Education & Pedagogy

After climate change, rising economic inequality is the greatest challenge facing the advanced Western societies. Higher education has traditionally been seen as a means to greater equality through its role in promoting social mobility. But with increased marketisation higher education now not only reflects the forces making for greater inequality but even exacerbates them. This could be changed but it would require major shifts in higher education policy and practice of which there is currently little sign.

The author interviewed Glenn Nierman on the occasion of the recent conclusion of his term as National Association for Music Education (NAfME) president. Topics included the current state of music education and advocacy of music education in the United States, the role of NAfME, and the recently revised national music education standards.

Local, national, and international education policies regarding funding, priorities, curriculum, assessment, and more have a significant effect on all education stakeholders. But do all the stakeholders have the power to make changes? Education Diplomacy as "new diplomacy" in contrast to traditional diplomacy serves to both empower underrepresented groups and balance power by opening diplomatic spaces to influence policies and action toward quality education for all.

Distance education, unlike traditional education, makes it possible for students to receive instruction independent of place and time. Course materials can be sent via post or e-mail, and students can be located anywhere and rarely, if ever, need to meet their instructors and/or fellow students face to face. This article is an attempt to explore and compare some aspects of distance education in Greece and Bulgaria.

In this article, the author explores how technological change is affecting most aspects of our society. In this vein, it is noted that even though education has historically been more resistant to technological change than other societal sectors, recent advances in distance education, specifically online learning, promise to radically disrupt traditional education. This special issue addressed one aspect of such disruption, "technology transience," in the context of distance education.

This paper presents a discussion on a new focus area in mathematics teacher education, namely the mathematics teacher in shadow education (SE mathematics teacher). It addresses three issues pertaining to SE mathematics teachers: special knowledge and expertise they need to possess, teacher qualification and selection and SE mathematics teacher professional development corresponding, respectively, to necessary specialized expertise. Some perspectives for future teacher education research are also addressed.

This paper uses a critical pedagogical lens for evaluating North American theological education within Black and Brown communities. A Latin American epistemology, exemplified in Freire's (2000) concept of "conscientização," is highlighted throughout. Four major pedagogical themes from Latin American Liberation Theology are applied to North American theological education to evaluate its contribution to social justice education: consciousness raising, liberation, praxis, and contextualization.

This qualitative study examines educational life in a neighborhood in Mexico City, analyzing how discourses have produced the neighborhood, Tepito, as a place "without education." Simultaneously, ethnographic research entangles with theories of radical equality and resistance to explore how education emerges and how certain forms of education circulate throughout the neighborhood. Ultimately, everyday life in Tepito reveals rebellious and playful forms of education that challenge dominant educational discourses and open new understandings of educational possibilities.

The status of current doctoral administrator preparation programs is analyzed. An assessment of 17 doctorate of education programs in administration and leadership concludes that they do not differ significantly from traditional doctorate programs in education in terms of curriculum, student admissions, exit criteria, delivery format, and dissertations. A conclusion is that change and improvement of administrator preparation programs is necessary for the improvement of public schools. (15 references) (LMI)

This document, the second part of a four-part analysis and assessment of Pakistan's system of primary education, presents the report's susbstantive analysis. Seven chapters are included: (1) Introduction; (2) Educational Policy and Planning; (3) The Financing of Primary Education; (4) Organization, Management, and Administration; (5) The Formal Primary Education System; (6) Non-Formal Education in Pakistan; and (7) Suggested Illustrative Action Program. Various data tables, charts, and maps supplement the text. (DB)

Following a brief introduction discussing Minnesota's educational finance system, recent finance litigation, and public education system, this report discusses basic school finance terms and concepts. The next two sections review the state's property tax system and its general education revenue program, including aid and levy calculations. Subsequent sections describe funding mechanisms for school transportation; special education; community, early childhood, and adult education; and vocational-technical education. Also described are capital finance methods, miscellaneous funds for education, teacher retirement funding, tax relief aids, and the school district accounting system. (MLH)

The project group "Preparedness for Peace" carries on research and development work on peace education and related aspects of the internationalization of school teaching. This miniprint lists reports and miniprints from this work published during the years 1990-1992. The list also includes reports and miniprints related to the work of PEC (the Peace Education Commission of the International Peace Research Association) published by the Malmo School of Education. (Author)

Teaching children with individualized education programs (IEPs) can pose challenges such as determining materials to use, managing the materials, and keeping data organized. This paper reviews those challenges that teachers (e.g., general and special education) encounter and describes the necessity for systematic data collection. Guidelines are proposed for establishing a system that focuses on collecting data as a collaborative team.

This scholarly essay employs an African philosophical and symbolic construct--Sank?fa--to examine religious education in Ghana. Sank?fa implores the need to examine the past in order to understand the present and to plan for the future. In line with this frame, I recount the history of religious education in Ghana, examine the present challenges, and explore new ways of making Christian Religious Education relevant to contemporary challenges in education.

This joint Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) written by Swati Adarkar, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Early Learning, U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Katie Hamm, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlights various sources of funding streams to support high quality preschool through a mixed delivery approach.