Education & Pedagogy

This paper studies transformations in the role of higher education in Russia as represented in official Soviet and post-Soviet policy documents between the 1950s and 2013. The focus is on the categories defining the purposes and tasks of higher education in the larger context of society and economy. There is a basic dichotomy in relation to the purposes and role of higher education, between vocational training (which is seen as a determining factor in the economic development) and personal development/education (seen as a condition of social development). The balance of these two poles, economic instrumentalism and social instrumentalism, changes throughout the history. The Soviet documents emphasized the importance of both, with the predominance of the social instrumentalism. The transitional period of the late 1980s and early 1990s is characterized by increasing humanistic discourse in regard to higher education. Later post-Soviet documents, reflecting neoliberal policies, largely abandon social instrumentalism and more exclusively promote the economic role of higher education. Economic instrumentalism is the meeting point of two historical eras, with their respective ideologies and political agendas. Connecting Soviet and neoliberal discourses highlights the importance of historical legacies in regard to the economic, applied nature of higher education, and underlines the crucial role of the state, which facilitated acceptance of neoliberal agendas in Russian society. The analysis also contributes to further understanding of the nature of the neoliberal reforms globally and in post-socialist countries.

The Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has been widely adopted in schools of higher education across the United States. Different state education departments have set policies, to varying degrees, that determine the outcomes for passing the edTPA, with some requiring a passing score to obtain licensure. As a result of the high-stakes nature of the edTPA, teacher education programs are taking steps to support teacher candidates as they navigate this process. The adoption of edTPA, however, is not without obstacles and has become complicated in the process of implementation. The purpose of this study is to report on a policy analysis of the edTPA in special education using a Critical Practice Approach. Researchers sought to find answers to the following questions: (a) What were the negotiations, decisions, and actions taken by special education teacher education programs in their efforts to appropriate the edTPA policy? and (b) To what extent did the appropriation process foster or empower "participation agency in the democratic production of policy?" Data were collected through in-depth phenomenological interviews with special education teacher educators in three different institutions. Findings suggest that teacher educators at each institution engaged in three general types of appropriation activities that were central to their efforts; embedding, co-opting, and reifying. This critical practical policy analysis helped to identify ways in which the edTPA policy appropriation process was and was not democratic and participatory; a process that recognizes contributions, expertise, and experience of local appropriators as well as factors that characterize the local context.

The aim of this paper was to gain an understanding of the views of a group of physical education teacher educators on the purpose(s) of school physical education and whether, how and why these views have changed over time. Semi-structured individual interviews were carried out with thirteen physical education teacher educators; a fourteenth participant responded to interview questions in writing. Participants were based in seven countries: Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland and the USA. A relative consensus on the overarching purpose of physical education was evident, centred on physical education preparing young people for a lifetime of physical activity. The framing of this shared purpose differed somewhat between participants, reflecting a range of perspectives on the value of physical activity. Delineating the boundaries of their subject, participants characterised obesity prevention and maximising in-class physical activity as potential by-products rather than as goals of the subject. The views of many had changed over time, influenced by such factors as findings from research, societal expectations and a perceived need to legitimise physical education within school and university contexts. We note that many of the influences acting on the views of the physical education teacher educators are also known to affect practicing teachers. This suggests a possibility, in the open reflection of physical education teacher educators on the interaction between their views and the institutional and societal contexts within which they work, to provide future teachers with alternative value pathways paved with relatable explanations and shared experiences.

One of the major challenges facing special and general education teachers and parents in Guyana is the current educational move towards inclusion. This move has been characterized by the changing political and economic systems which have resulted in inclusion gaining increased momentum in many circles including major organizations, institutions, and even among members of civil society. Inclusion has also been touted as the prelude to meaningful political, economic, social, educational, religious, and cultural engagement in governance and other decision making processes in Guyana. The concept hinges on the right to participate and become involved in various activities regardless of ability or disability. The Jomtien Declaration (1990) which was adopted by the World Conference on Education for All in Thailand in March 1990, mandates the removal of barriers to education for all children. The declaration also affirms the right to education for every individual as well as equal access for all categories of persons with disabilities (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1990). While the main pillar of the declaration is the right to education, it also mandates the removal of barriers that would prevent equal learning opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized groups (UNESCO, 1990). This paper examines issues relevant to inclusion and the education of children with learning disabilities in Guyana. The author gives an account of the political system, inclusive education, and legislation for persons with disabilities, and highlights the challenges faced by teachers in educating children with learning disabilities in Guyana.

Attempts to make free and compulsory education accessible to Indian children began a little more than a century ago. A strong consciousness for the need of free and compulsory Primary Education in India was highly moved by enactment of the Compulsory Education Act in 1870 in England. Education has been formally recognized as a human right since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. This has since then been reaffirmed in numerous global human rights treaties. Ultimately, universalization of elementary education has been one of the most important goals of educational development in India since independence. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act), 2009, came into force from April 1, 2010, pursuant to the Eighty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of India (2002), which guarantees elementary education as a fundamental right. This article attempts to delve into the checkered history of development of the free and compulsory primary education in India under the British Raj. The history of compulsory and free primary education during the British Rule in India is an uphill journey replete with suggestions, advocacies, demands, experimentations, attempts, promises, and movements within legislative framework. The British rulers adopted a good number of policies on education, but these were framed in tune with the needs of the colonial power. Consequently, compulsory and free primary education remained an unfulfilled dream during the British Raj, in spite of the stirring efforts of the Indians.

While global enrollment in primary education has increased significantly particularly since it became a target of the United Nations "Education for All" initiative and one of the Millennium Development Goals, primary completion rates have remained virtually unchanged since 1999. Evidence from studies of individual programs in a range of countries suggests that enrollment in pre-primary education can improve school readiness and achievement in primary school, and therefore, potentially raise primary completion rates. As research has also found that provision of free education is associated with higher enrollment, we hypothesize that provision of free and compulsory pre-primary education will be associated with higher primary school completion rates. Further, we hypothesize that free pre-primary education will have the largest impact where completion rates have been lowest. Using a database of quantitative, globally comparable measures of national provision of free pre-primary education we created, and data from UNESCO's Institute for Education Statistics, we analyze the 104 nations with complete data. We conduct multivariate quantile regression analyses. We find that, controlling for national income and level of urbanization, provision of at least 1 year of free and compulsory pre-primary education is associated with a nearly 10 percentage point increase in primary school graduation rates for countries at the median and a 12 percentage point increase in rates for primarily low- and lower-middle-income countries at the lower end of the distribution.

The relevance of the researched problem is caused by the need of consideration of teachers' readiness for work in the conditions of inclusive education, and change of process of their professional training (on the example of specialists in the sphere of physical education). The purpose of publication consists in the development of pedagogical model of the projecting competence building which will provide effective forecasting, modeling and planning of educational process. The leading approach to the research of a problem is the system-based approach which allows us to analyze the process of building of projecting competence as pedagogical system, and on the basis of it to determine its structural and functional characteristics. The results of the research on identification of the relation of future physical education (PE) teachers to a possibility of work in the conditions of inclusive education are provided; the pedagogical model of projecting competence building among teachers including target, substantial, organizational and estimative-productive components is offered. Materials of the publication can be useful to the scientists while studying questions of implementation of an inclusive education in the Russian education system, to the specialists who are engaged in the organization of training of future teachers, to the teachers working in the educational organizations of various types, to students of pedagogical higher education institutions.

Transnational Education has gained momentum under the auspices of the General Agreement on Trade in Services administered by World Trade Organizations which have provided for successful marketing of higher education across borders. This paper reviews past research, discussions and analyses on the topic on a global perspective. The objectives are to establish the rationale for transnational education, emerging issues over the providers, mode of supply, the potential of the market and issues on curriculum and pedagogy. Past research reveals that transnational education is anchored on economic, political, cultural and educational rationales. The global market for transnational education is asymmetrical where some nations are exporters (UK, US, Australia), and others importers (Africa, Latin America and Central Asia). The modes of provision include cross-border supply, commercial presence and presence of natural persons. The potential of the market is growing--commercial presence being dominant. The emerging issues include competition, differences in pedagogical practices, loss of nations and learner autonomy, control and self-respect of higher education, confusions on qualifications and transfer of academic credits, escalated costs, commercialization of knowledge as a commodity, dominant language (largely English) used as a medium of communication, and de-contextualization of the national curriculum. Quality assurance and accreditation are also at stake since the national/states capacity for regulating the supply of transnational education is limited. Though discussions on transnational education are on-going, stakeholders need to work with governments, non-governmental organizations, Higher Education Institutions and regulators to improve the future of transnational education, including developing an acceptable code of conduct.

This paper examines the benefits of incorporating ecotourism programs into the adult education curriculum. Social education and lifelong learning ("shougai gakushuu") are terms used to refer to adult education and related activities in Japan. Adult education originated immediately after Second World War with the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education (1947; revised in the 1980s). Since the mid-1980s lifelong learning has been the more commonly used term. Lifelong learning involves not only going to school to learn how to read and write, it can also involve the learning that takes place outside the classroom--through volunteering, outdoor activities, sporting events, and so on. A literature review was conducted as the means to pursue the aim of introducing ecotourism into adult education. Education for Sustainable Development was examined to see how its contexts can be applied to Japan's adult education. This paper is aimed specifically at how the host community can learn, from adult education centers in their communities, to practice a sustainable ecotourism. Although there have been researchers and communities who are against ecotourism practices, this paper maintains that, with proper education in night schools and adult and community centers, of the benefits of ecotourism these communities will accept and welcome ecotourism. However, the government first needs "shakai kyouiku" to re-examine and re-write the adult education curriculum so as to include ecotourism.

The relevance of the problem under study is based on the necessity to determine the directions of studying and improving the vocational pedagogical education (the system of training vocational pedagogical teachers) in Russia. The purpose of the article is to identify the periodization of establishment and development of the vocational pedagogical education in Russia depending upon the changes of its organizational and pedagogical foundations that occur under the influence of socio-economic and socio-pedagogical factors. The leading approach to studying this problem is a historic-logical one which allows us to identify stages of establishment and development of the vocational pedagogical education based on the qualitative changes of its organization and content that are perceived as a reaction to socio-economic and socio-pedagogical conditions at certain periods of time. Based on the qualitative changes of the organizational and pedagogical foundations of the vocational pedagogical education occurred under the influence of the changes in the society during more than a hundred years' time, the stages of establishment and development of the vocational education are detailed in this article. It is stated that the main directions of the Russian vocational teachers' training system development were determined by the requirements imposed upon the system by vocational education and industries. It is shown that the idea of industry-specific vocational and psychological training and training for a worker's profession is the leading one in elaborating the vocation education development strategy. The article can be useful for academic specialists and practitioners in the sphere of vocational and vocational pedagogical education, candidates for a master's degree and students of vocational pedagogical universities and faculties.

Background: Factors affecting the delivery of sexuality education to school students include government policy, school leadership and teacher confidence. Objective: The aim of this paper was to understand, from the perspective of regional education, health and welfare sector professionals, what is needed to support good sexual health for secondary school students. Methods: A qualitative study that took place in "Fairview", a regional location in Victoria, Australia. Five focus groups, totaling 37 participants, were conducted in 2015. An inductive analysis was used to identify key themes. Findings: The main theme was the inconsistent presence and delivery of sexuality education curriculum in Fairview schools. This was attributed to factors such as perceived lack of commitment at government level to sexuality education, lack of importance in comparison with other subjects and variation in inclusion across year levels. Teachers and the delivery of sexuality education and the role of school leadership in supporting sexuality education were the two sub-themes present within the broader narrative. Teacher capacity to deliver sexuality education was ascribed to lack of training. Perceptions concerning the use of external providers to deliver sexuality education differed, as did opinions about the role of school leadership in supporting sexuality education. Conclusion: Sexuality education in schools could be improved through clearer government policy direction. This would signal the importance of sexuality education to school leaders and, if supported via resources such as training for teachers, could assist in achieving the aim of improving students' sexual health and well-being.

To meet the changing demands of the students and many other stakeholders of education in this twenty-first century, the education systems of different nations of the world are in the process of continuous paradigm shifts in their curriculum, methods of instruction, management, evaluation process and other related components. Integrated programmes in education may be considered as a kind of crop of these paradigm shifts. The integrated programmes have many advantages over traditional fragmented programmes in education. Integrated programmes allow the learners to pursue a holistic learning without the restrictions imposed by subject and/or level of learning boundaries. For achieving well-rounded and integrated development among the learners, integrated programmes play a significant role in the field of education. Focusing on these issues, in this present article, discussions are made mostly on conceptual analysis of integrated programmes, the world scenario of development and current status of integrated programmes and Indian scenario of development and current status of integrated programmes. The article is concluded by reflecting on the points that integrated programmes are the latest fashion in programme designing and implementation in education, and these programmes have better implication for achieving multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary skills. Also, in the concluding section of the article, reflections are made regarding measures to be taken at the government level and responsibilities to be shouldered at the level of educational institutions offering integrated programmes to popularize integrated programmes among the stakeholders of education and for establishing integrated programmes as vibrant and leading programmes in education.

This study aimed at identifying the perceptions of Islamic education teachers in Jordan concerning the use and the challenges of Darsak platform. The study sample consisted of (112) teachers of Islamic education at Marka Directorate of Education, Amman, during the academic year 2020/2021. The study sample, comprised of (30%) of the study population, was chosen using the stratified random sampling method. Questionnaire was used as a tool to gather data from the targeted group; after verifying the validity and reliability of the collected data. Appropriate statistical methods were used to analyze collected data. The study found that the perceptions of the teachers of Islamic education concerning Darsak platform lessons were generally average, whereas their perceptions concerning the platform challenges were of a high degree. The results of the study indicated that there were no statistically significant differences at the level of ([alpha] = 0.05) in the perceptions of the teachers of Islamic education concerning Darsak platform lessons and challenges attributed to the variables of gender, qualifications, and years of experience. Among the most prominent recommendations of the study were that the Ministry of Education should conduct a comprehensive review of the Islamic education lessons on Darsak platform to rectify the errors that were mentioned in some lessons. It should also reupload the modified versions of the lessons of Islamic education on the platform. Further, the Ministry of Education should employ variety of methods and strategies in presenting Islamic education lessons.

This article aims to investigate the impact of neoliberalism on the trends of higher education, and on the changes in the approach of universities and colleges between traditional education and education in the service of globalization and neoliberalism. The research method was theoretical and qualitative that demonstrates the progressive impact of modern enlightenment ideas in higher education institutions and their spread in many countries in order to serve the interests of economic and technological competition, and control over the market's capabilities and requirements. Despite the increase in higher education institutions and the emergence of private colleges in different countries, which attract increasing numbers of students, there are several negative aspects in the approach of higher education, including changes in the structure of the academic institution and its scientific, cultural and administrative orientations. This liberal trend also directly affects the quality of education, in addition to the commodification of education. Moreover, contributions of the private sector have increased with the aim of providing a workforce that is professionally trained and capable of managing business, trade and the market, at the expense of the humanities, social sciences, arts and critical thinking. More importantly, the decline in the quality of education and its educational outcomes, in terms of academic efficiency and scientific research in the service of human and societal matters is evident. The goal of education has become centered on graduating generations that are not scientifically or intellectually qualified, far from their social concerns and democratic intellectual liberation.

The imperative for all healthcare professionals to partake in quality improvement (QI) has resulted in the development of QI education programs with participants from different professional backgrounds. However, there is limited empirical and theoretical examination as to why, when and how interprofessional and multiprofessional education occurs in QI and the outcomes of these approaches. This paper reports on a qualitative collective case study of interprofessional and multiprofessional education in three longitudinal QI education programs. We conducted 58 interviews with learners, QI project coaches, program directors and institutional leads and 135 h of observations of in-class education sessions, and collected relevant documents such as course syllabi and handouts. We used an interpretive thematic analysis using a conventional and directed content analysis approach. In the directed content approach, we used sociology of professions theory with particular attention to professional socialization, hierarchies and boundaries in QI, to understand the ways in which individuals' professional backgrounds informed the planning and experiences of the QI education programs. Findings demonstrated that both interprofessional and multiprofessional education approaches were being used to achieve different education objectives. While each approach demonstrated positive learning and practice outcomes, tensions related to the different ways in which professional groups are engaging in QI, power dynamics between professional groups, and disconnects between curricula and practice existed. Further conceptual clarity is essential for a more informed discussion about interprofessional and multiprofessional education approaches in QI and explicit attention is needed to professional processes and tensions, to optimize the impact of education on practice.