Education & Pedagogy

State support of public higher education has rapidly declined relative to total state spending. Much of this decline in support is due to the rapid growth in spending on such things as Medicaid. However, relative support of public higher education varies significantly between states. This study applies Tandberg's (2009) fiscal policy framework created to explain state support of public higher education in order to evaluate the relationship between various factors and states' relative support of higher education. While Tandberg's fiscal policy framework accounts for traditional economic and demographic factors in explaining state support for higher education, it also draws attention to political influences as well including the impact of state-level interest groups. Using cross-sectional time-series analysis these relationships are explored over a 19-year period. The findings provide evidence of the significant impact of interest groups and politics on state fiscal policy in regard to higher education.

This paper concentrates on the expansion of Finnish higher education between the 1960s and 1970s, exposes its background in the light of the policy decisions that were made, compares the unique features of this expansion with those of certain other countries, discusses the impact of the controlled "top down" governance of higher education policy, and describes the Finnish higher education system today. The paper argues that the driving forces behind universal mass higher education were, on the one hand, changes in the structure of society, and on the other hand, individual demand for education but also increased need for skills in production processes. This was the case in Finland as well but the Finnish higher education expansion was also characterised by regionalism. The actual location of universities in the era of expansion was a function of local political actors who were able to have an influence on ruling political parties.

In the field of Chinese higher education, gender is still a significant issue, as is a general ignorance of gender discrimination against women. Issues related to gender can be observed throughout the process of education: at the time of entering an institution, during the educational process and as an outcome of education. The following seven aspects of sexual discrimination occur in Chinese higher education system: (1) Fewer opportunities for women in higher education than for men; (2) within disciplines and specializations there exists the phenomena of gender segregation and diffluence; (3) considerable gender difference exists in the distribution of school resources; (4) teaching materials and teaching content are gender discriminatory; (5) within higher education institutions, student organizations have a degree of gender imbalance; (6) campus culture has a hidden agenda of gender discrimination; and (7) employment prospects for women tend to be unequal and discriminatory.

This article introduces Sustainability Frontiers, a newly formed, international, not-for-profit alliance of sustainability and global educators dedicated to challenging and laying bare the assumptions, exposing the blind spots, and transgressing the boundaries of mainstream understandings of sustainability-related education. Among the orthodoxies it challenges are the myth of unending progress built on economic growth, the notion of human separateness from nature, and the predominant knee-jerk over-reliance on policy, technical, and market solutions to global problems. Its members are committed to envisioning, theorising, researching, and putting into practice sustainability learning that seeks transformation and healing of the human condition through a repaired and restored earth connection. This article presents seven key themes that are being addressed by Sustainability Frontiers (the range of themes being subject to periodic review): (1) Climate change education; (2) Emergency education; (3) The education for sustainability--education for all interface; (4) Widening the scope of sustainability education; (5) Biocentric education; (6) Bioregional education; and (7) A multidimensional epistemology for sustainability education.

Design-based learning is a teaching approach akin to problem-based learning but one to which the design of artefacts, systems and solutions in project-based settings is central. Although design-based learning has been employed in the practice of higher engineering education, it has hardly been theorised at this educational level. The aim of this study is to characterise design-based learning from existing empirical research literature on engineering education. Drawing on a perspective that accounts for domain-specific, idiosyncratic and learner-centred aspects of design problems in the context of engineering education, 50 empirical studies on project-based and problem-based engineering education, to which the design of artefacts is central, were reviewed. Based on the findings, design-based learning is characterised with regard to domain-specificity, learner expertise and task authenticity. The implications of this study for the practice of engineering education are discussed. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

In the process of building a learning society in China, the government has paid more and more attention to education in communities. Community education is oriented towards all social members of society and offers a vast space for the popularization of music education. China's open universities are able to provide a learning platform and systematic support and service for music education in communities. Open universities can play an active role in promoting the construction of a harmonious society. This article discusses the necessity of music education in communities, advantages enjoyed by open and distance education, and the channels and methods for conducting community music education. This is illustrated by several recent initiatives made by the open universities in China, particularly the organization of the 2009 National Community Music Activity Broadcasting and Exhibition and the Community Singing Rating Activity. These efforts have generated new community music experiences and serve as examples to further study the concept and the social impact of community music.

There are important issues for rural communities in Australia in relation to the provision of education for their young people (HREOC, 2000). This is particularly so in an era when successful completion of education is becoming increasingly vital as the pressures of a globalised economy mean that many rural and farming businesses are struggling to prosper. The term "place-based education" is used by educators and researchers who have a focus on the well-being and effective learning of students. This paper explores what is meant by "place-based education" and how this concept of education is being implemented in some rural schools in Australia, although usually without using this term. A review of literature about effective literacy learning will demonstrate why teaching that is place-based is important for rural students. What the implementation of place-based education might look like in rural schools is also explored. (Contains 9 footnotes.)

Reconceptualizing contemporary notions about creativity in visual arts education should be an important issue in art education today. Currently, creativity may not be a primary focus at National Art Education Association conferences or in its publications. There are recent indications that art education is a site where creativity can be developed and nurtured for all students with emphasis on both individual processes and cultural practices. It is advocated that through critical analysis of concepts related to art education and creativity that research and practice can be developed to cultivate creative education for all art students. Topics discussed in this article, related to reconsidering creativity, include the history of creativity in art education, definitions of creativity, assessment of creative processes, dispositional factors and creative individuals, cultural variability and creativity, and educational interventions that promote student creativity. (Contains 7 footnotes.)

This study explores key indicators of special education service delivery based on responses from 92 special educators and 36 administrators in 19 Vermont schools. Special educators reported on their work, the work of paraprofessionals they supervised, and 103 students with disabilities who were receiving one-to-one paraprofessional supports within general education classes. Findings indicate that (a) many special educators have large caseloads, (b) there are substantially more paraprofessionals than special educators, and (c) more than half of all special education paraprofessionals are assigned to students with disabilities one-to-one. Combined, these factors indicate that schools employed models of service delivery for students with disabilities that are substantially supported by paraprofessionals, thus raising concerns about students' access to a free, appropriate public education. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Changes in the past two decades of goals for science education in schools have induced new orientations in science education worldwide. One of the emerging complementary approaches was the science-technology-society (STS) movement. STS has been called the current megatrend in science education. Others have called it a paradigm shift for the field of science education. The success of science education reform depends on teachers' ability to integrate the philosophy and practices of current programs of science education reform with their existing philosophy. Thus, when considering the STS approach to science education, teacher beliefs about STS implementation require attention. Without this attention, negative beliefs concerning STS implementation and inquiry learning could defeat the reform movements emphasizing STS. This article argues the role of STS in science education and the importance of considering science teachers' beliefs about STS in implementing significant reforms in science education.

Federal legislation (Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act, No Child Left Behind) mandates access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities. As a response, K-12 schools are moving to coteaching models with increased frequency (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008). However, preservice teachers have not been adequately prepared for collaborative teaching in these inclusive classrooms (Dieker & Murawski, 2003; Fennick & Liddy, 2001). To address this disconnect, we participated in an interdisciplinary, cross-departmental collaboration to create shared course and field experiences for a mixed group of special education and elementary education preservice teachers. Using our blogs, reflections, personal observations, meeting notes, and recorded discussions along with students' reflections and course assignments, we provide an analysis of the experience and implications for teacher educators. (Contains 1 table.)

In 2005, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Michigan State University, and the Australian Council for Educational Research took an important step in advancing the field of education by partnering to develop and implement the first international and comparative study of mathematics teacher education. The study was made possible by the substantial funding received from the National Science Foundation, the IEA, and the collaboration of 17 participating countries. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the methodology used in this major cross-national study of teacher education--the IEA Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics, known as TEDS-M--and to share its main findings related to the mathematical preparation of future teachers. (Contains 5 notes, 4 tables and 3 figures.)

This layered account of arts education is produced through the three authors' critical reflections of experiences in their own early childhood education, and their pre-service teacher education. The first layer establishes links between the arts, learning in the arts and critically reflective practices through an account of teaching and learning in Unit X--a compulsory arts unit in a four-year teacher education course. The second layer is a recall of early childhood arts experiences and how these informed our identities as artists, students of the arts and critically reflective teachers. Possibilities for promoting critically reflective practices in teacher education are recommended, alongside a call for more systematic modes of reflective inquiry in a teacher degree program.

Liberal education and the liberal arts are not synonymous. "Liberal arts" refers to certain subjects of study, which may be pursued to many possible ends. "Liberal education" may be pursued through any subject matter, but the term implies distinct purposes: (1) breadth of awareness and appreciation; (2) clarity and precision of thought and communication; (3) critical analysis; and (4) honing of moral and ethical sensibilities. Thus an education in the liberal arts and sciences disciplines is not, by definition, a liberal education. Study exclusively in the liberal arts disciplines does not guarantee a liberal education. Indeed, many liberal arts majors are as narrowly specialized as any professional program. Conversely, many career-specific programs are insistent on liberal learning. In this article, the author contends that equating a liberal education with the study of the liberal arts and insisting that such an education is to be found today only in those colleges whose hallmark is a focus on the past does not much help the cause of either the liberal arts or liberal education.

Large companies and major business groups are known for hiring well-heeled lobbyists to push for their interests, especially in such areas as tax and spending laws. Their federal lobbying presence on education issues has been relatively modest. The author discusses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable--two prominent Washington-based groups representing business owners and chief executives of large corporations, respectively and other business organizations' interests in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). They are pushing for changes in other areas of pre-K-12 education, such as improving mathematics and science education, expanding instruction in foreign languages and international issues, and offering preschool to all families that want it. Competitiveness is cited as reason to retain NCLB. The author discusses the U.S. Business community's education agenda--one that extends from preschool to college.