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This study examines how origami has been implemented, practised, and developed in the early childhood education of Japan over the past 140 years. Historically speaking, paper-folding has been part of Japanese symbolic art, craft culture, and religious ceremonial artefacts since paper and paper-folding techniques were first imported from China during the seventh century. By the eighteenth century, paper-folding provided a form of mass entertainment in Japanese society. During the 1870s, paper-folding was dramatically transformed into a pedagogical tool within Japanese kindergartens after Friedrich Froebel's (1782–1852) kindergarten system and its curriculum was transferred to Japan from the West. "Papier-Falten" (paper-folding) comprised an element of Froebel's Occupations – which was a series of handiwork activities – in his kindergarten curriculum, whereby various folding techniques and models were derived from European traditional paper-folding and introduced into a Japanese kindergarten curriculum that was associated with the concept of Froebel's kindergarten. Particularly seen in early childhood education in Japan, what we now call origami developed as a new form of paper-folding. This gradually emerged through the marriage of Western (German) and Eastern (Japanese) paper-folding cultures. The study highlights the benefits and uniqueness of cultural transmission and transformation when developing origami in early childhood education in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper draws upon photography as an active intervention into compromised environments and uses it to discover and develop new perspectives on past and future histories of education after COVID-19. These perspectives become particularly clear when seen against the backdrop of recent discussions on planetary responsibility and shared ecologies. The paper suggests that we shift our research agendas away from anthropocentric world views that have placed great emphasis on human sovereignty, modernisation, progress and/or decline, nation states and global governance, and the stratifying effects of education systems, without reflecting their ecological consequences. It argues that anthropocentric approaches to history of education have neglected the openness and vulnerability of the human body and its ethical, cultural and social proximity to other living creatures and the material world. The paper therefore focuses on what it means for historians of education to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, what it means to change research perspectives, and what it means to look at photographs that were produced in a state of exception. The paper sets out to propose a manifesto for a post-anthropocentric research agenda that anchors history of education and the history of pandemics in intertwined ecologies of the living and material worlds. The paper suggests that future histories of education cannot be written without considering the COVID-19 crisis as both a challenge and an encouragement to further develop our understanding of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1936, Prof A. P. Elkin attended a seminar in Hawaii lasting several weeks, on the topic of 'native education'. In his various papers presented to a range of experts from the region and beyond during the formal conference held in Honolulu as part of the residency, Elkin set out his views on the future of the Indigenous people of Australia. Education would be pivotal to this new approach on pragmatic and humanitarian grounds. Elkin concurred with the findings of the residency: local forms of adapted education were considered appropriate for most Aboriginal Australians, only a minority continuing into further education; communities as well as children should be better prepared for their integration into the nation as the Indigenous people. This paper sets out to interrogate the proximity of anthropology and education in these claims, and the elision of Aboriginal people's agency including their contemporaneous campaigns for equal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In appreciating and responding to the three symposium papers on “Anarchism, Texts and Children”, a case is made for what John Berger has called “the honour of an alternative”, for affirmation as well as for refusal. Not only should we respond positively and imaginatively to Colin Ward’s call for “counter-history” of our own making, we should also extend our advocacy of alternatives through the adventure of more creative historical methodologies. Lastly, in the spirit of Berger’s writing, this Afterword celebrates the capacity of all three papers not just to speak to issues of enduring human importance, but to do so imaginatively and eloquently, thereby refusing and subverting the increasingly dreary hegemony of academic writing disgracefully in thrall to the diminishing calculus of neo-liberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the discourse on school meals, as evidence suggests that political agendas feed into policy making. The paper fills a void by proposing new insights into how school meals could be reformed, following reflections from a doctoral study and a review of the changing narrative on school food in England. Recommendations include rethinking the coverage on school meals by taking into account this multifaceted area of inquiry by recognising the importance of the physical context of the meals as well as the subjects of school mealtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a short history of social work education in Scotland. Its aim is to understand the patterns of the present through the lens of the past. A key argument is that social work education and practice exists persistently in the crossroads, that is, in the spaces between competing and often conflicting perspectives regarding that ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘who’ of social work and social change. At the same time, there is a dearth of robust theory and research underpinning social work education and practice, leaving the profession vulnerable in periods of rapid social and political change. Attention is given to the implications of these constants for education and practice, and to how we might address these going forward. The paper concludes that if we wish to realise the potential of social work education, learning and practice, we need to more collectively address long-neglected questions of learning identity, learning philosophy and learning practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents lesser known accounts from policy makers whose experiences as elite informants span 40 or so years in Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy history between 1972 and 2009. Drawing on a post-structuralist theoretical frame, this paper employs a Foucauldian-influenced approach to discourse analysis. Given the complexity of policy-making contexts, an adaptation of Bradley’s categories was utilised to categorise the elite informants as policy insiders according to their roles and positions within organisations. Bacchi’s approach to policy analysis was drawn upon to critically analyse the effects of policy insider categories on meanings of quality in the formation of ECEC policy. The findings raise questions about what could be known and spoken about meanings of quality in past policy-making processes. They suggest the innermost categories of policy insiders struggle to retain complex meanings of quality in final ECEC policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians have observed that the period 1860-1890 was educationally progressive. This paper identifies the renaissance with the creation of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in the aftermath of Church Disestablishment. Disestablishment legislation facilitated the inclusion of the laity in Synod. The paper argues that the lay-clerical dynamic generated educational reform at all levels of provision. Post-Reformation denominational divisions qualify the discussion. The structure of Synod - General Synod, Diocesan Synods, Boards of Education and Education Committees - was the outcome of an intense debate as the post-Disestablishment Church of Ireland sought to reinvent itself. The 'art' of the title refers to Synod's adroit use of this structure in promoting educational reform that mitigated tensions surrounding the religious-secular conflict which characterised Irish post-Famine modernisation. Synod's role as agent of educational reform constitutes the theme. The paper aims to contribute to what, regretfully, remains an undeveloped historiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value co-creation unfolds as a system of interactions in which the user and service provider play an active role in collaboratively creating values that go beyond economical and financial worth. Value co-creation is a growing trend in museums; however, little is known about how it can enhance educational activities, especially concerning digital technologies. This study analyzes the role of digital technology in the value co-creation process by addressing the following research questions: (1) how can museums, and schools implement actions to enhance co-creation activities? and (2) how does digital technology contribute to the generation of a value co-creation approach, engaging a young target audience in history education? The research adopts a single case study methodology, which is based on WORld Wars Toward Heritage for Youth (WORTHY), an educational European project that involves cultural and educational institutions from Germany, Poland, Croatia, England, and Italy. WORTHY creates a virtual collaborative museum through a digital platform. The paper's findings make clear that digital technologies play a role in value co-creation through two main experiences: learning and sharing. In the learning experience, digital co-creation is grounded in artifacts and contents, while during the sharing experience, digital technologies play a role relatively to people and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how a standards-based form of assessment in operation in New Zealand has impacted upon the knowledge taught to secondary history students. The segmentation of history into assessable components along with assessment mechanisms which encourage the reduction in the number of standards being attempted has impacted upon both the breadth and range of historical content in history programmes. The reduction in knowledge is problematic as it diminishes learners' opportunities to draw connections between inter-related historical concepts from a wider knowledge base. Social realists have raised concerns about the reduced focus on knowledge in education and its effects in restricting students' development of conceptual knowledge which enables higher order, more abstract thinking. Experiences of standards-based assessment for history in New Zealand are indicative of this reductive phenomenon. In a culture of accountability, standards-based assessment, as enacted in New Zealand, may impede delivery of critical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]