Education & Pedagogy

After fifty years of almost continuous economic growth in Thailand, it is now possible to reevaluate the developmental process of the education system. Until now, the structural indicators of education development that have been mainly used are the level and pace of the increases in public expenditure on education, the effect of increasing enrolment on social mobility, and the private and public distribution of investment in education. The impact of these factors undeniably offers a better understanding of the quantitative advances in education. However, the dynamics of the education system nowadays encounter structural limits related to both the integration of what is now widespread education within the social structures and Thailand's contribution to globalization. As a result, the contribution of education to the growth regime is increasingly questioned. The aim of this paper is to use a historical approach to explore this evolution. Theoretical and historical perspectives are combined within a quantitative history methodology, drawing on new time-series.

Though, Ethiopia registered an extraordinary achievement in terms of increasing student enrolment, still quality of education remains a challenge and is becoming a bottleneck. One of the problems might be the structure and nature of teacher education itself. The purpose of this study therefore was to critically examine the existing literature and policy documents and come up with effective as well as valuable modality of teacher education which will be workable in Ethiopian context. In Ethiopia, there are two extreme views that can be taken as challenges for teacher education program: pedagogical knowledge vs. subject matter knowledge. There is also contention on the modality of teacher education: concurrent vs. consecutive. The study show that the greatest ever challenge in teacher education is registered during the Post-TESO period. The program is troubled. Based on the results of this study, imperative implications for practice are forwarded.

Internationalization and digitalization--how do these two higher education trends go together? Projects dealing with virtual mobility, collaborative online international learning (COIL), or virtual transnational education (TNE) have shown that the link between the international and the digital is not only a theoretical possibility but already a reality in many higher education institutions. There is a considerable amount of literature about Open and Distance Education and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) crossing national borders, and about supporting students in gaining intercultural competence and global awareness with the help of virtual media. Still, there remains a gap in the literature when it comes to conceptualizing a framework encompassing the manifold ways in which information and communications technology (ICT) can be used to internationalize higher education. In order to address this gap, this paper proposes an approach of drafting a framework for "virtual internationalization" in higher education, by focusing on its global, intercultural, and international dimensions.

Comparative education in Asia is witnessing changing discourses, structural opportunities, and invigorated leadership. This article will review the institutionalization of comparative education in Asia from a sociological perspective, drawing on Bourdieu's theory on the logic of social practice. After giving an overview of the historical roots of Asian comparative education, I will describe broadly its landscape noting developments in the last two decades since 1995, the foundational year of the Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA). Four main themes are explored: comparative education teaching, professional societies, research centres, and specialist publications. With a baseline understanding of the infrastructures of the field in Asia and the power dynamics that shape them, I will propose an agenda for Asian comparative education to offer meaningful contributions to multipolar knowledge production in the field. Priority themes and directions will be highlighted to articulate a stronger Asian voice and leadership in an increasingly diverse and uncertain world.

This article describes an early childhood teacher-preparation program that infuses environmental education and nature experiences into courses, practicum, and student-teaching experiences. Program philosophy, pedagogy, materials, and methods are described and linked to the Early Childhood Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence, the Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators, and state-level early learning guidelines that focus on connecting young children with nature. Preservice teachers build knowledge, skills, and dispositions for effective environmental education beginning from an awareness level and progressing to application and refinement. The value of nature is communicated explicitly and implicitly throughout the program. Preliminary analysis of student outcomes indicated that, over the course of the program, students' ratings of the importance of nature and science experiences and outcomes increased, along with their confidence implementing environmental-education activities.

The paper presents the findings of a mixed-methods study investigating the perceptions of business students in the Czech Republic towards entrepreneurship education, and examining the factors influencing their level of intention to be entrepreneurs. The results indicate that family background significantly influences the student's entrepreneurial intention, and that participation in entrepreneurship-oriented courses positively influences the student's level of self-efficacy. The study revealed further that business education had some effect on the student's ability to gain the necessary knowledge for entrepreneurship. Another key finding was that entrepreneurship education specifically for business students has to equip students with entrepreneurial skills, attributes and behaviours. The results also suggest that entrepreneurship education is a contextually determined concept which requires modification of content and methods to meet the specific needs of particular target groups. The study has important implications for higher education institutions in terms of designing and managing effective entrepreneurship education.

The history of music education is best termed a "disciplinary history" and shares a parallel historical development with law, education, economics, and science in that it serves professional needs within a particular discipline. Though interest in music education history has developed in a similar way, it has not attracted the same level of academic resources compared to other disciplines. This keynote address examines the history of music education in relation to the following contexts: (1) Relation to Musicology; (2) Toward an Expanded View; (3) An Expansive, Contextual View; (4) Internalist and Externalist Views; (5) Publishing and Public Responsibility; (6) Graduate Education; (7) Toward New Syntheses; and (8) Advantages. The address was given at the Oklahoma City Symposium on the History of Music Education, Oklahoma City, May 31-June 3, 2017, sponsored by the History Special Research Interest Group of the National Association for Music Education.

The article aims to contextualize and summarize essential findings from the 268-page Australian Government Report titled, "Project to Test and Measure the Impact of Values Education on Student Effects and School Ambience." The project was one of a number of values education projects funded by the Government from 2003 to 2010 under the funding regime of the Australian Values Education Program. This particular report has attracted much international attention as it constitutes one of the most comprehensive evaluations of the effects of long-term values or character education approach to mainstream schooling. Qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of values education are summarized and interpreted in light of current debates about the aims of education and the means by which learning is best conducted.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has realized that low educational quality has negative implications for sustainable national development, hence her commitment to develop national policies and national curriculum for teacher education to improve the quality of education (including music education). This article observes improvement in the preparation of musician-teachers as absolutely imperative to move modern music education as a field in the direction for continued growth. It traces out a historical past and explores present-day circumstances by analyzing and critiquing the National Commission for Colleges of Education's document--Approved Minimum Academic Standards for Music. As the document is based on exogenous paradigms, it is argued that it cannot produce the change agent in the Nigerian musician-teacher. A reconceptualization of music teacher curriculum that is socioculturally sensitive is suggested for colleges of education in Nigeria as a way of moving it toward developing sound, effective, and creative musician-teachers.

In this article, I argue that the world-view adopted by Children's Rights Education advocates influences the form of education they present. In the first part of the article, I discuss three perspectives: (1) the legalistic perspective, which sees Children's Rights Education as a matter of technical implementation; (2) the reformist-hermeneutic perspective, which focuses on the interpretation and elaboration of core children's rights texts; and (3) the radical view, which sees Children's Rights Education as part of a broader political struggle for education. In the second part, I consider the implications of each of these perspectives for teachers and argue that only the latter tradition positions teachers as agents of change, while the others reduce teacher agency. The article argues that the first two perspectives are unlikely to achieve radical change for children, and that Children's Rights Education advocates must engage more overtly with the politically contested nature of education.

Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic development, and education as a means to social justice, human rights, and democracy. Assessing the legacy of these twin emphases, we conducted qualitative and quantitative content analysis of turning point documents in education policy and annual reports from the respective South African ministries of education over the last two decades. Our analysis reveals that although a focus on education policy for economic development has consistently remained strong, Mandela's view of education serving to foster social justice, inter-racial equality, human rights, and a deepening of democracy has faded from official educational policy discourse.

This research examines teaching outdoor education in two rural primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim was to give "voice" to how outdoor education is taught, programmed and understood. Underpinning the research was the question: what factors enable/constrain teachers' ability to implement outdoor education? The findings suggest: confusion about outdoor education terminology and the educative purpose of school "camps"; schools "do what they have always done", particularly when decisions about outdoor education contexts are dominated by senior management; financial restrictions; and teachers feeling ill-prepared in terms of safety management because of their limited pre-service and post-service teacher education. This research highlights that what to teach, how to teach and where to teach outdoor education needs more consideration and attention for teachers to be better informed about safe outdoor practices and quality pedagogy in, for and about the outdoors.

This article explores the moral imperative for a renewed vision of schooling in the twenty-first century, from the standpoint of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ESD advocates for teaching and learning spaces underpinned by civic compassion in the sense of "an active concern for well-being". This paradigm of education seeks to expand the horizons of our compassion for others, calling for an education system that takes into account the need for biosphere, spatial and temporal dimensions of care for the common good. This vision of education is firstly outlined and then practically explored through an example of ESD innovation in practice; a participatory education programme in sustainability leadership with students from primary, secondary, and post-16 educational settings. ESD is put forward as offering a vital and broad opportunity for the advancement of social justice in education, supporting the creation of kinder learning spaces that position educators as facilitators of civically engaged and compassionate learning.

The relationship between public education expenditures and student outcomes remains an important concern for policy analysts, educational administrators, and the public at large. While previous studies have failed to identify a consistent relationship between public investments in education and positive student outcomes, most analyses have not accounted for the different educational goals associated with various instructional expenditure categories. This study builds on prior research by using Pennsylvania's public school districts to test proposed improvements in model specification for the traditional education production function. Using longitudinal, fixed-effects models, a detailed disaggregation of instructional expenditures is undertaken in order to account for the likelihood that different instructional subcategories (i.e. regular programming, special education, and vocational instruction) influence student outcomes in varying ways. The results suggest that the impact of expenditures may be understated in previous studies based on a failure to account for these distinctions, particularly in the case of Mathematics education.

The main focus here is to examine the benefits of defining and developing an engineering curriculum for elementary schools. Like many other international educational systems, Australian educational settings have been seeking to effectively implement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. However, current assumptions and expectations of STEM education are broad, poorly defined and intangible. This article deliberates on possible contributions and impediments that are preventing teachers from achieving engineering education in their classrooms. Using positioning theory, this article offers possible ways that the specific literacies of engineering can be better realized in teacher practices. A closer alignment will be necessary between the visions and expectations of STEM education, as perceived by governments, business, industry, and schools, to ensure a realization of the potential of STEM education. Engineering education in elementary school settings warrants the investment of time to understand what it proffers, and to enable teachers to identity and refine their practices to optimize the many benefits afforded.