Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality

Curriculum renewal for interprofessional education in health

In this preface we comment on four matters that we think bode well for the future of interprofessional education in Australia. First, there is a growing articulation, nationally and globally, as to the importance of interprofessional education and its contribution to the development of interprofessional and collaborative health practices. These practices are increasingly recognised as central to delivering effective, efficient, safe and sustainable health services. Second, there is a rapidly growing interest and institutional engagement with interprofessional education as part of pre-registration health professional education. This has changed substantially in recent years. Whilst beyond the scope of our current studies, the need for similar developments in continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals was a consistent topic in our stakeholder consultations. Third, we observe what might be termed a threshold effect occurring in the area of interprofessional education. Projects that address matters relating to IPE are now far more numerous, visible and discussed in terms of their aggregate outcomes. The impact of this momentum is visible across the higher education sector. Finally, we believe that effective collaboration is a critical mediating process through which the rich resources of disciplinary knowledge and capability are joined to add value to existing health service provision. We trust the conceptual and practical contributions and resources presented and discussed in this report contribute to these developments.Office of Learning and Teaching Australi

BERA-TACTYC Early Childhood Research Review 2003-2017

BERA/TACTYC Review of Early Childhood Education and Care in the UK, 2003-2017 has involved a wide range of early childhood specialists, both in the early consultation stages, and in writing the five main sections of the Review. Teams of authors and their reference groups came together from TACTYC – the Association for Professional Development in Early Years, and the BERA Early Childhood Education and Care SIG. Using specific questions to interrogate the literature, each team worked on one of five main themes: Professionalism; Parenting and Family; Play and Pedagogy; Learning, Development and Curriculum, and Assessment and School Readiness. These themes are contextualised within broad policy issues in the UK. The Introduction shows the working methods for the Review, and the Conclusion brings together key messages and suggestions for future research. We hope that the Review will prove useful to a range of early childhood specialists, including students, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and teachers in further and higher education. We intend to create a User Review that will be aimed at practitioners and to engage other stakeholders in current trends and debates. The Review is being launched at a time of change and uncertainty within early childhood education and care, and we hope that the Review will provide a focal point for discussions about future directions in the four UK policy frameworks, the importance of research, and how we use research evidence to inform provision and practice

Designing a balanced scorecard in a social hybrid organisation: the case of Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation

Everyday hybrid organisations face an unceasingly changing environment, being necessary to adopt management mechanisms that can guarantee their stable continuity in the long run. In this paper it is demonstrated how the Balanced Scorecard plays a key role, as a performance and strategic management tool, that encourages strategic thinking, empowers management control and ensures long-standing growth in hybrid organisations. Following the guidelines of Kaplan and Norton, the central purpose of this thesis is to design a Balanced Scorecard for a social hybrid organisation that has a unique impact on the Portuguese society, the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation. In this sense, it is intended to answer the research question: ‘How to design and implement a BSC in a social hybrid organisation?’. In accordance with the characteristics of the Foundation and the nature of its environment, the respective strategic objectives, measures, targets and initiatives were defined in the four different perspectives (customer; internal processes; learning and growth; financial). Beyond reporting past events and the current mission, the designed model aspires to give the Foundation a brain wave on its future. Ultimately, the case study under research aims to be an example, exhibiting the Balanced Scorecard as a flexible tool, which stimulates accurate strategies congruent with hybrids’ missions.As organizações híbridas enfrentam diariamente um meio-envolvente em constante mudança, sendo necessária a adoção de mecanismos de gestão que garantam a sua continuidade no longo prazo. Neste trabalho é demonstrado como o Balanced Scorecard desempenha um papel fundamental, como ferramenta de gestão estratégica e de desempenho, no pensamento estratégico, no controlo de gestão e no crescimento duradouro das organizações híbridas. Seguindo as orientações de Kaplan e Norton, o objetivo central desta tese é conceber um Balanced Scorecard para uma organização híbrida social com um impacto único na sociedade portuguesa, a Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos. Nesse sentido, pretende-se responder à research question: ‘Como desenhar e implementar um BSC numa organização híbrida social?’. De acordo com as características da Fundação e a natureza do seu meio-envolvente, os respetivos objetivos estratégicos, medidas, metas e iniciativas foram definidos nas quatro perspetivas diferentes (cliente; processos internos; aprendizagem e crescimento; financeira). Além de relatar eventos passados e a missão atual, o modelo desenhado tenciona dar à Fundação uma visão inspiradora sobre o seu futuro. Em última análise, o estudo de caso neste projeto pretende ser um exemplo, exibindo o Balanced Scorecard como uma ferramenta flexível que estimula estratégias sólidas congruentes com as missões das organizações híbridas

Decolonising Higher Education in the Era of Globalisation and Internationalisation

Conceived within a context of transdisciplinarity and pluriversalism, and in rigorous response to the Eurocentric, globalising and nationalising structures of power that undergird and inhabit contemporary praxis in higher education – especially in African higher education – this collection of essays brings to the on-going discourse on decolonisation fresh, rich, probing and multilayered perspectives that should accelerate the process of decolonisation, not only in higher education in Africa, but also in the global imaginary. A remarkable, courageous and potentially revolutionary achievement, this book deserves a special place on curricula throughout the world of higher education