating more field based opportunities for preservice teachers to work with children with disabilities. Originality/value: There are limited studies on rural preservice teachers' attitudes towards being a special education teacher and how the teacher training programs prepare them to become a special education teacher. The current study fills the gap and conduct an interview study of preservice teachers' from a rural teacher training programs perceptions of China's special education, how they choose the program of study that prepare them to become a special education teacher, and their rating of the teacher preparation program.

Purpose: Health education still tends to be dominated by an approach designed to achieve individual behaviour change through the provision of knowledge to avoid risk. In contrast, a critical inquiry approach educates children and young people to develop their capacity to engage critically with knowledge, through reasoning, problem solving and challenging taken for granted assumptions, including the socially critical approach which investigates the impact of social and economic inequalities on, for example, health status and cultural understandings. The purpose of this paper is to explore the conditions of possibility for a socially critical approach to health education in schools. It examines the ways in which preservice health and physical education (HPE) teachers talked about their experiences of health education during their school-based practicum. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 13 preservice HPE teachers who were about to graduate with a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education from a university in New South Wales, Australia were interviewed for the study. Five group interviews and one individual interview were conducted. The interviews were coded for themes and interpreted drawing on a biopedagogical theoretical framework as a way of understanding the salience of particular forms of knowledge in health education, how these are promoted and with what effects for how living healthily is understood. Findings: The HPETE students talked with some certainty about the purpose of health education as a means to improve the health of young people--a certainty afforded by a medico-scientific view of health imbued with individualised, risk discourses. This purpose was seen as being achieved through using pedagogies, particularly those involving technology, that produced learning activities that were "engaging" and "relevant" for young people. Largely absent from their talk was evidence that they valued or practiced a socially critical approach to health education. Practical implications: This paper has practical implications for designing health education teacher programmes that are responsive to expectations that contemporary school health education curricula employ a critical inquiry approach. Originality/value: This paper addresses an empirical gap in the literature on the conditions of possibility for a socially critical approach to health education. It is proposed that rather than challenging HPE preservice teachers' desires to improve the lives of young people, teacher educators need to work more explicitly within an educative approach that considers social contexts, health inequalities and the limitations of a behaviour change model.

Since the 1960s, comparative education in the United States, Canada, and Europe has shown considerable growth and vitality, in terms of membership in professional organizations, participation in international conferences, research, and publications. Epistemologically and methodologically, new modernist and postmodernist paradigms have been inscribed on the conceptual tapestry of the field and new trajectories have been charted. Such developments had two significant consequences: (1) comparative education, especially in the United States and Canada, has become polymorphous (Altbach, 1991; Kazamias, 2001, p. 504; Rust, Soumare, Pescadou, & Shibuya, 1999, pp. 87-88, 107; Watson, 1999, p. 12); and (2) comparative education has been metamorphosed from an essentially historical and humanist "episteme" to an essentially ahistorical poly-paradigmatic social science, and, in some variants, to an empirical positivist social science. So transformed, comparative education has lost its humanist physiognomy, in the sense that virtually it has abandoned its traditional historical and humanist orientation, or what may be called its "soul" (Kazamias, 2001). The present study is organized in two parts. Focusing on the various motifs or paradigms regarding the nature and scope of comparative education since the Enlightenment, in Part One the author argues that in the second half of the 20th century, comparative education was metamorphosed--epistemologically and methodologically--from essentially a historical explanatory and hermeneutic "human science," in the broad meaning of the term "science" as signified by the Greek term episteme and the German Wissenschaft, to essentially a poly-paradigmatic "social science." So transformed, comparative education has lost its "humanist physiognomy" or what otherwise he calls its "soul." The prevailing contemporary comparative education emphasizes cognitive knowledge and skills, and the intellectual aspects of being "educated" and "human." It underemphasizes aesthetic knowledge, noncognitive habits and skills, what he calls "paideia/education of the soul," which is necessary for being "educated" and "wholly human." In the words of Aristotle: "Educating the mind (nous) without educating the soul (psyche) is no education at all." In Part Two of this study the author argues: (1) for the reinvention of the lost historical "cum" philosophical humanist motif in comparative education; and (2) comparative education should focus not only on cognitive knowledge and skills and the intellectual aspects of being "educated"; it should also emphasize noncognitive knowledge and skills and the moral aspects of being "educated," what may otherwise be called a "paideia/education of the soul."

Context: This study is about vocational education and training for adults within municipal adult education (MAE). Sweden has a long tradition of adult education, and has one of the world's highest proportions of participants in adult education. The Swedish education system is characterised by extensive marketisation with many private actors, particularly in adult education. The focus of this article is on the enactment of the market orientation in vocational adult education, with the purpose of showing how vocational adult education is organised in different ways in Swedish municipalities and how national adult education policy is enacted in local VET practices. Methods: The data consist of documents presenting relevant national policies for adult education, in particular on vocational education, and semi-structured interviews with adult education leaders in 20 municipalities. Findings: The findings show that MAE in Sweden has a clear labour market focus on offering education that corresponds to working life's labour requirements. Most municipalities have a shortage of staff in elderly care and childcare, which is why they offer a large number of training places in these professions. Many immigrants choose these training programmes to get a job. It is also common for municipalities to offer these training programmes in combination with SFI (Swedish for immigrants). This means that MAE fulfils an important function for integration. VET in MAE is offered as school-based training, apprenticeships or distance education. Offering VET at a distance makes it possible to provide a wider range of training programmes, and enables people who have difficulties participating in on-site training (due to commitments such as work or young children) to take part. Apprenticeship training provides work experience and often leads to employment. However, a weak interest in apprenticeship training among students and difficulties finding apprenticeship placements are examples of reasons why the number of apprenticeships is often very limited. Conclusion: Swedish MAE is characterised by flexibility and a broad supply of courses. However, there is a clear focus on certain vocational areas -- mainly within the municipal organisation. This gives reason to question whether publicly funded VET for adults should mainly prepare participants for publicly funded labour-market sectors, or whether other sectors could also benefit from newly trained adults. Since vocational training within MAE is of great importance for immigrants' establishment in the labour market, there is a risk that unilateral investments in certain vocations will limit immigrants' career opportunities.

Education is bound to society, and different educational strategies rise from the society and culture in which people live. This book presents an international perspective on problems and challenges from early education through adult education and highlights teacher education from the point of view of individual cultures and from a cross-cultural perspective. The book contains 22 chapters (by authors representing 12 different countries) organized into 7 sections under the following headings: (1) "Childhood in a Changing Society"; (2) "Children and Education in a Cultural Context"; (3) "Early Education and Care"; (4) "The Views of Children, Parents and Caregivers on Education"; (5) "Children's Health and Wellbeing in Education Context"; (6) "Examples of Implementing Educational Issues in the Context of Different Societies"; and (7) "Challenges for Research-Based Teacher Training." The two chapters in section 1 are: "The Century of the Child, Part II" and "Is It Possible To Improve Tolerance among Elementary School Children?." Section 2 contains five chapters, "Children, Culture and Education,""The Development of the Identity in the Cultural Context,""About Sex-Based Interpretation Frames in Education,""Socialization Attitudes and Practices of Korean Mothers of Young Children," and "An Oral History Project on the Changing Educational Ideas of Teachers in New Zealand." The seven chapters in section 3 are: (1) "Early Childhood Educare"; (2) " Children's Creativity in the Preschool Institutions in Macedonia"; (3) "Quality Science Investigation in the Early Years"; (4) "Early Childhood Arts Games"; (5) "Let's Add R.I.C.E. (Relevant, Intercultural, Childhood Experiences) to Our Curriculum"; (6) "Portfolios as a Means of Self-Assessment in Preschool and Primary School"; and (7) "Conditions for Appropriate Pedagogical Organizing and Performing of Play in the Preschool Institutions in Macedonia." Sections 4, 5, and 6 include three chapters each: "Children, Parents and Caregivers,""How Can We As Parents and Educators Foster Metacognitive Development?,""Physical Punishment and Education in Early Childhood,""Special Needs Children,""The Play of Disabled Children in Early Development,""An Evaluation of Health-Promoting Schools in the Finnish Network,""Futures Thinking,""Early Education in Ireland," and "Formal Schooling for 5 Year Olds in New Zealand." The six chapters in section 7 are "The Teacher as Researcher,""The New Initial Programme for Preschool Teachers in Slovenia,""The DART Mentor Teacher Model,""Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education Teacher Certification,""Situated Learning in Kindergarten Teacher Education," and "Portfolio Assessment: An Early Childhood and Family Studies Department Model." Most chapters contain references. (BC)

The Commonwealth of Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC) reviewed the K-12 special education services throughout the state; the findings revealed deficiencies in how Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are developed. The purpose of this study was to investigate special education teachers' self-efficacy in developing IEPs for students with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). This study focused on students with SLD, which makes up 34% of the students identified with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Special education teachers' self-efficacy in developing IEPs is significant, as the IEP means providing Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for students with SLD, ultimately leading to appropriate goals and accommodations to support the students' cognitive deficits that are disclosed in the psychoeducational report. This research sought to answer the following questions: "How are special education teachers prepared to develop IEPs? What support strategies and structures do special education teachers find effective in building their self-efficacy for developing IEPs?" and, "What influences special education teachers' self-efficacy for developing IEPs?" The theoretical framework supporting this research was Albert Bandura's self-efficacy theory. For this study, the qualitative phenomenology methodology was used to study the common meanings shared by participants who develop IEPs for students with SLD. I asked 8 participants 10 interview questions using the semi-structured protocol to get a deeper understanding of the participants' responses. The interview took place via Zoom, where transcriptions were produced and field notes were taken and analyzed using Dedoose. During this research, the findings disclosed that special education teachers learn to develop IEPs through "Master Experiences, Social Persuasion, and Vicarious Experiences." Moreover, participants did not learn how to develop IEPs during their teacher preparatory programs or through structured mentoring programs during their novice years as special education teachers. These findings indicate that colleges and universities develop specific curriculums and courses for developing IEPs, specifically for students with SLD. Another tier of support would be the recommendation that school divisions establish mentoring programs for beginning special education teachers who develop IEPs for students with SLD. The mentors in these programs should consist of veteran special education teachers and school psychologists because of their experience using psychoeducational reports to identify students with SLD. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Where is higher education as a field of study going in this century? How will higher education program leaders design and sustain their degree programs' vitality in the face of perennial challenges from inside and outside the academy? While in 1979 the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) defined standards for student affairs master's level preparation, and while 2010 saw the adoption of guidelines for higher education administration and leadership preparation programs at the master's degree level, there still are, however, no guidelines that address higher education leadership doctoral programs, despite increasing demands for assessment and evaluation. This book suggests that higher education administration doctoral degree guidelines are a critical next step in advancing their program quality and continuity. It offers a review of the field's history, the condition of its higher education programs, developments from the student affairs specialization and its guidelines, and a multi-chapter dialogue on the benefits or disadvantages of having guidelines. At a time of urgency to prepare the next generation of higher education faculty and leaders, this book sets out the parameters for the debate about what the guidelines should cover to ensure the appropriate and effective preparation of students. It also offers a useful framework for enriching the knowledge of deans, chairs, program coordinators and faculty who are engaged in program design, assessment, and revision. It will also be of interest to policymakers, the personnel of accrediting agencies, and not least graduate students within higher education preparation programs. All the contributors to this volume have the exemplary expertise, leadership experience, and a close association with higher education guidelines and standards, and have extensively contributed to the literature on higher education. Following the Introduction and Overview (Sydney Freeman, Jr., Linda Serra Hagedorn, Lester F. Goodchild, and Dianne A. Wright), this book is divided into three parts. Part 1, History and the Contemporary Condition of Higher Education as a Field of Study, contains the following chapters: (1) Higher Education as a Field of Study: Its History, Degree Programs, Associations, and National Guidelines (Lester F. Goodchild); and (2) Contemporary Condition of Higher Education Programs in the United States and Canada: An Initial 2012 Report (Adrienne E. Hyle and Lester F. Goodchild). Part 2, Existing Higher Education Program Guidelines Considerations contains the following chapters: (3) Professional Competencies and Standards of Practice: The Student Affairs Perspective From the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, College Student Educators International, and Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (David C. DiRamio); (4) The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education and the Role of Standards in Professional Practice (Laura A. Dean and Ginny M. Jones); (5) Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs' Master's Degree Guidelines for Higher Education Administration Programs (Dianne A. Wright and Adrienne E. Hyle); Appendix: A Commitment to Quality: Guidelines for Higher Education Administration and Leadership Preparation Programs at the Master's Degree Level (2010); and (6) Academic Freedom and Empowerment Under CAHEP Guidelines: The Case of East Carolina University (Crystal R. Chambers). Part 3, Implications for Higher Education Administration Degree Programs' Possible Movement Toward Doctoral Degree Guidelines, contains the following chapters: (7) Toward a Theoretical Framework for the Doctorate in Higher Education Administration (Sydney Freeman, Jr., and Frances Kochan); (8) The Evolution of Community College Administration and Leadership Programs: The Question of Doctoral Degree Guidelines (Linda Serra Hagedorn and Agustina Veny Purnamasari); Appendix: Community College Leadership Programs Across Universities; (9) Standards, Success, and the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate: A Foucauldian Examination of Best Practices for Doctoral Programs in Education (Jeni Hart and Eric S. Ludwig); (10) Program Specification or Collaboration: Which Way Toward Quality and Survival? (Carol L. Colbeck and Erica M. Southworth); (11) The Core Knowledge of Higher Education (Robert M. Hendrickson); and (12) The Future of Higher Education Administration Preparation Program Guidelines and Their Implementation (Dianne A. Wright and Sydney Freeman, Jr.). An afterword, A Critical Moment in the Study of Higher Education Administration (Sydney Freeman Jr., Linda Serra Hagedorn, Lester F. Goodchild, and Dianne A. Wright) and index are included. [Foreword by Lisa Wolf-Wendel and Acknowledgments by Sydney Freeman, Jr.]

Transformation of education into an evidence-based field is a task that will require involvement of federal and state policymakers, local education leaders, administrators, teachers, and parents. Over the past 6 years, a new direction has been set for education research. This report presents the National Board for Education Sciences' evaluation of the Institute of Education Sciences. The Board examined the ways in which and the extent to which the Institute has been successful in advancing the rigor and improving the relevance of education research, and facilitating evidence-based decision-making. Established to provide rigorous evidence on which to ground education practice and policy, the Institute has made progress in improving the rigor of education research and evaluation. By design, the goal of improved rigor has driven the majority of staff activity to date, under the assumption that the threshold condition for making education an evidence-based field is producing findings that can be trusted. Judgment of progress is based on: (1) high standards reflected in the peer review system; (2) strong external ratings of the quality of the funded research grants; and (3) high quality of the research designs of the evaluations contracted through the Institute's National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE). To build national capacity to conduct rigorous education research, the Institute has launched predoctoral and postdoctoral research training programs. Based on the GRE scores of the predoctoral fellows and the research productivity of the predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, as evidenced by the numbers of research publications to date, the Institute has made substantial progress in developing a new generation of education scientists who are well-equipped to conduct high-quality research. The Board also examined the Institute's funding announcements and diversity of the research grant portfolio with respect to research questions and research methods employed, and found that the Institute requests research projects that are diverse in purpose and methodological requirements, and has developed a diverse research portfolio in which roughly one-fourth of the projects are experimental or quasi-experimental evaluations of the impact of interventions on education outcomes. The Institute has made substantial progress in improving the relevance and usefulness of education research, evaluation, and statistics, based on: (1) satisfactory ratings of the relevance of funded research projects by education leaders and administrators; (2) establishment of long-term focused programs of research that address fundamental education issues; (3) the work of the National Research and Development Centers in key policy areas; (4) significant improvements in the timeliness of the release of data from the Institute's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); (5) high ratings of the relevance of NCES reports; and (6) increased efforts to improve the timeliness of the release of NCEE evaluation reports. The Board advocates that this work be continued. In addition to generating rigorous and relevant research, the Institute must share the knowledge it produces in ways that enable education policymakers and practitioners to use that information. Based upon the quality and use of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), College Navigator, and revamped Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) to disseminate information to education leaders, practitioners, parents, and students, the Board recognizes substantial progress in information dissemination, a finding further supported by examination of programs the Institute has established to help education leaders and decision-makers obtain better data and become better consumers of education research, such as the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, the National Forum on Education Statistics, and the NCES Summer Data Conference. The report concludes that the Institute has been instrumental in improving the rigor, relevance, and accessibility of federally funded educational research, and should maintain the direction articulated by Congress and that Institute leadership and staff have well-executed to date. Six appendixes are included: (1) Types of Projects Funded by the Institute of Education Sciences; (2) National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance Impact Evaluations; (3) List of Regional Educational Laboratories Randomized Controlled Trials Projects Under Current Contracts, 2006-11; (4) Institutions Receiving Awards to Establish Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Research Training Programs; (5) Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Research Training Programs; and (6) Annotated Version of the Education Sciences Reform Act with Recommendations for Changes From the National Board for Education Sciences. (Contains 28 footnotes, 1 figure, and 20 tables.)

Discusses the pitfalls of departmental "territoriality" and asserts that faculty groups must transcend disciplinary perspectives and assume responsibility for general education in order to protect students' broader educational interests. (EV)

Discusses how sweeping new cuts in higher education funding promise to transform the professional lives of academics, particularly pressuring the liberal arts. (EV)

Defines the terms "mole", "mole per liter", and "molar" in chemistry contexts and discusses these measurement units, SI units, and their importance in chemistry. (YDS)

Western Governors University shows how both foreseen and unforeseen challenges shape innovative management responses.

Discusses two law schools that are offering Saturday-Sunday programs, with other schools interested in doing so; accreditors are raising objections, however. (EV)

Discusses development of virtual education, including potential and caveats. Describes three virtual school programs: Massachusetts Virtual Education Space, Florida Virtual School, and Star Schools, a federal program. (PKP)

Describes how a concept model for incorporating information technology in the Air War College education process addressed process, planning, and relevancy problems. (EV)