Search results for "Comparative Education"

From discrete to transformed? Developing inclusive primary school teacher education in a Finnish teacher education department

2010

This paper describes the primary school teacher education curriculum reform currently under way in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. A general overview of the Finnish context and relevant inclusive education policy issues are presented. The process of developing inclusive education in the curriculum and the organisational culture of the department of teacher education is discussed in relation to the collaborative teacher education research framework developed by Pugach and Blanton. Areas for future development are identified.

: Policies of decentralization in education : international diversity, theoretical reasoning, empirical evidence

2004

Over the past two decades, decentralization of governments has become common throughout the world. The education sector is no exception. Countries with diverse economic, spatial, demographic and educational features have implemented significant decentralization reforms. The traditional typology of educational functions, characterized by contrasts between central states federal states has grown enriched with families of newly decentralized educational systems. However, despite the polical popularity of decentralization reforms, neither economic and political theories nor empirical evaluations give consistent grounds for this worldwide trend. Despite an impressive amount of literature, mainly…

Reconsidering off-task: a comparative study of PDA-mediated activities in four classrooms

2010

Mobile technology is ubiquitous and diverse and permeates many aspects of daily life at home, during leisure activities, and in public spaces. The study presented here is of two sixth grade classes in Michigan, USA and two seventh grade classes in Norway. The students and the teachers in these four classrooms were equipped with mobile technologies (PDAs). We found that the students’ PDA-mediated actions in the classroom were not exclusively used for the tasks and activities set by the teacher, but that the students also used the PDAs on their own initiative – so-called ‘off-task’ activities. We analyze the findings by reconsidering off-task activities from a sociocultural perspective.

Governance and Adaptation to Innovative Modes of Higher Education Provision

2014

At a time when more students than ever are attending higher education, its provision is becoming more fluid, global and competitive. For example, developments in new technologies mean that higher education institutions (HEIs) can make their courses available all over the world. These developments bring into question the traditional delivery model of higher education institutions, which tends to be confined to physical — and hence geographically defined — course offerings. This report examines innovative modes of higher education provision, as well as ways in which the management and governance of higher education are changing in support of innovations in higher education provision. As such,…

Finances, Costs and Productivity of Higher Education

1989

Restructuring university degree programmes: a new opportunity for ethics education?

2008

This article explores the possibilities of reinforcing ethics education at the university level within the context of new internationalisation processes. The situation in Spain is used as a case study. The article begins with a review of the rationale behind this issue and goes on to analyse the place of the ethical dimension in education in the proposals for adapting Spanish university degree programmes to the European Higher Education Area. Fieldwork carried out at three higher education institutions reveals that, while professors accept the institutional function of the university in ethics education, their hazy conception of the matter weakens the likelihood of a pedagogical approach in…

Economic Challenges in Higher Education

1994

The financial crisis and its consequences in European higher education

1990

International audience

Globalization and leadership and management: a comparative analysis of primary schools in England and Finland

2006

This article analyses the impact of processes of globalization on both policy and practice in relation to primary school leadership and management in England and Finland. Data are drawn from case study research carried out from 1994–1996 in six schools in Finland and six schools in England and a follow‐up study on teacher professionalism (2001–2002) that involved 37 of the original participants being re‐interviewed. The article contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the extent to which global trends lead to homogeneity in educational systems or a ‘glocalized’ response. Such a glocalized response is derived not only from different cultural mediations at the national policy level but al…

Special Education in Finland

1990

FINLAND is a small North‐European country with a population of about 5 million. It has historical ties with Sweden and Russia. Consequently, there are two official languages in the country: Finnish and Swedish. The education system is based on a 9‐year comprehensive school. Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 16. Health and welfare services for children with disabilities are mainly provided within the regular services but special services are ensured by special laws. Special education services are provided at every level of education and learning environment modifications range from remedial education to individual instruction at home. In the comprehensive sch…