Benchmarking potential factors leading to education quality : a study of Cambodian higher education

Purpose To study the quality in higher education in Cambodia and explore the potential factors leading to quality in Cambodian higher education. Design/methodology/approach Five main factors that were deemed relevant in providing quality in Cambodian higher education were proposed: academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities, teachers' qualification and methods, funding and tuition, school facilities, and interactive network. These five propositions were used to compare Shu-Te University, Taiwan with the top five universities in Cambodia. The data came in the forms of questionnaire and desk research. Descriptive analytical approach is then carried out to describe these five factors. Findings Only 6 per cent of lecturers hold PhD degree and about 85 per cent never published any papers; some private universities charge as low as USD200 per academic year, there is almost no donation from international organizations, and annual government funding on higher education sector nationwide in 2005 was only about USD3.67 million; even though there is a library at each university, books, study materials etc. are not up-to-date and inadequate; 90 per cent of the lecturers never have technical discussion or meeting and about 60 per cent of students felt that their teachers did not have time for them to consult with. Originality/value A useful insight was gained into the perceived importance of quality in higher education that can stimulate debate and discussion on the role of government in building the standard quality in higher education. Also, the findings from this research can assist in the development of a framework of developing human resource.

Os indicadores de desempenho instituídos pelo TCU para as Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior: análise empírica do período de 2008 a 2010,

A Gestão Pública tem incorporado boas práticas de administração mediante foco no resultado eficiente e na transparência. A utilização de indicadores de desempenho exerce um papel fundamental para espelhar a real situação do órgão e suas possibilidades de melhoria. No caso específico das universidades federais, o Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) estabeleceu um conjunto de nove indicadores a serem medidos por essas unidades e divulgados através de seus relatórios de gestão. A dificuldade interpretativa advinda de visualizar, simultaneamente, esses critérios avaliativos contidos nesse conjunto e suas interdependências, fomentou a elaboração desta pesquisa. O estudo objetiva analisar e sintetizar o conjunto de indicadores de desempenho, atinentes a 53 universidades federais, referentes aos anos de 2008 a 2010, a fim de identificar um modelo de simplificação para auxiliar os controles interno e externo. A metodologia utilizada é a da Análise Fatorial, uma técnica estatística multivariada de interdependência, e pouco explorada em pesquisas anteriores nessa temática, além de testes de regressão linear e da Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA), esta já amplamente utilizada na literatura, a fim de possibilitar ratificar as associações e interpretações dos resultados. Os testes mostraram uma aderência satisfatória da técnica aos dados coletados, permitindo identificar dois fatores que pudessem explicar 61,8% do conjunto informacional original. Com ratificação da DEA, esses fatores foram associados ao desempenho e ao custo, e a relação entre os dois foi interpretada como um índice de eficiência. O fator atrelado ao desempenho foi intitulado o indicador sumarizado de todo o conjunto estabelecido pelo TCU, tendo sido encontrado correlação alta e significativa com o Ranking Universitário Folha, mostrando que eles possuem semelhantes poderes discriminantes, mesmo tendo sido oriundos de bases de cálculo distintas. Ademais, destacam-se os seguintes resultados complementares: 1) Embora o custo influencie para o desempenho das universidades federais, ele não é preponderante, mas os indicadores de envolvimento com a pós-graduação e qualificação do corpo docente são os mais relevantes; 2) Os indicadores de resultado não sofrem muita influência do custo, sobretudo o de recursos humanos (funcionários), mostrando que de uma maneira geral há ineficiência na gestão de pessoal das universidades; 3) A utilização da DEA mostrou que a escolha das variáveis realmente pode redundar em resultados distintos e não correlatos significativamente, apresentando uma limitação quanto à certificação dos escores de eficiência obtidos.

Supervisão educacional no Maranhão: uma visão critica

O objeto deste estudo é o Serviço de Supervisão Educacional Maranhense, criado em 1963, com o fim de viabilizar o processo técnico-metodológico do sistema escolar oficial estadual na perspectiva modernizante. O surgimento desse serviço técnico teve origem em convênios firmados pelo Estado com órgãos financiadores e orientadores de Programas de Desenvolvimento no país; por força das exigências de expansão e modernização do sistema de Ensino no Estado, onde a educação era tida como elemento importante na ascensão social do indivíduo e no desenvolvimento econômico do país. A participação da Supervisão nesse processo se fez presente não só na qualificação do corpo docente como na inculcação da ideologia modernizante. Entretanto, o envolvimento do supervisor com os problemas de cada realidade escolar propiciou a participação e/ou promoção de debates sobre esses problemas conduzindo o supervisor à extensão de seu âmbito de ação – do técnico para o político e social mesmo dentro dos limites do sistema. Nesse aspecto o presente estudo localiza espaço para uma prática mais efetiva da Supervisão Educacional mostrando a possibilidade de se trabalhar para a formação do senso crítico-reflexivo a partir da identificação das contradições existentes no sistema. Este Serviço Técnico teve importância no processo expansionista da educação no Estado, proporcionando treinamento, assessoramento técnico-pedagógico na aplicação, acompanhamento, controle e avaliação de métodos e técnicas de ensino junto ao professorado maranhense, sobretudo o leigo.

Avaliação dos indicadores de desempenho de instituições federais de educação tecnológica doBrasil na abordagem do balanced scorecard

This Master of Science Thesis deals with a study on applying the BSC Balanced Scorecard to assess the performance of Federal Institution for Technological Education Institution in Brazil, a government organizations non for profit. It s accomplished a literature review in order to understand the BSC and its application to non for profit organizations and as a main result it is proposed a BSC conceptual model with an inversion of the main BSC perspective from financial to customer/society. It is used the annual management report of thirteen Institutions and applied a Pearson correlation analysis in order to verify a cause-effect situation between indicators. The main findings suggest that the model teachers qualification in terms of degree earned, quantity of teachers in full time job, and rate of students by teacher in full time job having good pearson correlation with the results expected of quality, throughput, social and demand response. However, the student unit cost use as the sole financial indicator did not get any reasonable correlation with the results, as so the quality and quantity of books in the libraries. Although it suggests a need for improvement in the model, the general model adopted appears to be satisfactory as a starting point to a BSC-like performance measuring system to this kind of Institutions

A contaminação por chumbo em crianças: subsídios para ação educativa em alfabetização científica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Diálogo escola-comunidade: reflexão sobre saberes e formação de professores

Pós-graduação em Educação - FCT

ETNOMETODOLOGIA E MULTIRREFERENCIALIDADE: A FORMAÇÃO DO PROFESSOR DOS ANOS INICIAIS DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL SOB DUAS PERSPECTIVAS DE ANÁLISE

BARBOSA, Sílvia Maria C. Etnometodologia e ulterreferencialidade: a formação do professor dos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental sob duas perspectivas. São Bernardo do Campo: UMESP, p. 122, 2006. O estudo discute o Curso de Pedagogia do Programa Especial de Formação Profissional para Professores de Educação Básica PROFORMAÇÃO, da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte/UERN. Assumo a hipótese de que, ao ser pensado e vivido, este não leva em conta a vida dos professores, com seus: conceitos, normas, conhecimentos e concepções de mundo, e precisa ser pensado de forma complexa. À luz da etnometodologia de Coulon (1995) e da abordagem multirreferencial de Ardoino, Barbosa, Macedo (1998, 2000), pretendo contribuir para a compreensão da formação do professor dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental a partir da leitura da realidade do professor e de sua formação, com a perspectiva de contribuir com as discussões referidas ao curso, para que esse se torne mais adequado à realidade dos professores de Ensino Fundamental. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza etnometodológica, com aspectos da pesquisa-ação (Barbier, 1977), tendo como coadjuvantes três alunas-professoras que estudaram no curso durante o período de 2001 a 2004. A leitura minuciosa dos dados fez com que eu percebesse que a hipótese formulada não condiz com o momento atual da pesquisa, claro que o estudo ora realizado não tem como objetivo comprovar ou não a hipótese. Até porque numa pesquisa edificada a partir da etnometodologiamulterreferencialidade, a hipótese perde totalmente o sentido, já que busco compreender e demonstrar o que se passa no curso em estudo. Vários fatores ocasionaram o diferencial da turma, como: todos os professores-formadores eram dos quadros efetivos da UERN; professores-formadores com experiência em pesquisa; três professoras-formadoras estiveram do início ao fim do curso.

ETNOMETODOLOGIA E MULTIRREFERENCIALIDADE: A FORMAÇÃO DO PROFESSOR DOS ANOS INICIAIS DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL SOB DUAS PERSPECTIVAS DE ANÁLISE

BARBOSA, Sílvia Maria C. Etnometodologia e ulterreferencialidade: a formação do professor dos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental sob duas perspectivas. São Bernardo do Campo: UMESP, p. 122, 2006. O estudo discute o Curso de Pedagogia do Programa Especial de Formação Profissional para Professores de Educação Básica PROFORMAÇÃO, da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte/UERN. Assumo a hipótese de que, ao ser pensado e vivido, este não leva em conta a vida dos professores, com seus: conceitos, normas, conhecimentos e concepções de mundo, e precisa ser pensado de forma complexa. À luz da etnometodologia de Coulon (1995) e da abordagem multirreferencial de Ardoino, Barbosa, Macedo (1998, 2000), pretendo contribuir para a compreensão da formação do professor dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental a partir da leitura da realidade do professor e de sua formação, com a perspectiva de contribuir com as discussões referidas ao curso, para que esse se torne mais adequado à realidade dos professores de Ensino Fundamental. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza etnometodológica, com aspectos da pesquisa-ação (Barbier, 1977), tendo como coadjuvantes três alunas-professoras que estudaram no curso durante o período de 2001 a 2004. A leitura minuciosa dos dados fez com que eu percebesse que a hipótese formulada não condiz com o momento atual da pesquisa, claro que o estudo ora realizado não tem como objetivo comprovar ou não a hipótese. Até porque numa pesquisa edificada a partir da etnometodologiamulterreferencialidade, a hipótese perde totalmente o sentido, já que busco compreender e demonstrar o que se passa no curso em estudo. Vários fatores ocasionaram o diferencial da turma, como: todos os professores-formadores eram dos quadros efetivos da UERN; professores-formadores com experiência em pesquisa; três professoras-formadoras estiveram do início ao fim do curso.

ETNOMETODOLOGIA E MULTIRREFERENCIALIDADE: A FORMAÇÃO DO PROFESSOR DOS ANOS INICIAIS DO ENSINO FUNDAMENTAL SOB DUAS PERSPECTIVAS DE ANÁLISE

BARBOSA, Sílvia Maria C. Etnometodologia e ulterreferencialidade: a formação do professor dos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental sob duas perspectivas. São Bernardo do Campo: UMESP, p. 122, 2006. O estudo discute o Curso de Pedagogia do Programa Especial de Formação Profissional para Professores de Educação Básica PROFORMAÇÃO, da Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte/UERN. Assumo a hipótese de que, ao ser pensado e vivido, este não leva em conta a vida dos professores, com seus: conceitos, normas, conhecimentos e concepções de mundo, e precisa ser pensado de forma complexa. À luz da etnometodologia de Coulon (1995) e da abordagem multirreferencial de Ardoino, Barbosa, Macedo (1998, 2000), pretendo contribuir para a compreensão da formação do professor dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental a partir da leitura da realidade do professor e de sua formação, com a perspectiva de contribuir com as discussões referidas ao curso, para que esse se torne mais adequado à realidade dos professores de Ensino Fundamental. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza etnometodológica, com aspectos da pesquisa-ação (Barbier, 1977), tendo como coadjuvantes três alunas-professoras que estudaram no curso durante o período de 2001 a 2004. A leitura minuciosa dos dados fez com que eu percebesse que a hipótese formulada não condiz com o momento atual da pesquisa, claro que o estudo ora realizado não tem como objetivo comprovar ou não a hipótese. Até porque numa pesquisa edificada a partir da etnometodologiamulterreferencialidade, a hipótese perde totalmente o sentido, já que busco compreender e demonstrar o que se passa no curso em estudo. Vários fatores ocasionaram o diferencial da turma, como: todos os professores-formadores eram dos quadros efetivos da UERN; professores-formadores com experiência em pesquisa; três professoras-formadoras estiveram do início ao fim do curso.

Um percurso do docente generalista: a complementaridade entre a educação Pré-Escolar e o 1º ciclo do Ensino Básico

Relatório de estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Teacher Education, School Effectiveness and Improvement : A Study of Academic and Professional Qualification on Teachers' Job Effectiveness in Nigerian Secondary Schools

This academic work begins with a compact presentation of the general background to the study, which also includes an autobiography for the interest in this research. The presentation provides readers who know little of the topic of this research and of the structure of the educational system as well as of the value given to education in Nigeria. It further concentrates on the dynamic interplay of the effect of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness in secondary schools in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general. The aim of this study is to produce a systematic analysis and rich theoretical and empirical description of teachers' teaching competencies. The theoretical part comprises a comprehensive literature review that focuses on research conducted in the areas of academic and professional qualification and teachers' job effectiveness, teaching competencies, and the role of teacher education with particular emphasis on school effectiveness and improvement. This research benefits greatly from the functionalist conception of education, which is built upon two emphases: the application of the scientific method to the objective social world, and the use of an analogy between the individual 'organism' and 'society'. To this end, it offers us an opportunity to define terms systematically and to view problems as always being interrelated with other components of society. The empirical part involves describing and interpreting what educational objectives can be achieved with the help of teachers' teaching competencies in close connection to educational planning, teacher training and development, and achieving them without waste. The data used in this study were collected between 2002 and 2003 from teachers, principals, supervisors of education from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board in the Rivers State of Nigeria (N=300). The data were collected from interviews, documents, observation, and questionnaires and were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen the validity of the findings. The data collected were analyzed to answer the specific research questions and hypotheses posited in this study. The data analysis involved the use of multiple statistical procedures: Percentages Mean Point Value, T-test of Significance, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Cross Tabulation. The results obtained from the data analysis show that teachers require professional knowledge and professional teaching skills, as well as a broad base of general knowledge (e.g., morality, service, cultural capital, institutional survey). Above all, in order to carry out instructional processes effectively, teachers should be both academically and professionally trained. This study revealed that teachers are not however expected to have an extraordinary memory, but rather looked upon as persons capable of thinking in the right direction. This study may provide a solution to the problem of teacher education and school effectiveness in Nigeria. For this reason, I offer this treatise to anyone seriously committed in improving schools in developing countries in general and in Nigeria in particular to improve the lives of all its citizens. In particular, I write this to encourage educational planners, education policy makers, curriculum developers, principals, teachers, and students of education interested in empirical information and methods to conceptualize the issue this study has raised and to provide them with useful suggestions to help them improve secondary schooling in Nigeria. Though, multiple audiences exist for any text. For this reason, I trust that the academic community will find this piece of work a useful addition to the existing literature on school effectiveness and school improvement. Through integrating concepts from a number of disciplines, I aim to describe as holistic a representation as space could allow of the components of school effectiveness and quality improvement. A new perspective on teachers' professional competencies, which not only take into consideration the unique characteristics of the variables used in this study, but also recommend their environmental and cultural derivation. In addition, researchers should focus their attention on the ways in which both professional and non-professional teachers construct and apply their methodological competencies, such as their grouping procedures and behaviors to the schooling of students. Keywords: Professional Training, Academic Training, Professionally Qualified, Academically Qualified, Professional Qualification, Academic Qualification, Job Effectiveness, Job Efficiency, Educational Planning, Teacher Training and Development, Nigeria.

Where to from here? Career choices of pre-service teachers undertaking a dual early childhood / primary qualification

Recent Australian government initiatives in the early childhood education and care sector are placing demands for an increase in the number of degree qualified early childhood teachers. Many universities are now offering courses with dual qualifications as a way to provide alternate career opportunities for pre-service teachers; however it cannot be assumed that an equal number of graduates will filter into both primary school and early childhood education jobs. This paper presents a study which examined the expected career choices of pre-service teachers from two Victorian universities who were undertaking a dual early childhood / primary qualification. The findings of the study have implications for teacher education curriculum design in relation to the practical components of courses. The authors therefore argue that more attention needs to be focused on the practical components of teacher training courses considering issues of quality and timing.

Catholic teachers’ postgraduate qualifications and students’ end of schooling outcomes: A large scale Queensland based comparative study

A key feature of the current era of Australian schooling is the dominance of publically available student, school and teacher performance data. Our paper examines the intersection of data on teachers’ postgraduate qualifications and students’ end of schooling outcomes in 26 Catholic Systemic Secondary Schools and 18 Catholic Independent Secondary Schools throughout the State of Queensland. We introduce and justify taking up a new socially-just measurement model of students’ end of schooling outcomes, called the ‘Tracking and Academic Management Index’, otherwise known as ‘TAMI’. Additional analysis is focused on the outcomes of top-end students vis-à-vis all students who are encouraged to remain in institutionalised education of one form or another for the two final years of senior secondary schooling. These findings of the correlations between Catholic teachers’ postgraduate qualifications and students’ end of schooling outcomes are also compared with teachers’ postgraduate qualifications and students’ end of schooling outcomes across 174 Queensland Government Secondary Schools and 58 Queensland Independent Secondary Schools from the same data collection period. The findings raise important questions about the transference of teachers’ postgraduate qualifications for progressing students’ end of schooling outcomes as well as the performance of Queensland Catholic Systemic Secondary Schools and Queensland Catholic Independent Secondary Schools during a particular era of education.

A-level Mathematics Options – Views of Secondary-level Teachers

The A-level Mathematics qualification is based on a compulsory set of pure maths modules and a selection of applied maths modules with the pure maths representing two thirds of the assessment. The applied maths section includes mechanics, statistics and (sometimes) decision maths. A combination of mechanics and statistics tends to be the most popular choice by far. The current study aims to understand how maths teachers in secondary education make decisions regarding the curriculum options and offers useful insight to those currently designing the new A-level specifications.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with A-level maths teachers representing 27 grammar schools across Northern Ireland. Teachers were generally in agreement regarding the importance of pure maths and the balance between pure and applied within the A-level maths curriculum. A wide variety of opinions existed concerning the applied options. While many believe that the basic mechanics-statistics (M1-S1) combination is most accessible, it was also noted that the M1-M2 combination fits neatly alongside A-level physics. Lack of resources, timetabling constraints and competition with other subjects in the curriculum hinder uptake of A-level Further Maths.

Teachers are very conscious of the need to obtain high grades to benefit both their pupils and the school’s reputation. The move to a linear assessment system in England while Northern Ireland retains the modular system is likely to cause some schools to review their choice of exam board although there is disagreement as to whether a modular or linear system is more advantageous for pupils. The upcoming change in the specification offers an opportunity to refresh the assessment also and reduce the number of leading questions. However, teachers note that there are serious issues with GCSE maths and these have implications for A-level.

Helping teachers surf the information and communication technology tsunami

A range of factors, both internal and external, is creating changes in teaching and teachers’ professional lives. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is just one of the major changes impacting on the teaching profession. As teachers face intense pressure to adapt to this tsunami, this study aims to investigate ways in which teachers can be helped. In South Australia, where this study is set, all teachers in Government schools are expected to be "ICT Smart", i.e. able to use appropriate forms of ICT to enhance the teaching and learning environment of their classrooms. From the researcher’s involvement for over a decade in professional development for teachers, and from visits to many schools, it appears that numerous teachers have not reached this standard. The greatest need is in Reception to Year 7 schools where the average age of teachers is nearly 50. Because no state-wide data exists, this study is intended to establish if there is a problem and if there is, to identify specific needs and offer possible solutions. The study is comprised of four parts: Part A, the Introduction gives an overview of the inter-relationships between these parts and the overall Folio. It establishes the setting and provides a rationale for the study and its focus on Professional Development in Information and Communication Technology. Part B, the Elective Research Studies, follows the writer’s involvement in this field since the 1980s. It establishes the theme of "Moving best practice in ICT from the few to the many" which underlies the whole study. Part C, the Dissertation, traces the steps taken to investigate the need for professional development in ICT. This is achieved by analysing and commenting on data collected from a state-wide survey and a series of interviews with leading figures, and by providing a review of the relevant literature and past and existing models of professional development. Part D, Final Comments, provides an overview of the whole Folio and a reflection on the research that has been conducted. The findings are that there is widespread dissatisfaction with existing models and that there is an urgent need for professional development in this area, because nearly 20% of teachers either do not use computers or are considered to be novice users. Another 25% are considered to be below not yet "ICT Smart". Less than 10% of ICT co-ordinators have a formal qualification in the field but more than 85% of them are interested in a Masters program. The study offers solutions in Part B where there is a discussion of a range of strategies to provide on-going professional development for teachers. Chapter 9 provides an outline of a proposed Masters level program and offers suggestions on how it could be best delivered. This program would meet the identified needs of ICT co-ordinators. The study concludes with a series of recommendations and suggestions for further research. The Education Department must address these urgent professional development needs of teachers, particularly those in the more remote country regions. There needs to be a follow-up survey to establish to what extent teachers in South Australia are now "ICT Smart ".