In Singapore, a More Progressive Islamic Education
Norimitsu Onishi/The New York Times
An all-girls high school chemistry class taught by Mohamed Muneer at the the Madrasa Al Irsyad Al Islamiah in Singapore.
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By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: April 22, 2009
SINGAPORE — After starting the day with prayers and songs in honor of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, the students at the Madrasa Al Irsyad Al Islamiah here in Singapore turned to the secular. An all-girls chemistry class grappled with compounds and acids while other students focused on English, math and other subjects from the national curriculum.
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Norimitsu Onishi/The New York Times
Boys at afternoon prayer.
Teachers exhorted their students to ask questions. Some, true to the school’s embrace of new technology, gauged their students’ comprehension with individual polling devices.
“It’s like ‘American Idol,’ ” said Razak Mohamed Lazim, the head of Al Irsyad, which means “rightly guided.”
A reference to the reality television program in relation to an Islamic school may come as a surprise. But Singapore’s Muslim leaders see Al Irsyad, with its strict balance between religious and secular studies, as the future of Islamic education, not only in this city-state but elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Two madrasas in Indonesia have already adopted Al Irsyad’s curriculum and management, attracted to what they say is a progressive model of Islamic education in tune with the modern world. For them, Al Irsyad is the counterpoint to many traditional madrasas that emphasize religious studies at the expense of everything else. Instead of preaching radicalism, the school’s in-house textbooks praise globalization and international organizations like the United Nations.
Leaders in Islamic education here rue the fact that, in much of the West, madrasas everywhere have been broad-brushed as militant hotbeds where students spend days learning the Koran by rote. Still, they were relieved that not one terrorism suspect in the region in recent years was a product of Singapore’s madrasas, though some suspects were linked to madrasas in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. That association deepened a long-running debate over the nature of Islamic education.
“The Muslim world in general is struggling with its Islamic education,” Mr. Razak said, explaining that Islamic schools had failed to adapt to the modern world. “In many cases, it’s also the challenge the Muslim world is facing. We are not addressing the needs of Islam as a faith that has to be alive, interacting with other communities and other religions.”
In Indonesia, most Islamic schools still pay little attention to secular subjects, believing that religious studies are enough, said Indri Rini Andriani, a former computer programmer who is the principal of Al Irsyad Satya Islamic School, one of the Indonesian schools that model themselves on the school here.
“They feel that conventional education is best for the children, while some of us feel that we have to adjust with advances in technology and what’s going on in the world,” Ms. Indri said.
Here, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, a statutory board that advises the government on Muslim affairs, gave Al Irsyad a central spot in its new Islamic center. Long the top academic performer among the country’s six madrasas, Al Irsyad was chosen to be in the center as “a showcase,” said Mr. Razak, who is also an official at the religious council.
The school’s 900 primary- and secondary-level students follow the national curriculum of the country’s public schools while also taking religious instruction. To accommodate both, the school day is three hours longer than at the mainstream schools.
Mohamed Muneer, 32, a chemistry teacher, said most of his former students had gone on to junior colleges or polytechnic schools, while some top students attended the National University of Singapore. “Many became administrators, some are teaching and some joined the civil service,” he said.
At the cafeteria, Ishak Bin Johari, a 17-year-old who wants to become a newspaper reporter, said the balance between the secular and religious would help the school’s graduates “lead normal Singaporean lives compared to other madrasa students.”
That balance resulted, like many things in this country, from pressure by the government. Singapore’s madrasas — historically the schools for ethnic Malays who make up about 14 percent of the country’s population — experienced a surge in popularity in the 1990s along with a renewed interest in Islam.
But that surge, coupled with the madrasas’ poor record in nonreligious subjects, high dropout rates and graduation of young people with few marketable job skills, worried the government. It responded by making primary education at public schools compulsory in 2003, allowing exceptions like the madrasas, provided they met basic standards by 2010. If they fail, they will have to stop educating primary school children.
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Selasa, 28 April 2009
Teacher Barricades Himself at School
Uli Seit for The New York Times
Police officers escorted 1,200 students from the building housing New Millennium Business Academy Middle School after a bomb threat on Friday.
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By JENNIFER MEDINA and AL BAKER
Published: April 24, 2009
Apparently distraught over being removed from a school in the Bronx, a veteran teacher barricaded himself inside a classroom at the school on Friday morning, claiming that he had planted a bomb in the library and threatening to blow it up, the authorities said. About 1,200 students were evacuated, and within three hours, police officials escorted the teacher from the building and said his bomb claim had been false.
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
Francisco Garabitos is taken into custody in a police car after surrendering. The building in the Morrisania section also houses Junior High School 145 and the Urban Science Academy.
The man, Francisco Garabitos, 55, has been a teacher in New York City’s school system since 1981, and has been teaching computer classes for three years at New Millennium Business Academy Middle School, where he was also the chapter leader for the city’s teachers’ union.
On Thursday, the authorities said, Mr. Garabitos had a dispute with a student and apparently grabbed his neck and shook him. Afterward, Mr. Garabitos was told to report to a reassignment center on Friday rather than to the school, in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. He went to the school anyway, officials said, and when he locked himself in the classroom, he said, “I have a date with God,” according to the officials.
Mr. Garabitos’s bomb threat sent educators and police officers from the Emergency Services Unit scrambling to take precautions and assess the threat. The Police Department dispatched several officers, hostage negotiators and bomb squad technicians to the building, which also houses Junior High School 145 and the Urban Science Academy.
Paul J. Browne, the chief police spokesman, said the officers evacuated “the whole building, except for him.” With the students and teachers safely outside, officers searched the entire building.
During negotiators’ talks with Mr. Garabitos while he was barricaded in the classroom, Mr. Browne said, he admitted that he had planted no bomb, but said he had undertaken a hunger strike over the way a disciplinary case against him had been handled. He also said he wanted to see the principal “ousted,” Mr. Browne said.
Ron Davis, a spokesman for the United Federation of Teachers, said that Mr. Garabitos called the city union’s central offices on Friday morning and asked to speak with Randi Weingarten, the president of the union. After he was told she was in Washington (she is also the head of the American Federation of Teachers, the parent union based there), he later spoke to another union official who, with the guidance of police hostage negotiators, assured him that he would be safe and urged him to leave the building.
Mr. Garabitos was taken to Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center for psychological evaluation Friday afternoon.
Mr. Garabitos was charged with reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration and criminal trespassing. He was being held at the 44th Precinct station house at 2 East 169th Street in the Bronx on Friday night.
A spokesman for the school system said Mr. Garabitos’s service has included more than a dozen allegations of misconduct, mostly for corporal punishment of students. Two of the allegations have been substantiated and two remain under investigation, including Thursday’s incident.
Twice in the last three years, Mr. Garabitos spent time in a reassignment center for teachers and other school officials removed from the schools. He also received two unsatisfactory ratings from the principal of his school. Because of his long experience and advanced degrees, Mr. Garabitos earned $100,049 a year.
An online résumé for Mr. Garabitos states that he is a former Army officer working toward a Ph.D. in distance education and instructional technology at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
A Web site, www.detower.com, that says it displays his work, includes a plot synopsis for a book about “a nymphomaniac woman with two active personalities always in need of sexual attention.”
Another page, about his educational theories, says: “Children should not to be the center of social attention but need to be assigned a place of limited importance within the adult group. They shouldn’t get an automatic power rank like we do, because social-academic status is something humans develop into over time and only exists within the context of other adults.”
Later, it continues: “Teachers and parents should avoid any kind of hitting, slapping, whipping, kicking, punching, grabbing, pushing, or pulling for it may be misconstrued as part of aggression and could lead to physical and/or legal confrontations.”
In the afternoon, Ms. Weingarten released a statement saying the content of the Web site was “entirely inappropriate for children or educators. Teachers must remember there is no zone of privacy when someone publishes in this manner and attaches one’s name to it.”
Students at the school said that it was alarming when the teacher was barricaded, but that the reaction was calm.
Ibrahmatu Kosseh, 14, an eighth grader, said she was alerted to the situation by her principal. “This morning we were in class taking a test, and our principal came in and said, ‘Everybody to the auditorium, there’s somebody in the building,’ ” she said.
One student said that last year Mr. Garabitos was punched in the face by another student and “sometimes was too nice.”
The president of the school’s Parents Association, Doris Escalera, said Mr. Garabitos “was a person that was dedicated to his job.”
“He was a decent person as far as I was concerned,” she said. “It’s blown out of proportion; he was just trying to make a stand for himself.”
At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Ms. Weingarten, the union president, said: “No grievance is redressable in this way. We do not condone this behavior at all.”
She said that a list of concerns prepared by Mr. Garabitos was turned over to the Education Department by the union and that she hoped they would be addressed later.
Christine Hauser, Mathew R. Warren and Carolyn Wilder contributed reporting.
More Articles in New York Region » A version of this article appeared in print on April 25, 2009, on page A13 of the New York edition.
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
Police officers escorted 1,200 students from the building housing New Millennium Business Academy Middle School after a bomb threat on Friday.
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By JENNIFER MEDINA and AL BAKER
Published: April 24, 2009
Apparently distraught over being removed from a school in the Bronx, a veteran teacher barricaded himself inside a classroom at the school on Friday morning, claiming that he had planted a bomb in the library and threatening to blow it up, the authorities said. About 1,200 students were evacuated, and within three hours, police officials escorted the teacher from the building and said his bomb claim had been false.
Skip to next paragraph
Readers’ Opinions
Comment Post a Comment on City Room
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
Francisco Garabitos is taken into custody in a police car after surrendering. The building in the Morrisania section also houses Junior High School 145 and the Urban Science Academy.
The man, Francisco Garabitos, 55, has been a teacher in New York City’s school system since 1981, and has been teaching computer classes for three years at New Millennium Business Academy Middle School, where he was also the chapter leader for the city’s teachers’ union.
On Thursday, the authorities said, Mr. Garabitos had a dispute with a student and apparently grabbed his neck and shook him. Afterward, Mr. Garabitos was told to report to a reassignment center on Friday rather than to the school, in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. He went to the school anyway, officials said, and when he locked himself in the classroom, he said, “I have a date with God,” according to the officials.
Mr. Garabitos’s bomb threat sent educators and police officers from the Emergency Services Unit scrambling to take precautions and assess the threat. The Police Department dispatched several officers, hostage negotiators and bomb squad technicians to the building, which also houses Junior High School 145 and the Urban Science Academy.
Paul J. Browne, the chief police spokesman, said the officers evacuated “the whole building, except for him.” With the students and teachers safely outside, officers searched the entire building.
During negotiators’ talks with Mr. Garabitos while he was barricaded in the classroom, Mr. Browne said, he admitted that he had planted no bomb, but said he had undertaken a hunger strike over the way a disciplinary case against him had been handled. He also said he wanted to see the principal “ousted,” Mr. Browne said.
Ron Davis, a spokesman for the United Federation of Teachers, said that Mr. Garabitos called the city union’s central offices on Friday morning and asked to speak with Randi Weingarten, the president of the union. After he was told she was in Washington (she is also the head of the American Federation of Teachers, the parent union based there), he later spoke to another union official who, with the guidance of police hostage negotiators, assured him that he would be safe and urged him to leave the building.
Mr. Garabitos was taken to Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center for psychological evaluation Friday afternoon.
Mr. Garabitos was charged with reckless endangerment, obstructing governmental administration and criminal trespassing. He was being held at the 44th Precinct station house at 2 East 169th Street in the Bronx on Friday night.
A spokesman for the school system said Mr. Garabitos’s service has included more than a dozen allegations of misconduct, mostly for corporal punishment of students. Two of the allegations have been substantiated and two remain under investigation, including Thursday’s incident.
Twice in the last three years, Mr. Garabitos spent time in a reassignment center for teachers and other school officials removed from the schools. He also received two unsatisfactory ratings from the principal of his school. Because of his long experience and advanced degrees, Mr. Garabitos earned $100,049 a year.
An online résumé for Mr. Garabitos states that he is a former Army officer working toward a Ph.D. in distance education and instructional technology at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
A Web site, www.detower.com, that says it displays his work, includes a plot synopsis for a book about “a nymphomaniac woman with two active personalities always in need of sexual attention.”
Another page, about his educational theories, says: “Children should not to be the center of social attention but need to be assigned a place of limited importance within the adult group. They shouldn’t get an automatic power rank like we do, because social-academic status is something humans develop into over time and only exists within the context of other adults.”
Later, it continues: “Teachers and parents should avoid any kind of hitting, slapping, whipping, kicking, punching, grabbing, pushing, or pulling for it may be misconstrued as part of aggression and could lead to physical and/or legal confrontations.”
In the afternoon, Ms. Weingarten released a statement saying the content of the Web site was “entirely inappropriate for children or educators. Teachers must remember there is no zone of privacy when someone publishes in this manner and attaches one’s name to it.”
Students at the school said that it was alarming when the teacher was barricaded, but that the reaction was calm.
Ibrahmatu Kosseh, 14, an eighth grader, said she was alerted to the situation by her principal. “This morning we were in class taking a test, and our principal came in and said, ‘Everybody to the auditorium, there’s somebody in the building,’ ” she said.
One student said that last year Mr. Garabitos was punched in the face by another student and “sometimes was too nice.”
The president of the school’s Parents Association, Doris Escalera, said Mr. Garabitos “was a person that was dedicated to his job.”
“He was a decent person as far as I was concerned,” she said. “It’s blown out of proportion; he was just trying to make a stand for himself.”
At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Ms. Weingarten, the union president, said: “No grievance is redressable in this way. We do not condone this behavior at all.”
She said that a list of concerns prepared by Mr. Garabitos was turned over to the Education Department by the union and that she hoped they would be addressed later.
Christine Hauser, Mathew R. Warren and Carolyn Wilder contributed reporting.
More Articles in New York Region » A version of this article appeared in print on April 25, 2009, on page A13 of the New York edition.
Read the complete New York Times Electronic Edition on computer, just as it appears in print.
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The Earth Imperative
The Key to Prosperity and Sustainability
www.landreform.org
Environmental Masters
MSc. in Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey, UK
www.surrey.ac.uk/CES
ASCE Online Library
Free search 500,000 pages All areas of civil engineering
www.ascelibrary.org
Past Coverage
* NATIONAL BRIEFING | SOUTH; South Carolina: School Plot Charges (May 28, 2008)
* Hit by Fire, a Texas University Looks to Rebuild (May 8, 2008)
* Student Faces Federal Charges in School Plot (April 23, 2008)
* Student Is Accused of Plot Against School (April 22, 2008)
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Scrambling to Enroll More Preschoolers
Susan Farley for The New York Times
SPACE At Community Nursery School in Dobbs Ferry there are openings rather than the usual waiting list.
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By JULI S. CHARKES
Published: April 23, 2009
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.
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Long Island
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Susan Farley for The New York Times
Transitional Learning Center in New Rochelle held a breakfast for prospective families.
WHILE many Manhattan preschools still find themselves turning away anxious parents and their children because they don’t have enough spots, directors at several nursery schools and preschools in the suburbs say that they are worried they won’t fill all their openings in September.
“Normally, we have phones ringing off the hook from parents inquiring about the school,” said Linda Jo Platt, the director of the Community Nursery School here. “This year, the phones have been dead.”
Private nursery schools have enjoyed robust enrollment in recent years, often having long waiting lists in many suburbs around the region. But directors at private nursery schools said they are concerned that the faltering economy and listless real estate market were contributing to a dip in applications and enrollments.
Ms. Platt, for example, said she would typically have a waiting list of 40 to 50 families willing to pay annual tuition of $3,300 to $5,800 for full-day instruction. (Other schools in Westchester called that range typical, although the tuition was higher at some schools on Long Island.)
Today, there is neither a waiting list nor full enrollment at Community for the coming year. The school has 10 available spaces for the fall, and in that regard it is not alone.
“Everyone is stunned,” said Olivia Hewitt, director of the Scarsdale Friends Nursery School and co-president of the Westchester Association for the Education of Young Children, a 300-member consortium of nursery school educators. “There are empty spaces and whether or not they are in your school, it is making everyone nervous.”
Michelle Vogt, business manager for Smoke Rise Nursery School, a traditional nursery school serving about 55 families in Kinnelon in Morris County, said registration ended three months ago, but two of the school’s classes still have openings. “We don’t think we’ll be filling all of them,” she said.
Officials at four Long Island nursery schools said their numbers for the next school year were about normal. “But I believe we’re the exception,” said Ron Kuznetz, the owner of Miss Sue’s Nursery School and Kindergarten in Plainview, which has an enrollment of 210. “I’ve heard of other nursery schools that are eliminating their afternoon programs because they can’t get enough kids.”
The drop in nursery school enrollment comes as demand for scholarship money toward daylong child-care programs is rising, said Kathleen Halas of the Child Care Council of Westchester. The council administers the county’s scholarships for child-care programs, some $1 million for the current fiscal year, Ms. Halas said.
The enrollment declines in the private schools can in some cases seem small. Ms. Hewitt’s comments came on a day when she received calls from two families committed to sending children to her school, which has operated in Westchester for 55 years. That left her with just two spaces to fill for the 33-student capacity.
But that she is contending with any available spaces this late in the year, she said, was a sharp contrast to times past. “Typically at this time of year we are full,” Ms. Hewitt said. “We’ve never seen this before.”
At the Transitional Learning Center in New Rochelle, the director, Jeannette Mirabile, said applications for the coming school year were down some 20 percent. “People are more hesitant this year, people are holding on to their money a bit more, even if that money is available,” Ms. Mirabile said.
Perhaps hardest for school administrators is securing enrollment only to see parents pull out later. At Community, Ms. Platt said several families registered children while still living in New York City and planning to move to Westchester, only to reverse those plans because they could not sell properties in the city.
That happened at Good Shepherd Nursery School in Irvington, N.Y., said its education director, Sasha Wilson, when two families reversed plans to send children to her school, choosing instead to enroll them in a preschool program paid for by the state in neighboring Tarrytown. “That was the hardest,” she said.
To make up for low numbers, several schools spoke of freezing tuition or extending hours to meet the demands of a changing clientele. Some schools are also marketing themselves more aggressively.
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Mary Jo Patterson and Linda Saslow contributed reporting.
More Articles in New York Region » A version of this article appeared in print on April 26, 2009, on page NJ3 of the New York edition.
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A nurturing learning atmosphere for 2 - 5 year olds. Now Enrolling.
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* Corzine Still Focused on Preschools (April 12, 2009)
* Recession Stalls State-Financed Pre-Kindergarten, but Federal Money May Help (April 8, 2009)
* Aid Critical to Public Preschool Plan (March 1, 2009)
* School Unit Gets Reprieve At Montessori In Brooklyn (December 18, 2008)
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Susan Farley for The New York Times
SPACE At Community Nursery School in Dobbs Ferry there are openings rather than the usual waiting list.
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By JULI S. CHARKES
Published: April 23, 2009
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.
Skip to next paragraph
Long Island
Complete Coverage »
In the Region
Connecticut »
Westchester »
New Jersey »
Enlarge This Image
Susan Farley for The New York Times
Transitional Learning Center in New Rochelle held a breakfast for prospective families.
WHILE many Manhattan preschools still find themselves turning away anxious parents and their children because they don’t have enough spots, directors at several nursery schools and preschools in the suburbs say that they are worried they won’t fill all their openings in September.
“Normally, we have phones ringing off the hook from parents inquiring about the school,” said Linda Jo Platt, the director of the Community Nursery School here. “This year, the phones have been dead.”
Private nursery schools have enjoyed robust enrollment in recent years, often having long waiting lists in many suburbs around the region. But directors at private nursery schools said they are concerned that the faltering economy and listless real estate market were contributing to a dip in applications and enrollments.
Ms. Platt, for example, said she would typically have a waiting list of 40 to 50 families willing to pay annual tuition of $3,300 to $5,800 for full-day instruction. (Other schools in Westchester called that range typical, although the tuition was higher at some schools on Long Island.)
Today, there is neither a waiting list nor full enrollment at Community for the coming year. The school has 10 available spaces for the fall, and in that regard it is not alone.
“Everyone is stunned,” said Olivia Hewitt, director of the Scarsdale Friends Nursery School and co-president of the Westchester Association for the Education of Young Children, a 300-member consortium of nursery school educators. “There are empty spaces and whether or not they are in your school, it is making everyone nervous.”
Michelle Vogt, business manager for Smoke Rise Nursery School, a traditional nursery school serving about 55 families in Kinnelon in Morris County, said registration ended three months ago, but two of the school’s classes still have openings. “We don’t think we’ll be filling all of them,” she said.
Officials at four Long Island nursery schools said their numbers for the next school year were about normal. “But I believe we’re the exception,” said Ron Kuznetz, the owner of Miss Sue’s Nursery School and Kindergarten in Plainview, which has an enrollment of 210. “I’ve heard of other nursery schools that are eliminating their afternoon programs because they can’t get enough kids.”
The drop in nursery school enrollment comes as demand for scholarship money toward daylong child-care programs is rising, said Kathleen Halas of the Child Care Council of Westchester. The council administers the county’s scholarships for child-care programs, some $1 million for the current fiscal year, Ms. Halas said.
The enrollment declines in the private schools can in some cases seem small. Ms. Hewitt’s comments came on a day when she received calls from two families committed to sending children to her school, which has operated in Westchester for 55 years. That left her with just two spaces to fill for the 33-student capacity.
But that she is contending with any available spaces this late in the year, she said, was a sharp contrast to times past. “Typically at this time of year we are full,” Ms. Hewitt said. “We’ve never seen this before.”
At the Transitional Learning Center in New Rochelle, the director, Jeannette Mirabile, said applications for the coming school year were down some 20 percent. “People are more hesitant this year, people are holding on to their money a bit more, even if that money is available,” Ms. Mirabile said.
Perhaps hardest for school administrators is securing enrollment only to see parents pull out later. At Community, Ms. Platt said several families registered children while still living in New York City and planning to move to Westchester, only to reverse those plans because they could not sell properties in the city.
That happened at Good Shepherd Nursery School in Irvington, N.Y., said its education director, Sasha Wilson, when two families reversed plans to send children to her school, choosing instead to enroll them in a preschool program paid for by the state in neighboring Tarrytown. “That was the hardest,” she said.
To make up for low numbers, several schools spoke of freezing tuition or extending hours to meet the demands of a changing clientele. Some schools are also marketing themselves more aggressively.
* 1
* 2
Next Page »
Mary Jo Patterson and Linda Saslow contributed reporting.
More Articles in New York Region » A version of this article appeared in print on April 26, 2009, on page NJ3 of the New York edition.
Read the complete New York Times Electronic Edition on computer, just as it appears in print.
Ads by Google what's this?
Parent Choice School
OMR Sholinganalur, ICSE, Montessori 10mth onward, KG, Primary Grade-5
www.ParentChoice.in
Hunter Systems
The Market Leading Software for Private Schools.
www.huntersystems.com
Palo Alto Montessori
A nurturing learning atmosphere for 2 - 5 year olds. Now Enrolling.
www.pamontessori.com
Past Coverage
* Corzine Still Focused on Preschools (April 12, 2009)
* Recession Stalls State-Financed Pre-Kindergarten, but Federal Money May Help (April 8, 2009)
* Aid Critical to Public Preschool Plan (March 1, 2009)
* School Unit Gets Reprieve At Montessori In Brooklyn (December 18, 2008)
Related Searches
* Education (Pre-School) Get E-Mail Alerts
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By LISA BELKIN
Published: April 14, 2009
For 10 hours each week, Anna Rice can be found behind a desk in the hallway of a dorm at Northeastern University in Boston, her books spread in front of her so she can study. Every so often students will approach the desk, and Ms. Rice will ask for ID, and rustle up the vacuum or pool table equipment or DVDs they have come to borrow for the evening. Then she’ll go back to her work. For this she receives $10 an hour, up to, in her case, $1,250 a semester, which she uses for groceries and spending money.
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From top, J. Kevin Fitzsimons, Bryce Vickmark and Jamie Martin for The New York Times
WORK-STUDY STIFFS Chloe Hamrick (top) gives tours at Ohio Wesleyan. Anna Rice does light dorm duty at Northeastern. With so much demand for jobs at Auburn, Justin Callaway couldn’t get work-study.
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Saving for College: 18 Years in the Making (April 19, 2009)
Financial Aid: Dividing Up the Pot (April 19, 2009)
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Ms. Rice’s job, through the federal work-study program, is one piece of the financial puzzle that college has become, dependent on the government, the economy and, to some extent, the whims and work ethics of each year’s crop of teenagers.
Time was when work-study meant taking shifts at the campus commons, wearing a paper hat and serving mystery meat and creamed spinach as your classmates shuffled through. But with dining services mostly outsourced, and everything about college life more complex, work-study jobs have come to fill a variety of needs — beyond the obvious one of putting cash in the pockets of undergraduate and graduate students. Some want to develop a skill, or beef up a résumé. Some seek an “in” with a certain professor. Ms. Rice’s goal was to make as small a dent in study time as possible.
Work-study lies somewhere between a grant and a loan in the college-aid universe — the institution promises to make a job available, at a rate of pay that is at or slightly above minimum wage, up to a maximum that depends on other ingredients of your financial aid package. The government pays 75 percent of those wages, and the college pays 25 percent. You don’t get the money unless you put in the hours.
Right about now, participating institutions are learning how much money they will have to allot (based on a complex formula that includes size of the student body and percentage of students in financial need), and thus how many jobs they can offer for the fall. Students typically have to apply for jobs, a process that is becoming more challenging — even with stimulus money on the way.
Established as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, work-study mirrors the economy: demand for the jobs is lower in good times and higher in bad times.
It was not that long ago that campuses had more jobs than students who were willing to do them. A year ago the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor designated four times as many students to be eligible as there were available jobs, because most students simply never signed on. Reasons for sniffing at self-help aid vary. Some parents don’t want their children to work, particularly freshman year, for fear it will interfere with their studies. Some students are in time-intensive majors and can’t fit in regular work shifts. Families somehow pony up more money or the students take out loans — the average award is just $1,500 a year.
In the last year, the ratio of jobs to students has decreased, says Pam Fowler, the director of financial aid at Michigan, and she expects that trend will continue. “We are definitely seeing an increase in student acceptance” of work-study jobs. Ms. Fowler is confident Michigan will be able to offer enough jobs next year for the students who need (and accept) them, but administrators at some small, less-wealthy colleges are not as sure.
At Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., Jose A. Mazorra is hoping that its yearly work-study allotment of $150,000 will last until the school year ends. He is human resources coordinator at Lynn, and this year saw the largest number of students taking the offered positions.
In Virginia, Danville Community College began turning students away this year. Time was when every student who qualified for financial aid was able to get a $7-an-hour work-study job. But this past fall, the college started ranking students by need, and giving jobs to those at the top of the list. The city of Danville “has one of the highest unemployment rates in Virginia,” says Andrea J. Burney, the director of public relations for the 6,300-student college, which means students are unlikely to find work off campus either.
That is the bind that Justin Callaway, a junior and aspiring entrepreneur at Auburn University in central Alabama, finds himself in. Last year, he qualified for work-study but didn’t take the job, opting to start a restaurant delivery business instead. That failed, and this year he was denied work-study in his financial aid package. There were too many students ahead of him, and the jobs ran out. He looked for work in town, but most required 25 or 30 hours a week, and he worried about having sufficient time to study (work-study workweeks tend not to exceed 20 hours).
* 1
* 2
Next Page »
Lisa Belkin writes the Motherlode blog at NYTimes.com.
Next Article in Education (19 of 26) » A version of this article appeared in print on April 19, 2009, on page ED26 of the New York edition.
Read the complete New York Times Electronic Edition on computer, just as it appears in print.
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By LISA BELKIN
Published: April 14, 2009
For 10 hours each week, Anna Rice can be found behind a desk in the hallway of a dorm at Northeastern University in Boston, her books spread in front of her so she can study. Every so often students will approach the desk, and Ms. Rice will ask for ID, and rustle up the vacuum or pool table equipment or DVDs they have come to borrow for the evening. Then she’ll go back to her work. For this she receives $10 an hour, up to, in her case, $1,250 a semester, which she uses for groceries and spending money.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
From top, J. Kevin Fitzsimons, Bryce Vickmark and Jamie Martin for The New York Times
WORK-STUDY STIFFS Chloe Hamrick (top) gives tours at Ohio Wesleyan. Anna Rice does light dorm duty at Northeastern. With so much demand for jobs at Auburn, Justin Callaway couldn’t get work-study.
Related
Labor Relations (April 19, 2009)
Saving for College: 18 Years in the Making (April 19, 2009)
Financial Aid: Dividing Up the Pot (April 19, 2009)
Education Life
Go to Special Section »
Ms. Rice’s job, through the federal work-study program, is one piece of the financial puzzle that college has become, dependent on the government, the economy and, to some extent, the whims and work ethics of each year’s crop of teenagers.
Time was when work-study meant taking shifts at the campus commons, wearing a paper hat and serving mystery meat and creamed spinach as your classmates shuffled through. But with dining services mostly outsourced, and everything about college life more complex, work-study jobs have come to fill a variety of needs — beyond the obvious one of putting cash in the pockets of undergraduate and graduate students. Some want to develop a skill, or beef up a résumé. Some seek an “in” with a certain professor. Ms. Rice’s goal was to make as small a dent in study time as possible.
Work-study lies somewhere between a grant and a loan in the college-aid universe — the institution promises to make a job available, at a rate of pay that is at or slightly above minimum wage, up to a maximum that depends on other ingredients of your financial aid package. The government pays 75 percent of those wages, and the college pays 25 percent. You don’t get the money unless you put in the hours.
Right about now, participating institutions are learning how much money they will have to allot (based on a complex formula that includes size of the student body and percentage of students in financial need), and thus how many jobs they can offer for the fall. Students typically have to apply for jobs, a process that is becoming more challenging — even with stimulus money on the way.
Established as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, work-study mirrors the economy: demand for the jobs is lower in good times and higher in bad times.
It was not that long ago that campuses had more jobs than students who were willing to do them. A year ago the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor designated four times as many students to be eligible as there were available jobs, because most students simply never signed on. Reasons for sniffing at self-help aid vary. Some parents don’t want their children to work, particularly freshman year, for fear it will interfere with their studies. Some students are in time-intensive majors and can’t fit in regular work shifts. Families somehow pony up more money or the students take out loans — the average award is just $1,500 a year.
In the last year, the ratio of jobs to students has decreased, says Pam Fowler, the director of financial aid at Michigan, and she expects that trend will continue. “We are definitely seeing an increase in student acceptance” of work-study jobs. Ms. Fowler is confident Michigan will be able to offer enough jobs next year for the students who need (and accept) them, but administrators at some small, less-wealthy colleges are not as sure.
At Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., Jose A. Mazorra is hoping that its yearly work-study allotment of $150,000 will last until the school year ends. He is human resources coordinator at Lynn, and this year saw the largest number of students taking the offered positions.
In Virginia, Danville Community College began turning students away this year. Time was when every student who qualified for financial aid was able to get a $7-an-hour work-study job. But this past fall, the college started ranking students by need, and giving jobs to those at the top of the list. The city of Danville “has one of the highest unemployment rates in Virginia,” says Andrea J. Burney, the director of public relations for the 6,300-student college, which means students are unlikely to find work off campus either.
That is the bind that Justin Callaway, a junior and aspiring entrepreneur at Auburn University in central Alabama, finds himself in. Last year, he qualified for work-study but didn’t take the job, opting to start a restaurant delivery business instead. That failed, and this year he was denied work-study in his financial aid package. There were too many students ahead of him, and the jobs ran out. He looked for work in town, but most required 25 or 30 hours a week, and he worried about having sufficient time to study (work-study workweeks tend not to exceed 20 hours).
* 1
* 2
Next Page »
Lisa Belkin writes the Motherlode blog at NYTimes.com.
Next Article in Education (19 of 26) » A version of this article appeared in print on April 19, 2009, on page ED26 of the New York edition.
Read the complete New York Times Electronic Edition on computer, just as it appears in print.
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Past Coverage
* Higher Anxiety About Higher Education (April 12, 2009)
* Community Organizing Never Looked So Good (April 12, 2009)
* GENERATIONS; For Today's Students, Advice From One Who's Come Full Circle (April 12, 2009)
* Higher Anxiety About Higher Education (April 12, 2009)
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Kansas education board downplays evolution
State school board OKs standards casting doubt on Darwin
Kansas education board votes
Charlie Riedel / AP
Chairman Steve Abrams, left, votes to adopt new science standards while Education Commissioner Bob Corkins monitors the vote during a meeting of the Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday.
NBC VIDEO
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Nov. 8: NBC's James Hattori reports on Kansas' move to cast doubt on the theory of evolution.
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updated 8:34 p.m. ET Nov. 8, 2005
TOPEKA, Kan. - Risking the kind of nationwide ridicule it faced six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public-school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.
The 6-4 vote was a victory for “intelligent design” advocates who helped draft the standards. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.
Critics of the new language charged that it was an attempt to inject God and creationism into public schools, in violation of the constitutional ban on state establishment of religion.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
All six of those who voted for the new standards were Republicans. Two Republicans and two Democrats voted no.
“This is a sad day. We’re becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that,” said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat.
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, said the decision would encourage school districts in Kansas and elsewhere to make similar moves, distracting and confusing teachers and students.
“It will be marketed by the religious right ... as a huge victory for their side,” she said. “We can expect more efforts to get creationism in.”
Supporters see academic freedom
Supporters of the new standards said they would promote academic freedom.
“This is a great day for education. This is one of the best things that we can do,” said board chairman Steve Abrams. Another board member who voted in favor of the standards, John Bacon, said the move “gets rid of a lot of dogma that’s being taught in the classroom today.”
John Calvert, a retired attorney who helped found the Intelligent Design Network, said changes probably would come to classrooms gradually, with some teachers feeling freer to discuss criticisms of evolution. “These changes are not targeted at changing the hearts and minds of the Darwin fundamentalists,” Calvert said.
The Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which supports challenges to Darwinian evolutionary theory, praised the Kansas effort. “Students will learn more about evolution, not less as some Darwinists have falsely claimed,” institute spokesman Casey Luskin said in a written statement.
RELATED COVERAGE
* Dover voters oust intelligent design supporters
* Live Vote: How should evolution be taught?
* More on the Kansas evolution debate
Science redefined
The new standards say high school students must understand major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that the basic Darwinian theory that all life had a common origin and that natural chemical processes created the building blocks of life have been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology.
In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.
The new standards will be used to develop student tests measuring how well schools teach science. Decisions about what is taught in classrooms will remain with 300 local school boards, but some educators fear pressure will increase in some communities to teach less about evolution or more about creationism or intelligent design.
The vote marked the third time in six years that the Kansas board has rewritten standards with evolution as the central issue.
CONTINUED : State has been here before
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State school board OKs standards casting doubt on Darwin
Kansas education board votes
Charlie Riedel / AP
Chairman Steve Abrams, left, votes to adopt new science standards while Education Commissioner Bob Corkins monitors the vote during a meeting of the Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday.
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updated 8:34 p.m. ET Nov. 8, 2005
TOPEKA, Kan. - Risking the kind of nationwide ridicule it faced six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public-school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.
The 6-4 vote was a victory for “intelligent design” advocates who helped draft the standards. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.
Critics of the new language charged that it was an attempt to inject God and creationism into public schools, in violation of the constitutional ban on state establishment of religion.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
All six of those who voted for the new standards were Republicans. Two Republicans and two Democrats voted no.
“This is a sad day. We’re becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that,” said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat.
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, said the decision would encourage school districts in Kansas and elsewhere to make similar moves, distracting and confusing teachers and students.
“It will be marketed by the religious right ... as a huge victory for their side,” she said. “We can expect more efforts to get creationism in.”
Supporters see academic freedom
Supporters of the new standards said they would promote academic freedom.
“This is a great day for education. This is one of the best things that we can do,” said board chairman Steve Abrams. Another board member who voted in favor of the standards, John Bacon, said the move “gets rid of a lot of dogma that’s being taught in the classroom today.”
John Calvert, a retired attorney who helped found the Intelligent Design Network, said changes probably would come to classrooms gradually, with some teachers feeling freer to discuss criticisms of evolution. “These changes are not targeted at changing the hearts and minds of the Darwin fundamentalists,” Calvert said.
The Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which supports challenges to Darwinian evolutionary theory, praised the Kansas effort. “Students will learn more about evolution, not less as some Darwinists have falsely claimed,” institute spokesman Casey Luskin said in a written statement.
RELATED COVERAGE
* Dover voters oust intelligent design supporters
* Live Vote: How should evolution be taught?
* More on the Kansas evolution debate
Science redefined
The new standards say high school students must understand major evolutionary concepts. But they also declare that the basic Darwinian theory that all life had a common origin and that natural chemical processes created the building blocks of life have been challenged in recent years by fossil evidence and molecular biology.
In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.
The new standards will be used to develop student tests measuring how well schools teach science. Decisions about what is taught in classrooms will remain with 300 local school boards, but some educators fear pressure will increase in some communities to teach less about evolution or more about creationism or intelligent design.
The vote marked the third time in six years that the Kansas board has rewritten standards with evolution as the central issue.
CONTINUED : State has been here before
1 | 2 | Next >
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Senin, 27 April 2009
Education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (February 2008)
"Educate" redirects here. For the journal published by the Institute of Education, see Educate~.
A kindergarten classroom in Afghanistan.
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Wikipedia:Books has a book on: Education
Education is the process of learning knowledge, information and skills during the course of life. Teachers may draw on many subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Teachers in specialized professions such as astrophysics, law, or zoology may teach only a certain subject, usually as professors at institutions of higher learning. There is also instruction in fields for those who want specific vocational skills, such as those required to be a pilot. In addition there is an array of education possible at the informal level, e.g., at museums and libraries, with the Internet, and in life experience.
The right to education has been described as a basic human right: since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. At world level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Systems of formal education
o 1.1 Primary education
o 1.2 Secondary education
o 1.3 Higher education
o 1.4 Adult education
o 1.5 Alternative education
o 1.6 Indigenous education
* 2 Process
o 2.1 Curriculum
o 2.2 Learning modalities
o 2.3 Teaching
o 2.4 Technology
* 3 Educational Theory
* 4 Economics
* 5 History
* 6 Philosophy
* 7 Psychology
* 8 Sociology
* 9 Educational Development
o 9.1 Internationalisation
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 External links
[edit] Systems of formal education
Education is a broad concept, referring to all the experiences in which students can learn something:
* Instruction refers to the intentional facilitating of learning toward identified objectives, delivered either by an instructor or other forms.
* Teaching refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart learning to the student.
* Teaching refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied immediately upon completion.
[edit] Primary education
Main article: Primary education
Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.
Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first few years of formal, structured education. In general, main education consists of six or seven years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 70% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[1] Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.
[edit] Secondary education
Main article: Secondary education
In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education consists of the second years of formal education that occur during adolescence.[citation needed] It is characterised by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university, vocational school) for adults.[citation needed] Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1-13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.
The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (i.e. emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created and the curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both the employer and the employee, because this improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a relatively higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe the grammar school or academy existed from as early as the 1500's, public schools or fee paying schools, or charitable eduactional foundations have an even longer history.
[edit] Higher education
Main article: Higher education
The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning.
Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.
Higher education includes teaching, research and social services activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Higher education in that country generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.[citation needed]
[edit] Adult education
Main article: Adult education
Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning.
[edit] Alternative education
Main article: Alternative education
Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods.
Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education[citation needed]. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, and home-based learning vary widely, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community[citation needed].
[edit] Indigenous education
Increasingly, the inclusion of indigenous models of education (methods and content) as an alternative within the scope of formal and non-formal education systems, has come to represent a significant factor contributing to the success of those members of indigenous communities who choose to access these systems, both as students/learners and as teachers/instructors.
As an educational method, the inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing, learning, instructing, teaching and training, has been viewed by many critical and postmodern scholars as important for ensuring that students/learners and teachers/instructors (whether indigenous or non-indigenous) are able to benefit from education in a culturally sensitive manner that draws upon, utilizes, promotes and enhances awareness of indigenous traditions.[2]
For indigenous students or learners, and teachers or instructors, the inclusion of these methods often enhances educational effectiveness, success and learning outcomes by providing education that adheres to their own inherent perspectives, experiences and worldview. For non-indigenous students and teachers, education using such methods often has the effect of raising awareness of the individual traditions and collective experience of surrounding indigenous communities and peoples, thereby promoting greater respect for and appreciation of the cultural realities of these communities and peoples.
In terms of educational content, the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, traditions, perspectives, worldviews and conceptions within curricula, instructional materials and textbooks and coursebooks have largely the same effects as the inclusion of indigenous methods in education. Indigenous students and teachers benefit from enhanced academic effectiveness, success and learning outcomes, while non-indigenous students/learners and teachers often have greater awareness, respect, and appreciation for indigenous communities and peoples in consequence of the content that is shared during the course of educational pursuits.[3]
A prime example of how indigenous methods and content can be used to promote the above outcomes is demonstrated within higher education in Canada. Due to certain jurisdictions' focus on enhancing academic success for Aboriginal learners and promoting the values of multiculturalism in society, the inclusion of indigenous methods and content in education is often seen as an important obligation and duty of both governmental and educational authorities.[4]
[edit] Process
[edit] Curriculum
Main articles: Curriculum and List of academic disciplines
An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university, or via some other such method. Functionally, disciplines are usually defined and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and by the learned societies to which their practitioners belong.[citation needed] Professors say schooling is 80% psychological, 20% physical effort.[citation needed]
Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5]
[edit] Learning modalities
There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[6] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[7] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[8] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[9] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[10] follows a similar but more simplified approach.
It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[11] are probably the most common:[12]
* Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities.
* Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned.
* Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.
It is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness.[13] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[14] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.[15]
[edit] Teaching
Teachers need to understand a subject enough to convey its essence to students. The goal is to establish a sound knowledge base on which students will be able to build as they are exposed to different life experiences. The passing of knowledge from generation to generation allows students to grow into useful members of society. Good teachers can translate information, good judgment, experience and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible. [16]
[edit] Technology
Main article: Educational technology
Technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments. Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a “diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information.”[17] These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings.[18] Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries.[19]
The use of computers and the Internet is in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.[20] The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming.[21] Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies.[22]
The term "computer-assisted learning" (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching.
[edit] Educational Theory
Main article: Education Theory
Education theory is the theory of the purpose, application and interpretation of education and learning. Its history begins with classical Greek educationalists and sophists and includes, since the 18th century, pedagogy and andragogy. In the 20th century, "theory" has become an umbrella term for a variety of scholarly approaches to teaching, assessment and education law, most of which are informed by various academic fields, which can be seen in the below sections.
[edit] Economics
Main article: Economics of education
It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth.[23] Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imiation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn form the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital."[24] Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions[25] and the role of cognitive skills.[26]
At the individual level, there is a large literature, generally related back to the work of Jacob Mincer,[27] on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital of the individual. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling.[28]
Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Ginits famously argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production on the other.[29]
[edit] History
Main article: History of education
A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy
The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin 1994 "began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on.[citation needed] The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge.[citation needed] In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially.[citation needed] When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed.[citation needed] Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.[citation needed]
[edit] Philosophy
Main article: Philosophy of education
John Locke's work Some Thoughts Concerning Education was written in 1693 and still reflects traditional education priorities in the Western world
Philosophy of education is the philosophical study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. Philosophy of education can naturally be considered a branch of both philosophy and education. Philosophy of education is commonly housed in colleges and departments of education, yet it is applied philosophy, drawing from the traditional fields of philosophy (ontology, ethics, epistemology, etc.) and approaches (speculative, prescriptive, and/or analytic) to address questions regarding education policy, human development, education research methodology, and curriculum theory, to name a few.
[edit] Psychology
Main article: Educational psychology
A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation of students from low income families.[30]
Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists.[citation needed] Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities.[citation needed]
Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology.[citation needed] Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management.[citation needed] Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences.[citation needed] In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006).
[edit] Sociology
Main article: Sociology of education
Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe.
The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and forces affect educational processes and outcomes, and vice versa. By many, education is understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners may be motivated by aspirations for progress and betterment. Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities.[31] The purpose of education can be to develop every individual to their full potential.[citation needed] The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes differs according to the sociological paradigm used.
[edit] Educational Development
World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report)
In some developing countries, the number and seriousness of the problems faced are naturally greater.[citation needed] People in more remote or agrarian areas are sometimes unaware of the importance of education. However, many countries have an active Ministry of Education, and in many subjects, such as foreign language learning, the degree of education is actually much higher than in industrialized countries; for example, it is not at all uncommon for students in many developing countries to be reasonably fluent in multiple foreign languages, whereas this is much more of a rarity in the supposedly "more educated" countries where much of the population is in fact monolingual.
There is also economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education.[citation needed] Recent studies on child labor and poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school.[citation needed] This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school.[citation needed] Teachers are often paid less than other similar professions.[citation needed]
A lack of good universities, and a low acceptance rate for good universities, is evident in countries with a relatively high population density.[citation needed] In some countries, there are uniform, over structured, inflexible centralized programs from a central agency that regulates all aspects of education.
* Due to globalization, increased pressure on students in curricular activities
* Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practised in schools, after 10th grade)
India is now developing technologies that will skip land based phone and internet lines. Instead, India launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach more of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also an initiative started by a group out of MIT and supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop. The laptops should be available by late 2006 or 2007. The laptops, sold at cost, will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education, and to close the digital divide across the world.
In Africa, NEPAD has launched an "e-school programme" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Private groups, like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are working to give more individuals opportunities to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com, started with the support of American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.
[edit] Internationalisation
Education is becoming increasingly international. Not only are the materials becoming more influenced by the rich international environment, but exchanges among students at all levels are also playing an increasingly important role. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Programme stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.[32]
[edit] See also
Main articles: Glossary of education-related terms, List of basic education topics, List of education articles by country, and List of education topics
* Academic Dishonesty
* Adult education
* Alternative education
* Behavior modification
* Classical education
* Classroom of the future
* Collaborative learning
* Comparative education
* Curriculum studies
* Curriculum
* Developmental Education
* Distance education
* Home schooling
* e-learning
* Education Index
* Educational animation
* Entrepreneurship education
* Educational psychology
* Educational research
* Educational technology
* Educational software
* Efficient learning method
* Experiential education
* Gifted education
* Glossary of education-related terms
* Graduate education
* History of education
* Indoctrination
* Instructional technology
* Language education
* Learning
* Learning 2.0
* Learning by teaching (LdL)
* Learning community
* Learning sciences
* Legal education
* Life skills
* Lifelong education
* List of educators
* Medical education
* Online learning community
* Over-education
* Pedagogy
* Philosophy of education
* Public education
* Remedial Education
* School
* School of the Future
* Single-sex education
* Socialization
* Sociology of education
* Special education
* Special Educational Needs
* Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
* Teacher
* Tertiary education
* Tutoring
* University
* Virtual education
* Vocational education
* Wikipedia Books: Education
[edit] References
1. ^ UNESCO, education For All Monitoring Report 2008, Net Enrollment Rate in primary education
2. ^ See Merriam et al. Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007). Sharan Merriam, Rosemary Caffarella and Lisa Baumgartner write that “we need only look more closely inside our own borders, to Native Americans, for example… to find major systems of thought and beliefs embedded in entirely different cultural values and epistemological systems that can be drawn upon to enlarge our understanding of adult learning” (p. 218). Merriam et al. then go on to explain that another purpose in becoming familiar with other knowledge systems is the benefit this knowledge will have in affecting our practice with learners having other than Western worldviews. Antone and Gamlin (2004) for example, argue that to be effective, literacy programs with Aboriginal people (a term they use to refer to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis persons and collectivities) must be more than ‘reading, numeracy and writing which is typically geared towards gaining access to mainstream employment’ (p. 26). Rather Aboriginal literacy is about sustaining a particular worldview and about the survival of a distinct and vital culture. Being literate is about resymbolizing and reinterpreting past experience, while at the same time honouring traditional values. Being literate is about "living" these values in contemporary times. Being literate is about "visioning" a future in which an Aboriginal "way of being" will continue to thrive. Meaningful Aboriginal literacy will develop and find expression in everything that is done. Consequently, Aboriginal literacy programs must reflect a broad approach that recognizes the unique ways that Aboriginal people represent their experience and knowledge. [p. 26; italics in original] Frequently, Merriam et al. also return to this need “to enlarge our understanding of adult learning” through the lens of cultural sensitivity by focusing on theories related to the intimate connection between learning and social context– often framed in terms of inclusiveness and respect for differing values, beliefs, experiences, perspectives and environments as strongly correlated with the traditional ways and methods inherent in both individual and collective notions of culture. For instance, in their discussion of experiential learning, the authors comment that “in acknowledging cognition and learning from experience as a cultural phenomenon, the perspectives of critical… and postmodern thinkers become crucial. Among the major results of thinking about cognition from a cultural frame are the critiques that have been fostered about traditional educational theory and practice… Foremost among these critiques is a challenge to the fundamental notion that learning is something that occurs within the individual. Rather, learning encompasses the interaction of learners and the social environments in which they function” (p. 180).
3. ^ See generally R. A. Malatest et al. Best Practices in Increasing Aboriginal Postsecondary Enrolment Rates (Canada: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2002)[1]and Dr. Pamela Toulouse, Supporting Aboriginal Student Success: Self-Esteem and Identity, A Living Teachings Approach (Presentation delivered at the 2007 Ontario Education Research Symposium)[2]
4. ^ In the Canadian province of Manitoba for instance, collaborative efforts between the government and post-secondary institutions (both universities and colleges) has resulted in the implementation of 13 Access Programs (spanning several disciplines and program focus areas). These Access programs often place emphasis on indigenous methods and content in the delivery of post-secondary education and training, while also providing students with a variety of other culturally sensitive supports (such as elders and mentors) in order to enhance their success in higher education. Advocates of such programs will often highlight the fact that, between 2001/02 and 2005/06 (most recent available data) a total of 800 students successfully graduated from these programs with postsecondary credentials, while an average of 70.8 per cent of all students enrolled during these same years were Aboriginal. Statistics cited according to pp. 141-143 of the Manitoba Council on Post-Secondary Education Statistical Compendium For the Academic Years Ending in 2006[3] According to these advocates, the inclusion of indigenous models of education in those Access Programs that are intended for Aboriginal learners, is an important factor contributing to the completion of postsecondary education for the estimated 566 Aboriginal students who would not otherwise have been likely to achieve this same level of success.
5. ^ "Examples of subjects". Curriculumonline.gov.uk. http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/Default.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
6. ^ "Dunn and Dunn". Learningstyles.net. http://www.learningstyles.net/. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
7. ^ "Biographer of Renzulli". Indiana.edu. http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/renzulli.shtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
8. ^ Thomas Armstrong's website detailing Multiple Intelligences
9. ^ "Keirsey web-site". Keirsey.com. http://www.keirsey.com/. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
10. ^ "Type Delineator description". Algonquincollege.com. http://www.algonquincollege.com/edtech/gened/styles.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
11. ^ Swassing, R. H., Barbe, W. B., & Milone, M. N. (1979). The Swassing-Barbe Modality Index: Zaner-Bloser Modality Kit. Columbus, OH: Zaner-Bloser.
12. ^ Priscilla Theroux (2004-04-26). "Varied Learning Modes". Members.shaw.ca. http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/styles.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
13. ^ Barbe, W. B., & Swassing, R. H., with M. N. Milone. (1979). Teaching through modality strengths: Concepts and practices. Columbus, OH: Zaner-Bloser.
14. ^ Learning modality description from the Learning Curve website
15. ^ "Guy Claxton speaking on What's The Point of School?". dystalk.com. http://www.dystalk.com/talks/49-whats-the-point-of-school. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
16. ^ / How the world's best school systems come out topg
17. ^ Blurton, Craig. "New Directions of ICT-Use in Education" (PDF). http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/lwf/dl/edict.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
18. ^ ICT in Education
19. ^ Potashnik, M. and Capper, J.. "Distance Education:Growth and Diversity" (PDF). http://www.worldbank.org/fandd/english/pdfs/0398/0110398.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
20. ^ Taghioff, Daniel. "Seeds of Consensus—The Potential Role for Information and Communication Technologies in Development.". Archived from the original on 2003-10-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20031012140402/http://www.btinternet.com/~daniel.taghioff/index.html. Retrieved on 2003-10-12.
21. ^ Open University of the United Kingdom Official website
22. ^ Indira Gandhi National Open University Official website
23. ^ Hanushek, Economic Outcomes and School Quality
24. ^ UCLA Economics 183 Lecture from Professor Boustan
25. ^ Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation." American Economic Review 91,no.5 (December 2001):1369-1401.
26. ^ Eric A. Hanushek, and Ludger Woessmann, "The role of cognitive skills in economic development." Journal of Economic Literature 46,no.3 (September 2008):607-608.
27. ^ Jacob Mincer, "The distribution of labor incomes: a survey with special reference to the human capital approach." Journal of Economic Literature 8,no.1 (March 1970):1-26.
28. ^ See, for example, David Card, "Causal effect of education on earnings," in Handbook of labor economics, edited by Orley Ashenfelter and David Card. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1999:1801-1863; James J. Heckman, Lance J. Lochner, and Petra E. Todd., "Earnings functions, rates of return and treatment effects: The Mincer equation and beyond," in Handbook of the Economics of Education, edited by Eric A. Hanushek and Finis Welch. Amsterdam: North Holland, 2006:307-458.
29. ^ Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life (Basic Books, 1976)
30. ^ Finn, J. D., Gerber, S. B., Boyd-Zaharias, J. (2005). Small classes in the early grades, academic achievement, and graduating from high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 214-233.
31. ^ Schofield, K. (1999). "The Purposes of Education", Queensland State Education: 2010, [Online] URL: www.aspa.asn.au/Papers/eqfinalc.PDF [Accessed 2002, Oct 28]
32. ^ Dubois, H.F.W., Padovano, G., & Stew, G. (2006) Improving international nurse training: an American–Italian case study. International Nursing Review, 53(2): 110–116.
[edit] External links
Find more about Education on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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Learning resources from Wikiversity
* Education at the Open Directory Project
* UNESCO Institute for Statistics: International comparable statistics on education systems
* OECD education statistics
[show]
v • d • e
Education in Africa
Sovereign states
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) · Djibouti · Egypt1 · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · Sudan · Swaziland · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories
Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) · Madeira (Portugal) · Mayotte / Réunion (France) · Puntland · St. Helena (UK) · Socotra (Yemen) · Somaliland · Southern Sudan · Western Sahara · Zanzibar (Tanzania)
Italics indicate an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Transcontinental country.
[show]
v • d • e
Education in Asia
Sovereign
states
Afghanistan · Armenia1 · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Burma2 · Cambodia · People's Republic of China · Cyprus1 · East Timor3 · Egypt4 · Georgia4 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan4 · North Korea · South Korea · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia4 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Republic of China5 · Thailand · Turkey4 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories
Aceh · Adjara1 · Abkhazia1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Altai · British Indian Ocean Territory · Buryatia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Guangxi · Hong Kong · Inner Mongolia · Iraqi Kurdistan · Jakarta · Khakassia · Macau · Nagorno-Karabakh · Nakhchivan · Ningxia · Northern Cyprus · Palestine (Gaza Strip · West Bank) · Papua · Sakha · South Ossetia1 · Tibet · Tuva · West Papua · Xinjiang · Yogyakarta
Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions. 2 Officially known as Myanmar. 3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste. 4 Transcontinental country. 5 Commonly known as Taiwan.
[show]
v • d • e
Education in Europe
Sovereign
states
Albania · Andorra · Armenia1 · Austria · Azerbaijan2 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus1 · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia2 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan3 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia3 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey3 · Ukraine · United Kingdom (England • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales)
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories
Abkhazia 2 · Adjara1 · Adygea · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Åland · Azores · Bashkortostan · Catalonia · Chechnya · Chuvashia · Crimea · Dagestan · Faroe Islands · Gagauzia · Gibraltar · Guernsey · Ingushetia · Jan Mayen · Jersey · Kabardino-Balkaria · Kalmykia · Karachay-Cherkessia · Republic of Karelia · Komi Republic · Kosovo · Madeira · Isle of Man · Mari El · Mordovia · Nagorno-Karabakh1 · Nakhchivan1 · North Ossetia-Alania · Northern Cyprus1 · South Ossetia 2 · Svalbard · Tatarstan · Transnistria · Udmurtia · Vojvodina
Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Entirely in Asia, but historically considered European. 2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions. 3 Transcontinental country.
[show]
v • d • e
Education in North America
Sovereign states
Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama1 · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago1 · United States
The North American continent with country borders
Dependencies and
other territories
Anguilla · Aruba1 · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Montserrat · Netherlands Antilles1 · Puerto Rico · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · United States Virgin Islands
1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of South America.
[show]
v • d • e
Education in Oceania
Sovereign states
Australia · East Timor · Fiji · Indonesia1 · Kiribati · Papua New Guinea · Marshall Islands · Federated States of Micronesia · Nauru · New Zealand · Palau · Samoa · Solomon Islands · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu
Dependencies and
other territories
American Samoa · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Guam · Hawaii · New Caledonia · Niue · Norfolk Island · Northern Mariana Islands · Pitcairn Islands · Tokelau · Wallis and Futuna
1 Transcontinental country.
[show]
v • d • e
Education in South America
Sovereign states
Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama1 · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago1 · Uruguay · Venezuela
Dependencies
Aruba1 / Netherlands Antilles1 (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) 2 / French Guiana (France)
1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of North America and/or Central America. 2 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of Antarctica.
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This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (February 2008)
"Educate" redirects here. For the journal published by the Institute of Education, see Educate~.
A kindergarten classroom in Afghanistan.
An elementary classroom in Mexico
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Wikipedia:Books has a book on: Education
Education is the process of learning knowledge, information and skills during the course of life. Teachers may draw on many subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Teachers in specialized professions such as astrophysics, law, or zoology may teach only a certain subject, usually as professors at institutions of higher learning. There is also instruction in fields for those who want specific vocational skills, such as those required to be a pilot. In addition there is an array of education possible at the informal level, e.g., at museums and libraries, with the Internet, and in life experience.
The right to education has been described as a basic human right: since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. At world level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Systems of formal education
o 1.1 Primary education
o 1.2 Secondary education
o 1.3 Higher education
o 1.4 Adult education
o 1.5 Alternative education
o 1.6 Indigenous education
* 2 Process
o 2.1 Curriculum
o 2.2 Learning modalities
o 2.3 Teaching
o 2.4 Technology
* 3 Educational Theory
* 4 Economics
* 5 History
* 6 Philosophy
* 7 Psychology
* 8 Sociology
* 9 Educational Development
o 9.1 Internationalisation
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 External links
[edit] Systems of formal education
Education is a broad concept, referring to all the experiences in which students can learn something:
* Instruction refers to the intentional facilitating of learning toward identified objectives, delivered either by an instructor or other forms.
* Teaching refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart learning to the student.
* Teaching refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied immediately upon completion.
[edit] Primary education
Main article: Primary education
Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842.
Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first few years of formal, structured education. In general, main education consists of six or seven years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 70% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[1] Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.
[edit] Secondary education
Main article: Secondary education
In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education consists of the second years of formal education that occur during adolescence.[citation needed] It is characterised by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university, vocational school) for adults.[citation needed] Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1-13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.
The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (i.e. emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created and the curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both the employer and the employee, because this improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a relatively higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe the grammar school or academy existed from as early as the 1500's, public schools or fee paying schools, or charitable eduactional foundations have an even longer history.
[edit] Higher education
Main article: Higher education
The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning.
Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.
Higher education includes teaching, research and social services activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Higher education in that country generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.[citation needed]
[edit] Adult education
Main article: Adult education
Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning.
[edit] Alternative education
Main article: Alternative education
Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods.
Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education[citation needed]. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, and home-based learning vary widely, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community[citation needed].
[edit] Indigenous education
Increasingly, the inclusion of indigenous models of education (methods and content) as an alternative within the scope of formal and non-formal education systems, has come to represent a significant factor contributing to the success of those members of indigenous communities who choose to access these systems, both as students/learners and as teachers/instructors.
As an educational method, the inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing, learning, instructing, teaching and training, has been viewed by many critical and postmodern scholars as important for ensuring that students/learners and teachers/instructors (whether indigenous or non-indigenous) are able to benefit from education in a culturally sensitive manner that draws upon, utilizes, promotes and enhances awareness of indigenous traditions.[2]
For indigenous students or learners, and teachers or instructors, the inclusion of these methods often enhances educational effectiveness, success and learning outcomes by providing education that adheres to their own inherent perspectives, experiences and worldview. For non-indigenous students and teachers, education using such methods often has the effect of raising awareness of the individual traditions and collective experience of surrounding indigenous communities and peoples, thereby promoting greater respect for and appreciation of the cultural realities of these communities and peoples.
In terms of educational content, the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, traditions, perspectives, worldviews and conceptions within curricula, instructional materials and textbooks and coursebooks have largely the same effects as the inclusion of indigenous methods in education. Indigenous students and teachers benefit from enhanced academic effectiveness, success and learning outcomes, while non-indigenous students/learners and teachers often have greater awareness, respect, and appreciation for indigenous communities and peoples in consequence of the content that is shared during the course of educational pursuits.[3]
A prime example of how indigenous methods and content can be used to promote the above outcomes is demonstrated within higher education in Canada. Due to certain jurisdictions' focus on enhancing academic success for Aboriginal learners and promoting the values of multiculturalism in society, the inclusion of indigenous methods and content in education is often seen as an important obligation and duty of both governmental and educational authorities.[4]
[edit] Process
[edit] Curriculum
Main articles: Curriculum and List of academic disciplines
An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university, or via some other such method. Functionally, disciplines are usually defined and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and by the learned societies to which their practitioners belong.[citation needed] Professors say schooling is 80% psychological, 20% physical effort.[citation needed]
Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5]
[edit] Learning modalities
There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[6] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[7] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[8] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[9] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[10] follows a similar but more simplified approach.
It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[11] are probably the most common:[12]
* Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities.
* Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned.
* Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.
It is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness.[13] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[14] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.[15]
[edit] Teaching
Teachers need to understand a subject enough to convey its essence to students. The goal is to establish a sound knowledge base on which students will be able to build as they are exposed to different life experiences. The passing of knowledge from generation to generation allows students to grow into useful members of society. Good teachers can translate information, good judgment, experience and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible. [16]
[edit] Technology
Main article: Educational technology
Technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments. Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a “diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information.”[17] These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings.[18] Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries.[19]
The use of computers and the Internet is in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.[20] The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming.[21] Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies.[22]
The term "computer-assisted learning" (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching.
[edit] Educational Theory
Main article: Education Theory
Education theory is the theory of the purpose, application and interpretation of education and learning. Its history begins with classical Greek educationalists and sophists and includes, since the 18th century, pedagogy and andragogy. In the 20th century, "theory" has become an umbrella term for a variety of scholarly approaches to teaching, assessment and education law, most of which are informed by various academic fields, which can be seen in the below sections.
[edit] Economics
Main article: Economics of education
It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth.[23] Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imiation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn form the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital."[24] Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions[25] and the role of cognitive skills.[26]
At the individual level, there is a large literature, generally related back to the work of Jacob Mincer,[27] on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital of the individual. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling.[28]
Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Ginits famously argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production on the other.[29]
[edit] History
Main article: History of education
A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy
The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin 1994 "began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on.[citation needed] The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge.[citation needed] In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially.[citation needed] When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed.[citation needed] Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.[citation needed]
[edit] Philosophy
Main article: Philosophy of education
John Locke's work Some Thoughts Concerning Education was written in 1693 and still reflects traditional education priorities in the Western world
Philosophy of education is the philosophical study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. Philosophy of education can naturally be considered a branch of both philosophy and education. Philosophy of education is commonly housed in colleges and departments of education, yet it is applied philosophy, drawing from the traditional fields of philosophy (ontology, ethics, epistemology, etc.) and approaches (speculative, prescriptive, and/or analytic) to address questions regarding education policy, human development, education research methodology, and curriculum theory, to name a few.
[edit] Psychology
Main article: Educational psychology
A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation of students from low income families.[30]
Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists.[citation needed] Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities.[citation needed]
Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology.[citation needed] Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management.[citation needed] Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences.[citation needed] In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006).
[edit] Sociology
Main article: Sociology of education
Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe.
The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and forces affect educational processes and outcomes, and vice versa. By many, education is understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners may be motivated by aspirations for progress and betterment. Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities.[31] The purpose of education can be to develop every individual to their full potential.[citation needed] The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes differs according to the sociological paradigm used.
[edit] Educational Development
World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report)
In some developing countries, the number and seriousness of the problems faced are naturally greater.[citation needed] People in more remote or agrarian areas are sometimes unaware of the importance of education. However, many countries have an active Ministry of Education, and in many subjects, such as foreign language learning, the degree of education is actually much higher than in industrialized countries; for example, it is not at all uncommon for students in many developing countries to be reasonably fluent in multiple foreign languages, whereas this is much more of a rarity in the supposedly "more educated" countries where much of the population is in fact monolingual.
There is also economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education.[citation needed] Recent studies on child labor and poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school.[citation needed] This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school.[citation needed] Teachers are often paid less than other similar professions.[citation needed]
A lack of good universities, and a low acceptance rate for good universities, is evident in countries with a relatively high population density.[citation needed] In some countries, there are uniform, over structured, inflexible centralized programs from a central agency that regulates all aspects of education.
* Due to globalization, increased pressure on students in curricular activities
* Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practised in schools, after 10th grade)
India is now developing technologies that will skip land based phone and internet lines. Instead, India launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach more of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also an initiative started by a group out of MIT and supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop. The laptops should be available by late 2006 or 2007. The laptops, sold at cost, will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education, and to close the digital divide across the world.
In Africa, NEPAD has launched an "e-school programme" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Private groups, like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are working to give more individuals opportunities to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com, started with the support of American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.
[edit] Internationalisation
Education is becoming increasingly international. Not only are the materials becoming more influenced by the rich international environment, but exchanges among students at all levels are also playing an increasingly important role. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Programme stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.[32]
[edit] See also
Main articles: Glossary of education-related terms, List of basic education topics, List of education articles by country, and List of education topics
* Academic Dishonesty
* Adult education
* Alternative education
* Behavior modification
* Classical education
* Classroom of the future
* Collaborative learning
* Comparative education
* Curriculum studies
* Curriculum
* Developmental Education
* Distance education
* Home schooling
* e-learning
* Education Index
* Educational animation
* Entrepreneurship education
* Educational psychology
* Educational research
* Educational technology
* Educational software
* Efficient learning method
* Experiential education
* Gifted education
* Glossary of education-related terms
* Graduate education
* History of education
* Indoctrination
* Instructional technology
* Language education
* Learning
* Learning 2.0
* Learning by teaching (LdL)
* Learning community
* Learning sciences
* Legal education
* Life skills
* Lifelong education
* List of educators
* Medical education
* Online learning community
* Over-education
* Pedagogy
* Philosophy of education
* Public education
* Remedial Education
* School
* School of the Future
* Single-sex education
* Socialization
* Sociology of education
* Special education
* Special Educational Needs
* Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
* Teacher
* Tertiary education
* Tutoring
* University
* Virtual education
* Vocational education
* Wikipedia Books: Education
[edit] References
1. ^ UNESCO, education For All Monitoring Report 2008, Net Enrollment Rate in primary education
2. ^ See Merriam et al. Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007). Sharan Merriam, Rosemary Caffarella and Lisa Baumgartner write that “we need only look more closely inside our own borders, to Native Americans, for example… to find major systems of thought and beliefs embedded in entirely different cultural values and epistemological systems that can be drawn upon to enlarge our understanding of adult learning” (p. 218). Merriam et al. then go on to explain that another purpose in becoming familiar with other knowledge systems is the benefit this knowledge will have in affecting our practice with learners having other than Western worldviews. Antone and Gamlin (2004) for example, argue that to be effective, literacy programs with Aboriginal people (a term they use to refer to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis persons and collectivities) must be more than ‘reading, numeracy and writing which is typically geared towards gaining access to mainstream employment’ (p. 26). Rather Aboriginal literacy is about sustaining a particular worldview and about the survival of a distinct and vital culture. Being literate is about resymbolizing and reinterpreting past experience, while at the same time honouring traditional values. Being literate is about "living" these values in contemporary times. Being literate is about "visioning" a future in which an Aboriginal "way of being" will continue to thrive. Meaningful Aboriginal literacy will develop and find expression in everything that is done. Consequently, Aboriginal literacy programs must reflect a broad approach that recognizes the unique ways that Aboriginal people represent their experience and knowledge. [p. 26; italics in original] Frequently, Merriam et al. also return to this need “to enlarge our understanding of adult learning” through the lens of cultural sensitivity by focusing on theories related to the intimate connection between learning and social context– often framed in terms of inclusiveness and respect for differing values, beliefs, experiences, perspectives and environments as strongly correlated with the traditional ways and methods inherent in both individual and collective notions of culture. For instance, in their discussion of experiential learning, the authors comment that “in acknowledging cognition and learning from experience as a cultural phenomenon, the perspectives of critical… and postmodern thinkers become crucial. Among the major results of thinking about cognition from a cultural frame are the critiques that have been fostered about traditional educational theory and practice… Foremost among these critiques is a challenge to the fundamental notion that learning is something that occurs within the individual. Rather, learning encompasses the interaction of learners and the social environments in which they function” (p. 180).
3. ^ See generally R. A. Malatest et al. Best Practices in Increasing Aboriginal Postsecondary Enrolment Rates (Canada: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2002)[1]and Dr. Pamela Toulouse, Supporting Aboriginal Student Success: Self-Esteem and Identity, A Living Teachings Approach (Presentation delivered at the 2007 Ontario Education Research Symposium)[2]
4. ^ In the Canadian province of Manitoba for instance, collaborative efforts between the government and post-secondary institutions (both universities and colleges) has resulted in the implementation of 13 Access Programs (spanning several disciplines and program focus areas). These Access programs often place emphasis on indigenous methods and content in the delivery of post-secondary education and training, while also providing students with a variety of other culturally sensitive supports (such as elders and mentors) in order to enhance their success in higher education. Advocates of such programs will often highlight the fact that, between 2001/02 and 2005/06 (most recent available data) a total of 800 students successfully graduated from these programs with postsecondary credentials, while an average of 70.8 per cent of all students enrolled during these same years were Aboriginal. Statistics cited according to pp. 141-143 of the Manitoba Council on Post-Secondary Education Statistical Compendium For the Academic Years Ending in 2006[3] According to these advocates, the inclusion of indigenous models of education in those Access Programs that are intended for Aboriginal learners, is an important factor contributing to the completion of postsecondary education for the estimated 566 Aboriginal students who would not otherwise have been likely to achieve this same level of success.
5. ^ "Examples of subjects". Curriculumonline.gov.uk. http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/Default.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
6. ^ "Dunn and Dunn". Learningstyles.net. http://www.learningstyles.net/. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
7. ^ "Biographer of Renzulli". Indiana.edu. http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/renzulli.shtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
8. ^ Thomas Armstrong's website detailing Multiple Intelligences
9. ^ "Keirsey web-site". Keirsey.com. http://www.keirsey.com/. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
10. ^ "Type Delineator description". Algonquincollege.com. http://www.algonquincollege.com/edtech/gened/styles.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
11. ^ Swassing, R. H., Barbe, W. B., & Milone, M. N. (1979). The Swassing-Barbe Modality Index: Zaner-Bloser Modality Kit. Columbus, OH: Zaner-Bloser.
12. ^ Priscilla Theroux (2004-04-26). "Varied Learning Modes". Members.shaw.ca. http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/styles.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
13. ^ Barbe, W. B., & Swassing, R. H., with M. N. Milone. (1979). Teaching through modality strengths: Concepts and practices. Columbus, OH: Zaner-Bloser.
14. ^ Learning modality description from the Learning Curve website
15. ^ "Guy Claxton speaking on What's The Point of School?". dystalk.com. http://www.dystalk.com/talks/49-whats-the-point-of-school. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
16. ^ / How the world's best school systems come out topg
17. ^ Blurton, Craig. "New Directions of ICT-Use in Education" (PDF). http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/lwf/dl/edict.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
18. ^ ICT in Education
19. ^ Potashnik, M. and Capper, J.. "Distance Education:Growth and Diversity" (PDF). http://www.worldbank.org/fandd/english/pdfs/0398/0110398.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
20. ^ Taghioff, Daniel. "Seeds of Consensus—The Potential Role for Information and Communication Technologies in Development.". Archived from the original on 2003-10-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20031012140402/http://www.btinternet.com/~daniel.taghioff/index.html. Retrieved on 2003-10-12.
21. ^ Open University of the United Kingdom Official website
22. ^ Indira Gandhi National Open University Official website
23. ^ Hanushek, Economic Outcomes and School Quality
24. ^ UCLA Economics 183 Lecture from Professor Boustan
25. ^ Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation." American Economic Review 91,no.5 (December 2001):1369-1401.
26. ^ Eric A. Hanushek, and Ludger Woessmann, "The role of cognitive skills in economic development." Journal of Economic Literature 46,no.3 (September 2008):607-608.
27. ^ Jacob Mincer, "The distribution of labor incomes: a survey with special reference to the human capital approach." Journal of Economic Literature 8,no.1 (March 1970):1-26.
28. ^ See, for example, David Card, "Causal effect of education on earnings," in Handbook of labor economics, edited by Orley Ashenfelter and David Card. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1999:1801-1863; James J. Heckman, Lance J. Lochner, and Petra E. Todd., "Earnings functions, rates of return and treatment effects: The Mincer equation and beyond," in Handbook of the Economics of Education, edited by Eric A. Hanushek and Finis Welch. Amsterdam: North Holland, 2006:307-458.
29. ^ Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life (Basic Books, 1976)
30. ^ Finn, J. D., Gerber, S. B., Boyd-Zaharias, J. (2005). Small classes in the early grades, academic achievement, and graduating from high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 214-233.
31. ^ Schofield, K. (1999). "The Purposes of Education", Queensland State Education: 2010, [Online] URL: www.aspa.asn.au/Papers/eqfinalc.PDF [Accessed 2002, Oct 28]
32. ^ Dubois, H.F.W., Padovano, G., & Stew, G. (2006) Improving international nurse training: an American–Italian case study. International Nursing Review, 53(2): 110–116.
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1 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of North America and/or Central America. 2 Territories also in or commonly considered to be part of Antarctica.
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Re: [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary
umesh sharma
Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:23:52 -0700
Rajen-da,
You must have read the article I sent out - the full text in 4 parts I mean. As is evident it is just a prelimnary analysis of the issue. For more details , more data is needed.
For effective education reform (as in anything else) Professor Ernesto Schiefelbein, a former education minister of Chile and Former Director of UNESCO for Latin America and Carribean likes to say - i read on of his readings - a quote from Sherlock Holmes " it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has the facts."
That said, there are definitely some general ways in which competitveness of top students of Assam can be improved (for those of lower income neighborhood or rural schools I gave the suggestions of the Wrold Bank in the article). First step is to bench mark against the best.
Agha Khan Foundation, Geneva (www.akdn.org) shows the way for poor countries - it has top quality schools in many Asian and African nations, whose teachers come to training even in top US High schools - like Philips Academy, Andover near Boston and have linkages with places like Harvard and Oxford.
Given that we are operating on an international grid on AssamNet I thought this could be an option, though a strenuous one. On the other hand,we could learn from Kota (Rajasthan) based engineering entrance institutes, who have created a center of excellence out of nothing but desert sand-successfully sending Hindi medium village kids even - to IITs. Two years back the IIT All India topper took the exam in Hindi medium an was from a village school. Kota sends the largest contingent to IITs from any center in India.
Qualified Assamese could take up the task by revising their high school knowledge to teach the tricks to new kids in Assam to make them competitive in IIT-JEE etc.
At a more micro level, more study is needed.
Umesh
PS: one problem I forsee, from the various posts that the govt is not effective in disbursal of funds for the various projects - could be a problem of excessive centralization of decison making - at the state level - and might need to go in for effective decentrlization - at local level with community involvement.
There is no need to copy what other states have done. i just attened a talk on Colombia's SAT program for rural adolscent women - which makes them empowered and skilled through a scripted curriculum etc . Honduras applied the program to its own rural areas with succes.
http://www.bcca.org/ief/drich02c.htm
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/International/Databanks/Dossiers/icolombi.htm
These countries are no bigger than Assam. We could try out such innovations as well.
Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Thus the multi pronged strategy should be:
>A) to focus on improving the competitiveness of its top students - so that they start scoring in the national >competitive entrance exams. A highly skilled Assamese group is needed to properly govern and improve the >economy of the region.
>B) to improve quality of schools in rural areas and for poor income students. A World Bank study(book: >Primary Education in India; World Bank publication , 1997) showed that training of Assam’s school principals, >female teachers in rural areas, distribution of free textbooks, improving the monitoring of schools as well as >better physical infrastructure of schools - would be cost effective strategies for school improvement in such >areas. Another study (mentioned in the same book as above) predicted that improvement of 0.5% in primary >school student’s achievement rates in Assam would lead to a 4.5% increase in Assam’s economic growth.
>Conclusion
>Assam is neither at the bottom of the spectrum on Indian states in school education but neither is it at the top. However, its >top quality schools lag behind a large number of those of many other states (like Delhi or Rajasthan). Further, states like >Kerala or Himachal Pradesh are far ahead of Assam, in their efforts to provide universal and good quality schools to all. >Thus, Assam needs to improve the quality of its top quality schools as well as that of its lower rung schools-at the same time >improving the reach to remote areas –to aim for sustainable econ! omic development of ! the region.
Umesh:
That is great reporting. Now is it possible to quantify the action items who should do what to achieve your recommendations?. How much of of the actions/ responsibilities lies with the Assamese public and GOA? . What exactly for instance we the NRAs can or need to do to impriove the situation? Is GOI responsible in any way for the present state of affairs in education in Assam? What they are doing differently in Kerela or Rajsthan to achieve a higher standard? etc etc.
Can you briefly summarize for the benefit of the netters?
Thanks
Rajenda
----- Original Message -----
From: umesh sharma
To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:10 PM
Subject: [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary
Hi,
This is the end part of the article i wrote for Assam Newsletter.
-------------------
graphs (not here) can be seen at
http://www.worldbank.org/research/projects/edattain/profiles/ind4/ind4reg/at1_a.htm
----------------------
My recommendations (not just to the government):
As seen in case of other states like Delhi or Kerala or Rajasthan, whose students are the toppers in the national engineering or medical exams lately – there is a greater focus on providing top quality educational environment to its most skilled students (generally from urban, rich families) even at the cost of extremely low grade education to its rural, poor and girl students.
Most likely, the policymakers’ (and bureaucrats) own children are the ones who benefit the most from this arrangement. However, without body of highly skilled and globally competitive manpower, it is unlikely that the state can ever make progress. On the other hand, Assam has been negligent in providing good quality education to its top strata of society as well (unlike Kerala, Delhi or Rajasthan) as well as in lagging behind providing good education to its rural, poor and girl students (compared to Kerala or Himachal Pradesh).
Thus the multi pronged strategy should be:
A) to focus on improving the competitiveness of its top students - so that they start scoring in the national competitive entrance exams. A highly skilled Assamese group is needed to properly govern and improve the economy of the region.
B) to improve quality of schools in rural areas and for poor income students. A World Bank study(book: Primary Education in India; World Bank publication , 1997) showed that training of Assam’s school principals, female teachers in rural areas, distribution of free textbooks, improving the monitoring of schools as well as better physical infrastructure of schools - would be cost effective strategies for school improvement in such areas. Another study (mentioned in the same book as above) predicted that improvement of 0.5% in primary school student’s achievement rates in Assam would lead to a 4.5% increase in Assam’s economic growth.
Conclusion
Assam is neither at the bottom of the spectrum on Indian states in school education but neither is it at the top. However, its top quality schools lag behind a large number of those of many other states (like Delhi or Rajasthan). Further, states like Kerala or Himachal Pradesh are far ahead of Assam, in their efforts to provide universal and good quality schools to all. Thus, Assam needs to improve the quality of its top quality schools as well as that of its lower rung schools-at the same time improving the reach to remote areas –to aim for sustainable economic development of ! ! the region.
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* [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary umesh sharma
o Re: [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary Barua25
+ Re: [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary umesh sharma
*
Reply via email to
umesh sharma
Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:23:52 -0700
Rajen-da,
You must have read the article I sent out - the full text in 4 parts I mean. As is evident it is just a prelimnary analysis of the issue. For more details , more data is needed.
For effective education reform (as in anything else) Professor Ernesto Schiefelbein, a former education minister of Chile and Former Director of UNESCO for Latin America and Carribean likes to say - i read on of his readings - a quote from Sherlock Holmes " it is a capital mistake to theorize before one has the facts."
That said, there are definitely some general ways in which competitveness of top students of Assam can be improved (for those of lower income neighborhood or rural schools I gave the suggestions of the Wrold Bank in the article). First step is to bench mark against the best.
Agha Khan Foundation, Geneva (www.akdn.org) shows the way for poor countries - it has top quality schools in many Asian and African nations, whose teachers come to training even in top US High schools - like Philips Academy, Andover near Boston and have linkages with places like Harvard and Oxford.
Given that we are operating on an international grid on AssamNet I thought this could be an option, though a strenuous one. On the other hand,we could learn from Kota (Rajasthan) based engineering entrance institutes, who have created a center of excellence out of nothing but desert sand-successfully sending Hindi medium village kids even - to IITs. Two years back the IIT All India topper took the exam in Hindi medium an was from a village school. Kota sends the largest contingent to IITs from any center in India.
Qualified Assamese could take up the task by revising their high school knowledge to teach the tricks to new kids in Assam to make them competitive in IIT-JEE etc.
At a more micro level, more study is needed.
Umesh
PS: one problem I forsee, from the various posts that the govt is not effective in disbursal of funds for the various projects - could be a problem of excessive centralization of decison making - at the state level - and might need to go in for effective decentrlization - at local level with community involvement.
There is no need to copy what other states have done. i just attened a talk on Colombia's SAT program for rural adolscent women - which makes them empowered and skilled through a scripted curriculum etc . Honduras applied the program to its own rural areas with succes.
http://www.bcca.org/ief/drich02c.htm
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/International/Databanks/Dossiers/icolombi.htm
These countries are no bigger than Assam. We could try out such innovations as well.
Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Thus the multi pronged strategy should be:
>A) to focus on improving the competitiveness of its top students - so that they start scoring in the national >competitive entrance exams. A highly skilled Assamese group is needed to properly govern and improve the >economy of the region.
>B) to improve quality of schools in rural areas and for poor income students. A World Bank study(book: >Primary Education in India; World Bank publication , 1997) showed that training of Assam’s school principals, >female teachers in rural areas, distribution of free textbooks, improving the monitoring of schools as well as >better physical infrastructure of schools - would be cost effective strategies for school improvement in such >areas. Another study (mentioned in the same book as above) predicted that improvement of 0.5% in primary >school student’s achievement rates in Assam would lead to a 4.5% increase in Assam’s economic growth.
>Conclusion
>Assam is neither at the bottom of the spectrum on Indian states in school education but neither is it at the top. However, its >top quality schools lag behind a large number of those of many other states (like Delhi or Rajasthan). Further, states like >Kerala or Himachal Pradesh are far ahead of Assam, in their efforts to provide universal and good quality schools to all. >Thus, Assam needs to improve the quality of its top quality schools as well as that of its lower rung schools-at the same time >improving the reach to remote areas –to aim for sustainable econ! omic development of ! the region.
Umesh:
That is great reporting. Now is it possible to quantify the action items who should do what to achieve your recommendations?. How much of of the actions/ responsibilities lies with the Assamese public and GOA? . What exactly for instance we the NRAs can or need to do to impriove the situation? Is GOI responsible in any way for the present state of affairs in education in Assam? What they are doing differently in Kerela or Rajsthan to achieve a higher standard? etc etc.
Can you briefly summarize for the benefit of the netters?
Thanks
Rajenda
----- Original Message -----
From: umesh sharma
To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:10 PM
Subject: [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary
Hi,
This is the end part of the article i wrote for Assam Newsletter.
-------------------
graphs (not here) can be seen at
http://www.worldbank.org/research/projects/edattain/profiles/ind4/ind4reg/at1_a.htm
----------------------
My recommendations (not just to the government):
As seen in case of other states like Delhi or Kerala or Rajasthan, whose students are the toppers in the national engineering or medical exams lately – there is a greater focus on providing top quality educational environment to its most skilled students (generally from urban, rich families) even at the cost of extremely low grade education to its rural, poor and girl students.
Most likely, the policymakers’ (and bureaucrats) own children are the ones who benefit the most from this arrangement. However, without body of highly skilled and globally competitive manpower, it is unlikely that the state can ever make progress. On the other hand, Assam has been negligent in providing good quality education to its top strata of society as well (unlike Kerala, Delhi or Rajasthan) as well as in lagging behind providing good education to its rural, poor and girl students (compared to Kerala or Himachal Pradesh).
Thus the multi pronged strategy should be:
A) to focus on improving the competitiveness of its top students - so that they start scoring in the national competitive entrance exams. A highly skilled Assamese group is needed to properly govern and improve the economy of the region.
B) to improve quality of schools in rural areas and for poor income students. A World Bank study(book: Primary Education in India; World Bank publication , 1997) showed that training of Assam’s school principals, female teachers in rural areas, distribution of free textbooks, improving the monitoring of schools as well as better physical infrastructure of schools - would be cost effective strategies for school improvement in such areas. Another study (mentioned in the same book as above) predicted that improvement of 0.5% in primary school student’s achievement rates in Assam would lead to a 4.5% increase in Assam’s economic growth.
Conclusion
Assam is neither at the bottom of the spectrum on Indian states in school education but neither is it at the top. However, its top quality schools lag behind a large number of those of many other states (like Delhi or Rajasthan). Further, states like Kerala or Himachal Pradesh are far ahead of Assam, in their efforts to provide universal and good quality schools to all. Thus, Assam needs to improve the quality of its top quality schools as well as that of its lower rung schools-at the same time improving the reach to remote areas –to aim for sustainable economic development of ! ! the region.
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* [Assam] Assam's school education article- summary umesh sharma
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Education and Outreach (Article 6 of the Convention)
Background
The importance of outreach
National strategies for addressing climate change can only succeed with the full engagement of the general public and important interest groups, or “stakeholders,” such as businesses and local policymakers. Since governments are directly responsible for only a small proportion of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), they must persuade businesses, communities and individuals to adjust their activities in a way that reduces their direct emissions. Otherwise, it will not be possible to realize the Convention’s objective and the Protocol’s targets.
Governments have several tools at their disposal for gaining public support. Policies can be used to raise the cost of activities that emit GHGs and reduce the costs of similar activities that do not. Regulations and standards can mandate changes in products and practices. Taxes and subsidies can be adjusted to influence behaviour. Such policies and measures, however, can engender opposition, particularly from those concerned about the imposition of a new cost. Public information and education is therefore vital for generating public support for such policies. It can also encourage voluntary changes in habits that will lead to lower emissions.
Many governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (IGOs and NGOs) are already working actively to raise awareness. The scale of changes required, however, and the vast number of people and interests that must be influenced, call for outreach activities of a greater magnitude.
How the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol respond
The UN Convention on Climate Change recognizes this reality: under Article 6 on Education, Training and Public Awareness, it calls on governments to promote the development and implementation of educational and public awareness programmes, promote public access to information and public participation, and promote training of scientific, technical and managerial personnel.
The Kyoto Protocol builds on this and calls on Parties to cooperate in and promote, at the national and international levels, the development and implementation of educational and training programmes, including the strengthening of national capacity building; and to facilitate, at the national level, public awareness and public access to information ((PDF) Article 10 (e)).
Paving the way for action
At COP 8 (New Delhi, October/November 2002), Parties adopted the "New Delhi work programme on Article 6 of the Convention ((PDF) decision 11/CP.8), a five-year country-driven work programme engaging all stakeholders, and recommending a list of activities that could be undertaken at the national level to facilitate the implementation of Article 6 activities.
To further develop and implement the New Delhi work programme, Parties requested the secretariat to:
* facilitate regional workshops that could advance the work on assessing needs, identifying priorities, sharing experience and exchanging information on related activities; and
* work on an information clearing house that would include information on existing resources.
To date, four regional workshops have been organised in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific, and an additional workshop dedicated to the Small island developing States (SIDS) more>>
The prototype information network clearing house (CC:iNet) was launched at COP 11, November 2005, in Montreal.
Recent developments
The SBI, at its twenty-seventh session (Bali, December 2007), recognized that The five-year New Delhi work programme has proved to be a good framework for action, and the COP, at its thirteenth session (Bali, December 2007) adopted the amended New Delhi work programme for a further five years. A review of the work programme will be undertaken in 2012, with an intermediate review of progress in 2010, to evaluate its effectiveness and identify emerging gaps.
The SBI also assessed the usefulness and relevance of the prototype clearing house (CC:iNet) and recognized it as an important tool for promoting the implementation of Article 6. The secretariat was invited to further enhance CC:iNet in line with the evaluation report (FCCC/SBI/2007/26).
Based on the success of previous regional workshops, which have helped to advance the New Delhi work programme, the secretariat was also mandated to organize thematic regional and subregional workshops to share lessons learned and best practices, prior to the intermediate review of the work programme in 2010.
last modified: 24 January 2008
Background
The importance of outreach
National strategies for addressing climate change can only succeed with the full engagement of the general public and important interest groups, or “stakeholders,” such as businesses and local policymakers. Since governments are directly responsible for only a small proportion of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), they must persuade businesses, communities and individuals to adjust their activities in a way that reduces their direct emissions. Otherwise, it will not be possible to realize the Convention’s objective and the Protocol’s targets.
Governments have several tools at their disposal for gaining public support. Policies can be used to raise the cost of activities that emit GHGs and reduce the costs of similar activities that do not. Regulations and standards can mandate changes in products and practices. Taxes and subsidies can be adjusted to influence behaviour. Such policies and measures, however, can engender opposition, particularly from those concerned about the imposition of a new cost. Public information and education is therefore vital for generating public support for such policies. It can also encourage voluntary changes in habits that will lead to lower emissions.
Many governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (IGOs and NGOs) are already working actively to raise awareness. The scale of changes required, however, and the vast number of people and interests that must be influenced, call for outreach activities of a greater magnitude.
How the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol respond
The UN Convention on Climate Change recognizes this reality: under Article 6 on Education, Training and Public Awareness, it calls on governments to promote the development and implementation of educational and public awareness programmes, promote public access to information and public participation, and promote training of scientific, technical and managerial personnel.
The Kyoto Protocol builds on this and calls on Parties to cooperate in and promote, at the national and international levels, the development and implementation of educational and training programmes, including the strengthening of national capacity building; and to facilitate, at the national level, public awareness and public access to information ((PDF) Article 10 (e)).
Paving the way for action
At COP 8 (New Delhi, October/November 2002), Parties adopted the "New Delhi work programme on Article 6 of the Convention ((PDF) decision 11/CP.8), a five-year country-driven work programme engaging all stakeholders, and recommending a list of activities that could be undertaken at the national level to facilitate the implementation of Article 6 activities.
To further develop and implement the New Delhi work programme, Parties requested the secretariat to:
* facilitate regional workshops that could advance the work on assessing needs, identifying priorities, sharing experience and exchanging information on related activities; and
* work on an information clearing house that would include information on existing resources.
To date, four regional workshops have been organised in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific, and an additional workshop dedicated to the Small island developing States (SIDS) more>>
The prototype information network clearing house (CC:iNet) was launched at COP 11, November 2005, in Montreal.
Recent developments
The SBI, at its twenty-seventh session (Bali, December 2007), recognized that The five-year New Delhi work programme has proved to be a good framework for action, and the COP, at its thirteenth session (Bali, December 2007) adopted the amended New Delhi work programme for a further five years. A review of the work programme will be undertaken in 2012, with an intermediate review of progress in 2010, to evaluate its effectiveness and identify emerging gaps.
The SBI also assessed the usefulness and relevance of the prototype clearing house (CC:iNet) and recognized it as an important tool for promoting the implementation of Article 6. The secretariat was invited to further enhance CC:iNet in line with the evaluation report (FCCC/SBI/2007/26).
Based on the success of previous regional workshops, which have helped to advance the New Delhi work programme, the secretariat was also mandated to organize thematic regional and subregional workshops to share lessons learned and best practices, prior to the intermediate review of the work programme in 2010.
last modified: 24 January 2008
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