Education & Pedagogy

Language policies have been drafted in Nordic higher education with the obvious, but unproblematised and unchallenged motivation caused by internationalisation. In this article, we analyse the various motivations for drafting language policies in Nordic higher education and the ideological implications of those motivations. We do this by approaching the question from multiple (macro, meso and micro) viewpoints, in order to make visible some of the undercurrents in higher education language policy. We are particularly interested in the explicit motivations for language policy change, and the explicit and implicit actors and action represented in our data. We will first discuss the background for internationalisation in Nordic higher education and then move on to our analysis of policy documents, survey data on the motivations for language policy drafting in Nordic higher education institutions. Our results indicate that "internationalisation" turns into a national question in the motivations. It also appears that the institutions are reactive (rather than active) in responding to perceived needs to draft a language policy.

Since 1970, French education authorities have put in place education provisions to address the education needs of the "Elèves Nouvellement Arrivés en France" (ENAF) [Students Newly Arrived in France]. They put in place a series of such and a range of policy frameworks (circulars and decrees) to legitimise the education provisions implemented in French schools. Despite considerable achievements, these were criticised for not adequately addressing the social and cultural needs of the allophone students. In 2012, the "Unité Pédagogique pour les élevés Allophones Arrivants" [Pedagogic Unit for newly arrived allophone students]--a centralised body--was created to streamline the multiple education provisions and introduce flexible classes in addition to the traditional "fixed" education provisions offered to the allophone students. All these education provisions created since 1970 focus on providing French language to the allophone students so that they can transition into French mainstream education.

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in general education and special education teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities and to ascertain if levels of self-efficacy, teacher type, and education level were predictors of teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. Data were collected from 118 elementary and middle school teachers using an online survey, and a 2-way ANOVA and multiple regression were conducted to answer the research questions. Results indicated that special education teachers' attitudes towards inclusion were significantly more positive than those of general education teachers and that teacher type and self-efficacy were predictors of teachers' attitudes towards inclusion. Higher levels of self-efficacy were associated with more positive attitudes towards inclusion. Change in practice may be achieved if school district administrators implement teacher training to improve teacher self-efficacy regarding inclusive practices, which could ultimately improve student outcomes and narrow the achievement gap.

This qualitative study focuses on primary schools' state of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education. Adopting a multiple case study design, the article explores, through semi-structured interviews and documentation, school heads, teachers-in-charge and classroom teachers' perceptions of their respective schools' state of readiness for the installation and implementation of early childhood education. The study established that, while classroom teachers were adequately qualified to implement early childhood education, teachers-in-charge were not. Secondly, school heads received limited induction for the introduction and implementation of early childhood education. Additionally, inadequate teaching-learning resources and lack of on-going teacher support contributed to schools' lack of readiness for the introduction of early childhood education. The study recommends interventions that curriculum planners and implementers can utilise in order to create conditions that enable primary schools to be ready for introducing and implementing early childhood education.

This study compared changes in attitudes toward inclusion and efficacy of 98 general and 76 special education students completing their master's degree. Data were collected at the beginning of the program, at the end of the first semester--upon completion of an Introduction to Inclusion course--and at the end of the program. Results indicated that, though attitudes toward inclusion became significantly more positive among special education students throughout the program, general education students' attitudes became significantly more positive only after completion of the inclusion course but later significantly regressed. These findings support those of other studies that demonstrate improvements of attitudes after one course. Efficacy scores followed a similar pattern for general and special education students with significant increases from the beginning to the end of the program. Implications for elementary education programs for general educators are discussed, taking into account that all teachers should be prepared to teach all students.

We utilized cross tabulation statistics, word frequency counts, and content analysis of research output to conduct a bibliometric study, and used CiteSpace software to depict a knowledge map for research on entrepreneurship education in China from 2004 to 2013. The study shows that, in this duration, the study of Chinese entrepreneurship education experienced a progression through three stages, an "exploratory stage of learning from foreign models," a "developmental stage geared toward employment problems," and a "transformative stage promoting cultivation of student abilities," and featured three primary characteristics, "multidisciplinary fusion," "imbalanced regional distribution," and "policy orientation." In the future, popular fields in the study of entrepreneurship education are to be concentrated in the three areas, namely "entrepreneurship education and talent cultivation," "entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial environments," and "entrepreneurship education and innovation education."

Education evaluation should be based on human development and revolve around educational institutions integrating two dimensions, the development needs of the nation and society, and the logic and laws of self-development. The value orientation of higher vocational education evaluation in China is actually expressed through enhancing quality awareness, normalizing education standards, strengthening the central position of teaching, highlighting the characteristics of institutions, changing the focus of the evaluation based on developments in society, and using evaluation concepts in keeping with the times. Due to late start, less experience, and rapid development, there have inevitably been theoretical and practical shortcomings in the evaluation of higher vocational education in China. The value orientation of higher vocational education evaluation should combine instrumental rationality and value rationality, investigate the implicit factors associated with education quality, increase the inherent motivation of institutions to participate in evaluations, promote the separation of governance, management, and evaluation, and conduct normalized, continuous, and dynamic monitoring of teaching quality.

In line with national policy requirements, educators are increasingly addressing forms of social justice education by focusing on classroom pedagogies and educational practices to combat different forms of oppression such as racism and sexism. As all educators have a role to play in dismantling oppression and generating a vision for a more socially just future, teacher education has the responsibility to capacitate pre-service teachers to work in areas of social justice education. It is, however, difficult to conceptualise programmes for social justice education without considering the interconnection between various social identities and how such identities can feed into critical agency and education for social justice. Working with the assumption that white women teachers must be part of the solution to bring about social change in South African education, we used in-depth interviewing to explore pre-service teachers' emerging identities as teachers, and how these identities are connected to notions of critical agency and a stance towards social justice.

Despite a widely-acknowledged shortage of software developers, and reports of a gap between industry needs and software education, the possible gap between students' needs and software development education has not been explored in detail. In their university education, students want to take courses and carry out projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. This paper reports on a quantitative study of 297 software development students. The analysis of the results suggests that software development education has a predominantly social relevance to students and also has moderate personal and professional relevance. The following approaches are recommended to improve students' views of the relevance of software development education: use various learning environments; pay special attention to female students, students who did not have IT as a school subject, and students who rate their own academic performance as low; update educators on the latest developments; design programs to appeal to students and to meet societal demands.

This study provides a comparative analysis of the pre-service education system for preschool educators in China and the United States. Based on collected data and materials (literature, policy documents, and statistical data), we compare two areas of pre-service training: (1) the formal system; (2) the informal system. In the formal system, most of the Chinese preschool teachers are trained in secondary education school but and the system is shifting towards higher reliance on associate degree programs in higher education, whereas the majority of American preschool teachers receive pre-service education in bachelor's degree and associate degree programs. US has relied more on the formal system to cultivate preschool teachers, while China has to rely on some informal pre-service training to candidates without early childhood background, especially for places with preschool teacher shortages. Trends for possible reforms in the two countries and lessons for elevating preschool teacher preparation are discussed.

The Research in Disabilities Education Synthesis Project (RDE-SP), a four-year mixed methods research project, assessed a decade of funded projects (2001-2011) under the National Science Foundation's Research in Disabilities Education program which is aimed at increasing participation and retention of students with disabilities (SWD) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers. One of the primary goals of the project was to create a collection of challenges, lessons learned, and suggested practices for SWD and those working with SWD in STEM education and STEM fields. This paper presents those findings, which lend first-hand experience to the challenges and successes of working with students with disabilities in postsecondary STEM education programs. The authors relate the findings to current literature in the field.

Online learning, an essential component of the higher education landscape on a global scale, has become a lucrative operation for colleges and universities. Enrollment in online programs continues to outpace enrollment in higher education overall, particularly in the North American market. Even so, there is little evidence that graduates of North American higher education and student affairs preparation programs enter the workforce with the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to support undergraduate and graduate online learners. A mixed-method national survey of programs in the United States was conducted to develop a picture of the ways higher education and student affairs graduate preparation programs currently prepare future professionals to address the needs of online learners. Results indicate that preparation of higher education and student affairs professionals for the delivery of services to online students is not yet seen as an integral component of these graduate programs.

While the importance of early childhood education is well documented, scant attention is afforded to the access to institutions for early childhood education. Uneven distribution of institutions for early childhood education in segregated metropolitan areas can cause inequality of educational opportunity. By using the Geographic Information System tools, this paper investigates the extent to which both demand and supply in early childhood education is geographically balanced across Seoul, Korea. The analysis finds that kindergartens and daycare centres authorised by the government are evenly distributed across Seoul according to the demand. Yet, market-oriented English kindergartens are disproportionately concentrated in the southern areas of Seoul where families with higher income levels are clustered. These findings suggest that because market-driven institutions for early childhood education are not uniformly distributed corresponding to the demand, home residence according to parents' income and occupation creates a type of educational inequality.

Children from birth to five are generally enthusiastic about music. However, because many early-childhood educators (ECEs) feel that they have insufficient knowledge to foster musical development, music education practices are not equivalent across ECEs. This study aimed to identify and determine the frequency of music activities used by ECEs. In all, 108 French Canadian ECEs (N = 108 women) from mixed areas (urban and rural) participated in the study. All participants completed an online questionnaire addressing their music education practices. The data analysis considered three profiles: 1) ECEs with little musical knowledge, 2) ECEs with good musical knowledge, and 3) ECEs with in-depth musical knowledge. Results showed that all ECEs used a wide variety of music activities. However, use frequency varied according to the level of musical knowledge. Initial training and continuing education programs for ECEs should be improved in order to enhance music education for young children.

Higher education system in India has been expanded in a remarkable way, particularly in the post-independence period, to become one of the largest systems of its kind in the world. However, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) is far below when compared to developed and many developing countries. The Government of India has focused on increasing the access and ensuring equity during successive plan periods. The resultant growth, though impressive, failed to ensure desired Quality in Higher Education. Only a few Higher Education Institutions earned a reputation for high quality services. Globalization has resulted in significant changes in the knowledge economy and ushered new conditions for the provision of higher education to cater the skill requirement all across the globe. Under these circumstances, focus on quality enhancement of higher education in India assumes greater significance. This paper analyses the growth of higher education in India, the major quality concerns, the government initiatives and challenges for enhancement of quality of higher education in India.