Education & Pedagogy

Background: The broad nature of young people's development is internationally acknowledged, which includes physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social elements. In England, schools have a legal obligation to promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. It has been suggested that personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, a broad form of school-based health education, may contribute to building SMSC development in young people. Objective: To examine the association between PSHE education in schools and outcomes of an SMSC nature. Method: The study drew on data collected as part of the 2014 World Health Organization Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study for England. Data were collected from young people aged 11, 13 and 15 years, using anonymous self-completed surveys administered during school lessons. The analysis drew on responses from 3,731 young people. Multilevel modelling was used to examine the association between PSHE education and variables of an SMSC nature, while controlling for demographic variables. Results: Overall, the majority of young people who reported receiving PSHE education were positive about the benefits of this school-based health education. Positive perceptions of PSHE education were significantly associated with increased spirituality among young people, reduced engagement in both fighting and bullying perpetration and increased general self-efficacy. Conclusion: This paper highlights the important role that health education in a school context may have for young people's broader development, and contributes to the national evidence base advocating for compulsory PSHE education in schools.

Globally, about 175 million children have no access to universal education in 2017. Nearly, 16 million young children in East Asia and Pacific Region are not enrolled into school, accounting for 19% of children in pre- and primary school age. This paper analyses surveillance data, extracted from the integrated Health and Demographic Surveillance System (iHDSS) database, developed by Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research in the period 2011-2017 to assess the implementation of Millennium Development Goals associated with universal education in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Net enrolment rate in primary education was 58%. Only 28% of children aged 7 were enrolled in Grade 1, and only 7% of children aged 15 years reached Grade 8 in the school year 2015. Late enrolment into Grade 1 among children aged 7 years was identified as the main cause of low net enrolment rate, leading to low completion rate of primary education in the following years and affecting the overall quality of universal education. Despite the improvement in gender equality, males had better access to education services than females as reflected in high male-to-female student ratios among the schooling age population, 5-24 years, which increased from 108 at primary to 132 at secondary and 181 at tertiary education. Educational policy-makers and practitioners should take immediate actions to improve net enrolment in Grade 1 and completion rate at primary education, as well as gender equality in education in PNG.

Consequent upon a worldwide movement, inclusive education has emerged as a way to eliminate discrimination, inequality and injustice in accessing school. The UN organs such as UNESCO and UNICEF have been active to pursue governments in developing countries particularly in the subcontinent to improve educational access through inclusive education. The countries i.e. Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have positively responded to the call for inclusive education. The context of three countries, however, varies in terms of religious beliefs, languages, cultural traditions and socio-economic realities. The response patterns of these countries clearly reflect the contextual differences in setting the goals and action plans for the implementation of inclusive education. The focus of inclusion in India and Pakistan seems to be the children with disabilities, whereas, the focus shifts to marginalized children in Bangladesh. Moreover, India launched its first Action Plan for Inclusive Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities in Aug 20th, 2005. Bangladesh, 5 years later, revised its National Education Policy with the features of inclusive education in 2010. Pakistan, although introduced the concept of inclusive education in its National Policy for Persons with Disabilities in 2002 but it remained alien to Ministry of Education. The main objective of the study was to review the educational reforms in Subcontinent (Pakistan, India & Bangladesh) to improve the access to school for children with disabilities. Nature of the study is qualitative and descriptive analytical method was used to desk review policy and legislative documents along with empirical studies. This study examined the underlying assumptions shaping up the current practices of inclusive education in the subcontinent.

Purpose: The system of higher education is ineffective -- it has to change the concept of educational process, which is peculiar for increase of the volume of education of labor resources. According to this, there is a necessity to pass to the system of higher education with elements of smart technologies. The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of smart technologies as an innovational and intellectual tool in development of the system of higher education and formation of actual skills with students. Design/methodology/approach: The aspects of classical education in universities with elements of remote forms of implementation of smart technologies on IT platforms are studied; peculiarities of smart technology as intellectual tools of higher education are analyzed; perspectives of usage of smart technologies as innovational tools for development of higher education are determined. The research methods include analysis, synthesis, abstraction, comparison and logical method. Findings: Information technologies become an inseparable part of life of society and human. A new network generation of people that cannot imagine life without new technological devices is growing. However, despite this, modern education does not sufficiently influence the development of human capital in the conditions of digital environment. Originality/value: Scientific novelty consists in conducting the research in the sphere of significance and perspectives of implementing smart technologies into the systems of higher education of the Russian Federation. This paper could be interesting for public officers who form the program of development of higher education and academic staff of higher educational establishments.

This paper critically interrogates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to higher education in low-income countries. While the SDG Goal 4, Target 4.3, calls for ensuring 'equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university' around the world by 2030, the SDGs lack targets that would make this a reality in many countries where higher education requires reform and rebuilding. Instead of providing assistance to these countries to (re)build and strengthen their fragile higher education systems and institutions, the SDGs, as expressed in Target 4.7, aim to only provide opportunities to a select group of individuals to study at universities in developed and some developing countries. This approach has failed in the past and will only lead to the creation of dependency on foreign aid and assistance and continuation of chronic lack of capacity in many countries. This paper will show that despite the rhetoric about leaving no one behind, the SDGs will leave many behind through the neglect of higher education in low-income countries. Building local institutional and other forms of capacity in the higher education sector in low-income countries should have been one of the priorities in the SDGs. This way countries would be able to develop and strengthen universities and other institutions of higher learning and deliver quality education to their populations. The paper will map out a possible way forward for those interested in assisting low-income countries to strengthen their higher education systems and institutions as this is a prerequisite for inclusive socio-economic development and environmental sustainability.

Modernization of education programs is carried out through the digital technologies integration into the education system, in particular, into the primary education system. This leads to the integration of courses and disciplines into curricula for the development of digital competences of future primary school teachers. The purpose of the investigation was to study the features of modernization of education programs in order to form digital competences of future primary school teachers. 48 scientific publications have been examined, studied and systematized, where the integration of disciplines for the study of digital competences into the educational process of teaching future teachers is considered; consequently, three dimensions of modernization of curricula have been investigated. The first one concerns the development of general digital competences, the second one -- the competence to integrate technology into educational practice, the third one -- professional digital competence. It has been revealed that general digital competences are consistent with the context of the education system. Competence to integrate technologies into teaching practice focuses on the context of integration, preparing future teachers for the opportunity to use technology in future teaching of pupils, critically assess the use and teach children, using digital devices in education process. The academic paper proposes the concept of professional digital competence as the ability of a teacher to work in the context of a school education system with a digital form of education, including the process of teaching, managing digital learning environments and professional activities of a teacher. Further research should additionally explore professional digital competence in the framework of primary teacher education.

Science education as a part of STEM education is becoming important not only for the future success of the individual but also for the economic development of the nation. This study explores the global pattern of extended education and its impact on learning outcomes in the area of science. First, the study found substantial national differences in access to afterschool science programs. Children and youth in developing countries generally lack opportunities to learn science after school, which was found to predict PISA 2015 science achievement in this study. The study suggests that inequality in extended education among countries requires urgent attention, as does inequality within countries. Second, the study found a negative relationship between additional study time for science and PISA science performance at the national level. Regarding this finding, it is speculated that the content of learning during additional study time differs from that of higher-order learning experiences measured by the PISA science test. The result may also be explained by the argument that the purpose of additional afterschool study is usually remedial lessons and/or test preparation. This cross-national research will provide insights to policy makers who intend to find global patterns in extended education, develop policy direction at the global level, and offer advice to national governments.

Considering the possibilities and limitations of distance education, it is important to create distance education systems that can benefit the physical education lessons at the highest level and to transform it into more qualified ones. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand the distance education problems in the teaching of the physical education lesson and the participation and orientation of the secondary school students, to investigate the developments related to the physical education lesson and to make a situation assessment. The participants of the study are secondary school students (n = 403) who were educated in Private Schools that provide synchronous education in pandemic process and have "morning sports" or "physical education lessons" in their curriculum. As a data collection tool, a closed-ended questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was used. It was determined that there is a statistically significant difference between students' level of participation in sports lessons and all other variables (p < 0.001). As a result, it was seen that families and students did not have the habit of doing sports at the desired level in normal time. It suggests that there are some problems in the processing and application of this course. While the lesson is expected to become much more important, especially in this dormant and inactive period, it is not an expected situation to receive this level of interest.

The Maori Whakatauki (significant saying) for Technology Education: Kaua e rangiruatia te hapai o te hoe; E kore to tatou waka e u ki uta. Don't paddle out of unison; Our canoe will never reach the shore. Quality initial teacher education (ITE) builds on student prior knowledge. Students bring a wealth of life and career knowledge and skills to inform the planning of our Technology Education programmes, as an essential starting point. This paper seeks to establish a clear benchmark for planning programme origins through identifying and incorporating the real nature of our student entry understandings. We outline a large-scale New Zealand study that explores student entry understandings of technology and Technology Education. The scope of the study involves 906 ITE student teachers across early childhood, primary and secondary sectors. A questionnaire, held on the first day of each programme, initiated the research by investigating the influence of demographic and other factors on student attitudes and understandings of technology and Technology Education. Results revealed that participants viewed technology positively, and understood the role and importance of key aspects of technology and therefore the place of Technology Education, this however varied between age and sectors. Findings have informed current programme planning, by providing an appropriately targeted approach to initial ITE Technology Education delivery. The resulting programme delivery will go some way to ensuring an informed common message will reticulate to communities and schools about the real benefits of learning the technology way. These findings also provide a solid basis for a national longitudinal study.

Displaced persons encounter some difficulties in accessing higher education, yet higher education remains their inalienable rights. This study focused on ways of managing the higher education needs of internally displaced persons. Three hypotheses guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The entire population was used since it is not large enough to warrant randomization. The sample comprised 600 participants (38 teachers and 562 senior secondary (SS 1-3) students from three secondary schools. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire titled Higher Education Needs for Displaced Persons Questionnaire (HENDPQ) on a modified four point Likert scale. The precision and internal consistency of the instrument was determined using Cronbach reliability method which gave rise to a coefficient ranging from 0.76 - 0.81. The data was collected personally by the researchers with the help of three research assistants. The data collected was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the analysis revealed that there is a significant positive influence of higher education needs on development of displaced persons, provision of scholarships/bursaries on access to higher education; and provision of certified distance learning and e-learning opportunities on access to higher education for displaced persons. Based on these findings it was recommended that the government should urgently manage the higher education needs of displaced persons through adequate provision of scholarships/bursaries, distance learning and e-learning opportunities to enhance access to higher education.

Facing the challenging employment situation and the changing labor market, developing student entrepreneurial intention has attracted significant policy consideration in China. This study describes the background of entrepreneurship education in China's higher education institutes and explores the influences of entrepreneurship education on student entrepreneurial intention. Using data from a survey on students in China, this study finds that students in different types of institutions and different major fields had a different level of engagement in entrepreneurship education. Further, the higher the level of entrepreneurship education the students received, the stronger their self-efficacy of entrepreneurial decision-making was, and the stronger their entrepreneurial intention was. Student entrepreneurial decision-making self-efficacy played a mediating role between entrepreneurship education and student entrepreneurial intention. We found that entrepreneurship education has a positive effect on entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurship education course-taking has a positive effect on entrepreneurial decision-making. Furthermore, the positive effect of self-efficacy of entrepreneurial decision-making on entrepreneurial intention was also confirmed. We also found that self-efficacy of entrepreneurial decision-making played the significant role of mediator between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. The findings also showed a difference between the current China context and the western context that taking entrepreneurship-related classes had more considerable influences on student entrepreneurial intention than entrepreneurship-related practicum. We discuss the implications of the improvement of higher education in China and relevance to other contexts.

Challenges and benefits arose when a rural school and a neighbouring university formed a partnership with the aim of improving the school's Health and Physical Education (HPE) program. The HPE programs were enhanced through two joint research projects. The first research project had two facets, including an evidence-based curriculum for Physical Education in the school, and a remediation program for children identified through the coordination testing process. The second research project was designed to investigate students' Health Education knowledge and explore any behavioural changes in and around nutritional choices. Both the projects were conducted as mutually productive partnerships within the school, resulting in beneficial changes for the school, the university and for the multiple participants. For the school, the Physical Education curriculum and pedagogies were modified and for students identified as requiring remediation, a multi-partnered intervention program was implemented. Students, teachers, parents and pre-service teacher education students benefited from the movement intervention program. The health education curriculum was enhanced when the school developed a social marketing approach to facilitate health-related decisions for pupils, teachers and ancillary staff. The university changed their pre-service teacher education curriculum, teaching methods, and achieved stronger research based outcomes by partnering with the school across both projects.

This study explores some of the ways in which the dominant science education system in the United States suppresses Indigenous knowledge systems and privileges Western knowledge. Using anti-oppressive inquiry through critical self-reflection, this study is situated in experiences I have encountered as a non-Indigenous doctoral student, curriculum developer, educator, and budding educational researcher on a 3-year STEM education project with Native youth in two tribal communities in the Pacific Northwest. I describe the cultural tensions experienced between project stakeholders in attempting to plan and implement a culturally-relevant curriculum dominated by Western STEM, and how a pivotal moment in which youth incorporated Bigfoot stories into a stream restoration activity challenged my awareness of this paradox. Therefore, Bigfoot became my teacher in provoking my recognition and appreciation of Indigenous knowledge systems, the role of communal narrative in Indigenous education, and the importance of displacing cognitive imperialism. This study adds to the dialogue that science education must be accessible for diverse learners, including culturally-appropriate and culturally-relevant pedagogies and curriculum, by challenging the status quo of hegemonic knowledge in the dominant system. Indigenous knowledge provides place-specific and contextually meaningful insights about the natural world, which is shortchanged if not provided consideration in its role within science education. As a result, this paper provides a space to consider how acknowledging and accepting diverse knowledge systems as ways of understanding the natural world, including those outside of the dominant system, provides a more holistic and meaningful approach to science education.

A study examined the role of trade associations in vocational education programming. The primary objectives of the study were to identify ways to improve vocational education planning through greater involvement of trade associations in ways other than as suppliers of labor market information and to determine whether national or state trade associations are likely sources of useful labor market information for vocational education planning. Approximately 100 candidate trade associations were identified from a preliminary survey of state directors of vocational education. Of these, five national trade associations were selected for on-site case studies, and 53 state trade associations were selected for abbreviated case studies that were conducted by telephone. The case studies resulted in findings dealing with the following aspects of the role of trade associations in vocational education: current operational activities conducted by trade associations in support of vocational education planning and programming and the prospects of their future involvement; present and prospective initiation of linkages between trade associations and vocational education; current and prospective practices for the planning and operational phases of trade associations-vocational education linkage activities; benefits of trade associations linkages with vocational education; and facilitators and inhibitors influencing planning, conduct, and outcomes of trade association-sponsored activities. (Appendixes include various project correspondence, a project profile, the national trade association case study interview schedule, the case study instrument for assessing market/changing technology information, and planning/programming and labor market/changing technology grids.) (MN)

A project was conducted in North Carolina to identify mathematics competencies in three selected vocational programs: consumer and homemaking education, business and office education, and marketing and distributive education; to develop subcompetencies to reflect the mathematics skills implied in the identified competencies; to validate the subcompetencies; and to develop training and dissemination activities related to the competencies. An advisory committee was formed and chose 12 teachers (6 mathematics teachers and 2 each from the 3 vocational areas) to participate in the project. The 12 teachers met with a leader for two day-long sessions at East Carolina University to identify vocational competencies that require mathematics skills, to develop subcompetencies, and to develop a matrix of mathematics competencies identified in the vocational competencies. The materials were subsequently validated by a sample of 444 students, parents, teachers, and business persons, who agreed strongly that the revised programs included a great deal of mathematics content. Besides a description of the project, this paper includes (1) a list of vocational competencies that have been identified as having mathematics skills associated with specific tasks/outcomes performed in each of the vocational courses, (2) subcompetencies for each competency statement identified as having implied mathematics content, (3) a matrix that illustrates the required mathematics skills for each of the selected vocational courses, and (4) an annotated bibliography of selected references and curriculum materials. (KC)