Search

Using a qualitative historical research approach, this paper examines the contextual influences, including the formulation motive and their possible impact on policy implementation, of the South African (SA) e-Education White Paper 7 (WP7). A critical discourse analysis (CDA) was conducted on the policy and data was collected through semi-structured interviews (SSI) with purposefully selected participants. Findings of the study reveal tacit contradictions and tensions depicting a policy in contradiction with itself, carrying the hallmark of a symbolic policy. That is, a policy characterised by lack of direction, contradictions in its motive of formulation, no dedicated resources for its implementation, distorted communication resulting from the validity tests, and lack of "material consequences" (Rivzi and Lingard, 2009, p.8). The circumstantial context (socioeconomic and political) of its formulation, dictated to by the prescripts of the negotiated political settlement (NPS), that ushered in the new democratic South Africa (SA), is found to have taken precedence. It further overshadowed critical analysis on the educational needs, which would have informed a better strategic integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) in education. The circumstantial context resulted in a lack of a common goal between policy actors and interest groups. This, to the extent that the former thought of capitalising on the donations of the latter for their own political interests, while the latter saw in the formulation of such policy a way of imposing Government spending in favour of their businesses. These circumstances may have contributed to the policy's failure to reach its set textual objectives and goal by 2013.

During attempts to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic in China, higher education programs shifted their traditional educational models to online models. This paper aimed to explore how Chinese universities organized online teaching and learning during the pandemic. It investigated the factors affecting the implementation of online teaching and provided policy recommendations for improving the quality of education in the post-pandemic period. The primary data for this study came from in-depth interviews with nine students and five teaching and administrative staff at eight major universities in mainland China. Literature was obtained in both English and Chinese from January 2020 to September 2021. Peer-reviewed journals, policy reports, and university documents regarding online education in Chinese universities were reviewed, and their challenges and countermeasures were investigated. The paper found that the implementation of online education was affected by various sources, including technologies, teachers' teaching skills, network information literacy, and students' learning motivations and self-directed learning skills. Based on the insiders' views, the paper suggested that to promote the quality of online education in the post-COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutes and programs could develop their infrastructure construction, improve teachers' quality of teaching, and focus on students' learning motivations.

This article outlines the damage done by more than a decade of Conservative education policy and offers a set of arguments by which Labour could win support for a radical reconfiguration of formal education in England. It sets out elements from the Socialist Educational Association's "Manifesto for Education" in an attempt to inspire a bolder and more thoroughgoing approach than the Labour Party currently offers. Finally, it argues a fully comprehensive education system should be Labour's goal.

In this polemical piece, we begin by arguing that the Schools White Paper (2022) is framed within, and seeks to promulgate, a right-wing 'regime of truth'. We interrogate the vocabulary of the Paper to reveal and challenge its 'truths' -- about the curriculum and its 'delivery'; the testing and examination regime; behaviour; and initial teacher education and the associated pedagogy. We then argue that the requirement for all schools to join 'strong' multi-academy trusts (MATs) is an intimate part of this agenda, not an optional add-on: the Department for Education employs MAT CEOs in every part of the system; MATs operate autocratically; and there is no local democratic control and no local accountability to communities, parents or children. All this reinforces and leaves unquestioned the centralised governmental control of schooling. We end with a call to fight to establish an alternative 'regime of truth' based on respect, reciprocity and democracy.

The purpose of this paper is to explore ways to cultivate learners who can take part in inquiry, discussion, and action toward realizing an equitable society from the perspective of the SDGs and ESD. After confirming the importance of dealing with the concept of and the issues around equity with consideration of the mutual interdependence among all 17 SDGs, the paper notes that the "inclusive and equitable quality education" mentioned in SDG 4 is assumed to be achieved by the integrated improvement and organization of a variety of aspects, such as educational environment, policy, systems, budget, teachers, and competency development. Next, based on the importance of competency development of all learners through ESD, the paper demonstrates the potentials of objective-referenced assessment for ESD. Finally, the paper proposes a tentative idea on a set of objectives for lessons on equity from the perspective of ESD, as a useful way to develop school-based curricula of quality ESD at each school and to promote effective lessons on equity to prepare learners who can attain the necessary competencies and take part in inquiry, discussion, and action toward realizing an equitable society

The paper examines how new age pedagogies and neoliberal policies consciously work towards "naturalizing" English language's hegemony in institutions of Higher Education (IHE) in India. An ethnographic study the paper foregrounds the precarious positioning of non-English Indian languages "vis-à-vis" the pervading discourses of internationalization and education as job/skill oriented. Hegemony of English in the present is coupled with a restructuring of language departments as well as fleeting market demands for human capital. The paper also brings into question the role of the Internet and related technologies in reorganizing the linguistic dynamics of HE. Instead of democratizing, the Internet produces new monopolies in knowledge production, controls knowledge traffic from global North to South and further legitimizes the language hegemony. The paper argues that, in the last two decades, the neoliberal rupture has been leading HE institutions to a death of vernaculars within their physical, cultural and academic spaces.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of language policy in the Philippines, with a particular emphasis on the status, challenges, and future prospects of Chinese language education within the national framework. The study is structured into five distinct sections. Firstly, the historical development of language policies in the Philippines is explored, tracing the transitions from colonial to contemporary eras and assessing their implications for language education. Secondly, an in-depth exploration of the present landscape of Chinese language education is provided, evaluating its integration into the Philippine education system and the effectiveness of existing programs. Thirdly, a critical examination of the current state of local Chinese language teacher training is conducted, analyzing the approaches used to foster a sustainable local teaching workforce. Fourthly, strategic pathways for the next decade are outlined, focusing on the localization of Chinese language education in alignment with the plans of the Philippine Department of Education and broader educational objectives. Finally, the concluding section synthesizes insights garnered from the preceding sections, reflecting on the significance of these developments for the future of Chinese language education in the Philippines. It underscores the pivotal role of Chinese language education in promoting cultural and educational exchanges and facilitating the modernization processes in both China and the Philippines. By addressing these dimensions, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the intersection between language policy and Chinese language education in the Philippines, providing valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers engaged in language education and policy planning in multilingual and multicultural contexts.

Institutional practices related to providing academic accommodations and access have long been ableist and bureaucratic and remain that way. This paper will focus on these practices in the post-secondary education context. The central question of this paper is: What do meaningful access and reasonable accommodation mean to post-secondary students with disabilities? Proceeding from the premise that students with disabilities do not currently define meaningful access and reasonable accommodations, this paper will argue that accommodations and access as defined within policy are not adequately serving the needs of post-secondary students with disabilities. This paper then highlights the definitions of meaningful access and reasonable accommodations provided by eight students who participated in a recent study. Finally, this paper will highlight the negative and positive encounters with accommodations experienced by many post-secondary students in the province of Ontario who follow the Policy on Accessible Education for Students with Disabilities (2018) as a policy that guides educational practices.

In response to the economic pressures of globalisation, the Japanese government has sought to internationalise its universities while at the same time attempting to protect Japan's culture. To achieve its goals, namely the increase in the number of international students and the development of human resources, it has initiated a number of top-down, quantitative policies which promote the Internationalisation of Higher Education (IoHE) through an increase in the provision of English Medium Instruction (EMI) courses. This paper provides a critical analysis of the government's approach and how the policies have been implemented by universities. The paper contends that the government's approach has enabled universities, which do not wish to make substantive changes to their curricula, to peripheralise EMI courses. The consequence of this is that the government's current approach of promoting EMI to internationalise Japanese universities is unlikely to achieve its goals.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and reflect on the position of what are called second additional languages in the language teaching landscape of South African schools. This landscape is crowded, with different South African languages vying for attention. Amidst efforts to increase the number of learners who offer an African language as one of the subjects in the school exit examination, initiatives to introduce languages like Mandarin and Swahili put additional pressure on an already over-burdened system. The paper considers this crowded landscape and the implications for the teaching of German, French and Mandarin at secondary school level. These are only three of at least fifteen languages offered as second additional languages. This paper focuses on these three because they are most widely taught in mainstream schools. The policies and practices as well as the problems with teaching these languages are described, focusing on the types of learner who will choose these languages, the approach to teaching them and possible actions that could ensure the continued offering of second additional languages at primary and secondary schools.

Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (GAI) have sparked debates and research on its transformative potential in education. This study explored how a specific group of educators partner with GAI tools, particularly ChatGPT, to complement and enhance their teaching. Within an interpretative paradigm, the study used an exploratory case study design to investigate how 13 educators enrolled as students in a structured master's programme at an open distance learning university in South Africa use GAI tools in their teaching. Their posts on a discussion forum were used to collect data. Findings reveal that they actively employ GAI to streamline their teaching practices, specifically to personalized tutors, simplifying English texts and translations, assessments, lesson planning, and critical thinking tasks. The study also highlights the need to understand the limitations and boundaries of GAI, including concerns about accuracy, biases and reliability. Importantly, the absence of institutional guidelines on GAI raises questions about the necessity for clear guidelines and policies to ensure responsible and ethical integration in educational contexts. The paper concludes by emphasizing the transformative potential of GAI and the fact that it will increasingly act as a partner in teaching and influence modern teaching practices. Ultimately, GAI's foothold in education is undeniable, challenging educators and policymakers to navigate its implications while maximizing its potential to support effective teaching.

The importance of enhancing social and emotional skills in educational settings has gained prominence, with many countries and organizations embracing the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework to equip individuals with the tools needed for shaping a self-identity, emotional regulation, goal achievement, empathy, nurturing relationships, and responsible decision-making and overall well-being. In this paper, we aim to connect the globally acknowledged Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning SEL framework with international policies that underscore the importance of social and emotional skills in the school context. To accomplish this goal, we first provide a brief overview of the key components of the SEL framework. Subsequently, we explore two significant educational policies within the European context. The first policy is the World Health Organization Health Promoting Schools initiative. We present its objectives, a WHO-affiliated program example, the promoted and assessed competencies of students, and its results, connecting its framework with the CASEL SEL approach. The second focus is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Study on Social and Emotional Skills, describing its developmental process and the assessment framework. Finally, we describe the alignment of SEL with these European educational policies and illustrate their role in advancing and improving the evaluation of SEL initiatives in educational environments.

The widespread adoption of school autonomy with accountability reforms in education has generated debate regarding the relationship between autonomy, innovation and accountability. While at the policy design level, these three elements are highly related, several authors highlight the contradictions among them. By analyzing key documents and interviews, this paper aims to identify the program ontology behind the current Italian National Evaluation System (SNV), with a focus on the way in which autonomy, accountability and innovation have been conceptualized and linked together. The paper also aims to explore whether pitfalls and/or tensions exist that might hamper the achievement of the SNV goals. The findings highlight the peculiarities of the Italian autonomy with accountability system, which has resulted from the involvement of different stakeholders in the design and implementation of the reforms. The findings also reveal contradictions regarding some of its premises. Various rationales (improvement, efficiency, equity and transparency) emerge that seem to have acted as drivers of the reforms, however, the influence of globalizing discourses on international competition and the benefits of datafication also appears significant. A number of contextual aspects are finally considered which hamper the expected change mechanisms, highlighting the discontinuous ground in which such policy "dispositifs" operate.

This study clarifies the development process of inclusive education in England (London) with Disability Equality Training (DET) for non-disabled teachers and pupils. It focuses on the practices of graduates of special schools who are members of the Integration Alliance (IA), an organization of disabled people. The shift in education policy from segregation to integration in the 1970s and 1980s influenced the development of the inclusion movement among people with disabilities and their parents, some of whom joined the IA and have been campaigning together since the 1990s to end the segregation of children with disabilities. IA members provided DET to non-disabled teachers and pupils in mainstream schools to change their attitudes and practices towards inclusion. The training was delivered during Disability History Month or across the curriculum in each subject area. The training covered the history of discrimination, the concept of the 'social model' of disability, and the role of 'allies'. Through DET, non-disabled teachers and pupils were encouraged to raise awareness of issues of exclusion and to work together for inclusion. It is also found that inclusive education movements with non-disabled allies have been developed since the 1990s. Under the Labour government, the campaign grew and education policy shifted towards inclusive education. However, the current situation has deteriorated, and the IA's successor is still practicing DET in mainstream schools, as inclusive education requires the cooperation of non-disabled allies and the reform of mainstream schools. This paper concludes that raising non-disabled allies through DET and campaigning together was important in achieving inclusive education. It shows, in comparison to previous research, that DET has played an important role in the process of making allies for inclusive education.

Using the contrast between "formal equality" and "equity," this study employs Amartya Sen's concept of capability to illustrate the relational structure of the distributive principle behind Japan's education system and policies, as well as its problems. In addition, it presents a practical principle and measures for implementing an educational system and policies that emphasize equity. The results demonstrate that Japan's educational system and policies emphasize formal equality and distribute goods on the principle of equity only to some children with difficulties. Additionally, a growing demand for both formal equality and equity has emerged in recent years. The reality, however, is a reciprocal relationship where the majority of students are still expected to achieve a high level of functioning, while "diverse learning spaces" are expanded for those children who cannot keep up. This paper explains that to move beyond this situation and realize an educational system and policies that emphasize equity and guarantee capability will be possible by ensuring that the distribution of goods and services for children with difficulties benefits all children. This can be accomplished by adopting the philosophy of "caring educational administration."

This paper uses critical policy analysis to investigate how the concept of equity has been co-opted to promote a neoliberal agenda in education reforms in Manitoba. Early provincial reform documents contained a narrow definition of equity focused primarily on closing achievement gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. These reform documents were rejected by the public, in part due to concerns about equity. The Manitoba Education Action Plan was introduced in 2022, which more explicitly focused on achieving equity as part of the education reform process. However, the framing of equity in the Action Plan was narrow, emphasizing individualism rather than a more systemic pursuit of equity. While some recommended actions in the Action Plan have promoted a more inclusive and culturally responsive education system, other actions have advanced a neoliberal agenda focused on work-readiness and accountability, while actions to remove barriers to education have been undertaken with limited urgency.

This article presents a review of the current state and the potential of digitalization of Vietnam's higher education and makes recommendations in support of the digitalization process. It is mainly based on public documents. The paper discusses the extent of institutional digital transformation, its challenges, and opportunities in two contexts: (1) before the outbreak of COVID-19 when the process of digitalization of most universities was just beginning and varied in level, and (2) after the outbreak of COVID-19, when digitalization occurred rapidly. The review addresses digitalization in line with the National Digital Transformation Program with a vision for 2030, which has three targets: (1) to develop the platform to support distance learning and teaching and thoroughly apply digital technologies to management, teaching, and learning; (2) the development of digitalized learning materials, and (3) the creation of a data warehouse for sharing teaching and learning resources.

This paper examines the digitalization of higher education in Ethiopia. It mainly focuses on better understanding the policies, practices, and challenges of digitalization of higher education in the country. The necessary data were mainly generated from continental, national, and institutional policy and strategy documents. Publicly available transnational and national reports and other documents and the author's views and lived experiences were also used to substantiate data generated through policy review. The data were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. The themes were mainly developed based on prior research and existing literature. The findings indicate that there are sufficient and feasible policies and strategies to promote and ensure the digitalization of higher education in Ethiopia. The findings also reveal that there are initiatives that promote the practice of digitalization of higher education. However, poor internet connection, lack of adequate ICT infrastructure, lack of skilled human resources, and staff resistance to change were found to be the major barriers to enhancing the digitalization of higher education in Ethiopian higher education. The results imply that having feasible policies and strategies is a necessary but insufficient condition to ensure effective implementation of digitalization of higher education. It necessitates the government's commitment as well as a shift in focus from the expansion of HEIs, which was the case in the last two decades, to ensuring the quality and relevance of HEIs through digital transformation.