Education & Pedagogy

Since the start of the new century, basic and senior schools have started to encounter curriculum reforms, and vocational education has experienced substantial changes. Based on the changing context in the past 10 or more years, this study examines the issue of school-to-work transition from the perspective of the vocationalization of secondary education in Hong Kong. In addition to providing the results of different studies, three approaches are proposed. These approaches include enhancement of generic competencies through technology, introduction of lost-cost programs in less gender-specific areas, such as business studies, and emphasis on entrepreneurship education.

Entry into science education for students with blindness or low vision can present economic and technological barriers to access. This manuscript discusses funding hands-on student experiences in middle school, high school, and post-secondary education. Further, the use of access technologies recently developed for science education is also presented. Partnerships between access technology companies that are committed to working together make access more possible than ever before. The shift from the Director Assisted Approach to independent data collection in a hands-on way to promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers is discussed

This article examines the way Finnish teacher education has changed over the last three decades. The role of teacher educators has become progressively more research-intensive, and teacher education currently faces a challenging dilemma. Not only is it dependent on the terms and conditions of conducting research, it must also address the need to meet the social challenges presented by education policy. In this article we present our concerns with respect to current developments in teacher education and our vision of what should be done to preserve the high standard of Finnish teacher education.

Increasingly, elementary teachers are being asked to teach the missing elements of a STEM education--computing and engineering. Over the course of a year, we worked with an entire elementary school (K-6) to implement computing and engineering lessons. Through persistent observation, field notes, and interviews, teachers revealed both enablers and inhibitors to successful classroom implementation. These fell into two categories--externally provided and internally cultivated enablers and inhibitors. We provide evidence for these claims and discuss how internally cultivated enablers and inhibitors can lead to or impeded the successful implementation of computing and engineering lessons in elementary education.

Bilingual education has been an educational option in many countries for over 50 years but it remains controversial, especially in terms of its appropriateness for all children. The present review examines research evaluating the outcomes of bilingual education for language and literacy levels, academic achievement, and suitability for children with special challenges. The focus is on early education and the emphasis is on American contexts. Special attention is paid to factors such as socioeconomic status that are often confounded with the outcomes of bilingual education. The conclusion is that there is no evidence for harmful effects of bilingual education and much evidence for net benefits in many domains.

To remain competitive in an increasingly interdisciplinary world, graduate education must produce professionals who can understand both their scientific disciplines and the business environment in which they work. With the addition of applied learning components outside of the traditional scientific laboratory and training in business skills, Professional Science Master's programs (PSMs) help higher education adapt to this changing environment. The current study illustrates some models of PSMs and contains information on how institutions interested in using PSMs as a way to enhance applied learning at the graduate level can get started.

This paper reviews developments in policy on early childhood education and care--early years--under the Coalition Government in England. Three factors came to define the Coalition's performance and record in this area: ambivalence about the rationales for the two areas of early education and childcare; a disconnect between early years and other social welfare policy approaches; and the dominant influence on policy of a political belief in market operations as the favoured delivery model for early years services. Successive early years policy documents also reflected the Coalition's shifting position on young children's rights and interests in relation to early childhood education and care (ECEC).

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how entrepreneurship education is being marketed to students within the Canadian university sector. Design/methodology/approach: A content analysis of the webpages representing 66 entrepreneurship education programs in Canada is performed. Findings: Entrepreneurship education is found to be framed as providing students with a collaborative learning experience, useful hands-on skills with real world applications and an entrepreneurial mindset. Research limitations/implications: This study looks at only one type of promotional material, and thus, further research is needed to triangulate its findings. Originality/value: This is the first study that empirically examines the marketing of entrepreneurship education in Canada.

Journalism education in China can be traced back to the U.S. tradition of the 1920s and was influenced by the Soviet model in the 1950s. Although it has become very Chinese ever since, journalism education in China fluctuates between the two lines represented by the U.S. tradition and the Soviet model. This article hopes to expound upon the current status quo of journalism education in China, including scope of journalism programs, national education system, journalism curricula, and faculty structure. As is in other countries, in this digital age, journalism education in China is undergoing dramatic changes. The article assesses these changes as Chinese journalism education adapts to a new media environment.

This paper explores families' investment in skills development through education in a high-inequality, low-education quality country such as Mexico, comparing it to a lower-inequality, higher-quality education country such as the United States. The paper uses a series of Household Income and Expenditure Surveys for both countries spanning around 20 years and different methodological approaches. Of particular interest is the analysis of education expenditure patterns along the income distribution. Policy implications for both cases are discussed. While in Mexico stimulating private spending in education through public resources might be regressive, the contrary might be the case in the United States.

This article describes the development of curriculum as it relates to vocational education in Nigeria Upper Basic Education Curriculum. The definition of Curriculum development was highlighted to reflect contemporary concepts of curriculum integration. Curriculum development was stressed to include the rudiments necessary in its stages of development. Instructional materials production and utilization in broad terms of audio-visual aids were also treated. The work however drew up the role and relevant position of evaluation in curriculum development. The paper concluded with the need to have the development, production and utilization of instructional materials as a communication channel in the teaching-learning processes of vocational education.

International higher education is facing increasing competition and pressure from new market entrants, who are introducing disruptive models of delivering more affordable education on scale. Higher education is definitely more than ever at a crossroads in terms of securing its future existence, which is why it becomes essential for academic leaders to benchmark and recalibrate their strategies, operational models and academic programs for survival and long-term relevance. Interestingly, IKEA has built its global presence in a complex and regulated market by addressing challenges similar to those higher education institutions are facing today. The author provides suggestions for how faculty and leaders in higher education can build on the values of IKEA to ensure their future prosperity.

Absolute poverty levels are declining around the world but, measured by income and GDP per capita over time, inequality is getting worse between and within many countries. How is this possible when higher education is celebrated as a vehicle for economic success and when the massification and digitisation of higher education means it is available to more people, in more places, than ever? This paper explores these questions with reference to three discourses: on development and global inequality; on the purpose and responsibilities of higher education; and on the disruptive potential of online learning.

Few would disagree that a primary aim of art and design education is to cultivate student creativity. While there are diverse approaches to teaching for creativity in art and design education, developing creativity generally focuses on discovery, materials exploration, and idea expression (process) as well as making and presenting final works of art and design (products) (Sawyer, 2012). This article examines the idea of creativity in art education by putting forth a foundational definition of creative agency and exploring the question of whether creative agency is available to all students in art and design education with suggestions for curriculum that integrates concepts of creativity with social justice.

The article examines aesthetic education of primary school pupils as an integral part of the national system of continuous art education in Japan. One of the most important traditional means of aesthetic education in Japan, according to L. Tsaryova is considered nature. Analysis of the scientific literature by domestic and foreign scientists suggests that instead of collective worship the Japanese established habits that help people develop artistic taste. Having considered the traditions of: tea ceremony, admiring nature; writing, which does not differ from painting and so on, one should point out that the traditions are valuable and remain till nowadays thus promoting the aestheticization of the Japanese people.