Education & Pedagogy

The objective of this article is to present results of and lessons learnt from implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) in marginal drylands, based on experiences from the TEMPUS IV project, Education for Sustainable Development beyond the Campus (EDUCAMP), in Egypt and the multinational project, Sustainable Development of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD). The article tracks the development of innovative education resource kits to complement the Egyptian school curriculum. The ESD education kits aim to enhance the quality of education and to introduce more innovative and participatory teaching and learning practices within the education system. (Contains 2 tables.)

This paper analyzes the consequences of integration in public education. I show that the flight from the integrated multicultural public schools to private education increases private educational expenditures and, as a result, decreases fertility among more affluent parents whose children flee. In contrast, among less prosperous parents integration in public education decreases their children's human-capital levels. I demonstrate that the poor, who cannot opt out, incur greater costs than the rich, who can resort to private education. I also analyze the overall society-wide effect of the integration policy and derive a condition that determines precisely whether this policy increases or decreases the average level of human capital in society.

This paper addresses the issue of the impact of expansion and differentiation on widening access to higher education. In particular, it considers the impact of the growing importance of full-time short-cycle higher education in Scotland's colleges of further and higher education, the progression pathways which have now been established from these programmes to bachelor degrees in the Scottish universities and the policy initiatives to strengthen these pathways. It concludes that while these developments have helped promote inclusion, they have also resulted in some outcomes which can best be understood as diversion.

There are practical difficulties in making intercultural education a substantial element of inclusion in both primary and compulsory secondary education in Europe. The Spanish education system and, in particular, the Catalan education system, have developed a series of strategies in response to the new multicultural complexity encountered in both the classroom and society as a whole. In this study, several inclusive attempts of the Catalan education system will be discussed. As a consequence of their analysis, educational models that are compatible with the framework of inclusive education will be presented as an effective means of promoting greater social integration and a peaceful coexistence in the school context.

Catholic schools in the United States and abroad face numerous financial, cultural, and structural challenges due to contemporary education policies and economic trends. Within this climate, research about Catholic education is often conducted and leveraged in efforts to serve schools' most immediate needs. To be certain, research aimed at finding solutions to pressing problems is important--indeed, essential--to Catholic schools' survival. However, it is also important that research on Catholic education connect to larger questions, issues, and discourses in education--both private and public--in order to contribute important insights and bring otherwise marginalized voices to bear in contemporary educational debates.

Higher education in Canada has rich features: the unique system of educational administration and policy; the distinct features of university management model; dynamic international education; and flexible and diverse in the school system and the financing system. Drawn from the four aspects, it could be used for reference in China's higher education reform: to strengthen macro-control; to expand university autonomy; to establish the credit system as the main content of teaching management system; to continue to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation; to ensure the government's main body of investment in higher education and to establish the systems of multi-channel financing.

This article discusses the importance of rethinking the content and delivery of literacy instruction in university courses for pre-service and in-service teachers by aligning curriculum and instruction to new literacies to prepare the next generations of teachers to support the literacy learning of students in K-12 schools in the 21st century. The author proposes rethinking curriculum and instruction in literacy courses by building up on the recommendations of the Middle State Commission on Higher Education to rethink our curriculum and instruction in literacy courses in higher education.

This is a reply to six "Theory and Research in Education" commentators on views I expressed in a 2013 "Theory and Research in Education" piece about priorities in philosophy of education today. The first section is about a concession to my critics; the second, about various misconceptions in their views. The third section restates my central thesis in favour of a more practical conception of philosophy of education than is now common. The argument is set against the background of historical changes in the subject over the past half century.

For the first time after decades of expansion and systematic innovative practice, environmental education in Greece faces an uncertain future as a result of the contemporary political and economic crisis. This research aims to contribute to the international exchange of good practices by focusing on the effects and functions of the Greek network of Environmental Education Centers. A nationwide survey suggests that Environmental Education Centers act as nuclei for the dissemination of environmental education leading to projects that are associated with multiple benefits for participating students.

Forming the second of two articles, this dialogue revisits and explores the educational value of physical education as a means to stimulate further discussion about what physical education is, or as Kirk states within this interview, what do "we want physical education to be". Although the theme of the second interview relates to the "educative purpose of physical education and sport pedagogy", the dialogue concludes with some remarks about teaching as a profession and raises some serious concerns about physical education being "outsourced" to external providers. [For Part 1, see EJ1056152.]

Arab countries have undertaken various measures to develop special education programmes and services over the last three decades; nevertheless, major challenges remain regarding the expansion of these programmes and services and improving their quality. "This article provides an update on disability and special education in Arab countries". Reflections on the historical development of special education in Arab societies are briefly presented. Major challenges currently faced by Arab countries in the field of special education are described, and some recommendations for action are offered.

It is from historical perspectives on more than 40 years of environment related education theories, practices, and policies that we revisit what might otherwise become a tired conversation about environmental education and sustainable development. Our contemporary critical analysis of Stefan Bengtsson's research about policy making leads us to different interpretations of some key observations and assertions about sustainable development (SD) and education for sustainable development (ESD). To counter the persistent weight of the underpinning resourcist and economic view of the relationship between people and the environment, we examine other perspectives about economy, about people and society, and about the environment. These divergences insist upon diversity in education and in environmental education.

The following article examines the issues of open, distance and technology-based informal learning and non-formal education for individual and community development. It argues that these two modes of education, which are estimated to constitute 70-90% of lifelong learning, are insufficiently represented in the literature of open and distance learning and development. To ensure that these forms of provision take their rightful place alongside the mainstream systems of formal education, it is posited that far more research and evaluation is needed in order to demonstrate their potential and evince quality in their outputs, outcomes and impacts.

This paper is an inquiry into where the topic of disability falls within the vast field of comparative education research. It explores the extent to which disability is present in comparative education literature, and in what ways it is represented. A review of literature across the core comparative education peer-reviewed journals was conducted. Findings show that a limited number of studies in comparative education have examined students with disabilities, but numbers have increased in recent years. Additionally, two major themes emerged from the literature: (1) social interpretations of disability, and (2) global versus local. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for inclusive education and future research.

This empirical study explores higher education advertising campaigns displayed in five world cities: Boston, New York, Oslo, Tokyo, and Toronto. The study follows a mixed-methods research design relying on content analysis and multimodal semiotic analysis and employs a conceptual framework based on the knowledge triangle of education, research, and innovation. The study reveals that education is overwhelmingly the strongest element emphasized across the five cities and that students constitute the most salient and central element in the majority of the advertisements.