Education & Pedagogy

This study addresses the lack of studies of diversity in post-Soviet higher education systems. It aims to examine institutional diversity in two post-Soviet countries as the result of higher state and market forces in the context of high-participation systems of higher education. The 'enrollment economy' has become the most powerful signal for higher education institutions in both countries. However, in Belarus, the conservative position of both the state and organizations, mitigates the effects of market-driven signals. The study reveals bifurcation as the key process distinguishing Russian higher education from Belarusian. While still in Russia middle-layer HEIs are not capable of changes in sectoral identity locked-in by the Soviet model.

Christian educators recognize the value of biblical wisdom. Indeed, one of the foremost objectives of a Christian liberal arts education is that all members of the learning community would pursue and attain wisdom. Although wisdom is important as an end goal of Christian liberal arts education, this article proposes that wisdom can also serve as its model, allowing the subject to structure the method. Specifically, six key traits that characterize biblical wisdom should also characterize Christian liberal education. Like wisdom, Christian liberal education should be foundationally theological, integrated, accessible, practical, and transformative, and should foster lifelong learning. Building on scholarship from both biblical studies and educational theory, this article discerns a link that needs to be recognized and proposes a model of viewing Christian liberal arts education that flows organically from its primary subject.

Calls for the decolonisation of higher education in South Africa have been punctuated by comments on black pain. This is not surprising if it is acknowledged that violence inordinately marks so much of South African life. What is rarely discussed though is the idea that pain has also come to be fetishised. Pain, for example, is valued as a pedagogical means. While invoking notions of the decolonisation of education that cohere with humanisation, the authors critically reflect on the ways in which pain remains a dehumanising feature of higher education in South Africa. In doing so, they hope to start a discussion around issues seldom addressed more than in deeply felt sentiments that are rarely clarified and defined in terms of their importance for the transformation and decolonisation of higher education.

The "Questionnaire for the Assessment of Enjoyment in Physical Education" (QUAEPE) is an instrument for the assessment of three specific facets (pleasure, flow, recovery) of students' enjoyment in physical education. Based on a sample of 1,351 students, the aim of the present study was to examine measurement invariance across school tracks and relationships with students' grades in physical education. Support for strict measurement invariance across school tracks was found. The three facets of enjoyment correlated highest with grades in physical education for students attaining school in the lowest ability track and lowest for students in the highest ability track. These results suggest that there may be distinct classroom practices in physical education for different school tracks, which have an impact on the relationship between performance and affect.

The question about the degree of development of primary education in the Don in the XIX century remains controversial among historians. Archival documents and testimonies of contemporaries allow us to cover this question in completely different ways (both quotes in the title are taken from them). The article attempts to summarize statistical information about the development of primary education in the Don Cossack environment from 1799 to 1899. A number of myths prevalent in historiography (for example, about the significant role of zemstvos in the creation of new educational institutions in villages or about the crisis of Don education in 1880-1890) are debunked.

This article addresses how the elite class in the United States is (re)produced by and through institutions of higher education, especially the most selective institutions. Through a review of critical, interdisciplinary research on socioeconomic inequality, elitism, and higher education, this paper begins with an overview of contemporary economic inequality and a description of the "new elites" that benefit from this inequality. Using neoliberal ideology and meritocracy as frameworks, I then discuss how recent and current trends in higher education have allowed colleges and universities, particularly those considered most prestigious, to intensify inequality and contribute to class reproduction. Specifically, as the role of income supersedes that of inheritance in fueling inequality, outsized wealth can be much more easily claimed as fair and deserved and simply a natural byproduct of a system--supported by prestigious institutions of higher education--that rewards individual drive, intelligence, and virtue.

Human capital theory assumes that education determines the marginal productivity of labour and this determines earnings. Since the 1960s, it has dominated the economics, and policy and public understanding, of relations between education and work. It has become widely assumed that intellectual formation constitutes a mode of economic capital, higher education is preparation for work, and primarily education (not social background) determines graduate outcomes. However, human capital theory fails the test of realism, due to weaknesses of method: use of a single theoretical lens and closed system modelling, inappropriate application of mathematical tools, and multi-variate analysis of interdependent variables. Human capital theory imposes a single linear pathway on the complex passage between heterogeneous education and work. It cannot explain how education augments productivity, or why salaries have become more unequal, or the role of status. These limitations are discussed with reference to research on social stratification, work, earnings and education.

Student problem behaviors occur across all classroom settings, but preschool children are three times more likely to be expelled than students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Determining the extent to which preschool students exhibit problem behaviors may help promote preventative practices in early childhood settings. This study examined the natural occurrence of externalizing behaviors within general, at-risk, and special education classrooms. Direct observations were collected across six classrooms to measure student off-task and disruptive behavior. No significant off-task differences were found across the three classroom types. However, a significant difference in disruptive behavior was found between special education and general education classrooms and between special education and at-risk classrooms. Implications and directions for future study are discussed.

Correctly identifying the role of students is important for education providers to serve high-quality education. This paper presents a novel notion of value co-creator for describing the role of older learners in older adult education (OAE) from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Theoretically, we propose eight foundational premises and analyse their rationale of perceiving older learner as value co-creator from service science perspective. Practically, we conduct a comprehensive survey of four Chinese OAE universities. The findings learned from the survey validate the proposed foundational premises and the perception of learner as value co-creator. Identification of the value co-creator role of older learners would improve the quality of education services and achieve their maximal values by effectively collaborating with older learners.

It is critically important for leadership personnel in special education to develop knowledge and skills in policy and advocacy. The Pew Charitable Trust initiated a survey to uncover resources and experiences impacting doctoral-level preparation at institutes of higher education. Results indicated that fewer than 30 percent of doctoral students were provided the opportunity for an internship experience. Thus, a large university located in the southeast United States created an internship experience reflective of current policies and trends within the field of special education. This article discusses interns' responsibilities with reference to policy and politics, opportunities for mentorship, the development of personal contacts and networking, and the impact of each experience on the intern's future role in special education teacher education and advocacy.

Delia Pompa's distinguished career in education policy has focused on the needs of immigrant students and English learners. She is a senior fellow for education policy at the Migration Policy Institute and was previously senior vice president for programs at the National Council of La Raza (now UnidosUS) and director of education for the Children's Defense Fund. Pompa has had a long-standing influence on education policy through positions as the director of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs in the U.S. Department of Education, executive director of the National Association for Bilingual Education, and assistant commissioner at the Texas Education Agency. In this article, she discusses what is known about these students' needs and how to structure professional learning to address them.

This study examines emerging efforts by three colleges of education to contribute to research use through public systems of knowledge exchange among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other education stakeholders. Often labeled "knowledge mobilization" (KM), such organization- and individual-level agendas seek to enhance, expand, and sustain engagement with educational research. Colleges of education with public KM agendas signal formal, local efforts at a time when KM remains weakly integrated within education. This study seeks to highlight the interdependent opportunities and challenges that accompany individual and organizational capacities for such change associated with KM. Findings from analysis of faculty survey responses (n = 66) suggest that progressive engagement with KM among colleges of education challenges their faculty to navigate the competing demands of knowledge production and mobilization.

With more people moving abroad for education and work, many countries are becoming multicultural in population. Hence, developing multicultural attitudes is becoming imperative to prevent negative thoughts and feelings toward minorities that may translate into discriminatory behaviors toward them. One way to ensure this is through multicultural education. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure that students from diverse racial, ethnic, and social-class groups will experience educational equality. This qualitative case study analyzes the course design and instructional strategies implemented by a professor in a multicultural education course offered in a U.S. university. We have examined how the professor taught about multicultural education, ensured educational equality in her class, and also successfully produced multicultural attitudes among her students.

Teachers can and should play a powerful active role in promoting societal inclusion and equity for all learners. There is an emerging interest among teacher education scholars in teacher agency and its importance; however, a theoretical and empirical understanding of teacher agency remains elusive. The purposes of this systematic review are to synthesize existing theories of teacher agency and summarize factors enhancing or constraining teacher agency for inclusive education. Implications for teacher education, professional development, and future studies were discussed. The electronic databases Academic Search Premier, Education Research Complete, ERIC, and PsycINFO were systematically searched for articles published until January 2019. Nine empirical studies were identified to inform the three-dimensional (i.e., iterational, practical-evaluative, projective) and temporal-relational nature of teacher agency, with inclusive teacher identity, professional competence, inclusive professional philosophy, autonomy, and reflexivity as its five core aspects.

The concept of well-being has emerged over the past several years in a significant way in higher education across North America, posing the question of what well-being means in relation to transformative education. The meaning and implications of relating well-being and transformative learning for emerging adults, college and university students aged 18-25, are articulated. Critical thinking, typically cited as the ideal mental activity aimed for in higher education, is explored in relation to mindfulness as a complementary form of mental activity and in both their connections to contemplative education. This unites these sometimes disparate activities many educators see as essential functions for student success, suggests a more holistic conception of student well-being, and promotes transformative education through a process of self-clarification for students in the midst of emerging adulthood.