Required Resources
Bansal, G. (2022). The hegemony of English in science education in India: A case study exploring impact of teacher orientation in translating policy in practice. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 17(2), 439–466.
India has borrowed a colonial legacy of English language education from its British colonizers. Post-Independence, education policies pertaining to the language of instruction in school education have unequivocally been supporting multilingual education; however, the policy mandates have not been translated in the same way in classroom practices. This study examines the role of teacher orientations in executing policy directives in instructional practices in multilingual science classrooms where both teachers and students speak Hindi as their home language. Among the student population, almost two-thirds have chosen Hindi as their language of instruction, while others have opted for English. In a case study, it emerged that teachers, coupled with firm faith in the political ascendancy of the English language, preferred to conduct science instruction in English. A need to engage in extensive professional development to equip teachers with multilingual science education teaching–learning strategies is recommended.
Suits Challenging Book “Banning” May Be Better Politics than Law
Dunn, J. (2022). Suits challenging book “banning” may be better politics than law. Education Next, 22(3), 6–7.
The article reports conflict over book banning in public schools. Topics discussed include the McGinn County Board of Education in Tennessee that provoked a nationwide uproar when it unanimously voted to remove Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, from its curriculum and wasn't appropriate because of certain language and a drawing of a nude woman.
Language Policy and Bilingual Education in Thailand: Reconciling the Past, Anticipating the Future
Huebner, T. (2019). Language policy and bilingual education in Thailand: Reconciling the past, anticipating the future. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 12(1), 19–29.
Thailand is a country of vast linguistic diversity, where a population of approximately 60 million speak more than 70 languages with a rich history of migration, cultural contact and annexation. However, more and more of the country's linguistic resources are being recognized and employed to deal with both the centrifugal force of globalization and the centripetal force of economic and political unrest. Using Edwards' (1992) sociopolitical typology of minority language situations and a comparative case study method, the study examined two minority language situations, one in the South and one in the Northeast, and describes how education reforms address the economic and social challenges in each.
Girls’ Right to Education in Tanzania: Incongruities between Legislation and Practice
Iddy, H. (2021). Girls’ right to education in Tanzania: Incongruities between legislation and practice. Gender Issues, 38(3), 324–343.
Tanzania is one of the Sub-Saharan African countries with low girls’ attendance rates, high drop-out rates and poor performance in schools. This is despite global, regional, and country measures and interventions to promote girls’ right to education. This paper seeks to examine the major international and regional legal provisions for girls’ education and assess whether Tanzanian policies, laws, and practices promote girls’ right to education in the country, using a women’s empowerment framework. It asserts that, while some policies and laws in Tanzania promote girls’ right to education, it is unfortunate that other policies, laws and practices undermine such a right. The authors note increased contradictions and confusions between specific legislation promoting a girls’ right to education, and broader policy and legal frameworks and practices. These contradictions and confusions contribute significantly to the continued disempowering of girls. The author concludes that there is a need for the amendment of some policies and laws to harmonize and make them effective and efficient in protecting the rights of girls.
South African Contributions to LGBTI Education Issues
Jones, T. (2019). South African contributions to LGBTI education issues. Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, 19(4), 455–471.
South Africa stands out in the African region for its protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights. This article examines South Africa's contributions to local policy for LGBTIs and the work of LGBTI issues in education policy. Data were derived from an analysis of 102 interviews with key informants participating in high-level global networking for LGBTI students' rights, and documentary analysis showing how stakeholders characterize South African contributions to transnational LGBTI education work. The nation's early adoption of constitutional rights, relationship rights, and educational equity provisions as acts of decolonization contributed to African LGBTI work which generated additional funding for transnational LGBTI education work.
Iliadou-Tachou, S. (2020). Communism, anti-communism and education in Greece from the axis occupation until the early cold war era (1944-1967). History of Education, 49(3), 362–378.
This study focuses on communist education in occupied Greece (1944-1945) in combination with anti-communist education in Greece in the Cold War era (1950-1967). It discusses, on the one hand, the intentions of the Popular Liberation Front/the Greek Communist Party in establishing Slavic-Macedonian schools and their features. Focus is also on how the characteristics of the American anti-communist educational model are are described/defined and its impact on the Greek education model as the redefinition of the Greek nation, the constitution of the anti-communist legislative framework, the promotion of educational reform or the need for modernization and the demand for technological and economic progress. Finally, the study evaluates both communist and anti-communist education and its consequences for Greek society.
Depoliticization of Educational Reforms: The STEM Story
Sharma, A., & Hudson, C. (2022). Depoliticization of educational reforms: The STEM story. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 17(2), 231–249.
Education reforms are rarely successful or free of controversies. However, efforts to STEM-ify public education in the USA by positioning education in STEM fields and training of future workforce as the central purposes of public schooling is proving to be remarkably successful and devoid of contention. This paper explains the success of STEM-ification of public education in the USA by examining reform efforts from the perspective of depoliticization. With special reference to the implementation of STEM reforms in the state of Georgia, USA, the author analyze STEM reforms as a case of network governance to elaborate its features that contribute to its depoliticization; the reforms are examined through a case of three concurrent modes of depoliticization—governmental, societal, and discursive. The analysis presents the depoliticization of STEM reforms in the USA as an example of governance techniques in the current times that legitimize neoliberalism as the dominant political rationality with profound implications for the diminution of democratic space and perpetuation of injustices of misrepresentation in advanced societies.
Change Management in Public Libraries: Seven Recommendations from Copenhagen Libraries
Wandi, C. (2019). Change management in public libraries: Seven recommendations from Copenhagen Libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 59(8), 915-926.
Shifts in the media landscape and user behavior mean that changes are made rapidly today. Taking a proactive stance on changes, new solutions and service design is central to libraries of the 21st century. This article details the experiences of the library system of Copenhagen, Denmark as a case study for change and change management. How did libraries effect change? What was the process for determining the necessary changes and implementing them? This article distills the experiences of Copenhagen Libraries into seven recommendations for all practitioners of change management.
Implications of Performance-Based Funding on Equity-Based Missions in US Higher Education
Zerquera, D., & Ziskin, M. (2020). Implications of performance-based funding on equity-based missions in US higher education. Higher Education, 80(6), 1153–1174.
Upholding an equity-focused mission can be challenging for administrators. Policies examined in this research focus on funding based on student performance. This article examines the ways in which performance-based funding (PBF) requirements align to the public-serving mission of urban-serving research universities (USRUs) in the USA. Key findings highlight perceived tensions between PBF and USRUs; implications of these tensions are highlighted around the understanding and enactment of the USRU mission, redefining of concepts of improvement, and implications of PBF on deepening stratification across a differentiated system.
Additional Resources
This video provides an overview of how education happens and some of the areas that are addressed when changing school systems -
Changing Schools Education Systems - Education Talks
Optional Resources
Hallström, J. (2022). Embodying the past, designing the future: Technological determinism reconsidered in technology education. International Journal of Technology & Design Education, 32(1), 17–31.
From a philosophical viewpoint, technological design is about connecting what is desirable with what is technically possible. Technology itself plays a major role in design processes, not only because technology development is what designing is all about, but also because the existing technology at any given point in time frames what is possible to achieve in terms of new outcomes. A limiting role of technology in design, education and other societal activities goes under the concept of technological determinism and has arguably been one of the most significant points of debate in the social sciences in the last decades. The aim of this article is to investigate how philosophical, sociological, and historical research, as well as design and innovation research about technological determinism, could be fruitfully reconsidered in technology education. Its counterpart social/societal determinism, technological determinism is not necessarily a "bad" thing, but a natural result of design is a balance between what is societally desirable and technically possible.
© Copyright 2024 National University. All Rights Reserved.