NAPLAN data: a new policy assemblage and mode of governance in Australian schooling

ABSTRACT

As part of a policy assemblage, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is representative of a new mode of governance for Australia's schooling systems, indicative of international trends in educational accountability based on testing. The policy assumption was that the introduction of a national performance measurement system would tightly couple school practices to national agendas targeted at improving learning outcomes. This paper presents a comparative case study of two primary schools within a single Queensland region to interrogate how coupling and decoupling strategies are enacted in respect of the policy usage of NAPLAN data. The granular analysis of the governance relationship between the school principals and their supervisors is set against the politics, policies and pressures of NAPLAN that recast the initiative as high stakes for systems, schools and their leadership. Specifically, we argue that Queensland's choice and enactment of policy instruments have produced a new mode of governance of principal conduct, but one mediated by the specific contexts of the two schools. The analysis shows how this mode has precipitated two types of decoupling.     

日伪统治时期北平的中小学教育

日伪统治时期,北平的中小学教育受创甚巨:在学校数量上,无论中学还是小学,都在日趋下降;在教育制度上,开一时风气的中学会考制度、男女共校制度惨遭废黜,方兴未艾的小学义务教育受到粗暴的遏制,蓬勃而兴的私立小学亦遭致命打击;在课程设置上,教科书中凡是有关爱国、抗日以及拥戴孙中山等内容全部被删去。此外,日语在中学课程中的比重不断增加,甚至被列为小学必修课程之一。与此相关联的是,日语教师的地位也空前上升。在此期间,日伪还不断向北平中小学师生灌输"复古"、"反共"等思想,着力在意识形态上加紧控制广大师生。     

Social Class in Public Schools

This article shows the pattern of socioeconomic class differences in schooling outcomes and indicates some of the causes for those differences that lie within the public realm. Those causes include "nested inequalities" across boundaries of states, school districts, schools within a district, classes within a school, and sometimes separation within a class. In addition, urban public schools demonstrate a particular set of problems that generate differential schooling outcomes by economic class. The article also demonstrates ways in which class biases are closely entwined with racial and ethnic inequities. It concludes with the broad outlines of what would be necessary to reduce class (and racial) disparities in American public schools .

The American dream will succeed or fail in the 21 ^st century in direct proportion to our commitment to educate every person in the United States of America.
            —President Bill Clinton, 1995 ( Clinton, 1995 : 617)

There is no greater test of our national responsibility than the quality of the education we provide.
      —Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, 2000 ( Gore, 2000 )

Both parties have been talking about education for quite a while. It's time to come together to get it done, so that we can truthfully say in America: No child will be left behind.
                —President George W. Bush, 2001 ( Bush, 2001 )

     

Constructions of pupil absence in the British education service

'Truants' and 'truancy' have been construed as 'problems' in schools and the British education system since the introduction of compulsory schooling in the late 19th century. A review of the literature about 'truancy' reveals four principal perspectives which construe the 'problem' of absence as an outcome of: individual 'pathology'; 'defective' parenting; a failure to identify and meet the 'needs' of a child; and, nonhuman factors within the process of schooling (e.g. the National Curriculum). Findings are presented from a research project into the work of an education welfare service (EWS), which explored the social careers of pupils referred to the service. On the basis of these findings it is argued that particular 'regimes' and 'myths' in the education service provide a context within which decisions are made about children who do not attend school regularly. It is suggested that these 'myths' constrain the services which it is legitimate for agencies to provide for some of the most marginalised and vulnerable children, and families in British society; and legitimise a morally based, selective operational masking of the complex, multilayered factors from which a child's surface 'deviance' originates.     

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.     

学校环境与学生成绩的性别差异

近几十年来,随着女生受教育权利越来越得到重视,男女生在受教育机会方面趋于平等,但学校中却出现了男生平均成绩相比女生普遍偏低的现象,学生学习成绩的性别差异越来越明显。本文采用学校固定效应模型,分析不同的班级环境对学生学习成绩造成的影响及其性别差异。研究结果显示,男生学习成绩落后的现象多存在于学习环境相对较差的学校。进一步加入中间变量,初步探析其形成机制后发现,在较差的学校中,男生容易在同伴群体中形成反学校的认知、态度和行为,女生则较少受到这种影响,因而容易造成学习成绩上的性别差异。     

Odorous childhoods and scented worlds of learning: a sensory history of health and outdoor education initiatives in Western Europe (1900s-1960s)

ABSTRACT

This paper develops a sensory history of health and outdoor education initiatives which featured (non-)formal schooling, analyzing these as belonging to (a) scented and more generally sensed world(s) of learning. Working with photographs as sensory objects of affect, and using as examples Belgian and Luxembourg open-air schools and associated sanitary and social welfare provisions, the paper explores issues that have gone under-researched in sensory scholarship internationally: those of precise educational purposes, methods, processes and effects of sensory engagement, particularly pertaining to “smell”. Sensory practices and experiences and uses of senses generally are thereby traced in/as “situated, embodied” movements inextricably “enmeshed” with symbolism. The paper argues that while the educational goals underpinning the initiatives investigated and the approaches and practices characterizing these have changed, some (un)intended effects still have an impact today, for instance through Forest School as given shape in the United Kingdom. The concept of “odorous”, or rather “sensuous childhoods”, is proposed to denote ways that particular target groups have come to be imagined as in need of explicitly sensorial health and outdoor education.     

Designing for “touch”, “reach” and “movement” in postwar (1946–1972) English primary and infant school environments

ABSTRACT

This article examines the use and interpretation of the terms “touch”, “reach” and “movement” in Ministry of Education (later, Department of Education) official publications known as Building Bulletins between the years 1949–1972. A close critical reading of Building Bulletins concerned primarily with school design for young children (infant and primary schools) in the English context has been carried out and the results of this exercise are discussed in the wider context of close relationships established between architects designing schools and leading progressive educationalists in Britain. The wider international context, particularly progressive educational design in the USA, is used to further understand the use and interpretation of these terms. The article contributes to a current interest among historians of education in exploring material and sensory histories of schooling.     

Does Parental Participation in Schools Empower or Strain Civil Society? The Case of Community‐managed Schools in Central America

Among the various educational models in Latin America that seek to increase parental participation in schooling, perhaps the most far‐reaching is the experiment with self‐managed schools. These are publicly funded schools administered by parents. Broad public powers, such as the capacity to decide the budget and make staffing decisions, are given to parents, many of whom have had very limited prior administrative experience. How does this policy innovation impact on civil society? Does parental participation in school administration empower participating citizens or strain civil society? There are various ways of answering these questions. This article looks at some possible ways to conceptualize and assess the relationship between parental participation in self‐managed schools and civil society. The article draws from the experience of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, where these reforms have advanced significantly since the 1990s.     

Low-Income Parents and the Public Schools

This article addresses the responses likely to be received by low-income parents from teachers and staff in their children's public schools in the United States. A review of the relevant literature reveals that teachers and school administrators tend to subscribe to the dominant beliefs that low-income parents do not care about their children's schooling, are not competent to help with homework, do not encourage achievement, and do not place a high value on education. This article presents examples of such middle-class bias in the words and actions of individual teachers, and research findings that tend to contradict these stereotypes. The barriers that exist for low-income parents in interacting with the schools are discussed, and suggestions are offered for ways in which schools can recognize and respect the standpoint and potential contributions of these parents.     

CALCULATING THE TRUE COST OF PRIVATE SCHOOL EDUCATION: BASED ON A SURVEY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL FEES

The cost of a child's education should not be a mystery to consumers, yet little has been published about the true costs, and it is no simple task for parents to calculate. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the research literature that exists in relation to informing parents and educationalists alike as to the true cost of private school education. The term cost is used in the economic sense as encompassing not only the price paid for the product (school fees) but also the opportunity cost to the family in terms of what they forego in order to finance private schooling. Identifying opportunity cost is a useful means of assessing the impact of factors, other than financial, that are influential in determining whether or not private education is purchased. From a survey of South Australian private schools, we have been able to provide a detailed account of the price variations between the fees charged, as well as identifying a variety of additional ancillary charges. Based on the survey figures, we have projected the amount of money that needs to be taken out of the family budget in order to pay for a child's private schooling. At the time the survey was conducted the cost of private school education across three strata, on average, ranged from $13,400 to $42,246. We calculated that incremental family pretax incomes of between $20,303 and $64,009 would be required to fund this education. The amounts represent an opportunity cost to a family whereby money could be put to alternative uses such as home renovation, an overseas holiday, or a buffer against unexpected life events. We conclude that the outlay is substantial for many families and that greater transparency of all costs is needed for families to make informed financial plans to accommodate the overall cost of education for their children.     

Structural Deficiency or Cultural Racism: The Educational and Social Experiences of Arab‐Australian Youth

This paper discusses the cultural, attitudinal and structural factors that impact upon the social experiences and educational achievements of Arabic‐speaking background (ASB) students in three Melbourne secondary schools with high levels of cultural and linguistic diversity. The paper makes the case for and then outlines a multidimensional approach to multicultural education to better integrate ASB students and their families into the schooling environment. Key strategies developed and tested include a model of school‐community partnership, online and interactive teacher support material (TSM) as well as on‐going teacher professional development workshops on reflexive approaches to cultural diversity and intercultural tension.     

Family engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: Opportunities and challenges for school social work

The COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes in schooling in the United States and across the world, including abrupt shifts to remote learning, immediate cessation of social contact, intensive family engagement in education and diminished school capacity for social–emotional supports. While the initial national lockdown was temporary, the long-lasting effects of the pandemic on society are still being revealed. This study contributes to a growing body of research exploring and documenting shifts in school social work practice in the United States during the COVID era. We used qualitative methods to explore how school social workers (SSWers) practised family engagement during the pandemic and their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of increased family engagement. Analysis of interviews with 20 SSWers from three US states (Colorado, Minnesota and Nevada) revealed five primary themes: reasons for family engagement, ways of engaging with families, frequency of family contact, challenges in engaging families and SSWers' attitudes and perceptions about family engagement. Results indicated a need for a comprehensive, organized and strategic family engagement plan in schools as we move into the post-acute phases of the pandemic. Future research should explore how SSWers may serve as leaders in the development of such plans and how interprofessional practice might advance this agenda further.     

Improving Intergroup Relations: Lessons Learned From Cooperative Learning Programs

This article discusses the need for cooperative learning groups in integrated schools in order to promote more cross-race relationships than might otherwise be the case. We review research on 8 cooperative learning procedures. Evidence for the effectiveness of these programs in facilitating cross-race peer interaction is presented.     

Can educational policy affect the distribution of earnings?—A quantitative exploration

The widely held belief that education is an effective policy instrument for affecting the distribution of earnings is examined within a comprehensive framework of the labor market. The structure affords a view of different roles that education might play and concludes that years of schooling combined with other individual characteristics is an important factor, but it is limited. The educational factor is most reliable in determining earnings within occupations. Supplemental policies other than general provision of education, which could serve to provide access among occupations would substantially enhance the overall tractability of policy vis-a-vis the earnings distribution.     

中国近代研究生培养的模式变迁--基于中西文化冲突与融合的视角

近代以来国门洞开,外国教育制度通过各种渠道逐渐传入中国。学习西方资本主义国家的教育经验,在中国建立近代学制,开展研究生教育,是中国新式教育事业发展的实际需要。甲午战败后,研究生教育仿效日本模式,壬寅学制和癸卯学制奠定了中国近代学制和研究生教育的基础。辛亥革命成功后,研究生教育嫁接德国模式,教育部先后颁行壬子学制和癸丑学制,仿效德国洪堡式大学中以导师指导为主的研究生培养制度。20世纪20年代以后,研究生教育移植美国模式,美式的研究生培养制度集中体现在1931年草拟、1935年修改颁布的《学位授予法》中。近代高等教育学习对象和仿效模式的频繁转换,实际上蕴含着中西学术文化的持续冲突。至今,中西学术文化尚未真正融合,中国大学的现代化仍在进行之中。     

未来教育之需:论中小学教师定期访学制度的创建

未来教育的发展亟需创建中小学教师定期访学制度.当前中小学教师培训存在同质化现象普遍、校际合作机制缺失、培训形式单一和理论培训供给过剩等问题.创建教师定期访学制度能弥补现有培训的不足,有利于突破校内较为封闭的静态学习环境,构建校际间的教师学习共同体,创新需求导向的学习模式,生成本土原创的实践性知识与理论.该制度的目标主体是中小学教师;访学周期应设为每隔6年一次,每次6个月;应给予访学双方教师一定补贴;制定有关教师访学的管理细则;建立教师在职培训的数据平台.     

中国城乡居民教育获得的性别差异研究

一直以来,中国城乡居民教育获得的性别差异逐渐缩小,最近甚至开始出现女性超过男性的趋势。利用“2008年中国综合社会调查”（CGSS2008）数据,本研究探讨中国城乡居民教育获得性别不平等的变化趋势,并着重检验影响教育获得的各主要因素是否存在性别差异。研究发现：第一,性别不平等存在城乡差异,农村户口居民的性别不平等程度高于非农户口居民;第二,父亲的职业地位指数（ISEI）或父母的受教育水平越低,教育获得的性别不平等越严重;第三,兄弟姐妹人数越多的群体,教育获得的性别不平等越严重;最后,不同教育层次入学机会的性别不平等程度也不相同,教育层次越低,升学机会的性别不平等越严重。笔者认为上述教育获得的性别不平等模式来源于不同的社会群体对父权制观念或传统性别角色观念的认同感的差异。     

A theoretical model of religiosity and drug use with reciprocal relationships: A test using structural equation modeling

Abstract

This study of 1093 adolescents from 6 public high schools was designed to test a hypothesized model formulated by theoretical elaboration of control theory with elements from social learning theory using structural equation modeling procedures. The primary purpose was to establish that religion is relevant to illicit drug use when its direct, indirect and reciprocal effects are tested within a more complete system of relationships than found in existing studies. Most aspects of the model were supported by data and religion had direct inverse effects on illegal drug use for all adolescents studied. However, the feedback effects of drug use on religion were significant only among younger adolescents and females. Other age and gender differences were observed when the hypothesized model was tested with structural equation modeling procedures. The implications of these findings were discussed in regard to future conceptual work and intervention.     

市场转型、教育分流与中国城乡高等教育机会不平等(1977-2008)——兼论重点中学制度是否应该为城乡高等教育机会不平等买单

20世纪90年代以来,城乡间高等教育机会不平等愈演愈烈。本文使用CGSS 2008数据,基于梅尔模型,首先从总体上分析了城乡教育不平等的演进过程,结果发现,城乡间高等教育机会不平等主要肇始于小学升初中和初中升高中两个阶段,而由后者产生的不平等尤为严重。继而,本文对中学阶段升学过程展开专门分析,发现在“课外补习班市场”发育过程中,受益最大的是就读于非重点初中的城镇子弟,正是这类高中候选人与同样就读于非重点初中的农村子弟在市场转型后升学机会差距的迅速扩大,导致在后续高中升大学阶段,虽然高等教育规模一再扩张,城乡居民教育机会的不平等却愈演愈烈。本文还发现,就读于重点中学的城乡子弟间升学机会的不平等并未在市场化后显著增大,因而,本文认为,重点中学制度不应为近年来日益加剧的城乡高等教育机会不平等负责。