A tale of twelve teachers: education and democratisation in Russia and South Africa

This study explores primary school teachers' experiences of the changes that have occurred in education since the end of apartheid in South Africa and the end of communist rule in Russia. It outlines the national educational contexts and critically examines the nature and implementation of new policies in these two 'transitologies'. International literature on teacher responses to educational reform and on the potential of schooling to be democratic and to develop democracy in society is explored as background to the study. The research is based on two periods of field work in each country, between 1996 and 1998. In the second phase, case studies were developed of six Russian and six South African teachers, incorporating lesson observation and interviews about their life histories, educational experiences, classroom practice, and attitudes toward the educational reforms. The findings, based on the individual case studies and a cross-case analysis, reveal that teachers experience a range of 'competing imperatives' which make a coherent perspective and consistent practice difficult, even where teachers agree in spirit with the reforms. Their responses to these dilemmas depend on a number of individual and contextual factors, many of them arising from the personal life experiences of the teacher. For each, the construction of a coherent self-identity, despite the scope of the changes experienced, has been an important part of the process of transition

Transnational connections, competences and identities: experiences of Chinese international students after their return ‘home’

International students constitute a substantial and growing mobile population globally. However, as yet, the experiences of returnees and the ways in which their overseas studies impact on their identity and professional and personal lives over time have been under-researched areas. In this article we employ concepts from theories of transnationalism as a framework for the analysis of the experiences of Chinese graduate returnees. The empirical basis for the article is a 20-month, two-stage, mixed-method study of 652 Chinese students who returned home for work on completion of their degrees in UK universities over the last 25+ years. Evidence suggests that their journeys of studying abroad and returning home are dynamic and interconnected transnational experiences. Such experiences are avenues for diverse social networks that reinforce a complex cosmopolitan identity and awareness. They are, also, avenues for transnational(ised) new competences, skills and worldviews, which are increasingly valued by the students themselves upon return home. Irrespective of differences in their demographics and backgrounds, studying and living abroad was perceived by most returnees in our research as a profound identity transformating experience. These new connections, competences and identities enabled them to view and live life with a new sense of self at ‘home’ and, as a result, function in ways that continued to distinguish themselves from those around them over time. The findings have implications for higher education institutions and agencies that are concerned with enhancing the quality of university internationalisation. They also have implications for a broadened empirical and conceptual understanding of transnationalism

Higher education, bridging capital, and developmental leadership in the Philippines: Learning to be a crossover reformer

The article presents findings from a research project which explored how experiences of higher education supported – or not – the emergence of developmental leadership and the formation of networks among leaders of three political and social movements in the Philippines in the post-Marcos era. Based on life history interviews with key leaders, the study points to the importance of different forms of social capital, especially bridging capital, in navigating a stratified system within this oligarchical democracy. Experiences of higher education were important for leaders' development, but not necessarily in predictable ways

Disaster didacticism: pedagogical interventions and the 'learning crisis'

This essay offers a critical perspective on the prevailing language of ‘learning crisis’ and on the solutions widely promoted by international organisations (IOs) active in lower- and middle-income countries. Focusing specifically on pedagogical interventions, it sets out three cases: foundational learning; information technology; and systematic observation of teachers’ classroom practice. Five questions frame the subsequent discussion: 1. What are the potential unintended effects of the language of crisis? 2. Do the understandings of pedagogy embedded in these measures reflect how teaching and learning function in different contexts? 3. In the quest for evidence, what evidence is being overlooked? 4. What are the risks of focusing interventions on literacy and numeracy, and their measurement? 5. What legitimacy do international actors have in defining and measuring quality pedagogy and prescribing interventions

Of myths and monitoring: learner-centred education as a political project in Scotland

Prevalent constructions of best practice at the global level include learner-centred education as an emancipatory and holistic approach across the life course. However, competing discourses of standardisation and preparation for the workforce are also at play. As a small state constructing an image and role for itself on a global stage, Scotland draws aspirationally on learner-centredness in its current Curriculum for Excellence governing education in schools, and in the Statement of Ambition for Adult Education, aligning it with apparently indigenous ideas of good practice in education while distancing it from prevalent patterns in neighbouring England. However, in operationalising these, competing agendas and versions of best practice interrupt these policy narratives and prove difficult to resist. Using a combination of document analysis, observations of consultation processes, and interviews with policy actors, this article explores these tensions in policy content and process

When ‘best practice’ meets the pedagogical nexus: recontextualisation, reframing and resilience

No abstract available

Men’s participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC): comparative perspectives from Edinburgh, Scotland and Tianjin, China

At the global level, prominent narratives about improving the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) promote the recruitment of men into the profession. However, comparing across different policy and practice settings demonstrates contrasting expressions and experiences of how men contribute to ECEC. This article presents findings from a study in Edinburgh, Scotland and Tianjin, China. The study explored how male and female practitioners and children talk about gender and how gendered relationships and roles are ‘performed’ in practice settings. In the two contexts, national/regional policy aims to raise the number of men working in ECEC, but in both cases and in different ways the inclusion of men in ECEC reinforces cultural gender norms as much as interrupting them. This research points to the need for comparative research to include observation data and practitioners’ and children’s views to enhance understanding of how global discourses of ECEC are enacted in different contexts

YOUNG_ADULLLT Scotland: Key Messages for Scottish Policy Actors

This dissemination paper presents findings and recommendations produced from the research project entitled Policies Supporting Young Adults in their Life Course: A Comparative Study of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe (YOUNG_ADULLLT). The project ran from 2016 to 2019 and was funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation initiative. This paper is intended for use by Scottish policymakers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning, youth policy and skills policy, as well as international audiences interested in the case of Scotland

The contribution of education to social progress

Education is the process of learning and expanding culture, and, as it contributes to the improvement of the human condition through better knowledge, health, living conditions, social equity and productivity, is a central tool for social progress. Education is expected to foster social progress through four different but interrelated purposes: humanistic, through the development of individual and collective human virtues to their full extent; civic, by the enhancement of public life and active participation in a democratic society; economic, by providing individuals with intellectual and practical skills that make them productive and enhance their and society’s living conditions; and through fostering social equity and justice. The expansion of formal education, which was part of the emergence of the nation states and modern economies, is one of the most visible indicators of social progress. In its expansion, education created a complex web of institutions distributed according to different paths along the life course, from early education through the school cycles to the final stages of higher education, continuing with the provision of forms of lifelong education. This web of institutions is subject to breaks and cleavages that reflect their diverse and multiple historical origins and purposes and the asynchronous developments in different regions. From primary schooling, education institutions grew horizontally (by learning fields, subjects, or occupations) and vertically (by levels and credentials.) The allocation of children and young people to different tracks and institutions, by a mixture of choice and assignment, is a core process in formal education that often reflects and reproduces preexisting inequalities. The chapter presents the main actions needed to allow education to fulfill its promise to promote social progress considering the four purposes of education. On a global level more research informed policy is required and a balanced approach to educational reform, including teacher education, by putting more emphasis on the civic and humanistic purposes. Governance structures that are flexible, participatory, and accountable considering the political and social context are recommended. The new agenda of Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 established in 2015 calls for a new cooperative paradigm based on the concept of “full global partnership” and the principle of “no one will be left behind.” Sustainable Development Goal 4 for Education aims “to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning”. This provides a broad framework for education’s contribution to social progress. To achieve this, it is necessary: (1) to expand access and improve the quality of early childhood education, as a precondition for life-long educational success in all its goals; (2) to improve the quality of schools, including in learners’ direct interactions with their peer groups, educators and the surroundings; in institutional characteristics such as group size, student-teacher ratio, teacher qualifications and spatial and material conditions, and in the provision of a meaningful and relevant curriculum; (3) to enhance the role of educators, considering that teachers are not just carriers of knowledge and information, but role models that have a significant impact on children’s dispositions towards learning and life more generally; (4) to make higher and vocational education more inclusive and socially relevant, thereby enhancing the opportunities for students of all sectors of society to further their education in a meaningful and practical ways, eliminating social and cultural restrictions to access and reducing the dividing lines between high and low prestige and esteem between institutions and careers. Additionally, appropriate use of the opportunities created by the new digital technologies is recommended. These are not a magic bullet that will replace existing educational institutions and create a new learning world. But they can be powerful instruments to improve the quality and relevance of education and its contribution to social progress

Editorial: Qualitative Forschung und interkulturelle Kommunikation

El artículo presenta el horizonte temático y los artículos de este volumen especial y explica algunas diferencias terminológicas importantes en el campo de la investigación intercultural. El objetivo esencial de este volumen es explorar las diversas formas de aplicar y reflexionar sobre los métodos de investigación cualitativa en el contexto de la comunicación intercultural. Se trata tanto de la discusión acerca de las características genuinas de la investigación intercultural como de intentos por identificar puntos y conexiones comunes de este campo de investigación específico con tradiciones de investigación interpretativas generales, englobadas dentro de la investigación social cualitativa. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0901342This article introduces to the thematic scope and the articles of this special issue and it explains some important terminological distinctions of the intercultural research field. The overall aim of this issue is to explore the manifold ways to apply and to reflect upon qualitative research methods in the context of intercultural communication. This implies both a discussion of genuine characteristics of intercultural qualitative research as well as attempts to identify common features and linkages of this special area with more general interpretative research traditions under the "umbrella" of qualitative social research. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0901342Der Beitrag führt in die Themenstellungen des Schwerpunktes sowie die Beiträge des Bandes ein und klärt über einige wichtige begriffliche Differenzierungen im Feld der interkulturellen Forschung auf. Ziel der Schwerpunktausgabe ist die Erkundung von Verwendungsformen und Reflexionen qualitativer Forschungsansätze im Kontext interkultureller Kommunikation. Dabei geht es sowohl um die Darstellung von Besonderheiten einer genuin interkulturellen Forschung als auch um die Identifikation von Gemeinsamkeiten und Anschlüssen dieses speziellen Forschungsgebietes an allgemeine interpretative Forschungstraditionen unter dem "Dach" der qualitativen Sozialforschung. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs090134