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A major admissions reform was carried out in Finnish higher education at the end of the last decade. This paper focuses on three main policy papers connected to the reform and examines the use and production of evidence therein. Drawing on bibliometric research and research on educational policy, we aim to provide insight into how to utilize citation analysis when examining evidence in educational policymaking. In the three policy papers, domestic legislature was cited the most frequently, and research from higher education institutions was cited the least. Affirmational citations were the most prominent; perfunctory, assumptive, conceptual, persuasive, contrastive, and negational citations were found to a lesser extent. When cross-examined in relation to citation types, sources were mostly cited as affirmational, with the exception of research from higher education institutions, which was cited as conceptual information. We also found that the writers cited their own previously written ministry-affiliated policy brief as central information in one of the policy papers connected to the reform. Our study is in line with the earlier literature showing that certain sources, such as domestic publications, are favoured over others. It also illustrates the different citation strategies experts employ to substantiate and legitimize educational policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of policy documents and interviews with three Norwegian politicians revealed differences in how school leaders were described, positioned and ascribed responsibility in Norwegian education policy between 1990 and 2017. While how politicians positioned school leaders changed substantially during the period, a stable trait was vague descriptions of school leaders' responsibility. In 1990, school leaders were envisioned in a managerial position, above teachers, as employers. A more recent White Paper, from 2017, positioned school leaders closer to the teaching profession. The interviews showed that after the PISA-shock in 2001, politicians united across party lines in a 'new regime of understanding', downplaying traditional conflicts between Norwegian politicians. While Parliamentary politicians rhetorically disagreed, there was, underneath the policy discourse, a growing realpolitik consensus in questions of education policy. The study investigates policy descriptions of school leaders after 1990, when Management by Objectives was introduced in education. To position Norway in the international policy context, we draw on Stephen Ball's concepts fabrication, managerialism, magical solutions and neoliberal performativity. Three periods, with simultaneously appearing residual and emerging tendencies were identified. In conclusion, we question an apparent lack of ambitions for school leadership in Norwegian education policy. The article contributes with new insights into education policy fluctations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Telos is the property of Revista Telos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Encounters in Theory & History of Education / Rencontres en Theorie et Histoire de l'Educacion is the property of Queen's University, Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of CEPS Journal is the property of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The authors of the paper introduce the readers to the context of the literary education in Czech schools. In Czech milieu were hold many polemic discussions, that are known at least since the year 1890. Into that discussions were involved big personalities of conterporary cultural live, among others Hubert Gordon Schauer, František Krejčí, Jaroslav Vlček, Otakar Hostinský, Vilém Mathesius and Jan Mukařovský. In many casesthay evaluated teaching of literature as distant from the life of a young generation, too historically oriented, and pointed out its deficient connection with aesthetics of a literary work. They held against excessive me morization as contrary to the little emphasis put on reading and analysis of literary work. The authors of the paper are strongly convinced that even after more than 130 years of polemic discussions about the form of literary education and a series of reforms (which cannot even be taken into account because it is not clear where one reform ends and another begins), the real curriculum of literary education has not fundamentally changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical thinking (CT) is increasingly included within education curriculum policy development to support students’ intellectual progress. Teachers who embed CT learning and are cognisant of students cultural identity increase their ability and aptitude to think critically. This paper reports results from an anonymous survey administered to 490 teacher participants, designed to investigate teacher beliefs regarding the impact of students cultural identity on their ability to think critically. The results of the study found a diversity of teacher opinion, including negative attitudes (53%) regarding students’ abilities and the requirement for a culturally responsive teaching approach. The study highlights the complexities of implementing CT, and the need for policy makers to consider the impact of teachers’ beliefs about student cultural identity before effective delivery of CT in secondary schools is likely to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modest impact of national policy efforts on school digitalisation relates to a gap between views among policy-makers and practitioners, giving rise to complexity in translating policy into action. Acknowledging changes in governing through alternative policy formation-processes, and Ward and Parr's (2011) arguing for the importance of strategic- and operational policy coherence, the focus of this paper is the forming of a national plan of action for the digitalisation of schools in Sweden (#skolDigiplan). Within this interview study, the views on policy work and challenges of digitalisation of schools are explored among an exclusive management group of non-traditional Swedish policy-makers appointed to produce the #skolDigiplan. Based on the findings, I conclude that national policy making regarding the digitalisation of schools may be conducted through a collective process, with several educational stakeholders contributing. Furthermore, I suggest that non-traditional national policy-makers, arguing a lack of digital competence knowledge concerning schools at the governing or authority level, may consider taking a step back in the policy-formation process as a supportive action. Teacher training programmes, despite being portrayed as important for the policy outcome, were declared distant in this policy process. [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]

This paper examines the national idea as the basis of the educational policy of Ukraine. The author shows that one of the main factors, which are the basis of Ukrainian education, is the national idea around which this or that society consolidates, and which it recognizes as a reference point for its further development. The author notes that the national ideal is the next important element of the national idea. After all, it is the main spiritual force of progress, organization and purposefulness of efforts, and all the creative energy of the people for the establishment of state independence. The author has determined that progressive components of the Ukrainian national idea can become: the idea of integration and consolidation (both national values with universal ones, and actually Ukrainian national integration and consolidation); the idea of building a civil society, an open society with equal opportunities, and a legal state; the idea of sovereignty, collegiality, and state, political, economic, cultural, spiritual, moral freedom; the idea of democratic transformations; the idea of "positive" development, progressive progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ibero-Americana de Estudos em Educação is the property of Jose Luis Bizelli, editor of Revista Ibero-Americana de Estudos em Educacao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sophia, Colección de Filosofía de la Educación is the property of Universidad Politecnica Salesiana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the current paper, we report on the recommendations for preschool science put forward in the educational standards of U.S. states. Our focus was specifically on whether educational standards recommend abstract science constructs--constructs that are difficult to learn. In Study 1, we focused on science constructs related to inquiry (i.e., activities geared towards the generation of scientific knowledge). And in Study 2, we focused on science constructs related to facts (i.e., established scientific knowledge). In each study, we developed a coding scheme to distinguish between concrete and abstract constructs and then determined the relative prevalence of each. Our findings show that preschoolers are indeed expected to learn abstract science constructs. At the same time, educational standards varied considerably across U.S. states. Implications for the field of early science learning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current and acute migration issue with its consequences on educational policy and, particularly, on intercultural education is the topic of this paper. The different types of migration together with their determinant factors are presented and analyzed. The double status as possible emigrants and host for immigrants are seen as milestones of developing an effective strategy of a new approach of the intercultural education. The importance of developing of an intercultural competency for each person of the world is presented. The paper intends to be a plea for a more consistent concern for this issue in these times when a new crisis knocks at the gate of humanity. The necessity of being aware that a global vision of the education became necessary is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an examination of anti-racist and decolonial politics in education in the Brazilian and Latin American contexts, this paper outlines underlying features shaping black political-epistemological struggles and the difficulties of reform via the state in an anti-black society. The article first situates emerging anti-racist legislation and multicultural policy in the region within larger discussions of the progressive Left Turn among governments and the emergence of postneoliberalism. The paper then examines how racism and state violence against black people have persisted within this leftward postneoliberal turn, shaping the manner through which anti-racist and decolonial politics seek to both contest and mobilize within state discourses and institutions to improve the situation of black people. In the last section, the paper proposes to understand black movement struggles of decolonial orientation through Abdias do Nascimento's black Brazilian praxis of quilombismo, a praxis that consciously reflects both the predicaments and future possibilities presented by working for politicalepistemic and cultural transformation within and beyond an anti-black state. The paper demonstrates quilombismo as the decolonial in practice through an analysis of antiracist education legislation focused on curriculum reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Colombiana de Educación is the property of Universidad Pedaggica Nacional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of REICE. Ibero-American Journal on Quality, Effectiveness & Change in Education / REICE. Revista Iberoamericana Sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación is the property of Red Iberoamericana de Investigacion sobre Cambio y Eficacia en Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines perspectives on student disaffection in education at the levels of culture and policy. It considers the balance between punitive/exclusionary and therapeutic/restorative positions. The paper engages with concepts of retributive punishment (Murray, 2004a; 2004b), social welfare ideologies (Esping-Andersen, 1990) and discourses of social exclusion (Levitas, 1998). The conclusion is that policy choices are made about how disaffected, at risk young people are to be provided for, and these policy choices are not contained simply within an education policy and practice setting. The policy responses emerge from national and local government decision-making. They correlate with national indicators of punitiveness in the criminal justice system and the scale of inequalities tolerated. Policies resonate with deep-seated cultural positions which are linked to the willingness to pay– for prevention or for punishment– and with the propensity to allocate blame either to individuals and families or to societal failures. Opportunities for intervention at points in the reinforcing cycle of punitiveness are indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pedagogía Social is the property of Pedagogia Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to show features of formation of Ukrainian education policy. According to the author, the formation of the national education policy in Ukraine, as the European Union in its time, must find the thin boundary i.e. the balance between unity and dissimilarity of two different education systems such as Soviet education system, which was inherited after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and European education system, which was unified by requirements of the Bologna Declaration. The author examines the features of the formation and development of Soviet and European education systems. Each of them has certain advantages and disadvantages. The author also presents that major educational reforms, which were only started in Ukraine, took place in Central and Eastern Europe in the late twentieth century. This process was caused by the collapse of bipolar world and scores of countries, which were formed in Europe and sought to European values and democratic reforms. Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and many other new independent states, which paid in full for socialist regimes, began reforms in education, politics, economics and other areas of activity. We can confidently say that the education system in the new founding countries of Europe not only shifted from one model (Soviet model) to another (European model), but rather to achieve high performance in their development. The author points out that it is necessary to require continuing professional development of all categories of people, from teachers to car drivers. This growth must be accompanied with the received diplomas at the reputable higher educational institutions not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. Through this paper the author also wants to suggest that the main provisions of national education policy Ukraine is based on Ukrainian national idea. This national idea sounds as «Ukraine is as keeper of harmony between Eastern and Western Europe». [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the researcher used the Appreciative Inquiry's dream phase to investigate international master's students' ideal learning experiences at a Canadian university. The research question was, "How do international students describe their ideal experience in terms of quality and learning experiences in a master's program?" Findings revealed a strong desire for an education that blended theoretical knowledge with practical skills. Key themes included the importance of fair tuition fees, meaningful interaction with local students, and comprehensive career development opportunities. These conditions were identified as pivotal to a transformative educational journey. The study findings urge educators and policymakers to focus on international students' well-being and future employability and highlight the multifaceted benefits for students, institutions, and broader international relations. The insights gathered underscore the potential of a student-centered academic approach in shaping an educational landscape that responds to the aspirations and needs of international graduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reviews a framework to support the co-creation of policies to sustainably foster Open Education. The framework has been derived from a comprehensive review of public and Open Education policy documents and related literature, as well as identification and consideration of contiguous issues in the education landscape that directly impact openness and can potentially derail policies, including datafication, copyright reforms, and the unbundling of services into component parts. The open policy framework, along with a canvas and set of change cards and a dynamic grounded in the participation and co-creation standard developed by the Open Government Partnership, have been used in three workshops piloted during 2018, to facilitate co-design of Open Education policies, by discussing contexts, objectives and challenges with policymakers and advisors both at national and institutional levels, policymakers and advocates with a series of tools and advise to enable arenas to co-create open-education policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theme that I have chosen for that article is at the crossroads of public policies, educational policies and international relationships. It relies in the assumption that is not possible to have public policies at national level if they are not in consistent relation with international regulations, eg. at the European level. Therefore, along of this study, I will try to give a retrospective look at the measures implemented by Romania in the fields of education and youth at international, European and national levels, in order to have to meet the overall orientations of the educational system to the ideal one. To accomplish this, the paper aims to meet the following objectives to identify the changes at international, European and Romanian levels in the fields of education and youth from their mentioning in the official documents of the European Union. I will also try to identify and analyse projects that have had a major impact in both areas through the achievement of the objects pursued at the time of their development and various levels of implementation. The Lisbon Strategy, adopted in 2000 and revised in 2005, has as a common goal the development of the European Union as a competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based, global economy capable of sustainable economic growth with a significant increase in the number and quality of jobs available work, as well as greater social cohesion. The education objectives provided for a substantial increase in public spending in this area, the promotion of lifelong learning, the adaptation of basic skills to the needs of the knowledge society, and better recognition of qualifications. With the 2005 Lisbon Strategy Review, education and training have been among the priority areas of the European Union, emphasizing once again the importance of developing human capital as the main asset of Europe. This is one of the European orientations for policy in education. I will try to find and explain in this article some international directions for policy in education. I will also try to talk about which are the main issues of international education, among which an interesting subject is that of equality of educational opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper touches upon an important for the modern school concept of multicultural language education; its main objective is to prepare schoolchildren using linguistic means for full-scale interaction and cooperation in the modern multicultural and multilingual world. The authors prove that the concept of "culture" becomes a fundamental polysemantic phenomenon in this situation. However, the dialogue or polylogue of linguocultures becomes crucial for language education. In this case, the learner studies the culture of another country through its language and culture, i.e. multicultural language education contributes to the formation of his/her multilingual and multicultural (native language - native culture and at least two non-native languages-nonnative cultures) personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers with so-called migration backgrounds are often assumed to possess higher intercultural competencies or skills for more adequately dealing with migration-related diversity than other teachers. However, these assumptions of higher intercultural competencies, specific pedagogical orientations and attitudes have rarely been systematically empirically examined. On the other hand, such a utilitarian ethnicization is increasingly criticized by migration researchers in educational science in Germany as furthering stigmatization and deprofessionalization. Against this background, our paper aims to contribute to the lively discourse about teacher with so-called migration backgrounds. We start with analysing teacher data from the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS). Our analyses indicate that teachers with and without so-called migration backgrounds do not differ significantly in most respects. These findings led us to methodological considerations with regard to the (non-)usefulness of the statistical category of 'migration background' in educational migration research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education policies help to improve society by decreasing inequities and establishing effective learning environments. Periodic assessments can help researchers and policymakers uncover new obstacles and ensure progress on these ever-changing education policy concerns using critical theory. Bibliometric studies, a type of periodic study, emphasize the importance of data-driven approaches in the formulation and implementation of education policies. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of education policy issues from 2000 to 2023. Based on keywords, we initially selected 931 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Only articles in English were included, and we used PRISMA guidelines to reduce the number of articles to 363. We focused on citations, publication frequency, topics, trends, and issues. Two independent researchers analyzed the documents for reliability. For validity, we used transferability. We also used a content analysis of frequently cited articles. Our analysis revealed three prominent trends. The first trend pertained to controversial environmental issues and sustainability concepts in education policy. The second theme was professional development, special education, and school choice. The third one was science, vocational education, special education, and ICT. The content analysis results indicated that teaching and learning, professional development, science education, subject matter teaching, and mobile learning were the topics of the content analyzed articles. We found that relying solely on bibliometric review resulted in broad conceptualizations of educational policy issues, focusing primarily on efficiency and effectiveness. Additionally, we applied critical theoretical frameworks to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of the emergent issues identified through bibliometric analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generative artificial intelligence provides both opportunities and challenges for higher education. Existing literature has not properly investigated how this technology would impact assessment in higher education. This scoping review took a forward-thinking approach to investigate how generative artificial intelligence transforms assessment in higher education. We used the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to select articles for review and report the results. In the screening, we retrieved 969 articles and selected 32 empirical studies for analysis. Most of the articles were published in 2023. We used three levels—students, teachers, and institutions—to analyses the articles. Our results suggested that assessment should be transformed to cultivate students' self-regulated learning skills, responsible learning, and integrity. To successfully transform assessment in higher education, the review suggested that (i) teacher professional development activities for assessment, AI, and digital literacy should be provided, (ii) teachers' beliefs about human and AI assessment should be strengthened, and (iii) teachers should be innovative and holistic in their teaching to reflect the assessment transformation. Educational institutions are recommended to review and rethink their assessment policies, as well as provide more inter-disciplinary programs and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a 'lineage' of decisions related to education policy which takes comparison as its motive, knowledge and method. A conceptual chain of world system, internationalization, convergence in education and globalization is briefly outlined. The paper examines decision-making in education policy according to agreement, mainstreaming and production criteria, taking Latin America as the linkage and the European Community as the construction. Reasoning and enlightenment are gathered in different fields of history: culture, economics, politics and education. The present paper applies a core structuring epistemology -culled from a variety of academic domains- with comparison and decision underpinning a complex rationale where time, space, materiality, knowledge, ideas, action, and evaluation all intersect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myriad methods exist for analyzing qualitative data. It is, however, imperative for qualitative researchers to employ data analysis tools that are congruent with the theoretical frameworks underpinning their inquiries. In this paper, I have constructed a framework for analyzing data that could be useful for researchers interested in focusing on the transactional nature of language as they engage in Social Science research. Transactional Analysis (TA) is an inductive approach to data analysis that transcends constant comparative methods of exploring data. Drawing on elements of narrative and thematic analysis, TA uses the theories of Bakhtin and Rosenblatt to attend to the dynamic processes researchers identify as they generate themes in their data and seek to understand how their participants' worldviews are being shaped. This paper highlights the processes researchers can utilize to study the mutual shaping that occurs as participants read and enter into dialogue with the world around them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2002, based on a scientific research approach, attempts to measure and track teacher and administrator performance to achieve accountability for student outcomes on standardized tests of basic competencies. Although the NCLB Act attempts to transform school systems through rigorous student testing, integration of parental choice, improvement of reading comprehension, and use of best practices, it lacks a comprehensive basis for complete change. This paper compares the scientific research basis for NCLB with an open systems model of school change and notes weaknesses in theoretical assumptions, variables, and components of NCLB as well as in attempts to implement the model. The current NCLB model cannot adapt to changes within the internal as well as external contexts that affect instructional processes and outcomes. The paper asserts that reform envisioned by the drafters of the NCLB Act is more completely achieved through a systems approach that incorporates multiple research methodologies, broad participation among researchers, policymakers, administrators, and stakeholders, and sufficient technical support and resource allocations from legislators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the complexities of implementing trilingual education in the context of Kazakhstan. Trilingualism has been gaining both supporters and opponents among teachers, students and parents. The main objective of this paper is to identify the educational characteristics in the implementation process of trilingual policies in Kazakhstan by analysing the opinion of six Kazakh teachers from two different types of schools (NIS and general secondary schools) through online interviews. The qualitative analysis of the data follows a grounded theory scheme in order to establish the different categories, through which we carry out content analysis. Results show that trilingual education is necessary in Kazakhstan. Specific drawbacks are also identified (e.g. lack of qualified teaching staff or level of language competence of students). Our conclusions suggest that trilingual education is beneficial for the Kazakh system though the differences identified (NIS and general secondary) may jeopardise successful implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Fonseca: Journal of Communication is the property of Revista Fonseca Journal of Communication and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the 2016 manifestos of the main political parties seeking election to the Scottish Parliament, with particular reference to their educational commitments on issues of equality and inclusion. The policy context is described and related to academic accounts of the policy-making process. Use is made of discourse analysis as a method of highlighting key concepts and recurring textual motifs. After some general observations about manifestos as a sub-genre of political discourse, the proposals of five parties (SNP, Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green) are considered in more detail. Education is located within the overall political programmes of the parties and points of tension and contradiction, both within and between manifestos, are noted. In the discussion section, reference is made to theoretical perspectives on policy narratives and to George Orwell's critique of political language as measures against which the manifestos might be judged. Among the features that receive attention are the need for a stronger knowledge-base about the economics of education to evaluate policy proposals, ambivalence over the use of evidence to generate policies, and the omission of some controversial educational topics. The paper concludes by suggesting that the rhetorical invocation of concepts such as fairness, justice and equity is inevitably compromised by the practical constraints of the policy-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a real-life study in a US university. In response to financial issues, the administration at an undergraduate tuition-dependent university pushed for growth in student enrollment. The faculty, who argued that the quality of education had been declining, resisted the expansion. More students also affected the use of the university's infrastructure. By actively engaging key stakeholders, we developed a simple system dynamics model of university expansion. A major insight suggests that policy decisions made non-holistically might result in counter-intuitive outcomes that could take considerable time from which to recover. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to compare two fields of research related to school reform: professional development and educational policy. A content analysis of the literature in both fields revealed two areas where they align (i.e., a focus on teachers' professional development and the idea that change takes time) as well as two areas where there are differences (i.e., theoretical grounding of each field and planning for teachers' learning). Considerations for successful school reform are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-modern society calls for the educational process modelling imperiously in the direction of objectivizing the results in learning skills. In this regard, education in Romania went through a series of system and process transformation that we find objective in the strategies and measures of the most diverse. We note a lack of consistency in the implementation of educational reform plans that are justified on a complex case (macrosocial and microsocial causes). The analyses carried out at the level of educational policies since the 1990s and so far reveals a lot of changes in legislation which have not led to any specific increase in the quality of education. The present paper is a research on the measures of reform in Romanian education and offers a number of explanations regarding their implications at the level of the educational process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of the Romanian educational system reforms after 1989 to the present. Analysis of educational reform over 25 years was carried out in relation to educational policy documents. Also, I delimited the previous reforms accession Romania at the EU and of the reforms postaccession Romania at the EU. The problem we face is translating these policies into educational practices. The purpose of this article is to highlight of the educational policy from this period, and the reasons why a lot of this policies have failed. The main cause that makes difficult the road from solutions developed on paper to the classroom is excessive politicization of education. Keeping the centralizing policies and the inability of assuming governance model is a severe barrier to the evolution of Romania. The education reform must be a political action of conjugation of the effort of the experts and long-term political commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pedagogická Orientace is the property of Pedagogicka Orientace and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The regional school funding of public schools in the Czech Republic undergoes structural changes. The funding reform is supposed to be a part of the overall strategic policy changes in educational system. The present research analyses and compares the school budgeting formulas used for allocation the public funds for pedagogical and non-pedagogical staff of the secondary schools in the Czech Republic. By means of the selected sample of secondary schools situated in the Region of Zlín it gives a comprehensive explanation of the main differences of the previous and newly introduced allocation formula. The analysis of the budgeting formula shows the main changes and allow to compare inn order to evaluate the principles of flexible budgeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this descriptive study the aim is to analyze the Hungarian educational policy history and event-chain of the comprehensive and post-comprehensive project. As a structuring framework this paper used the historical landmarks and the different institutional arrangement models (governance types and power distribution models). Accordingly, three landmarks and policy cycles have been identified, which are connected to political and social turns in Hungary. The first is the period of massive centralization and egalitarianism from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s. The second period has to be counted from the acceleration of educational transformations, the political turn and transition times from the mid-1980s till 2010, whilst the third cycle is formed by recent policy developments. This paper’s overarching aim is to give an overview on the political, social and economic contexts of educational policies, and the key actors of comprehensive common school and policy impact. The term ‘comprehensive school’ is addressed in terms of its structural–curricular, political and cultural meanings. Accordingly, an analytical framework was developed, which is a combination of political (interest-groups/actor-centrism), cultural (ideological/interpretive framework) and structural-functionalist (social demand, ecology of the schools) explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reading is a very important aspect today, which is why it is a recurring topic in research. This study aims to analyze the gender gap in the reading consumption of adolescents and compare the situation in Spain with that of other countries. It addresses, for the first time, the influence of the gender factor on the reading habits of adolescents who have just begun secondary education. This is an empirical study carried out based on the research projects “Determining factors in the reading habits of secondary education students. A study from the variables of the educational context” and “Reading habits in international contexts of Secondary Education students. A study of educational practices to promote reading.” It is based on the hypothesis that reading consumption is conditioned by gender and country-specific educational policies and, therefore, by the place where the study is carried out. To do this, an international sample of students was taken as a reference, made up of a matrix group of Spanish students contrasted with small samples from three different countries that we are interested in comparing with the Spanish context: Portugal, Poland, and Chile. The results have shown that the gender gap in reading is perceived in all the contexts studied and that it increases in contexts with less developed co-education programs; therefore, it is necessary to implement effective policies in the educational field to eliminate the existence of gender stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the role of the school and the teacher in the context of democratic social transformation? How has it changed globally and in the South African context during the past fifty years? Is there room for optimism among teacher educators in the 21st century? I offer some modest reflections on my own career in the hope of provoking some debate from colleagues. "A life history is a life story located within its historical context." (Ivor Goodson)1 "I used to think that public school were vehicles for reforming society. And now I think that while good teachers and schools can promote positive intellectual, behavioral and social change in individual children and youth, [American] schools are (and have been) ineffectual in altering social inequalities." (Larry Cuban) 2 "Nearly half century of experience in schools and the sustained research I have done have made me allergic to utopian rhetoric." (Larry Cuban) 3 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general shift towards competency-based curricula has meant that, for quite some time, skills including critical thinking have been central considerations in educational policy reform internationally. However, what happens at the policy level is only one aspect of change: gaining a deep understanding of how new curricula are approached and interpreted in practice, at the classroom level, is crucial. This study sought to explore connections between policy, practice and professional learning in the context of a critical thinking policy. The aim was to investigate teachers' perspectives to address the following research questions: What are teachers' perceptions and knowledge base of critical thinking? And how, and to what extent, do teachers incorporate critical thinking into their classroom practices? The study employed a collective case study approach. Participants were a sample of six teachers (three beginning and three experienced teachers) in Singapore. Data collection involved teacher interviews, lesson observations and the gathering of students' work. The data were analysed qualitatively. Through in-depth analysis of data, four major themes emerged, which characterised the teachers' perceptions, knowledge and classroom practices of critical thinking in relation to the policy context: (i) gaps in teacher knowledge; (ii) contextual factors shaping teacher knowledge; (iii) teacher knowledge shaping practice; and (iv) contextual factors shaping practice. This study offers, from the perspectives of teachers, insight into the connections between policy, teacher practice and professional learning, and points to systemic and contextual factors that can represent barriers and enablers to the enactment of a critical thinking policy. More broadly, it deepens the understanding of factors that may shape policy enactment at the classroom level, highlighting the crucial role played by teacher knowledge in effecting educational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]