Looking back, moving forward: drama, disability and social justice

The aim of this chapter is to briefly outline how disability has been represented in theatre, what access disabled people have had to drama and theatre in the past, and what might be achieved in the pursuit of social justice with young people in relation to awareness of and provision for disability. It will focus in particular on how disability has been addressed in drama education and what assumptions have been made regarding drama and disability in education. In considering such issues one might perceive manifestations of what Freebody and Finneran (2013) recognise as an overlapping and ‘somewhat artificially created dichotomy between drama for social justice and drama about social justice.’ This chapter will examine some examples of how drama has been used to give students in mainstream schools insights into disability, and the philosophy that underpins the drama curriculum of one special school where the focus is on drama as social justice: the argument being that in some cases simply doing drama is, in effect, a manifestation of social justice. Finally, some of the progress made in recent years regarding access and engagement will be addressed through specific reference to the authors’ on-going work into ‘performing social research’ (Shah, 2013) and how theatres are increasingly attempting to give more access to disabled young people and their families by offering ‘relaxed performances.’

Learning as movements in interspace

My research issues (in rearch project for PhD-degree, named Drama in School) concern how learning takes place in drama education in compulsory school. One part is to explore and problematize approaches to learning (in and through drama). In this paper will the concept learning be discussed by using a thought derived from Deleuze and Guattari’s nomad philosophy. They describe learning as a movement in the interspace. Focus is on process and inquiry, not on achievement of predetermined skills and competences. 

Language ideologies and Schooled Education in Rural Tanzania : The Case of Karagwe

In this article I argue that language policies for education have effects on pupils’ educational possibilities. With the case of Karagwe district in Tanzania I have found that the case of “Swahili only” in primary school education favours the small minority of the children that live in a context where Swahili is used. This leads to inequality in pupils’ chances in education and to a low level of achievement of academic content in schools. This also promote the developing and use of safety strategies among teachers and pupils that hide failure and prevent pupils’ learning.

Capability outcomes from educational and ICT capability inputs : an analysis of ICT use in informal education in Kenya

In the field of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) ICT use in education is well studied. Education is often seen as a pre-requisite for development and ICTs are believed to aid in education, e.g. to make it more accessible and to increase its quality. In this paper we study the access and use of ICT in a study circle (SC) education program in the south coast of Kenya. The study is qualitative reporting results based on interviews and observations with SC participants, government officers and SC coordinators and teachers. The study builds on the capability approach perspective of development where individuals’ opportunities and ability to live a life that they value are focused. The aim of the study is to investigate the capability outcomes enabled through the capability inputs access and use of ICT in education as well as the factors that enabled and/or restricted the outcomes. Findings show that many opportunities have been enabled such as an increase in the ability to generate an income, learning benefits, community development and basic human development (e.g. literacy and self-confidence). However, conversion factors such as a poorly developed infrastructure and poor IT literacy prevent many of the individuals from taking full advantage of the ICT and the opportunities it enables. 

Design and use of mobile technology in distance language education : Matching learning practices with technologies-in-practice

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

Accountability and yardstick competition in the public provision of education

This paper explores the institutional change introduced by the public disclosure of an education development index (IDEB, Basic Education Development Index) in 2007 to identify the e ect of education accountability on yardstick competition in education spending for Brazilian municipalities. Our results are threefold. First, political incentives are pervasive in setting the education expenditures. The spatial strategic behavior on education spending is estimated lower for lame-ducks and for those incumbents with majority support at the city council. This suggests a strong relation between commitment and accountability which reinforces yardstick competition theory. Second, we nd a minor reduction (20%) in spatial interaction for public education spending after IDEB's disclosure | compared to the spatial correlation before the disclosure of the index. This suggests that public release of information may decrease the importance of the neighbors` counterpart information on voter`s decision. Third, exploring the discontinuity of IDEB`s disclosure rule around the cut-o of 30 students enrolled in the grade under assessment, our estimates suggest that the spatial autocorrelation | and hence yardstick competition | is reduced in 54%. Finally, an unforeseen result suggests that the disclosure of IDEB increases expenditures, more than 100% according to our estimates.

Education and the labour market in Latin America: why measurement is important and what it tells us about policies, reforms and performance

Includes bibliography

New information and communications technologies for education in Latin America: risks and opportunities

Includes bibliography

The quality gap in Chile's education system

Includes bibliography

Investing better in order to invest more. Finance and management of education in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Attitudes about inclusion by educators and physical educators: Effects of participation in an inclusive adapted physical education program

This study assessed the attitudes about the inclusion of students with disability by professionals in education and health, relative to their experience and training. We compared three groups: 20 teachers and trainees who worked in an adapted physical education program (GI); 75 professionals from the municipal education system of Rio Claro subdivided according to their experience-CGyes e CGno, respectively, with and without experience. We used the inventory adapted by Palla (2001) to assess participants' attitudes and self-concepts. Overall, individuals in the group that participated in the intervention maintained their tendency of being favorable toward inclusion. Teachers in regular school settings in the municipal school system of Rio Claro (Sao Paulo, Brazil), regardless of their experience with inclusive settings, remain mostly indecisive about the benefits of inclusion.

School activities in health education and their impact on parents

There is little empirical evidence establishing the value of schoolhouse education of children and the repercussions on their families; a quantitative analysis of instructional intervention in health and its reflection on the family permits quantification of its effectiveness outside of the school setting. To this end, we utilized instruction on head lice in schoolchildren was conducted. A randomized sample of those responsible for students enrolled from the third to fifth grade, from two public schools who had taken an instructional module on pediculosis, were invited to respond to a questionnaire that aimed to ascertain their opinions on the instruction and what its impact was on their family. The variables were assessed by univariat analysis. Of 155 total respondents, 89.9% were the parents of the students. The students that had infestation, in turn, had greater capacity to influence the family on measures against lice. The majority of those responsible supported the instruction and reported being satisfied with the school for having addressed the theme. When the subject pertains to the reality of the students, the school-family link is strengthened. Instruction on pediculosis in school helps bridge the gap between the theoretical and the practical, a harmonization required in health education.

All the World's a Stage: Reaching English Language Learners through Drama

The use of drama with language instruction has long been considered a legitimate practice. A recent survey of the literature shows that English Language Learners (ELLs) may have even more to benefit from the use of drama in the classroom. Studies showed an increase in language and problem-solving ability, as well as student self-efficacy that was transferrable across activities. Following an analysis of the literature is a proposed curriculum based on the findings of the researchers cited. This unit is centered on dramatic activities that make use of all four language domains and includes the examination of plays in writing, on the stage, and as a playwright. In the end, students will be asked to combine all of their skills to put on a completely student-created production. An analysis of the factors surrounding the implementation of such a unit follows the unit itself.