Education & Pedagogy

The aim of the present study was to elucidate Mexicans teachers' attitudes toward school inclusion and disability. To achieve this goal, 119 regular education and 88 special education teachers answered The Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities scale. Subsequent analyses revealed that attitudes to both groups were similar in terms of direction but dissimilar in magnitude factor. In addition, while the attitude structure in both samples involved three factors, these were unique to each group: Regular education teachers (Perceived Benefits and Negative Effects inside the Inclusive Classroom/Performance inside the Inclusive Classroom, Teaching Ability/Education System, Performance inside the Inclusive Classroom/Education System) and the special education teachers group (Perceived Benefits inside the Inclusive Classroom/Education System, Teaching Ability/Performance inside the Inclusive Classroom, Perceived Benefits and Negative Effects inside the Inclusive Classroom/Performance inside the Inclusive Classroom). Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed in this paper.

The relationship between correctional education/vocational training programs and recidivism rates has been a widely researched topic; however, a study examining the relationship between educational attainment rates of inmates prior to incarceration and recidivism rates has yet to be conducted. A meta-analysis of five studies, which examine either educational attainment rates or recidivism rates was conducted to determine which demographic would benefit the most from correctional education. For the purposes of this study, the demographics chosen to analyze were gender and race (Caucasian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino). This study suggests Black/African American men with only a high school education or GED equivalent would derive the greatest benefit from correctional education/vocational training programs. It is hoped with this information there will be an increase in funding toward correctional education/vocational training programs to lower the national recidivism rate. Additionally, the successful implementation of correctional education/vocational training programs would save taxpayers money by reducing the amount of inmates readmitted into correctional facilities.

Support for postsecondary correctional education expands and contracts with the dominant political ideology of the times, reflecting the degree of punitiveness in response to crime and criminals. Despite a growing literature demonstrating the efficacy of college education on reducing recidivism and increasing wages and employment, correctional agencies are slow to fully embrace college education for prisoners. In instances where programs are delivered, correctional education is used more as an inmate control mechanism, and less as a tool for successful reintegration post release. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education has undertaken a bold policy initiative to ease eligibility requirements for some inmates to pursue Pell Grants--a college financial aid program established to provide monetary support to low-income, undergraduate students. This shift in policy provides scholars and practitioners with an opportunity to revisit what is known about postsecondary education for prisoners. Toward that end, this article examines the recent literature on this topic and offers recommendations to advance the research and implementation of such programs.

The notion of essentialised racial difference was a keystone of apartheid education which served to cement white supremacy in South Africa. More recently there is a need for socially-just education that requires a robust analytical orientation in interrogating power, privilege and difference. Therefore this article engages the following questions: What are the philosophical, epistemological and pedagogical underpinnings of diversity in education in South Africa?; and What is the possible role of diversity literacy in fostering an active and participatory citizenship in the years ahead? We engage conceptually with the understanding of diversity in education in South Africa, followed by the presentation of a framework--Critical Diversity Literacy (CDL)--and a series of curricular questions emerging from this framework that might be pedagogically useful when engaging issues of power, privilege and difference in teacher training. CDL potentially addresses the weaknesses in previous approaches to engaging with issues of diversity in education and offers grounded, contemporary, and authentic opportunities for decolonising classroom content and practice.

Technical education has been identified as one of the most effective human resource development that needs to be embraced for rapid industrialization and sustainable technological development of any nation. Technical education has been an integral part of national development in many societies because of its impact on productivity and economic development. This paper discusses the dearth of skilled technical manpower in Nigeria and its effect on the technological development of the nation. It advocates for a comprehensive revitalization of technical education in Nigeria to promote workforce partnership needed to develop innovative approaches or replicate models that operationally demonstrate has demand technological the society needs. Efforts and ways by both by the government and individuals to train and produce the required manpower for the achievement of vision 20, 2020 objectives were also suggested by the authors.

Interprofessional (IP) education is an essential component of today's health care education. IP education has been recognized and supported for its potential to educate workforce-ready health care clinicians with the knowledge and skills, necessary to collaboratively deliver high-quality, client-centered care. While social work's reflective, patient-centered, and holistic approach to care is invaluable in addressing healthcare challenges at all levels, social work's lack of involvement in IP health care team practice is evident in the development of IP education curriculum with other health care disciplines. This article describes how one School of Social Work at a regional public university became part of a longitudinal IP education project in collaboration with a large R-1 research university, creating an IP opportunity for Master's in Social Work (MSW) students. It also discusses the process taken for social work inclusion in the IP project, an experiential elective course designed to supplement the project, as well as Transformative Learning Theory, the conceptual framework used.

Indigenous groups in Latin America face a double exclusion from higher education, with low levels of access to institutions and little acknowledgement of their distinctive cultural and epistemological traditions within the curriculum. This article assesses current policies in Mexico and Brazil towards indigenous populations in higher education, considering the various responses to the challenge, including affirmative action programmes in mainstream universities, intercultural courses and autonomous institutions. These policies and initiatives are analysed using the theoretical frames of redistribution and recognition, focusing on demands for formal equality and material wellbeing on the one hand, and a distinctive cultural and educational space on the other. While state-sponsored policies focus primarily on the redistributive element, initiatives based on recognition come largely from autonomous organisations, raising a series of dilemmas and tensions around educational justice for indigenous populations in the region.

With the authorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in December 2015, the role of physical education in public schools has the potential to change significantly. It is imperative that physical education be supported by assessment-driven evidence in order to reach and speak to legislators, national boards, school administrators, educators and the students themselves. However, with only 32.7 percent of states requiring student assessments that directly relate to state physical education standards, there is currently little accountability for physical educators, programs and students to meet the requirements of comprehensive, skills-based physical education. To increase the perceived value of physical education and justify its importance as a part of students' well-rounded education, physical educators need to examine the means by which they define, measure and report student achievement in the physical education setting, and commit to developing and implementing quality assessment.

Applying a modified-Delphi technique, this research study sought consensus from business education mentor teachers regarding the top three areas in which business education student teachers were prepared as well as underprepared for their roles as teachers. Further, the mentor teachers provided recommendations for business education teacher preparation programs to implement to better prepare their teacher candidates for the student teaching internship. To that end, the mentor teachers did not gain consensus on the top three areas their student teachers were most prepared. However, they did agree classroom management and working with special needs' students were among the top three areas their student teachers were least prepared. The mentor teachers agreed business education teacher preparation programs could provide more experiences with classroom management in public schools and provide their teacher candidates with more information about the workload and commitment needed to be effective teachers.

In the present knowledge economy, individuals, particularly working adults, need to continuously acquire purposeful knowledge and skills so they can better contribute towards addressing society's ever-changing developmental challenges. In the developing world however, few opportunities exist for working adults to acquire such new learning experiences through the formal education sector, and this makes it imperative for organizations to develop non-formal education and training programs to help address this need. With the proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) worldwide, this article recommends the adoption of Collaborative Online Learning (COL) by non-formal learning organizations as a means of helping address the education and training needs of working adults. The article thus provides an overview of COL, and then draws on the research literature on relevant theories to recommend best-practice strategies for designing and delivering effective and workable COL initiatives within non-formal education settings, particularly in the developing world.

The goal of Special Education is to help individuals with disabilities transition to meaningful adult roles. When students with disabilities pursue education majors, Special Education Faculty must balance their desire to support college students with disabilities, while maintaining the rigor of their academic programs. To gain a better understanding of how to support students with disabilities in teacher preparation programs, faculty must have a clear understanding of federal legislation and recent case law related to students with disabilities in professional programs in higher education. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the legal precedent for working with students with disabilities in teacher preparation programs. In this study, the authors review federal legislation for students with disabilities in higher education, present recent case law related to accommodating students with disabilities in college training programs with field components, and provide suggestions for faculty working with students with disabilities.

This paper examines the links between social-emotional learning (SEL) and intercultural education. The work calls for pedagogical attention to the role of emotions in intercultural education and analyses the role of SEL within the umbrella of intercultural education. It claims that both SEL and intercultural education offer a framework for rethinking and changing curricula, school climates and relationships providing the foundation for quality of education for all. Therefore, this connection is not only critical but also inevitable and desirable. It asserts that SEL in intercultural landscapes is a human right that all students are entitled to, and argues that ignoring this right amounts to a social injustice. Some pedagogical considerations and strategies for enacting a culturally relevant implementation of SEL in intercultural settings will be provided. The purpose of the paper is to inform the debate on the role of emotional aspects in intercultural education, and how to configure culturally responsive teachers.

The shortage of special education teachers (SETs) is a persistent challenge in the United States, but less is known about two other important issues that affect students with disabilities: racial diversity within the SET workforce and the distribution of SETs. Using administrative data on all teachers in California from 1997 to 2014, we examine the racial composition and distribution of teachers with special education credentials. Our results from descriptive and regression analyses show that while teachers with special education credentials remain majority White, the number of teachers of color with special education credentials has increased at a rate more than twice that of general education teachers and special education students of color. We also find that much of the distribution of teachers with special education credentials occurs across districts within the same regional county, while disparities in teacher qualifications are larger by school poverty, racial composition, and student achievement. The results have policy implications for improving diversity and educational equity within the special education workforce.

As one of the key elements of the Nordic welfare model, education systems are based on the idea of providing equal educational opportunities, regardless of gender, social class and geographic origin. Since the 1990s, Nordic welfare states have undergone a gradual but wide-ranging transformation towards a more market-based mode of public service delivery. Along this trajectory, the advent of school choice policy and the growing variation in the between-school achievement results have diversified the previously homogenous Nordic education systems. The aim of our paper is to analyse how Finnish and Swedish local education authorities comprehend and respond to the intertwinement of the market logic of school choice and the ideology of equality. The data consist of two sets of in-depth thematic interviews with staff from the local providers of education, "municipal education authorities." The analysis discloses the ways in which national legislation has authorized municipal authorities to govern the provision of education.

Cultural competence is essential for physical education teachers due to the increased cultural diversity in today's student populations. As a consequence, teacher education programs should aim to facilitate the development of cultural competence. The purpose of this article is to introduce an innovative course called Soccer Across Cultures, which aims to enhance physical education teachers' coaching skills, soccer skills and cultural competence simultaneously. Soccer is influenced by the surrounding culture and is played and taught differently around the world, which allows students to experiment with culturally diverse coaching and playing styles. Students in the course develop (1) cultural knowledge of four different soccer cultures (England, Italy, Brazil and Spain); (2) the ability to plan and carry out culturally appropriate soccer coaching sessions; and (3) cultural awareness and a greater sensitivity to differences and similarities between cultures -- all of which helps them to be more inclusive when teaching physical education in a multicultural setting.