Welfare Reform on the Web (December 2004): Education - Overseas

"ASKING FOR THE MOON"? A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF AUSTRALIAN DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION LAWS IN PROMOTING INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

K. Lindsay

International Journal of Inclusive Education, vol.8, 2004, p.373-390

Paper argues that there is a clear mismatch between inclusion policy as espoused by public education authorities and disability discrimination in education laws in New South Wales. As a result, through legal regulation, New South Wales undermines the human rights of people with disabilities by restricting their access to mainstream education.

GLOBALIZATION AND MARKETING IN EDUCATION: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE

K-H, Mok and J. Tan

Cheltenham, Glos: Edward Elgar 2004

This book focuses upon Hong Kong and Singapore and how these East Asian tigers have responded to the strong global tide of marketisation that is shaping and developing their education policies. The authors discuss the way in which increasingly prominent tides of marketisation, privatisation, corporatisation and decentralisation have influenced the governance and management of education in these two Asian economies.

INCLUSION OF DEAF STUDENTS: AN EXAMINATION OF DEFINITIONS OF INCLUSION IN RELATION TO FINDINGS OF A RECENT AUSTRALIAN STUDY OF DEAF STUDENTS IN REGULAR CLASSES.

M. Hyde

Deafness and Education International, vol.6, no.2, 2004, p.82-99

Current practice for inclusion of deaf pupils in Australia involves placement in mainstream schools with special itinerant teacher support. Variations to the current model could include:

• modifications to the existing itinerant teacher support role;
• development of a diversified model for general class support.

MOVING TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN CYPRUS

P. Angelides

International Journal of Inclusive Rducation, vol.8, 2004, p.407-422

Article looks at the practical barriers to the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools in Cyprus. Presents and analyses four case studies showing:

• barriers arising from negative attitudes among teachers to inclusive education;
• schools wrongly identifying children as having special needs in order to leverage more resources;
• lack of support and training for teachers;
• conflict between teachers.

ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS, MULTIPLE SKILL DEMANDS: DILEMMAS FACING THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

K. Venter

Journal of Education and Work, vol.17, 2004, p.283-300

In China, three groups of organisations operating under different forms of ownership are making different demands on the education system. State-owned enterprises are heavily dependent on the formal education and training system for their supply of skilled workers, because the system is historically geared to their needs and because of their self-confessed lack of knowledge of effective skills development processes. For foreign-owned enterprises and joint ventures, the education system serves largely as a filtering and selection mechanism, with organisations subsequently providing their own tailor-made training and development activities. The needs of private domestic employers tend to be squeezed out as they lack resources to attract the most talented recruits from the education system or to develop training programmes of their own.