Educational Agenda Research Articles

The Policy Collation and Text Analysis of High-quality and Balanced elementary education in China— from the Perspective of the Multiple Streams Theory

High-quality and balanced elementary education is an important issue related to the construction of a strong socialist modernized education country and also meets the needs of the era for Chinese-style modernization. By sorting out the policy texts related to high-quality and balanced elementary education at the national level since the beginning of the new century, and analyzing how high-quality and balanced elementary education enters the policy agenda from the perspective of the Multiple Streams Theory, it is found that key indicators and focal events constitute the problem stream, providing a rational basis for policy suggestions; research results of experts and scholars, and explorations and practices at all levels of government constitute the policy stream, providing feasibility for the policy "broth"; national sentiment and governing philosophy constitute the political stream, promoting the sustainable development of the policy agenda. The concern of the new round of technological revolution for the quality of talent cultivation in elementary education has accelerated the interweaving of the three streams, opening the "policy window" for the high-quality and balanced development of elementary education in China, and the policy agenda for high-quality and balanced elementary education has been established.

Integrated Water Resources Management After 2030: An Agenda for Educators

This paper addresses the need to improve the understanding of how integrated water resources management (IWRM) can be more effective in addressing diverse water challenges globally. The emphasis is on the use of systems methods to clarify IWRM and create support for it among the academic community for emphasis after the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) expire in 2030. The importance of using IWRM is apparent in frequent reports about challenges like access to water supply and sanitation, water-related disasters, water stresses, water pollution, and ecosystem losses. These affect the SDGs, especially Goal 6 for implementation of IWRM. Among competing paradigms for water resources management practice, IWRM has a more organized advocacy base than others, and sustaining it can support all of them. However, IWRM has been supported for more than 20 years and is still difficult to understand and criticized. Despite this, sustained support for it indicates that it meets an important need. Systems concepts of problem archetypes, skeletonization, and the concept of emergence were used to create a model to explain IWRM as a framework of institutional arrangements and a cooperative problem-solving process. A set of four synthesized problem archetypes was developed, and stakeholder analysis was used to identify key disciplines for its implementation and to identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed among them. These point the way for academics to develop clear explanations while retaining comprehensive perspectives of IWRM. Building and sustaining a viable academic community to support IWRM will face barriers because academics focus mainly on their disciplines where they are rewarded and recognized. This is also evident in the smaller membership bases of interdisciplinary water associations compared to disciplinary or sector-based water associations. IWRM as an organizing platform for cross-sector water resources management has a long-term future if academics focus on it and its support by international partners continues. By explaining IWRM better and marshalling greater support for it among the academic community, the same approach of clarifying ambiguous concepts and providing better ways to engage academia may help other SDG areas.

Examining Primary School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices: A Case Study on Curriculum Reform and Implementation

This study examines how primary school principals navigate and influence curriculum reform through instructional leadership. Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and structured observations with three purposefully selected principals, guided by the Principal Instructional Management model. Interview questions focused on three core areas—developing the school mission, managing the instructional program, and fostering a positive school climate—allowing principals to share insights on their leadership strategies, challenges, and engagement in curriculum reform. Observations captured real-time practices, such as classroom visits, teacher interactions, and feedback sessions, to provide a comprehensive view of their instructional leadership roles. Thematic analysis revealed that principals actively shape school missions by integrating personal beliefs, educational agendas, and curriculum policy knowledge. They engage in reflective practices such as meetings and retreats to reinforce the school’s vision among teachers, manage instructional programs through routine and random checks, motivate teachers with positive feedback, and promote a positive climate by supporting social cohesion and addressing teachers’ personal needs. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of instructional leadership, where principals balance personal convictions with policy-driven mandates. Recommendations include targeted professional development and formal policy recognition of instructional leadership to empower principals in leading reform efforts.

중학교 글로벌 역량 교육 내용요소 도출을 위한 연구: PISA 2018 글로벌 역량 평가를 중심으로

Ahead of introduction of revised 2022 National Curriculum for middle schools in 2025, research has been actively investigating how to align international academic achievement results with the curriculum. While agreeing on the necessity of implementing the global education agenda, there was a tendency to be passive in dealing with the concepts of global citizenship and global competency at a general level and in systematizing the content based on the results of assessments. The research draws from the PISA 2018 global competence assessment, specifically selecting key elements related to Global Citizenship Education (GCED). To analyze the impact of GCED on global competence, structural equation modeling was applied to student-level data from Republic of Korea(ROK)'s PISA 2018 assessment. The study explored the mediating effect of students’ agency regarding global issues, examining how GCED influences sub-elements of global competence. The analysis revealed three global competences that were most strongly associated with effective GCED practices: cognitive adaptability, interest in learning about other cultures, and awareness of global issues. These competences were selected as major elements for organizing content elements for the integrated curriculum beyond the transformative level.

The Potential of Science Education for Development of Responsible Citizenship in Ukraine

Our research focuses on how sociocultural processes can foster responsible citizenship in Ukraine through scientific literacy within an overarching philosophical narrative. In particular, the authors aim to outline various dilemmas, beginning with the ambiguities that science education faces when confronting notions of good citizenship within differing sociocultural contexts. Hence, we focus on the ethical and moral aspects of citizenship within a science education agenda that is not reducible to the learning of scientific facts. We show that it is an essential instrument for developing critical rationality, moral judgment and civic involvement. This agenda is centered around the development of scientific literacy, motivating students to engage in their own auto-didactic pursuit of scientific inquiry. The authors maintain that this sense of curiosity and critical engagement is bound to translate into an ability to make sense of difficult ethical and social Ukrainian terrain as well as positively influence approaches to pedagogical education. We further examine Ukrainian science education curriculum in the context of the broader national and global challenges of attaining scientific literacy as a foundational pillar of any future learning and teaching. More specifically, the authors propose a policy rooted in evidence-based inquiry as a centerpiece of all progressive education to allow students to develop the tools they need to become better informed, active citizens able to bring about positive societal shifts. The findings of our study relate to the call for educational reform in Ukraine through the modernization of both its physical and pedagogical infrastructure. The case is made for creating a strong foundation of scientifically-minded attitudes amongst the well-informed citizenry, which will lead to a generation able to consider and address complex ethical and social issues. The research interprets its results in terms of a broader philosophical and educational discourse with a view as to how military conflicts can affect the producing an informed population able to direct its concerted efforts towards the development of sustainable, equitable progress that serves both the individual and society at large.

Neoliberal and Transformation of the University of Botswana: From Public Education to Entrepreneurism

This article examines the concept of entrepreneurial university and its applicability to Botswana. This is a general conceptual analysis with a special focus directed at the University of Botswana. It traces its emergence and the extent to which it is embraced as an alternative to traditional model of education under the rubric of state-owned public university. Although entrepreneurial educational model is increasingly, getting global attention, it is not so widely established in the global south, where the role of the public sector in providing social services is still imperative. Understandably so because many people in developing countries are still struggling with the basics hence privately paid education whose raison-detre is profit making will not be affordable unless funded or subsidised by the state. The research provides insights into the influx of newly established privately owned universities which could be classified as entrepreneurial. Researchers contend that their emergence is driven by the neoliberal agenda in education which underpins the market supremacy and private universities as contributing to investment and job creation. These universities are not directly funded by the state, they are autonomous and self-run; the government only sponsors the students enrolled in their courses by paying their tuition fees.

Students' perceptions of agenda 2030 and its impact on higher education

The article presents a study conducted with 155 students from the Academic Unit of Accounting and Administration (UACyA) of the Autonomous University of Nayarit, exploring students' perceptions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A descriptive quantitative approach was employed, using a survey administered to students from different semesters and analyzing the data through descriptive statistics. The research aims to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and expectations of students regarding the 2030 Agenda. While most students understand the importance of the 2030 Agenda and its impact on the future, there is a gap between their perception and the actual integration of the SDGs into their study plans. The lack of a consistent focus on the SDGs hinders students' preparedness to contribute practically to sustainable development. Greater integration of the SDGs into university research is required, promoting collaboration between the UACyA, governments, and international organizations to holistically address global challenges. To ensure that future generations are equipped to contribute to a sustainable future, the UACyA must adopt a proactive approach, including the SDGs in study plans, promoting research and experiential learning, and raising awareness about the 2030 Agenda. This study suggests the need to implement strategies that promote the understanding and application of the 2030 Agenda in higher education.

Exploring the philosophy and practice of AI literacy in higher education in the Global South: a scoping review

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the top of the agendas of higher education and education leaders are required to give direction in educating the next generation of students and citizens. AI holds positive answers to technological innovations, but the potential for continued inequities, exclusion and divides must not be ignored. As a relatively new concept, AI literacy is often viewed as a complex concept requiring more detailed conceptualisation. Furthermore, with the recent hype around generative AI (GenAI), discussions and explorations around what AI literacy is, are now being deliberated. Historically AI was the domain of mathematicians and computer scientists. This is changing as the wider implication of AI permeates all aspects of society, in particular the ethical and informed use of AI and GenAI is paramount. This leaves higher education with the dilemma of deciding who is responsible in teaching and facilitation AI literacy. Keeping in mind that there is an abundance of new literacies in academia. This problem is particularly pronounced in the Global South countries, where digital exclusions and social injustice are becoming more complex. This scoping review evaluated 40 screened and eligible peer reviewed articles and conference proceedings published between 2020- 2024 on AI literacy in higher education in the Global South. The aim of the study was to gauge the extant research on AI literacy and its subsequent ethical implications in higher education in the Global South. The study further explored which philosophies and frameworks inform and guide AI literacy research and support in higher education within the selected region. Findings are that while the disciplines of education are engaging in research, other disciplines such as Information Science are interdisciplinary actors in teaching and facilitating AI literacy, but that there is a pronounced paucity in research being conducted

Does ‘What Works’ Work? The Quest for the Holy Grail in Physical Education

The ‘What Works’ agenda within education has become popular for its focus on accountability through data, advancing the aim of developing tangible principles to improve student performance. Nevertheless, this strategy has also been criticised for seeking to define education and missing key social, emotional, and developmental issues, often narrowly. This narrative review attempts to put in perspective the use of the agenda in physical education and to combine evidence to assess its claims and shortcomings. The main conclusions suggest a dilemma in pedagogical practice between paying attention to a narrow definition of students’ success in terms of physical fitness and motor skills acquisition and all the other central goals, including individual improvement, societal change, and interest in engaging in physical activity throughout life. This review takes a step towards identifying solutions to various issues in physical education by addressing evidence-based approaches and the need for interdependency with educational aims, improving the effectiveness of physical education towards students’ health and well-being.

Exploring Environmental Education Content through Education for Sustainable Development Lenses. A Case of Malawi Senior Primary School Religious Education Curriculum

The United Nations environmental education agenda calls all bodies of knowledge to engage students by instilling environmental consciousness and actively involve them through transformative classroom practices. Therefore, all curricula are expected to integrate considerable and relevant environmental content that is linked to Education for Sustainable Development through classroom practice. This qualitative article is part of a larger study that investigated the adequacy of environmental education content and the suggested pedagogical approaches in the Malawi senior primary school Religious Education curriculum. This was in an effort to seek deeper understanding on the adequacy of ecological and environmental content and how the content is pedagogically made accessible to learners. The investigation involved analyzing Religious Education curriculum documents and recommended textbooks with respect to ecological and environmental content, including the suggested pedagogical approaches. The study revealed the limited coverage of ecological and environmental issues especially the Bible Knowledge curricular that focus more on conservation and less on sustainability and ecological justice. Furthermore, the study revealed a dominance of transmission mode, with a focus on knowledge transmission rather than critical thinking or problem-posing with practical engagement of students. Among some of the propositions were the need for review of RE curriculum, focusing on adequacy of ecological and environmental content with the transformative pedagogical approaches and this in response to the UN urgent call on ecological and environmental education.

Cultural Interface in Action: A Case Study of Philippine Indigenous Educational Policy

This study explores the development and implementation of the Indigenous Peoples’ Education (IPEd) policy in the Philippines, which institutionalizes the practice of cultural interface by combining Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge systems in the Philippine curriculum. Using actor-centered institutionalism as an analytical framework, this study investigates the motivations and processes behind the Philippine Government’s strategy of employing an interfacing model in policy and curriculum development. Through in-depth expert interviews and policy documents analysis, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of IPEd’s development and stakeholder involvement. The findings reveal that IPEd shifted from assimilationist approaches to an interface model of education, recognizing Indigenous peoples’ representation and rights to education, and participation in national policy development. The implementation of the IPEd policy necessitates continuous dialogue and collaboration between the Indigenous communities and the state, emphasizing rights-based approach to ensure meaningful inclusion of Indigenous knowledge systems. This study contributes to the ongoing agenda of inclusive education for Indigenous peoples at the national policy level.

‘Mijn bibliotheek zal het drievoudige boek van God zijn’. Het boek der natuur in de onderwijsvisie van Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670)

This article explores how the metaphor of the world as one of God’s books (book of nature) functions in the work of the 17th-century theologian and educator Jan Amos Comenius. Although the metaphor is frequently used in the Christian tradition in relation to knowledge acquisition, Comenius gives it his own colouring. For him, it is a key element of his innovative educational agenda. Comenius’ use of the book metaphor is explored and evaluated from both a pedagogical and a theological perspective.

Developing a Critical Intercultural Perspective in Language Learning

Intercultural language teaching and learning is one manifestation of the critical turn in language education. Its critical dimension is characterised by a strong emphasis on self-reflexivity in both teaching and learning, and by a transformational agenda for language education (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). Within language education, the critical project requires that the focus of language learning is to develop social actors capable of using language repertoires in ways that provide for agency both over language (in the choices they make about how to use their language resources) and through language (in the social possibilities they realise for themselves through their language repertoires). Within such a view of education, critical reflection comes to play an important role. To consider language education in such a way requires reconceptualising some of the fundamental starting assumptions of language education, which provides a basis for creating new emphases in both theory and practice.

Evolution of Educational Reforms in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study of National Education Commissions (1972-2009)

This commission laid the groundwork for subsequent reforms to promote universal primary education and reduce disparities in access. Following this, the 1982 Commission emphasized quality and relevance in education, advocating for a curriculum that aligned with the needs of the country’s economy and society. It introduced vocational training to bridge the gap between education and employment, highlighting the importance of skill development in achieving economic growth. This approach aimed to enhance accountability and responsiveness to the unique needs of different communities. In the early 2000s, the 2000 Education Commission further advanced the agenda of inclusive education, with a strong emphasis on gender equity and the need to support marginalized groups. It recognized the role of technology in modern education and recommended integrating ICT into the curriculum to prepare students for a globalized world. Finally, the 2009 Commission built upon previous recommendations and emphasized the necessity for ongoing reforms to adapt to changing global trends, including the need for a lifelong learning framework. Overall, the comparative analysis of these commissions highlights a continuous evolution of educational policies in Bangladesh, marked by an increasing recognition of the importance of quality, inclusivity, and relevance in education. It underscores the dynamic interplay between education and national development, as each commission responded to the pressing needs of its time while laying the groundwork for future reforms. This comprehensive examination of educational reforms serves as a crucial foundation for understanding the ongoing challenges and opportunities within the Bangladeshi education system today.

Lessons learned teaching social and emotional learning in physical education teacher education: a self-study

ABSTRACT Background Social and emotional learning (SEL) has emerged as a political and educational priority worldwide. Numerous academic and non-academic benefits of effective (well-designed and well-implemented) SEL programmes within educational contexts exist. Not surprisingly, SEL has been acknowledged as one of the most prioritised educational agendas to support students’ holistic growth and success across different subjects in schools, health and physical education is no exception. Yet, while SEL continues to progress as a global education priority, there is limited literature on SEL in physical education, and even less which seeks to explore teaching SEL in a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme. Purpose Framed by Loughran’s conceptualisation of developing a pedagogy of teacher education, this study explored lessons learned from one teacher educator’s first experience teaching SEL in a health and physical education teacher education programme. Method A self-study of teacher education practices methodology supported one teacher educator to interrogate their experience, decisions, identity, and practices teaching SEL in a PETE programme. Data includes written reflections (n = 10 pages, single-spaced), transcribed critical friend discussions (n = 112 pages single-spaced), and teaching artefacts. Data analysis involved a collaborative reflexive thematic analysis approach to facilitate the inductive identification of themes and patterns. Findings Results are grouped into three categories: lessons learned about my practice as a teacher educator, lessons learned about my pre-service teachers, and lessons learned about teacher education. The three lessons include: (1) the importance of SEL being taught not caught, (2) students lack content knowledge, and (3) once is not enough. Results confirm teaching SEL requires a programmatic approach. Each lesson represents an ongoing process of making sense of self in practice. Conclusions The results of this research provide pedagogical considerations about teacher education programmes and those who teach in them. Teaching about teaching is a complex process. Teaching about teaching SEL may be an even more complex process as teacher educators rarely have developed these competencies themselves.

Confronting the idealised ‘Nordic model’ in education with contemporary realities of special education in Sweden

ABSTRACT For decades, the Nordic countries have been admired for their inclusive education systems within egalitarian societies, bolstered by PISA studies and global calls to ensure inclusive education as a human right. This paper contrasts idealised perspectives on Nordic education with internal experiences, exploring recent challenges to the relationship between special and inclusive education. Using Sweden as a case study, it highlights internal diversity within the Nordic region, showing differing paths and gaps between research, policy and school realities. The risks of idealising past educational models are discussed, noting that Sweden, once known for its egalitarian education and low special education needs classification rates, now faces higher classification rates and more separate provision due to policy changes. Recent trends have shown a shift towards increased diagnosis and classification, influenced by marketisation and decentralisation policies. The paper focuses on neurodivergence, analysing shifts in government priorities, teacher education, school practices and research agendas. Analysis of recent policies, reports and educational data reveals winners and losers in school participation, providing insights into the implications for educational discourse, the future of the ‘Nordic model’, and Swedish education in a global context.

The two ends of the tertiary education spectrum

Tertiary education over the past ten years has seen a significant increase in learner diversity and the variability. Learners today are not a homogeneous group, instead they bring a variety of rich cultures, abilities, multiple and intersectional identities, varied lived experiences, and educational backgrounds. What was once known as the non-traditional or under-represented learner, today it is more common experience with the increase in international learners, refugees, asylum seekers, neurodiverse learners, carers, vulnerable learners, widening participation and access learners. We know this variability exists with the increase in learners registered with the disability or wellbeing services, a targeted approach to recruiting international learners and the widening access and participation efforts. While variability and diversity should be celebrated it does require adequate resources and funding, inclusive support structures and systems to be put in place, as well providing staff professional development. With this change there is an opportunity through enhancement that involves ‘doing new things or doing established things in different ways’ (QAA Scotland 2022, p.6). Inclusive education, “understood as equal access and opportunities, has become a guiding principle of higher education agendas” (Timus et al. 2024, 473). Across institutions there is a plethora of inclusion allies, advocates, initiatives, strategies, polices and professional development supports, so why are so many learners leaving courses, not engaging, not attending and certainly not seeing the value of education. Is it the pendulum shift toward marketisation, commercialisation and privatisation that learners are not seeing institutions as spaces and places of equity and justice but factories where money needs to cross hands? Where on this spectrum is the balance for enhancement and could universal design and universal design for learning be at least the starting point?

Schools and industries producing educational-labor paths in secondary TVET in Chile: Who sets the skills agenda?

This research studies the relations and articulations between two schools from the Antofagasta Region, located in the mining north of Chile, and three of mining companies in the country, which have part of their main operations in the surrounding territories of these schools. This study interrogates the forms of articulation between these schools and the companies, analyzing the main actions, agendas and institutional purposes that both the schools and the companies seek regarding each institutional needs and perspectives. We critically examine these articulations and relationships because, as a result of Chilean public policy in the area of TVET, which is intended to be an industry demand-oriented training policy, the mining industry is actively influencing the school training processes and curriculum, which does not necessarily result in the acquisition of relevant and significant skills for students. This study was designed from a qualitative approach, through the application of two-rounds of situated in-depth interviews to schools’ managers and professionals from mining companies from the north region of Chile. The findings illustrate the ways in which different efforts, contributions and formative actions provided by the companies are reshaping the educational processes inside the schools, establishing educational agendas that expect to provide more efficient alignments between the schools and the companies’ labor needs. Specifically, the paper argues that mining industry companies promote a reduced technical skills approach. This does not include long-term educational planning within the schools, and alternative technical, relational and transformational approaches to skills are absent. The former conventional notions of vocational education and training are being challenged by theoretical and empirical literature. A critical discussion on the skills agenda setting in VET systems is also presented. This study offers an original analytical review and an in-depth study on the dynamics and discourses that articulate and motivate the collaboration between VET schools and mining companies in the Chilean North.

Parent input: shaping inclusive education for students with disabilities

Over the past 20 years, significant developments have occurred in Jordan to create more inclusive school settings. This is in part due to new national policies such as 2017 Public Law no. 20, Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and partly a result of international organizations’ support and funding. The collective efforts are dismantling historical attitudes and beliefs about disability, yet often, intellectual disabilities remain marginalised in schools and communities. The current study explores the perceptions of parents whose children are attending inclusive public schools. Data was collected through focus groups in three districts representing central, northern and southern Jordan as a part of a needs assessment for broader inclusion work in these districts. Past research reveals that parents in Jordan are often divided on their support of inclusive education, and the survey research results do not clearly explain this division. The data indicates that parents welcome the idea of their children attending inclusive schools while expressing concerns about bullying and isolation at the hands of the other students. This is compounded by a worry that teachers lack sufficient experience supporting students with disabilities. These findings align with international research with parents of youth with disabilities and have significance within Jordan, where inclusion continues to be at the forefront of the educational agenda. The implications for this research indicate that while inclusive education is more prominent and disability is more widely discussed, there are still traditional challenges to enactment.

Critical Pedagogy Against the Neoliberal Agenda in Education: The Stance of Critical Educators

N/A