Developing critical and empathic capabilities in intercultural education through the VaKE approach

One of the core goals of intercultural education is to develop critical and empathic reflection on social justice, particularly as related to humanistic choices and how individuals can counteract exclusion. The present article analyses the Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) approach, which is aimed at raising awareness about implicit value-oriented priorities in decision-making. Through the Human Development and Capability Approach, the applicability of VaKE’s didactic principles is analysed in relation to young people’s perspectives on resettlement in Europe. The VaKE method was used at a 2013 summer camp in Austria with a culturally diverse group of young Europeans who were presented with a dilemma story that highlighted the complex issue of providing assistance to asylum seekers. The participants engaged in various knowledge and moral viability checks that enabled them to engage with opposing arguments. The participants evidenced critical reflection and self-scrutiny, as well as affiliation and empathic imagination, regarding problems that are encountered by asylum seekers.     

Factors That Impact a Social Worker's Capacity to Supervise a Student

With sector constraints and higher education economic imperatives increasingly impacting the provision of social work field education, university programs lack an understanding of the factors that enable or prohibit field educators’ capacity to provide placements. Despite the significance of field education in the curriculum, it remains unclear what the experiences and motivations of field educators are to provide universities with student placements. This research addresses this gap through surveying 101 field educators that attended statewide Victorian field education training. Results indicated that although field educators recognised the benefits of supervising students, workload relief, additional training, and further student placement preparation by the university were emphasised as the primary factors that would enable them to respond positively to placement requests. Payments for placements did not necessarily ameliorate these issues nor guarantee the provision of more placements. The implications of these findings for universities and the field are discussed.     

An evaluation of stakeholder capacity in the implementation of millenium village primary school meal project

The paper focused on evaluation of stakeholder capacity to implement the millennium village primary school meal project in Kenya. The study which was anchored on the stakeholder theory as well as the Context Input Process Product (CIPP) model of evaluation used mixed methods research design with ex-post facto and case study as its two research elements. The mixed methods was adopted because when both qualitative and quantitative approaches are used in a single study, the strengths of both produce a research synergy in which the collective benefits are greater than what is obtained from either approach when used alone. A sample size of 186 participants was selected from seven (7) primary schools using stratified random sampling. The participants selected purposively included pupils, teachers, head teachers, parents, Area Education Officer (AEO) and project staff. Data was collected using questionnaires, face to face interview guide, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and document analysis guide. The study findings indicated that the project was implemented with great success as indicated by stakeholders’ capacity to understand project objectives, their involvement in project planning and implementation and their positive attitude towards the project. This has contribute to poverty reduction in the community through the project and sustainable approaches for project implementation.     

Poverty and educational achievement in the US: A less-biased estimate using PISA 2012 data

In the current paper, we employ the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to calculate a less-biased estimate of poverty on US achievement. The PISA was specifically chosen as it is an assessment removed from a specific curriculum and instead focuses on concepts that students should know in order to participate in a global economy. Using a propensity score matching approach, our findings suggest that US students in poverty have notable educational attainment deficiencies compared to a matched group of students who are not in poverty. In other words, when we select two students who have a great deal in common but for the fact that one comes from a poverty background, the student in poverty is expected to perform nearly 28 points, or about a quarter of a standard deviation lower, on the PISA assessment. In real terms, this puts math achievement for children not in poverty on-par with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, while children in poverty are well below the OECD average.     

Conquering with capital: social,cultural, and economic capital’s role in combating socioeconomic disadvantage and contributing to educational attainment

While socioeconomic barriers to learning have been well-documented by education, sociology, and social policy scholars, further research is needed to understand how students with low-socioeconomic status excel in high-performing schools. The collection and analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with female college students from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds provide rich insights into the stark differences between the educational practices of low and high-SES students. Building on Bourdieu’s conceptualization of how habitus and capital influence practices in the field of education exposes unique, strategic practices that low-SES students use to attain educational success within a system of reproduction and power. While entering a high-performing school is often perceived as a definitive step for accessing high-quality educational resources, my findings illustrate how it is actually an important intermediary step within a more complex process. Increasing educational opportunity and attainment for low-SES students requires improving their access to social, cultural, and economic capital through knowledgeable mentors who contribute to a habitus and portfolio of capital which enable practices to successfully navigate and challenge the educational system.     

Gaining by giving? Peer research into service user and carer perceptions of inclusivity in Higher Education

Abstract

Service users and carers (SUAC) have made significant contributions to professional training in social work courses in Higher Education (HE) over the past decade in the UK. Such participation has been championed by government, academics and SUAC groups from a range of theoretical and political perspectives. Most research into the effectiveness of SUAC involvement at HE has come from the perspectives of academics and very little SUAC-led research exists. This qualitative peer research was led by two members of the University of Worcester’s SUAC group. Findings were that SUAC perceived their involvement brought benefits to students, staff, the University and the local community. Significant personal benefits such as finding a new support network, increased self-development and greater confidence to manage their own care were identified in ways that suggested that the benefits that can flow from SUAC involvement at HE are perhaps more far-reaching than previously recognised. Barriers to inclusion were less than previously reported in the literature and the humanising effects of SUAC involvement are presented as a partial antidote to an increasingly marketised HE culture.     

高校生命教育现状与学生个性发展问题研究

生命是教育的起始点,教育的最终目标是引导鲜活的、独具个性的生命体得到其个性的充分发展。随着我国经济建设飞速发展,人们将主要精力放在有助于生存的知识和技能的获取上。在这样的背景下,高校把具有个性的生命塑造成知识的载体和社会发展的工具,学生个性特征得不到应有的发展。因此,要认清当前高校在教育理念、教育体制、教育实践等方面不尽如人意的现状,认真分析传统文化及周围环境对高校生命教育和学生个性发展产生的影响,并坚持将生命教育贯穿学生学习全过程、加强专职教师队伍建设、不断丰富生命教育的内容和形式,进一步促进学生个性发展。     

邵逸夫捐赠文教事业行为解读

邵逸夫是香港知名企业家,数十年来,他怀着对文教事业的热爱与尊重,为之捐赠了大量资金,惠及大众,造福社会。邵逸夫的捐赠理念是传统美德与现代观念的有机结合,邵逸夫的捐赠行为积极支持了我国文教事业的发展。     

论陶行知对中国现代化的特殊贡献

鸦片战争以后,"现代化"成为中国历史发展的主题。在中国现代化进程中,陶行知作为伟大的人民教育家、民主主义革命家和中国进步知识分子的典范,他以"生活教育"为主要内容的从教育入手推进中国社会全面现代化的大胆创见和社会实践无疑是中国社会多层次现代化进程的重要组成部分。陶行知为中国现代化做出了非常独特的贡献,他在试图从教育入手来推进中国现代化的理论探讨和社会实践中,形成了关于中国现代化问题的前瞻性的构想。在同时代人中,陶行知对全面现代化,尤其是对人的现代化的认识是独树一帜的。     

民办高等教育发展的动因分析与对策

从制度安排论、需要驱动论和机制优势论三个方面对民办高等教育发展的主要动因进行了分析,在此基础上对民办高等教育的今后发展提出了建议。笔者认为,在充分认识市场和民办高校的作用、要求、特征、规律的基础上,政府对民办高等教育发展合理规划,以适当的方式促进和规范民办高校的运行,对民办高等教育的发展至关重要。