The experiences of South Asian university students in the British education system and in their search for work

This research aimed to provide a comparative analysis of South Asian and White British students in their academic attainment at school and university and in their search for employment. Data were gathered by using a variety of methodological techniques. Completed postal questionnaires were received from 301 South Asian and White British undergraduates from 12 British universities, who were in their final year of study in 1985. In depth interviews were also conducted with 49 graduates who were a self selected group from the original sample. Additional information was also collected by using diary report forms and by administering a second postal questionnaire to selected South Asian and White British participants. It was found that while the pre-university qualifications of the White British and South Asian undergraduates did not differ considerably, many members in the latter group had travelled a more arduous path to academic success. For some South Asians, school experiences included the confrontation of racist attitudes and behaviour, both from teachers and peers. The South Asian respondents in this study were more likely than their White British counterparts, to have attempted some C.S.E. examinations, obtained some of their `O' levels in the Sixth Form and retaken their `A' levels. As a result the South Asians were on average older than their White British peers when entering university. A small sample of South Asians also found that the effects of racism were perpetuated in higher education where they faced difficulty both academically and socially. Overall, however, since going to university most South Asians felt further drawn towards their `cultural background', this often being their own unique view of `Asianess'. Regarding their plans after graduation, it was found that South Asians were more likely to opt for further study, believing that they needed to be better qualified than their White British counterparts. For those South Asians who were searching for work, it was noted that they were better qualified, willing to accept a lower minimum salary, had made more job applications and had started searching for work earlier than the comparable White British participants. Also, although generally they were not having difficulty in obtaining interviews, South Asian applicants were less likely to receive an offer of employment. In the final analysis examining their future plans, it was found that a large proportion of South Asian graduates were aspiring towards self employment.

Guiding schools to improved performance using data envelopment analysis:an illustration with data from a local education authority

The educational process is characterised by multiple outcomes such as the achievement of academic results of various standards and non-academic achievements. This paper shows how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be used to guide secondary schools to improved performance through role-model identification and target setting in a way which recognises the multi-outcome nature of the education process and reflects the relative desirability of improving individual outcomes. The approach presented in the paper draws from a DEA-based assessment of the schools of a local education authority carried out by the authors. Data from that assessment are used to illustrate the approach presented in the paper. (Key words: Data envelopment analysis, education, target setting.)

Informal strategies of power in the local planning system

Existing studies that question the role of planning as a state institution, whose interests it serves together with those disputing the merits of collaborative planning are all essentially concerned with the broader issue of power in society. Although there have been various attempts to highlight the distorting effects of power, the research emphasis to date has been focused on the operation of power within the formal structures that constitute the planning system. As a result, relatively little attention has been attributed to the informal strategies or tactics that can be utilised by powerful actors to further their own interests. This article seeks to address this gap by identifying the informal strategies used by the holders of power to bypass the formal structures of the planning system and highlight how these procedures are to a large extent systematic and (almost) institutionalised in a shadow planning system. The methodology consists of a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 urban planners working across four planning authorities within the Greater Dublin Area, Ireland. Empirical findings are offered that highlight the importance of economic power in the emergence of what essentially constitutes a shadow planning system. More broadly, the findings suggest that much more cognisance of the structural relations that govern how power is distributed in society is required and that ‘light touch’ approaches that focus exclusively on participation and deliberation need to be replaced with more radical solutions that look towards the redistribution of economic power between stakeholders.

Like a fish in water? Experiences of Muslim families in the British education system

This article summarises the explorations of two Initial Teacher Education (ITE) lecturers looking particularly at Muslim families’ sense of belonging as they encounter the British education system. The study draws on Garcia’s (2009, Alstad, 2013) view of monoglossic and heteroglossic settings, and on Cremin’s (2015) proposition of the super-diversity of inner-city experiences. Case studies of individual families are used to create a picture that reflects the complexity and shifting nature of cultures, languages and identities in present-day Britain. Video and tape interviews are used and data coded and analysed to identify prevailing themes. The families and schools taking part are active participants in the research process, giving informed and ongoing consent, and having control of the resulting findings. Parents’ and children’s perceptions and experience have evolved in complex ways across the generations, and in ways that challenge the stereotypes that dominate media portrayals. Early findings suggest that existing paradigms for discussing identity fail to capture the increasingly complex and super-diverse realities. In a world where xenophobia currently fuels rigid and stereotypical views of cultures in general and Muslim cultures in particular, it is important that the complexity of families’ identities and relationships to the existing systems is seen, heard and appreciated.

Teaching boys in neoliberal and postfeminist times: Feminization and the question of re-masculinization in the education system and policy field

This paper focuses on teaching boys, male teachers and the question of gendered pedagogies in neoliberal and postfeminist times of the proliferation of new forms of capitalism, multi-mediated technologies and the influence of globalization. It illustrates how a politics of re-masculinization and its reconstitution needs to be understood as set against changing economic and social conditions in which gender equity comes to be re-focused on boys as the ‚new disadvantaged‘. This re-framing of gender equity, it is argued, has been fuelled by both a media-inspired backlash discourse about ‚failing boys‘ and a neo-positivist emphasis on numbers derived primarily from standardized testing regimes at both global and national levels. A media-focused analysis of the proliferation of discourses about ‚failing boys‘ vis-a-vis the problem of encroaching feminization in the school system is provided to illuminate how certain truths about the influence of male teachers come to define how the terms of ensuring gender equity are delimited and reduced to a question of gendered pedagogies as grounded in sexed bodies. Historical accounts of the feminization of teaching in the North American context are also provided as a basis for building a more informed understanding of the present, particularly as it relates to the contextualization of policy articulation and enactment regarding the problem of teaching boys. In light of such historically informed and critical media analysis, it is argued that what is needed is a more informed, evidenced based policy articulation of the problem of teaching boys and a more gender sensitive reflection on the politics of masculinities in postfeminist times. (DIPF/Orig.)

The sources of inequity in the education system of Serbia and how to combat them

The concept of equal opportunity for all students is deeply embedded in the Serbian constitution and in education laws. On that level, there is no doubt that everyone is ensured an opportunity to receive quality education. Many measures in education policy have been created specifically to achieve this objective and make the system fair and inclusive. The Coleman Report was linked to a wave of optimism that certain educational measures would help in achieving these noble goals. This aim is a high priority in education in a democratic country, and due to its importance needs to be re-examined. Thus, the present research examines the equity of students in the Serbian education system, detecting areas on all educational levels that could be (or already are) systemic sources of inequity (e.g., criteria for preschool institution enrolment, the system of student awards, rationalisation of the school network, the concept of entrance exams to secondary school or university, etc.). A number of measures have already been taken in the system specifically to deal with inequity (e.g., the Preschool Preparatory Programme, dropout measures, inclusion, scholarships, etc.). The effects of these measures in particular are analysed in the present work. In addition to an analysis of the systemic sources of inequity in the Serbian education system, the article also makes recommendations for their overcoming. (DIPF/Orig.)

PISA Tests and their Impact on Georgian Education System

The article discusses the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests and their impact on the Georgian Education System. It analyzes the deplorable results of Georgian 15-yearolds in PISA 2009 and investigates the reasons based on different reports. The article also discusses the reasons for the temporary suspension of the project on the Georgian side. Since certain participatory countries are dissatisfied with the attitudes of this program, the article also refers to the criticism of PISA. The conclusion is that PISA and other international tests contain considerably important information. If these data with a diagnostic feature are used for working out the education policy in an appropriate way, they can become the key instrument for obtaining favourable results in reforming the Education System. Therefore, PISA appears to be essential for Georgia too, as such assessment gives an opportunity to concentrate on the national core curriculum and content analysis. In order to estimate all the strengths and weaknesses of the Education System, it is quite reasonable to conduct such surveys in every country. The article concludes with recommendations for PISA 2015 as to how to use the reports for further progress.

Training and Updating of Education Boards in Indigenous Schools of Rural Areas: Strengthening Local Education Management

Education management in the schools of indigenous rural areas faces a number of difficulties to implement and comply with the guidelines and requirements of the laws related to budgetary management of resources allocated to Education or Administrative Boards. In addition to being located in scattered rural areas, far from the municipal heads and regional offices of the Ministry of Public Education, one of the main obstacles is that all regulations, laws and guidelines are written in Spanish, and there is people, in this indigenous rural communities, who do not speak, write, read or understand this language. This puts them at an enormous disadvantage, which has a direct impact on the indigenous children’s right to education.

Efeitos da política de avaliação do PDE no sistema municipal de ensino

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Formação continuada e profissionalização docente na Rede Municipal de São Paulo

Essa pesquisa situa-se no âmbito da problemática da formação continuada de professores da educação básica, especialmente daqueles que trabalham nas séries iniciais do ensino fundamental. Considerando a importância da educação continuada e a diversidade de modelos e espaços de formação de professores, que são oferecidos pela Secretaria Municipal de Educação de São Paulo, a pesquisa propõe-se a investigar experiências diversas que nesse sentido foram desenvolvidas no período pós LDBEN 9394/96, tendo por objetivo principal compreender a contribuição de tais cursos para a profissionalização e a melhoria da competência docente. A metodologia é de natureza qualitativa, envolvendo dois tipos de coleta de dados: (a) documentais: textos oficiais e outros produzidos no âmbito dos programas analisados; e (b) depoimentos orais colhidos por meio de entrevistas gravadas com um grupo de 5 professoras polivalentes do Ensino Fundamental I da rede municipal de ensino de São Paulo. A análise dos dados se respalda em vários autores que sob diferentes enfoques têm teorizado sobre o trabalho e a profissão docente, dentre os quais, Nóvoa, Dubar, Tardif, Bourdoncle e Popkewitz. A articulação entre os dados empíricos e o referencial teórico foi feita por meio dos principais conceitos que orientam a investigação: profissão, profissionalização, desenvolvimento profissional, competência e saberes docente. A expectativa é a de poder contribuir com elementos novos a propósito da questão da formação continuada de professores e, também, sobre os diferentes modelos de formação propostos para a profissionalização docente, identificando as concepções que têm se incorporado à prática dos professores por meio desse processo. As análises permitiram concluir que a educação continuada pode ser um dos elementos constitutivos do processo de profissionalização docente, no entanto, sem outras ações conjuntas torna-se inviável a sua efetivação, pois esse processo está intimamente relacionado a uma gama de fatores sociais, econômicos e políticos e a níveis elevados de rigorosidade correlacionados à formação, organização e prestígio.