Education & Pedagogy

Elective Home Education is a legal, minority approach to the compulsory education of children. I review the potential contribution of the historical analysis of "domestic pedagogies", presented in this Special Issue, for home education practice in the UK. By drawing on narratives of a period at the cusp of the perceived normalcy of "schooling", I consider an alternative discourse to articulate the purpose of, and approaches to, education. In particular, I focus on the family not only as the site for educational practices, but also as critical for our understanding of what constitutes a "suitable education". Along the way, I show how distinctions, common in home education practice, illuminate the historical debates on "domestic education". I conclude by suggesting we cannot disassociate discussions of a suitable home education from the family within which such an education occurs.

The last few months have brought changes in the leadership of public education in Massachusetts. The new secretary of education and chair of the Board of Higher Education both have deep expertise in education reform and accountability, and broad experiences in business. This new leadership could bring momentum for a "systems approach" to reduce the achievement gap and increase rates of high school completion and college-going. A systems approach would improve the alignment of higher education curricula with workforce demand while integrating the liberal arts curriculum in professional and technical disciplines to provide college graduates better career mobility. Completing the leadership triumvirate, the Board of Higher Education recently selected a new commissioner of Higher Education. Their selection provides a level of continuity for advancing the Vision Project goals and sustaining efforts around increased access and success initiated by the outgoing commissioner.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to specify and investigate the determinants of parental intention through data collected from 200 parents of youths aged fifteen years. Results showed that Greek parents guide their children to follow upper secondary education rather than technical education for a number of reasons but mainly: technical education prevents children from continuing in higher education, Greek technical secondary education provides a low standard of education, and there are few career opportunities. Since the Greek parents believed that the Greek educational system does not prepare children for entry into an appropriate profession, the paper identifies that the school vocational program is an important issue in improving labor performance. The updating of the school curriculum and the recruitment of good teachers is urgently needed so as to respond to the increasing demands for effective school management.

Quality physical education offered at the elementary school level is critical for children to understand and develop healthy living. In most countries, physical education is taught by a generalist teacher (i.e., an individual who has not undertaken extensive training in physical education) particularly at the elementary school level. Inadequate and inappropriate preparation has been identified as a major barrier for an elementary generalist to develop and implement a quality physical education program. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss helpful strategies used to employ each fundamental component of a quality physical education program and is intended for a generalist audience. More specifically, the paper will explore (a) the (dis)advantage of teaching physical education as a generalist teacher; (b) the ability of physical education to address the whole child; (c) the confusion surrounding physical education and physical activity; and (d) the strategies of a successful physical educator.

While shadow education, organized learning activities outside formal school, has grown greatly around the world, the relationship between formal schooling and shadow education has not been well investigated. This study is therefore intended to empirically test whether formal education's structure (i.e. tracking) affects students' shadow education participation by utilizing a nationally representative dataset consisting of 10th-grade students in Japan. Results of multilevel logistic regression analyses show school socioeconomic compositional and cross-level interaction effects on shadow education participation: students in high-socioeconomic status (SES) schools are more likely to seek shadow education lessons than those in schools of lower SES; and higher SES students tend to take shadow education lessons, especially when in high-SES schools. Additionally, the study finds that the school composition effect becomes relatively weak when extra lessons are free of charge, highlighting the importance of family economic capital to obtain additional learning opportunities.

In the current context, where global comparative education testing plays an increasing role in education policy and teacher quality is identified as a key to economic performance, initial teacher education has become a focus of concern and reform. Questions are asked about the impact of university-based teacher preparation, and 'alternate routes' into teaching emerge. Currently, in Anglophone countries, there is a turn towards practice and away from preparation that is seen as overly theoretical. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model of initial teacher education impact that examines the breadth of ways in which university-based teacher education impacts on the education system, positioning initial teacher education as more than just a source of newly qualified teachers. Using a complexity thinking framework, this paper offers a nuanced way to conceptualise initial teacher education impact that acknowledges the integrated nature of the education system and the way in which all stakeholders work together to improve student learning.

In the midst of the profound geological and ecological change of the Anthropocene, scholars in the field of art education have proposed modes of art education responsive to ecological concerns. This study examined how art teacher education programs in the United States prepare art teachers to engage with ecological issues and implement ecological pedagogies. It utilized a descriptive survey design that involved large-scale surveys of art teacher education faculty and preservice art teachers. These data provide opportunities to acknowledge the general state of art teacher education while also recognizing what is pedagogically possible. We conclude that while the discipline has demonstrated growth in ecological integration, it could go much further in orienting itself ecologically. We expect this research to contribute to debates on the role of art education in responding to global concerns and the discipline's ability to evolve in the midst of sweeping change.

This praxis article outlines an ongoing inclusive "Music and Movement in Education" two-credit undergraduate course initiated and facilitated by the author in 2012. It includes step-by-step strategies and suggestions to implement and advocate for an inclusion model in pre-service education or special education courses. The exploratory model is a required course within a two-year Associate Education Degree Program at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn (part of the City University of New York). Undergraduate pre-service education students (PSE) attending the course are completing their Associate of Science degree majoring in Early Childhood/Childcare or Education Studies. Included and auditing the class are young adults over the age of 21 with developmental disabilities. They are part of the college-wide Melissa Reggio Higher Education Program (MRHEP) and are supported by a mentor.

This article examines the sexuality education component of the national Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (AC:HPE) with a focus on sexuality education discourses. A critical discourse analysis explored official AC:HPE documents in relation to sexuality education; the sexuality education discourses present within these documents; teacher roles and expectations associated with each discourse; and Australia's broader social context in relation to education. Findings reveal that the AC:HPE emphasises a teacher-facilitated approach to sexuality education, which contrasts with teacher-centred work dominating the field prior to its release. This approach is in line with recent shifts in education towards strengths-based learning in which students are encouraged to think critically about issues. Despite these emphases, and while the AC:HPE is meant to be used flexibly as a guideline or framework, certain ambiguities within it may leave teachers' roles open to interpretation and practices therefore unchanged or undisputed.

Inclusive education is an approach to mixing special education and general education students in classroom settings to promote diversity, lifelong learning and create a more equitable society. An overview of practices in inclusive education can inform stakeholders of the status of inclusive education, describe the contextual factors which affect program implementation, and make recommendations of practical start-up or improvement steps for inclusive education programs. A qualitative approach and phenomenological strategy helps to focus on the ecological aspects influencing the implementation of inclusive education in mainstream general education schools on Long Island, New York, USA. Ecological Systems Theory (EST) (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) was used as the theoretical framework for the study. Observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants from two schools to gather data. The investigation revealed that the implementation of inclusive education is influenced by facilitators across the entire ecological system of the schools.

This paper focused on public funding to private providers of compulsory education in the context of globalisations. It analyses the differences and the common points between Brazil and Portugal (from 2014 to 2017) regarding the type of private providers in education, the mechanics and the reasons linked to the public funding to compulsory education private providers. Data collection was based on content analysis of a corpus of documents and interviews. The article shows that in the case of Brazil, the philanthropists are the main promoters of public funding to private providers of compulsory education while, in Portugal the main promoters are the large educational private providers. It also identifies that the public funding to private providers of compulsory basic education is increasing in Brazil and decreasing in Portugal due to governments political and ideological options.

Physical education teachers face considerable sociopolitical challenges that can impede quality instruction and complicate recruitment into the profession. Physical education teacher education faculty members may not be prepared to address these challenges during their doctoral education. Accordingly, the purpose of the paper was to utilize the lessons learned from occupational socialization research to propose competencies that can be integrated into doctoral education to help future faculty members integrate sociopolitical learning into physical education teacher education. These include: (a) understanding socialization literature and the implications for teacher education, (b) helping doctoral students understand their own prior socialization experiences, (c) recruiting highly qualified preservice teachers, (d) helping preservice teachers question their subjective theories, (e) developing and coordinating field experiences, and (f) preparing preservice teachers for the sociopolitical realities of schools. These competencies align with the proposed addition of a new standard for initial teacher education that addresses sociopolitical learning.

The aim of this paper is to examine the possibility of how higher education can develop citizenship education within Japan. For this purpose, we will explore the background and history, the definitions, and the big picture of curricula as well as the goals of Tokai public achievement-style education as citizenship education, and its practices since the program commenced in 2017. Also, we try to identify successful key factors and some future challenges of citizenship education in higher education. As a result, we conclude that Public Achievement is not merely a set of educational methods, but a philosophy that values self-directed learning by individual citizens and encourages their authentic participation in creating a collective learning culture. To facilitate citizenship education further, the university also needs to create a learning culture to value this authentic participation of students, faculty, and staff in operating its organization and surrounding society.

Secondary education schools in the United States routinely distribute differential educational provisions to students through a widely implemented tracking system. This article aims to show that this tracking system is unjust. It begins with a characterization of the tracking system as it is typically implemented in the United States, and its connection to distributive justice issues. The author then begins formulating an autonomy-based educational equality theory which is based on a conception of distributive justice requiring equal consideration of persons with reference to their needs. The greatest need of late adolescents in secondary education is the development of the capacities necessary for the exercise of autonomy. Adolescents in secondary education should, therefore, be given equal opportunities for the development of autonomy. Tracking in secondary education is proscribed because it violates the autonomy of late adolescents. In addition, taking the aim of autonomy in secondary education seriously requires postponing vocational choices until tertiary education.

Does more education lead to less political violence, and may education thus be a tool for peace? This article provides the first systematic review of the existing quantitative literature on education and political violence. Looking at arguments pertaining to levels, expansion, inequality, and content of education, we identify 42 quantitative studies from the time period 1996 to 2016 that test the relationship between various measures of education and political violence. An emerging scholarly consensus seems to be that education has a general pacifying effect. However, this general conclusion is challenged by recent evidence showing above-average levels of education among terrorists and genocide perpetrators. This, as well as other findings, underscore that the relationship between education and political violence is complex and multidimensional, depending on type of political violence, mediating factors, and level of analysis. We conclude with policy implications from our findings and discuss directions for future analysis.