Frank Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924264X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the first of two chapters that present a more detailed examination of the ways in which social constructions are produced and negotiated in public politics through the medium of discourse. It ...
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This is the first of two chapters that present a more detailed examination of the ways in which social constructions are produced and negotiated in public politics through the medium of discourse. It looks at public policy and discourse analysis, and starts by defining discourse. The remaining sections of the chapter are: Discourse Analysis; Policy Discourse and Argumentative Struggle; Policy Storylines, which are the basic linguistic mechanism for creating and maintaining discursive order –– a generative sort of narrative that allows actors to draw upon various discursive categories to give meaning to specific or social phenomena (for example, ‘there is nothing we can do’ or ‘we must take immediate action’); and an appendix, Discourse and Social Change: Commodifying Educational Policy.Less
This is the first of two chapters that present a more detailed examination of the ways in which social constructions are produced and negotiated in public politics through the medium of discourse. It looks at public policy and discourse analysis, and starts by defining discourse. The remaining sections of the chapter are: Discourse Analysis; Policy Discourse and Argumentative Struggle; Policy Storylines, which are the basic linguistic mechanism for creating and maintaining discursive order –– a generative sort of narrative that allows actors to draw upon various discursive categories to give meaning to specific or social phenomena (for example, ‘there is nothing we can do’ or ‘we must take immediate action’); and an appendix, Discourse and Social Change: Commodifying Educational Policy.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199253661
- eISBN:
- 9780191601972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253668.003.0016
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The essays in Part III of the book, on liberal constraints and traditionalist education, argue for a more regulatory conception of liberal education and emphasize the need for some controls over ...
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The essays in Part III of the book, on liberal constraints and traditionalist education, argue for a more regulatory conception of liberal education and emphasize the need for some controls over cultural and religious educational authority. In the last chapter, on liberalism and group rights, according to Stephen Macedo, while the commitment of liberalism to individual freedom and equality is far more easily reconciled with group-based remedies for group-based inequalities than the critics of liberalism allow, the liberal commitment to freedom of association imposes limits on group recognition by insisting on intragroup openness and diversity. The chapter has two main parts. Section 15.1, Liberalism, Education, and Group Identities, rebuts the charge that a liberal public philosophy embraces a narrow individualism that is incompatible with tackling group-based forms of inequality, and surveys some of the myriad liberal reforms of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s that promoted more equal respect for differing group identities, especially in schools. Section 15.2, Special Exemptions and the Rights of Traditional Communities, focuses on the difficulties raised by “traditionalistic” groups that seek special accommodations in part because they reject liberal values of equal freedom for all, and makes the point that a liberal regime should not seek to be equally hospitable or accommodating to groups that accept and those that reject educational policies designed to promote the equal freedom of all persons; various examples are presented and discussed.Less
The essays in Part III of the book, on liberal constraints and traditionalist education, argue for a more regulatory conception of liberal education and emphasize the need for some controls over cultural and religious educational authority. In the last chapter, on liberalism and group rights, according to Stephen Macedo, while the commitment of liberalism to individual freedom and equality is far more easily reconciled with group-based remedies for group-based inequalities than the critics of liberalism allow, the liberal commitment to freedom of association imposes limits on group recognition by insisting on intragroup openness and diversity. The chapter has two main parts. Section 15.1, Liberalism, Education, and Group Identities, rebuts the charge that a liberal public philosophy embraces a narrow individualism that is incompatible with tackling group-based forms of inequality, and surveys some of the myriad liberal reforms of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s that promoted more equal respect for differing group identities, especially in schools. Section 15.2, Special Exemptions and the Rights of Traditional Communities, focuses on the difficulties raised by “traditionalistic” groups that seek special accommodations in part because they reject liberal values of equal freedom for all, and makes the point that a liberal regime should not seek to be equally hospitable or accommodating to groups that accept and those that reject educational policies designed to promote the equal freedom of all persons; various examples are presented and discussed.
Jutta Allmendinger, Christian Ebner, and Rita Nikolai
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195376630
- eISBN:
- 9780199865499
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195376630.003.0014
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
This chapter discusses how important the EU's involvement in education has been. It outlines Europe's demographic development, the change in labor markets and human resources. The interaction of ...
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This chapter discusses how important the EU's involvement in education has been. It outlines Europe's demographic development, the change in labor markets and human resources. The interaction of these three areas of society points to an enormous need for action. It then discusses how to gauge the level of education in a population, and what absolute and relative measures of educational achievement could look like. It examines the educational policy objectives formulated by the EU, and describes to what extent the European countries have already accomplished them. The chapter discusses two fundamental questions: first, how coherent are the individual goal dimensions of the Lisbon strategy and what can we learn from the degree of their correlation for future empirical research on education? Second, what do the indicators allow us to say about issues of equal opportunity and social exclusion in European countries, and how much diversity is there within Europe in this respect? It concludes with a summary illustrating the analytical potential of the indicators and showing that purportedly simple measures have more to them than first meets the eye.Less
This chapter discusses how important the EU's involvement in education has been. It outlines Europe's demographic development, the change in labor markets and human resources. The interaction of these three areas of society points to an enormous need for action. It then discusses how to gauge the level of education in a population, and what absolute and relative measures of educational achievement could look like. It examines the educational policy objectives formulated by the EU, and describes to what extent the European countries have already accomplished them. The chapter discusses two fundamental questions: first, how coherent are the individual goal dimensions of the Lisbon strategy and what can we learn from the degree of their correlation for future empirical research on education? Second, what do the indicators allow us to say about issues of equal opportunity and social exclusion in European countries, and how much diversity is there within Europe in this respect? It concludes with a summary illustrating the analytical potential of the indicators and showing that purportedly simple measures have more to them than first meets the eye.
Walter Feinberg and Kevin McDonough
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199253661
- eISBN:
- 9780191601972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253668.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In the first section of this introductory essay, the dilemma of public education in liberal multicultural societies is introduced, and the aim of this book is outlined. This is described as an ...
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In the first section of this introductory essay, the dilemma of public education in liberal multicultural societies is introduced, and the aim of this book is outlined. This is described as an examination of some of the fundamental philosophical issues that give rise to conflicting views on public education in order to shed light on questions of educational policy in liberal–democratic societies. In two further sections, the essay focuses on outlining the philosophical and educational contexts that unify the subsequent essays and together clarify the purpose of the book as a whole. The essay concludes with an overview of the book.Less
In the first section of this introductory essay, the dilemma of public education in liberal multicultural societies is introduced, and the aim of this book is outlined. This is described as an examination of some of the fundamental philosophical issues that give rise to conflicting views on public education in order to shed light on questions of educational policy in liberal–democratic societies. In two further sections, the essay focuses on outlining the philosophical and educational contexts that unify the subsequent essays and together clarify the purpose of the book as a whole. The essay concludes with an overview of the book.
David Blacker
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199253661
- eISBN:
- 9780191601972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253668.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This is the third of the four essays in Part II of the book on liberalism and traditionalist education; all four are by authors who would like to find ways for the liberal state to honour the ...
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This is the third of the four essays in Part II of the book on liberalism and traditionalist education; all four are by authors who would like to find ways for the liberal state to honour the self-definitions of traditional cultures and to find ways of avoiding a confrontation with differences. David Blacker’s essay on civic friendship and democratic education develops a Rawlsian conception of civic friendship, the scaffolding of which is necessarily provided by the wide range of comprehensive conceptions of the good that characterize democratic societies. Thus, Blacker argues, a democratic civic education ‘allows citizens to embrace democracy on their own terms, drawing support for democracy’s requisite political conceptions from the perspectives of citizens’ many different secular and/or religious comprehensive doctrines’. For Blacker, a conception of civic friendship that is friendly to citizens’ multiple comprehensive doctrines also entails a substantial lowering of the ‘wall of separation’ between church and state so that courts might be more willing than they currently are to allow the use of state funds to support religious groups, in particular where these groups perform functions within public (common) schools that converge with public interests. The essay concludes by proposing and defending two American educational policy initiatives that are consistent with Blacker’s politically liberal ideal of civic friendship – the revival of a ‘school stamps’ plan first proposed in the 1970s, and a modified version of a ‘clergy in the schools’ programme recently struck down by a federal circuit court in Texas.Less
This is the third of the four essays in Part II of the book on liberalism and traditionalist education; all four are by authors who would like to find ways for the liberal state to honour the self-definitions of traditional cultures and to find ways of avoiding a confrontation with differences. David Blacker’s essay on civic friendship and democratic education develops a Rawlsian conception of civic friendship, the scaffolding of which is necessarily provided by the wide range of comprehensive conceptions of the good that characterize democratic societies. Thus, Blacker argues, a democratic civic education ‘allows citizens to embrace democracy on their own terms, drawing support for democracy’s requisite political conceptions from the perspectives of citizens’ many different secular and/or religious comprehensive doctrines’. For Blacker, a conception of civic friendship that is friendly to citizens’ multiple comprehensive doctrines also entails a substantial lowering of the ‘wall of separation’ between church and state so that courts might be more willing than they currently are to allow the use of state funds to support religious groups, in particular where these groups perform functions within public (common) schools that converge with public interests. The essay concludes by proposing and defending two American educational policy initiatives that are consistent with Blacker’s politically liberal ideal of civic friendship – the revival of a ‘school stamps’ plan first proposed in the 1970s, and a modified version of a ‘clergy in the schools’ programme recently struck down by a federal circuit court in Texas.
Patricia Maloney and Karl Ulrich Mayer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195376630
- eISBN:
- 9780199865499
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195376630.003.0015
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
This chapter is organized as follows. The first section gives a stylized description of the elementary and secondary education systems as they map onto the life course in childhood and early ...
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This chapter is organized as follows. The first section gives a stylized description of the elementary and secondary education systems as they map onto the life course in childhood and early adulthood. The second section describes the persistent achievement gap between the races. The third section discusses some of the varied and widespread public and private responses to that achievement gap. Section four analyzes the present state of higher education in America. Section five examines diversity and inequality in access to that system of higher education, while section six presents issues of skill formation and returns to education. The seventh section returns to international comparisons as evidenced in the OECD, Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies, and to the question of the relative quality of U.S. education. The concluding section revisits the question of U.S. education as a model.Less
This chapter is organized as follows. The first section gives a stylized description of the elementary and secondary education systems as they map onto the life course in childhood and early adulthood. The second section describes the persistent achievement gap between the races. The third section discusses some of the varied and widespread public and private responses to that achievement gap. Section four analyzes the present state of higher education in America. Section five examines diversity and inequality in access to that system of higher education, while section six presents issues of skill formation and returns to education. The seventh section returns to international comparisons as evidenced in the OECD, Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies, and to the question of the relative quality of U.S. education. The concluding section revisits the question of U.S. education as a model.
Fernando Reimers, North Cooc, and Jodut Hashmi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755011
- eISBN:
- 9780199918867
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755011.003.0014
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter examines what knowledge is necessary to promote equity in education. It argues that effective innovation to educate all children requires innovation supported by contextualized transfer ...
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This chapter examines what knowledge is necessary to promote equity in education. It argues that effective innovation to educate all children requires innovation supported by contextualized transfer of educational policies and practices. Contextualized transfer is the process of adapting practices that have demonstrated effectiveness in one context to another while examining the way in which various policy interventions relate to policy outcomes across national contexts, analyzing the dependency of those relationships on context, and determining how differences in contexts might limit the transferability of policy effects. At the core of this concept is an understanding of quality education as the product of a system, rather than the product of a single policy intervention, where context is a core element of this system.Less
This chapter examines what knowledge is necessary to promote equity in education. It argues that effective innovation to educate all children requires innovation supported by contextualized transfer of educational policies and practices. Contextualized transfer is the process of adapting practices that have demonstrated effectiveness in one context to another while examining the way in which various policy interventions relate to policy outcomes across national contexts, analyzing the dependency of those relationships on context, and determining how differences in contexts might limit the transferability of policy effects. At the core of this concept is an understanding of quality education as the product of a system, rather than the product of a single policy intervention, where context is a core element of this system.
Will Kymlicka
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199240982
- eISBN:
- 9780191599729
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199240981.003.0016
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter explores the potential conflict between minority nationalism and immigration. Many minority nationalists welcome immigrants, and allow them to maintain and express their ethnic identity. ...
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This chapter explores the potential conflict between minority nationalism and immigration. Many minority nationalists welcome immigrants, and allow them to maintain and express their ethnic identity. However, the chances of a national minority adopting such a ‘civic’ or ‘post-ethnic’ model of nationalism will require policies that will give them some control over the process of immigrant integration, and establish or protect the pre-eminence of their language on its historic territory. This creates a potential dilemma, since these liguistic and educational policies may be illiberal.Less
This chapter explores the potential conflict between minority nationalism and immigration. Many minority nationalists welcome immigrants, and allow them to maintain and express their ethnic identity. However, the chances of a national minority adopting such a ‘civic’ or ‘post-ethnic’ model of nationalism will require policies that will give them some control over the process of immigrant integration, and establish or protect the pre-eminence of their language on its historic territory. This creates a potential dilemma, since these liguistic and educational policies may be illiberal.
Susan K. Jacobson, Mallory D. McDuff, and Martha C. Monroe
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567714
- eISBN:
- 9780191718311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567714.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Partnerships with environmental organizations and agencies can help create effective conservation education in schools. This chapter presents strategies for building successful programs, including ...
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Partnerships with environmental organizations and agencies can help create effective conservation education in schools. This chapter presents strategies for building successful programs, including understanding the realities of school systems, using effective communications, serving as a resource to the schools, connecting programming to academic standards, and integrating conservation education into legislation and standards. Education in the schools should include learning about the local environment, but too often, academic demands preclude the chance to study the natural world outside the classroom door. When conservation education links academic demands to the study of natural and social systems and their interactions, the winners include students, teachers, administrators, and the environment. To implement conservation education within schools, a variety of successful approaches are described, such as environment-based education, education for sustainability, and action projects.Less
Partnerships with environmental organizations and agencies can help create effective conservation education in schools. This chapter presents strategies for building successful programs, including understanding the realities of school systems, using effective communications, serving as a resource to the schools, connecting programming to academic standards, and integrating conservation education into legislation and standards. Education in the schools should include learning about the local environment, but too often, academic demands preclude the chance to study the natural world outside the classroom door. When conservation education links academic demands to the study of natural and social systems and their interactions, the winners include students, teachers, administrators, and the environment. To implement conservation education within schools, a variety of successful approaches are described, such as environment-based education, education for sustainability, and action projects.
Eamonn Callan
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292586
- eISBN:
- 9780191598913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292589.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Liberal politics is often misrepresented as repugnant to state support—e.g. through educational policy—for any particular ideal of virtuous character. This is a misrepresentation because liberal ...
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Liberal politics is often misrepresented as repugnant to state support—e.g. through educational policy—for any particular ideal of virtuous character. This is a misrepresentation because liberal institutions can only flourish given the widespread social currency of liberal ideals of character, and this in turn presupposes that educational institutions are wedded to that ideal. This point undermines much communitarian criticism of liberalism. The tension between democratic and liberal ideals in political education is briefly explored.Less
Liberal politics is often misrepresented as repugnant to state support—e.g. through educational policy—for any particular ideal of virtuous character. This is a misrepresentation because liberal institutions can only flourish given the widespread social currency of liberal ideals of character, and this in turn presupposes that educational institutions are wedded to that ideal. This point undermines much communitarian criticism of liberalism. The tension between democratic and liberal ideals in political education is briefly explored.
D. H. Akenson, Sean Farren, and John Coolahan
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198217527
- eISBN:
- 9780191678240
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198217527.003.0024
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
During most of the twentieth century there was no such thing as an Irish educational system. Instead, one must speak of education in the two parts of Ireland. Although the two systems sprang from a ...
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During most of the twentieth century there was no such thing as an Irish educational system. Instead, one must speak of education in the two parts of Ireland. Although the two systems sprang from a common stem, they diverged sharply, each being moulded according to the social and political contours of its own constituency. The Londonderry Act of 1923 provided the basic framework for Ulster education until 1947. The former national schools became known as ‘primary schools’ and as ‘public elementary schools’, and it became common to refer to the former intermediate institutions as ‘secondary schools’. The most important provision of the Londonderry act was to establish ‘regional education committees’ as subcommittees of county councils and of county borough councils. Confusingly, while these committees controlled educational policy in their respective areas, they neither controlled the individual schools, nor did they set the education rates, which were set by the county and county-borough councils.Less
During most of the twentieth century there was no such thing as an Irish educational system. Instead, one must speak of education in the two parts of Ireland. Although the two systems sprang from a common stem, they diverged sharply, each being moulded according to the social and political contours of its own constituency. The Londonderry Act of 1923 provided the basic framework for Ulster education until 1947. The former national schools became known as ‘primary schools’ and as ‘public elementary schools’, and it became common to refer to the former intermediate institutions as ‘secondary schools’. The most important provision of the Londonderry act was to establish ‘regional education committees’ as subcommittees of county councils and of county borough councils. Confusingly, while these committees controlled educational policy in their respective areas, they neither controlled the individual schools, nor did they set the education rates, which were set by the county and county-borough councils.
Jody Heymann and Adèle Cassola
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755011
- eISBN:
- 9780199918867
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755011.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
The strong relationship between education and life chances suggests that addressing educational disparities is one of the most important steps that can be taken to reduce wider social and economic ...
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The strong relationship between education and life chances suggests that addressing educational disparities is one of the most important steps that can be taken to reduce wider social and economic inequalities. The volume’s introductory chapter examines recent trends in educational access, quality, persistence and achievement for marginalized populations around the world, measures them against countries’ commitments to providing universal education, and reviews the evidence of a causal link between educational attainment and a wide array of social and economic outcomes. Usefully summarizing the examples of success which later chapters explore in greater depth, it clearly demonstrates that increased equity in education can be achieved with the right combination of political commitment and practical solutions.Less
The strong relationship between education and life chances suggests that addressing educational disparities is one of the most important steps that can be taken to reduce wider social and economic inequalities. The volume’s introductory chapter examines recent trends in educational access, quality, persistence and achievement for marginalized populations around the world, measures them against countries’ commitments to providing universal education, and reviews the evidence of a causal link between educational attainment and a wide array of social and economic outcomes. Usefully summarizing the examples of success which later chapters explore in greater depth, it clearly demonstrates that increased equity in education can be achieved with the right combination of political commitment and practical solutions.
Jody Heymann and Adele Cassola (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755011
- eISBN:
- 9780199918867
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755011.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
All children and youth, regardless of the situations into which they were born, deserve the opportunity to improve their life chances by acquiring the knowledge and skills that will help them thrive ...
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All children and youth, regardless of the situations into which they were born, deserve the opportunity to improve their life chances by acquiring the knowledge and skills that will help them thrive in the future. As the world lags far behind the Millennium Development and Education for All goals, swift, targeted and effective action is needed to improve both access and quality in education. Bringing together evidence-based recommendations and in-depth case studies of successful programs from around the world, this volume details effective educational equity initiatives and assesses how these models could be improved, expanded and adapted to diverse contexts. Chapters focus on how best to increase educational equality from early childhood to the tertiary level, regardless of gender, ethnicity, language, income, disability, or learning difference, and in contexts that span the geographic and political spectrum.Less
All children and youth, regardless of the situations into which they were born, deserve the opportunity to improve their life chances by acquiring the knowledge and skills that will help them thrive in the future. As the world lags far behind the Millennium Development and Education for All goals, swift, targeted and effective action is needed to improve both access and quality in education. Bringing together evidence-based recommendations and in-depth case studies of successful programs from around the world, this volume details effective educational equity initiatives and assesses how these models could be improved, expanded and adapted to diverse contexts. Chapters focus on how best to increase educational equality from early childhood to the tertiary level, regardless of gender, ethnicity, language, income, disability, or learning difference, and in contexts that span the geographic and political spectrum.
Giorgia Brunello, Pietro Garibaldi, and Etienne Wasmer
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199210978
- eISBN:
- 9780191705786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199210978.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter examines a few policy implications with respect to education and skills in Europe. Education systems in Europe have done a good job at supplying basic skills, thus suggesting that ...
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This chapter examines a few policy implications with respect to education and skills in Europe. Education systems in Europe have done a good job at supplying basic skills, thus suggesting that primary and secondary schooling in Europe functions relatively well. In contrast, where tertiary education is concerned, both enrolment and funding are substantially lower in Europe than in the US. The share of GDP devoted to higher education is three times less (2 percentage points lower) in Europe than in the US. One of the highest priorities should be to reduce this gap. There are three possibilities for this objective to be achieved. The first one is to re-allocate public spending away from secondary to tertiary education. However, this may not be desirable, given the evidence that well-financed secondary education may be one reason why Europe has experienced less inequality than the US. A second option is to raise the level of public deficit and public debt in order to increase spending on higher education. This is as unrealistic and undesirable as the first option: European countries already face tensions to increase finance for their social security (health and pensions), and are bound to a large extent by the Stability and Growth Pact. The third option is to open the doors to the possibility that private money should finance part of the education system. This could come partly from household money, by raising university fees by moderate amounts.Less
This chapter examines a few policy implications with respect to education and skills in Europe. Education systems in Europe have done a good job at supplying basic skills, thus suggesting that primary and secondary schooling in Europe functions relatively well. In contrast, where tertiary education is concerned, both enrolment and funding are substantially lower in Europe than in the US. The share of GDP devoted to higher education is three times less (2 percentage points lower) in Europe than in the US. One of the highest priorities should be to reduce this gap. There are three possibilities for this objective to be achieved. The first one is to re-allocate public spending away from secondary to tertiary education. However, this may not be desirable, given the evidence that well-financed secondary education may be one reason why Europe has experienced less inequality than the US. A second option is to raise the level of public deficit and public debt in order to increase spending on higher education. This is as unrealistic and undesirable as the first option: European countries already face tensions to increase finance for their social security (health and pensions), and are bound to a large extent by the Stability and Growth Pact. The third option is to open the doors to the possibility that private money should finance part of the education system. This could come partly from household money, by raising university fees by moderate amounts.
Amanda Datnow
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195327892
- eISBN:
- 9780199301478
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327892.003.0015
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Child Psychology / School Psychology
This chapter offers a theory of how district, state, and federal contexts jointly shape the success of educational reform efforts at the school level. In order to describe the “co-construction” ...
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This chapter offers a theory of how district, state, and federal contexts jointly shape the success of educational reform efforts at the school level. In order to describe the “co-construction” perspective of reform implementation, it examines data from a multiple case study of a current reform movement, data-driven decision making. An analysis of data reveals that implementation is a system-wide activity, even when the desired change is mainly at the school level. However, the various policy levels have varying degrees of influence, and varying levels of connection with each other, depending on local circumstances. Implications for policy, practice, and the further study of the “co-construction” of educational reform are discussed. It is argued that examining the co-construction of reform and the linkages across the educational system would likely provide insights which could inform the fields of educational research, policy development, and evaluation.Less
This chapter offers a theory of how district, state, and federal contexts jointly shape the success of educational reform efforts at the school level. In order to describe the “co-construction” perspective of reform implementation, it examines data from a multiple case study of a current reform movement, data-driven decision making. An analysis of data reveals that implementation is a system-wide activity, even when the desired change is mainly at the school level. However, the various policy levels have varying degrees of influence, and varying levels of connection with each other, depending on local circumstances. Implications for policy, practice, and the further study of the “co-construction” of educational reform are discussed. It is argued that examining the co-construction of reform and the linkages across the educational system would likely provide insights which could inform the fields of educational research, policy development, and evaluation.
Janelle Scott and Amy Stuart Wells
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199982981
- eISBN:
- 9780199346219
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199982981.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Education
Janelle Scott and Amy Stuart Wells delve into the problems and potential of school choice in either exacerbating or alleviating the opportunity gap. They contend that school choice policies within a ...
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Janelle Scott and Amy Stuart Wells delve into the problems and potential of school choice in either exacerbating or alleviating the opportunity gap. They contend that school choice policies within a test-focused educational system can advance the goal of greater educational equity if those policies are conceptualized and constructed in a manner that acknowledges the structural inequality within which public schools exist today and if they include sensible and powerful provisions to counteract the effects of those inequalities.Currently, however, the vast majority of charter school and school voucher policies do not provide incentives for maintaining diverse schools, despite a significant research base that finds multiple individual educational benefits for students who attend such institutions and for the broader, societal benefits of having citizens who can interact across race and socioeconomic status.Less
Janelle Scott and Amy Stuart Wells delve into the problems and potential of school choice in either exacerbating or alleviating the opportunity gap. They contend that school choice policies within a test-focused educational system can advance the goal of greater educational equity if those policies are conceptualized and constructed in a manner that acknowledges the structural inequality within which public schools exist today and if they include sensible and powerful provisions to counteract the effects of those inequalities.Currently, however, the vast majority of charter school and school voucher policies do not provide incentives for maintaining diverse schools, despite a significant research base that finds multiple individual educational benefits for students who attend such institutions and for the broader, societal benefits of having citizens who can interact across race and socioeconomic status.
Alexis Dimaras
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748624782
- eISBN:
- 9780748671267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748624782.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Political History
This chapter focuses on the evolution of primary and secondary education during the Venizelos era. For the greater part of the period under review, vocational education was essentially non-existent ...
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This chapter focuses on the evolution of primary and secondary education during the Venizelos era. For the greater part of the period under review, vocational education was essentially non-existent as a structural part of the system. As for the tertiary level, the Venizelos governments attempted two major legislative interventions: one at the very beginning (1911) of the period and another at the very end (1932). The main axis of both was the power relations between the government and the professorial establishment. During the years that intervened, many related matters were discussed, dominant among them being those concerning the living, schooling and study conditions of students. However, all this did not directly affect (nor did it lead to different interpretations of) the factors which, on other levels, shaped and expressed educational policy in each period.Less
This chapter focuses on the evolution of primary and secondary education during the Venizelos era. For the greater part of the period under review, vocational education was essentially non-existent as a structural part of the system. As for the tertiary level, the Venizelos governments attempted two major legislative interventions: one at the very beginning (1911) of the period and another at the very end (1932). The main axis of both was the power relations between the government and the professorial establishment. During the years that intervened, many related matters were discussed, dominant among them being those concerning the living, schooling and study conditions of students. However, all this did not directly affect (nor did it lead to different interpretations of) the factors which, on other levels, shaped and expressed educational policy in each period.
Rani Rubdy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789888028436
- eISBN:
- 9789882206939
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028436.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter examines the processes involved in the implementation of innovation in the teaching of English language in Singapore. It highlights the proactive management of educational policies and ...
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This chapter examines the processes involved in the implementation of innovation in the teaching of English language in Singapore. It highlights the proactive management of educational policies and the decisiveness and expedience with which these policies are generally implemented. It provides a critical review of the structures and practices involved in the English language syllabus over the years and identifies the distinct stages in its evolution.Less
This chapter examines the processes involved in the implementation of innovation in the teaching of English language in Singapore. It highlights the proactive management of educational policies and the decisiveness and expedience with which these policies are generally implemented. It provides a critical review of the structures and practices involved in the English language syllabus over the years and identifies the distinct stages in its evolution.
Daniele Checchi, Herman van de Werfhorst, Michela Braga, and Elena Meschi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199687435
- eISBN:
- 9780191767135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199687435.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
The chapter examines policies that may help combating educational inequalities in the competences achieved (i.e. quality of education). Using cross-sectional data the chapter demonstrates a ...
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The chapter examines policies that may help combating educational inequalities in the competences achieved (i.e. quality of education). Using cross-sectional data the chapter demonstrates a correlation between institutional characteristics of educational systems and student achievement, including early tracking, vocational orientation, and forms of national standardisation. Looking at schooling the chapter adopts a longitudinal approach to educational policies. Using newly collected data, the chapter describes various policies to combating inequality in educational attainment, both in terms of distributions and in terms of inequality of educational opportunity by social groups. The chapter considers the relationships between educational policies, educational distributions and income inequality. EU-SILC data on educational and earnings attainment with comparative student achievement data since from the 1960s, allows examining to what extent educational policies affect quality and quantity of education, and how these educational distributions relate to the level of income inequality. The chapter discusses the potential opposition to the implementation of these policies.Less
The chapter examines policies that may help combating educational inequalities in the competences achieved (i.e. quality of education). Using cross-sectional data the chapter demonstrates a correlation between institutional characteristics of educational systems and student achievement, including early tracking, vocational orientation, and forms of national standardisation. Looking at schooling the chapter adopts a longitudinal approach to educational policies. Using newly collected data, the chapter describes various policies to combating inequality in educational attainment, both in terms of distributions and in terms of inequality of educational opportunity by social groups. The chapter considers the relationships between educational policies, educational distributions and income inequality. EU-SILC data on educational and earnings attainment with comparative student achievement data since from the 1960s, allows examining to what extent educational policies affect quality and quantity of education, and how these educational distributions relate to the level of income inequality. The chapter discusses the potential opposition to the implementation of these policies.
Helen Spencer-Oatey
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098671
- eISBN:
- 9789882206861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098671.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about e-learning in China. This book provides background information on e-learning policies in China, particularly at the ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about e-learning in China. This book provides background information on e-learning policies in China, particularly at the executive level, explores issues of e-learning design both in and for the Chinese context and discusses the interplay between pedagogy and technology. It also examines pedagogic beliefs and practices, educational systems and policies, and international collaboration processes, as well as project management.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about e-learning in China. This book provides background information on e-learning policies in China, particularly at the executive level, explores issues of e-learning design both in and for the Chinese context and discusses the interplay between pedagogy and technology. It also examines pedagogic beliefs and practices, educational systems and policies, and international collaboration processes, as well as project management.
