Search

Internationally, research comparing education systems across countries and jurisdictions is valuable and can elicit nuanced insights into how particular systems operate. This paper's interest lies in considering the scope and content of research comparing education systems across the four UK nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). This study sought to determine the coverage of UK cross-national comparative education research ('home international' research) between 2000 and 2022. We chose this time period as 1999 marks the devolution of education policy to each UK nation. We aimed to investigate what educational issues had been discussed in the literature and identify any gaps in the content covered by the research. An exploratory, high-level review of 'home international' education research was conducted, based on the review of abstracts. We searched several research databases using a variety of keyword combinations to identify relevant literature published since 2000. Our search identified 53 studies that met our selection criteria. Using a meta-synthesis approach, we coded the content of each abstract to build a picture of the range and thematic coverage of research involving comparisons between at least two of the four UK nations. The analysis of abstracts identified that, over the last two decades, UK 'home international' research has tended to include comparisons of all four nations, coverage of multiple educational phases and a focus on national education policy reviews. Furthermore, we pinpointed a number of gaps in coverage that might not have been anticipated (e.g. relatively little cross-national research focusing on assessment). This high-level review uncovers the landscape of recent 'home international' research, allowing us to view issues that are driving the cross-national research agenda in the UK and recognise implications relevant to education systems that may resonate with jurisdictions beyond these four UK nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines and explores the challenges, issues, and problems with their solutions regarding Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education along with the awareness enjoyed by science teachers. The selection of papers for this study was done through systematic literature review techniques. The 11 themes were generated through the thematic analysis of the papers that is, STEM education and its awareness; its challenges, issues, and problems; its curriculum; inquiry and learning environment; technologies; learning and models of integration; a blended learning approach; students' problem-solving abilities and skills; its implementation and evaluation; it's research and current trends; and interdisciplinary collaboration and intervention. Policy and planning, infrastructure, and the state of society were found the main factors of the poor conditions of STEM education. STEM research studies suggest that a curriculum with a blended learning approach has to be integrated by interventions of models depicting technological and inquiry-based environments to bring awareness among teachers, which strengthens the students' problem-solving abilities and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In architectural education, informal interaction spaces play a significant role in experiential learning, allowing adult learners more flexibility and freedom. In India, the significance of these spaces has been heightened by the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) formulated by the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India, which aligns with the activities promoted in educational institutes' informal interaction spaces. This research paper explores the role of informal interaction spaces in enhancing student-centered learning in architecture schools, presenting best practices for their design and utilization. The study employs mixed research methods, including literature review, case studies, and interviews, to gather perspectives from learners and instructors. The case study reveals a strong positive correlation between the percentage of informal interaction space and the learning outcomes of students. In addition to identifying challenges in informal interaction spaces, including interference and design issues, the literature study and respondents' views associate the crosscultural discussions happening in these spaces with academic learning, life skill enhancement, and the development of collaboration skills, establishing their significance in facilitating effective and student-centered pedagogy. Varied preferences of respondents regarding design criteria to be adopted in designing informal interaction spaces emphasize the need for adaptable designs that cater to diverse student needs regarding placement, visual connection, and amenities. The conclusions underscore the multifaceted impact of these spaces, providing valuable insights for their refinement and contributing to ongoing discourse in architectural education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing the markets that allocate public school seats is a crucial policy consideration. This paper compares the design of school choice mechanisms in terms of economic efficiency, stability, and strategic behavior. We estimate demand for schools using data from a large US public school system with novel indicators of students' levels of strategic sophistication. We find important benefits of reserving a set of seats to be assigned by a pure lottery. In settings that share features in common with the school system we study, our findings suggest that non‐selective criteria such as lotteries induce a large increase in truth‐telling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. The purpose of the work is to find, study, thematically, chronologically present, and analyse the place of education and especially school education in Georgian politics in the post-Soviet period in Georgia, as well as to determine the attitude to the issue, highlight the ongoing activities, and show the existing results and future perspective. Methods. The work is presented based on several researched-studied official government documents, empirical materials, analysis of scientific research papers, and the use of the comparative method in the Georgian reality of the post-Soviet period. Results. The paper identifies the current situation at the level of public education in Georgia following the goals of modern-sustainable development since the 1990s, which is known as the most difficult period of Georgia's history; it highlights the existing legal framework in the school education system and the implementation of the set plans; it shows effective steps of the state to develop and implement education policy. Conclusion. By studying a number of materials, it is confirmed that the political course of Georgia for the promotion of school education in Georgian reality, despite the existing difficult political situation, was characterised by great support when all political teams were in power because the mentioned issue is a part of the domestic policy in the country, which is always important and relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes how various of contested sites of the internationally recognized state encapsulated in the ethos of the West perpetuate colonial legacy, marginalize indigenous wisdom, and disregard ecological awareness and actions that go against the well-being of humans and the planet itself. These contested sites have been occurring due to ongoing imperialist-colonialist practices and policies imposed on indigenous peoples in the name of progress, development, and homogenization. This paper highlights the urgency and agency of restoring indigenous ecological consciousnesses and alternative ways of knowing so that they can re-emerge in our private and public lives to rebuild nations, peoples, and communities. The knowledge and acknowledgment of these issues drawing from a rural indigenous context in Bangladesh will help generate a broader understanding to formulate appropriate education policies, pedagogy, and practices that address, educate, and enlighten the world about the colonialist-capitalist agenda of exploitation and eradication of the indigenous way of life. More specifically, this paper reflects on the possibilities of an ecologically, economically, and culturally sustainable world, and it recommends ideas and concepts for sustainable education policies and practices for various stakeholders to transform damaging attitudes towards indigenous culture as well as the ecology of our planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the determinants of rural-urban student performance in Colombia, a nation characterized by pronounced inequality. Using quantile regression, a student-level education production function at different points along the achievement distribution is estimated. Using the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition, estimates are provided to explain the achievement differential between urban–rural students. These estimates account for various factors including individual, family, and school characteristics. Results indicate that mean differences in performance between students in rural and urban Colombian schools are significant. Observable factors, especially school characteristics, are the main drivers of the performance gap. Substantial differences are observed when different test percentiles of the performance distribution are considered. Our results suggest that one way in which education can reduce student performance gaps is by investing in improving school quality in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into Spanish educational legislation as a framework for addressing student diversity has been met with criticism. Three main objections can be identified. Firstly, the lack of evidence supporting its neuroscientific basis. Secondly, the scarcity of empirical data to demonstrate its efficacy for improving learning. Thirdly, the difficulty in operationalizing and implementing its framework in practice. Based on a thorough review of key literature on UDL, this paper delves into and discusses these limitations considering the theoretical and practical foundations of the model. Furthermore, research directions are pointed out to advance its development, exploring its potential as a framework for identifying barriers for learning in lesson plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the particularities of the educational policies of the Popular Unity. To answer this question, the context has been recreated and the main issues and conflict of these policies are explored. This objective is original because most of the investigations on this regard have studied the logic of the groups that fought to govern the country, have highlighted the differences between the educational projects of past governments or have evidenced the controversies surrounding the Unified National School. To achieve this answer, the study carried out an exhaustive review of the main primary and secondary sources in this matter [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between decentralization and inequality remains puzzling. The primary objective of this paper is to study the effects of decentralization on regional education inequality in China where national higher education policies systematically prioritize large cities. We apply the Gini coefficient and the econometric model of regional convergence (i.e., Barro regressions) to study original provincial college admission data in China from 2005 to 2013. We discover that the provincial Gini coefficients have been declining throughout the period. The Barro regression results also suggest that the provincial-level college-going rates have been converging. We further demonstrate that the convergence is driven by provincial rather than national universities. Access to elite national universities remained unequal across provinces and still favored super cities. We conclude that decentralization helps to drive down the regional inequality of access to higher education that is due to national polices. It is not yet clear whether our conclusion is applicable to other policy domains or other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document is a journal titled "Prometheus" and is part of the Pluto Journals collection. It is focused on critical studies in innovation and is edited by Stuart Macdonald from Leicester University. The journal covers various areas of expertise, including patents, intellectual property, trade, regulatory and governance theory, information/knowledge-based economy/policy/society, economic growth and knowledge spillovers, research policy, innovation theory and policy, university-industry collaboration, and more. The specific issue being summarized is Volume 39, Issue 4, published in December 2023, and it includes research papers on entrepreneurship and mental disorders, knowledge hiding, and book reviews on various topics related to technology and anthropology. [Extracted from the article]

The subject addressed in the present paper is important for the current social and educational policy regarding persons with disabilities. The development of the accessible education concept should be based on the geographical model of disability, whose main principle is to focus on the varied social needs and adjust the conditions of the geographical environment accordingly rather than to concentrate on the disability itself. The main aim of the study was to recognise the opinions of students with disabilities about studying at Polish higher education institutions (HEI). The study was based on the results of online interviews including standardised questions (open- and close-ended). The time scope of the study covers the years 2019 and 2021. The research has shown that some students hide their disability until it is visible. As a result, they do not receive adequate support and limit the achievement of goals that were the main motivation for studying. Measures taken to support students with different needs at HEIs must have a systemic nature and be addressed to the entire academic community, as well as to the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the education decentralization processes, community participation in education governance has been argued to be essential for improving accountability to service beneficiaries. Therefore, this paper examined the perspectives of key actors on the impact of an educational decentralization policy on improving school quality education in Junior High Schools in Ghana. Participants in the study were 54 School Management Committee (SMC)/Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members, 106 teachers, and 11 head teachers in 11 schools drawn from two districts in the Central Region of Ghana. Teachers filled out questionnaires and interviews were conducted with SMC/PTA members using a semi-structured interview guide and with 11 head teachers. The paper reveals that the education decentralization policy, with community participation at its heart, has given schools some autonomy in their decision-making process. However, the involvement of community members in school activities has been limited mainly to financing, with little emphasis on the decision-making process in school governance. The study recommends that there should be adequate support for communities to become more involved in the decision-making process, especially in implementing the School Performance Improvement Plan for Ghana to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers in South Africa are under great pressure from the state to improve their qualifications, one of the state`s strategies for improving education standards The pressure u felt more acutely by black teachers who were previously allowed to teach with lower qualifications than their white counterparts In-service teachers, irrespective of their age or length of experience, are required to obtain the school leavers' certificate post hoc to earn a salary commensurate with their duties Their duties are heavy the pupil-teacher ratio is about 451, and teachers teach between 42 and 50 periods a week, without many basic facilities Consequently, many teachers are neglecting their pupils to concentrate on their studies The call for qualifications can be viewed as a component of the South African state`a reform initiative, and, as such, is yet another cosmetic amelioration of black people`s status because it does not address their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European Union (EU), member countries organise and develop education and lifelong training systems. While this responsibility rests with individual states, the EU supports members’ actions by supplementing their capacity through political cooperation and various funding instruments. Therefore, this paper assesses the impact of structural funds' (ESIFs) absorption in the general European framework, with a particular focus on Romania. More precisely, we are interested in observing the implementation of operational programmes intended to finance education and training in different programming periods. For the theoretical component, this research stresses the role of several social actions granted from nonreimbursable sources that contribute to achieving the objectives of the Cohesion Policy, i.e., maximising human capital performance according to the development needs of the citizens. Hence, this study presents the absorption degree of the most relevant ESIF interventions in Romania, following the specifics of the national education system. In the empirical plan, based on a comparative analysis of the main socioeconomic strategies oriented towards stimulating human capital accumulation, we analyse some key medium- and long-term outcomes from capitalising on the potential of qualitative education. By efficiently implementing these actions, we hope Romania may accomplish (or at least get closer to) the regional targets of high labour force competitiveness, social integration at European standards, and sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems linked to the training trajectories of those who enter the university are not limited to social issues, personal history or the mere transition between levels, but have strong institutional conditioning factors. This paper questions the devices that national universities have designed to regulate access to the level. The objective is to present a mapping of these devices in the national universities in Argentina built from a comparative perspective. A survey of institutional regulations was carried out, as well as information available on the official website of the institutions. After the construction of a systematized data matrix, trends are identified from a cross-sectional reading of the constructed map. There is a high presence of regulatory devices for admission in national universities, with variable characteristics regarding their mode of organization, curricular components, duration and planned evaluation methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information literacy is a pertinent aspect of any developing or developed society, hence the need to make it an integral part of the education system of any aspiring great society. This article x-rays the library and information literacy in the Nigerian educational system and how it can be advanced. Common approach to libraries in Nigerian educational system, which cuts across the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, is seen as the reason for the laxity in library and information real time advancement. The article also looked at the discrepancies between the theory and practice in library literacy in accessing necessary information and the difficulties experienced in the process in the Nigerian educational system. The position of the National Education Policy (NPE), according to this article, should go beyond its theoretical placements and make the needed changes so as to practically accommodate the Library and Information Centres. This paper is based on the longitudinal (observatory) studies of the author aided with secondary data to buttress the positions made. It posits that the seeming laxity (common approach) of students' literacy on library and information centres is primarily because of the lacuna at their early levels of education. Such gaps presented pertinent suggestions for improving library and information literacy. This prompted a useful yard stick for the paper to present workable recommendations that in its opinion will be of immense help to solving it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper attempts to determine the National education policy 2020 and role of library and information centers. However, these prospects have not been revealed clearly in NEP. However, libraries with quality collection digital resources must communicate quality education. According to NEP 2020, several educational levels will be introduced, including fundamental education, preparatory education, middle education, secondary education, under-graduation, post-graduation education stage, Research Stage and Lifelong learning stage. NEP has emphasized the significance of libraries in a number of areas, including the preservation of national heritage and the promotion of reading culture. Additionally, through practicing fixed librarianship, library professionals must identify new areas in which they can improve and increase the effect of higher education scholars. The author of this review talked about how the government and universities are changing their roles in libraries for NEP. The paper states that the management libraries in the higher education sector must be established as centers for student and research support as well as play a custodial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine education policymaking in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the period from 2020 to 2022. We argue that the pandemic, while obviously damaging materially, economically and psychologically, seemed to have provided a rare opportunity for a step change, a chance to recalibrate and reconsider values assumed as 'truths'. However, policymaking in England appears to have been driven by a desire to return to normal as soon as possible or to double down on control. Through a rigorous policy analysis of two specific areas of policy - initial teacher education and inspection - we review policy and ministerial speeches, as well as academic papers, media articles and social media blogs published from the start of the pandemic in England, to analyse the extent to which policy formation was reactive in an attempt to maintain a steady state and return as quickly as possible to pre-pandemic normality and to previously stated intransigent policy positions. We suggest that this policy formation reflects a broader trend in policymaking, which seeks to use power and sustain privilege, underpinned by a constructed evidence base, to present a particular 'truth' about what needs to be done to improve education outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to address a line of reflection framed in the theoretical discourse of the field of international politics, focused on analyzing the role played by International Organizations (UNESCO, European Commission and OECD) in digital education and mobile learning. Methodologically, the content of the published reports on digital education of the three aforementioned organizations has been codified taking as a starting point some recurrent elements; the pedagogical interest (pedagogical dimension) the social capital (learning contexts) and the economic value (actors). The results show that educational digitization is transcending the elements of pedagogical interest related to school innovation plans to be enshrined as a political instrument in the conceptualization of divergent lines and frameworks of digital action. The discussion proposes a line of research around educational digitization as a legitimizing element of the new deglobalizing theses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognising and meeting the social and emotional wellbeing needs of LGBTQIA+ students is an essential education policy issue globally. Yet, research suggests that this vulnerable group continues to face challenges to their ability to feel culturally safe at school. Negative experiences include verbal and physical abuse, and this often results in poor outcomes for students. Certain European countries such as Malta and The Netherlands have demonstrated positive progress towards enacting inclusive policy, while others, including Poland, are known to have made little or no development in this area. This paper provides a policy issue analysis on the current situation in Polish schools while considering the added threat of LGBT+ free zones that have plagued the political landscape and exist as a further barrier to tolerance and empowerment. Following this discourse, recommendations for school communities have been provided for the purpose of establishing safe learning environments for LGBTQIA+ students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage introduces a set of interrelated measures among which education is an intersection point. Since education is crucial to the transmission of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), the States Parties have focused their attention on connecting their activities to the education sector in recent years, with formal education making up the greater part of the efforts. Belgium and Türkiye both ratified the Convention in 2006 and education ministries in both countries or parts in it seem to have concentrated on secondary education (12-18 years old) to raise awareness of the meaning and importance of safeguarding ICH. The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate the Flemish and Turkish formal education systems at the secondary education level regarding the implementation of the Convention. Therefore, this qualitative research is based on the investigation of the policy texts and curriculum (mainly in Dutch and Turkish) that are explicitly or implicitly connected to the presence of ICH in the education systems of both cases. From this perspective, it takes the ratification of the Convention by both countries as its point of departure and presents three levels of discussion. First, in order to comprehend the present context wherein potential connections between ICH and education are established, the overall policy of Flanders and Türkiye is briefly outlined. Second, the discussion is directed to the implications these policy choices might raise. In the final section, the frame of discussion is further narrowed to the level of curricular choices. It can be stated that the analysis of the documents revolved around the implications of centrality (Türkiye) and relative autonomy (Flanders) to mobilize ICH in education. While in Türkiye, the course Folk Culture in secondary education was initiated on the national level as a direct response to the Convention, in Flanders, this safeguarding perspective did not seem to have permeated educational policy processes. However, the Flemish Government has tolerated an open curriculum framework that seems beneficial for the inclusion of relevant content on a regional or local level. Considering achieving connections with its specific teaching context, in both cases, attention has to be drawn to the role of teacher agency. It can be stated that teachers are in need of a balance between sufficient support (capacity building, instruction manuals, didactic suggestions, explicit references to ICH) and the autonomy to execute (open curricula, professional freedom). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents part of the results of a doctoral research dedicated to analyze the cycle of the educational policy on gender and sexual diversity in Brazil. Based on Stephen Ball's propositions, which applies Foucault's notions of power and discourse on educational policies, the analysis aimes, beyond the metrics, to understand the political-discursive dynamics that marked both the production of this policy as the systematic reaction that has been organized against it. This text analyzes the background of this policy, its main initiatives, the agents involved in its construction and the pedagogical discourse they produced. It also identifies its main opponents, their tactics and discursive strategies, seeking to understand how they are articulated with the reactionary movements that have dominated Brazil in recent years. Finally, the paper hilights evidences that the debate on gender and sexual diversity in schools survives even in times of conservatism, censorship and ideological terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we try to analyze some recent and ongoing changes that are taking place in the Uruguayan higher education system. Based on a system historically conditioned by the presence of a single public university, we try to briefly review the changes at this educational level in recent years, hand in hand with different national governments. In a regional scenario of increasing privatization from which Uruguay was apparently on the sidelines at times, we examine the characteristics of some changes that are taking place now and may constitute advances in a certain wave of privatization. We use contributions from the educational field, higher education and public policies and we conclude the text problematizing how novel these changes are and their possible impact given certain national characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we try to analyze some recent and ongoing changes that are taking place in the Uruguayan higher education system. Based on a system historically conditioned by the presence of a single public university, we try to briefly review the changes at this educational level in recent years, hand in hand with different national governments. In a regional scenario of increasing privatization from which Uruguay was apparently on the sidelines at times, we examine the characteristics of some changes that are taking place now and may constitute advances in a certain wave of privatization. We use contributions from the educational field, higher education and public policies and we conclude the text problematizing how novel these changes are and their possible impact given certain national characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, the National Education Policy 2020 recommends ensuring universal access to high-quality early childhood care and education for children aged 3–6 years by 2030. Using the 75th round of National Statistical Office data (2017–2018), this paper analyses the regional and socioeconomic inequalities in access to pre-primary education. Also, we investigate the specific role of households' economic status and educational attainment in explaining these inequalities. We find considerable regional (rural/urban) and socioeconomic inequalities in access to pre-primary education in India, with girls and children belonging to historically disadvantaged social groups (scheduled castes and scheduled tribes) less likely to attend early childhood education, particularly in rural areas. We find that a substantial portion of the rural–urban gap in access to pre-primary education can be removed by controls for households' economic condition and household head's educational status. In addition, we find gender and socioeconomic inequalities in the household investment in early years education. These findings highlight the need to put policy efforts and commitments to reducing barriers to accessing pre-primary education for children in disadvantaged conditions in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are expanding access to high school education, which is a perpetuation of the previous focus on basic education. This study applies qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) using data from seven countries from 2010 to 2020 to examine the potential conditions of fee-free policies at the high school level. Five potential conditions are analyzed. They include the regime type, electoral competition, ideological lineage, economic conditions, and social context. The findings indicate the significant influence of electoral competition and a high level of lower secondary school enrolment for the adoption of fee-free policies. The absence of electoral competition leads to a lack of fee-free policy. The paper explains how elections, one indicator of representative democracy, motivate political leaders to initiate social policies. Additionally, the study challenges the relevance of two important explanations for expansionary social policy in the literature--the partisan theory of policy outcomes, and the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the contexts, structures and administrations of early childhood education (ECE) may differ internationally, effective pedagogical leadership remains an essential component in supporting young children's development and learning. This paper reports on a comparative study which considered ECE in two different settings, Finland and Florida, providing insight into teachers' perspectives on the characteristics of pedagogical leadership. This study sought to investigate and compare the perspectives of ECE teachers and directors in Finland and Florida via their discourses about teachers' pedagogical leadership. The goal was to provide an overview of the ECE teachers' and directors' discourses in each location, in order to allow comparison and a better understanding of the influence of aspects including locational contexts, curricular guidelines and teacher preparation on the ECE teachers' and directors' perspectives. A comparative case study design was used. The data consisted of semi-structured focus group interviews and individual interviews with ECE teachers and centre directors in Finland and in Florida. Data from the two locations were first analysed separately to identify the main discourses; secondly, discourses were compared collectively to reveal major themes. The analysis indicated a similar conceptualisation of distributed pedagogical leadership. However, differences were identified in teachers' expectations of independence in instructional decisions, and the extension of pedagogical leadership practices within and beyond the ECE centres. The analysis of discourses led to the identification of three major themes, which generated implications for teacher preparation, curriculum development and implementation, and ECE programme directions. The study enables a more comprehensible conceptualisation of teachers' pedagogical leadership as it emerged from teachers' and directors' discourses across two locations. Pedagogical leadership is recognised as an indicator of high-quality pedagogy in early childhood education and the findings highlight the need to continuously support and strengthen teachers' pedagogical leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service-learning as a pedagogy has been widely adopted by higher education institutions as it enables students to apply learning from the classroom to real-world experiences in the community. This pedagogy has especially become prominent in undergraduate engineering courses as students are provided opportunities to partner with community members and develop technological solutions aimed to solve the real-time challenges in the community. The number of service-learning experiences has been increasing in India in the last decade as the government of India has also launched Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, a national level program that encourages higher education institutions to partner with rural villages and become a part of socio-economic transformation. All of these efforts are also aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India, which emphasizes the need for the Indian education system to nurture the young generation into moral and civil citizens who later transform to become agents of change working towards the development of the country. The NEP also recommends changes in the pedagogy to make education more experiential, inquiry-driven, and meaningful. With the implementation of NEP 2020, we expect many higher education institutions, especially engineering, to adopt and integrate service-learning experiences into their curriculum. In this paper, we provide a conceptual analysis of engineering project-focused service-learning experiences and analyze the potential learning outcomes students can attain through the process. We also align the various learning outcomes with the engineering graduate attributes recommended by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) in India. The goal is to highlight how learning outcomes from service-learning experiences can be mapped to all the twelve graduate attributes recommended by NBA, thus making service-learning a very relevant pedagogy for engineering education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equity is a priority for the development of education policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, whose intention is to contribute to the construction of fairer and more democratic societies in line with the 2030 Agenda. Tracing the path followed by national education policies, in terms of opportunities and challenges, has inspired this paper whose aim is to pinpoint the context and evolution of Colombia’s ‘Todos Aprender’ program (PTA) from an equity perspective. Using a public policy analysis methodology based on documentary review and scientific credibility criteria, the analytical hypothesis is that PTA, without being a public policy, has become a de facto public policy with an impact on improving the quality of learning of preschool and elementary school students. According to the following questions of analysis: What has been the meaning and context of PTA’s evolution? What actors have been involved in PTA during its years of implementation? What has been their role in terms of positions, interests, and tensions? PTA has attempted to provide institutional responses to the lack of quality and equity in education, with changing priorities depending on each political moment. Thus, PTA represents an adaptable reference with pedagogical power from public policy to promote preschool and elementary education in the face of the educational challenges of the 2030 Agenda, promoting actions in teacher training, educational innovation and research, and formative evaluation to promote successful learning for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the relationship between the welfare state and educational policies in Europe. One of the ways to measure the development of the welfare state has been the analysis of social spending. Based on this indicator, it is possible to verify that there was no destruction of the Social State, but a change in its execution and in the relationship between state, society and market. These are changes arising from the resumption of free market theses and the new conformation of the capital and labor relationship. In this context, New Public Management was introduced and education came to be considered as another business opportunity for capital. Despite the fact that the welfare state maintained its foundations, with the educational reforms the market appropriated public resources, altering the provision of education services and its own conformation as a social right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria, like many other developing countries of the world had considered education as the panacea to her developmental objectives, believing fully that no country has ever grown above the quality of education available to her citizens. This paper examines the national and state policies on ICT, strategies for utilization of ICT, and challenges of ICT in the teaching-learning process in secondary schools in Cross River State. The research reviewed previous and related studies associated with ICT. The challenges of implementation of ICT are numerous such as lack of infrastructure, policy, legal and regulatory framework, internet and broadband, capacity building, public private partnership etc. the prospects for implementation also formed part of the review. It was concluded that as a means of developing capacity for a self-discovery learning and instruction. It was therefore recommended that education policy planners should include ICT education into Cross River State public secondary schools' curriculum and provide measures of achieving it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the importance of considering "gender regimes" as strategic enclaves in the processes of mainstreaming comprehensive sex education policies in high school. The analysis is based on a diverse set of empirical data constructed in an ethnographic investigation carried out between 2017 and 2018 in a high school in Gran La Plata, Argentina. From the description of a gender regime called "virile" and within the framework of an institutional culture characterized as "normative", the paper reveals some limitations of a way of mainstreaming comprehensive sex education that here is called "curricular" and it offers some clues to consider in which ways an approach that considers the totality of institutional dynamics in their pedagogical dimension could enhance the scope of a policy aimed at combating gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine education policymaking in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the period from 2020 to 2022. We argue that the pandemic, while obviously damaging materially, economically and psychologically, seemed to have provided a rare opportunity for a step change, a chance to recalibrate and reconsider values assumed as 'truths'. However, policymaking in England appears to have been driven by a desire to return to normal as soon as possible or to double down on control. Through a rigorous policy analysis of two specific areas of policy -- initial teacher education and inspection -- we review policy and ministerial speeches, as well as academic papers, media articles and social media blogs published from the start of the pandemic in England, to analyse the extent to which policy formation was reactive in an attempt to maintain a steady state and return as quickly as possible to pre-pandemic normality and to previously stated intransigent policy positions. We suggest that this policy formation reflects a broader trend in policymaking, which seeks to use power and sustain privilege, underpinned by a constructed evidence base, to present a particular 'truth' about what needs to be done to improve education outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid reviews involve a streamlined approach to knowledge synthesis. They are used to identify high-quality evidence for the purpose of informing decisions and initiatives, completed over relatively short timeframes, and have been found to reach conclusions that do not differ extensively from full systematic reviews. Although common in the health sector, rapid reviews are not as widespread in education. This paper reflects on the experiences of conducting a rapid review that applied review guidance from the health sector to a topic situated within education: effective Professional Learning (PL) for school-based educators. Our purpose is not to share the rapid review's findings: rather, our interest lies in exploring the process of undertaking the review. We sought to investigate the methodological decisions we made for the education context as we carried out the review. As part of a large-scale investigation focusing on practitioner use of research evidence in education, we undertook a rapid review to understand what is known about effective PL. Drawing on methodological literature from the health and education sectors, we documented the procedure involved in conducting our rapid review in education. At each step, we reflected on methodological issues encountered, decisions taken and the procedural adjustments we made to align the process to the education context. Our reflections identify the key adaptations we made to ensure that review guidance was carefully attuned to the context of the education field and the wider purpose of the review: in our case, to inform an initiative in education. Considerations highlighted by our procedure also included the role of reviewer judgement in quality appraisal and attending to collaborative review team processes. These reflections support the notion that the use of research to inform decisions in education needs to be a dynamic, contextualised, and collaborative process. Rapid reviews have a crucial part to play in efforts to strengthen evidence-informed practice in the education sector. Our methodological exploration offers insights for those conducting, using, and commissioning rapid reviews to provide systematic and transparent evidence-based guidance for initiatives in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in typical educational settings has only recently gained momentum in Greece, responding to the recommendations of the international conventions. Reform of special education legislation spotlights the inclusion of children with autism in mainstream schools. The principal goal is to accept the diversity and heterogeneity of all students. This paper presents the educational policy for children with ASD in Greece and comments on teachers' perceptions of inclusion. School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse impact on children's lives and created a new environment with different demands for educational inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leadership in education has become a priority issue in the educational policy of countries all over the world. As countries try to attune their educational systems to present-day needs, they also modify their expectations concerning schools and their management. In regard to needs and challenges related to the transformational process of schools in the Slovak Republic, the preparedness of school managers and teachers cannot be considered as sufficient. In this context, foreign approaches to the conceptualization of standards and requirements placed on leaders in the educational context can be considered as well elaborated, inspirational and relevant for the Slovak context. One of the objectives of the applied research project APVV 17-0557 (Psychological Approach to Creation, Implementation, and Verification of Educational Leader›s Competence Model Development) was to develop a theoretically based and empirically evaluated competency model for leaders in the educational context, as a conceptual framework for defining professional competencies of school managers and teachers for leader competencies relevant for the educational context. For the process of its development, the methodological procedure for producing a competency model proposed by Marrelli et al. (2005) has been applied. After defining the objectives and analyses of both foreign and Slovak standards as well as competency standards and reviewing research findings on effective leadership within the educational context, the Model of key competencies for school leaders and teacher leaders was specified. The three dimensional model consists of five key competencies ([1] openness to change and managing change; [2] focus and commitment to the permanent development of the self and the organization; [3] effective communication and interactions; [4] supporting collaborative culture; [5] building external networks and partnership) applied within five domains that correspond to the roles of leaders in education ([1] vision, values and culture; [2] professional skills and problem solving; [3] leader in relation to the self - personal skills, abilities and values; [4] leader in relation to the other - focusing on others and leading others; [5] leader in relation to the system - strategic leadership and leadership of change). The key competencies within individual domains are specified on the empirical level of numerous indicators (as demonstrated within one specific key competency). The paper discusses the applicability of the proposed design into educational programs development aimed at supporting key competencies of educational leaders, as well as to the identification of educational needs of education participants and to evaluating effects of educational programs administered. The paper also reports on the present experience of the research team with the abovementioned applications of the model used in the development and implementation of the educational program for school leaders, teacher leaders and undergraduate future teachers, as well as further steps planned for verifying its validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to show the way in which the educational policies implemented in Higher Secondary Education (EMS) in Mexico, led to the omission of the Federal High Schools for Cooperation (PREFECO for its acronym in Spanish) as a public subsystem. This omission had repercussions in the closure of schools and exacerbated the precarious working conditions of the teachers who work in that school subsystem. The paper analyzes the policies directed at the EMS during the 2008-2019 period in order to identify the causes that originated the main changes in the subsystem. The case of the PREFECO's of the state of Morelos is contextualized and the labor conditions of their teachers. For the analysis of the official documents, some guidelines of the historical-descriptive method were retaken. To contextualize the conditions of the teachers, a questionnaire was applied and descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imminent digitalisation of education in Romania is described and announced by the "Strategy on the digitalisation of education in Romania" (document in public consultation). This will bring a number of updates to primary education but, to analyze this transition, this paper sets out why the focus on digital education is needed, what will be left behind by the future update in the primary education curriculum and the prospects for updating it. The analysis of the actual curriculum indicates that only two of the competences specific to all subjects in primary education tangentially support the development of digital competence. This analysis was carried out under the common terminology used in definitions of digital competence extracted from European education policies as well as common reference tools at European and national level. For a more accurate correlation of the curricular projection with the targeted key competence were analyzed, based on the same terminology, even the learning activities suggested by school curricula, finding a low proportion of integration of digital competences in teaching. Therefore, tomorrow's school projections viewed through the "Strategy on the digitalisation of education in Romania", in relation to the data of this paper, are welcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, trends in the development of Ukraine’s education sector in the context of the country’s European integration are revealed. This is accomplished through research into the dynamics of changes in the basic indicators of the development level of the sector in the 1990–2019 period on the basis of state statistical reporting. The purpose of this article is to establish the dynamics and directions of changes in the main indicators of pre-school, general secondary, vocational, and higher education. Further, this article seeks to provide an objective and sound assessment of the public authorities regarding the implementation of the state policy of reforming the Ukrainian education sector in accordance with the European integration concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to determine the role and expectations of Library and information centres in the National Education Policy 2020. Nevertheless, these expectations have not been mentioned explicitly in NEP. However, libraries with a quality collection and digital resources must impart quality education. Lifelong learning, preservation of national heritage, and developing a reading culture are a few areas where NEP has highlighted the importance of libraries. Furthermore, through embedded librarianship, library professionals must explore the additional areas where they can contribute to making higher education more robust and meaningful. Finally, the paper exhorts that the higher education sector libraries must be developed as research support and student support centres and play a role of responsible custodianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accreditation systems in medical education aim to assure various stakeholders that graduates are ready to further their training or begin practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of medical education accreditation around the world and describe the incidence and variability of these accreditation agencies worldwide. This paper explores trends in agency age, organization, and scope according to both World Bank region and income group.Methods: To find information on accreditation agencies, we searched multiple online accreditation and quality assurance databases as well as the University of Michigan Online Library and the Google search engine. All included agencies were recorded on a spreadsheet along with date of formation or first accreditation activity, name changes, scope, level of government independence, accessibility and type of accreditation standards, and status of WFME recognition. Comparisons by country region and income classification were made based on the World Bank's lists for fiscal year 2021.Results: As of August 2020, there were 3,323 operating medical schools located in 186 countries or territories listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools. Ninety-two (49%) of these countries currently have access to undergraduate accreditation that uses medical-specific standards. Sixty-four percent (n = 38) of high-income countries have medical-specific accreditation available to their medical schools, compared to only 20% (n = 6) of low-income countries. The majority of World Bank regions experienced the greatest increase in medical education accreditation agency establishment since the year 2000.Conclusions: Most smaller countries in Europe, South America, and the Pacific only have access to general undergraduate accreditation, and many countries in Africa have no accreditation available. In countries where medical education accreditation exists, the scope and organization of the agencies varies considerably. Regional cooperation and international agencies seem to be a growing trend. The data described in our study can serve as an important resource for further investigations on the effectiveness of accreditation activities worldwide. Our research also highlights regions and countries that may need focused accreditation development support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is a long period from completing studies to finding a permanent or temporary (but at least satisfactory) job in all European countries, especially in Mediterranean countries, including Italy. This paper aims to study the determinants of this duration and measure them, for the first time in a systematic way, in the case of Italy. Design/methodology/approach: This paper provides several measures of duration, including education level and other criteria. Furthermore, it attempts to identify the main determinants of the long Italian transition, both at a macroeconomic and an individual level. It tests for omitted heterogeneity of those who are stuck at this important crossroads in their life within the context of parametric survival models. Findings: The average duration of the school-to-work transition for young people aged 18–34 years was 2.88 years (or 34.56 months) in 2017. A shorter duration was found for the highly educated; they found a job on average 46 months earlier than those with compulsory education. At a macroeconomic level, the duration over the years 2004–2017 was inversely related to spending in the labour market policy and in education, gross domestic product growth and the degree of trade union density; however, it was directly related to the proportion of temporary contracts. At the individual level, being a woman, a migrant or living in a densely populated area in the South are the risk factors for remaining stuck in the transition. After correcting for omitted heterogeneity, there is clear evidence of positive duration dependence. Practical implications: Positive duration dependence suggests that focusing on education and labour policy, rather than labour flexibility, is the best way to smooth the transition. Originality/value: This study develops our understanding of the Italian school-to-work transition regime by providing new and detailed evidence of its duration and by studying its determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laws and legislation define the framework of action for education policies. In Chile, this is often translated into a market vision guided by the principles of new public management. Within this framework, Youth and Adult Education (EPJA) is a particular case, conditioned by high stake testing and lacking support to provide an educational response in accordance with its features. Hence, the aim of this paper is to describe the actions that the different decrees and legal regulations exert on the current enactment of the EPJA modality in Chile. From the Actor-Network Theory, following a qualitative framework, we analyse how EPJA is constituted from the regulations in force from 2000 to 2020. The results, on the one hand, point out a tension in the educational objectives between a validation perspective and a training perspective. On the other hand, a heterogeneous population that has mutated in recent years is conceived, where legislative solutions do not ensure the fulfilment of the objectives of this educational modality. It is concluded that at present, EPJA has been seriously undermined by the regulatory framework of the new public management, not only because of the lack of resources, but also because of the scarce possibilities of action in its improvement and development, risking its continuity and the right to education of this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores elements of the national political debate on education, focusing on the authoritative references used in deliberation. The systematic identification and analysis of the intertextualities present in the debates on education that took place in the Portuguese National Assembly (ar) between 1978 and 2018, allowed to map the sources of authority used - national and international; legal and expert - and disclose structural features of the discourse on education. The results point to the existence of a discursive environment that is not very favourable to evidence-based deliberation, in which the questioning of sources of authority and the results achieved is persistent. Discourse evolves around the horizon of international comparison, with the persistence over time of the ideas of crisis and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chilean educational system, which is considered an emblem of neoliberal public policies, was subjected to a profound legal refom in 2014. The moderate left-wing government passed the «Ley de Inclusión» bill, which seeked avoiding the selection of students, the charging of copay upon families in publicly financed schools, and ending the possibility that private schools, which received public financing, could seek profit. During the discussion of this bill, a set of educative, political and social actors articulated and mobilized looking to stop this. The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the argumentative twists present in the discursive community that opposed the «Ley de Inclusión» bill. The corpus used consists of 139 opinion columns, published in «El Mercurio» and «La Tercera», the two main political media papers between March of 2014 and January of 2015. From an analysis ot these argumentative twists, a discursive coalition was built. The beliefs and representations of the educational community condense on: the need for a gradualist and evidence-based public policy; the free choice of schools as the dominant rationality and tool in the educational quasi-market; and the defense of private education as a means to ensure the existence of differentiated and plural educational offers in the educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the engagement of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the collaborative governance of education policies in Cabo Verde. In contrast with the mainstream view of CSOs as opposition groups separate from the state, the paper frames them as integrative parts of the collaborative governance process. CSOs' collaboration with the government in education policy-making generates a (societal linking) social capital in the form of understanding, shared norms, and mutual trust among the various stakeholders within the education system. Such capital is an important resource to guarantee the proficiency and efficiency of education policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the ideas of reforms of peasant schools and education in the Russian Empire in general and its Baltic governorates in particular in the early 19th century, the evolution of the peasant education policy of the local Baltic German elite and its implementation in the school legislation. The focus rests on different views on the school issue within the ruling circles as well as on efforts to define the goals and determine the content of education targeted at the peasant class. The paper offers a detailed case study of the situation in the Governorate of Livonia. Chronologically, the article covers the first decades of the 19th century, until the mid-1840s. The study is based on critical analysis and interpretation of both the unpublished and published sources of history. In the course of research, the author has also performed a critical interpretation of the published studies of the history of schools and education and, in particular, school policy. The research findings allow drawing the conclusion that in the first half of the 19th century there formed the school policy of the ruling elite of Livonian landlords that laid foundations for the system of peasant education and for educational content that was in line with the perception and practice of European countries. The school legislation and literature state that the peasant education system with two-level schools - civil parish school (Gemeindeschule) and parish schools (Parochialschule) - were included in a single notion of elementary school (tautskola). The contribution of the part of the Baltic German elite and evangelical Lutheran clergy, who understood the economic and social developments and changes in society of the epoch, in the establishment and development of the Latvian elementary school system is indisputable. It was the basis on which the first generation of Latvian intelligentsia developed in the course of the 19th century, which in turn contributed to the formation of a cultural nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. The paper aims to explore the issue of Georgian education by analysing it chronologically and thematically and recalling past experiences. The paper focuses on the period of the First Republic of Georgia, 1918-1921, and highlights the place of education and culture in Georgian politics. Moreover, the paper considers the connections of modern Georgian politics and the centuries-old traditional heritage and its transformation in the present reality. Method. The paper is presented based on a number of studied documents, empirical materials, scientific research papers, monographs. The study comprises analysis of government documents and historical-comparative method. Results and Conclusion. The empirical materials prove that, despite the difficult political situation, during the period of the First Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), education in Georgia was well developed, which occurred with the support of the government and due to the active and creative work of representatives of such fields as education, literature, theatre, music, cinema, and science. Thus, the paper presents the reality of the first democratic republic of Georgia during 1918-1921, it appears so that the certain reforms conducted by the state in the past in field of education and cultural policy are very important even in the modern days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]