Immigrants' return to schooling in Sweden

The aim of this paper is to examine if the returns to immigrants’ schooling are lower than the returns to natives’ schooling. In addition the paper tries to establish whether immigrants who invest in different amounts of Swedish education also differ in their returns to schooling. The results show that the difference in returns to schooling between immigrants and natives is generally quite small. Moreover, the returns to schooling are considerably higher for immigrants who arrived in Sweden during compulsory school age than for immigrants who arrived in Sweden after compulsory school age. Moreover, immigrants who complete their schooling in Sweden have, in general, much higher returns than immigrants with only foreign schooling.Immigrants; return to schooling; incomes

The effective mathematics department: adding value and increasing participation?

Given the commonly accepted view that having a mathematically well-educated populace is strategically important, there is considerable international interest in raising attainment, and increasing participation, in post-compulsory mathematics education. In this article I develop multi-level models using datasets from the UK Department for Education’s National Pupil Database (NPD) in order to explore 1) school effects upon student progress in mathematics from age 11-16 in England, and 2) student participation in advanced level mathematics over the following two years. These analyses highlight between-school variation in the difference between mathematical and general academic progress. Furthermore, the between–school differences in post-compulsory mathematics participation are large. Importantly, there is no evidence to suggest that schools/departments with higher ‘contextual value added’ from 11-16, a key measure in government accountability processes in England, are also more effective in recruiting and retaining students in post-16 advanced mathematics courses

L’invention de l’enfance : modalités institutionnelles et support idéologique

Today's social status of children is the result of social, economic and cultural changes that have characterized western societies all through the 19th century. The establishment of this particular status came during a movement of general differentiation that affects all the practices of delinquents. The present analysis solely concerns the United States and in particular examines the emergence of three institutions intended exclusively for child care : reform school or refuge, family placement and compulsory school attendance

Pupil attitudes to National Curriculum technology

The Education Reform Act 1988 (HMSO, 1988) introduced for the first time a compulsory National Curriculum into schools in England and Wales. Technology was one subject in this compulsory curriculum; its inclusion was controversial and (for some) unpopular, generating a debate about the subject's nature and educational value. This study reflects upon that debate by: reviewing the opinions of educationalists on National Curriculum technology reviewing surveys of pupil attitudes to previous school technology coursesinvestigating pupil attitudes to the 'new' subject of National Curriculum technology, anddiscussing whether the general aims set out by the subject's creators have been achieved

The effective mathematics department: adding value and increasing participation?

Given the commonly accepted view that having a mathematically well-educated populace is strategically important, there is considerable international interest in raising attainment, and increasing participation, in post-compulsory mathematics education. In this article I develop multi-level models using datasets from the UK Department for Education’s National Pupil Database (NPD) in order to explore 1) school effects upon student progress in mathematics from age 11-16 in England, and 2) student participation in advanced level mathematics over the following two years. These analyses highlight between-school variation in the difference between mathematical and general academic progress. Furthermore, the between–school differences in post-compulsory mathematics participation are large. Importantly, there is no evidence to suggest that schools/departments with higher ‘contextual value added’ from 11-16, a key measure in government accountability processes in England, are also more effective in recruiting and retaining students in post-16 advanced mathematics courses

Examination of Parent's Views about their 60-77 Months Old Children's Maturity of Primary School

AbstractThe concept of school readiness typically refers to the child's attainment of a certain set of emotional, behavioral and cognitive skills needed to learn, work and function successfully in school. Unfortunately, the common philosophy of “ready for school” can be understood by parents and caregivers as children's readiness for the expectations of school (Marquez, 2006). In a more constructive way school readiness concept has many aspects, for example; while attending to a school, children must cope with many new demands; they must meet new academic challenges, learn new school and teacher expectations, and gain acceptance into a new peer group. In the entrance to a school, chronological age is an important factor, but also factors like; gender, previous experience, social skills, intellegence, general health and family composition, well- being, and socioeconomic status play important role. In Turkey obligation to attend primary school age was 6-7 years old. In 2012-2013 educational year, Turkish Ministry of Education changed the compulsory education period to twelve years and the attendence of compulsory education period was changed to 5-6 years old. The aim of the study is to examine parent's views about their children's readiness and maturity attending to primary school. 60-80 months old of children attending four different primary schools took part in the study. An inquiry consisting of questions about children's basic developmental areas, academic skills and school maturity was prepared for the study. The inquiry was applied to voluntary parents. The view of parents were examined according to children's age. No significant differences were found between older and younger children's parents views

Declining participation in computing education : an Australia perspective on the "gender and lT" problem

Participation in post-compulsory computing education has declined over recent years, both in the senior years of secondary school and at university. This trend has been observed in most developed countries, despite reported and projected skills shortages in Information Technology (IT) industries. Within the computing education enrollment mix, girls and women continue to be under-represented and recent years have seen female participation fall even more rapidly than that of males. This article reports on findings of an Australian study which explored secondary school students&rsquo; beliefs about and attitudes towards computing education and careers in IT. Factors that might discourage girls in particular from pursuing post-compulsory computing education and careers are discussed, along with broader implications for school education in an era when information and communication technologies are an integral part of our daily lives. Findings include the persistence among both boys and girls of inaccurate and outdated views of the field of IT and low expectations of both school IT curricula and pedagogy in terms of their relevance and interest for students. Many of the issues identified as discouraging students in general from pursuing computing education appear to have a greater discouraging effect on girls, and this is compounded by stereotypical views of the field as male-dominated and unwelcoming to women and girls.<br /

The Popularization of English Language Learning in Primary Schools in Poland

Accession of Poland to the European Union induced a variety of changes in different areas of life, including education. A second language was introduced as a compulsory subject in kindergarten and primary school and two compulsory foreign languages in general lower and upper secondary schools. English is the most popular of all languages in all types of schools, regardless of the level of education they represent. Globalization of the English language, the process which can be observed nowadays, has a significant impact on actions taken by schools to popularize learning this language. Therefore, the research was performed with a view to achieving a better understanding of the popularization of English language learning in primary schools in the larger context of a variety of factors. Basing on the analysis of research results, the conclusions reflecting real needs of learners as far as the more effective English language learning is concerned have been drawn. Sharing the research findings with the primary schools which participated in the research will contribute to their practical application.  Keywords: student, primary school, popularization of English language learning, motivation to learn.

Scootering on: An investigation of children’s use of scooters for transport and recreation

Non-motorised scooters have increased significantly in popularity over the last few years in New Zealand, following similar trends in the US, Australia, Canada and Europe. Non-motorised scooters are an important source of recreation, transport and exercise and children of all ages enjoy riding them to and from school and in skate parks. Along with the increase in popularity and use of the scooters, New Zealand is also experiencing a considerable increase in the numbers of injuries to children, with a notable spike in ACC claims in the 2011-12 year. Whilst most of the injuries are moderate – dislocations, fractures, lacerations and soft-tissue injuries – an increase in the number of severe injuries, and at times, even fatalities is also evident. Boys tend to be injured more frequently than girls and the median age for injury is nine years. Most injuries occur at home, with public roads the next most likely location. International literature shows similar trends world-wide. Numbers of scooter injuries are escalating and an intervention to minimise harm and reduce risk is considered imperative in all regions. The evidence shows that children are not wearing protective equipment (such as helmets) when travelling on a non-motorised scooter and there is no legal requirement for them to do so. Elbow and knee pads – and even footwear – were conspicuously absent amongst children observed in fieldwork undertaken for this project. Children routinely use basic scooters for activities unsuited to their design and on terrain that poses further risks. It was also evident that children scootering to school were not subject to the same regulations as those cycling to school and there appears to be a general lack of awareness of the risks associated with scootering. We therefore propose the following recommendations as means by which we might minimise the risks and reduce harm to children: o Amend the current cycle helmet legislation to include the riders of all wheeled recreational devices, irrespective of the age of the rider; o Introduce school policies requiring that helmets and footwear are worn when scootering to and from school; o Implement a minimum age for scootering to and from school; o Extend the coverage of existing school training programmes on road safety in general and safe scootering in particular; o Require compulsory distribution of point-of-sale information packs on the risks of scooters and the protective equipment options available; o Ensure continued funding of current community resources and training initiatives o Further research on scooter accidents and associated risk factor

Diverging Educational Aspirations Among Compulsory School-Leavers in Switzerland

Educational aspirations play an important role in shaping students’ educational trajectories and destinations. Drawing on longitudinal data from the TREE2 study, this paper investigates the effect of tracking on the formation and adjustment of the educational aspirations of Swiss students upon leaving compulsory school. We show that educational aspirations are highly responsive to the educational track attended in upper secondary education. While students in general education tend to stick to their aspirations, their counterparts in vocational programmes exhibit less stable aspirations