Rapid Evidence Assessment on Quality Issues in Early Years Education in China

This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) aims to map out what academic research has been published in the last decade (2010-2019) about Quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) in China. This choice of focusing on the last decade is based on the fact that since 2010 China defined ECE as a national priority (Li, Deng, and Liu, 2015). Despite much research addressing this topic has been published in Chinese (Hu et al., 2017), the academic production in English is very limited. By describing the extent to which research has permeated the international and global spaces of academia, this corpus can be used to illuminate future policy decision and research. To date, many studies about quality Early Childhood Education have been conducted in Western countries (see for example Anders et al., 2012; Curby et al., 2009; Pianta et al 2008 ; Sylva et al., 2011). Although these studies can provide some insights for ECE in China, empirical evidence that takes into account the country unique cultural and social characteristics is needed because what works in one country may not work in another context. Therefore the current review addresses this gap by examining the following research question: What is known in the scientific literature published in English about quality early years education in China

Exploring gender gap and school differential effects in mathematics in Chilean primary schools

Despite the systematic recognition of large gender gaps in favour of boys in mathematics performance in Chile, the role of schools in explaining this gap has been comparatively underresearched. This paper analyses a longitudinal dataset to explore within- and between-school variation of Chilean primary schools in promoting attainment and progress of girls and boys. In order to reflect the hierarchical nature of the educational data, multilevel modelling is used, with 163,044 students, nested within 3,355 schools, within 310 municipalities to fit raw, contextualised attainment, and value-added models. The weak evidence indicative of gender differential school effect in progress in Chilean primary schools was interpreted as non-substantive. However, differences in effectiveness played a significant role, as girls progressed more than boys in less effective schools, but the opposite was true in more effective schools. Finally, the study concludes that the Chilean gender gap needs to be addressed mainly beyond schools

Under-represented students’ university trajectories: building alternative identities and forms of capital through digital improvisations

This paper focuses on widening participation in relation to under-represented student negotiations of and trajectories through university by drawing attention to students’ informal digital practices for studying and social interactions associated with undergraduate student life. Drawing on a two-year UK study and Holland et al.’s [1998. Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press ] framing of agency, culture and identity making across ‘figured worlds’, we consider the importance of informal studying and socio-academic practices and the role of digital technologies in fostering agency and identity making. The significance of this study lies in revealing the particular importance of improvisation and collective agency for under-represented students participating in university. Whilst acknowledging that the technologies can also reproduce social inequalities, we conclude that, through the increasing interconnectedness of academic and social interactions, the digital improvisations offer creative opportunities for students to negotiate spatial, social and academic inequalities and lead to new/alternative identities and develop stronger social, cultural and educational capital