Public Education Policies Research Articles

What competencies public policy education promises: A qualitative comparative analysis of university types, education levels, and courses in Turkey

ABSTRACT Public policy education has rapidly spread among universities worldwide and in Turkey in the last few decades. Despite this spread, it is a question mark what competencies this education promises to future public policy analysts in today’s complex economic, social, and political environment. This study first investigates the rising expectations from public policy analysts based on the relevant literature. Then it employs a comparative content analysis on “course learning outcomes” representing the promises of 151 public policy courses in Turkey’s 72 universities’ political science and public administration departments. The prominent findings indicate big gaps in public policy education in the country, and the literature’s expectations are not fully met in practice. While the neglect of competencies related to evidence-based public policymaking and the use of information technology is a significant hindrance to the development of modern policy analysts, the need for national regulation comes to the fore as a solution.

What Factors Drive School Districts to Adopt Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK): Evidence from Wisconsin

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study proposes and tests hypotheses regarding the factors in public early-childhood education (ECE) policy that may explain local universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) policies. By analyzing district-level longitudinal data from the Wisconsin State Department and United States (U.S.) Census over two decades, the study examines the contextual factors associated with policy adoption. Among the three frames of ECE policy – social welfare, education, and family services – this study finds that the education frame, which emphasizes the goal of public ECE in improving all students’ educational outcomes, is the primary motivation for UPK in Wisconsin. The social-welfare frame, which posits that public ECE supports poor families, also appears to be associated with Wisconsin UPK policies. Additionally, the results show that UPK was not introduced to provide more child care for working parents, indicating that the family-service frame does not explain UPK. Practice or Policy: Given the overlapping roles of public ECE policies, this study demonstrates that UPK has primarily been oriented toward educational objectives and provides insights for policymakers in deciding which policy to adopt based on local needs.

Social mobility and education policy: a district-level analysis of legislative behavior

Abstract A vast literature has examined how perceptions of mobility shape demand for redistribution. These studies generally refer to contemporaneous tax policies demanded by those directly impacted. But social mobility is often measured as changes across generations. To account for these intergenerational effects, our analysis focuses on educational policies. We examine how social mobility at the district level explains legislative support for inclusive education policies. We first develop an electoral competition model where voters are altruistic parents, politicians are office seeking and the future economic status of the children is affected both by the degree of income mobility and by public education policies. We then analyze a newly compiled dataset of roll-call votes on California education legislation matched with electoral district levels of income mobility. In line with the model, our analysis suggests that upward mobility in a district negatively predicts legislative support for redistributive education bills.

The Role of Scientific Language Use and Achievement Level in Student Sensemaking

Many science students struggle with using scientific language and making sense of scientific phenomena. Thus, there is an increased interest in science education research and public policy with regard to understanding and promoting scientific language use and sensemaking in science classrooms. However, there is a lack of comparative studies on how upper-secondary school students of different achievement and language levels use scientific language to make sense of phenomena. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between achievement level, scientific language use, and sensemaking in chemistry for students being set a sensemaking task while constructing concept maps on the topic of chemical equilibrium. The concept maps were collected from five different upper-secondary schools in Sweden from two school systems (Swedish and International Baccalaureate). Using content analysis, these concept maps were examined for scientific language use as well as structuring of sensemaking. A majority of the students had difficulty structuring sensemaking in their concept maps, independently of achievement level. These difficulties included unstructured reasoning, symbolic representations being used as explanations, surface-level learning, and linear reasoning connected to rote learning. There appeared to be a connection between learning context and student individual structuring of sensemaking as expressed in the concept maps. The results also showed a clear relationship between scientific language use and achievement level in the student sample. The results indicate that the structuring of sensemaking and scientific language use are not always connected processes. In conclusion, teachers may need to adopt a teaching practice that includes directed and differentiated support for scientific sensemaking.

Educational Management to Promote Inclusive Environments in Costa Rica: An Analysis from an Educational Policy Perspective

The educational management implemented by principals is essential to guarantee compliance with educational policies, which are not only an obligation but a conviction in schools wanting to promote inclusive environments and respect for diversity, multiculturalism, comprehensive training, teamwork, creative capacity, abstract thinking, and social entrepreneurship through equitable and accessible coexistence spaces. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the fulfillment of the educational policy on inclusive education from the perspective of educational management. The research implemented a qualitative approach, with the participation of six primary school principals in Costa Rica and used the case study technique through a semi-structured interview. The findings show the existence of situations limiting the application of educational policies, mainly in the promotion of inclusive environments oriented to prejudice-free coexistence respecting diversity, as well as in issues of lifelong learning and institutional transformation as part of the orientations of the country’s public policy in education.

Impact of Digital Media on Social-Emotional Development in Early Childhood: A Case Study at TK Kartika XX-46 Kendari

This qualitative study explores digital media's impact on children's social-emotional development at TK Kartika XX-46 Kendari, particularly emphasizing its educational utility and influence on educators' motivation and teaching efficacy. Employing a multi-phase approach involving planning, implementation, and assessment, the research reveals that digital media positively affects children’s social-emotional growth, as evident through heightened enthusiasm and positive behaviors like empathy. The study also discovered an enhancement in educators' motivation and diversification in teaching methods. Initial limitations, such as low digital literacy among teachers and insufficient infrastructure, have been progressively mitigated through concerted efforts involving multiple stakeholders. In a broader context, these findings offer valuable implications for educational practices and public policy by laying the groundwork for future research to refine pedagogical strategies. The study's limitations include its restricted scope, which is confined to one educational institution. Future studies should investigate varied educational settings and examine the complex effects of different digital platforms on children's social-emotional development.

NPM policy in Higher Education: a Review of Effects on Universities’ Efficiency and Productivity

Research in the fields of public policy and efficiency evaluation in higher education intensifies amid the NPM spread. This paper advocates the need to increase awareness on whether universities transform and modernise their operations under performance-enhancing policies, and systematically reviews the existing empirical evidence on the effects of such policies in terms of efficiency and productivity. The study classifies the mechanisms of public intervention as ‘state as financier’, ‘the structuring state’ and ‘the autonomy steering state’. The synthesis of the fragmented evidence on the effects of public interventions in terms of universities’ efficiency and productivity addressed by data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis methodologies is follows. Enhancement of competitive environment and higher autonomy are associated with higher efficiency and productivity. Supply side concentration of resources through excellence initiatives and restructuring of the landscape because of Bologna Process were also effective in transforming universities’ production function. The evidence on top-down mergers is mixed, and we can question their implementation, as opposed to voluntary mergers.

Perspectivas de relações entre Biblioteconomia e Pedagogia: um olhar no contexto das políticas públicas de informação e educação

Based on the main objective of verifying the possible relations between Library Science and Pedagogy from the perspective of information and education policies, this study analyzes public education and information policies to present possible applications; and reflects on the limitations and applications built on these relations. An exploratory and bibliographic research analyzed laws, programs, projects and actions on the subject, as well as studies by renowned authors on the field. Results pointed out relations established between Library Science and Education, considering the concept of public information and education policies, as well as policies and programs directly linked with the two areas, and suggested certain applications.

Policy articulation in the institutional arrangement for implementing the pibid 2007-2013

This article is part of the debate on public educational policies in Brazil, and presents research results on the institutional arrangement for the implementation of the Institutional Program of Initiation Scholarship to Teaching, Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. This is a program for encouraging and valuing teaching and for improving the process of teaching for Basic Education, in partnership between universities and schools, with the licensees as their target public. The main theoretical-methodological foundation of the research is from the field of Public Policies, especially the studies about the phase of implementation of policies. Based on the theoretical-analytical model of the institutional arrangements for implementation, the guiding issue of this study was: what are the public educational policies linked to the Pibid in its institutional arrangement for implementation. The results pointed to a articulation of recent public educational policies to Pibid established via LDBEN, I and II PNE, PDE and "new" Capes, regarding teacher training for Basic Education. These policies also characterized the context of the creation of the Bibid and a structure of institutional and financial incentives. Consideration of the institutional arrangement for implementing the Pibid at different scales is relevant to understand the collaborative regimes involved in its institutional-legal and institutional-academic arrangement and the respective scales of implementation in the subnational federative entities and implementation in the partnerships between HEIs, public elementary education networks and each school-field.

Senses and repercussions of student assistance on the eating practices of students from a Brazilian public university during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Student assistance (SA), regulated through the National Student Assistance Program (PNAES), seeks to meet the basic social needs of university students and is inserted in the field of public policies for higher education in federal institutions in Brazil. The program allocates financial resources in order to provide scholarships, housing, food, transport, physical and mental health, and accessibility for disabled students. The present study aims to identify the senses attributed by students of a federal public university to AE and the relationship between SA and their eating practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative approach was used. Online questionnaire and focus groups were employed for data collection. The study public consisted of undergraduate students. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used, opting for thematic analysis, with the support of the MAXQDA software. The core meanings were organized into two categories: (i) food during pandemic and (ii) role of student assistance. A total of 55 responses were obtained, and three focus groups were carried out. About 45% reported that the pecuniary aid offered by the university was the family's only source of income during the pandemic and 65% used it to buy food. More than half described worsening in food quality, related to food prices. Although no specific evaluation instrument was used, it is plausible to admit that the students experienced a situation of food insecurity, given the uncertainty in regular access to food, the compromised quality of food, and the strategies mobilized to guarantee a minimum amount of food for all members of the family. Among the reported strategies were changing the location and mode of acquisition (receiving donations, buying in groups or in wholesalers) and choosing cheaper genres. Although students consider SA essential for access and maintenance at the university, a sense assigned to SA was the role of "help." In general, students did not link SA to social rights, as part of public educational policy and as a mechanism for food and nutrition security. SA actions developed during the pandemic were essential for keeping students at the university, also functioning, albeit unintentionally, as a food and nutritional security mechanism.

Urban schools and the growth machine: When public education and development policy conflict

ABSTRACT The following case study explores the durability of conflict between urban growth machine policies, public-school finance, and educational equity in Columbus, OH. The City of Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the Midwest, but it’s largest urban public school district (Columbus City Schools) has grown smaller, more segregated, and poorer. Historical development policies enabled the city’s growth but undermined the school district. Contemporary conflict has emerged related to the impact of tax abatement programs on public school funding. Our Franklin county analysis suggests previous statewide estimates of public schools revenues lost to abatements were underestimated. Analysis of the relationship between abatements and school finances for all public-school districts in Franklin County finds a weak relationship with per pupil spending, but a strong relationship with district demographics and classroom expenditures. Our case analysis suggests planners should focus greater attention on the intersection of economic development policy and public schools.

Anthropogenic threats associated with mortality and biomass of stranded sea turtles on the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil

ABSTRACT Beach monitoring programmes along the Brazilian coast in recent years have provided stranding data which can be analysed to show the effects of human impacts on sea turtle populations. In Brazil, the five species recorded are threatened with extinction. In this study, data from strandings of sea turtles on the northern coast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, over six years (2015–2021), were used to evaluate whether human activities are associated with impacts on the populations and to analyse the effects of seasonality on abundance. There were 6411 strandings of sea turtles, the majority being Chelonia mydas, followed by Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, Eretmochelys imbricata and Dermochelys coriacea. Strandings occurred mainly during winter and spring. Where it was possible to determine the cause of death of an individual, there were several associations with anthropogenic factors, mainly solid waste, fishing gear, collisions with vessels, injuries and dredging. The high incidence of strandings of sea turtles on the Brazilian coast, mostly juveniles, and the great impact of anthropogenic factors in the causa mortis indicate the need to adopt ocean education strategies and public policies that can establish effective management and conservation plans of marine ecosystems.

RUPTURA: DISCUSSÕES EM TORNO DAS POLÍTICAS EDUCACIONAIS PÚBLICAS BRASILEIRAS PARA UM CURRÍCULO VIVO ANTIRRACISTA

The understanding of identity and the roles of subjects in society is necessary both for achieving subjective satisfaction, typical of being, and for the development of society in relational and productive dimensions. This article is an invitation to discussions and the development of other research and practices, aiming to understand the complexities of the curriculum, decoloniality and teaching. It resorts to the documents that make up Brazilian public educational policies (national and international) with regard to the constitution of the curriculum and teacher training, such as: National Common Curricular Base (BRASIL, 2018), the BNC- Training (BRASIL, 2019) and the Incheon International Declaration (UNESCO, 2016a). The documentary analysis is anchored in Stuart Hall (2016), Aníbal Quijano (2005), José Sacristán (2017), Maria Lúcia Damásio (2008), Eneida Shiroma (2011), Teresa Teruya and Delton Felipe (2018), among others. In addition, the series “Severance”, created by Dan Erickson, with the first season in 2022, aired on the Apple TV+ streaming service, represents a critique of the disconnection of interpersonal relationships from everyday life to the detriment of work in an organization, and demands of Capital. The analysis of the series made it possible to perceive the circumstances of the superficiality of the discourses of educational public policies, which reverberate in teacher training and in the curriculum. Such discourses do not really address the inclusion of minority groups in society, the reduction of distances caused by socioeconomic inequalities and the deconstruction of structural racism, but they present cultural erasures in compliance with a colonial curriculum.

Dietary environmental impacts of French adults are poorly related to their income levels or food insecurity status.

Recent global-scale analysis showed the extent of inequality in terms of carbon emissions related to overall consumption, with richer households emitting significantly more greenhouse gases than poorer ones. While socio-economic status is a known determinant of food consumption, and despite the urgent need to move towards more sustainable diets, very few studies have explored socio-economic differences regarding the environmental impacts of diets. The objective of the present study was to compare the environmental impacts of French adults'diets according to food insecurity (FI) status and income level. The environmental impacts of diets of a representative sample of adults living in France (n = 1964) were assessed using data from the last National Individual Food Consumption Survey (INCA3) and the Agribalyse® v3.0.1 environmental database. Fifteen impact indicators were estimated, including climate change, eutrophication (freshwater, marine, terrestrial), resource depletion (energy, minerals, water), and the single EF score. First, the mean diet-related impact (per day per person) was estimated for each environmental indicator by decile of environmental impact. Second, the environmental impacts of diets of individuals living in food-insecure households (severe and moderate FI, as measured by the Household Food Security Survey Module) were compared with those of individuals living in food-secure households, the latter being divided by income decile. Differences in environmental impacts of diets (total and by food group) between these 12 sub-populations were tested by ANOVA after adjustment for age, gender, energy intake and household size. The 10% of the population with the highest environmental impact has a mean impact approximately 3-6 times higher than the 10th with the lowest environmental impact, depending on the indicator. Individuals living in households with severe and moderate FI represented 3.7% and 6.7% of the studied population, respectively. Results showed a high variability in impacts within each of the 12 sub-population and no difference in environmental impacts of diets between sub-populations, except for water use (p < 0.001) and freshwater eutrophication (p = 0.02). The lowest water use and freshwater eutrophication were observed for individuals living in households with severe FI and the highest for high-income sub-populations, with differences mainly explained by the level of fruit and vegetable intakes and the type of fish consumed, respectively. Low-income populations, in particular individuals living in households with severe FI, had relatively high intakes of ruminant meat but for most indicators, the high environmental impact of this food group was offset by low consumption of other high impacting food groups (e.g., fruits and vegetables), and/or by high consumption of low impacting food groups (e.g., starches), resulting in no difference in the impact at the diet level. While there is a high inter-individual variability in the environmental impacts of diets, this variability was not related to income level or FI status for most indicators, except higher water use and freshwater eutrophication in higher-income populations. Overall, our results underline the importance of considering individual dietary patterns and thinking at the whole diet level, and not only considering specific food or food groups impacts, when designing educational tools or public policies to promote more sustainable diets.

Perceived Value of Public Health and Health Policy Information Among Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study.

We used a 39-item instrument to cross-sectionally survey medical students, to assess their perceptions of the value of public health and health policy within their professional education. One hundred two students completed the survey (13% response rate). Most students reported an interest in public health (94.1%) and health policy (92.2%). Although interested, most students lacked confidence in their knowledge of public health and health policy on both state (health policy 34.3% confident; public health 43.1%) and national (health policy 41.0%; public health 44.1%) levels. Most students perceived that their institution has not sufficiently prepared them to understand health policy (34% felt prepared) and most reported insufficient information to participate in policy discussions (30.3% sufficiently informed). Medical students reported an interest in public health and health policy while also reporting a lack of confidence in their level of preparedness to understand and participate in these fields, thus demonstrating a need for increased public health and health policy education within medical school curricula.

THE EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES IMPLIED IN THE OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES IN THE INCLUSIVE PERSPECTIVE

The article presents the school educational purposes implicit in the Operational Guidelines from an inclusive perspective. The school in constant evolution, the social reality and the curricular transformations was studied from the perspective of different authors and publications. Constructivism and the attribution of management of the educational process to the State were also considered. In the dimension of pedagogical practice, authority, values and citizenship, the FEE are indicators as a philosophical and evaluative orientation. Social and educational public policies in the contemplation of diversity, inclusion and multiple cultural identities were addressed. The DC-GO contains the contents to be worked on in the school unit, considering the local reality. Therefore, the objective was to analyze the educational purposes from an inclusive perspective, contemplating the Operational Guidelines of the public education network. And, conceptualize the FEE implicit in the LDB/96; identify its characteristics in the context of DC-GO; list the provisions of inclusive pedagogy and the possibilities within the teaching-learning process. The systematic literature review methodology was based on scholars such as Libâneo, Lenoir, Tiballi, Freitas, Mantoan and Callas, among others. Findings: the multifactorial character of the problems marked by old paradigms, divergent concepts of the FEE function and the DC-GO propositions in the context of public policies. It was concluded that the FEE demand adaptations and cohesion in the formulation of educational policies. Integrating students with special needs requires reorganization of the school, attentive to the legislation. A critical teaching attitude is expected resulting from a collective effort aimed at the integral development of the student through reflective practices in the face of real needs.

Pursuing Antiracist Public Policy Education: An Example Connecting the Racist History of Housing Policy to Contemporary Inequity

We review the antiracism concept and contextualize it in Extension public policy education and the Extension system itself. Despite public policy education having a long history in Extension on a wide variety of issues, missing from this programming is the pursuit of antiracism. As a programmatic example, we review some historical causes of present-day housing inequities and an associated example approach for pursuing antiracism in housing policy education. Finally, we conclude by noting additional opportunities to pursue antiracism in Extension public policy education. In doing so, we emphasize that public policy education cannot be “nonracist” if it is not antiracist.

Curricularização do ‘espetáculo’ na nova Base Nacional Comum Curricular

The work "Spectacular Formation!: education in times of National Common Curricular Base" (EDUFBA, 2022), by André Cechinel and Rafael Rodrigo Mueller, reflects in the field of public education policies the paradoxes based on the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) itself. of high school, in the sense that it despises the organic history in the area and the sociocultural processes of human recognition, reflecting on the instability and decline of high school, in favor of a kind of spectacularization of training conceived by the modus operandi of the bourgeoisie and by reforms educational. The authors of the book work in the field of Education, being André Cechinel a PhD in Literature from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), with an internship at New York University (NYU). He is a professor at the Graduate Program in Education and at the Letters Course at the Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (UNESC) and a collaborating professor at the Graduate Program in Translation at UFSC. Rafael Rodrigo Mueller has a Doctorate in Education from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), with a postdoctoral degree at the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR). He is a professor at the Graduate Program in Education (PPGE) and at the Graduate Program in Socioeconomic Development (PPGDS) at the Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (UNESC).

Diabetes Prevalence and Associated Factors in the Adult Population Aged 25–64 in the Humbo Districts of Woliata Zone

The burden of disease caused by NCDs is quickly growing in emerging nations, with substantial social, economic, and health repercussions. However, data on the prevalence of diabetes and related variables among adults aged 25–64 years in Ethiopia, particularly in drought-stricken areas, is limited. The goal of this study is to find out how common diabetes is and what variables contribute to it in the middle-aged population. From January to February 2020, a community-based cross-sectional survey was undertaken among adults aged 25–64 years in Humbo district, southern Ethiopia. 587 people were chosen using a multi-stage sampling process. Weight, height, and fasting blood glucose levels were all measured. To enter data into a computer, Epi Data version 3.1 was utilized, which was subsequently exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, and statistical significance was determined at a p-value of less than 0.05. Diabetes was found in 5.9% of the research participants (95 percent CI: 3.8–7.8). Age 45–54 (AOR = 4.80, 1.25, 18.32), physical inactivity (AOR = 5.33, 1.37, 20.72), family history of diabetes mellitus (AOR = 6.34, 95 percent CI: 2.43, 16.55), and obesity (AOR = 3.26, 95 percent CI: 1.43, 7.42) were all significantly associated with diabetes, according to multivariable logistic regression. The findings demonstrated the need for implementing educational public policies to encourage population behavior changes in order to prevent and control diabetes.

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection and Vaccination: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices among Young Adults Attending Universities in Cameroon

Aims: This study was initiated to assess the knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination, attitudes towards HPV vaccines, as well as risky sexual practices of young university students towards HPV infection. &#x0D; Study Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that included university-going young adults of both sexes, aged 18 to 25 years. &#x0D; Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in four randomly selected state universities, located in different geographic regions of Cameroon. The study took place between April and July 2022.&#x0D; Methodology: The survey instrument was a self-administered anonymous questionnaire. Participants were randomly given questionnaires to be completed. Data was imported into SPSS version 23 software for analyses. Participants were categorised into one of two groups - poor level of knowledge and good level of knowledge, depending on the number of correct answers to 7 questions about knowledge of HPV infection and vaccination. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to examine differences in parameters.&#x0D; Results: 1263 questionnaires were returned. Most participants (78.9%) were undergraduates aged 20 - 21 years (32.7%). Overall, just 87/1263 (6.9%) of participants had a good knowledge of HPV infection and vaccination, most of whom were females (56.7%). Educational level (OR 3.11, 95% CI (1.24 – 7.85), P = .02), field of study (OR 0.42, 95% CI (0.17 – 1.04), P = .04) and plans to become vaccinated (OR 0.33, 95% CI (0.14 – 0.76), P = .009) were predictors of good knowledge of HPV. Attitudes towards HPV vaccination were overall positive. 71.9% participants were sexually active, most of whom only used condoms sometimes (47.2%).&#x0D; Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for educational programs and public health policies targeted to this age bracket, to increase students’ awareness of the risks associated with HPV infection as this can potentially increase the vaccination rate in the country.