Search

We employ a policy assemblage, mobilities, and mutations framework to analyze the geographies that constitute and reflect educational policy circulation at the regional or supranational level in trans-regional regimes and/or quasi-federal polities such as the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Recognizing that policies are mobile in a fragmentary fashion as they are re/dis/assembled in specific ways, places, and purposes, we move beyond methodological nationalism and pay attention to the make-up of policies as they are in motion and the places they affect. In other words, using the trans-regional and/or quasifederal level, we juxtapose the tensions between policy as fixed, territorial, or place-specific against the dynamic, regional, and relational policy elements. Methodologically, we use a comparative federalist lens to trace and examine the distillation, translation, and mobilization of education policy across and between quasi-federal polities. In this sense, epistemologically, we further explicate the manner in which such policy instruments move across the various interconnected units and sites composing these federal-type entities, while (re)territorializing and deterritorializing what we construe as complex educational assemblages. We show that contra to the extant literature, in Europe/EU and the Caribbean/CARICOM, movement, and mobility involves the connectivity between policymaking sites, and policies arrive at their destination in the same form as they appeared elsewhere, allowing for forms of discursive isomorphism.

The purpose of this study is to trace and document the emerging contours of a Vocational Training, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (VTAELL) space in the EU via an examination of the policy framework built over time in this area over more than six decades, from the inception of today's European Union to the present day. Nineteen key primary sources were selected from the EU's legislative record forming the growing overarching legal framework on VTAELL from 1951 to present. These were subjected to a discourse and content analysis, utilizing a process tracing approach to systematically record the gradual construction of VTAELL policy. The narrative shows that policy evolution in this field can be grouped into three distinct stages: "policy groundwork"; "programmatic operationalization"; "consolidation", "integration and expansion." Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the convergence and cross-referencing of EU's VTAELL policy across education sectors validates the importance and consolidation of this policy space.

Recent Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act legislation in the United States has initiated increasingly complex and multi-tiered systems for program implementation in the adult learning, career training, and workforce development sectors. The paper presents a conceptual framework to assist in understanding capacity building for implementation of adult and workforce education programming. The framework synthesizes a number of policy models, dimensions, and definitions for program delivery and capacity building. A capacity building framework can be applied for conducting policy analysis, needs assessment, and evaluation to underscore how the execution of ambitious policy initiatives and the sustained use of effective practices in communities and institutions, is more likely to be effective if the implementation process begins with a clear understanding of the program model and policies themselves. It also assists in building an active investment in and intentional cultivation of systemic capacity for implementation. Efforts at executing new initiatives without attending to system-level development and scaffolding support structures are prone to ineffective realization and poor program sustainability.

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong learning, AE has proven to be a somewhat vague concept as a basis for federal policy formulation, but its existence signals an important federal locus of responsibility for learning in adulthood. This historical examination of the AE policy domain offers a review of the formulation, and more specifically how AE policy has been framed, where AE policy originated, and its progression over time. Primary U.S. legislative documents, federal agency reports, and federal white papers spanning the years 1862 to 2014 were reviewed to present a survey of the AE policy area.

This article has a dual purpose: it describes the development of First Year Dental Anatomy (FYDA), a web-based 3D interactive application used in the dental curriculum at a major Canadian university, and it reports on the results of a research study conducted to assess the perception of learning benefits students experienced through the use of FYDA in a dental anatomy course. Questionnaires administered upon the completion of three semesters during which FYDA was used reveal some benefits for learning, but also a few deterrents for use, primarily related to some aspects of design. Generally, the students received the application with interest and viewed it as a useful aiding tool in learning dental anatomy. The results suggest the overall 3D m odels met the students learning objectives and expectations and, in their view, were conducive to their understanding of internal and external dental anatomy. Issues related to the over-sensitive controls, navigational flaws and manipulation difficulties caused some learners a certain level of frustration, but these were not severe enough to hinder the students learning.

Systematic policy analysis regarding the area of adult and workforce education (AWE) in the United States is limited in the literature. This article presents the results from a historical analysis of federal-level U.S. policy documents spanning the years 1914-2014. We performed a systematic content analysis utilizing a context justification approach to analyze 19 pieces of U.S. legislation to discern broad patterns and trends in the area of AWE policy development. The benefits of examining policy through a lens of governance and system-level trends include gaining a clearer understanding of the evolution of key policy dimensions and how they contribute to shaping current circumstances in the field. Our analyses suggest the importance of historical conditions in shaping policy characteristics. We conclude that it is essential to understand these policy characteristics in order to seek the necessary information to more strategically advocate for AWE in the 21st century, and highlight areas where further inquiry is needed.

In this study, a grounded theory approach was adopted to develop the "heterospective reflection framework" as an explanatory and analytical schema for the investigation of reflection on the action of others via video observations. Borrowed from the arts, the term heterospective denotes "otherness." Data collection was conducted over four years through semi-structured interviews with 25 pre-service teachers at a higher education institution in midwestern United States. The data analysis generated the framework's mechanism, comprising the core elements termed "guided observation," "retrospective reflection," "integrative reflection" and "introspective reflection," and its mediating devices consisting of the "action of others" and the "reframing" of teaching practice. Findings suggest that the framework's reflective modes function in nonhierarchical interactions, as cognitive-metacognitive shifts occur bi- or multi-directionally on a horizontal plane rather than sequentially on a vertical plane as pre-service teachers reflect on the action of others. Implications for research and practice include enhancements to teacher preparation programs and the development of instruments to evaluate reflective practice.

This article examines the evolution of the policy narrative created by the European Commission around the establishment of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) in order to rethink and spearhead new processes of innovation in the European Union (EU) through a better coordination of output in academia, research and industry. A discourse analysis was conducted on several key European Commission documents, later formalized into EU regulations, which confer the EIT its legal basis for its operation. By employing a three-fold policy analysis framework, a series of rhetorical devices are extracted to examine the policy framing, dynamics and instruments that operate as motivators for the construction of a persuasive initiative to be set in action in the service of innovation for a more competitive Europe. Through this investigation, a larger agenda is exposed in the EIT's policy framework, with wide implications and significant ramifications for the evolution of European higher education.

This article presents an overall exploratory comparison of two specific pre-service teacher preparation programmes at two research-intensive institutions of higher education in the USA and Romania. The main conclusions suggest that US and Romanian teacher candidates differ very little in their ratings of their respective programmes in terms of learning in the programme, preparation for general teaching and twenty-first century skills. The largest differences were recorded for the university supervisor and cooperating teacher constructs, which the US teacher candidates rated considerably higher than their Romanian peers, namely in the quality and extent of applied field and clinical experiences, which merit further exploration.

This article records and documents the historical development of e-learning policies at EU level by conducting a discourse and content analysis of four key e-learning policy documents drafted and implemented by the European Commission over the past 20 years: "Learning in the Information Society: Action Plan for a European Education Initiative" (1996), the "eLearning Action Plan" (2001), the "eLearning Programme" (2003) and the "Lifelong Learning Programme" (2006). The themes teased out from the analysis reveal a gradual consolidation of e-learning policy at EU level, indicating the emergence of an increasingly coherent and formal approach to supporting e-learning initiatives for the benefit of actors at Member State level. The forging of a "European dimension" in e-learning projects represents the hallmark of these EU policies, but it remains to be seen whether the EU institutions will continue to devote similar attention to and place particular focus on e-learning as a distinct policy priority in the years to come.

This article examines the implementation of a wiki-type platform for lesson planning for teacher candidates in an undergraduate general instructional methods course in the teacher education program of a Midwestern university in the United States. The study draws on the results of two separate sets of analysis involving 159 participants. Teacher candidates in this course were required to post the first five lesson plans of their unit plans to the course wiki. Each teacher candidate was required to analyze several classmates' lesson plans and provide constructive feedback that the authors of the lessons could incorporate in improving their unit plans. This exercise was meant to create a sense of constructive approach to lesson planning and encourage teacher candidates to think of their peers as resources to whom they could turn for advice in the process of designing lesson plans in an emerging community of practice, all while availing themselves of the flexibility of the wiki's collaborative features. Results show that teacher candidates improved their performance on lesson planning by incorporating feedback received via peer review in the wiki environment. In addition, the use of peer reviewing and lesson planning through the wiki informed most teacher candidates' intent to use the technology in some format in their future teaching practice.

This study's primary investigation is the impact of "peer influence" and "perceived quality of teaching" on faculty members' usage of web-based learning management systems within the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework. These factors are entered into an extended TAM as external variables impacting on the core constructs in the prevailing TAM literature: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use and system use. The investigation is conducted within the context of higher education faculty members' utilization of web-based learning management systems, such as Blackboard®. A sample of 171 faculty members from three higher education institutions in Midwestern United States is utilized for the purpose of this study. Using exploratory path analysis, twelve hypotheses were tested for the learning management system. The results of the analyses reveal that perceived quality of teaching plays a significant role in the faculty members' consideration to use learning management systems. In turn, peer influence does not appear to predict faculty perceptions of the system's usefulness for teaching. The results of additional hypotheses testing are presented. Alternative explanations and implications of the results are discussed.

This study developed a framework that compares the content and purposes of "federal" level European Union (EU) and United States (US) e-learning policy to ascertain trends, patterns, and points of convergence and divergence across the years 1994-2010. It reveals that the EU and US are applying similar rhetoric for policy framing, justification, provisions, mechanisms, and incentives for e-learning. However, the actual policies vary due to the structural differences between the governing regimes. This research also suggests that more rigorous analyses of educational policy can contribute to our understanding of the intersectionality of policy development and educational regulation at local, regional, and transnational levels.

This article discusses the emergence of a European E-Learning Area (EELA) as a consequence of three factors that can be observed in the e-learning developments over the past decade. The first factor consists of the carving of a policy sector in e-learning via formal instruments such as the eLearning Programme, the Lifelong Learning Programme and an array of other e-learning policy stipulations embedded in larger policy instruments at European level (e.g. Framework Programme). The second factor is represented by the mainstreaming of e-learning activities, both through formal and informal measures across multiple domains. Finally, the proliferation and consolidation of interlinked networks of practice as incubators of e-learning innovation and sharing of expertise act as the third factor in the shaping of EELA. The conceptualisation of EELA is substantiated through an analysis of the European e-learning policy documentation and the findings of a questionnaire distributed to the coordinators of projects under the eLearning Programme. In light of the findings, theoretical and practical implications for EELA as a nascent policy domain are explored and offered as a basis for further debate on this theme. (Contains 4 notes and 7 tables.)

This article conducts an exploration of Romania's European integration process through higher education. It contends that integration occurs at "formal" and "informal levels" through institutional norms and human agency, respectively. Through theoretical and empirical analysis, the authors discuss the modalities through which normative European integration is undergirded by human transactions stemming from individual experiences with European practices. Romanian higher education serves as an aggregating and filtering system for the formation of an intellectual realm conducive to the country's deeper European integration.

This article reports on the experiences and perspectives of Romanian students participating in the ERASMUS Programme, regarding the benefits and value of academic mobility. It situates their accounts in the framework of internationalization and Europeanization processes occurring in Romanian higher education. The study draws on primary data collected from a sample of Romanian students via an online questionnaire. A total of 522 valid responses were received from students at 37 higher education institutions in Romania. Student respondents indicated their academic experiences in other EU member states represented an investment in their professional and personal development. However, they were less convinced these experiences could assist them in improving the overall economic and social conditions in Romania or that it would serve them in the programs of studies at their home institutions. Further issues addressed were credit transfer, financial support and differences in academic programs between host and home institutions.

This article analyzes the digital native-digital immigrant dichotomy based on the results of a small-scale study conducted at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry, regarding students' and faculty members' perceptions toward the implementation of digital learning technologies in the curriculum. The first element chosen for measurement was user perception of the impact on learning of basic software such as email, web browsers, online e-texts as well as hardware devices such as personal computers, laptops and MP3 players. In addition, the study also evaluated Blackboard, the learning management system of choice introduced by the parent university in the academic year 2006-2007. The results of this study suggest that there exists a slight inter-generational difference at the Faculty in the perceived usefulness and importance of digital technologies for learning and teaching, but that this difference is minimal, with no universal applicability. The study concludes that the digital native-digital immigrant duality is a complex phenomenon which cannot always be described in these extreme terms. (Contains 11 tables.)

In its efforts to continue the modernization of its curriculum, the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto has developed a series of web-based interactive learning applications. This article presents the production cycle of these new interactive learning objects and the preliminary study conducted to measure the students' perception of the objects' effectiveness for learning. Three applications are described in detail in this article, namely: "Panoramic Radiography: Principles and Interpretation," "Gross Human Anatomy 3D Atlas" and "Restorative Dentistry: Virtual and Interactive Cavity Preparation." Each of these applications introduces unique elements of interactivity with the learning content, specifically designed to address hard-to-grasp concepts in their respective dental disciplines. The results of a student survey conducted post-deployment suggest that the visual and interactive features embedded in the three applications have the potential to induce positive outcomes in mediating the students' conceptualization of difficult theoretical notions. (Contains 9 tables and 4 figures.)

This study investigates the information society discourse in the European Union in relation to the European Commission's eLearning programmes, based on selected academics' conceptualisation of the term. It reveals a mixed picture of the perceptions that academics have of the information society in their respective countries. The findings indicate a convergence of these perceptions with the indicators of a presumed information society in various quantitative studies. This study considers that an integrated European Information Society, promoted by the European Commission partly through its eLearning programmes, is a concept destined to remain a motivational instrument for driving ICT policies throughout Europe. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study conducted by the author on the implications of e-learning programmes for the higher education systems of the member states of the European Union. The study takes a look behind the scenes of the eLearning Programme and other e-learning actions within other European programmes by tapping into the perceptions of academics at universities in the European Union (in three principal countries--Germany, Portugal and Sweden--and six secondary countries--Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom) who have participated in or have knowledge of the logistical and administrative burdens of European e-learning projects. Through a series of in-depth open-ended interviews conducted on location, via the telephone or over the Internet, the study investigates the interactions of academics and researchers with the European-funded programmes in e-learning. Several interviews with members of the European Commission offer an inside look at the dynamics of the programmes and confer a "humanistic" perspective to the stern letter of the legal documentation. The personal accounts are used to build a "composite picture" of common themes related to the processes involved in developing and conducting e-learning projects under the eLearning Programme and other European programmes, shedding new light on the levels of initiative that go into the actual preparation of e-learning projects.