From Ethnic segregation to impact integration: state schooling and identity construction for rural Tibetans

This paper examines the context of ethnic identity formation in schools for rural Tibetan children. It reviews rural primary education within Tibet and the secondary education for Tibetans in boarding schools across China. Data are presented on policies, student recruitment, curriculum, teachers and the campus environment, as they impact on students' identity formation. Although there is little that is multicultural about the learning process in these schools, these schools do not strictly deny Tibetan culture to Tibetan children. The school architecture, sculptures, photographs, wall paintings and so forth provide representations of Tibetan culture, albeit selectively and interpreted by the state in terms of the ideological themes of national unity, patriotism, revolutionary traditions, civilised behaviour and love of Tibet. The conclusion points to a make‐or‐break opportunity for state education to support a more even‐handed cultural policy, rather than the dichotomy of segregation and impact integration.     

At home or away? An exploration of policy and practice in the placement of disabled children at residential schools

Despite increasing policy commitment by government to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream services, significant numbers of disabled children continue to be placed away from their family home and community in residential schools. Reliable statistical information on them is elusive and there has been a dearth of research on how placement decisions are made and what the experience of such placements for disabled children and their families is like. This article reports on the policies and practice of 21 education and social service authorities in England in this area, the patterns of residential placements and the apparent reasons for them. It also highlights points of concern in relation to the protection and promotion of the welfare of disabled children in residential schools, and the apparent lack of clarity on the part of local authorities with regard to their duties in this area. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Work–family Conflicts and the Organizational Work Culture as Barriers to Women Educational Managers

This article examines perceived barriers and the influence they play in the professional and personal lives of women educational managers in Spain. A survey of 206 female school heads from pre‐primary and primary schools shows that the women administrators face several perceived barriers: a lack of support from the governing educational authority; insufficient preparation and in‐service training and an absence of equity‐based support policies from the government and reconciliation policies to make the dual roles of mother–professional compatible. The study further found that role conflict and certain features of the organizational work culture, particularly the management culture, which was generally perceived as strongly masculine, and the scant appreciation of administrative work compared with teaching, were the factors that contributed to delaying or avoiding accession to the post of headship in schools.     

Understanding youth transition system in Poland through the analysis of partnerships between vocational upper secondary schools and industry

This paper examines the current youth transition system in Poland focusing on the role of industry partnerships with vocational upper secondary schools. On the example of the aviation cluster in the south-eastern Poland, this paper assesses the strong industry-led partnership established in 2007 with local schools and authorities in delivery of aviation-specific programmes, and its impact of local youth transitions to labour market. In contrast to Poland's national trend towards weak cooperation between industry and the vocational education sector, three major dynamics regarding the aviation cluster's influence on vocational education are observable. The region benefits from: strong leadership from local industry in influencing the supply of particular skills by local vocational education and training (VET) schools and universities; a high level of willingness of local government authorities at the mayor's and municipality's offices to support the aviation cluster's influence on VET; and a free-market model of student choice influencing the practice of local VET schools and training centres. Such cooperation is valuable for businesses and local institutes of education. However, these processes affect the equal chances of successful school-to-work transitions for graduates stratified in different educational pathways, and successful transitions are still constrained by the structure of Poland's system, which is increasingly assuming ‘education logic’.     

The Politics of Integration—new Sites for Old Practices?

Public education authorities throughout the Australian States and Territories have moved towards the development of policies and programmes to integrate students considered disabled into regular classrooms. The implementation of policy frequently is reduced to disputation over resources which, it is argued, will facilitate integration. This paper contends that such debates sustain the flawed notion that integration is simply a technical issue to be achieved through deployment of special equipment and personnel to regular schools, recommending a further consideration of the contribution of pedagogy, curriculum and school organisation to disabling or enabling educational programmes.     

School governing bodies: Reshaping education in their own image?

Recent educational reforms in England have given considerable responsibilities for the overall administration of schools to governing bodies largely comprised of lay people. The paper explores the knowledge of education possessed by lay governors. Issues considered include: the systematicity of that knowledge; its possible sources, and how gender, ethnicity and social class influence the knowledge held and used by governors. Also examined are the question of whether governors are always knowledgeable actors within the context of education and the implications of this for schools and democratic participation in their governance. Data is derived from a four year qualitative multi-site case study of ten school governing bodies in two English local education authorities undertaken by the authors between 1988 and 1992.     

Trends and issues in language policy and language education in Crimea

This work identifies and discusses developments in language policy and language education in Crimea since the peninsula’s incorporation into the Russian Federation in March 2014. Working on the assumption that post-Soviet reforms and changes in language and education policies cannot be understood outside their historical context, the article starts by briefly outlining some of the defining features of the historical and sociolinguistic situation of Crimea until March 2014. It then presents the changing linguistic situation of the peninsula since its accession into Russia and discusses present developments in light of the broader context of post-Soviet language ideologies, policies and practices. It suggests that the new Crimean authorities are following a double strategy: the imposition of monolingual educational and linguistic policies, accompanied by largely symbolic concessions to the demands of local ethnic communities.     

Equity for government school students: Reclaiming social work services in New South Wales

In Australia, school education is largely a state government responsibility, hence there are varying responses across Australia to the welfare needs of school students. The present study explores the basis for the provision of social work services within schools, particularly the special needs of rural schools, and suggests that NSW school students are disadvantaged by not having access to social work services that might help them overcome some of the educational barriers that they face. The nature of educational barriers is examined and literature on the role of school social workers is reviewed. The authors find that the social justice rhetoric of State and Commonwealth educational agencies is incongruent with NSW school practice.     

Progress or procrastination? The education of young people who are looked after

The education of young people who are looked after by local authorities continues to be an issue which is inadequately addressed across England and Wales as a whole. However, recent research has shown that a number of local authorities are developing initiatives to enhance the educational experiences of this cohort of vulnerable young people. This article identifies the difficulties and, from research data, outlines some of the strategies which have proved effective. The data indicate that the problems can be resolved, given commitment, and suggest that practitioners in local authorities must continue to strive to ensure that all young people who they are looking after have an equal opportunity to experience a positive educational career.     

The rhetoric and the reality of rural deprivation

In the development of the rural deprivation debate in the U.K. in the early 1970s, the cause of rural deprivation was largely attributed to the imbalance in the allocation of state resources between urban and rural areas. In subsequent campaigns to redress that situation, much emphasis was placed on identifying specific ‘rural’ as opposed to ‘urban’ explanations for the problems facing rural populations. Evidence presented in this paper, however, illustrates the essentially aspatial nature of the deprivation experience. From a detailed household survey in a range of rural environments in England, deprivation was found to result as much from the socio-economic inequalities within rural society as it does from any perceived processes of territorial injustice in the allocation of Central Government financial support to local authorities. In the light of such findings, the paper questions the advisability of the state's adherence to spatial policies in the pursuit of solutions to the problems of the deprived in rural areas.     

Integration of students with disabilities into regular schools: policy in use

In the state of Victoria, Australia, the right of all children to be educated in a regular school has been Ministerial policy since 1984. However, the issue of integration of students with disabilities into mainstream schools is problematical because of the ways that practitioners interpret this policy. This paper summarises research on the attitudes of 194 primary and secondary school teachers to integration and discusses how these are impacting on the implementation process. It is argued that it is difficult to develop policies which define 'what will be' without careful consideration of 'what is' in terms of history, beliefs and attitudes. The researchers found that ideas arising from the practices of 'special' education are being imposed on the integration process, limiting teachers' visions of educational opportunity for all.     

Family assets,postsecondary education,and students with disabilities: Building on progress and overcoming challenges

Students with disabilities are increasingly enrolling and participating in two-year, four-year, and other institutions of higher education. Federal policies and initiatives addressing the educational needs of students and adults with disabilities provided impetus for these increases. For example, mandates within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) have resulted in K-12 public schools increasingly preparing students for postsecondary education. Nonetheless, students with disabilities continue to face financial challenges as well as low educational expectations in their pursuit of postsecondary education. Family assets may provide a framework for addressing these challenges and provide specific implications for policy as well as educational practice.     

Educating handicapped children: The development of a special education ideology scale

The ideological belief system of actors who influence the direction of policies is an important dimension providing some estimate of a policy's feasibility. This paper, through the development and application of a Special Education Ideology (SEI) Scale, examines what a randomly selected group of local educational decision-makers in Massachusetts think regarding the education of handicapped children within the contexts of citizen/parent participation, intergovernmental relations, community/agency linkage, and normalization. Their belief system, and extent of mainstreaming in Massachusetts, are analyzed according to community type—urban, small city, suburban, and rural. With respect to Public Law 94–142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, implications and limitations of the SEI Scale are explored for education and human service professionals.     

Reports of past conferences

Since the advent of the People's Republic, the school has served as a metonym for the city in China, both in the public imagination and in state policy. This article explores how two different ideologies (socialist and post‐socialist) were manifested in two different visual images of the city and school, which in turn shaped the urban institutions and landscapes. In the socialist era, party‐state propaganda offered an image of a model society which was predominantly rural, and where formal education had been marginalized by alternative forms of learning. Cities and schools were understood to be dangerous repositories of bourgeois capitalism which must be scoured of their elitist and decadent characteristics through the importation of rural practices and values. In the post‐socialist era, the city is now envisioned as the centre of modernity and progress, and schools are seen as the path to development and ‘quality’ (suzhi). The rural is pathologized as backward. This new ideology has reshaped the Chinese urban educational landscape from one of enforced egalitarianism to one characterized by inequality and exclusion.     

Family Contributions to Self Help Schooling in Malawi and Kenya*

Abstract In the 1980s and 1990s African societies responded to reduced state educational capacity by expanding the reach of civil society‐non‐state societal organizations that sought to organize individuals and mobilize local resources for education and development. In this paper, I argue that rural African families were differentially prepared to respond to these changes in state‐society relations. I develop a model of family contributions to self help schooling that integrates a range of theoretical perspectives emphasizing the importance of social capital, family economy, family background, and family structure. Then, I utilize original, household survey data to apply the model across diverse national and regional contexts. One major analytical finding points to the importance of family memberships in local civil for predicting self help schooling. Another contribution of the paper is that it demonstrates both similarities and differences in factors influencing family contributions to self help schooling across nations and regions.     

Education and State Formation Reconsidered: Chinese School Identity in Postwar Singapore

Abstract After WWII, Singapore launched decolonization and the state elites were under strong compulsion to blend the Chinese and other racial communities into a national whole. Chinese schools, equipping students with worldview and cultural-linguistic abilities very different from those at other schools, hindered the completion of this task. The state elites sought to resolve this problem by replacing Chinese schools, but this policy antagonized the Chinese and undermined the legitimacy of the ruling regime. To pacify the Chinese, they switched to uphold Chinese schools as an integral and distinct category in the education system. This strategy, nevertheless, kept Chinese schools culturally compartmentalized and sacrificed the objective of promoting interracial integration. To rectify this situation, the ruling authorities sought to blunt the cultural distinctiveness of Chinese schools by strengthening Chinese teaching in English schools. However, this policy was not very successful, because the Malays – the adversary of the Chinese – resented it. This study demonstrates that state formation is a complicated project containing conflicting tasks, it reminds us state hegemonic strategies always bring about contradictory results and the connection between education and state formation is always dialectical.     

“We Don't Know How to Do This”: Rural Parents' Perspectives on and Roles in Enrollment at a Private,Selective Liberal Arts College

Rural youth trail their non-rural counterparts in college enrollment and attainment, especially for degrees from selective schools; these gaps further spatial inequality in the United States. Much research has focused on rural parents as impediments to rural college-going: many rural parents did not attend college, and their educational aspirations for their children are lower than those of urban parents. However, every year, thousands of rural students do head to college, even to selective schools, and little is known about their parents' influence on their enrollment. This qualitative study focuses on rural parents without a bachelors degree, investigating the roles they play in their children's aspirations and enrollment at a private, selective liberal arts college and examining their perspectives on this type of school. The results suggest that parents are an important source of social capital, supporting aspirations and enrollment. They also show that these parents see a liberal arts education as a path to a remunerative and rewarding career, and, in supporting their children's college choice, they value factors—financial aid, proximity, and a welcoming school culture—that mitigate the social, cultural, and moral boundaries separating home from college.     

A study of factors related to rural job preference among prospective nursing graduates

Four hundred and thirty prospective nursing graduates from ten schools and five colleges in India were studied to identify factors related to their preferences for work in urban or rural areas. Seventy per cent expressed a preference for urban work. Significant factors related to rural preferences were: religion and background (rural or urban); type of educational institution (government or non-government); and living in a rural setting during community nursing experience. Of the personal, professional and socio-cultural factors related to rural work preference, the most significant were: accomodation, sanitation and safe water; job availability for spouse, security, and school for children. Of the personal and professional factors, the most important were: continuing education opportunities, job satisfaction, and intellectual stimulation.     

“异地高考”区域差异性背后的政策逻辑与策略建议

目前已经出台的"异地高考"政策呈现出较大的区域差异性。各省在制定这一公共政策时,受到多种因素的影响。高考利益制约政策的公平性,人口压力导致政策选择的保守性,基础教育发展水平影响政策的开放性,制度缺位影响政策执行的有效性,城市本位观影响政策制定的导向性。应当从生态政策学的视角厘清制约异地高考政策的多重因素,从发展主义视角改善流动人口的福利,以跨界治理的模式推动政策落实。     

新加坡学校教育市场化的政策与实践

1997年，新加坡政府在“思考型学校，学习型国家”理念的指导下，推出了促进学校多样性、自主性和创新性的教育政策。本文第一部分回顾了1997年以来推出的教育政策，强调了这一系列改革如何体现出新加坡教育系统中营销导向的突出特点。第二部分论述如何通过“专长项目计划”这一全国性举措来实现教育的市场化。笔者认为，学校应该首先明确家长和学生的需求，然后再按照能力的不同开发“产品”。