Education & Pedagogy

The embedding of informal practices in music education in school relates to significant issues concerning students' engagement, participation, inclusion and the role of the teacher. This article addresses these issues by presenting and discussing current music education in compulsory comprehensive schooling in Sweden. It does so by drawing upon music pedagogical research, music education studies conducted during the last 10 years and national evaluations. Examples of practice from upper secondary schools are also used to clarify and illustrate the issues under consideration. It has been said that Swedish music education has gone from "School Music" to "Music in School". This development has been characterised by greater influence of students on curriculum content resulting in increased use of popular music, and, consequently, teaching strategies acquired from informal music playing contexts. The curriculum states that the core of the subject is practical music playing, through which personal development can occur--both musically and socially. Music education in several other countries is developing a more practical approach, and the role of popular music in schools, and what is sometimes called informal learning, is featured in international music pedagogy debates. This article considers the musical, pedagogical and democratic consequences of this pedagogy from a Swedish perspective. As a result of a sharp focus on personal social development and individual students' musical interests, music education in Sweden has become relatively limited in terms of repertoire, content and teaching methods. Recent evaluations and studies also demonstrate that music education lacks direction, and is short of creative engagement with music. The role of the teacher is unclear and sometimes lacks validity in a practical music education situation. Viewed from an international perspective, the kind of music education that has developed in Sweden is unique. Thus, when the possibilities and limitations of music education in Sweden are discussed, it has the potential to be of interest to international music education research.

This paper examines the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in advancing the cause of education for all and livelong learning. After examining the claimed benefits of ICTs for promoting education and schooling, and the characteristics of education and the basic education movement in Asia, the paper focuses on providing a case study of one country in South-East Asia, that of Myanmar, regarding the use of ICTs to achieve lifelong education for all. The paper reports on a research study being undertaken by the author which examines how ICTs are being harnessed to support educational needs in the formal education system in Myanmar, including basic education, teacher development, and in the higher education institutions under the Ministry of Education. The study focuses specifically on the applications of ICTs for increasing access and improving quality in the context of the Information Age. The research is based on a field survey and case studies of best practices and innovations in the applications of ICTs to education in the Myanmar education system. By identifying the conditions that must be addressed in making effective use of ICTs for learning and teaching, the results of this study provides much needed feedback to assist the Ministry of Education in Myanmar to operate most cost-effectively in this area. Although the paper specifically examines the situation regarding one particular country, lessons learnt from the experience of Myanmar have much to offer researchers, policy makers and practitioners regarding the applications of ICTs to education development in other parts of Asia, and indeed in other parts of the world. However, the extent to which the results of this research study are generalizable to other developing countries has yet to be ascertained, since this is beyond the scope of the study reported on in this paper.

This article adopts a Bourdieusian and gendered frame of analysis to examine how the aesthetic education increasingly extended to the "ordinary" pupil in English girls' secondary schools during the interwar period, and the music curriculum in particular, related to the reproduction of culture, class and gender for secondary schoolgirls. In a context in which access to secondary education for girls was widening and gender roles were being reconfigured in the aftermath of the First World War, the increasing stress on the aesthetic in girls' secondary education formed a means through which class was rearticulated in gendered form. The resurgence of Arnoldian views in the interwar period is traced in discussion of aesthetic education and music education presented by the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education and in deliberations of headmistresses around aesthetic education for girls, and particularly music education. The article looks at how Arnoldian views of culture played out in the music curriculum at the Mary Datchelor School, Camberwell, London, which was held up as the exemplar music curriculum by both the Board of Education and the Association of Headmistresses. The article concludes that the resurgence of Arnoldian notions of culture, and the stress on the aesthetic in interwar secondary education for girls, provided the ground for gendered class practices through which continuities of middle-class formation were realigned as access to girls' secondary education widened in terms of class. At the same time, "music in the common life of the school" provided the space to contest traditional and gendered views of women's musical abilities and their exclusion from particular locations in the field of music. It also provided a space for an increasing range of girls to gain personal fulfilment through music, its creation and performance. (Contains 115 footnotes.)

World experience has shown that education alone is able to shape people's desire to organize jointly a more effective life without external coercion. States that are sufficiently aware of the "priority of education" channel the necessary financial resources into that sphere. The developed countries realize up to 40 percent of their gross national product as a result of their support for and adoption of an effective system of education. Russia, meanwhile, despite statements proclaiming the priority status of education, is losing the position that it rose to earlier. The level of education of the rising generation of Russians is going down, and the literacy level of college applicants who are secondary school graduates is declining. In this article, the author examines educational policy in Russia in the light of experience in other countries. There are three social goals in the present educational policy in Russia: (1) expansion of the system of education on a tuition basis, including secondary education, an aspect that is in conflict with world educational practices and this country's constitution; (2) a tendency to turn education into an instrument of social selection, worsening discrimination in regard to access to an education; and (3) the division of the educational system into two sectors, one for "the elite" and one for "all the rest." Yet Russia's economy has the ability to make more substantial investments in education. The time has come to make effective use of this circumstance. It is the task of all of the players in the country's educational socium not to allow education to be turned into a "social elevator" that only carries the majority of the population down. The kind of system of education and educational policy that Russians create in the near future will determine Russia's strategic prospects.

Education policy in Niger is made up of all the tendencies and decisions, which over time have determined the development of Niger's education sector and its components. In this article, the author discusses the implementation stages of education policy, that is: (1) Adoption of the General Policy Act; and (2) Planning of the implementation of the Act. Act No. 98-12 of 1 June 1998 aims to re-establish the system on new and realistic foundations, while emphasizing the sharing of costs and responsibilities between all the stakeholders, partners and beneficiaries involved. By adopting Act. No. 98-12 of 1 June 1998, the political authorities of Niger confirmed both their intention to make education one of their top priorities and their commitment to that policy. It was in this spirit that the ministries responsible for education, in consultation with technical and financial partners, prepared the 10-Year Programme for the Development of Education in Niger (PDDE) covering the period 2003-2012. This programme, which is aimed at finding viable, long-term solutions to the problems and constraints preventing the development of education, will now serve as a general reference framework for all action taken in the education sector. It is a 10-year approach in line with the guidance of the OAU's Decade of Education, the United Nations Special Initiative for Africa, the Dakar Action Framework on Education for All (EFA) and the recommendations of the Summit of Heads of State of the six least-literate countries, including Niger. Thus, the author states that the implementation of the 10-year programme will increase the chances of success of the new education policy and the reform of the system by adapting it to the socioeconomic and cultural realities of the country. It will also include three components in particular: (1) Access to education; (2) Education quality; and (3) Institutional arrangements.

The paper provides a comprehensive review of the major obstacles that hinder the participation of girls and women in higher education in Kenya. This is on the basis that their low participation in this level of education is a key constraint to the development of the country. While it is reckoned that girls' and women's education is inextricably linked with other facets of human development, the focus in the paper is on educational issues. Among the major obstacles identified include policy framework, in which it is seen that since the colonial period in Kenya, gender was an important determinant of educational provision. Women's subordinated position arising from colonial economic structures coupled with traditional cultural practices determined the extent to which they could participate in education; such that by the last decades of colonialism, a very small proportion of girls attended primary and secondary schools. It is also seen that while on the whole independence increased women's educational and employment opportunities, gender inequality has remained persistent. The government is called upon to promote female education through legislative and policy reform. There should be an entitlement to good-quality primary and secondary education for all. While secondary education is the gateway to women's higher education, government policies have often forced girls to attend poor-quality secondary schools. The effect of poor-quality secondary education for girls is reflected in their serious under-representation in more competitive courses, such as medicine and engineering in the public universities. It is suggested that some affirmative measures be adopted in university admissions to increase the participation of women as well as mounting bridging courses in the sciences and technology and allowing for credit transfers in university admissions for students from technology-based tertiary institutions. (Contains 2 tables.)

Despite small steps of progress, issues of legitimacy and worth are still barriers inhibiting systemic change in physical education. Even with the call for reform in physical education (Rink, 1993), few comprehensive school reform efforts have included physical education, for at least two reasons. First, physical education is not considered a core subject area, and second, physical education, as a profession, has not made a case to be part of these reform efforts (Ward & Doutis, 1999). South Carolina professionals made a case to be part of the current standards, assessment, and accountability movement. The South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP) is one of the first efforts by a state to hold schools and teachers accountable for meeting state standards in physical education. It is a unique approach to program assessment in that teachers assess students in a sampling of classes, across four student performance indicators. The assessment program in South Carolina has created the opportunity to study the viability of school and teacher accountability as an instrument for change in physical education. One of the ways to study change in physical education programs as a result of accountability is to look at differences between high performing schools (HPS) and low performing schools (LPS). Knowing the characteristics of HPS and LPS can help us understand what effective physical education programs look like, how to best facilitate change in physical education, and how to get students to meet standards. Based on a teacher survey, teacher interviews, and a document analysis of current materials for recruited schools, the authors have compiled profiles of high and low performing schools, noting differences in the following areas: (1) teacher perceptions and roles; (2) relationships between physical education department members; and (3) reform efficacy. (Contains 1 table.)

Technology education has progressed through several iterations over the past 100 years and continues to evolve as the primary medium for preparing children and youth in technological literacy. Over the past 20 years, technology education has worked diligently to move from a subject field where students primarily manipulated materials (industrial arts) to one of systematic instruction about technological systems and enterprises (technology education). The "Standards for Technological Literacy" more clearly define an operational agenda for the advancement of technological literacy for the nation's school-age youth. This study is the third in a series of national surveys that have systematically assessed the status of technology education in the United States and Canada. This study, a more recent analysis of the overall status of technology education, has been expanded significantly beyond the Oaks (1991), Chinien and Oaks (1995), and Newberry (2001) studies to include more indepth information regarding the general health and wellness of technology education in the United States. Eleven of the most critical issues and trends in technology education were selected and examined based on current literature, information from state technology education supervisors, and information profiled in the previous published articles. From a synthesis of these eleven topical areas, five major areas of focus emerged: (1) The status technology education holds at the state level and in schools; (2) The change in technology education program demographics during the last five years; (3) The degree to which extant curricular designs reflect current educational reform (the standards movement) and the evolution of technology education from industrial arts; (4) The current and future trends of technology educator supply and demand; and (5) The diversity of school populations as reflected in technology education programs. These five major areas became the focus of a comprehensive analysis of the profession, which began with the design and method of the research. (Contains 4 tables.)

World War II stands as a defining moment for American higher education. During the crisis of international relations that existed by the late 1930s, American thinkers of various stripes felt compelled to mobilize the country's intellectual and educational resources in defense of democracy, thus creating "a great ideological revival of democracy that accompanied the war." The war aims of the United States--as enunciated in the Atlantic Charter and popular portrayals of the "good war" in which the United States fought to free the world from the grips of evil dictatorships--gave tremendous legitimacy to these efforts, which built into a national discussion on the goals of higher education. Between 1943 and 1947, at least five major reports on general education or liberal education appeared, three of which explicitly treated the relation of such education to "democracy" or "free society." As the United States emerged from the war seeing itself as the world's beacon of democracy, this discussion reached such a fever pitch that Harry S Truman called a President's Commission on Higher Education (1946-48). The Commission's report, "Higher Education for American Democracy," cited a "crisis in human history" and argued that "the future of human civilization depends on the direction education takes." Of all the reports, it probably attracted the greatest attention, and therefore stimulated the most extensive debate about the meaning of democracy and its relation to specific educational policies and practices. In this article, the author demonstrates that the Commission's proposals for funding public higher education and for promoting a form of general education inspired by John Dewey's ideas were met with fierce opposition from educational leaders representing religiously affiliated and other private institutions. He analyzes how this opposition reflected a deep disagreement about the philosophical foundations necessary for democracy. He concludes with a discussion on the failure to establish a democratic religion. (Contains 97 footnotes.)

Proof of academic performance often serves as the litmus test for maintaining instructional practices and programs. Just as the national focus on academic improvement has gained momentum, so too has another movement calling for character education. Educators find themselves caught in the middle, questioning whether character education is just another passing fad or a valid educational initiative that will positively affect student performance as well as attitude. The phrase "character education" does not refer to a single approach or even a single list of the values that are taught in character education programs. "Character education" is often the umbrella term that describes concerted efforts to teach a number of qualities, such as civic virtues, respect and responsibility, social and emotional learning, empathy and caring, tolerance for diversity, and service to the community. This article discusses two recent studies of character education programs that provide evidence of their effectiveness--and describe strategies that will help middle level and high school educators who want to initiate or improve character education in their schools. These data-driven studies approach character education scientifically from two different perspectives. The first (Lickona & Davidson, 2005) explores the character education initiatives in 24 high schools that have received recognition for excellence; the second study (Berkowitz & Bier, 2005) examines 69 research studies on 33 specific character education programs to provide empirical evidence of what works in character education. The two studies fit together like pieces of a puzzle to confirm what many have long argued: effective character education not only improves school climate and student behavior but also can lead to academic improvement. Effective features of character education include professional development, peer interaction, an explicit agenda, and family and community involvement.

The purpose of this symposium is to provide readers with a general understanding of Japanese art and aesthetics education and its interaction with other cultures. The essays cover a variety of topics, including historical, cross-cultural, theoretical, and practical perspectives. Following an introduction by Ako Okazaki, the following papers are presented: (1) "A Historical Overview of Art Education in Japan" (Kingo Masuda); (2) "The Concept of Freedom in Art Education in Japan" (Takuya Kaneda); (3) "Restriction and Individual Expression in the 'Play Activity/Zokei Asobi'" (Yoko Hino); (4) "A Sense of Reality" (Yasuaki Okamoto); (5) "Does Art Education Dream of Disneyland?" (Kinichi Fukumoto); (6) "Encounter between Hyper-Media and Art Education: A Retrospection of Jean-Jacques Rousseau or Memories of Art and Education" (Motoki Nagamori); (7) "Evolution in Qualitative Factors Used to Evaluate Japanese Students" (Kazumi Yamada); (8) "Media Literacy Education in Art: Motion Expression and the New Vision of Art Education" (Kenta Motomura); (9) "Postmodern Approach to Art Appreciation for Integrated Study in Japan" (Kazuhiro Ishizaki); (10) "Music-Picture: One Form of Synthetic Art Education" (Masashi Okada); (11) " Arthur Wesley Dow's Address in Kyoto, Japan (1903)" (Akio Okazaki); (12) "Japanese Painting and Johannes Itten's Art Education" (Yoshimasa Kaneko); (13) "Art Education in Lower Secondary Schools in Japan and the United Kingdom" (Toshio Naoe); (14) "A Comparative Study of Artistic Play and 'Zoukei-Asobi'" (Mitsuru Fujie); and (15) "Art as Part of Daily Life--A Cross-Cultural Dialogue between Art and People" (Masako Iwano). (Contains 2 figures, 4 tables, and 200 notes.)

By the mid-eighteenth century, when the first university appeared in Russia, many European nations could boast of long and glorious university traditions. But Russia, with its poorly developed system of elementary and secondary education, lagged behind other European countries and seemed destined for a long spell of second-tier performance. Yet by the mid-twentieth century, the fully reformed system of Soviet higher education was perceived as an unexpected success, one that transformed the country into a major scientific power throughout the Cold War. Today, the international community is keeping close tabs on the fast development of world-class higher education in Russia, specifically its large-scale changes and reforms. "Higher Education in Russia" is the first comprehensive, up-to-date overview and analysis of modern Russian higher education. Aimed at a large international audience, it describes the current realities of higher education in Russia, as well as the main principles, logic, and relevant historical and cultural factors. Outlining the evolution of the higher education system in tsarist Russia throughout the nineteenth century, Yaroslav Kuzminov and Maria Yudkevich describe the development of its mass-scale higher education system from the end of the Second World War to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond. They also discuss the principal elements of today's Russian higher education system while exploring the system's governance model and the logic of its resource allocation. They touch on university selection, the structure of the country's academic profession, the organization of research, and the major excellence programs of leading universities. Illustrating the idea that the development of the higher education system is very much linked with the European experience, the authors argue that Russian higher education was often the domain of successful (and not so successful) education experiments and innovations. "Higher Education in Russia" is a must-read for scholars of higher education and Russian history alike. [Foreword written by Philip G. Altbach.]

This is Volume 2 of the Report of the Commissioner of Education for the Year 1894-95, containing Parts II and III. Part II contains the chapters: (1) The Bell and Lancaster System; (2) At What Age do Pupils Withdraw from the Public Schools; (3) Admission to College by Certificate; (4) Technological Instruction in the Land-Grant Colleges; (5) Instruction in Sociology in Institutions of Learning; (6) Professional Education; (7) Medical Schools of the United States; (8) Education in the Several States; (9) Education of the Colored Race; (10) The Slater Fund and the Education of the Negro; (11) Education in Alaska; (12) The Social Unit in the Public School Systems of the United States; (13) The Conveyance of Children to School; (14) Check List of American Schools; (15) Original Establishment of State School Funds; (16) Education in the Northwest during the First Half Century of the Republic, 1790-1840; (17) The American Common School in New England from 1790 to 1840; (18) Parochial Schools; (19) Eighty Years of the Public Schools of Washington, D. C., 1805-1885; (20) Early Educational Life in Middle Georgia; (21) The Cotton States and International Exposition at Atlanta, Ga., in 1895; (22) English Methods of Teaching American History; (23) Protection of Italian Emigrants in America; (24) Education and the Talmud; (25) Publications of the Bureau of Education; and (26) Scientific Temperance Instruction in the Public Schools. Part III covers Statistical Tables. [Volume 1 is not available. For the continuation of the Commissioner of Education's 1894-95 report, see "Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1895. In Five Volumes. Volume V -- In Two Parts. Part 1 [Report of the Commissioner of Education]," see ED622082.]

This report focuses on the social and economic resilience that might be achieved by well-designed and well-targeted investment in education. It provides a review of the individual and social returns of education in terms of both economic and non-economic effects. The most important economic benefits for individuals include better skills, better employability, increased productivity and higher earnings. Among the non-economic benefits associated with education are better health, lower crime rates and higher levels of trust, tolerance, and civic and political engagement. At the societal level, the most relevant returns from education are associated with higher GDP growth, better diffusion and adoption of technologies, higher innovation capacity, stable public finances and better social cohesion. We show that European countries, which are endowed with better education, both in terms of quantity and quality, recover faster from economic shocks and have better economic resilience. We also provide evidence that individuals who are more educated are more flexible and adaptable to new technological advances, and we discuss the specific skills that are expected to be most in demand in the future. We point out that access to high-quality preschool education for disadvantaged children is one of the most important policies to tackle existing inequalities within a society. The report also discusses the implications of the COVID-19 related school lockdowns in early 2020 on individuals (students, teachers and parents), educational institutions and systems, and suggests that if not tackled adequately during the recovery stage, the immediate adverse consequences -- such as interrupted learning and skills formation, exacerbated educational inequalities and rising dropout rates -- could lead to high social and economic costs in the long term.

In compliance with the Indian Education Act (NMSA1976 Section 22), the purpose of the Tribal Education Status Report (TESR) is to inform stakeholders of the Public Education Department's (PED) current initiatives specific to American Indian students and their educational progress. This report examines both the current conditions and recent trends in the education of New Mexico's American Indian students and provides action steps to strengthen existing programs or propose new activities to yield a positive outcome for American Indian students. Data for the 12 reporting areas for 2017-2018 was gathered from the 23 school districts and 6 charters that serve a significant population of American Indian students or have tribal lands located within their school boundaries. The data collected includes student achievement, attendance, school district initiatives, and drop out and graduation rates. Of the 23 school districts, 14 submitted a districtwide Tribal Education Status Report that supports the following sections: school safety; parent and community involvement; and education programs targeting tribal students that incorporated Indigenous research, evaluation, and curricula. The numbers for Native American students have generally improved within the last three years. Data indicates that New Mexico's American Indian students made significant gains in reading by 8.2 percent, slight gains in their proficiencies for math by 4 percent, and maintained a steady proficiency level in science. [For "Tribal Education Status Report for School Year 2016-2017," see ED609303.]