Thank you, merci, shukran! private education and language in Egypt

My thesis examines the processes by which the reproduction of power and social hierarchies transpire in the field of international, private schools in Egypt. More specifically, I will analyze how the linguistic system in these schools reproduce and reinforce forms of power and inequality. I will consider the process by which nonnative languages, principally English, became the dominant and legitimate linguistic system of these schools, and how the complexities of their habitus have influenced students\u27 language beliefs and practices. Language is a place for ideological contestation and identity assertion reinforcing power relations between groups and individuals. Differences in accent, grammar, language, and vocabulary indicate hierarchical social positions and quantities of linguistic capital. Furthermore, this process has stigmatized Arabic, although the national language, as deficient and subordinate. Using a theoretical framework guided by the work of Pierre Bourdieu and through ethnographic fieldwork, I will attempt to understand the effects such developments have on structuring agents\u27 (studentsâ primarily Egyptian, teachers, alumni) behavior and beliefs, and how private schools assist in the reproduction of this social order. Aside from my ethnographic fieldwork, I explore the effects of two transformative socio-historical processes on Egypt\u27s education system and social order. First, I explore the emergence of the effendiya and the reproduction of their habitus and practices into a privileged, cosmopolitan class. Second, I explore the reproduction of social positions and inequalities through the continued bifurcation of Egypt\u27s education system into two distinct tracks. Previous scholarship focused on public Egyptian schools analyzing curriculum, the pyramidal and antidemocratic nature of public schooling, the impact of Islam on school culture, and the State and Arabic language polices. I, however, will focus on the complexities of social processes in Egypt\u27s â privilegedâ class regarding the development of language using education as the site of contestation. Through a rather unexplored approach, this thesis will show how inequalities and social hierarchies are transferred into the macrosociety through the English language and education. Furthermore, it also addresses ways in which power relations and social positions of the elite in Egypt are maintained and reproduced

Towards a more competitive environment for transnational education in Viet Nam

This research is an outcome of the Work Plan agreed between the British Council and MOET as well as part of the UK–Viet Nam Government MoU on education cooperation. In this research, we investigate the landscape of TNE in Viet Nam, benchmarking with selected countries, analysing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Transnational education has emerged as a key driver of educational reform and internationalisation in Viet Nam. As the country’s economic and social landscape continues to evolve, so does the demand for high-quality international education. The report highlights the potential for increased openness in the TNE sector and the valuable contributions that the UK can make through strategic partnerships

Rethinking the law school

Law, by its very nature, tends to think locally, not globally. This book has a broader scope in terms of the range of nations and offers a succinct journey through law schools on different continents and subject matters. It covers education, research, impact and societal outreach, and governance. It illustrates that law schools throughout the world have much in common in terms of values, duties, challenges, ambitions and hopes. It provides insights into these aspirations, whilst presenting a thought provoking discussion for a more global agenda on the future of law schools. Written from the perspective of a former dean, the book offers a unique understanding of the challenges facing legal education and research

New Eurostars? The labour market incorporation of East European professionals in London.

Professional and graduate mobility represents an increasing component of international migration streams due to the globalisation of markets, the expansion of the knowledge economy, and the global competition for talent. While in the last twenty years considerable attention was given to East-West mobility flows within Europe, little research has been done on mobile professionals' and graduates' occupational attainment abroad. In the thesis I analyse the social organisation of professional mobility, focusing on the determinants of mobility, the destination choice, and the job-seeking practices of East European professionals and graduates in London. Several bodies of literature deliver the conceptual basis for this research. Applying an economic sociological framework, I rely on three major currents among the theoretical approaches to migration and mobility: human capital, global cities and labour market segmentation theories. I use quantitative and qualitative techniques to analyse primary and secondary data, including an online survey and semi-structured interviews with Hungarian and Romanian professionals and graduates working in London, and London-based employers of East European graduates, as well as official statistics. While aiming to question the atomised economic individualism associated with well-educated migrants and to draw the profile of the potentially new 'Eurostars', the thesis reaches four main conclusions. First, I emphasise the need to investigate the social process leading to labour market incorporation of foreign professionals from a transnational perspective. I argue that the social structures and institutions at both destination and origin influence immigrants' labour market positions at destination. Second, I have found that mobility decisions are shaped by individual perceptions of relative deprivation when comparing their own social and occupational positions to the ones of members of groups they consider referential. Third, social ties act as centrifugal forces in sending professionals and graduates to either the top or the bottom of the occupational hierarchies at destination. Typically, however, professional and graduate mobility is a market-dependent phenomenon, influenced less by the existence of social ties, more by the supply and demand on the global labour, education and migration policy markets. These social institutions, together with social networks and migrants' self-selection contribute to the creation of labour market segments at destination. Finally, the thesis challenges the idea that the international transfer of human capital is a seamless process. Instead, I argue that it is the social aspects of human capital creation, transfer and appreciation which shape to a great extent what is socially recognised as being 'skilled' or 'highly qualified'. Being 'highly skilled' is an outcome of negotiations between employers and migrants on the socially constituted labour markets around the value and the value-attached significance of employable human capital