Identifying the priorities for midwifery education across Australia and New Zealand: A Delphi study

ProblemIn countries where education programmes are assessed as meeting international standards there is limited knowledge about the challenges facing midwifery education.Background/aimThe positive impact of quality midwifery education on maternal and newborn health is acknowledged by the World Health Organisation. However, there is limited research identifying the issues faced in providing quality midwifery education. The aim of this study was to identify the challenges and determine priority projects to strengthen midwifery education across Australia and New Zealand.MethodsA two-round Delphi study with experts in midwifery education was undertaken.FindingsIn round one, 85 participants identified an initial 366 issues for midwifery education. Through thematic content analysis these were categorised into 89 statements reflecting five major themes: In round two, 105 midwifery experts from Australia n = 86 (79%) and New Zealand n = 23 (21%) rated the 89 statements in order of priority. Across the combined data (Australia and New Zealand) a total of 19 statements gained consensus of ≥80%.DiscussionFive priority themes were identified including; (1) enabling success of First Peoples/Māori midwifery students; (2) increasing the visibility and influence of midwifery within regulation, accreditation and university governance; (3) determining how best to deliver the clinical practicum component of programmes; (4) reviewing midwifery programmes to enhance design, content and delivery; and (5) ongoing education and support for the midwifery workforce.ConclusionIn Australia and New Zealand, it is imperative that collaborative work is undertaken to design and action identified projects addressing these priorities.     

Enoch Powell,empires, immigrants and education

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, an intervention that is still viewed as one of the most incendiary statements of the perceived decay and violence likely to follow legislation intended to assure minoritised British citizens of equal rights regardless of their ethnic origin. In this essay, Sally Tomlinson (one of Britain’s foremost multicultural theorists) reflects on Powell’s legacy and the contemporary scene where in the US, UK and across Europe, White resentment and fear is increasingly shaping ‘mainstream’ debates about nationhood, migration and education.     

Educating the labouring poor in nineteenth-century Suffolk

This article demonstrates the utility of a new source, prison registers, for the history of literacy and education in nineteenth-century England. It focuses on two sets of prison registers from the two county gaols in Suffolk, located at Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, which contain personal information on 16,690 individuals over the period 1840 to 1878. First, the article examines the context in which personal information about prisoners was recorded and tests the data against benchmarks from other sources to prove its reliability. Second, the article employs two methods, statistical analysis and digital mapping, to study in depth the rich data on prisoners’ literacy and schooling. Finally, the article shows how the results of this analysis significantly revise our understanding of the prevalence of schooling among the labouring poor, the use of different types of schools, the role of the partially literate in the drive towards mass literacy, and the importance of life-long learning.     

The impact of economic,social and cultural conditions on educational attainments

This paper aims at investigating the effect of Economic Social and Cultural Status (ESCS) on the educational performances of students, using two waves of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey of OECD (2009, 2012). The analysis is conducted at student level for all countries included in the PISA sample. The estimates are based on the Conditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), applied for the first time in the Slack Based Measure (SBM) version. This method allows a detailed evaluation of the additional effort the students should do when they are operating in an ESCS that has a comparative disadvantage. The unprecedented use of a conditional non-radial model of efficiency, provides evidences of a significant effect of the ESCS on performances, with a strong heterogeneity among students, and countries. It follows that some problems with education may not be due to the education systems themselves, but to the economic, social and cultural gaps, which determine a persistence of inequality of opportunity. Thus, public policies are needed to foster virtuous paths to reduce disparities among students with different socioeconomic background both between and within systems.     

农村义务教育阶段培育和践行社会主义核心价值观研究

农村义务教育在我国义务教育体系中占有重要地位,特别是对于拥有9亿多农村人口的我国来说,农村义务教育关系到每一个农村家庭子女的成长和成才,关系到农村经济振兴战略,更关系到国家和民族的未来。对农村义务教育阶段培育和践行社会主义核心价值观的必要性以及在这一过程中存在的困境进行深入研究,并据此提出相关的应对策略,能够使农村义务教育在社会主义核心价值观的指引下持续、快速、全面、健康地发展。     

Fostering benign Tibetan nationalism: Tibetan schooling passions in the Diaspora

ABSTRACT

Scholarship on the ‘manufacturing of citizenship’ has focused primarily on European and American nationalism. Scholars have noted the scarcity of research on identity construction among children in the Diaspora. This study explores the role of the altruistic principle and the Middle Way approach (a political strategy for the resolution of Sino-Tibetan issues) on the construction of nationalism amongst Tibetan children in Diaspora. The 2004 Basic Education Policy for Tibetans stresses the principle of ‘altruism’ in the identity construction of Tibetan children. Inclusive nationalism is germane in the schooling process. The study presents an interview analysis of four Tibetan Education Ministers about the intersection of altruistic principle, the Middle Way approach, and Tibetan nationalism. Additionally, 34 school children (14 boys and 20 girls) from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades participated in a drawing activity. The analysis of children’s ‘cultural artifacts of nationalism’ is also included. The study found that neither the Tibetan children nor the Ministers expressed any feeling of hatred or animosity towards Chinese nationals. The willingness and desire to co-exist in harmony with their counterparts were evident. The principle of altruism is deeply entrenched in the Middle Way approach and Tibetan nationalism.     

Status and competitive choice

In this paper, we extend the logic of existing sociological theory on status to explain how status processes can inform selection in competitive choice situations. We argue that in the absence of knowledge about the specific abilities of others and assuming a desire to win, when given the opportunity to “pick their battles,” people will draw on overt status differences as a basis for selecting a competitor from a pool of possible competitors. Results from three studies indicate that, as predicted, status differences affect competitor selection, with individuals choosing to compete against those who are relatively lower status based on diffuse characteristics. Moreover, consistent with expectation state theories, results from two studies show that the expectations that people form for their potential competitors based on status differences mediate this relationship. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research.     

媒体融合与高校辅导员思政工作关系研究

随着互联网的快速发展,信息传播成本显著下降,且在数字媒介的帮助下,信息实现了广泛、深度传播。媒体融合作为时代发展中一项意义深远的变革,对高校的思政工作产生了重要影响。高校辅导员需充分认清媒体融合发展带来的机遇与挑战,抓住机遇,有效开展思政教育。研究媒体融合和高校辅导员思政工作的关系,有助于高校充分抓住媒体融合的发展机遇,有助于高校辅导员高效地开展思政工作。     

Breaking through the silence in antenatal care: Fetal movement and stillbirth education

BackgroundFetal movements are a key indicator of fetal health. Research has established significant correlations between altered fetal activity and stillbirth. However, women are generally unaware of this relationship. Providing pregnant women with information about the importance of fetal movements could improve stillbirth rates. However, there are no consistent fetal movements awareness messages globally for pregnant women.AimsThis study aimed to explore the antenatal care experiences of Australian mothers who had recently had a live birth to determine their knowledge of fetal movements, the nature and source of that information.MethodsAn online survey method was used for 428 women who had a live birth and received antenatal care in Australia. Women’s knowledge of fetal movements, stillbirth risk, and the sources of this knowledge was explored.FindingsA large proportion of participants (84.6%; n = 362) stated they had been informed by health care professionals of the importance of fetal movements during pregnancy. Open-ended responses indicate that fetal movements messages are often myth based. Awareness that stillbirth occurs was high (95.2%; n = 398), although, 65% (n = 272) were unable to identify the current incidence of stillbirth in Australia.ConclusionWomen who received antenatal care have high-awareness of fetal movements, but the information they received was inconsistent. Participants knew stillbirth occurred but did not generally indicate they had obtained that knowledge from health care professionals. We recommend a consistent approach to fetal movements messaging throughout pregnancy which focuses on stillbirth prevention.     

新媒体时代高校思想政治教育面临的挑战与机遇分析

信息技术的发展和新媒体技术在高校教育中的应用对高校思想政治教育产生了巨大的影响,高校要想提高思想政治教育效果,为学生做出积极有效的思想指引,就要把握新媒体时代带来的挑战和机遇,制定更加科学而有效的思想政治教育模式,提高教育效果。分析新媒体时代高校思想政治教育面临的挑战和机遇,具有十分重要的意义。