Search

Climate change is a global crisis that all of humanity must collectively address. Therefore, there is a need to educate future generations, namely infants, on climate change through international cooperation. In this context, this study aimed to analyze picturebooks on climate change read by infants in China and Korea, two neighboring countries in East Asia. To achieve this, we examined the publication status of climate change picturebooks in both countries, identifying similarities and differences in content. The research yielded the following results. First, there were significant differences in the publication status of climate change picturebooks in China and Korea. Second, both Chinese and Korean picturebooks realistically presented the causes of climate change, but depicted its impacts as a combination of real and fictitious effects. Finally, Korea demonstrated a broader range of actions to mitigate climate change compared to China. Based on these findings, we provided insights for climate change education in China and Korea, and proposed inter-country educational cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the differences in preschool teachers' perceptions of classroom rules in a cross-cultural context, to help preschool teachers cope with cultural differences and construct appropriate classroom rules. The study conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 in-service preschool teachers from China and Thailand. The findings indicated that teachers' perceptions of the functional significance of classroom rules were generally consistent between the two countries, and that differences existed in the perceptions of the sources, settings, and implementation of rules, and that teachers' perceptions were closely related to their practice experiences and developmental levels. This study provides a novel contribution by investigating how cultural nuances shape preschool teachers' perspectives on classroom rules in China and Thailand, it unveils distinct insights into educational practices, contributing to cross-cultural understanding and offering practical implications for effective teaching strategies in diverse contexts. Teachers' perceptions of classroom rule violations in the face of young children had both similarities and differences, as well as different ways of dealing with them. It has been shown that despite the increasing prevalence of intercultural learning among younger learners, teachers' perceptions and implementation of intercultural teaching and learning are not adequate. By analyzing preschool teachers' perceptions of classroom rules in China and Thailand, we argue that understanding the cultural differences between the two countries and focusing on the educational culture of the target country can effectively help teachers establish and implement rules while helping young children understand them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper scrutinizes the increasing trend of using international large-scale assessment (ILSA) data for causal inferences in educational research, arguing that such inferences are often tenuous. We explore the complexities of causality within ILSAs, highlighting the methodological constraints that challenge the validity of causal claims derived from these datasets. The analysis begins with an overview of causality in relation to ILSAs, followed by an examination of randomized control trials and quasi-experimental designs. We juxtapose two quasi-experimental studies demonstrating potential against three studies using ILSA data, revealing significant limitations in causal inference. The discussion addresses the ethical and epistemological challenges in applying quasi-experimental designs to ILSAs, emphasizing the difficulty in achieving robust causal inference. The paper concludes by suggesting a framework for critically evaluating quasi-experimental designs using ILSAs, advocating for a cautious approach in employing these data for causal inferences. We call for a reevaluation of methodologies and conceptual frameworks in comparative education, underscoring the need for a multifaceted approach that combines statistical rigor with an understanding of educational contexts and theoretical foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of comparative education, it has often been stressed that Chinese families hold high expectations on school achievement and believe in the pay-off of effort. However, the literature on the relationship between effort and academic achievement is limited. Individual effort is not widely considered a significant cause of educational disparities, which often is mainly attributed to structural and contextual factors, such as family socioeconomic status (SES). Using the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS 2013, 2014), this study examined the role of effort in affecting educational outcomes and investigated the interplay between effort and family socioeconomic status. The results showed that effort has a positive impact on academic performance, though to a lesser degree than family SES. The study also discovered that low-SES students tend to exert more effort than high-SES students and that the effect of effort is greater for low-SES students. These findings underlined the importance of individual effort for academic success, particularly for low-SES students, and suggested policies that aim at enhancing motivation and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research from high-income countries and dated research from middle-income countries suggest that home computers and Internet (HCI) may cause more harm than good on students' academic and psychological outcomes. We consider the Program for International Student Assessment 2018 data for 15-year-old students in five middle-income countries with low shares of HCI access: Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, and Turkey. We find no negative and statistically significant regression coefficients between HCI access and mathematics, reading, self-reported well-being, and resilience scores. Instead, most HCI coefficients are positive and statistically significant. Therefore, we cannot conclude that HCI access harms the academic and psychological outcomes for the students and countries considered in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitators, i.e., individuals who lead professional development (PD) programs, play a crucial role in providing high-quality PD to teachers, which is particularly relevant in the context of teaching mathematics with technology given the ubiquitous calls to exploit the potential of digital mathematical tools (DMT). However, quantitative research investigating facilitators' beliefs and practices remains scarce, particularly research comparing countries. In this cross-national study conducted in China and Germany, we developed an online questionnaire and surveyed n = 340 facilitators to provide a comprehensive quantitative picture of facilitators' beliefs and practices concerning PD for teaching mathematics with DMT. The results highlight various commonalities and differences between facilitators in China and Germany. We reveal significant differences concerning cooperation among facilitators, adaptation of PD materials, how facilitators professionalise themselves, and beliefs about when and how to use DMT. Furthermore, Chinese facilitators emphasise technical competence more strongly, while German facilitators focus more on developing teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. A critical commonality was that facilitators' self-efficacy concerning teaching with DMT and their self-efficacy for conducting PD for teaching mathematics with DMT was low. We discuss how the results can be linked to differences in the educational and cultural context and outline possible complements and enrichments for both countries' educational systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the critical role of academic English writing proficiency in higher education, existing research has inadequately addressed the comparative impact of teacher-led and student-involved assessments on writing outcomes. To address the research gap, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of 'Teacher-Only Assessment' compared to 'Combined Teacher and Student Self-Assessment' in English writing at a university in southern Thailand. Additionally, the study examined the viewpoints of students regarding the implementation of these approaches. It utilized a sequential explanatory research design in conjunction with a quasi-experimental design. The research instruments included a series of writing tasks, a teacher assessment rubric, a self-assessment form, and a questionnaire with open-ended questions. A group of 62 first-year English majors was divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group, consisting of 31 students each. Both groups were taking an English Composition I course for 12 weeks and were assigned the same writing tasks. The experimental group was provided with both self-assessments and teacher evaluations, whereas the control group solely received teacher evaluations. The quantitative data was analyzed using an independent sample, while the qualitative data was examined through a thematic analysis. Quantitatively, the independent t-test results indicated that there was no statistically significant distinction in overall writing performance between both groups, except for narrative paragraphs. Moreover, the qualitative findings emphasized the merits of incorporating teacher-led and student-involved assessments. This study suggests various implications for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction and assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4) calls for the establishment of an inclusive education system for all students. As conflicts, persecution, and natural disasters continue to displace millions globally, the duration of refugee situations has become increasingly extended. The complexities of exile have further entangled the human rights issue, making it essential for affected individuals to seek sanctuary in other countries. These crises not only uproot families but also disrupt livelihoods and educational systems. Consequently, the onus has been on international laws and policies to promote and protect inclusive education as a human right for students with disabilities. In this study, using mixed methods, we first conducted interviews with two Syrian students with disabilities at Yarmouk University in Jordan and Qatar University in Qatar. Thematic analysis of these interviews yielded three primary themes: equity in educational opportunities, services provided, and challenges facing inclusive education. Following the interviews, we conducted a document analysis to evaluate the educational policies at both institutions. We used the 4-A framework for this evaluation, emphasizing that educational systems should be Available, Accessible, Acceptable, and Adaptable. The analysis indicated significant disparities in how closely each institution adheres to the principles of the 4-A framework. The findings indicate that inconsistencies in policy implementation, unequal access to financial aid, and difficulties in career planning are influenced by cultural, social, political, and economic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to identify the major business challenges of the Indian MSMEs at two different stages of business development, i.e. nascent (while establishing) and mature (operational for at least 5 years) as many MSMEs succumb within their initial years of establishment. Built on a sample of 320 registered MSMEs from Assam, India, it uses a schedule for data collection. The schedule comprises 32 challenges for the nascent MSMEs and 39 challenges for the mature MSMEs. The responses are captured in 5-point Likert scale. The study uses principal component analysis to meaningfully compress data into smaller groups. With the thumb rule of Eigenvalue greater than 1, six challenges for the nascent and seven challenges for the mature MSMEs are extracted as the new principal components (PCs). The six PCs/challenges hence found for the nascent MSMEs are as follows: marketing and infrastructural bottleneck, capital inaccessibility, dearth of entrepreneurial education and training, stringent government policies, paucity of appropriate business support and assistance and limited accessibility to resources. Likewise, the seven PCs/challenges for the mature MSMEs are as follows: inappropriate marketing strategy, capital inaccessibility, paucity of appropriate business support and assistance, limited accessibility to resources, stringent government policies, infrastructural bottleneck and dearth of entrepreneurial education and training. Furthermore, mean scores are calculated for these challenges and comparing the highest mean of all the challenges, and marketing and infrastructural bottleneck with a mean of 29.57 is rated as the most significant challenge for the nascent MSMEs whereas capital inaccessibility (36.39) is the first ranked challenge for the mature MSMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative study investigated the associations between instructional practices and students' reading performance among 10 top performing regions that participated in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018. A nationally representative sample consisting of 80,016 15-year-old students from 5 Asian regions (B-S-J-Z [China], Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, and Korea) and 5 Western regions (Estonia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, and Poland) were included. A secondary analysis of PISA survey and assessment data was conducted. T test and ANOVA analyses revealed systematic differences in instructional practices of the 10 regions. B-S-J-Z (China) had significantly higher levels of teacher support, teacher-directed instruction, and teacher stimulation than the other sample regions. Asian regions tended to have higher levels of teacher support, teacher-directed instruction, teacher feedback, adaptive instruction, and teacher enthusiasm compared with Western regions, although variations were also found within Asian regions or within Western regions. Hierarchical linear regression (HLR) analyses indicated that reading performance was positively predicted by teacher support, adaptive instruction, teacher stimulation, and teacher enthusiasm, but negatively predicted by teacher-directed instruction and teacher feedback. This study sheds light on the effective instructional practices for optimizing students' reading performance across different cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding what contributes to improving a system will help us tackle the problems in education systems that usually fail disproportionately in providing quality education for all, especially for the most disadvantage sectors of the population. This paper presents the results of a qualitative systematic literature review aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of what education research can say about the factors that promote education systems' improvement. This literature is emerging as a topic of empirical research that merges comparative education and school effectiveness studies as standardized assessments make it possible to compare results across systems and time. To examine and synthesize the papers included in this review we followed a thematic analysis approach. We identify, analyze, and report patterns in the papers included in this systematic review. From the coding process, four drivers for system improvement emerged: (1) system-wide approaches; (2) human capital; (3) governance and macro–micro level bridges; and (4) availability of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings on children's proportional reasoning abilities strongly vary across studies. This might be due to the different contexts that can be used in proportional problems: fair-sharing, mixtures, and probability. A review of the scientific literature suggests that the context of proportional problems may not only impact the difficulty of the problem, but that it also plays an important role in how children approach the problems. In other words, different contexts might elicit different (erroneous) thinking strategies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of context in third graders' (n = 305) proportional reasoning abilities. Results showed that children performed significantly better in a fair-sharing context compared to a mixture and a probability context. No evidence was found for a difference in performance on the mixture and the probability context. However, the kind of erroneous answers that were given in the mixture and probability context differed slightly, with more additive answers in the mixture context and more one-dimensional answers in the probability context. These findings suggest that the type of answers elicited by proportional problems might depend on the specific context in which the problem is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important dimension of international comparative analysis in education is studying the models of regulation that structure the way in which educational provision is organized. The specialized literature has defined three predominant regulatory models: the traditional bureaucratic professional model, the quasi-market model inspired by neoliberal thought, and the evaluative state model linked to the notion of new public management. This paper seeks to contribute to this line of analysis by studying the evolution of the Chilean education system since 1980. We describe and analyze the models of regulation that have governed Chilean education and their expression in educational reforms and policies; we assert that Chile has adopted all three mentioned models. We also identify some of the principal consequences of these policies: a highly atomized, privatized, and socioeconomically segregated school system; an improvement in access to education and the conditions for the educational process; and an increase in learning outcomes, despite starting from very low levels and stalling during the past decade while remaining highly unequal in character. Thus, we propose some hypotheses to interpret those changes, relating them to the models of regulation as well as the policies previously analyzed. Overall, we affirm that the market and evaluative state models have achieved modest positive effects while producing relevant undesirable consequences. We conclude the paper with a reflection on the character of the particular hybridization of regulatory models developed in Chile, and the types of policy we believe should be prioritized to improve quality, increase innovation, and diminish inequity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings from a study that investigated how the global logic of human rights, as incorporated by the International Baccalaureate schools into their policies and practices, is experienced and adhered to by students who are following the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in different contexts. In this study, the cases for comparison were a private school in Norway and a state-funded school in Poland. Although selected for their differences, they offered functional equivalence in the standardized diploma program. The study used a multiple-methods approach, including both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings reveal significant differences between students' levels of adherence to human rights logic. Reasons for this difference point both to logic hybridity within the school organization and a diverse school learning community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical and autobiographical approaches are combined with interviews to analyze the case of the Europa-Kontakt in pre-1989 Poland and West Germany within the framework of Europeanization. The international education encounters exemplify the tendencies to Europeanize, which emerged in both countries despite the Iron Curtain. The painful relationship between Poland and Germany is contrasted with the personal trust and cooperation between Polish and German exchange pioneers since the 1970s. Their pioneering work focused on multinational inclusion, participation, intercultural learning, gifted education, creativity, and building leadership skills. It merged German adaptation of the United States' HighScope model with philosophy of encounters typical of scouting tradition, Janusz Korczak's pedagogy, and Carl Rogers' humanistic psychology, preparing ground for the 1989–2004 European Union enlargement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities, teacher's role and assessment. The curriculum analysis framework developed by Van den Akker (2003) was used as a methodological framework for the curricula analysis. Based on the theory-driven content analyses, findings show that both countries have several components of constructivist curriculum, but not always clearly focused on science education. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) integrates children's science learning within their five specific learning outcomes, whereas the Finnish national core curriculum for early childhood education and care has no defined learning outcomes in general. The Finnish curriculum more clearly than EYLF encompasses science and environmental education as a learning domain, within which children participate in targeted scientific activities to gain procedural knowledge in specific environmental-related concepts. More focus should be turned to the teachers' role and assessment, which are not determined in science context in both countries. This international comparative study calls for the need of a considered EC curriculum framework that more explicitly has science domains with specifically defined rationale, aims, content areas, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The implications lie in providing early childhood educators with tangible and theoretically solid curriculum framework and resources in order to foster scientific thinking in young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analyses of publishing trends are gaining importance across various disciplines, yet we have limited knowledge on the extent to which international publication processes have developed within the field of legal studies. Based on bibliometric and network analyses focusing on the past two decades, our research investigates publishing and internationalization processes in the pool of Scopus-indexed law journals, as well as the publication patterns of the most prolific Law scholars. Results indicate that most legal studies journals are concentrated in the hands of a few global publishers and university presses, and, while the number of Scopus-indexed law journals are high, the level of internationalization is relatively low. Consequently, further efforts are prompted to enhance geographical diversity and increase the level of international collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent and exponential growth of adopters of digital technologies, thanks to the information and communications technologies (ICTs) advances, have been changing the field of operations management (OM) drastically (Li, [4]; Queiroz & Fosso Wamba, [5]). I AI applications to minimize the impacts in OM during disruptive events: i although the potential of AI applications in OM, it is unclear how OM can benefit from AI applications in the face of crises before they occur. For instance, AI has been employed in different fields such as healthcare operations, humanitarian supply chains, inventory management, and transportation activities. [Extracted from the article]

VET (vocational education and training) is a highly complex, multidimensional worldwide phenomenon with diverse structures. Additionally, very different actors define the functions of a national (or even a regional) VET system. The paper contributes to a better understanding of the policy frameworks and current states of such systems. Therefore, we focus on selected VET systems in order to understand their specifics and thus, their market conditions. A qualitative approach is used to answer the research question regarding which conditions create or support market-based opportunities for the provision of commercial vocational training services. We find that the liberalism and deregulation of the VET sectors, as well as the marketisation of VET practices, lead to incentives to internationalise VET offers. Thinking in terms of skills, the kind of education system does not play a role. This is the case in liberal market-driven VET approaches (here, the UK, the USA and Australia) and is mirrored in the micro-analysis categories of curricula, learning location, content, and learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What use has a poverty line when we do not know what it actually allows for? I exploit this weaknesses of the dollar-a-day methodology to motivate a relatively more consistent alternative in global poverty measurement. Poverty lines targeting well-defined welfare levels are constructed as consumption baskets, following recommendation 15 of the World Bank Commission on Global Poverty which promotes the use of a cost of basic needs approach in global poverty measurement. Those baskets are priced locally and separately for each year, and account for basic nutrition, heating, housing, health, education and other expenses. This transparent method is here applied on long run poverty measurement for a group of eight countries. A second contribution is the error accounting approach using Monte Carlo technique for micro-simulations. This is in line with recommendation 5 for "total error" accounting, published in the recent Commission on Global Poverty report. Thus, statistical analysis of global poverty becomes possible. The evolution of the poverty profile in five key western countries along with three countries from Africa, seen from a broader global perspective, allows for a comparative analysis. Among this small group of countries, the Netherlands appear to be the champions in fighting extreme absolute poverty, with all poverty lines producing zero absolute poverty rates since 1987. An important caveat in interpreting these results is the use of sub-optimal distributional data for these estimates, in order to keep the quality of the underlying data comparable throughout the estimation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its immersive and interactive nature, 360-degree video is becoming ever more popular. However, little is known about the public's viewpoints and attitudes regarding the use of this emerging technology in educational contexts. This study reviews the research evidence for 360° video, virtual learning environments and social media and presents related studies. Moreover, the methodology, the tools and the analysis process used to comparatively analyze social media data are presented and the results that arose are showcased. The use of 360° video in education is discussed and directions for future research are given. Based on the data from the last 10 years, the main findings of the study show that 360° video and its use in educational settings are recognized positively by the public who mostly express anticipation, trust and joy when referring to it. Nonetheless, teachers are unfamiliar with 360° video and do not have the necessary technical skills to develop educational material using it or incorporating it into teaching activities. Finally, 360° video is proven to be an effective educational tool which satisfies the emerging educational needs, enriches the teaching and learning process and promotes students' motivation, active participation and engagement, rendering, thus, learning more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After examining the concept of demographic dividend and in-depth analysis of the changing demographic profile of Indian population in a comparative framework, in this study it has been argued that the transformation of demographic potential into demographic dividend is predicated on the premise that India adopts state sponsored social-economic policy regime for public health and education for its youth to acquire skills which will be required in the twenty-first century and adopts macroeconomic policies which ensures optimal use of human resources. Otherwise demographic dividend will be a myth and a mirage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was developed within the scope of a PhD thesis that intends to characterize the use of mobile applications by the students of the University of Aveiro during class time. The main purpose of this paper is to present the results of an initial pilot study that aimed to fine-tune data collection methods in order to gather data that reflected the practices of the use of mobile applications by students in a higher education institution during classes. In this paper we present the context of the pilot, its technological settings, the analysed cases and the discussion and conclusions carried out to gather mobile applications usage data logs from students of an undergraduate degree on Communication Technologies. Our study gathered data from 77 participants, taking theoretical classes in the Department of Communication and Arts at the University of Aveiro. The research was based on the Grounded Theory method approach aiming to analyse the logs from the access points of the University. With the collected data, a profile of the use of mobile devices during classes was drawn. The preliminary findings suggest that the use of apps during the theoretical classes of the Department of Communication and Art is quite high and that the most used apps are Social networks like Facebook and Instagram. During this pilot the accesses during theoretical classes corresponded to approximately 11,177 accesses per student. We also concluded that the students agree that accessing applications can distract them during these classes and that they have a misperception about their use of online applications during classes, as the usage time is, in fact, more intensive than what participants reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current research was to investigate the perceptions and experiences of university students regarding three different teaching and learning approaches constructed as a face-to-face approach, a technology-supported traditional approach, and an e-learning approach. The researchers attempted to report the preliminary findings of student perceptions and experiences from test lectures given during an EU-funded project which utilised new approaches (i.e. a digital interactive tool and an e-learning platform) in architectural history education. Our qualitative comparative case study involved focus-group interviews with 22 students who took part in different groups for the same course over 6 weeks in the 2018–2019 academic year at a large public university in Southeastern Turkey. The same curriculum content was used for each group in the same course divided into three groups. Semi-structured interview forms were used to examine students' perceptions and experiences about their groups to compare the pros and cons of the approaches and recommendations for the improvement of each approach. Students put great emphasis on teacher guidance, but they demanded alternative ways to enhance their learning. Timeline travel tool was regarded as a useful interactive tool to be used as a companion and supportive material in architectural history courses. It was understood that the timeline travel e-learning platform could be used as a supplementary resource, not necessarily taking over the role of an instructor. The research suggested that a blended learning approach could make more contributions to student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to highlight the key elements related to the implementation of new technologies in education from the perspective of the opinions and experiences of educators in the field in Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Poland, Turkey, and Uruguay. The text compares issues related to attitudes towards the use of new media in education, experiences with different forms of e-learning, and the level of restrictions on the use of smartphones in school. These variables are juxtaposed with the self-assessment of digital competence and how cyberspace is used. The survey was conducted using a standardised survey questionnaire translated into the relevant national languages in the first half of 2019, and involved a sample of 873 teachers representing eight countries. On the basis of the pilot studies it was noted that: 1) Teachers from LAC and EU like to use digital media - this is a constant trend independent of geographical location; 2) Teachers note that new technologies are not always better than analogue didactic aids; 3) Teachers from selected countries (the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Turkey, and Uruguay) have much greater techno-optimism in themselves than teachers from Bolivia, Poland, Finland and Turkey in terms of the impact of ICT on student motivation and engagement; 4) In all countries teachers prefer free online courses (the different forms of e-learning are used most often by those in the Dominican Republic, and the least often in Bolivia and Poland); 5) In each country teachers who highly value their own digital competences and have a positive attitude towards new media use ICT much more actively; 6) There is also a global trend in that the extensive use of cyberspace (typical e-services) appears in combination with the extensive use of various forms of e-learning; 7) Teachers from Ecuador are most likely to want to ban the use of smartphones in schools. The most liberal approach in this respect is taken by the Uruguayans; 8) The knowledge of the conditions related to restricting the use of smartphones goes beyond the analyses related to the style of use and attitude towards new media. This article is the result of pilot studies conducted within the framework of the SMART ECOSYSTEM FOR LEARNING AND INCLUSION project carried out in selected Latin American, Caribbean (LAC) and European (EU) countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first part comprises essays that elucidate some of the conceptual underpinnings of civil society and nonprofits, thus highlighting how Anheier's theoretical thinking is shaping the current research. Other essays in these two first parts cover different matters, from a thoughtful analysis of moral and spiritual dimensions of global civil society (chapter 18) to the defense of a unifying jurisprudence to facilitate reform (9). Germany is also the focus of two of the most interesting chapters in this section: one that investigates how business and civil society relate (27) and another with one of the few examples in the book that somehow refers to intersectionality - more specifically, gender (in)equality (29). [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, authors focus on how internationalisation is defined, interpreted, and responded to by Universities in Australia and Canada, two decades after de Wit's (Strategies for the internationalisation of higher education. A comparative study of Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA. European Association for International Education, Amsterdam, 1995) comparison of internationalisation in four higher education contexts. Guided by humanitarian factors that impact internationalisation in higher education contexts, authors find convergence and divergence with de Wits earlier study. A critical policy lens is employed to further analyse, probe and pose critical questions related to people, philosophy, place, processes, and power (5Ps). Authors argue that the intent (philosophy) of institutions (place) to internationalise (process) are impacted by the interests (power) of individuals and institutions (people) and these often conflict with descriptions and ideals of internationalisation. The authors offer conscientious internationalisation (CI) to recalibrate discourse and practices embedded in the internationalisation of higher education. CI prioritises ethics over markets. It is characterized as practices and processes informed by constitutive principles and ethical practices that amplify equity, reciprocity, and integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As transfers of educational ideas across countries accelerate in the twenty-first century with globalization, studies on educational change have lagged in foregrounding the importance of cross-national contexts when ideas traverse borders. This qualitative study investigates 30 Singapore teachers' perceptions of challenges involved in implementing differentiated instruction from the U.S., to sketch the contours around the intersection of educational transfer and change. Through analyzing classroom discussions and assignments of teachers enrolled in a Masters-level differentiated instruction course, we found that teachers' perceptions of implementation challenges clustered around technological, sociocultural, and political concerns. Challenges associated with differing technological conditions (e.g., class size/space and teacher capacity) and sociocultural norms (e.g., emphasis on control, results, and teacher-centered teaching) bring to fore how perceptions of origin and destination contexts shape reception of educational ideas, like differentiated instruction. Postmodern ambiguities around norms, objectivity, and evidence in a globally porous world further complicate teachers' concerns. In concluding, we propose a comparative educational change framework through which educational change and transfer can be viewed and argue for the need to scrutinize the influence of cross-national contexts when studying educational change across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the globe, linguistically heterogeneous populations increasingly define school systems at the same time that developing the ability to communicate cross-culturally is becoming essential for internationalized economies. While these trends seem complimentary, they often appear in paradoxical opposition as represented in the content and execution of nationwide education policies. Given the differing geopolitical contexts within which school systems function, wide variation exists with regard to how policymakers address the challenges of providing language education, including how they frame goals and design programs to align with those goals. Here we present a cross-continental examination of this variation, which reveals parallel tensions among aims for integrating immigrant populations, closing historic achievement gaps, fostering intercultural understanding, and developing multilingual competencies. To consider implications of such paradoxes and parallels in policy foundations, we compare language education in the US and in the EU, focusing on the Netherlands as an illustrative case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the factors pulling and pushing students in a foreign country to complete their higher education is key for the implementation of university policies aimed at increasing the number of credits gained by students abroad and hence the degree of internationalisation of institutions. Consistent with previous studies, the present contribution examines the roles played by countries in the Erasmus student mobility flows by considering a joint strategy of analysis based on social network analysis and exploratory data analysis. First, data on Erasmus student exchanges among countries are gathered at macro-level from the European Union Open Data Portal and network data structures are analysed. Second, educational indicators from the Eurostat website are collected to describe the investments in higher education. The main findings suggest the presence of a core-periphery configuration in the student mobility network with few central countries in which the economic benefits and the investments in education seem to act as key elements for university attractiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing availability of high-quality longitudinal data on students in higher education, scholars' interest in how students proceed through higher education has risen. So far, the research field is diverse in theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Thus, based on 27 studies published in (higher) education research journals during the past two decades, this literature review provides an overview of the theoretical concepts, methodologies and main empirical findings in the study of students' trajectories in higher education. The results depict a US dominated research field. Most theoretical frameworks are based on student's decision-making. Across different country contexts and research designs—ranging from descriptions of student trajectories to studies predicting who engages in which types of trajectories to sequential trajectory reconstruction—we found that historically disadvantaged groups in higher education such as students from low social origin follow less linear and less smooth higher education trajectories. However, while the field of comparative education is growing steadily and may significantly contribute to explaining the link between the realization of students' opportunities and the way how higher education is designed and implemented both on the national and local level, there were no cross-country comparison studies on higher education trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) has become one of the most influential forces in global education. The growing influence has been accompanied by growing criticism. For nearly two decades since the first round of PISA was conducted in 2000, the global assessment program has been roundly scrutinized and criticized by education researchers all over the world. But the mounting criticism seems to have had little impact on PISA's influence as evidenced by its growing power in global education policy and practice. The lack of impact of criticism does not mean the criticism is not valid or PISA has improved. It simply means that the criticism has been largely ignored. The lack of impact is no reason to give up exposing PISA as a flawed business that has great power to misguide education. The expanding influence of the PISA enterprise makes it more even more important to be critical of this juggernaut today. It is also important to consider more effective and more straightforward approaches to present the criticism. The purpose of this article is to present a summary of criticisms that reveal the most fundamental flaws of PISA in non-technical language in one place. Specifically, the article focuses on criticisms of PISA's three fundamental deficiencies: its underlying view of education, its implementation, and its interpretation and impact on education globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the curriculum of engineering leadership offerings in Canadian universities. We operationalize an adapted version of Lattuca and Stark's (2011) academic plan framework to analyze key documents of engineering leadership offerings embedded in the engineering curriculum in six different universities. In the process, we generate relevant categories for comparison that are specific to engineering leadership curricula, leading to a preliminary taxonomy for leadership education in a professional field. Using the process and taxonomy developed, findings show a range of purposes, content and sequencing, with a common core of instructional processes and resources. We also explore how accreditation, labour markets, internal resources and relationships shape curriculum decisions. This paper highlights changing trends in engineering education related to leadership skill development and provides insights for professional education more broadly on the influences and practical implementation of these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International comparative studies of education have shown that the increase in mathematical attainment differs significantly among students in relation to the different school types in which their mathematical foundations were acquired. In tertiary education, the same differences are observed with respect to simple tasks that relate to the subject matter of secondary education. Therefore, we investigate the question of whether this observation holds equally for concept construction in the field of eigen theory, by applying Dubinsky's action, process, object, schema (APOS) theory, and Tall's worlds of mathematics. We focus on eigen theory because we regard it as particularly representative of linear algebra in terms of its expressibility in the embodied and symbolic worlds. In our empirical study, we investigated concept constructions as correlates of educational trajectories of 36 students who covered the entire course program of a first semester mathematics course for first-year engineering students. Although significant differences in procedural knowledge were observed, results indicate that the type of secondary school does not affect concept construction among students who complete the entire course program. In our final discussion, we present implications for teaching and learning of linear algebra in heterogeneous classes and the integration of deeper learning methods into the course design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a comparative study in which students' perceived attainment of the objectives of an engineering ethics education and their attitude towards engineering ethics were investigated and compared. The investigation was carried out in Japan and Malaysia, involving 163 and 108 engineering undergraduates respectively. The research method used was based on a survey in which respondents were sent a questionnaire to elicit relevant data. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed on the data. The results of the analyses showed that the attainment of the objectives of engineering ethics education and students' attitude towards socio-ethical issues in engineering were significantly higher and positive among Japanese engineering students compared to Malaysian engineering students. Such findings suggest that a well-structured, integrated, and innovative pedagogy for teaching ethics will have an impact on the students' attainment of ethics education objectives and their attitude towards engineering ethics. As such, the research findings serve as a cornerstone to which the current practice of teaching and learning of engineering ethics education can be examined more critically, such that further improvements can be made to the existing curriculum that can help produce engineers that have strong moral and ethical characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined and compared the intended mathematics curricula according to topic coverage, focus, coherence, and learning progression in grades 1 – 12 within China and the province of Ontario, Canada. The findings show that the overall topics in the two curricula are similar: Chinese curriculum covers 78 topics out of 79 while the Ontario curriculum covers 76. The two curricula also share a similar general sequence such as topics for transfer stages from numbers to functions by starting with constant mathematics, then variable mathematics, and finally functions. However, the detailed topic design of the 2 curricula differs markedly. The Chinese curriculum includes few topics in each year, a short duration or span of each topic, and a fast-paced topic progression. The Ontario curriculum, in contrast, includes more topics each year, longer duration of many topics, and a small pace of topic progression in grades 1 – 8 and a fast pace of topic progression in grades 9 – 12. Because of different curriculum designs in grades 1 – 12, the intended curriculum may influence students' cognitive structures of mathematics, learning behavior and thinking, learning efficiency and achievement, and teachers' professional development. This calls for more refined and advanced research on the defined list of topics, topic organization, and terms to study curriculum in order to increase student learning opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the current focus of education policies around the world on working with benchmarks, indicators and targets. Its aim is to increase knowledge of potential strategies to meet the fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4), which strives for quality education. The SDGs form part of the United Nations (UN) "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", which was unanimously adopted in 2015 by all UN Member States as a "plan of action for people, planet and prosperity". Structure and agency theory form an important starting point of this article, allowing the ten targets within SDG 4 to be separated and viewed from micro-, meso- and macro-level perspectives. This analysis explores the idea that reaching the SDG 4 targets is a responsibility shared among individuals, education and training institutions, and regulating governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current context, where global comparative education testing plays an increasing role in education policy and teacher quality is identified as a key to economic performance, initial teacher education has become a focus of concern and reform. Questions are asked about the impact of university-based teacher preparation, and 'alternate routes' into teaching emerge. Currently, in Anglophone countries, there is a turn towards practice and away from preparation that is seen as overly theoretical. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model of initial teacher education impact that examines the breadth of ways in which university-based teacher education impacts on the education system, positioning initial teacher education as more than just a source of newly qualified teachers. Using a complexity thinking framework, this paper offers a nuanced way to conceptualise initial teacher education impact that acknowledges the integrated nature of the education system and the way in which all stakeholders work together to improve student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the contributions of Indigenous knowledges to educational research. It proposes the term comparative Indigenous education research (CIER) in an effort to promote Indigenous-centred research approaches in comparative and international Indigenous education studies. Through CIER, Indigenous peoples and communities articulate research priorities, locate sites of research that raise issues of universal and local concern, and engage community-based responses that are locally and globally relevant beyond nation-state borders. The article draws on the evolution of comparative education and proposals for research approaches that utilise underrepresented lenses, as well as manifestations of endogenous philosophies, specifically Indigenous research methodologies. Conceptual frames for considering CIER through practice are also offered, based on comparative research that crosses disciplines and borders, as well as research with Indigenous communities and researcher observations that reflect epistemological commitment to Indigenous peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explicit signals of important relationships in expository texts can provide efficient processing instructions for readers with strategic knowledge about text structures. However, such signal words do not help readers without strategic knowledge about use of text structures and signal words. This study provided the first detailed investigation about the effects of structure strategy instruction on understanding several types of comparative signal words in multi-paragraph expository texts. The study, set in 41 school districts, examined four comparative signal words generated by three groups of reading comprehenders in Grades 4, 5, 7, and 8 and how such understandings were impacted by instruction with the text structure strategy. Students in classrooms randomly assigned to structure strategy instruction showed more understanding of comparative signal words than those in the business as usual control. The intervention aided 4th, 5th, and 7th graders’ generation of all signal words, but more so for the more difficult signaling words that transitioned between paragraphs. For Grade 4 the intervention helped some reading comprehension groups more than others depending on signal word difficulty. For Grade 8 the intervention increased understanding of difficult signal words, but not the easiest signal word. Males in Grade 5 using the web-based structure strategy instruction improved their generation of the easiest signal word more than females, but females improved more on the difficult signal words. The comparison text structure and its signaling words appear ideal targets for instruction at upper elementary and middle school. The findings have implications for classroom instruction about text structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International assessments of mathematics have shown persistent and widely intensified socioeconomic inequalities in achievement worldwide over the last decades. Such achievement gaps may partly be due to the differences in students’ personal and family characteristics. They may also be attributed to the schooling itself if school systems provide differentiated opportunity to learn (OTL) for children from privileged versus disadvantaged backgrounds. Previous research on the mechanism of the joint relationship among socioeconomic status (SES), academic achievement, and OTL produced inconclusive results. The main aim of the present study is to test whether schooling actually perpetuates social inequality in achievement, by reanalyzing PISA data. Specifically, we scrutinize the construct validity of the OTL measure in PISA that has been used in previous research. Our analyses reveal two latent dimensions of the OTL indicators in PISA, namely an unbiased OTL dimension and a self-concept dimension. The relationship between social background and mathematics achievement was only weakly mediated by OTL, when effect of students’ self-concept was controlled for. Our results suggest that the previous research finding that schooling perpetuates social gaps in mathematics performance suffers from a construct validity problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries’ education systems are often compared using academic achievement measures from large-scale assessments like PISA. These exercises are criticized because achievement is but one of the aims of education and comparisons don’t take into account each country’s socio-demographic composition, cultural and historical background and organizational features. We use data from OECD countries to assess countries that can serve as models for education policy to promote both high mathematics achievement and student well-being. We adopt a novel methodological approach based on imputation methods to simultaneously estimate mathematics achievement and students’ sense of belonging while taking into account countries’ socio-demographic and organizational features. Results indicate that, in general, education systems have been able to organize and use their resources to promote either mathematics performance or student well-being, but not both simultaneously. The East Asian approach to education is successful in promoting student achievement in mathematics while Austria, Norway and Spain have greater success in promoting students’ sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of globalisation, there is now a general trend among hesitant small island jurisdictions to focus on educational planning in the tertiary sector. The question therefore is how smart solutions adapted to the specific contexts can be developed. This article argues for the need to innovate the societal role of the smaller state university with a focus upon planning and learning. The idea of master learning is presented as an important organising and learning framework for developing a flexible and rational alternative social science master in smaller educational environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are various educational methods used in anatomy teaching. While three dimensional (3D) visualization technologies are gaining ground due to their ever-increasing realism, reports investigating physical models as a low-cost 3D traditional method are still the subject of considerable interest. The aim of this meta-analysis is to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of such models based on comparative studies. Eight studies (7 randomized trials; 1 quasi-experimental) including 16 comparison arms and 820 learners met the inclusion criteria. Primary outcomes were defined as factual, spatial and overall percentage scores. The meta-analytical results are: educational methods using physical models yielded significantly better results when compared to all other educational methods for the overall knowledge outcome (p < 0.001) and for spatial knowledge acquisition (p < 0.001). Significantly better results were also found with regard to the long-retention knowledge outcome (p < 0.01). No significance was found for the factual knowledge acquisition outcome. The evidence in the present systematic review was found to have high internal validity and at least an acceptable strength. In conclusion, physical anatomical models offer a promising tool for teaching gross anatomy in 3D representation due to their easy accessibility and educational effectiveness. Such models could be a practical tool to bring up the learners' level of gross anatomy knowledge at low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to map global research in international higher education. Specifically, the study uses bibliometric and social network analysis methods to identify key individuals, institutions, countries, and disciplines contributing to research in international higher education and to investigate patterns of connectivity among authors, journals, disciplines, and topics. The dataset representing research covers 2302 publications from the Web of Science for the period 2002-2011. Unlike prior attempts to draw a representative sample of articles capturing key research in international higher education by choosing articles from key journals, this study sampled articles more broadly by applying a keywords search to all journals included in the bibliographic database. To address the ambiguity in defining the boundaries of the field, the keywords used in constructing the dataset were generated from an explicit definition of 'research in international higher education' with the definition being U.S.-centric, i.e. defining the field from the perspective of a U.S.-based researcher. Results indicated that although the number of research studies on international higher education has grown from 68 in 2002 to 472 in 2012, networks among researchers of higher education continue to operate largely within national borders and are still dominated by a few Western countries. While the 3362 researchers in international higher education came from 1164 different institutions/organizations around the world, only 11.3 % of articles were authored by researchers from at least two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]