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Higher Education in India: a Socio-Historical Journey from Ancient Period to 2006-07
No full textThe socio-historical journey of higher education in India has evolved through different periods, viz., ancient, mediaeval, colonial, post independence and contemporary. In this journey, a system of English education takes a position in higher institutions of learning. The institutions of higher learning are considered the most important agency of social change, social transformation, and entire development of the country. In fact, this journey of higher education started with an ancient system of education in the Vedic period in which two types of educational system were present there, viz., the Brahminical and the Buddhist systems of education. The Brahminical system of education was regulated by religious values, while the Buddhist form of education was „secular‟ in nature. But the major change in Indian higher education took place through the initiatives of British rulers that made an impact both in positive and negative ways. At that time, the indigenous system of education received a severe setback as the British system created a new class which served the British rulers.
At present, the number of institutions in India is more than four times the total number of institutions in both the USA and Europe. However, the average size of an Indian higher education institution in terms of enrolment numbers is much smaller (500-600) to that of Europe and the USA (3,000-4,000) and China (8,000-9,000). The Knowledge Commission recently advocated the need of expansion of Universities and Colleges in India. Therefore, this paper focuses mainly on the socio-historical development of higher education in India from ancient period through to the present. It examines the pattern of increase of educational institutions, faculty positions, and student enrolment
Portfolios in Schools: A Longitudinal Study
No full textRubrics like those of Paulson and Paulson (1994) that trace the evolution of portfolios in a sequence from off-track, emerging, on-track to outstanding, may be misleading because they confuse process with purpose. They assume that all portfolios should model the process portfolio that contains ongoing work and student self-reflection.
This article reports on a longitudinal study of one school in which data on teacher perceptions of, and actual portfolio implementation were collected on three different occasions over a five-year period. These data were obtained from interviews, document analysis and surveys.
The findings reveal three distinct emphases, each relating to a different data gathering stage: a tightly teacher-directed and highly outcome based portfolio; a still traditional portfolio but with the incipient process element of self assessment; and an evaluation portfolio containing marked assessment tasks with individual grades and scores. Challenges for systems and schools are discussed
A comparative examination of South Australian primary students’ attitudes towards German LOTE and other learning areas
No full textOne key educational consequence of Australia’s decision to commit to multiculturalism was the development and implementation of a policy on the teaching of languages other than English (LOTE) in schools. LOTE was to be a learning area in the core curriculum in all Australian government schools. German was one of the original nine specifically targeted LOTE and by 1997 it was the most popular LOTE in South Australian schools.
Research into students’ attitudes towards LOTE has attracted minimal
attention despite the acknowledged link between attitude and learning outcomes.
The literature that does exist contains some positive findings, but the majority are
negative or have negative associations. Three recurring categories of negativity are that LOTE is uninteresting (‘boring’), it is not valuable (‘irrelevant’,
‘unimportant’), and it is academically challenging (‘too hard’).
One purpose of the study reported here was to investigate student attitudes towards German as a LOTE in comparison to attitudes towards the other core learning areas as this is virtually unresearched. A second purpose was to ascertain
whether there are any gender differences in attitudes towards German as a LOTE.
This is also a dimension that is relatively unrepresented in the literature
Can we reliably determine intent in cases of plagiarism?
No full textA review of the literature relating to plagiarism suggests that there is substantial variability in approach between institutions. Some institutions tend to view all occurrences of plagiarism as academic misconduct, whilst others take a more graded view – articulated through policy and procedures that aim to quantify 'levels' of severity. Measured approaches such as these tend to rely on guides to help assess the level of severity, typically encompassing the experience of the student, the amount of material plagiarised, and the likelihood of an intention to deceive. Such judgements lead to a graded response to the student which can result in a wide range of outcomes, from educational guidance and support to expulsion from the institution.
However, the intent to deceive can be extremely difficult to establish. This paper will draw on a desktop study of institutional policies and procedures in Australia and other countries to sample and summarise the myriad approaches to the definition and determination of (specifically) intent in plagiarism. Based on the findings of this review, we suggest that the treatment of intent is, at best, rather inconsistent. A series of 'probability factors' are proposed to guide further research in this area
Looking back to the future: The current relevance of Maria Montessori’s ideas about the spiritual well-being of young children
No full textMaria Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian educator whose ideas and principles have validity in informing, understanding and responding to the challenges faced by contemporary educators . Many of her foundational principles are at the forefront of current educational thinking but are unacknowledged or unknown in mainstream education. It is argued that her ideas and principles about the spiritual wellbeing of young children have validity in the current debate. Montessori saw spirituality as innate in young children, the primary force driving their development and central to their capacity for joyful and deep engagement with their environment. She saw children’s capacity and ability to concentrate deeply as a spiritual pathway to a new level of individual consciousness and connection to the environment. These principles can inform our current thinking, understanding and response to young children’s spirituality. The conditions to bring about, support and protect what Montessori calls ‘concentration’ should be considered in pedagogical responses to the spiritual needs of young childre
Enterprising education in Scotland: is education for work enough?
No full textAlthough there have never been prescribed curriculum directives for enterprise education in Scotland, the Scottish government has provided some documents to support and consolidate good practice and provide frameworks for developing programs throughout the school curriculum. The most recent of these is Determined to succeed: a review of enterprise in education (SEED 2002). The government clearly perceives a link between this kind of activity in schools and
the future health of the economy and the prosperity of the nation. The shifting nature of this perception, and the views of the government at any particular time on the relationship between education and the economy, can be traced through the discourses of various policy documents.
This paper sets out to explore whether the policy advice offered is enough to make education enterprising by tracking the changing discourses used and approaches taken in documents recommending education and work activity to
teachers in the last decade. It then examines the information and advice offered to teachers in the 2002 document, seeking to identify the ideological stance of the writers and to suggest aspects for exploration and development. A plea is made
for support for teachers of a more theoretical nature in the areas of enterprise, entrepreneurship and economic literacy
Teachers’ views of teaching sex education: pedagogy and models of delivery
No full textThis paper is based on a study of 17 secondary schools in an inner city area
of England deemed to have very high levels of teenage pregnancies. The
New Labour Government argued that academic achievements and effective
labour market participation are inhibited by early or ‘premature’ parenthood
(Social Exclusion Unit 1999). It therefore set in place policies to address
these issues effectively in schools, through a revised school achievement
agenda and a revised Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) programme. In
this paper, we concentrate on the role and views of the personal, social and/or
health education coordinators charged with the delivery of SRE in secondary
schools. We consider the way a broad-based inclusive curriculum and
pastoral programme fits into the subject-based and assessed curriculum of
secondary schools for 11–16 year olds where there is no tradition of open
discussion about sexual matters. The legitimacy of teaching about sex and
sexuality in schools has been hotly debated. The questions about how to deal
with teenage pregnancy and sexuality remain politically charged and
politically sensitive issues. The role of the teacher of sex education is thus
very contentious. We present here a range of views about the professional or
other pressures on schools, especially teachers, discussing the difficulties
within each of the different models of delivery. Teachers report considerable
anxieties about SRE as a subject and its low status in the school curriculum,
committed though many of them are to teaching it. This links with what is
now seen as an overarching culture of anxiety about sex in contemporary
society. Many teachers think that attending to young people’s personal and
social development – and especially their sexual identities – could help their
educational careers and academic achievement. Thus, from the teachers’
accounts, we argue that there are important links between the revised sex
education curriculum and the new emphasis on an achievement agenda in
secondary schools
The bookcase at the end of the thesis: revisioning a literature review
No full textAlmost twenty years ago Baudrillard (1988, p 95) warned, ‘We live in a universe where there is more and more information and less and less meaning’. Since this unheeded warning, we have produced a far greater mass of information, further constraining our inner search for meaning. Many of us have become estranged from ourselves and the natural world we inhabit. As well, concepts of text, author and reader have been shifting. What then, is the role of literature in these times? In this paper I explore the relationship and nature of the Literature Review to research and the researcher by examining the importance of three literary authors in particular during the journey into, during and beyond the doctoral thesis
The policy panoptic of ‘mutual obligations’
No full textAustralian Government policies of ‘mutual obligations‘ are based on the
UK’s ‘Third Way’ and the ‘Workfare’ policies of the US. The discussion
here is pertinent to the range of welfare reform initiatives adopted by
Western governments over recent times. In this paper, I focus on the ‘mutual
obligations‘ aspects of the Australian welfare reform agenda as Foucauldian
‘technologies’. A feminist and poststructuralist stance is adopted in outlining
some developing theoretical arguments about the ways that Australian
welfare reform initiatives position working class young women. I begin by
discussing the ‘gaze’ and the ways the gaze is brought to bear on
contemporary working class young women in Australia. In the second
section, I discuss the panoptic mechanism and the specific features of the
mechanism that correlate with Australian welfare reform initiatives
containing mutual obligations. Thirdly, I discuss Foucauldian ‘technologies
of the self’, ‘technologies of domination’2 and ‘governmentality’, focusing on
how the policy panoptic of mutual obligations constructs particular subject
locations for the contemporary hybrid subject3. My objective here in the
initial stages of this project is to describe some of the theoretical resources I
am using to think about mutual obligations policies