Education & Pedagogy

This article engages with debates about transformative learning and social change, exploring practitioner perspectives on non-formal education activities run by non-governmental organisations. The research looked at how global citizenship education practitioners met their organisation's goals of change for social justice through educational activities. This education is sometimes criticised for promoting small individual changes in behaviour, which do not ultimately lead to the social justice to which it pertains to aim. Findings suggest that this non-formal education aims to provide information from different perspectives and generate critical reflection, often resulting in shifts in attitudes and behaviour. While the focus is often on small actions, non-formal spaces opened up by such education allow for networks to develop, which are key for more collective action and making links to social movements. Although this was rarely the focus of these organisations, it was these steps, often resulting from reflection as a group on personal actions, which carried potentially for social change.

The purpose of this study is to replicate a study conducted by Hux, Marquardt, Skinner, and Bond (1999) in which the researchers explored the frequency of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the special education population as compared to the frequency of TBI among students in general education. Hux and colleagues (1999) found that roughly one-quarter of their sample received evaluations for special education services at some point, and that almost half their sample had sustained at least one TBI. Similarly, the current study explored the frequency of TBI in both general education and special education groups in a kindergarten through twelfth grade school. Results indicated that the sample in the current study reported a lower incidence rate of TBI than the general population as well as that in the 1999 study by Hux and colleagues. Additionally, only one student in the current sample (5% of TBI group) reported a history of TBI along with receiving special education services. Discrepancies between the current study and the Hux and colleagues (1999) study are explored, and possible reasons for the discrepancies are discussed.

The development of professional identity during a short-track teacher education program is studied. This article presents how individuals with a strong background in natural sciences describe the teacher education in which they participate. Individual interviews were conducted with 6 student teachers with a doctorate in natural sciences and extensive work experience in science-related professions on 5 occasions during their teacher education. We suggest that shared ways of talking about education and teaching practice can be described as phases summed up as cautiously positive, rejection, acceptance, and complexity. It is argued that problems of development of professional identities can be understood in relation to the design of the teacher education under study, and failure to acknowledge the development of a professional identity as a science teacher among these student teachers is a question of a not unproblematic transformation of professional identities. Implications for teacher education are that the design of teacher education needs to consider a joint frame for the entire education, in particular the relation between practice and theoretical courses.

This paper examines the shifting relations between the family and the state in Indian education policy. It charts how family resources, responsibility, and participation have been variously called upon by the state across three historical conjunctures of education reform: the decades of post-independence planning for school expansion and nation-building after 1947; the global development era of economic liberalisation and decentralisation in the 1990s and early 2000s; and the present turn to a rights-based approach in the context of intensified educational marketisation, as marked by the 2009 Right to Education Act (RTE). Across these periods, we identify an enduring paternalism of welfare governance alongside strategies for devolving state responsibility in matters of school education. The analysis situates the conditions of family responsibility for education under the contemporary RTE, in which parents are expected to be 'morally' compelled to meet the state's education goals. Through this analysis, we bring to the fore the politics of family governance in education policy, a politics that is largely overlooked by, despite being central to, research on education and international development.

This article adds a political perspective to the phenomenon of higher education de-differentiation, by building on Gary Rhoades' neo-institutionalist account. Diversity is operationalized on a hallmark dimension for Central and Eastern Europe: the public-private divide. Higher education is conceived of as a structured organizational field and its institutionalization in Central and Eastern Europe is surveyed in a comparative approach, focusing on the institutions governing the competition for (tuition paying) students and the normative images of higher education (accreditation, quality assurance, classifications and rankings). Critical junctures are identified in regard to the structuration and re-structuration of higher education in Romania, and the agency of the ministers is traced in relation to their academic background. The article builds on evidence from studies of system-level diversity or differentiation in higher education, the structuration of higher education as an organizational field, and the more recent empirical accounts on the impact of the agency of academics in policy formulation in Central and Eastern Europe (especially those in office as ministers of education).

Setting this paper against the backdrop of scholarly research on recent changes in the OECD's approach and workings in education, I analyse how the OECD has reinforced its infrastructural and epistemological global governance through the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for Development (PISA-D). Drawing on qualitative data, this paper makes three arguments. First, there has been a reinforced effort at the OECD to align national and international large-scale assessments; second, the OECD-ensured PISA-D was enhanced only in so far as it remained comparable with PISA, with a view to joining up lower- and middle-income data infrastructures with the global PISA infrastructure; and third, the OECD has bound together the aims of PISA, PISA-D, the Education and Skills Directorate, the Organisation's Strategy on Development and the global education agenda (Sustainable Development Goals), thus strengthening its global education governance potential. With a note of concern, I suggest these recent changes in the OECD's work in education may be spreading a very narrow framework of educational values, which does not sufficiently recognise the complexity of learning and teaching.

This literature review examines curricular space allocated to activity based/movement content courses in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) pre-service programs, specifically focusing on how dance content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are addressed within those programs. This review includes original empirical research conducted on PETE pre-service programs and graduates within the United States after 1990. The review defines "activity based/movement content knowledge course" as any course in which students learn the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to engage in or perform a particular sport, game, dance or other physical activity. Only one study within the review of nine total studies focuses solely on dance content within PETE pre-service programs. This review also analyzes the placement of dance content knowledge within the Society for Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America) Grade Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education (PE). Suggestions are made for future research and methodological considerations for dance content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in PETE pre-service programs.

A growing body of research has documented the escalating popularity of religion among student populations in China's higher education settings. Despite the changes sustained by China's religious policies throughout the post-Mao era, the state has not abandoned its long-standing approach of cultivating citizenship through Marxist-Leninist-oriented political education. The rising popularity of religion on university campuses thus reflects a complex interplay between religion and the state in the education sector. This study explores the meaning of religion as constructed in this setting by comparing (a) the political education curriculum, (b) the academic discussions of religious issues and the challenges faced by political education scholars and (c) the daily life discourse embedded in the voices of university teachers. The findings suggest that the manipulated meaning of religion in the political education arena accommodates the agenda of building a modern, secular state, but it fails to construct a cohesive and coherent understanding of religion. The state's interpretation of religion leaves space for curriculum and policy implementers to renegotiate the meaning of religion in practice.

After 60 years of development, minority education not only has made great achievements in China, but also faces many problems. Among them is the problem of science education. The students learning in high school in the basic education in minority areas have faced particular difficulties in learning science. The teaching quality is not high, students generally fear the sciences and select the arts, and there is a structural imbalance in minority college student choices of majors. The proportion of minority college students in the arts and humanities far exceeds the proportion choosing the sciences. The minority science education problem has a great impact on both the economic and social development of minority areas and on improving the quality of minority education. In order to improve science education in minorities of China, this article proposes several suggestions: (1) Implement an open and integrated minority education system; (2) adjust the discipline structure at colleges serving ethnic minorities; and (3) improve basic science education in minority areas. [This article was translated by Michelle LeSourd.]

Traditionally a divide has existed between faculties of education at higher education institutions (HEIs) and trade and industry, but the business sector is increasingly buying into community development with corporate social investment, especially regarding technology education. We report on a continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) model, which entails trade and industry sponsoring learning and teacher support material (LTSM) for technology education in under-resourced schools, paying for LTSM through their corporate social investment funds, and sponsoring CPTD of technology teachers where they are trained to use LTSM more efficiently. Trade and industry, together with HEIs and Departments of Education (DoE), could change the traditional concept that CPTD is the responsibility of DoEs into a new model where the business sector shares some of the responsibility for equipping teachers so that they can provide quality education. We argue that custom-made and sponsored LTSM and CPTD play an important role in the training and empowerment of technology teachers.

The sex education made available to transgender youth has rarely been studied empirically. In this study, we sought to explore the sex education experiences of transgender young people and summarise their recommendations for transgender-inclusive curricula. Qualitative data from 14 transgender youth in the upper-Midwest USA were collected by means of an online questionnaire and group interview. Data was analysed using a consensual qualitative approach. Three themes emerged: (1) sources and reactions to sex education, (2) the importance of trust, and (3) missing information and recommendations. Sources and reactions to sex education included sexual health information sources and the strategies participants employed to supplement the sex education they received. Trust included trustworthy information sources and strong qualities of sexual health resources. Missing information and recommendations included unmet sex education needs, including the scope of information and from whom the information is delivered. Findings suggest that important curricular considerations include the diversity of content, but also the diversity of voices delivering it.

Preschool education became a part of general K-11 education only very recently. This change has been documented, and it is reflected in the organization and funding of the preschool departments of schools. The welfare of preschool departments within community K-11 organizations depends on the number of parents that they are able to attract. However, one thing remains unclear: What do parents prioritize when they choose a preschool? Do they see preschool education as a stage of K-11 education? Is there anything in particular that parents require of preschool education, and if so, then what is it? A study of parent needs showed that most parents choose a preschool because of its convenient location. They believe that the main task of preschool education is to look after and care for their children. Parents are satisfied when the teacher takes a benevolent and individualized attitude to the child. We identify three groups of parents, which differ in terms of their reasons for choosing a preschool, goals, and satisfaction factors. [Translated by Kenneth Cargill.]

Inclusive education is hard to implement in secondary schools. Probably, one of the determining factors lies in teachers' initial training that determines their attitude, identity and professional practice. This research analyses the initial teacher education programmes for Secondary Education, Higher Secondary Education, called "bachillerato"in Spain, and Vocational and Artistic training in the five best valued Spanish universities in the education field, according to the ranking I-UGR, after the European convergence process in the European Higher Education Area. The study analyses the national regulations that govern this training. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the number of credits dedicated to inclusive education and also a review of the contents of these subjects was carried out. The study concludes that this initial teacher training provides sufficient theoretical basis regarding the conceptualization of inclusive education and the skills to deal with the tutorship and academic and professional orientation. However, important limitations in training prevent future teachers from identifying students' and context's special educational needs, and the attention to diversity through different methods and curriculum adaptations.

The deregulation movement has impacted the social, political, and economic landscape in the United States and continues to do so. In this article, we briefly summarize the general history of deregulation in this country and the meaning of deregulation within the specific context of education policy and reform. We focus on deregulation efforts designed to provide families and students with greater choice in where and how their K-12 schooling occurs, including magnet schools, charter schools, open-enrollment programs, and vouchers. We discuss different forms of deregulation in the K-12 education system, competition effects, and various issues related to deregulation, including potential future issues that may arise in a deregulated education marketplace. In our analysis, we conclude that education deregulation has the potential to serve some members of society, but at the detriment of others, and that a great deal of future work is needed to determine the effects-both anticipated and unintended-of deregulation in this context.

This study marks the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development that coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Baltic and Black Sea Circle Consortium on Educational Research (BBCC), and aims to analyse the research output performance of BBCC members and other scholars published in the "Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability" (JTEFS) during this last decade. Using the methodology of bibliometric study and literature review, the authors describe the main bibliographic indicators of JTEFS and provide a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the research paradigms and their developmental changes in the papers published by JTEFS (2005-2014). The results of the study show that in general the journal has evolved in line with the advanced trends in educational research, research in teacher education, research in sustainability education and sustainability studies in higher education. The analysis of published papers indicates both the progress and issues of research in teacher education for sustainability. The authors conclude with some visionary insights into the further development of JTEFS and this research field in general.