Comparative and international education: policy transfer, context sensitivity and professional development

This paper examines the intellectual and professional contribution of comparative and international studies to the field of education. It explores the nature of the challenges that are currently being faced, and assesses its potential for the advancement of future teaching, research and professional development. Attention is paid to the place of comparative and international education (CIE)-past and present-in teacher education, in postgraduate studies, and in the realms of policy and practice, theory and research. Consideration is first given to the nature and history of CIE, to its initial contributions to the field of education in the UK, and to its chief mechanisms and sites of production. Influential methodological and theoretical developments are examined, followed by an exploration of emergent questions, controversies and dilemmas that could benefit from sustained comparative analysis in the future. Conclusions consider implications for the place of CIE in the future of educational studies as a whole; for relations between and beyond the 'disciplines of education'; and for the development of sustainable research capacity in this field.

Modelling: promoting creativity whilst forging links between science education and design and technology education

Educational reforms in many countries currently call for the development of knowledge-based societies. In particular, emphasis is placed on the promotion of creativity, especially in the areas of science education and of design and technology education. In this paper, perceptions of the nature of creativity and of the conditions for its realization are discussed. The notion of modelling as a creative act is outlined and the scope for using modelling as a bridge between science education and design and technology education explored. A model for the creative act of modelling is proposed and its major aspects elaborated upon. Finally, strategies for forging links between the two subjects are outlined.

Learners’ perceptions of being identified as very able: insights from Modern Foreign Languages and Physical Education

While learners’ attitudes to Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and to Physical Education (PE) in the UK have been widely investigated in previous research, an under-explored area is learners’ feelings about being highly able in these subjects. The present study explored this issue, among 78 learners (aged 12-13) from two schools in England, a Specialist Language College, and a Specialist Sports College. Learners completed a questionnaire exploring their feelings about the prospect of being identified as gifted/talented in these subjects, and their perceptions of the characteristics of highly able learners in MFL and PE. Questionnaires were chosen as the data collection method to encourage more open responses from these young learners than might have been elicited in an interview. While learners were enthusiastic about the idea of being highly able in both subjects, this enthusiasm was more muted for MFL. School specialism was related to learners’ enthusiasm only in the Sports College. Learners expressed fairly stereotypical views of the characteristics of the highly able in MFL and PE. The relevance of these findings for motivation and curriculum design within both subjects is discussed.

Issues in language and development in multilingual settings: a case-study of knowledge exchange and teacher education in South Africa

The quality of a country’s human-resource base can be said to determine its level of success in social and economic development. This study focuses on some␣of the major human-resource development issues that surround the implementation of South Africa’s policy of multilingualism in education. It begins by discussing the relationship between knowledge, language, and human-resource, social and economic development within the global cultural economy. It then considers the situation in South Africa and, in particular, the implications of that country’s colonial and neo-colonial past for attempts to implement the new policy. Drawing on the linguistic-diversity-in-education debate in the United Kingdom of the past three decades, it assesses the first phase of an in-service teacher-education programme that was carried out at the Project for Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA) based at the University of Cape Town. The authors identify key short- and long-term issues related to knowledge exchange in education in multilingual societies, especially concerning the use of African languages as mediums for teaching and learning.

Effect on components of the intestinal microflora and plasma neuropeptide levels of feeding Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Bifidobacterium lactis, and inulin to adult and elderly rats

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of the mixture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. rhamnosus strain GG, Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12, and inulin on intestinal populations of lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and enterobacteria in adult and elderly rats fed the same (in quality and quantity) diet. The portal plasma levels of two neuropeptides, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and peptide YY (PYY), were also evaluated to assess the physiological consequences of the synbiotic treatment for the gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of rats of different ages. Adult (n = 24) and elderly (n = 24) male rats were fed the AIN-93 M maintenance diet. After 2 weeks of adaptation, the diet of 12 rats of each age group was supplemented with 8% inulin and with strains GG and Bb12 to provide 2.2 x 10(9) CFU of each strain g(-1) of the diet. Blood and different regions of the GI tract were sampled from all rats after 21 days of the treatment. Treatment with the mixture of strain GG, strain BB12, and inulin induced significantly different changes in the numbers of lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and enterobacteria of the stomach, small intestine, cecum, and colon microflora. Moreover, the GG, BB12, and inulin mixture increased the concentrations of NPY and PYY for adult rats. For the elderly animals, the PYY concentration was not changed, while the NPY concentration was decreased by treatment with the GG, BB12, and inulin mixture. The results of the present study indicate that the physiological status of the GI tract, and not just diet, has a major role in the regulation of important groups of the GI bacteria community, since even the outcome of the dietary modification with synbiotics depends on the ages of the animals.