(Dis)ordering teacher education : from problem students to problem-based learning

This paper takes issue with the 'disabling' of students enrolled in teacher education courses, perpetrated by definitions of students' learning disorders and by the structures and pedagogies engaged by teacher educators. Focusing on one case, but with relevance for similarly affected systems, the paper begins by outlining the changed student entry credentials of Australian universities and their faculties of education. These are seen as induced by a shift from elite to mass provision of higher education and the particular effect on teacher education providers (especially those located in regional institutions) of the politics of government funding and the continuing demand for teachers by education systems. While these changed conditions are often used to argue an increased university population of students with learning disorders, the paper suggests that such arguments often have more to do with how student problems are defined by institutions and how these definitions serve to secure additional government funding. More pertinently, the paper argues that such definition tends to locate the problem in individual students, deferring considerations of teacher educators' pedagogy and the learning arrangements of their institutions. The paper concludes that the place to begin addressing these issues of difficulty would seem to be with a different conception of knowledge production.

Developing a peace education curriculum for Vietnamese primary schools : a case study of participatory action research in cross-cultural design

In 2003, the International Conflict Resolution Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia, produced a primary school teaching manual for UNESCO Vietnam. The finished manual included lesson plans and materials for a five year, 50 lesson peace education course. The manual is one of the first examples of a systematic core national curriculum in peace education worldwide. Development of the Teaching Manual posed a number of challenges including differences in language, culture, government and education system. To meet these challenges, a participatory action research approach was central in the project’s development and curriculum design. This case study is offered as a model for effective crosscultural curriculum development of peace education materials. In particular, the use of games and reflective materials and the use of UNESCO’s peace keys are outlined as innovative outcomes of the project.

A climate-compatible approach to development practice by international humanitarian NGOs

If current climate-change predictions prove accurate, non-linear change, including potentially catastrophic change, is possible and the environments in which international humanitarian NGOs operate will change figuratively and literally. This paper proposes that a new approach to development is required that takes changing climate into account. This 'climate-compatible approach' to development is a bleak shift from some of the current orthodox positions and will be a major challenge to international humanitarian NGOs working with the most vulnerable. However, it is necessary to address the challenges and context such NGOs face, and the need to be resilient and adaptive to these changes.

A Bourdieuian analysis of the aspirations associated with international students' investment in VET

An increasing number of students around the globe have pursuedtertiary education outside their national borders over the past few decades. There are over 4.5 million international students currently undertaking overseas study (OECD, 2014). Despite the growing focus of institutions around the world on internationalisation of education and increasing research interests in international education, the ‘mobility’ of international students remains a largely under-theorised phenomenon. This paper provides insights into the mobility of an often-neglected group within the field of international education –international students in vocational education and training (VET). It draws on a four-year study funded by the Australian Research Council that involves 105 semi-structured interviews with international students from the Asia Pacific region, Europe and America in 25 VET institutions and dual sector universities in Australia.

Physical activity of children: a global matrix of grades comparing 15 countries

The Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth has been effective in poweringthe movement to get kids moving by influencing priorities, policies, and practice in Canada. The AHKC Report Card process wasreplicated in 14 additional countries from 5 continents using 9 common indicators (Overall Physical Activity, Organized SportParticipation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behavior, Family and Peers, School, Community and Built Environment,and Government Strategies and Investments), a harmonized process and a standardized grading framework. The 15 ReportCards were presented at the Global Summit on the Physical Activity of Children in Toronto on May 20, 2014. The consolidatedfindings are summarized here in the form of a global matrix of grades. There is a large spread in grades across countries for mostindicators. Countries that lead in certain indicators lag in others. Overall, the grades for indicators of physical activity (PA) aroundthe world are low/poor. Many countries have insufficient information to assign a grade, particularly for the Active Play and Familyand Peers indicators. Grades for Sedentary Behaviors are, in general, better in low income countries. The Community and BuiltEnvironment indicator received high grades in high income countries and notably lower grades in low income countries. There wasa pattern of higher PA and lower sedentary behavior in countries reporting poorer infrastructure, and lower PA and higher sedentarybehavior in countries reporting better infrastructure, which presents an interesting paradox. Many surveillance and researchgaps and weaknesses were apparent. International cooperation and cross-fertilization is encouraged to tackle existing challenges,understand underlying mechanisms, derive innovative solutions, and overcome the expanding childhood inactivity crisis.

Seeing like PISA: a cautionary tale about the performativity of international assessments

PISA is an extremely influential large-scale assessment, and its ‘policy lessons’ are being incorporated in a range of nations all over the world. In this paper I argue that not only is PISA influencing policies and practices, but also that ‘seeing like PISA’ is becoming a widespread phenomenon. Globally, education administration is now characterized by an intense focus onoutput measurement, a highly competitive environment heightened by national and international rankings, and an economic and instrumentalist approach to education and education reform. Using James Scott’s account of 18th Century German forestry practices as a parable, this paper suggests that ‘seeing like PISA’ could have far reaching and damaging effects. The paper proposes the following: first, understanding PISA as a ‘project of legibility’ enhances our appreciation of its purposes and possibilities. Second, PISA is much more than a ‘representation’ of existing conditions, but is creating new conditions – in other words, it is not descriptive but performative; and, finally, ‘seeing like PISA’ is bringing about deep-rooted changes, and it is likely that the effects will be very long-term. Some of these effects may only manifest themselves in the next fifteen or twenty years; and, by then, the possibilities of redressing some of the ill effects may be very limited.