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Context: Against a backdrop of dwindling oil resources and increasing unemployment rates, the government of Oman has set out to diversify its industry and establish a knowledge-based economy. In this context, forming a highly-skilled Omani workforce is considered to be of crucial importance. Yet, the national TVET system suffers from low social status, poor quality, and limited labour market connectivity. This paper offers an analysis of Oman's TVET system in the socio-economic and cultural context of a rentier state. Approach: We draw on the political economy of skills and socio-cultural approaches that understand TVET systems and the broader skills regimes in which they are embedded as part and expression of particular patterns of the social organisation of work. This helps to locate TVET systems' strengths and weaknesses in the context of their underlying social relations instead of considering them as mere dysfunctionalities at the systemic level. This paper draws on an unpublished study on TVET for industrialisation commissioned by an Omani line ministry in cooperation with an international organisation. For this study, the authors carried out a literature review, undertook two field trips to Oman in 2018 and 2019 and conducted forty semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from government, private companies, business associations, and TVET and higher education institutions. Findings: Our analysis highlights how skill formation in Oman is shaped by the socio-economic and cultural context of the Omani rentier state. First, the availability of cheap expatriate labour and Omanis' traditional preference for public sector jobs culminate in poor incentives for employing Omani nationals in the private sector. Second, reluctant employer attitudes towards national skill formation deepen quality issues in the TVET system, especially with regard to work-based training. This reinforces negative perceptions of the local workforce, which in turn contribute to biased employment patterns. Both social processes mutually reinforce each other, eventually preventing the emergence of strong national skill formation dynamics. Conclusions: While immediate structural change appears challenging, it is evident that reforms of the TVET system alone will not lead to its sustainable improvement. More research into how skill formation relates to Oman's specific socio-economic structures, how employment dynamics relate to educational credentials and how cultural traditions shape educational and work practices is needed.

Die vorliegende reflektierende wissenschaftliche Arbeit untersucht und vergleicht die Wahrnehmung von Studierenden aus unterschiedlichen Kulturkreisen betreffend ihre Studienbedingungen. Die Studierenden kommen aus dem Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaften und studieren an zwei Universitäten in Deutschland und Bangladesch. Ziel der empirischen Untersuchung ist es, von den Studierenden angefertigte Fotografien zu analysieren und die Wahrnehmungen der Studierenden über die jeweiligen Studienbedingungen im Zuge qualitativer Interviews zu vergleichen. Um möglichst realitätsnahe empirische Ergebnisse zu erzielen, war mein persönlicher Aufenthalt vor Ort an beiden Universitäten notwendig. In meinem zweimonatigen Forschungsaufenthalt wurde mit Hilfe der Methodik der Reflexiven Fotografie ein qualitativ-methodischer Zugang zu den persönlichen Lebenswelten der Studierenden ermöglicht. Im Ergebnis wurde deutlich, dass die Studierenden aus Bangladesch eine deutlich positivere Wahrnehmung vorwiesen als jene aus Deutschland. (DIPF/Orig.), This study examines and compares the perception of students from two different cultural areas regarding their study conditions. The students are from the educational science department on two different universities which are located in Germany and Bangladesh. The study aims at analysing photographs taken by the students and compares the students' perceptions regarding the respective academic conditions. For the comparison qualitative interviews were conducted. In order to receive the most realistic empirical results my personal stay on-site was necessary. In a two-month research stay a qualitative-methodological access into the student's lifeworld was enabled through the methodology of the reflexive photography. The empirical results reveal that the students from Bangladesh have a decidedly more positive perception of the academic conditions than the German students. (DIPF/Orig.)

Die Frage, wie Medienkompetenz gefördert werden kann, findet Beachtung in politischen, wirtschaftlichen, wissenschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Dis-kussionen in Deutschland und weltweit. Dabei erscheinen bereits auf individueller Ebene Unterschiede höchst komplex zu sein, sei es in Bezug auf persönliche Voraussetzungen, Ansprüche, Entwicklungsstand und jeweilige Kontextfaktoren. Aufgrund dieser Vielschichtigkeit, aber auch Aktualität der Thematik Medienkompetenzförderung sind Möglichkeiten der Vernetzung und des Austausches in einer globalisierten Welt von besonderer Bedeutung. An Kenntnissen, wie in anderen Ländern dieser Herausforderung begegnet wird, mangelte es jedoch lange Zeit. Im Rahmen der hier vorzustellenden Studie Förderung von Medienkompetenz an Gemeinschaftsschulen in Finnland, die im Rahmen einer Masterarbeit durchgeführt wurde, soll eine Möglichkeit aufgezeigt werden, wie wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse im Ausland gewonnen werden können. Es handelt sich um eine qualitative Studie, die Expertinnen- und Experteninterviews sowie deren Auswertung mit der Qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse umfasst. Bei der Umsetzung solch einer qualitativen Studie in einem anderen Sprach-, Lebens- und Kulturraum erwarten Forschende ganz eigene Herausforderungen, auf die im Beitrag ein besonderes Augenmerk gelegt wird. (DIPF/Orig.), In Germany and the world at large, the problem of how best to promote the dissemination of media literacy is perceived as posing a significant challenge, with debates being conducted on a political, economic, scientific and social level. But even on an individual level, differences are evident - whether due to cultural and disciplinary disparities, personal qualifications, differing contexts, and varying levels of development and aspirations - which are distinct and highly complex. The complexity and topicality of the media literacy debate highlights the importance of seizing the possibilities for networking and collaborating on a global scale. For a long time, there has been a lack of specific knowledge about how other countries are meeting this challenge. The Master's thesis Promoting Media Literacy in Comprehensive Schools in Finland details one way of collecting scientific data abroad. This study takes a qualitative approach in which expert interviews are conducted and subsequently analyzed using qualitative content analyses. This article devotes particular attention to the challenges involved in conducting research in a foreign language, country and culture. (DIPF/Orig.)

Anhand von Sekundäranalysen von Daten aus einer Large-Scale-Grundschuluntersuchung (PIRLS) geht die Autorin zunächst der Frage nach, warum Unterschiede in den Leseleistungen von Kindern aus der vierten Jahrgangsstufe zwischen Kanada und Deutschland bestehen, um dann u.a. auch Anhand von Strukturgleichungsmodellen zu klären, ob diese Unterschiede sowohl durch herkunftsbedingte Effekte als auch durch die elterliche Eingebundenheit in schulische Prozesse des Kindes erklärt werden können. Mit ihrem Beitrag liefert die Autorin ein gutes Beispiel dafür, was es heißt, sich wissenschaftlich mit Unterschiedlichkeit auseinanderzusetzen, und welche differenzierten Voraussetzungen erfüllt sein müssen, bevor im internationalen Kontext von anderen (Bildungssystemen) gelernt werden kann. (DIPF/Orig.), Recent results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 (PIRLS 2011) illustrate yet again that reading achievement results for students in grade 4 differ between social status groups in Germany, compared to the OECD-country mean (Bos, Tarelli, Bremerich-Vos & Schwippert, 2012). A country in which social background plays a less meaningful role for the development of reading achievement is Canada. At the same time Canada is a suitable country to compare with Germany as it has similar context factors (e.g. federal structure of the school system, level of development and diversity). In this article the results of a comparative study between Germany and Canada concerning the association of home characteristics (social background and parental involvement) and reading achievement is illustrated. Thereby, a structural equation model for both countries is developed to understand the interrelation of home characteristics and reading achievement. These results are interpreted in taking contextual factors into account which have been identified in an in-depth literature review on both countries context. (DIPF/Orig.)

Besatzungskinder waren für die Historische Bildungsforschung bislang kein Thema. In den Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften ist dagegen in den letzten Jahren verschiedentlich dazu geforscht worden, erziehungs- und bildungshistorische Fragestellungen stehen allerdings nicht im Zentrum dieser Untersuchungen. Der Beitrag rückt die lebensgeschichtlichen Erinnerungen von Menschen in den Fokus, die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg geboren wurden und deren Väter den alliierten Streitkräften angehörten. Auf der Basis zweier Autobiografien wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie diese Menschen ihr Aufwachsen und ihr soziokulturelles Umfeld in der westdeutschen Nachkriegszeit erlebten. (DIPF/Orig.), In recent years, children of the occupation have been the focus of a number of historical projects. Considering the wide array of results stemming from these studies, it is crucial to ask in which areas further research is still necessary. The article focuses on the autobiographical memories of people born in Germany after the Second World War whose fathers were members of the allied forces and intends to show how children of the occupation experienced their upbringing and sociocultural environment in post-war Germany. (DIPF/Orig.)

Inclusive education became a global promise corroborated by international declarations such as the Salamanca Statement (1994) and the Incheon Declaration (2015). Most countries worldwide have committed to the goal of inclusive education, putting a lot of pressure on so-called developing countries. Against this backdrop the threefold purpose of this book is to: 1. Generate research evidence on the development and implementation of inclusive education in developing countries, 2. Contextualize inclusive education in specific developing countries and contexts, and 3. Reflect on the future of inclusive education in developing countries. (DIPF/Orig.)