Education & Pedagogy

Juvenile offenders, particularly those with disabilities, are at high risk for school failure and diminished educational, employment, and social opportunities that contribute to continued social maladjustment as adults. To better understand the occupational preferences and aptitudes of juvenile offenders, 201 juvenile offenders, including 52 who had been in special education, completed an inventory of occupational interests and aptitudes. Special education and non-special education groups had similar interests, although the former preferred occupations involving work with plants and animals. Scores on measures of general, verbal, and numerical aptitude were below average, and participants who had been in special education scored significantly lower than others on most aptitude measures Implications for special education, alternative education, and correctional education programs are discussed. Multifaceted, intervention programs beginning in middle school that keep students in school, remediate academic and social problems, engage students in prevocational and vocational programs with transition specialists, and teach self-determination skills are recommended. (Contains 6 tables.)

This article presents an interview with Harold J. Noah, Gardner Cowles Professor Emeritus of Economics and Education and former dean at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. He edited the "Comparative Education Review" from 1965 to 1971, was president of the U.S. Comparative and International Education Society in 1973, and is an honorary fellow of the Society. He is a member emeritus of the U.S. National Academy of Education. The main point of discussion is U.S. social and educational research during the cold war. Noah states that U.S. fascination with the educational system of the Soviet Union began after the Sputnik was launched. He also explains how he personally became involved in Soviet and Russian studies and the role of the Comparative Education Society, which was later renamed Comparative and International Education Society, in advancing Soviet Studies in education, and relates that the fascination with Soviet education had no impact on the field of comparative and international education, with regard to both theory and methods of reflections. (Contains 2 notes.)

Throughout the history of public schooling in the United States, maintaining democracy has been cited as one of the fundamental justifications for public support for schools. The pioneers of public education--among them Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and John Dewey--argued that schools were, in fact, essential to the health and well-being of the republic. This is because relevant, problem-posing, multi-faceted education--democratic education--is central to democratic life; it is necessary for enfranchised citizenship, and for teaching students how to play an active role in the economic, cultural, and political life of the nation. A democratic state requires the education of critical, thoughtful citizens who can define their own purposes and are able and willing to act upon their ideas. In this article, the author discusses what Social Foundations teacher educators can do to support the development of teachers attuned to and grounded in an education for democracy. She also discusses how they can make their "own" (teacher education) classrooms more democratic.

Schools have a responsibility to prepare good citizens. This entails teaching moral education along with transmitting academic knowledge and skills. Moral education should be an explicit aim for every educator. Yet, ethical discourse is largely absent in K-12 classrooms and moral education has a small role in teacher education programs in the United States. To prepare the next generation of teachers, moral education should have a prominent place in teacher education. To accomplish this, the three major approaches to moral education--character, developmental, and caring--should be taught to teacher education students. The same is true of the strategies of: (a) leading moral discussions in the classrooms; and (b) using academic service learning. In this article, the author contends that the definitions of an educated person and of success in teaching must include more than teaching a student enough content and skills to score well on high stakes tests. The definitions must also include preparing students to become full and responsible citizens who recognize and respond appropriately when facing ethical issues and dilemmas.

The Norwegian educational system is in the process of recognising and incorporating the rights of the Sámi as an Indigenous people. This transition will place new and challenging demands on teacher education programmes. The international goal within the field of inclusive education has been to give all children and youth equal opportunities for education, as exemplified by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Salamanca Statement. However, the literature still commonly defines inclusive education according to the place of education (inclusion as placement). Moreover, the Indigenous community in Norway has largely been victimised by an assimilation process that employs "placement" in ordinary education as a primary strategy. Now that the Norwegian education system has placed more emphasis on recognising and incorporating the rights of the Sámi as an Indigenous people, teacher programmes must be examined to determine how they reflect this added focus on the Sámi culture. Will an inclusion approach be sufficient? Or are more radical strategies towards indigenisation needed?

The inclusive education policy agenda has not made a significant impact on the global problem of educational exclusion. Explanations for this lack of impact include inadequate teacher education, lack of resources, negative attitudes, and a policy-practice gap. This paper takes a different turn and, using the concept of classification, argues that the challenge to achieve more inclusive education is more fundamental than has been previously articulated. Key tenets of the inclusive education agenda demand a weakening of the insulation between categories that are sustained and advanced by current marketised and standards-driven education systems. Inclusive schooling weakens spatial insulation, collaboration weakens professional insulation, transformability weakens ability insulation, intersectionality weakens identity insulation, and inclusive pedagogy weakens pedagogical insulation. When inclusive education is mapped onto strongly classified education systems, limited instantiations of inclusive education are inevitable, and difference and exclusion are re-inscribed. Change is possible if 1. Those advancing the inclusive education agenda acknowledge the identities and defences that classification constructs. 2. The workings of power that sustain insulation between categories in education are identified. 3. Counter-hegemonic action that weakens insulation and blurs boundaries is encouraged.

This descriptive study examined the provision of special education services in faith-based schools, especially as compared to public schools. A survey was used to collect information about the special education services typically provided to students with mild disabilities in faith-based schools. Information was also gathered about teacher qualifications and instructional activities of special education teachers in faith-based schools. The same information was gathered on a matched sample of public schools. The results indicated that for this sample, most faith-based schools provided some level of special education services to students with mild disabilities and used some special education services provided by public schools. There were clear differences between the public and faith-based schools in this study, including (a) fewer students with identified disabilities in faith-based schools, (b) less special education training for the special education teachers in faith-based schools, and (c) less use of certain related services, such as physical therapy.

Post-compulsory education in the UK is growing in complexity. A little explored feature of this complexity is the development of collaborative arrangements between higher education institutions and providers of sixth form education under which students can study university modules whilst pursuing their sixth form studies. This article reports the findings of a recent project designed to explore the feasibility of such arrangements. A range of existing provision is identified focusing on both academic high achievers and students from socio-economic groups that are currently under-represented in higher education. The article reviews such arrangements in the context of government policy, the changing nature of sixth form and higher education, and the boundaries that have been drawn between what have traditionally been viewed as separate elements of the English and Welsh education systems. It considers the impact of such provision on the two main groups of students studied and highlights some of the issues arising out of these partnerships between higher education and sixth form institutions.

In this article, education policy is analyzed from a welfare state perspective. The aim is to Analise the significance attributed to social-inclusive aspects of education in contemporary education policies of the Nordic countries, and the extent to which education is regarded as an element in welfare policies. Four aspects are addressed: (1) access to education and measures to prevent social exclusion of young people, (2) comprehensiveness of education in terms of public/private, integration/segregation of e.g. minority children and children with special needs, (3) emphasis on democratic values and participation, (4) the importance of community and equality versus a focus on the individual. It is concluded that it is still justified to speak of the five Nordic countries as a rather distinct group. However, social-inclusive policies have also clearly been reformulated and delimited, related to a strengthening of the economic-utilitarian functions of education and a weakening of central education governance. (Contains 2 tables and 9 notes.)

The importance of virtual reality in science education is constantly increasing. For this reason, this study aims to identify current trends in science education through virtual reality (VR) themes using a bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science (WoS) database. Data analysis was conducted with VOSviewer software. Findings reveal that VR studies are primarily categorized under "Education Educational Research" and "Education Scientific Disciplines." VR technology first appeared in science education research in 2002, with publications steadily increasing over time. The most prolific and influential researchers were Lamb, Richard, and Etopio, Elisabeth, while the United States, Australia, and Türkiye had the highest academic impact. The most frequently used keywords were "virtual reality," "science education," "augmented reality," and "higher education," while recurring abstract terms included "technology," "knowledge," and "research." These results underscore the rising importance of VR technologies in science education and map the evolving research landscape, offering valuable insights for future studies and educational practices.

China has established the world's largest education system. The gross enrollment ratio of pre-primary education, completion rate for compulsory education, and gross enrollment ratio of senior secondary education all exceed 90%. The gross enrollment ratio of higher education exceeds 60%, which is universally recognized as a high rate of enrollment. China's teaching workforce has reached a new level. The number of teachers continues to expand, teacher quality has significantly improved, and the educational attainment of full-time teachers at all levels has continuously increased. China's educational conditions and resources have reached a new level. National financial investment in education has consistently exceeded 4% of GDP for nearly a decade. Over 90% of primary and secondary schools meet the standards for four types of facilities and equipment. New progress has been made in educational equity in China. The coverage rate of affordable preschools exceeds 90%, and the average number of students in school per 100,000 inhabitants at all levels of education shows an upward trend.

The article explores how to shape digital competences among pre-service teachers within the university education system. It addresses the challenges posed by the rapid development of the information society and the growing digitisation of education, necessitating the redefinition of existing teacher education models. Using the Delphi method, 36 media education experts from six continents were interviewed between June and August 2022. They identified 12 versatile solutions to enhance the effectiveness of digital competence formation in academia. These solutions aim to improve the content, methods, and forms of teacher education, ensuring future pedagogical staff are better prepared to integrate ICT into education. Additionally, the article highlights the multidimensional opportunities for fostering digital competences, which are essential skills in K12 and university education and integral to lifelong learning. The study underscores the global significance of equipping pre-service teachers with these competencies to meet the demands of contemporary education systems.

This article investigates the impact of changing education models due to disasters (COVID-19 and the 2023 earthquakes) in health schools. The achievement scores of 681 students exposed to different educational models were examined. A survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted with higher education teachers. According to the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, statistically significant differences were found in all achievement scores between student groups. Students' achievement scores increased during the online education periods (p < 0.05). This increase was higher after the earthquake compared to the COVID-19 period. Positive and negative views of higher education teachers implementing different educational models are presented. While disasters pose significant challenges to education, especially in health education schools, adaptive educational models can provide critical solutions in emergencies where traditional education cannot be applied. These educational models need to be carefully evaluated and strategically integrated into institutional policies to ensure continuity and quality of education in future crises.

Outdoor environmental education is a transformative educational tool for achieving Education for Sustainable Development, particularly in developing countries where environmental education is deficient. This study surveyed 87 primary school teachers in the Los Ríos region of southern Chile to assess outdoor environmental excursions, examining motivations and limitations. Key barriers included resource scarcity and limited opportunities. The findings highlight the importance of outdoor education in fostering socio-emotional skills and local identity. Teachers primarily addressed pollution and recycling, revealing significant gaps in training, especially concerning marine and mountain ecosystems. Notably, environmentally certified schools did not conduct more outdoor excursions than non-certified schools. This study contributes to the limited body of environmental education research in Chile, emphasizing the need to strengthen outdoor education to address weaknesses in the current curriculum. It provides valuable insights for improving preservice teacher training in Chile to advance SDG Quality Education in Latin America.

This article will explore the impact of various language education policies and their measures on Irish Sign Language (ISL) in Irish deaf education. The focus will be on how previous and current policy decisions regarding language education have affected the use and recognition of ISL as a legitimate language in the education system. The article will discuss both deaf schools and mainstream schools. The article will briefly provide an overview of ISL's history in Ireland, including its recognition as a language in 2017 by legislation (ISL Act 2017) and the current policies regarding its use in education. The impact of these policies on the development and use of ISL in deaf education will be concisely examined, including issues of access to education, teacher training, and curriculum development. Additionally, attitudes towards ISL will be briefly examined. The article will conclude with the ongoing challenges and opportunities for improving the status of ISL in Irish deaf education through policy reform and community advocacy.