Welfare Reform on the Web (April 2010): Education - overseas

Burdens from educational expenses on Chinese children living in poverty

M. Jiang and C.-K. Cheung

International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, vol. 15, 2009, p. 175-192

In China, education ironically aggravates child poverty despite its supposed role in providing them with a brighter future. Primary and secondary education in China is compulsory, but imposes financial burdens on poorer families in the shape of tuition fees, costs of buying books, and fees for choosing a school and a class.

Curriculum reform in remote areas: the need for productive leadership

R. Niesche and R. Jorgensen

Journal of Educational Administration, vol.48, 2010, p. 102-117

The underperformance of indigenous pupils throughout Australia remains one of the most pressing issues facing education in that country. Many states have tried to improve the situation through school reform and curriculum change. This paper examines the implementation of the new Bound for Success (B4S) curriculum document in the Torres Strait and Cape York regions of Queensland, focusing on the challenges posed for school leaders.

Distance education in an era of eLearning: challenges and opportunities for a campus-focused institution

H. Forsyth and others

Higher Education Research & Development, vol. 29, 2010, p.15-28

This case study reports on the experience of distance educators at an Australian campus-focused university. Organisational structure and culture are identified as critical success factors for quality in distance education with technology perhaps a surprisingly minor consideration. It is suggested that while the eLearning era has opened the door to a distance education cottage industry, eLearning strategy has failed to comprehensively prepare the way for the issues unique to distance education. The paper recommends that campus-focused universities must protect their reputation by systematically assuring the quality of their distance offerings.

Engaged outreach: using community engagement to facilitate access to higher education for people from low socio-economic backgrounds

S. Scull and M. Cuthill

Higher Education Research & Development, vol. 29, 2010, p. 59-74

This paper reports on an action research initiative that has developed a model of engaged outreach as an alternative approach to traditional university outreach. The project was designed using a reflective, collaborative process with local Pacific Island immigrant communities living in an area of high social deprivation in southeast Queensland, Australia. While the authors acknowledge that the success of engaged outreach will depend on its implementation as a long-term strategy, preliminary results from this pilot project suggest that it demonstrates real potential to address this important but seemingly entrenched issue in Australian higher education.

Funding systems for higher education and their impacts on institutional strategies and academia: a comparative perspective

N. Frolich, E.K. Schmidt and M.J. Rosa

International Journal of Educational Management, vol.24, 2010, p. 7-21

This paper explores how different funding systems influence the behaviour of higher education institutions in Denmark, Norway and Portugal. It identifies and analyses the main features of the three different systems (input-based funding, output-based funding, and output-based funding rewarding both research and teaching), their strengths and weaknesses, and their impact on academia.

The handbook of practice and research in study abroad: higher education and the quest for global citizenship

R. Lewin (editor)

London: Routledge, 2009

This handbook offers an overview of a growing area of educational innovation and practice, namely the role of colleges and universities in educating students who can cross global borders, navigate global power structures, and work collaboratively on global problems. The contributors to this book offer theoretical insights and practical advice on how to translate theory into successful programmes which prepare higher education students for global citizenship.

Inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools in Ghana: influence of teachers' and children's characteristics

E.K. Gyimah, D. Sugden and S. Pearson

International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol. 13, 2009, p. 787-804

In this study, the responses of 500 trained and untrained mainstream primary school teachers selected from three of the ten regions of Ghana were analysed to investigate their attitudes to including children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities in mainstream schools. The results showed that teachers in Ghana were positive towards the inclusion of children with SEN and disabilities with a few reservations. On the basis of the findings, conclusions were drawn that the inclusion agenda should be subject to national and local interpretation, aimed at ensuring that policies and regulations on SEN are designed to meet local situations and standards.

Inclusive education and best practice for children with autism spectrum disorder: an integrated approach

S.L. Lynch and A.N. Irvine

International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol. 13, 2009, p. 845-859

This paper describes how best practice for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as an educational model fits within what is described as authentic inclusion. Further, it is suggested that the ASD community align with the greater inclusive education reform movement. With the use of this unified model of education, the authors argue, all children will receive the educational support they require.

Inclusive education: international policy and practice

A.C. Armstrong, D. Armstrong and I. Spandagou

London: SAGE, 2010

This book examines issues of theory, research, policy and practice from both the countries of the South and the North to under pin a discussion of recent developments in the field of inclusive education. The authors focus on developments in current thinking regarding the meaning of inclusion and how this relates to policies and practices within the context of education systems across the world by featuring case studies from Europe, the Caribbean and Australasia. Topics covered include: increasing pressure on educators to develop a global policy agenda for inclusive education; the individual needs of children; the notion of inclusivity; and the importance of local contexts in determining policy.

The international student safety debate: moving beyond denial

C. Nyland, H. Forbes-Mewett, and S. Marginson

Higher Education Research & Development, vol. 29, 2010, p. 89-101

In 2009, international student safety became an issue of immediate concern to Australian education exporters following a series of demonstrations by Indian students and interventions by concerned foreign governments. The paper contextualises this development by utilising a stigma management framework to review the unfolding debate on international students and safety in the USA, UK, New Zealand and Australia. The authors argue that in all four cases it took an exogenous shock to convince education exporters to acknowledge student safety as an issue that needs to be openly debated. They also suggest that Australian officials were slow to make this acknowledgement because they mistakenly believed the industry was shielded by its link to the immigration programme.

New models of working and learning: how young people are shaping their futures differently

E. Smith

Research in Post-Compulsory Education, vol. 14, 2009, p. 429-440

The paper is based on a series of Australian research projects, undertaken over seven years by the author and colleagues, using quantitative and qualitative methodologies and examines the way in which young people are increasingly adopting dual identities - worker and learner - during the long transition from full-time student to full-time worker. The author argues that indeed part-time jobs undertaken while in full-time education provide opportunities for learning about work and may lead to full-time careers in the same industry area. The case studies collected illustrate the arrangements, which are often complex and under-planned, that may be redefining how young people think about education and jobs and how they view their movement into the full-time workforce.

Policy and leadership as practice: foregrounding practice in educational research (special issue)

S. Rawolle, J. Wilkinson and I. Hardy (guest editors)

Critical Studies in Education, vol. 51, 2010, p. 1-111

This special edition is concerned with the different ways in which educational practice, and in particular policy, leadership and teacher professional development practice, can be conceptualised and researched. The papers all draw upon Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical and methodological resources as a way of understanding the complexity of educational practice and examine how his concepts of practice can be applied within educational scholarship.

Professional development and teacher aides in inclusive education contexts: where to from here?

P.E. Bourke

International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol. 13, 2009, p. 817-827

During the past 10 years in Australia teacher aides have been employed in mainstream schools as support personnel in special education intervention programmes, and their numbers are increasing. At the same time workplace reform in relation to inclusive education is impacting on their employment and deployment in schools to support students with disabilities and learning difficulties. In Queensland, teacher aides have been offered formal career paths, with increased pay scales, based on the recognition and continuing attainment of qualifications or credentials. In this paper, the author asks how can the process of professional development for teacher aides be moved forward and argues that the experiences and knowledge that teacher aides already have can inform this process of change.

Reconstructing policy in higher education: feminist poststructural perspectives

E.J. Allan, S.V. Iverson and R. Ropers-Huilman (editors)

London: Routledge, 2010

This book showcases different methods that can be applied to a range of topics in higher education policy and policy development and offers an examination of theoretical frameworks and concrete examples of how feminist post-structuralism informs research methods and can serve as a tool for policy makers and analysts. The research featured includes chapters on: purposes of higher education, administrative leadership, diversity policy, student agency, social class, the history of women in post-secondary institutions, and quality and science in the globalised university.

Towards standards for the publication of performance indicators in the public sector: the case of schools

S. Karsten and others

Public Administration, vol.88, 2010, p. 90-112

The publication of reports which reflect the quality of individual schools, such as league tables or report cards, has become a prominent feature of the education system in many countries. This article describes a set of standards for the publication of school performance indicators that has been developed collaboratively by an international group of researchers from Western Europe. These proposed standards attempt to address problems associated with the publication of school performance indicators. To illustrate their use, they are applied to data published in the US, England and the Netherlands.