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The history of subjects is often told analysing notions of knowledge in historical reforms, policies, curricula, and textbooks. In this article, we analyse student papers from 1968, focusing on their responses to the topic 'Social distinctions and prejudices in Denmark'. The students present a number of concepts and categories of social differences and prejudices, depict a contemporary problem, refer to theoretical or categorical frameworks, provide a historical account, state bold claims and/or present conceptual definitions. Then, by giving different examples from their everyday life and by establishing some form of line or structure in their writings, they form an argument or narrative. They do this by using—we assume—information from their textbooks, from what have been discussed in teaching, in the public debate, and in the students' homes. The student papers not only passively reflect but are part of the ongoing constitution of the subjects and subject matter, during a period of tremendous educational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the special section of the Journal of School Choice, which features the winners of the 2024 Patrick Wolf ISCRC Best Paper Prize. The International School Choice and Reform Conference (ISCRC-2024) took place in Madrid, Spain, and showcased the best research on school choice and reform from around the world. The article expresses gratitude to the conference planning committee and the Best Paper committee for their hard work. The three winning papers cover diverse topics, including the importance of a sense of belonging in educational decision-making, the historical significance of Father Virgil Blum in the school choice movement, and the philosophical underpinnings of school choice in US politics. The article emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches to understand the complexities of school choice and educational reform. The authors invite readers to attend ISCRC-2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and provide contact information for further inquiries. [Extracted from the article]

Aim: Better training in scientific skills, such as the ability to conduct research independently, has been one of the main drivers of reform in medical education. The aim of this article is to report on the scientific term paper module in the modular curriculum of medicine (MCM) at the Charité. This module is an established example of undergraduate medical students conducting their own scientific investigations. Project outline: A faculty-wide, outcome-oriented process resulted in a four-week module for writing a scientific term paper in the 6th semester of the MCM as part of a longitudinal science curriculum. Acquired competencies were assessed through a written term paper and an oral presentation. Two student cohorts (winter terms 2013 and 2014) were surveyed on how they rated the module concept, organizational aspects and the quality of support. We further analysed the chosen topics of the papers as well as student assessment results. Results: The student evaluation (return rates of 193 and 197, 71% and 77%) showed high overall satisfaction with the module. This result was evident in the high rating of the module concept and organizational aspects, a positive attitude towards scientific research, and strong motivation to pursue further scientific research. There was a wide spectrum of term paper topics with a focus on literature reviews. Most of the student work was assessed as good or very good. Conclusion: The scientific term paper module has proven itself as a curricular concept for students to perform own scientific research in the MCM, with strong acceptance and good performance by students. This project report can serve as basis and guidance for development and further improvements to promote scientific competencies in undergraduate medical education in other faculties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention to children's emotional health and wellbeing (EHWB) has increased over the last decade due to a decline in children and young people's mental health. COVID-19 escalated this need globally as children were subjected to immediate and drastic changes to their education and daily lives. This paper reports on a UK qualitative study exploring the perceptions of teachers working in primary schools and the level of support they require for children's EHWB. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with teachers during COVID-19. The findings highlighted four themes of professional support that were required: 1) funding support 2) support with pedagogical responsibilities, 3) external support and 4) home and parental support. Overall, teachers considered there was a lack of provision for their role, with additional pressures placed on them to support children's EHWB. The paper concludes that more resources are required long term to support teachers in a post-COVID-19 education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines the concept of collaboration, and how it can be mobilised in policy and practice in the pursuit of educational change in the context of the Scottish education system. Policy analysis and interviews with primary school headteachers highlighted the lack of definitional agreement but common conceptual characteristics of collaboration, and the implications of this for how it is led and governed in the pursuit of change. Highlighted in this paper is the complex interplay between forms of, influences on, and drivers of collaboration and how this results in varied outcomes of it. It is argued that collaboration across systems should be focused, purposeful, and supported with high levels of trust from those involved or enabling it to happen, and meso- and macro-level structures which are flexible to enable diverse forms of collaboration to emerge. This paper presents a framework for collaboration that supports the complex consideration of the interrelated domains of forms, influences, and drivers of collaboration, and the leadership practices and governance arrangements necessary for collaboration to lead to improvement and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\nHIGHLIGHTSThe development of education for older adults through policy measures has become an important means for governments to actively cope with population aging. Taking the number of education policies for older adults adopted in 31 provinces of China from 2016 to 2023 as an example, this study empirically analyzes the factors influencing the diffusion of education policies from dimensions of internal tension and external pressure. The results showed that the level of economic development, natural population growth rate, older adults dependency ratio, child dependency ratio, illiterate population over 15 years old, number of local libraries inside the province and the adoption of education policies for older adults in adjacent provinces significantly affected the adoption of education policies for older adults in each province. After the introduction of regional variables, it is found that there are significant differences in the adoption of education policies for older adults by provincial governments in different regions of China. The policy responsiveness of eastern provinces is the best, followed by the central, and the western is the worst. The above results indicate that provincial governments in China are not only affected by the supply level of education services for older adults and their service demand within the province, but also affected by the adoption behavior of other provinces when making decisions, which is the result of rational thinking and competitive pressure. The above results provide China’s experience for the diffusion and implementation of education policies for older adults in a wider range. The research focus of education policy for older adults is shifted from the content, value demands and implementation effects of central policy texts to the innovation and diffusion of policies at the local level, which expands the theoretical vision of education policy research for older adults. The empirical analysis results of this paper show that the combination of the education policy for older adults with the internal tension factors and external competitive pressure such as provincial economic level, population transition trend and public service resources can actively promote a new perspective to carry out research on the policy response of Chinese local governments. It will help to form a detailed and concrete understanding of the effect of local policy innovation in China.This paper expands the applicability of contemporary policy diffusion theory in non-Western countries by examining the diffusion factors that influence Chinese provincial education policies for older adults. It is proposed that when explaining the phenomenon of policy diffusion in China’s local governments, we should not only focus on the economic conditions of the internal jurisdiction and the external diffusion effect emphasized by the existing theories, but also pay attention to the current background of population transition, China’s inter-governmental relations, and even the influence of the official personnel system. These findings provide new theoretical space and application prospects for the research on the diffusion of local government policy innovation.This paper has the following implications for further promoting the reform and innovation of education for older adults in China: First, the empirical results further highlight the value of education for older adults to develop and utilize human resources, and urge us to associate the practice of education for older adults with the evaluation indicators related to economic increase such as retraining and reemployment, and accelerate the innovation and diffusion of education policies for older adults; Second, the ultimate goal of the diffusion of education policies for older adults is to achieve policy results. Therefore, the provincial government should formulate ‘local’ education policies for older adults that meet the needs of the provincial population and avoid mechanical imitation or blind competition between the central government and other provincial policies. Third, it is necessary to further improve the utilization of provincial public service resources, including the use of museums and library resources to launch education for older adults.The research focus of education policy for older adults is shifted from the content, value demands and implementation effects of central policy texts to the innovation and diffusion of policies at the local level, which expands the theoretical vision of education policy research for older adults. The empirical analysis results of this paper show that the combination of the education policy for older adults with the internal tension factors and external competitive pressure such as provincial economic level, population transition trend and public service resources can actively promote a new perspective to carry out research on the policy response of Chinese local governments. It will help to form a detailed and concrete understanding of the effect of local policy innovation in China.This paper expands the applicability of contemporary policy diffusion theory in non-Western countries by examining the diffusion factors that influence Chinese provincial education policies for older adults. It is proposed that when explaining the phenomenon of policy diffusion in China’s local governments, we should not only focus on the economic conditions of the internal jurisdiction and the external diffusion effect emphasized by the existing theories, but also pay attention to the current background of population transition, China’s inter-governmental relations, and even the influence of the official personnel system. These findings provide new theoretical space and application prospects for the research on the diffusion of local government policy innovation.This paper has the following implications for further promoting the reform and innovation of education for older adults in China: First, the empirical results further highlight the value of education for older adults to develop and utilize human resources, and urge us to associate the practice of education for older adults with the evaluation indicators related to economic increase such as retraining and reemployment, and accelerate the innovation and diffusion of education policies for older adults; Second, the ultimate goal of the diffusion of education policies for older adults is to achieve policy results. Therefore, the provincial government should formulate ‘local’ education policies for older adults that meet the needs of the provincial population and avoid mechanical imitation or blind competition between the central government and other provincial policies. Third, it is necessary to further improve the utilization of provincial public service resources, including the use of museums and library resources to launch education for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper seeks to illustrate how interventionist education reforms shape dis/trust-building processes and their impact on teacher professionalism in vocational education and training (VET) across national contexts. Using trust as the object of analysis, we discuss the affective mechanisms of becoming a professional in a standards-based neoliberal environment. Design/methodology/approach: Through an analysis of VET teacher narratives in England and Austria, the paper draws attention to the ways in which policy instrumentalism has created a culture of distrust in VET. Drawing upon foundational work on system trust developed by Niklas Luhmann, we illustrate how conditions for trust sit at symbolic thresholds, which set the conditions for professional recognition within VET. Findings: Our analysis revealed that attempts to standardise VET strategy are fuelled by the need for existential security and predictability, leading to tensions in the cultivation of system trust. Conditions for professional recognition across both contexts were based on practices of documentation and subordination, narrowly defining modes of legitimate self-expression in organisations. This constitutes a crisis of trust in VET teacher professionalism, which undermines pedagogical autonomy and integrity. Practical implications: We seek to highlight the impact that reduced trust in the governance of VET can have on issues associated with teacher motivation, well-being and retention. The consideration of trust is therefore essential both for policy design and implementation in VET organisations. Originality/value: The application of trust theory offers a distinctive lens through which to understand the impact of accountability, performativity and governance processes upon teacher subjectivity within VET across national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea implemented many-pronged educational reforms, notably to transition from heavy reliance on a high-stakes standardised test to more diversified assessment for university admissions. Nonetheless, this effort created another arena of competition towards meritocratic credentials—such as academic publications. The South Korean government, in 2014, prohibited high schools from documenting students' extracurricular accomplishments earned outside schools. This paper analyses the impacts of these reforms. We queried large-scale bibliographic databases with prestigious high schools' names in South Korea and retrieved publications where high school students were granted authorship between 2001 and 2021. We examine associations between school types, research topics, and the status of scholarly venues. We also show the number of papers from Korean high schoolers rose until the mid-2010s but declined after the 2014 intervention. Our findings suggest that diverse adaptive strategies can evolve as long as meritocratic ethos persists. We discuss further implications beyond the context of South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces the winners of the 2022 Patrick Wolf International School Choice and Reform Conference (ISCRC) Best Paper Prize including T. J. D'Agostino and Ignasi Grau i Callizo for their paper "Towards Understanding the Global Landscape of Educational Pluralism," Kaire Poder and Triin Lauri for their paper "The Legitimacy of Private Schooling: Education Preferences in Nine European Contexts," and James Shuls for his paper "Papists and Pluralists: The Founding of America's First Grassroots School Choice Organization."

Internationally, the emphasis on school reforms is increasing, and school leaders play a key role in realising reform initiatives for school development and change. Often, the formation of partnerships between researchers and practitioners for school improvement is promoted to facilitate professional development and enhance student learning. However, limited attention has been directed towards the underlying ideas, values and beliefs in government-initiated strategies for partnership in the policy context of educational reform. This paper examines how partnerships between schools and higher education institutions are conceptualised and legitimised in Norwegian reform policy documents. We analyse three government white papers, each coupled with an executive partnership strategy document. The analysis applies a discourse analytical approach to policy as text and transmission. Our findings show a shift in the official national discourse on partnerships in education, underscoring new tensions regarding the power to define focus areas in the local reform work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how superintendents and school principals enact national policy reform expectations and what characterises their local organisational arrangements. Furthermore, the paper investigates how superintendents and school principals deal with tensions as entrepreneurs. The study builds on qualitative interview data from two municipalities in Norway. Analytically, the study draws on institutional theory, more specifically, on entrepreneurship, which to a limited degree has been applied in educational and empirical studies. The superintendents and principals interviewed referred to various local arrangements and resources that were partly adapted and changed through reform work to better fit local needs. Such arrangements included intra and interorganisational dependency and cooperation with several actors and organisational resources. Superintendents and principals seemed to partly break away from existing patterns of interaction. The entrepreneurial work entailed dealing with several tensions emerging within and across institutional boundaries in the process of enacting national reform policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the concerns of the papers in the Special Issue and examines communication as a chameleon discipline that responds and adapts to sometimes very challenging contexts. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of the diversity of approaches that exist in communication studies and shows how this diversity offers both opportunities to be resourceful and hurdles to be managed. The paper reflects on the definitional ambiguity of communication and the ways that communication is perceived and approached in different institutions globally. Its aim is to forge a way through debates about the nature of the field by paying attention to the responsiveness and adaptability of those who teach communication in the face of educational and political change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures during the pandemic, online classes have become a normal and indispensable part of college students' lives. Analysis of the factors affecting college students' behavioural intention towards online classes will help improve online class quality. This paper sets up a model to analyse the factors that may affect such intentions. The results show that social influence, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a significant positive effect on college students' behavioural intention, and enabling environment(i.e. the infeasibility of offline teaching due to the pandemic)has a significant negative effect on it. Gender and voluntariness, as moderator variables, also clearly influence behavioural intention. Based on pandemic prevention and control measures, along with education reform and modernisation, this paper offers valuable suggestions to online learning platform and education administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil painting education not only helps to improve students' drawing skills and quality but also fosters creative thinking in the field of art. In order to keep up with the development of art diversity, it is essential to establish the concept of art diversity education and reform university oil painting education to meet the needs of modern society. This study aims to explore the potential value of image optical processing technology based on computer vision in the application of oil painting teaching image simulation. In order to improve students' ability of oil painting simulation, this paper presents an image optical processing technology based on computer vision. The study collected a large number of oil painting images and teaching samples. Then, through image processing algorithm, we extract and analyze the optical features in the oil painting works, and then design an optical simulation method to apply these features to the students' simulation works. By comparing the traditional methods and the techniques proposed in this paper, the image optical processing technology based on computer vision has potential practical value in the application of oil painting teaching image simulation, which can help students better understand and simulate the optical effects of traditional oil paintings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an in-depth exploration of the historical factors shaping Greek elementary education and the contemporary pedagogical approaches and curriculum implemented in Greek elementary schools. Beginning with a historical analysis, the paper examines influential factors and developments spanning ancient times to the present day, including the legacy of ancient Greek education, Byzantine educational traditions, and modern educational reforms. By synthesizing historical insights with contemporary educational practices, this paper offers a holistic understanding of Greek elementary education. It underscores the enduring influence of historical legacies on present-day educational philosophies and methodologies while highlighting the innovative approaches adopted to meet the needs of modern learners. Ultimately, this comprehensive overview aims to contribute to scholarly discourse and inform ongoing efforts to enhance elementary education in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of physical education for sport to society is promoted by many states in order to achieve its social values, especially health, social inclusion, education and volunteering. For example, Liechtenstein regards sport as a cultural component in society, being perceived as being of public interest. The Czech Republic, Estonia and Hungary emphasize through reforms implemented in the field of education and sports, encouraging young people to watch and take part in sporting events and to be informed about sports regularly. The economic aspects of sport, especially the sustainable financing of sporting activities for all and the elaboration of policies based on concrete elements, can be considered as strategic objectives of the Republic of Moldova. In this context, the adoption of normative acts that will lead to the establishment of a framework of national guidelines on double careers will have the effect of regulating those concrete measures regarding the education, work, health and financial means of athletes. At the same time, ensuring the continuation of physical activity levels and national policies in this area, as well as continuously promoting the regular exchange of information and good practice on the role of physical activities to improve the health of the population, are also objectives that can be Implemented at national level in close synergy and cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of globalisation and the widespread dominance of English, Southeast Asian countries have experienced significant shifts in their foreign language policies, prioritising English instruction over other languages. While numerous studies have explored teacher agency in response to educational change, understanding the motivations behind their actions warrants further attention. Amidst this evolving educational landscape in culturally nuanced contexts like Southeast Asia, unpacking the influence of Asian sociocultural values on how teachers exert agency during this transition could provide in‐depth insights into teacher agency and their decision making. Employing a sociocultural approach and drawing on Bourdieu's theory of practice, this paper examines the sociocultural factors shaping the agency of 20 teachers in a Vietnamese university as they respond to a profound educational change—the transition from teaching modern foreign languages (e.g., French, Chinese, and Russian) to teaching English. Through teacher interviews with 20 transitioned teachers, supplemented by insights from interviews with two faculty and university leaders, the findings reveal the embodiment of Bourdieu's concepts of Habitus and Capital in Vietnamese adaptability, flexibility, family roles, responsibilities, and teachers’ sense of collectivity as influential factors on teacher agency. Additionally, the hierarchical nature of change implementation, as reflected in leaders’ orientations, organisational constraints, and administrative styles, viewed through the lens of Field and social networks, contributes to the intricate dynamics of the transition process. Understanding these findings is crucial for comprehending the factors that constrain and facilitate teachers’ responses to change within the complex interplay of individual dispositions, societal structures, and power distribution within the educational sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries grapple with the tension between commitment to inclusive education reform and the closure of special schools. This tension is particularly problematic for countries, like Australia, that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD is clear that closing special schools is pivotal to protecting the rights of students with disability to an inclusive education. Some provinces in Canada are considered to be leaders in the movement away from segregated education for students with disability. This paper reports on a critical review of the Canadian literature to develop a conceptual framework of drivers for, and barriers to special school closure. Drivers and barriers were identified at four levels: (1) societal level; (2) system level; (3) school level and (4) community level, with implications for each discussed. The findings will inform policy implementation in countries striving to meet their CRPD obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional paradigm of visual communication design education is encountering significant challenges in aligning with the dynamic learning preferences of contemporary students. This paper delves into the limitations of conventional educational approaches, particularly their inadequacy in delivering personalized content and hands-on learning experiences. In response, we propose a groundbreaking collaborative teaching model, seamlessly integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. This model emphasizes the transformation of visual communication design education by introducing an AI-enhanced task allocation framework tailored to the course's specific needs, coupled with a comprehensive scheme for the fusion of knowledge and skill acquisition. Our research not only pioneers a novel direction in teaching visual communication design but also serves as a valuable reference for educational reform across various disciplines, leveraging the potential of AI to enrich learning outcomes and foster a more engaging, customized, and practice-oriented educational environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terminology of "Chinese characteristics" (zhongguo tese) is ubiquitous in China's political language, but its precise definition remains elusive. This study focuses specifically on the mobilising of the idea of Chinese characteristics of China's science evaluation programme: the China Discipline Evaluation (CDE). Implemented as an instrument of the higher education reform since 1978, it still plays a vital role in China today. This paper is structured into three parts. It begins by laying out the broad landscape of the science evaluation systems across several countries including China, to distil the distinctiveness of the CDE. Then, it moves to focus on the CDE and locates it in its historical and social-political context. Finally, it investigates the origin and use of Chinese characteristics, suggesting that this terminology functions as a rhetoric modality which describes, labels, and legitimates seemingly self-contradictory phenomena exclusive to China. It also emphasises the idea of Chinese exceptionalism that is touted as irreducible to other cultural forms. Based on these considerations, it proposes three dimensions of the Chinese characteristics of the CDE: (i) the paradoxical status of the evaluation agency, (ii) the co-existence of contradictory values embedded in the objectives and criteria of the evaluation, and (iii) the promotion of the visibility of the idea of China at the international stage. Overall, it shows that while the CDE may appear to be a decentralisation instrument, it is in essence a "hegemonic project" and "hegemonic apparatus" to fulfil the party-state's ambition in securing domestic stability and pursuing international competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale assessments have become a basic national policy for educational improvement encouraging standards, decentralisation and school accountability. The current study focuses on the pedagogical dimension of large-scale assessments, examining its uses as a policy instrument for effecting pedagogical change. The paper presents and discusses the case of the Israeli NLSA (national large-scale assessment) regime – the Meitzav (Hebrew acronym for: Growth and Effectiveness Measures for Schools) tests. Although it aimed to design a low-stakes testing regime, its implementation was a top-down procedure which, in practice, restricts principals' and teachers' autonomy. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the findings showed that the Meitzav test results are barely used as a means leading to pedagogical change to improve learning. Teachers considered these tests an unreliable assessment tool that in the main, does not reflect the school curriculum or student learning, while producing a high level of pressure on the teaching routine. In consequence of the Meitzav test results, the most common pedagogical change in practice chosen by teachers was: "teaching to the test". Other pedagogical changes following the Meitzav were implemented to a minor extent. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to many countries in the Western world, educational reforms in Sweden have dramatically changed the educational system in the last few decades. The two reforms that we address in this paper concern "The Career Services for Teachers Reform" and "Teachers Salary Boost" which were implemented at the national level in Sweden in 2013 and 2017, respectively. In this ethnographic study we focus on the design features of these two contemporary reforms and how they impact on both the social and educational life of teachers and school leaders at a secondary high school. However, this change in organisational logic was not only a major digression from the academic tradition and its traditional character of "merit before birth". Due to design features within these reforms, the door to nepotism, real or imagined, was now wide open. Moreover, in the same way as these reforms represent something new to Swedish education, and to the teaching profession in particular, it is just one more step on a road already mapped out via the ongoing neo-liberalisation of society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates changes in the promissory visions articulated in education reforms around the world. We use structural topic modeling to inductively analyze the content of 9,268 reforms from 215 countries and territories during the period 1970–2018 using the World Education Reform Database. Our findings reveal a decline in traditional management-focused reforms and a rise in reforms related to data and information. We also find an expanding commitment to educational access and inclusion, but reforms framed explicitly in 'rights' language diminish. We argue that the rise of data-centric reforms and the retreat from rights-based approaches may both reflect and contribute to a broader erosion of the liberal world order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dialogic teaching approach has been studied widely, both empirically and theoretically. However, despite four decades of research suggesting that dialogical interactions promote student learning, it has been very difficult to reflect this in practice. Teachers' professional development programmes oriented towards promoting dialogical pedagogies have been based on sociocultural approaches centred on teachers' reflective analysis of classroom practices. Studies show that reflecting on pedagogical practices is necessary but insufficient to promote the desired changes. Beyond reflection, initiatives centred on scaffolding the practice with dialogic discursive repertoires have seen more successful results. This suggests that centring on the practice seems to be fundamental to change. Nevertheless, the theoretical basis has not been elaborated further to understand why centring on the direct scaffolding of practice would promote teachers' learning and pedagogical practice transformation. In order to account for the available empirical evidence, drawing on the works of Bakhtin and Vygotsky, the aim of this paper is to elaborate on a dialogical theory of teacher learning. Using this theoretical approach, different theoretical views of learning, teacher professional development programmes and the main tensions therein are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I try to 'rethink' consistency as an educational quality for the 3rd millennium, following Italo Calvino's choice to take it up in his lecture series Memos for the Next Millennium, and despite the fact that the (final) lecture devoted to this quality remained unwritten. After reflecting on how consistency already plays a certain role in Calvino's other lectures, I expand on the specific educational implications of this role's unresolved ambivalence, in order to argue that this ambivalence, properly understood, might be fully constitutive of the educational significance of consistency. To achieve such an understanding I turn to Gilles Deleuze and his concept of style as a 'practice' of consistency. Not only does a stylistic understanding of consistency offer interesting possibilities for a more constructive approach to the said ambivalence—between consistency as static stability and dynamic keeping-together- but as such it also speaks to a number of issues that are directly and fundamentally educational in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the so-called digital age, there is a basic assumption that digitalization entails rapid and dramatic change in schools, education and society. However, a challenge for educational research is to clarify what digitalization precisely means. This paper aims to develop, test, and validate a digital transformation scale (DTS). More specifically, the aim is to validate digitization, digitalization and digital transformation as hierarchical levels of sociocultural learning in school and education by using cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as a framework. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with principal-axis factoring as an extraction method, was used to examine the number of factors underlying the data. Findings: Results show that the three dimensions in the DTS questionnaire explain 68% of the variance and that all dimensions show high internal consistency (a >0.87). This means that the internal structure of the DTS corresponded to the internal structure of the theory. Research limitations/implications: The results show that the internal structure of the DTS corresponded to the internal structure of the theory and may be used quantitatively to analyze digital transformation in school organizations. However, further research is needed in other contexts and larger samples with the use of confirmatory factor analysis to develop knowledge in this area and the use of DTS. Practical implications: This tool and theoretical construction could be used to discuss digital transformation in school and education, both local and in general. Seeing digitalization from a sociocultural perspective makes possible to conceptualize and discuss this as a process ranging from small technology investments on an individual level to digitalization as strategic and organizational development. Originality/value: This DTS can be used quantitatively to study and analyze digital transformation in educational contexts and provides educational researchers with additional tools to articulate what they mean by digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 2010, the Romanian university system registered an increase of dropout cases. This aspect requires to identify and implement some alternative methods of action at the national level with the unique scope to prevent and combat early university dropout. The good motivation of the students for their studies is increasingly low. Some of the causes which determine this phenomenon are well known and quite difficult to remove, as for example the financial and intellectual development level of the family from where they come. These aspects can often be decisive factors in the emergence of the school dropout phenomenon. But these aspects are certainly not the only causes. This is the reason for which other aspects, which determine the students to dropping out the school and can be more easily corrected, must be identified. The aim of this paper is to present these aspects, emphasizing the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to limit absenteeism and university dropout. For this purpose, we present a questionnaire applied at "Ovidius" University on a target group of students. The participants consisted of 500 students from 5 faculties of our university. With this questionnaire we want to identify patterns and trends in the evolution of absenteeism and university dropout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notable within the rhetoric of recent global reform trends is the (re)positioning of teachers from peripheral to critical stakeholders in educational change processes. Responding to this imperative, programmes of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) are now frequently tasked with promoting teacher agency as a core dimension of teaching. Yet, much evidence points to a persistent tension between renewed visions for teacher engagement and agency as part of global curriculum reform processes and the associated enactment of such visions. While teachers' concerns related to individual reforms are increasingly detailed, less attention is paid to teachers' views regarding change as a process. Premised on the conviction that better understanding and attention to teachers' concerns related to change, holds the potential to support more authentic, impactful and sustainable reform developments, this paper explores the reflections of 53 Irish pre-service teachers on their openness to change and examines the caveats they attach to their engagement in and with change. Reflexive thematic analysis identified a range of caveats pre-service teachers attach to their engagement in and with change. Consideration of these caveats by policy makers and initial teacher education providers may support teachers to engage more deeply with change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Innovative Schools in Dali have received increasing coverage in Chinese social media and have also attracted middle-class parents from cities, as viable bottom-up educational initiatives. This paper explores the rationales for Chinese middle-class parents' choice of Innovative Schools in Dali. Analysis of data from online interviews with 33 parents from seven Innovative Schools in Dali revealed three types of narratives parents provided in explaining their alternative school choices: investors, escapees, and idealists. The narratives reflect different ways in which parents negotiate their relationship with mainstream education and Innovative Schools, how they define the "educational goods" they would like to pursue and how they deal with potential tensions within their practice. We then situate the phenomenon within the Chinese educational landscape and discuss its social implications in light of social reproduction theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthur Seldon (1916–2005) was a significant British neo-liberal economist in the second half of the twentieth century. From 1957 to 1988, as the "engine room" of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Seldon had been advocating the reform of "free" state education. He vigorously argued for education vouchers, by which each parent could be provided with purchasing power and school choice. From the mid-1960s, his ideas gradually attracted the attention of the Conservatives and contributed to the rise of the New Right and Thatcherism in the 1980s. Despite this, previous literature seldom explores Seldon's work in relation to education in greater depth. To fill the lacuna, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of Seldon's neo-liberal ideas about education and his approaches in promoting reform agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using CiteSpace to draw a keyword co-occurrence knowledge map for 1,048 research papers on the quality of higher education from 2000 to 2014 in the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index database, we found that over the past 15 years, research on the quality of Chinese higher education was clearly oriented toward policies, and a good interactive relationship formed between research and policy. Looking at research topics, apart from macrodiscussions of the spirit of several educational reforms, the relevant topics are mainly focused on higher education quality issues in the massification stage, issues of higher education academic management, issues of student cultivation, and issues of ensuring and evaluating higher education quality. Of these, issues of ensuring and evaluating higher education quality have continually been the mainstream of research on Chinese higher education quality, and there has been an increasing trend of emphasizing ensuring internal quality within schools, emphasizing student participation, and evaluating the effectiveness of student learning. Scholars had a renewed focus on the topics of higher education academic management and student cultivation after 2010, and truly improving the quality of higher education will become a future hot topic of study, however there is an urgent need for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Botswana has achieved a lot in education development since the country's independence in 1966. Public education funding and access increased significantly, literacy rates rose, more schools were constructed and student enrolment rates increased at both primary and secondary schools. However, this paper argues that Botswana's education system has been declining over the past 10 years, but that is concealed by the use of political spectacle. The data collected from secondary sources were used and subjected to content analysis. The findings show high public education expenditure and access in Botswana, but high failure rates; success narratives and pronouncements without commitment to educational effectiveness and efficiency; massive construction of public schools, but poor teaching–learning conditions; and trivialization of meaningful education reforms. This paper concludes by recommending the introduction of learner-friendly methods of assessment, improving teacher–government relations, the inclusion of stakeholders in education decision-making and the implementation of cost–benefit and cost-effectiveness measures in Botswana's education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that power promised to England's teachers by the 2010 'Importance of Teaching' white paper has rather played out as a reformulation of methods of policymaking to more indirect modes of government control. I trace the growth of government control in English schools, promised front-line power in 2010 and a rise in non-statutory guidance after this point. Taking an actor–network theory approach to ethnographic data I then describe how a school takes up one such non-statutory educational initiative – 'Maths Mastery'. Focusing on early stages of the school's adoption of the initiative, I trace associations of actors which problematize existing practices for the teaching of maths and how the initiative is imbued with authority in relation to these. I argue that the ways in which certain actors – statutory education policy and government funding – associate with the 'optional' initiative reveals a 'back door' control of teacher agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses qualitative data from a survey of Higher Education students, who are also parents, to reveal changing attitudes towards, and perceptions of, education during the pandemic school closures in England. Thematic analysis reveals the stresses of 'homeschooling' and how parents reacted and adapted to these, including adjusting ideas around education. This adaptation mirrors the changing attitudes of parents found in pre-pandemic home education. The paper suggests that post pandemic education could be enriched by taking forward some of these ideas, particularly greater flexibility, personalisation and child autonomy in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational reform in China has brought about many Western educational approaches for teachers to consider as part of their pedagogy. An example of this is the theory of multiple intelligences (MI theory). This paper presents how a theory grounded in a Western context is locally reconceptualised by kindergarten teachers who grew up in a different context. A qualitative case study was selected to investigate seven kindergarten teachers' understandings of MI theory in China. Three methods were employed to gather data; semi-structured interviews, field observations and documentation. Evidence from the three sources were analysed using a thematic approach. This paper reports contextual factors that had an influence on the teachers' understandings of MI theory and thus its implementation, and argues that the introduction of new educational theories or approaches should be grounded in the local context in which the teaching will be embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-being and mental health of principals is being threatened by changing working conditions such as a broader variety of roles and tasks. In this article, we argue that social capital might buffer against declining (mental) health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential influence of social capital, including both internal (bonding) and external (bridging and linking) social capital, on principals' well-being. A longitudinal study was set up across three waves of data. Questionnaires were collected from 2084 Australian principals and 829 Irish principals, across six and two timepoints, respectively. The hypotheses were tested using a longitudinal path model approach using maximum likelihood estimation in lavaan for R. In line with our hypotheses, the results indicated that principals who reported higher levels of either internal or external social capital also reported higher levels of well-being. More specifically, support from colleagues outside the school and supervisor support (external social capital) and collaboration and trust in management (internal social capital) predicted well-being positively across time. The results of this study highlight the importance of having social support from colleagues and supervisors and possibilities for collaboration to maintain well-being as a school principal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that reforms of higher education finance for undergraduates in England introduced by the Blair government in 2006 provided a progressive strategy for achieving the central objectives of higher education of quality (better), access (wider) and size (larger). Reforms in 2012 are a not a strategy but a collection of ad hoc arrangements. They include the good (a higher fees cap, a higher interest rate on student loans, better information and improved support for part-time study), the bad (abolishing most taxpayer support for teaching in the arts and humanities and the social sciences, and raising excessively the threshold at which loan repayments start) and the unspeakable (abolishing Education Maintenance Allowances and AimHigher). The reforms are fiscally costly and hence perpetuate the central problem of capped student numbers, and will not stand the test of time. The concluding section outlines the next White Paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the world, countries have engaged in different iterations of curriculum change, and one of the common denominators of reform is the proposal of more agency for teachers around curriculum making. This is not an easy task for teachers. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about the effects that international ERASMUS+ mobilities have had on the power of curricular agency of teachers from two European countries. This work is based on an empirical investigation of a qualitative nature which collected the testimonies of four school headmasters, a deputy principal and eleven teachers from Ireland and Portugal, teaching different curriculum matters, who were involved in the ERASMUS+ programme. Our findings evidence a very positive impact on secondary teachers' capacity to self‐organize and achieve agency in relation to curriculum making by adapting their knowledge and skills, learnt through the mobility, to their own culture and context through collaborative communities of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how to recognize and understand the education power, what indicators to characterize and monitor the education power, what ways to build education power. Based on the theory of evidence-based education research, this study uses the comprehensive integration method to carry out a systematic analysis. A strong country in education is an education that is based on local education practices and of international standards. It provides comprehensive support for national construction and human development, exerts an all-round influence on education around the world, and plays a leading role in global education. This paper constructs the ontology index, value index, and identity index from the perspectives of ontology, value theory and identity theory of the world, and forms the key index system of education power. To build a powerful country in education, we must deal with several relations, including the mutual promotion relations between education and politics, education and society, education and economy, education, and human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The aim of this paper is to gain insight into changes in information needs and habits of users of the online reference service Ask the Librarians provided by Croatian public libraries since 2004. Methodology. Based on the research of Jagoda Ille and Helena Novak and the analysis of user information queries in the fi rst four years of service implementation from 2004 to 2008, an analysis of posted information inquiries was conducted from 2018 to 2022. By using the same methodology and time frame, the aim was to enable a comparative analysis of the obtained data regarding users' level of education, the number and type of information inquiries (divided into four categories: requests for direction, quick or factual information, bibliographic information and other inquiries), user satisfaction and the number of librarians involved in the service. Results. The research results for the period from 2018 to 2022 indicated a higher number of posted inquiries, a change in the educational structure of users and a change in the type of inquiries compared to the fi rst four years of service implementation from 2004 to 2008, as well as a constant increase in the number of librarians involved in the online reference service Ask the Librarians. Originality/Value. The value of the research lies in detecting changes in information inquiries and new information needs of users of the Croatian public libraries' online reference service Ask the Librarians, available to users since 2004. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the outcomes of instruction employing a pedagogy of discomfort (or disequilibrium)—a teaching style that embraces discomfort as a part of the learning process—in a teacher preparation program. Drawing on data from a case study, we present findings from our work involving teacher candidates in discussions about social injustices to encourage a deeper understanding of the origins of these societal issues and a greater awareness of how they impact PK-12 education. This paper identifies the minimization and validation of difference and privilege that emerged in the context of participants' responses, including themes that circulate around responsibility to change the existing system into one that is more equitable to all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a political-economic analysis of policy evaluation. We focus on Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) as a subset of policy evaluations and argue that they are used instrumentally by decision-makers in order to improve perceptions of reforms and help secure policy legacy. We theorize that this 'credibility premium' is more valuable for incumbents in politically polarized societies, which we empirically examine using two methods. First, we provide a series of vignettes of prominent randomized evaluations embedded by governments in policy roll-outs and a detailed case study of the Liberian government's decision to commission a third-party RCT evaluation of a proposed primary school privatization reform. Second, we have compiled a unique cross-country panel data set on RCTs in development policy since 1996, with which we demonstrate that RCTs are more likely to occur in polarized societies, and that the effect is amplified by the degree of political competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School-external expectations regarding implementation of reforms and innovations often do not lead to successful school improvement processes in schools. To better understand these processes in schools, this paper aims to investigate school improvement processes on a deep level by focusing on cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational regulation strategies used by school teams and by exploring what school-external and school-internal factors are related to this strategy use. Principals, teachers, and specialist teachers (N = 1328) at 59 primary schools responded to an online questionnaire indicating their school's use of regulation strategies on school improvement. Results from descriptive, variance, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that school teams use all forms of school-based regulation strategies but that schools differ significantly in their strategy use. These differences were mainly explained more by school-internal deeper structures (e.g., task cohesion) and less by school-internal surface structures (e.g., school size) and not at all by school-external factors (e.g., governance systems). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirteen years after the publication of the book Social Network Theory and Educational Change, what can we say about the evolution of research connecting social network theory and analysis with teacher professional development? In this evolution, we can witness a conceptual shift in the literature connecting teacher professional development with social network theory and analysis that is important to highlight and discuss. While before 2010 teacher networks were mostly perceived as a force enacting external initiatives for teacher professional development, this perspective evolved to a perception of teacher networks as a source of professional development in themselves. This paper discusses this conceptual evolution, its consequences for the literature, and implications for future research connecting teacher professional development with social network theory and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]