Education & Pedagogy

This article explores the position of rural women in Irish society during the period 1930-1960, focusing on their engagement with vocational education. Irish vocational education was organised and delivered in a way that was in keeping with a wider gendered ideology as represented in the policy discourse with gender-segregated training, the promotion of traditional domestic roles and a lack of a vision underpinning vocational training that would disrupt traditional gender roles. Rural women and girls did not directly contest this ideology but did push boundaries against the roles that were ascribed to them. This article builds on existing work in the field. Previous studies focused on curricular options and employment success rates of secondary educated girls compared with those who attended vocational education. This study extends that research through its specific focus on vocational education for rural girls, their attendance at day and evening classes and their employment opportunities.

Distance learning in social work has proliferated in recent years and is increasingly promoted as a strategy for diversifying the social work workforce and expanding access to graduate education for individuals in rural and underserved communities. Our study assesses the accuracy of this claim by analyzing the 2018 GW [George Washington] Survey of Social Work Graduates to evaluate whether participation in an online or blended Master of Social Work program (a) increases diversity in the field by providing educational opportunities to nontraditional students and (b) is associated with practice in rural or underserved areas. Our findings indicate that online and blended education is associated with practice in rural and underserved areas. We also find evidence that online education increases diversity in the field by expanding access to education for older, working adults.

The aim of this paper is to share our story about introducing environmental sustainability education (ESE) in an initial teacher education (ITE) program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at University of Toronto, starting in 2018. In so far as narratives motivate reflection and action, the goal is to encourage readers to start a conversation with colleagues at their respective institutions (university or college) about how they might do something similar. Consideration is given to how this case fits what Neus (Snowy) Evans refers to as a "systems approach" to implementing ESE in ITE, even if more in retrospect and through improvisation than through foresight and technical prowess.

Higher education professional associations (HEPAs) are well-established agents of knowledge production and have been influential in shaping higher education policies and practices. In the context of US international higher education, HEPAs have contributed to the rise of 'internationalization' as a discursive practice. Proposing an analytical framework that takes up Foucauldian analysis of discourse and studies in governmentality, this paper examines a corpus of ACE and NAFSA reports in order to trace the emergence of internationalization and its lines of transformation as both a regime of truth and a regime of practice in the context of US higher education over the last 30 or so years. The findings of this study illustrate that since its emergence in the 1980s, HEPAs have participated in the transformation of internationalization from a discourse of exchange to a discourse of competition.

Cybersecurity education has grown exponentially over the past decade. This growth occurred at all levels of education -- from high schools to community colleges to four-year universities. At the same time, renewed interest in helping students transfer between higher education institutions has resulted in calls from policy makers and higher education leaders to create seamless pathways for students. Aligning cybersecurity education with changes in the transfer landscape, a case study was conducted to provide a framework for understanding how to improve services to cybersecurity transfer students. The case study involved four components: a review of articulation agreement literature, a review of processes used in the authors' home institutions, a review of our experiences with the cybersecurity articulation agreement process, and recommendations for future articulation agreements.

This study explored the contribution of physical education and recess to children's physical activity (PA) behavior and examined whether they compensate for missed PA opportunities. Participants' (N = 115; age: 9.2 ± 0.6 years) PA was measured using accelerometry across multiple time periods, including data from school days and weekends. Data collection occurred over 6-7 weeks, with 2 weeks in between each period. Physical education and recess accounted for 22.98% (SD = 8.32) and 19.71% (SD = 6.87) moderate-to-vigorous PA, and 16.06% (SD = 4.54) and 14.65% (SD = 4.45) total PA, respectively. Analyses revealed differences between physical education and non-physical education days (Wilks's [lambda] = 0.80, p < 0.001; partial [eta][superscript 2] = 0.20) and physical education and weekend days (Wilks's [lambda] = 0.67, p < 0.001; partial [eta][superscript 2] = 0.33). Physical education contributed to habitual PA more than previously thought; schools should be increasing, not reducing, opportunities.

This article examines national strategies on higher education internationalization in three East Asian countries: China, Japan, and South Korea. Specifically, through document analysis of five national educational documents since 2014, it examines what activities of higher education internationalization are underway and, more importantly, how nation states justify them. It finds that the three countries tend to associate internationalization with the countries' global competitiveness and status. In addition, internationalization in the three countries focuses on regional cooperation, justified by its benefits for economic growth and national security. Drawing on the realist perspective in international relations, this article argues that internationalization of higher education at the national level in East Asia is instrumentalized to benefit national economic competitiveness and development and political security, while the important aspect of teaching and learning is overlooked.

Recent debates about the status of knowledge in the school curriculum have seen the emergence of attempts to connect curriculum reform to the ideas about 'powerful knowledge' articulated by Michael Young and other sociologists. This article argues that for the case of media education, and specifically its application in secondary schools (in the form of Media Studies), these ideas are not adequate to explain the epistemological principles upon which the project is built. The paper takes a threefold approach to developing an epistemology of media education; firstly, by outlining existing work on the nature of knowledge in media education; secondly, by examining social realist arguments about the way that knowledge is manifested in things like school subjects and canonical knowledge and arguing that media education does not fit these manifestations; and finally by offering some alternative ideas upon which an epistemology of media education may be built.

This paper aims to explore the potential role of Master's of Education dissertation/thesis work in developing twenty-first century skills. A total of 600 education professionals studying Master's of Education programmes in five countries -- Poland, Portugal, England, Latvia, and Romania -- were surveyed. The findings have revealed that participants recognise the usefulness of twenty-first century skills for their (future) professional practice, and perceive dissertation/thesis work as a valuable foundation for developing these skills. This study offers practical implications for designers of Master's of Education programmes and contributes to our understanding that this assignment is not only a formal requirement for obtaining a degree, but that it also serves as a pathway towards deepening students' professional learning.

Implementation of the practices of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is currently a trendy topic worldwide since various interruptions are expected. Education is considered as a major tool to equip people with the necessary kills to be prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Botswana's education system was ranked among the top ten on the African continent. Hence, this study explored the 4IR and education in Botswana, using a scoping review. The literature was analysed and presented, using themes. The findings showed that factors such as curriculum issues, lack of electricity in rural areas, amongst others are stumbling blocks in Botswana's way as it continues to prepare itself for the 4IR through education. Also, there is limited scholarly work on education and the 4IR, specifically from the perspective of Botswana. Hence, research into current practices in the education sector and institutions of learning in Botswana was recommended.

Advancing equity in early childhood education is crucial as our broader society faces issues of inequities across systems, including education. Professionals must honor children's home language and cultural contexts, coming from a perspective of value and respect rather than from a traditionally dominant Eurocentric perspective. Through this study, we share the perspectives of 22 U.S. parents of dual-language learners (DLLs) as they experienced an evaluation for preschool special education. Through a mixed-methods approach using survey and interview data, three primary themes emerged: (1) relationships and interactions; (2) home language and cultural context; and (3) the evaluation process. Significant differences in satisfaction emerged between those who had participated in Part C Early Intervention services versus those who had not.

This study examined an integration of digital stories in teaching environmental concepts to preschool children aged 3-6 in Turkey. The participants were the forth-grade preservice teachers who used a variety of activities to implement environmental education plans. Structured questionnaires were employed as the main data collection tool. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework served as a springboard to analyze the data. The findings of this study demonstrate that creating and implementing digital stories in the preschool curriculum can enhance students' learning outcomes. Also the digital stories can be handled as a teaching method in the preschool period. As a result, the integration of technology with pedagogy and content in preschool education has demonstrated the importance of TPACK.

In Nunavut, data for 2012-2014 shows a high school graduation rate of 34%. Little has been published about the causes of secondary students' absenteeism and the methods for attracting students back to school. This study explored the barriers and supports to education success from the perspectives of school staff, students, and parents. Interviews and sharing circles were conducted with 141 participants in six communities. The results revealed barriers and supports in relation to the learning environment, staffing issues, and overarching system. Participants identified specific recommendations that can inform future policy and programming to improve attendance and graduation rates in Nunavut schools.

Developing a third space in preschool teacher education is fundamental for a true partnership to thrive. Strong partnerships between stakeholders in teacher education can empower student teachers and influence their professional development. However, research indicates a disconnection between the theory that students learn and their practical applications in the field, which affects students' teaching practice. This study shed light on partnerships in preschool teacher education in Iceland, as partnership is the basis on which a shared learning space can develop and grow. The findings from focus group interviews with relevant stakeholders (on-campus preschool student teachers, remote preschool student teachers, university-based educators, school-based mentors, and preschool principals) indicated that partnership between universities and schools regarding preschool teacher education is weak. However, stakeholders seem to be genuinely interested in improving collaboration and establishing a stronger university-preschool partnership.

Open-access (OA) options, including preprints and postprints, provide free access to research, accelerate the dissemination of academic work, are associated with increased impact of scholarly work, and may aid in dissemination of null results. However, OA publishing is not an established practice for many special education researchers, and journal and publishers' policies regarding OA are not always clear. In this article, we systematically reviewed OA policies (i.e., regarding preprints, postprints, OA publishing, article processing charges [APCs], and embargo periods) for 51 special education journals and five publishers of special education journals. Most journals provided few policies, only three journals provided information for each OA feature examined, and many journals and publishers reported substantial APCs and embargo periods over 18 months. We recommend journals and publishers clearly post OA policies and reduce APCs to foster broad and open dissemination of special education research.