Education & Pedagogy

This paper discusses the concept of democratic professionalism and argues that it offers a way to frame teacher education so that it can contribute to more productively managing long standing tensions between public schools, minoritized communities, and teacher preparation programs, and to more closely realizing the democratic potential of public education and teacher education. This decolonial approach to teacher education that actively attempts to benefit from the expertise in local minoritized communities seeks to "disrupt" existing power and knowledge hierarchies and create the basis for new alliances between teachers, teacher unions, teacher educators, and community-based social movements in marginalized communities that are seeking an active role in transforming their own communities. The result is a new hybrid structure for teacher education programs that models the emancipatory vision that is often articulated by programs but not practiced.

Many of the iconic figures in the history of comparative education were trans-national polyglot scholars. Several key thinkers and actors in the formative years of the institutionalisation of comparative education notably in London and New York were either émigré or migrant scholars (i.e. Kandel, Hans, Ulrich, Lauwerys, Bereday). There are many more transnationally- mobile academics doing comparative education these days and we do not yet have a clear "Gestalt" which permits us to grasp how and why they are engaged in comparative education. This article explores this general theme, not least in terms of the concept of 'the foreign'. The article wonders about and explores the theme of a 'diasporic comparative education', here taken to mean the kinds of re-thinking of comparative education undertaken by those who choose to undergo the existential and intellectual stresses of 'becoming foreign' while they embrace the professional identity of being 'comparative educationists'.

This article explores the nature of education as a vital part of human knowledge. The argument that is presented addresses the critique of education as having epistemological weaknesses as an academic discipline. The argument is framed by scholarship that has categorised the discipline of education as derived from three main traditions of knowledge. In order to explore the coherence of education as a discipline, contrasts are made with other disciplines such as mathematics and sciences. The article also reviews scholarship in relation to the concept of education research that is "close-to-practice," and the relevance of this to understanding education as an academic discipline. The article concludes by suggesting a new model that shows the relationships between practical knowledge and academic knowledge that are an intrinsic part of education. A more confident portrayal of education as an academic discipline is also advocated.

This article provides a map of the three-element conceptual set of the common (the common good, the commons, and the common) in reference to higher education. It does so using a method of political ontology. It discusses the three concepts in reference to the six dimensions of higher education reality (ontology, politics, ownership, governance, benefits, and finance). Thus, it not only presents a systematic view of higher education reality as seen through the lenses of the common but also explains the substantial (and in some cases, subtler) differences between the concepts themselves. Moreover, it addresses briefly the differences between the concepts from the order of the common and those from the order of the public. Finally, the article seeks to offer an insight into what this particular conceptual set may provide the researchers in terms of thinking through, and designing an alternative to the current predicament of higher education.

The article considers the essence of the process of practice-oriented concept as a principle of the professional training quality of the future specialists. Socialization is singled out and considered through the interdisciplinary concept in professional education. Socialization is defined as a successful component of the future specialists' professional education. One of the ways of professional education of the future specialists is covered -- participation in social projects of the higher education institutions. Emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of the socialization and professional education of the future specialists through the social project's organization. The motivational and innovative components of socialization in the professional education of future specialists are studied. The results of the experimental study are described.

This paper introduces the concept of 'soft privatisation'. Departing from a review of the literature examining the growing participation of private sector actors in the provision of public education across Europe, the paper investigates how privatisation has emerged in the context of the European Union as a phenomenon embedded in, rather than a replacement of, public education. Through analysing the creation of a European education area -- and the move of European education from being a driver for economic growth to becoming an Economy in itself -- the paper argues that privatisation in Europe is deeply imbricated with the network modes of public education governance characteristic of the European Union and the Bologna Process. These entanglements have implications both for the transparency and political accountability of private sector actors involved in public education.

In late 2015, the Lao government finalized its five-year National Socio-economic Development Plan 2016-2020 (NSEDP) to assist Lao PDR in meeting its goal of graduating from the ranks of Least Developed Countries status by 2020. The NSEDP is supported by a five-year Education Sector Development Plan (2016-2020) and subsequent higher education regulations that prioritise improvements to the quality of higher education in order to meet this goal, in particular by granting increased autonomy to higher education institutions. This paper argues that the association between autonomy and quality being implemented in Lao PDR draws heavily on a neoliberal, dichotomous higher education framework. It argues that efforts to improve quality in higher education should be more nuanced, taking into consideration the internal dynamics of the unitary state structure, the possibilities arising from regional engagement, and the lessons learned by neighbours on a similar pathway.

The pre-service teachers' attitudes is one indicator to show whether the inclusive education system is successfully implemented. However, no research studies have been conducted to reveal pre-service teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in Indonesia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to know the attitudes towards inclusive education of pre-service teachers in Indonesia. The current study investigated 177 Indonesian pre-service teachers who have studied the inclusive education course in Yogyakarta city using the teachers' attitudes towards inclusion scale. The findings of the current study were 1) the pre-service teachers had moderate attitudes and beliefs towards inclusive education, 2) there were no differences in attitudes toward inclusive education between males and females, and between those who have never interacted with students with special education needs and those who have such experiences.

In recent years, arguments have signalled the value of STEM education for building discipline knowledge and an array of capabilities, skills and dispositions, aligned with the needs of young people functioning productively and ethically in dynamic, complex and challenging future work, social and political environments. This combination has been termed "STEM literacy" and positioned as a desired outcome from STEM education programs. However, knowledge is limited on ways this can be developed in K-12 schools. This article introduces a framework that conceptualises the integrated nature of the characteristics of STEM education. It identifies and maps key characteristics of STEM education, recognising different entry points, curriculum designs and pedagogical strategies for school programs. The framework provides practical guidance for planning and implementing STEM education in schools.

As public school student demographics continue to diversify, the employment of multicultural education pedagogy in special education becomes ever more critical. Multicultural education pedagogy supports the placement of special education pre-service teachers (SEPSTs) in culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) field placements; yet scholars warn field placements have the potential to reinforce deficit-centered perceptions. Therefore, this pilot study sought to examine SEPSTs perceptions of students who are CLD and their educational needs in response to placement in CLD field experience through interviews with three SEPSTs in one teacher preparation program (TPP). Findings align with previous work in the field, underscoring the importance of critical reflection and the alignment of multicultural content in required coursework. Future research and implications for teacher preparation are also discussed.

Well known for his pioneering work on place-based education, Sobel discusses the benefits of engaging adolescents in meaningful learning experiences through outdoor education. His case study focuses on a 'Forest Fridays' nature-based education program developed by Eliza Minnucci, an elementary teacher in Vermont, USA. Sobel's wife, Jennifer Kramer, adapted this pedagogy for her 'challenging' sixth-grade class, also in Vermont, and reports on her success in improving their writing skills and performance on math tests. The key here was to make the learning practical, through real-life applications in places more stimulating than ordinary classrooms. Drawing inspiration from youth testimony and anecdotal evidence from parents, Sobel argues that outdoor education of this kind addresses a fundamental goal of education in promoting happiness: a sense of well-being that really ought to matter more than instrumental aims of education like improved math tests or preparation for higher education and careers.

Transformative sustainability education (TSE) is an uncommon pedagogical practice in higher education, even though it has a positive impact on student learning and behavioral change. This qualitative case study explored 20 Israeli graduate students' understanding of the social-ecological systems through the analysis of reflections, interviews, and observations. The findings reported that these graduate students displayed a deep understanding of the social-ecological systems when TSE was applied in a higher education course. As such, TSE contributed to these graduate students' knowledge construction along with encouraging their pro-environmental action. We concluded that teacher professional training, especially in higher education, should emphasize knowledge construction as a key for action, as part of TSE, in creating relational change at ontological and epistemological levels.

The 2007 Bondar Report, "Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future," generated a vision for environmental curricula in Ontario. It has been the basis for the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education for environmental education (EE) in all Ontario schools. Based on our research and personal reflections, this paper provides a summary of the recent developments concerning EE curricula in Ontario's schools. It also identifies the key institutional elements which contribute to and influence the course of EE implementation and focuses on their role in the development of environmental curricula in the province.

The paradigm of evidence-based education continues to inform the development of policy in a number of countries. At its simplest level, evidence-based education incorporates evidence, often that provided by randomised controlled trials, into classroom practice. England's Education Endowment Foundation is in the process of exporting evidence-based school education, promoted as a medical approach, to other countries, including Australia. Australia is in the process of establishing an Education Evidence Base, informed by the government's 2016 Productivity Commission report. While the literature around evidence-based education is explicit in identifying its basis in medicine, there has been little medical input into its development. Interdisciplinary examination of the medical literature reveals the contested nature and troubled state of evidence-based medicine and what policymakers need to consider to maximise the benefits of this translation into education.

This study explored the institutional and community capacity for Aboriginal education in one urban school district in Canada that recently established a formal Aboriginal education programme. Participants in this study were Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal education professionals, as well as Aboriginal Elders directly and indirectly affiliated with the study school district. Using a qualitative approach, I conducted interviews with participants and observed in-school activities in an effort to acquire data. I found that the physical, political, human resource, and community capacities were, in varying degrees, sufficiently developed to provide Aboriginal education programming. Within each of these capacities, challenges and perceived opportunities have led to an acknowledgement of the importance of Aboriginal education as well as an appreciation of the difficulties of offering such programming in an urban educational environment.