Education Policy Research Research Articles

Radiographers' perspectives on clinical supervision of students in Ireland

IntroductionOptimising clinical education in radiography is crucial to ensure competent graduates provide safe and effective patient care. Radiographers play a vital role in student supervision undertaken in the complex clinical environment. A greater understanding of factors influencing their ability to undertake this role effectively is needed. The study aimed to explore radiographers' attitudes and perceptions of confidence in undertaking clinical supervision and perceived barriers in a ‘real-life’ clinical department. MethodsThe lens of Bandura's social-cognitive theory was utilised to assist the exploration of the desired constructs. An anonymous online survey was developed and circulated among qualified radiographers in Ireland. Descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistical testing was undertaken. Thematic analysis was conducted on optional free-text comments. Results217 responses were received. Although most radiographers reported a positive attitude (73.3%), a significant minority reported not being confident across survey items related to the tasks required (ranging from 20.7%–29.1%). Time pressures from clinical workload, perceived lack of organisational support, and lack of guidance on expectations were highlighted challenges. ConclusionThe survey has enabled first-hand identification of some challenges radiographers encounter in undertaking students' clinical supervision. Radiographers must be supported to optimise the clinical learning environment where both students and educators are valued. Implications for practiceThe findings highlight impact on educational support, practice, policy and future research. Effective clinical supervision is dependent on collaborative engagement and support being evident at all levels, including the clinical department, academic and healthcare institutions, and national organisations.

Canadian K-12 Schooling During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons and Reflections

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented disruption to education and schooling at the end of the 2019-20 school year. Operating in a context of great uncertainty, education leaders were tasked with making key decisions with potentially far-reaching impacts on the educational and mental and physical health of students and families. Drawing on 9 cross-sectoral focus groups with school board administrators, representatives from education industry partners, and K-12 educational policy research organizations, this paper provides a historical record of the evolution of decision-making and points to promising lines of inquiry and lessons that can be learned from this moment in education.

Inequality in literacy skills at kindergarten entry at the intersections of social programs and race

Substantial education policy research focuses on economic and racial/ethnic differences in academic achievement. While previous research explores the extent to which educational disparities exist by one of these margins, little work documents how academic achievement varies at the intersection of economic insecurity and racial/ethnic identity. Using child-level data from Virginia, we document differences at these intersections for children in kindergarten, focusing on the link between social program participation (TANF, SNAP, eligible for free/reduced-price school meals) and literacy and phonological awareness skills, attending to variation between programs and by race/ethnicity. We first compare children in households receiving no, and relatively low, medium, and high support, finding literacy and phonological awareness skills are greatest among children that do not participate in any of the three social programs considered, followed by those who are only eligible for free/reduced-price school meals, and then those who participate in SNAP, and finally those who participate in TANF. These differences are likely to reflect differences in household resources. The primary objective of our paper is to examine the extent to which race modifies the relationship between program participation and PALS scores, and we find that it does; Black and Asian children who participate in public supports typically outperform similar program-participating White children, with Hispanic children lagging further behind.

Network ethnography: shifting perspectives and approaches to make sense of education governance

In response to the growing internationalisation and privatisation of education provision and governance, education policy research needs new tools and methods. This paper discusses theoretical and methodological adaptations needed to address new forms of governance. To do so, it draws from the literature on governance and policy mobility, and the methodological tools of Network Ethnography (NE) and following policy. Attention is shifted from structures to mobilities, focusing on new configurations of sociallife and relations, which are increasingly “networked”. This responsive and adaptive assemblage of research tactics and techniques addresses both the organisation and processes of network relations in the shifting terrain of new education governance.

Digital competition and capabilities' augmentation on international cohorts: evidence from the 'case competition 2019'

Intertwining the fields of education policy research (EPR) and educational experiment research (EER), this investigation exploits the usage of digital technologies and team-competition to test whether the phenomenon of digital competition yields a divergent (and likely more positive) impact than traditional classroom coursework, measurable on the degree of learning (criterion 1) and satisfaction (criterion 2) within a target population of international higher education students (HES). An event fashioned and simply dubbed as 'case competition', provided the context and virtual environment for a quasi-experiment which assigned participants (the experiment group) to seven teams competing to solve an industry case. Primary data obtained from the latter through an individual anonymised event's feedback-questionnaire was crossed-checked against a dataset of the overall annual students' evaluation of education quality (SEEQ) instrument; the respondents constitute the opposing control group. Results unravelled hidden benefits of endowing classroom-instruction with this off-stream approach. Furthermore, this led to the modelling of the digital competition augmented learning (DCAL) framework merging the virtues of three main bodies of educational theory: student-centric learning (SCL); problem-based learning (PBL) and technology-enhanced learning (TEL).

Knowledge Economy, Innovation and the Universities' Education Role in Saudi Arabia: A Study of Academicians’ Perspectives at the University of Hail

The labour market is witnessing a significant increase in the levels of demand to learn new skills in areas such as data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, which are among the most prominent features of the new industrial revolution. Universities have a vital function in the knowledge economy and innovation, as they generate and share knowledge through research, education, and creativity. The knowledge economy (KE) and innovation are key drivers of economic growth, as they promote innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. It creates new industries and jobs that require highly skilled workers. Weakness and inadequacy of the educational and research system have been considered as one of the main issues in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study is to identify the role of universities in the knowledge economy and innovation in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of academics at the University of Hail. To achieve the objective of this research, a cross-sectional explanatory and descriptive research design with a quantitative approach was adopted by the researchers. A sample size of 83 academicians was chosen using a simple random sampling procedure. The analysis method employed was structural equation modelling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS). The adopted instrument for collecting the data were a survey. The questionnaire measures were based on a 5-point Likert scale. To measure the reliability and validity of the instruments, Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and Fornell-Lacker criterion tests were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that educational curriculum, educational policy, infrastructure, and scientific research have a significant role in (KE) and innovation, whereas the results of teaching methods showed no significant role in (KE) and innovation. To remain competitive in the ever-changing economic landscape, policymakers in Saudi Arabian universities must prioritize curriculum design, infrastructure, teaching methods, policies, and skilled manpower while paying more attention to science, technology, and innovation. In addition, universities should focus on developing the skills of their graduates to meet the demands of the job market. This can be achieved by offering internships and apprenticeships, as well as providing training in soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

PEMBINAAN PENULISAN KARYA TULIS ILMIAH MELALUI SIKLUS DEMING (DEMING CYCLE) DI SEKOLAH BINA GUNA MENINGKATKAN KARIR DAN PROFESIONALISME GURU

This research is educational policy research in schools with the aim of fostering scientific writing to improve the career and professionalism of teachers in foster schools. This research was carried out in five (5) development schools consisting of SMP Negeri 2 Sangatta Utara, SMP Negeri 4 Muara Bengkal, SMP Negeri 4 Sandaran, and SMP Negeri 5 Sandaran for the academic year 2021/2022, with the research subjects of 30 teachers and objects research on the development of teaching scientific writing.The methodology used in this study is to use the Deming Cycle (plant, do, control, action). The findings of the research on the development of scientific writings for teachers in foster schools with the following components: (1) plans for writingscientific papers in the professional development of teachers in foster schools have gone very well, with 95% of activity plans running according to indicators (2) plans implementation of teacher scientific writing developmentwith in-house training 90% went very well, (3) the results of the implementation of teacher scientific writing development had compiled scientific papers as many as 23 teachers or about 76%, (4) followup results went well. good, 7 teachers, or 23% of teachers are continuously trained to improve teacher career development.The conclusion of this study is that there is an increase in the development of scientific writing for teachers in foster schools, teachers innovate following self-development according to their competencies according their era.

Practice-Based Research Policy in the Light of Indigenous Methodologies: The EU and Swedish Education

Abstract Participatory research methods in education, such as action research, have been around for some time. Recently, not only researchers but also research policy makers have highlighted the importance of participation between society and research. Citizen science, science with and for society, and practice-based educational research are examples of approaches that aim to bring society and research more closely together. In this paper, we explore underlying premises behind practice-based research policies in the EU and in Swedish educational research policy. In order to understand how participation can be understood, we have analysed them closely through a lens of Indigenous methodologies. Results reveal an underlying understanding of participation as nonreciprocal where expertise is a key concept, researchers hold this expertise, and where the main responsibilities for research lie with the researchers. However, the results also indicate a sense of respect for practice and a willingness to form relationships between research and practice. Keywords: practice-based research, school-based research, participatory research, Indigenous methodologies, Citizen science, research policy

Gender composition and wage gaps in the Canadian health policy research workforce in comparative perspective

BackgroundGendered challenges have been shown to persist among health practitioners in countries at all levels of development. Less is known about non-clinical professionals, that is, those who do not deliver services directly but are essential to health systems performance, such as health policy researchers. This national observational study examined gender occupational segregation and wage gaps in the Canadian health policy research workforce using a cross-domain comparative labour market analysis approach.MethodsSourcing data from the 2016 population census, we applied linear regression and Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition techniques to assess wage differentials by sex, traditional human capital measures (e.g., age, education, place of work), and social identity variables intersecting with gender (household head, childcare, migrant status) among health policy researchers aged 25–54. We compared the gender composition and wage gap with seven non-health policy and programme domains, as mapped under the national occupational classification by similarity in the types of work performed.ResultsThe health policy research workforce (N = 19 955) was characterized by gender segregation: 74% women, compared with 58% women among non-health policy research occupations (N = 102 555). Women health policy researchers earned on average 4.8% (95% CI 1.5‒8.0%) less than men after adjusting for other professional and personal variables. This gap was wider than among education policy researchers with similar gender composition (75% women; adjusted wage gap of 2.6%). Wages among health policy researchers were 21.1% (95% CI 19.4‒22.8%) lower than their counterparts in the male-dominated economics policy domain, all else being equal. Overall, women’s earnings averaged 3.2% lower than men’s due to factors that remained unexplained by policy domain or other measured predictors.ConclusionsThis investigation found that the gender inequalities already widely seen among clinical practitioners are replicated among health policy researchers, potentially hindering the competitiveness of the health sector for attracting and retaining talent. Our findings suggest intersectoral actions are necessary to tackle wage gaps and devaluation of female-dominated health professions. Accountability for gender equity in health must extend to the professionals tasked with conducting equity-informative health policy research.

Historical Development of Muslim Education in East Africa: An Eye on Kenya

The purpose of this article is to provide a narrative on the historical development of Muslim education with the objective of examining challenges and opportunities to support the strengthening of Muslim education agenda through policy dialogue and stakeholders’ engagements. The paper utilizes methods of inquiry such as literature review, observation, and analysis. Key findings are that Kenyan national education is strongly controlled by the Christian missionaries. For example, the Catholic Church controls about 27% of the country’s education. The country’s education is still subjected to the various socioeconomic dynamics, where Muslim education is not the exception. The rights of Muslim students in the Mission institutions are extremely limited, allowing students only a special place for prayers. This is against country constitution and child rights in Kenya. The problem of historical discrimination continues to hurt Muslims to date as the government is yet to appreciate dualism in education in terms of policies and practices. In the earlier 1990s, the government refusal to register the Muslim teachers’ college in Mombasa was practically evident and to date, the country continues to encounter an acute shortage of Islamic and Arabic teachers. Muslim parents remain the most worried as some of their children are subjected to the teaching of Christian religious education. The article calls for an urgent restructuring along with support for the work of the Muslim Education Council, with the objective of facilitating Muslim education policy development, database, curriculum development, training, research, and partnership. This will help transform the knowledge, thought, and practices among the Muslim learners. They must also fight examination corruption in Muslim-dominated areas by creating awareness, promoting capacity building, quality assurance, networking, benchmarking, research, and linkages in order to reach the desired center of excellence for Muslim educational institutions. The Council also must have a special relationship with the country’s judiciary system in order to advance the rights of Muslim students in schools, colleges, and universities.

Multi-level governance framework and its applicability to education policy research - the Canadian perspective

Education policies are increasingly characterized as complex and dynamic, involving a multitude of actors and policy networks. As a result, there is a growing demand in education for research approaches that can help make sense of this complexity. This paper examines the applicability of multi-level governance (MLG) framework as a tool of education research from Canada’s decentralized federalist perspective. By conducting a comprehensive literature review of 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, we determine the applicability of MLG framework, the conditions necessary for its use, and its overall relevance to education policy, which is increasingly characterized by the involvement of a variety of stakeholder groups across government levels and policy sectors. The key findings are presented following Bowe et al.’s (1992) policy cycle framework. We conclude that MLG approach is a strong tool for education research to analyze policy making in federal decentralized educational systems, as it allows a more nuanced perspective for understanding the multilayered policy dynamics often unfolding in the context of federalism.

Examining effects of students’ innovative behaviour and problem-solving skills on crisis management self-efficacy: Policy implications for higher education

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented challenges for the higher education community worldwide, one of which is that students have had to maintain their learning while dealing with the crisis conditions. However, a systematic understanding of students’ individual crisis management still remains absent despite its importance. The newly emerged and ongoing phenomenon has leveraged the role of crisis management in the context of education, which is even more essential with the forthcoming uncertain future. This study investigates factors related to students’ crisis management self-efficacy in higher education during the pandemic. Particularly, survey data were collected from 387 undergraduate students to investigate the effects of innovative behaviour and problem-solving skills on crisis self-efficacy. Structural Equation Modelling was applied to conceptualise and empirically test a model that examines the relationship between crisis self-efficacy and related factors. Moreover, the study aimed to assess the role of technology abilities in students’ crisis management self-efficacy and academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research results provided some compelling evidence for the positive effects of innovative behaviour and problem-solving skills on crisis management self-efficacy. This study also discusses some feasible implications for higher education policy and future research directions.

Revealing Pre-service Teachers' Mind Maps on STEM Education through STEM Images

STEM education (based on the integration of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines) has recently been an integral part of education system and curriculum in many countries aiming to be more technologically competitive in this age of innovation. While the importance of STEM education has gradually increasing in education system with the complexities of today’s world, revealing pre-service teachers’ mind maps on STEM education and preparing them for STEM education is a crucial issue since the readiness of the teachers affects the quality of education. In this context, the aim of this study is to reveal pre-service science and mathematics teachers’ mind maps on STEM Education through STEM images. The research group consists of 6 pre-service teachers (3 of them are pre-service science teachers (PST) and 3 of them are pre-service mathematics teachers (PMT)) who are 4th grade level students from a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. In current research, case study design was used. The data of study were collected through drawings and focus group discussion. The data were analyzed with thematic analysis through Integrated Teaching (IT) Framework. As a result, 41 codes about pre-service teachers’ mind maps on STEM education were determined under 14 categories of 5 themes of IT Framework. The results of this study are crucial in terms of having potential to guide educational policy makers, curriculum developers, researchers and in-service and pre-service teachers about STEM education.

CONSULTANCY WORK ABROAD FOR POLICY RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

This article is based on the premise that recorded accounts of Policy Research in Education (in less advanced countries) are not sufficiently clear and /or detailed enough about the different Tiers and Stages of the Policy Process that they describe, and about the complexity and diversity of Policy Research. The aim of the article then is to increase awareness of the Policy Process and of Policy Research among researchers and to promote discussions about policy issues among policymakers and among sponsors of Policy Research. The article presents summaries of three Policy Research studies (in Turkey, The Gambia, and Mali, respectively) that draw attention to the above points.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0598/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Contributions from the ethico-onto-epistemological perspective for research in the field of education policy

This paper explores the concept of ethico-onto-epistemology and its contributions to education policy research. Specifically, it seeks to define onto-epistemology and ethical-onto-epistemology, with special reference to Anna Stetsenko’s work. The main arguments developed are the following: a) ethics is one of the structuring elements of research (and not a mere appendix); b) all research involves ethical issues; c) the ethico-onto-epistemological perspective can contribute to the development of more integrated and coherent research; and d) the transformative activist stance contributes to achieving the social purpose of the research and the researcher’s work.

Reflections on the use of qualitative case study design in education policy research: contributing to the debate of Generalisation in research

Researchers across the disciplines use different designs in the quest to authentically reflect the phenomena they investigate. One design claiming to capture the lived experiences of individuals in an appropriate way is qualitative-case study. This article focuses on generalisability of qualitative case study research findings by reflecting on educational policy research conducted in Ghana to explore the lived experiences of students, teachers and school managers in Ghanaian high schools, with an eye to the potential of positive behaviour management in that specific West African context. The claim made here is that generalisation from individual case studies is both possible and worth doing in so far as the theoretical underpinning is well grounded. This research seeks to justify the use of qualitative-case-study research in educational policy research. The distinctiveness of this methodological approach lies in its ability to generalise the findings.

Investigation on The Current Situation of Health Education Policy Implementation and Research on Development Countermeasures

According to my country's "Health Education and Health Promotion Work Plan Outline", health education is a planned, organized and systematic social education activity, so that people can consciously adopt behaviors and lifestyles that are beneficial to health, and eliminate or reduce the impact of health risk factors, disease prevention, health promotion, quality of life, and evaluation of educational outcomes. The core of health education is to educate people to establish health awareness, to urge people to change unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles, and to develop good behaviors and lifestyles to reduce or eliminate risk factors that affect health. Health education should start from primary school, and different depths of health education and education courses should be offered in different school stages, so that students can form a complete social person with physical health, sound personality and mental health, and they are all-round development workers. This paper analyzes the implementation of health education in universities, middle and primary schools through the method of literature, finds out its existing problems, and puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to provide a theoretical basis for improving school health education.

신제도주의 관점을 적용한 교육정책연구 동향 분석

Objectives This study examined the educational policy research based on the theory of new institutionalism and analyzed the trend of educational policy research applying the new institutionalism perspective from 2013 to 2021 to provide the direction of future educational policy research. Methods For this purpose, 58 studies using the new institutionalism perspective were selected as the subjects of analysis through three stages of literature research method and the trends were analyzed by opening related research materials. In the first stage, the analysis criteria were selected by examining the preceding studies related to the trend of education policy research applying new institutionalism. In the second stage, the related papers were investigated with the keywords ‘new institutionalism’ and ‘education’, and then the educational policy research materials were classified according to the analysis criteria. In the third stage, each research was analyzed according to the analysis area and standards. Results As a result of the study, educational policy research applying the theory and concept of new institutionalism has been actively conducted so far, and there have been many studies using integrated analysis frameworks emphasizing interest in institutional change and the role of actors. In terms of research topics, 58 papers from 2013 to 2021 were conducted evenly in the whole of educational policy studies based on new institutionalism. In terms of research methods, educational policy research has been conducted mainly on literature research, and qualitative research has gradually increased since 2013, but the proportion of quantitative research and mixed research has been relatively low. Conclusions The new institutionalism theory can be a useful approach to analyze educational policy, and it can increase the explanation power of the theory if it is applied to the education policy research after highlighting the issues of the analysis theory by grasping the issues and limitations of the theory.

The impact of neoliberal education on the alignment of student–supervisor expectations in Malaysia

ABSTRACT While researchers explored arising expectations and the mismatches in perceptions of doctoral students and supervisors, less attention has been placed on the causes of such mismatches. This study contributes to a broader understanding of the current issues hindering the alignment of mutual expectations in postgraduate supervision within a dominating neoliberal agenda. Using an exploratory qualitative research design, interviews were held with 15 doctoral students and 12 supervisors in two research universities in Malaysia. Through an inductive thematic analysis, three sources of student–supervisor expectation misalignment were identified: power and hierarchy, student–supervisor dialogue and institutional support. The results suggest that within dominating neoliberal education, where focus has been placed on the achievement of tangible outcomes, Malaysian supervisors expect students to obey their decisions given their superior power. The monologic relationships between parties were observed because of limited time per student supervision. Lastly, given little attention towards development of supervisory relationships within a dominating neoliberal agenda, participants were unaware of the existing supervisory relationship’s guidelines. The findings of this study highlight the importance of improving higher education research policy and practices. Suggestions on improving existing practices and where the attention should be focused are provided in the conclusion.

Current Perspectives on Teacher Unionization, and What They’re Missing

Educational policy research on teacher unionization in the United States has been dominated by two theoretical perspectives: rent-seeking and teacher voice. While bringing valuable insights to bear, these views have mutated into rigid and often ideologically charged alternatives with strong normative claims about teacher collective bargaining. Drawing from a political economy framework, this article advances a distinct theoretical perspective focusing on the progressive coalition building activities of teachers’ unions (i.e., organizing and mobilizing to promote the interests of working people in policymaking). This perspective resolves previous theoretical anomalies of union behavior; provides many new avenues for research; and highlights distinct considerations for the practice of teacher organizing.