Educational Theories and Curriculum Aspects of American and Cyprus Secondary Schools

The purpose of this study was to compare American and Cyprus secondary education, in regard to purposes, content, organization and presentation in an attempt to arrive at unbiased generalizations whereby the two systems might be viewed more critically. In order to obtain reliable information on the American and Cyprus secondary education the following procedures were adopted: 1. Fourteen American states were selected, two from each of the s even divisions as listed in the Research Bulletin of t he National Education Association entitled Trends in City School Organization. A letter was sent to the superintendent of public instruction in each state requesting him to recommend ten public high schools. An information blank was then mailed to the administrative officers of the recommended schools, seeking information pertinent to the purpose of the investigation. 2. Three secondary schools were selected from Cyprus from the classification in terms of type of curriculum, as cited in the Report of the Department of Education, 1951- 1952. A wide range of educational literature relative to the problem was consulted. It was ascertained that in the United States schools seek to attain the democratic ideals through, (1) social-civic, economic, vocational and individualistic-avocational activities, (2) emphasis on the functional present and (3) training in how to think. The theories subscribed to by the greatest number of schools were that, (1) education should be concerned with adjustment of students to meet changing conditions, (2) truth is pragmatic, 3) students should be trained in a general education and a specific vocational pursuit, (4) each student should be regarded as a unique individual and (5) the fundamentals should be emphasized more than the other course offerings. In regard to the curriculum it was found that in the majority of the schools, (1) it is broad and varied to suit different needs and interests, (2) it is society-centered with due regard to children€™s interests and abilities, (3) offerings and method of presentation are largely organized into separate subjects especially in the senior high schools , (4) co-curricular activities are emphasized as indispensable requisites in the wholesome integration of the child, (5) the methods of classroom instruction are largely the recitation method and the resource unit method, (6) evaluation implies not mere testing of factual information, but also growth in attitudes, skills, mental processes, interests and so forth, (7) disciplinary problems are handled through self-analysis techniques and co-operation with the parents, (8) the administration seeks large cooperation with the staff in program and policy matters, (9) the pupils have some part in the determination of curriculum content, and (10) the administration seeks some pupil co-operation in program and policy matters. The findings indicated that in Cyprus secondary education is based on the principles that, (1) preparation for present and future life is achieved through a study of values and learning as established by the great thinkers of the past, (2) the function of the school should be to discipline its students to conform to and to acquire the values and learning of the past especially those of ancient Hellas and the Greek Orthodox Church, (3) a general education in the humanities and the sciences is indispensable for man\u27s adaptation to life, and (4) the training of the body although important for intellectual development should be secondary to the mental development and be carried out on classical lines. In line with tm foregoing principles the majority of schools in Cyprus offer a rigid curriculum mostly of the academic type with very limited vocational offerings. The method of classroom instruction is largely the lecture method, offerings are organized into separate subjects and students have to conform to a strict disciplinary code. In view of the comparative study of the American and the Cyprus secondary education the following broad generalizations were formulated: 1. There should be equality of educational opportunities for every youth. 2. Values are both subjective and objective; they are not pragmatic. 3. A school should provide opportunities for individual and social integration but neither should be overemphasized at the expense of the other. 4. A general education should be the primary aim of the school with the provision of a vocational environment. 5. Close co-operation among the administration, the staff, the pupils and the community is essential in all aspects of the educational process. 6. The curriculum content should be presented in wholes not parts. 7. The school should have a varied extra-curricular program

The Evaluative State as Policy in Transition: A Historical and Anatomical Study

Over the past two decades in Western Europe, the Evaluative State has grown, is growing though whether, like the power of one of Britain's more unfortunate monarchs, George III, ‘it ought to be diminished’ is a question as delicate as it is misplaced. In this chapter, I will explore the historic forces behind this particular phenomenon with a view to getting some purchase over where it is likely to lead us. And this in turn engages one of the most fundamental developments that higher education in Europe has to grapple with today — namely, the rise of what at different times and across different disciplinary perspectives has been variously described as ‘the European dimension’ (Huisman et al., 2000) as the intergovernmental layer (Maassen & Neave, 2007: 135 ff) or even amongst the more metaphysically inclined within the scholarly community, as the ‘supra governmental’ dimension in the affairs of higher education (Maassen & Olsen, 2007: 3–24). By and large, the Evaluative State on the one hand and the so-called Bologna Process on the other have been treated as separate and watertight issues — and, to some extent, indeed they are. The former quite obviously took shape and matured within in that classical setting of higher education policy, namely within the Nation State. The latter, however, represents a new and very certainly a permanent additional dimension or level of decision-making that both ties in with, whilst at the same time forming, a species of ‘supra ordinate’ layer beyond what for the past two centuries served as the highest level of aggregation in the evolution of the universities in Europe

Pashas and protests: revelation and enlightenment in Cyprus

This article takes the case of Derviş Paşa, an important Cypriot notable, as a starting point for examining controversies about knowledge in the late Ottoman Empire. In particular, the article argues that much of the controversy in Cyprus around Derviş centered around the role of the ‘enlightened’-individual, who was the representative of ‘truth’ or orthodoxy, and who was able to make truth claims on the basis of his behavior or comportment. This is discussed in terms of the distinction drawn at this time between ‘ revelation’ and ‘enlightenment’ as descriptions of the type of authority that the modern state should have. The article then argues that in both these descriptions truth is something that should be ‘revealed’ or ‘laid bare’. This has consequences for leadership, where leaders had visibly to embody the truth claims that supported their authority