Education & Pedagogy

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to examine the research evidence concerning the views and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities regarding their participation in and the effectiveness of relationship and sex education programmes. Methods: A systematic search of relevant electronic databases was conducted using defined inclusion criteria. All papers reviewed were from October 1998 to October 2018. PRISMA guidelines were followed in the design and reporting of the systematic review. Results: A total of eight studies published in English were included in the review. Data were analysed and the key themes identified were (1) designing and developing relationship and sex education programmes, (2) participating in relationship and sex education programmes and (3) perceived benefits of relationship and sex education programme participation. Conclusion: This review identified that people with intellectual disabilities are accessing relationship and sex education programmes and appear to find them helpful. Further research is required to investigate the extent to which programmes impact on long-term behaviours that enable the development of sustainable relationships and reduce the unintended consequences of sexual activities. Implications for policy, practice and future research developments are discussed.

This review examines parent-teacher relationships and parental involvement in education in Latino families, using Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's ("Review of Educational Research", 67, 3-42, 1997) model of parental involvement in education to frame the review. Practical, cultural, and systemic factors often serve as barriers to positive parent-teacher relationships and parental involvement in education for Latino families (Durand. "Urban Review", 43, 255-278, 2010; Calzada et al. "Urban Education", 50, 870-896, 2015). Additionally, many Latino parents hold a broad, culturally based definition of education that may conflict with teachers' expectations for parental involvement in education and the parent-teacher relationship (Zarate 2007). Nonetheless, many Latino parents are deeply committed to involvement in their children's education, and such involvement is linked to positive outcomes for youth and families (Ceballo et al. "Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology", 20, 116-127, 2014). Recommendations to facilitate positive, high-quality parent-teacher relationships and parental involvement in education in Latino families also are presented in this review.

This study deals with the notion that Indigenous peoples are concerned with preserving their communities, nations, cultural values, and educational traditions. Indigenous peoples have a land-based education system that emerges out of their own worldviews and perspectives, which need to be applied to research concerning Indigenous cultures. This work explores Indigenous land-based education through the perspectives of Cree Elders of Northern, Manitoba. Six Cree Elders were interviewed to explore the ideas and practices of land-based education. The article engages discussion of Indigenous land-based education stemming from Elders' teachings of Indigenous knowledge, cultural values, identity, and vision. Informed by Cree Elders, this qualitative study articulates an Indigenous interpretation of land-based education. Research findings demonstrate that Indigenous land-based education can be used to promote well-being among Indigenous peoples in Canada. While the study is based on the Cree experience in Northern Manitoba, its message is significant to many other Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Drawing on the Elders' teachings, policy recommendations are generated for advancing Indigenous land-based education.

Global university rankings are a worldwide trend that emerged in times of the globalisation and internationalisation of higher education. Universities worldwide are now striving to become "world-class" institutions and are constantly aiming to improve their ranking position. Global rankings of universities are thus perceived by many as an ultimate tool for assessing the level of internationalisation at individual higher education institutions. This article first discusses the meaning of and relationship between the globalisation and internationalisation of higher education, as their influence on the emergence of global rankings is undeniable. It then outlines the methodological designs of four main global university rankings which serve as key prerequisites for the subsequent analyses of both the international(-isation) indicators that these rankings include and of the international ranking initiatives that focus exclusively on the international outlook of higher education institutions. In the concluding discussion, the article reveals that, due to the predominantly quantitative orientation of global university rankings (on the internationalisation of higher education), their results should not be generalised or understood as a means to improve the quality of (internationalisation of) higher education.

The hope for multicultural, culturally competent, and diverse perspectives in science education falls short if theoretical considerations of whiteness are not entertained. Since whiteness is characterized as a hegemonic racial dominance that has become so natural it is almost invisible, this paper identifies how whiteness operates in science education such that it falls short of its goal for cultural diversity. Because literature in science education has yet to fully entertain whiteness ideology, this paper offers one of the first theoretical postulations. Drawing from the fields of education, legal studies, and sociology, this paper employs critical whiteness studies as both a theoretical lens and an analytic tool to re-interpret how whiteness might impact science education. Doing so allows the field to reconsider benign, routine, or normative practices and protocol that may influence how future scientists of Color experience the field. In sum, we seek to have the field consider the theoretical frames of whiteness and how it might influence how we engage in science education such that our hope for diversity never fully materializes.

This paper presents general aspects of the development process for a technology education curriculum in Iceland University of Education during 2007-2008. The background to a research project in the field of using simulation learning tools and other new learning media as a supporting tool for learning and as an essential part of the new learning environments. The main content of this paper is to present the ways and methods the types of learning processes, contents and equipment, in which technology education could be organised as university teacher studies from the viewpoint of the challenges posed by the information age. In particular, it deals with the ways some of the most modern computerised and network-based equipment and methods of planning, creation and the use of technology should be taken account in the curriculum and in teaching learning processes. This paper considers the use of information technology and computerised production processes as an essential part of the current learning processes in modern technology education. Furthermore, it concentrates at the level of university teacher education as this is considered one of the most critical parts of the school reform process.

Background: State policies influence the quantity and quality of educational programs delivered in schools. This study examined state physical education policy changes from 2001 to 2016 by analyzing data reported in "The Shape of the Nation Report." Methods: Policies related to state mandates for physical education, time/credit requirements, assessment and fitness testing requirements, adoption of state standards, and allowance of substitutions were analyzed over 5 editions of the report using repeated measures statistics. Results: A majority of state physical education-related policies have not changed over the past 15 years despite calls by numerous public health agencies for enhanced physical education in schools. There was, however, a significant increase in the number of states adopting teaching standards and requiring assessment and fitness testing in physical education, mirroring a broader shift in education toward standards, assessment, and accountability. Conclusions: Despite improved rigor in physical education through the adoption of standards and assessment practices, physical education continues to be marginalized in schools by a lack of curricular time and inappropriate substitution policies. Stronger policies are needed for physical education to have a substantial impact on school health.

This article analyzes the role of STEM initiatives designed by city and corporate elites in a large urban district and outlines an alternative, grassroots vision for (STEM) education and city schools. Within a neoliberal context of gentrification, displacement, disinvestment, and privatization, STEM schools have become strategic components of Chicago's 'portfolio district' that serve the interests of racial capitalism in three ways. First, STEM schools provide a claim to fairness in the midst of racist school closures. Second, STEM high schools are a corporate strategy for racially stratified labor force preparation that restricts curriculum and reifies tracking. Third, curriculum restriction prioritizes corporate interests over students' capacity to shape their communities and the world. The authors draw on the wisdom of Chicago communities who have led resistance against corporate education reform to critique Chicago STEM policy and point to critical mathematics and science education as part of a model for sustainable community schools.

Many children with disabilities receive the majority of their instruction in the general education classroom where many universal programs are implemented. It is therefore important to examine the impact of evidence-based universal interventions on children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) program has benefits for children in grades Kindergarten to third grade receiving special education services. Using data from a large randomized controlled trial conducted across 105 Kindergarten to third-grade classrooms and 1,817 children, we investigated the impact of IY TCM on children receiving special education services. Findings indicated that children who receive special education supports, who were in classrooms of general education teachers trained in the IY TCM intervention, had significant improvement in concentration problems, disruptive behavior, and social competence in comparison with children receiving special education in control classrooms.

Objectives: Drug education is delivered by a broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary practitioners within the fields of health promotion, drug prevention and treatment, social care, and community and youth work. However, drug education is often misunderstood or conflated with drug information and/or drug prevention. This ambiguity of understanding is problematic and, when coupled with drug education being delivered by practitioners who may not have formal training in drug education, can result in poor delivery, poor participant engagement and poor outcomes. This paper provides conceptual clarity for practitioners on drug education, differentiating it from other approaches to drug issues. Methods: The paper draws from a selection of international literature on drug education best practice to simplify and make this information available for the use by practitioners. Results: International best practice quality standards on drug education, suitable for use in community and youth settings are identified. Conclusion: The paper offers support to health, community and youth workers by providing best practice guidance on drug education with children, young people and adults.

The law currently binding in Poland favors students with disabilities and SEN. The parents have a right to choose between many forms of education and facilities which, in their opinion and according to the suggestions of a psychological and educational support centre, will give their child the best opportunities of development. The Ministry of National Education Regulation of 10 June 2015 on grading, classifying and promoting students demands adjustment of educational requirements to the needs of the student with a certificate confirming his/her special education needs (&3 clause 1) in each education establishment. Theoretically, the situation is extremely favorable. However, for now, the research studies have shown that the readiness of teaching staff, children, and parents for these different possibilities are insufficient; therefore, the legal regulations do not make the conditions of educating students with disabilities or SEN perfect. What is more, the perception of e.g. integrated education as a "cheaper" solution causes that not all legally provided possibilities of supporting a student are applied.

In this study, a comparison of the graduate education program between Canada and China is presented. Compared with some developed countries in Europe and America, Canada's graduate education does not start too early. After World War II, especially in recent decades, its graduate education has developed rapidly. The reason is that under the situation of the rapid development of science, technology, and economy in domestic and foreign scale, the Canadian federal government and provincial government gradually realize the importance of graduate education; therefore, they vigorously support and fund graduate education. China's graduate education has started later than Canada's. However, it has developed rapidly in recent years. Canadian and Chinese graduate education have their distinct characteristics with some similarities and some differences. The development history, present situation and problems, training mode and future development of graduate education in Canada and China are compared, and then some suggestions for the development of graduate education in China are presented accordingly.

The purpose of this article of reflection is to share ideas of the comprehensive framework in the pedagogical and epistemic knowledge of Special Education. What it allows, to address the constructions facing the paradigmatic shift of migration towards an Inclusive Education that from the XX century takes a leading character in the pedagogical knowledge of Latin American education. Among the discourses that Inclusive Education involves, there is equality of opportunities, with evident epistemological gaps within pedagogical knowledge, generating hybrid and incoherent subtleties referring to the challenges and dilemmas that the inclusion of students in traditional educational systems tends to. These paradigmatic and epistemological dilemmas that surround this migration of a traditional knowledge in Special Education, is the reason for critical analysis, which is bearable to problematize the inconsistencies that are being generated as a result of the re-signification of a pedagogy, that from its Early considered an education under normalization processes, with exclusionary and even tendencies and that currently presents transforming ideas, on an approach in evolution that seeks an episteme based on Inclusive Education.

Purpose: The aim of this country report is to offer an overview of civic and citizenship education in Spain. Approach: The report analyses the Spanish curriculum and the current legislative framework, examining the way social and civic competences are integrated in both primary and secondary education. Additionally, the paper also examines the latest educational reform, establishing a comparison between how citizenship education was addressed in the curriculum until 2013 and the way a cross-curricular approach has been adopted since then. Findings: The paper has been able to establish a clear difference between two political and educational conceptions. On one hand, from 2006 to 2013, the Spanish government introduced "Citizenship and Human Rights Education" as a core subject linked to a broader approach to traditional civic education. After the 2013 reform, the new government favoured instead a cross-curricular orientation that avoided references to the idea of citizenship and limited the scope of civic education. A discussion is provided regarding what policy reforms can be expected in the near future in Spain.

Within the Middle East and North Africa region, more than 5,600,000 Syrian refugees are currently registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as seen here https://www.unhcr.org/. Amongst university-aged refugees, only a small fraction (Jordan -- 8%, Lebanon -- 6%, Turkey -- 1%) are currently enrolled in higher education. This paper, based on empirical qualitative research with Syrian refugee youth, is a critical investigation into their access to, and experiences with, higher education opportunities provided for them by local and international partners. Using interview and focus group data, the paper examines the availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of higher education opportunities currently on offer for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The paper argues that while access to higher education is increasing for refugees within the Syrian context, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of these opportunities to the needs of refugees remains problematic. In this way, higher education often falls short of enabling refugees to live lives that they have reason to value.