46 research outputs found
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Education and Change: A Historical Perspective on Schooling, Development and the Nepali Nation-State
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'Discipline makes the nation great': visioning development and the Nepali nation-state through schools
This scene, describing the daily ritual of morning assembly as conducted in an English medium private school in eastern Nepal in autumn 2000, graphically depicts the
disciplinary dimensions of schooling and the very visible and at times violent way in which students’ behaviour is transformed to comply with the norms of the institution. Such a transformation, in Nepal as in many other contexts, is widely associated with a move away from the traditional lifestyle of the locality or village towards that considered modern, developed and more connected with the nation and, indeed, the world beyond
Outward looking eyes: visions of schooling, development and the state in Nepal
This study explores the relationship between global discourses of education and
development, how those ideas are taken up and utilised in the context of national programme
development and implementation, and their further reinterpretation by groups at the district
and school level. I engage in an examination of development as a socio-political process in
order to explore critically the tensions and paradoxes evident in the promotion of schooling
in contemporary Nepal. In doing so, I challenge the depoliticised vision of schooling which
underpins dominant donor discourses of education reform and highlight the political and
contested nature of education administration and the everyday activities in school.
I take as my starting point Nepal's Basic and Primary Education Project (BPEP), a multidonor
initiative aiming to improve access to schooling, the quality of education provision
and the efficiency of education administration. Developed in line with the goals of the
World Conference on Education for All, the initiative starts from the assumption that the
various parties involved - donors, central government officials, District Education Office
staff, teachers and parents - share a common interest in and commitment to the promotion of
schooling. As such, schooling is considered a clear development 'good' and the state viewed
as a single entity, acting as a benign provider of this service.
Through an exploration of the context into which this programme is inserted, the limitations
of this dominant consensus-based model are considered. Particular focus is given to the
multiple interests played out in the arena of education reform challenging the assumption of
shared interests in expanding schooling opportunities. The study traverses from debates
between the various donor and central government officials in Kathmandu, through the
implementation of the process of District Education Planning, to an examination of the
everyday practices of school life and the direct, and often violent, challenges made to the
state through schools. At each level, the conflicts of interest and multiple views of the
relationship between schooling, development and the state in Nepal are highlighted,
challenging the idea that a consensus exists around the content and purpose of schooling.
Such an analysis creates an opportunity for a more critical examination of perceptions of
schooling and the link between education and development and, as such, has implications for
how development practitioners view their role in processes of education reform in Nepal
Seeking Compassion in the Measured University: Generosity, Collegiality and Competition in Academic Practice
In the context of league tables, national student surveys and increasing competition for students and resources, measurement and comparison is an ever-present – and ever more significant – aspect of contemporary academic life. Institutional definitions of prestige and success intertwine with individuals' sense of value, career-progression and everyday work activity in varying ways, from active championing of particular dominant visions of 'excellence' through to varying forms of resistance, both passive and active. Faced with such challenges, increasing attention is being given to where academics find support, value and motivation in their working lives. This paper explores academics' narratives of the relationship and practices that shape their career decisions and frame their academic practice, highlighting the everyday pressures that squeeze space for compassionate collegiality. The paper draws on narrative interviews that explored how academics experienced kindness and collegiality as they transition through their careers, examining detailed personal narratives of 23 academics based at Scottish universities. Participants shared their CVs and three artefacts (pictures, objects, or events) that were significant to their career journey. The resulting narratives offer detailed insight into how participants negotiate institutional pressures and frame relations with colleagues in order to create meaning, value and (degrees of) 'happiness' in their work. The paper argues that while there is recognition of the impact of universities' strive for 'excellence' on staff interactions and work priorities, this is largely de-politicised in institutional contexts, with attention given to personal resilience, finding work-life balance, and individuals developing soft-skills to manage everyday interactions. The more socially-oriented concept of 'compassion' offers a fresh perspective from which to explore the everyday interactions within the university and consider the practical and political steps required to create supportive work environments
Seeking Compassion in the Measured University: Generosity, Collegiality and Competition in Academic Practice
In the context of league tables, national student surveys and increasing competition for students and resources, measurement and comparison is an ever-present – and ever more significant – aspect of contemporary academic life. Institutional definitions of prestige and success intertwine with individuals' sense of value, career-progression and everyday work activity in varying ways, from active championing of particular dominant visions of 'excellence' through to varying forms of resistance, both passive and active. Faced with such challenges, increasing attention is being given to where academics find support, value and motivation in their working lives. This paper explores academics' narratives of the relationship and practices that shape their career decisions and frame their academic practice, highlighting the everyday pressures that squeeze space for compassionate collegiality. The paper draws on narrative interviews that explored how academics experienced kindness and collegiality as they transition through their careers, examining detailed personal narratives of 23 academics based at Scottish universities. Participants shared their CVs and three artefacts (pictures, objects, or events) that were significant to their career journey. The resulting narratives offer detailed insight into how participants negotiate institutional pressures and frame relations with colleagues in order to create meaning, value and (degrees of) 'happiness' in their work. The paper argues that while there is recognition of the impact of universities' strive for 'excellence' on staff interactions and work priorities, this is largely de-politicised in institutional contexts, with attention given to personal resilience, finding work-life balance, and individuals developing soft-skills to manage everyday interactions. The more socially-oriented concept of 'compassion' offers a fresh perspective from which to explore the everyday interactions within the university and consider the practical and political steps required to create supportive work environments
Third sector internships Scotland: final report
Third Sector Internships Scotland helped students gain paid work experience in the Third Sector. This five-year programme, part of the Scottish Funding Council’s Learning to Work 2 initiative, was open to students from all Scottish universities
Third sector internships Scotland: final report
Third Sector Internships Scotland helped students gain paid work experience in the Third Sector. This five-year programme, part of the Scottish Funding Council’s Learning to Work 2 initiative, was open to students from all Scottish universities
Degree apprenticeships - a win-win model? A comparison of policy aims with the expectations and experiences of apprentices
This article compares policy aims with experiences following the introduction of a new model for STEM apprenticeships in the UK. Degree apprentices work while studying for a degree, undertaking work-based learning and attending on-campus classes. Specifically, this study explores an implementation in Scotland, where computing degrees are designed and delivered through partnerships between employers, universities, and the Scottish Government’s skills agency, Skills Development Scotland. This collaboration is designed to bridge employer-reported skills gaps and to bring about an increase in highly-skilled workers. To examine the policy implementation behind the new degrees, a review was conducted of the policy documents that framed their introduction, including texts from university and employer websites promoting apprenticeships. The apprentices’ perspectives, barely addressed in the policy documents, were examined through surveys and narrative interviews. The policy documents positioned the new degrees as a ‘win-win’ opportunity for employer-led higher education, and the apprentices recognised and valued the opportunity to undertake a work-based degree. However, underneath the superficial win-win narrative a complex implementation landscape was observed for employers, apprentices, and universities. Understanding these stakeholder contexts is essential for the longer term sustainability of degree apprenticeships
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Rethinking graduate attributes: understanding the learning journeys of part-time students in the Open University in Scotland
Four in ten of Scotland’s university students study part time. But their voices and experience are often sidelined in debates about employability and graduate attributes. What do part-time students value in their course of study, and how does this differ from the experience of students in campus based universities? What is the relevance of current and future employment to their experience of study? What relevance might graduate attributes have to part time students? This paper draws on evidence gathered in two large scale surveys of Open University (OU) students in Scotland to explore these issues. The first of these studies explored study motivations and the relationship between study and employment. It highlights the fact that people often choose to study at points of change, or desired change in their life. Study either facilitates that change, or is in itself a part of the change. The aspirations of students does not neatly fit the traditional linear ‘graduate attributes’ model of progression from study to graduate career. Rather our findings suggest more complex journeys which pose challenges to that model and suggest alternative ways of viewing the relationship between study and ‘graduateness’. The second study explores the experience of OU students who studied previously at higher education level in a Scottish college. For these students employment and study is often intertwined and learning journeys are complex and non-linear. In the final section of the paper we look critically at the relevance of the idea of ‘graduateness’ for part-time / in work students and draw on the literature to suggest alternative ways in which the relationship between Higher Education (HE) and employment might be conceived in the context of the (changing) relationship between study and employment