Education & Pedagogy

This article reviews research on the incorporation of multicultural education in preservice general and special education teacher preparation programs from 1997 to 2006. A total of 46 studies, 39 from general education and 7 from special education teacher education programs, met the criteria for inclusion in this literature review. Findings revealed that very few changes have occurred in this body of research in terms of the quantity, topics addressed, methods used, and gaps since the last time this literature was reviewed, in 1998 and in 2004. Despite these limitations, strengths are emerging in this body of research that can be used to pave the way for a more substantive and comprehensive research agenda in the future. (Contains 1 table.)

Dated and limited research relating to physical education in Ireland has reported that the subject is in crisis, unable to move forward until the fundamental resources of facilities, staffing and time for physical education are significantly improved. As part of a recent national physical education survey carried out in Ireland, data was collected from principals (n=417) and teachers (n=405) to inform discussion on the level of current infrastructure for physical education in post-primary schools. This paper investigates the areas of physical education facilities, time allocation and staffing, as a contribution to the debate on the way forward for physical education at post-primary level, illuminating both issues of policy and practice. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

This paper draws on major research findings in international literature in order to provide a critical review of a number of key issues and trends in the initial education of high school teachers. Firstly, this paper contextualizes the prevalent discourse surrounding the field of initial teacher education (ITE) and explores the effect that this discourse has on the conceptualization of teachers' work. Secondly, this paper focuses on the debates regarding the most propitious site for the teacher education enterprise, the programme structure for ITE, the field placement or practicum, the relationship between subject study and pedagogy, and the overall effectiveness of teacher education. The paper concludes by considering the new challenges that the field of initial teacher education must confront and the implications of such challenges for the ITE curriculum.

The Personality Research Form (PRF) was used to study the psychological traits of Lithuanian college of education students, teachers, and special education teachers. A sample of American college students was also used for comparison. Chi-square results indicated no statistical differences among the groups. Interpretations of the lack of significant results include: the PRF was unable to detect real differences; Lithuanian students, teachers, and special education teachers, and American college students are similar on the PRF scales. The authors discuss the value of psychologists, educators, and researchers testing their instruments on other cultures. Such studies can provide information into the robustness and validity of their instruments as well as offer insight into the learning and teaching process across cultures. (Contains 3 tables.)

The UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE), through the Community of Practice (COP) in Curriculum Development, organized eight Regional Preparatory Workshops on Inclusive Education in 2007. These workshops had the overall goal of initiating a participatory, consultative process in order to highlight key issues and challenges regarding inclusive education, to be presented at the 48th session of the International Conference of Education (ICE) 2008. Each preparatory regional workshop centred on four sub-themes around which the IBE Council has proposed to articulate the 48th ICE: Approaches, Scope and Content; Public Policies; Systems, Links and Transitions; Learners and Teachers. In the framework of conceptual dimensions of inclusive education, and the sub-themes of ICE 2008, this article identifies trends across regions within the ICE sub-themes and highlights points for future debate on inclusive education.

This article is based upon data deriving from a questionnaire circulated to all local education authorities in England in Spring 2003. The questionnaire was sent to the chairperson of every Standing Advisory Committee for Religious Education, the statutory body responsible for religious education at a local level. During the past decade there has been increasing pressure from government-appointed agencies such as the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency to assume increasing responsibility for religious education in relation to its content and delivery. This survey attempts to discern the reactions engendered for those with the statutory responsibility for religious education who found their roles and functions being consistently challenged by this exercise of centralising influences. (Contains 13 tables and 1 note.)

This paper starts with the founding of UNESCO and the fundamental belief that humanitarian, social and political deficits in given societies can be corrected by means of education. The history of the UNESCO International Conferences on Adult Education (Elsinore, Montreal, Tokyo, Paris and Hamburg, 1949-1997) demonstrates the changes in perceptions of adult education, from literacy to lifelong learning, in which adult education is seen as both part of the continuum of education and an entity in itself. In course of time, the position of participants (governments, NGOs and experts) has changed likewise. Since the author was a member of the German delegation at several of these conferences he feels competent to analyse the proceedings and to describe the atmosphere as well. (Contains 13 notes.) [Abstract presented in English, Spanish, and French.]

Neo-liberal policies and programs regarding higher education operate to fulfill either one of two main goals. The first is the privatization of public education. The second objective is the creation of an "iron cage" of economic rationality and standardization, which functions to regulate the production of human capital in the public education system. Overall, institutions of higher education are operating more and more like for-profit corporations, with governance and curriculum structures also being re-organized to correspond with management principles and budget techniques adopted from private businesses. These changes in revenue sources and administrative processes are causes for alarm because they prompt a transformation of the core functions of the university. In this article, the author discusses how neo-liberal educational reforms are eroding the conditions in universities that have allowed for democratic research and education. (Contains 12 notes.)

Doing business at the base of the pyramid is a topic of increasing interest to business practitioners and academics. Base of the pyramid business offers the promise of great economic gains for companies and the possibility of a powerful new approach to alleviate poverty. At the same time, it may threaten local culture and independence while providing nowhere near the economic or societal advantages that some suggest. Business schools need to expose students to these issues, given their implications for business and society. Field-based education offers great potential for students to explore such issues. This article describes a program offering field-based education at base of the pyramid locations throughout the world and a means for extending the experience to other students through video-based electronic case simulations. (Contains 1 table.)

The purpose of this study was to determine open primary education school students' opinions about mathematics television programmes. This study indicated that to determine differences among open primary education school students' opinions about mathematics television programmes point of view students' characteristics like gender, age, grade, frequency of watching mathematics television programmes and living place. The sample consists of 99 students which were selected randomly from open primary school students in Eskisehir in 2005-2006 education years. Data were collected by a questionnaire which consists of 15 items and a demographical information form. Frequency tables, t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyze data. According to the results of the study, open primary education school students have some negative opinions about language, terms, suitability for learning levels, expression speed, number of repeating broadcast and summaries of mathematics television programmes. (Contains 17 tables.)

This article attempts to clarify some of the problems and challenges currently met by the teaching profession in special education, in particular those relating to why students choose to study special needs education and what they expect to learn. There are two major reasons why students choose to become a "special needs" teacher: to help those who underachieve in the classroom and to improve their qualifications for the labour market. This investigation also shows that students expect teacher training to offer methodological guidance on how to intervene as special education teachers. The answers proposed are connected to different theoretical perspectives in the special needs area, so that challenges met when implementing inclusive education are highlighted. These findings emphasise that it is in fact special needs teaching's own tradition and practice that impede working towards an inclusive education. (Contains 2 figures.)

This contribution provides an overview of the developments of research undertaken since the mid-1990s on international higher education. The general state of research is characterised by an increase of theoretically and methodologically ambitious studies without a dominant disciplinary, conceptual, or methodological "home." The main topics of research on internationalisation in higher education reach from mobility, mutual influence of higher education systems, and internationalisation of the substance of teaching and learning to institutional strategies, knowledge transfer, cooperation and competition, and national and supranational policies. The modes of inquiry are varied but have not changed much over time. A brief localisation of the role of the Journal of Studies in International Education in the context of research about internationalisation in higher education is followed by conclusions emphasising a certain amount of continuity but also a broadening of the field with an increasing number of ambitious studies. The contribution closes with a few proposals for future research.

This paper discusses the difficulties of establishing a clear count of UK higher education students in terms of the categories used for widening participation, such as occupational background or ethnicity. Using some of the best and most complete data available, such as the annual figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the paper then establishes that there is little evidence of a simple consistent pattern of under-representation within these categories, except perhaps for men and students of white ethnicity. However, once prior qualifications are taken into account there is no evidence that potential students are unfairly and disproportionately denied access to higher education in terms of occupation, ethnicity, sex or disability. This has important implications for what we mean by widening participation in higher education and how we might achieve it. (Contains 10 tables.)

This article traces the recent development of intercultural science education in Ecuador. It starts by situating this development within the context of a growing convergence between Western and indigenous sciences. It then situates it within the larger historical, political, cultural, and educational contexts of indigenous communities in Ecuador, and goes on to explore ideas of interculturality in education and of native science as voiced by indigenous interviewees in Ecuador in 2004. The primary need voiced by native Ecuadorian leaders is that of defending their communities against various kinds of encroachment--economic as well as cultural--and the enterprise of education is viewed within this reality. The article goes on to describe a recently developed intercultural environmental studies curriculum unit and to indicate possible directions for expanding intercultural science education in Ecuador. (Contains 3 footnotes.)

The research literature has repeatedly demonstrated that there is an overrepresentation of juveniles with disabilities who are incarcerated in short-term and long-term correctional facilities. Despite these findings, special education programs in many juvenile correctional facilities have been shown to be lacking many of the necessary services mandated by federal law. The present article discusses the various legal challenges and difficulties faced by juvenile correctional education programs in providing special education services to incarcerated juveniles with disabilities, as well as the legislation and case law that currently exist to protect the right to special education services for all eligible juveniles. Related policy implementation issues and suggestions for future research in this area are also discussed. (Contains 1 endnote and 1 table.)