Characteristics Of Educational System Research Articles

Self-Directed Online Training for LSP Teachers: Challenges and Solutions in the LSP-Teoc.Pro Project

The use of new technologies is one the main characteristics of 21st century educational systems. In this regard, the implementation of online courses became even more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic, as online tools can enhance an interactive experience even in circumstances where attending traditional classes is impossible or inconvenient. This paper describes the project LSP-TEOC.Pro, which is based on the development of a self‐directed online course for the training of LSP teachers in tertiary education. The course aims to fill an important educational gap, in that LSP teachers rarely receive specific training and this issue seems to emerge at a global level. The course is freely available worldwide and the discussion presented in this paper focuses on the main advantages, limitations, and potential developments of this type of course. In particular, it is shown that computer self-efficacy and motivation are key constructs in online self-directed learning, and simple strategies can be implemented to favor their enhancement.

An agent-based model of school tracking, accountability, and segregation

ABSTRACT Extant research on the effect of education system characteristics on school socio-economic segregation does not consider education as a complex system. This paper’s contribution lies in using agent-based modelling to simulate the effect of the interaction between families’ strategies for school selection and two education system characteristics: tracking – a system where students of different academic abilities are separated in different schools – and school accountability – the public availability of information on school quality. The model shows that school tracking and accountability tend to at the same time attenuate and increase school socio-economic segregation, but overall both policies tend to exacerbate segregation by eliciting competition for the best schools. The policy implications are: (i) tracking has a stronger exacerbating effect on segregation than accountability, (ii) the two polices interact to create compounding effects and (iii) by reducing residential segregation between families the segregating effect on schools of the two policies diminishes dramatically.

Institutional characteristics of education systems and inequalities: Introduction III

This is the third and final of multiple themed issues of International Journal of Comparative Sociology ( IJCS) dedicated to the question of how education systems shape educational inequalities in terms of systematic variations access to and uptake of education along certain axes of inequality such as social origin, gender, and immigrant background. While the previous introductions dealt with the research program, conceptual background, and methodological challenges in the study of the link between institutional characteristics of education systems and educational inequalities (Introduction I) as well as with the state-of-research (Introduction II), this third and final introduction is dedicated to discuss certain research desiderata in terms of an outlook with an eye on the latest major studies in this vibrant research field.

Comparing subject-specific mastery motivation in Hungary and the Republic of Moldova

Research on mastery motivation has documented its importance in personality development and school achievement, yet there is little research that examines school subject-specific motivation, specifically cross-cultural research. The objective of this study was to investigate the school subject-specific nature of mastery motivation in the context of middle and secondary school grades 5, 7, and 9 in Hungary (N = 1121) and Moldova (N = 939) in Reading, Math, Science, English as a foreign language, Music, and Art. The findings indicated that subject-specific mastery motivation (SSMM) domains in Hungary and Moldova have different paths across grade levels. In Hungary, there was a constant decreasing trajectory across all grades in all domains with the exception of English, whereas in Moldova, the decrease was identified in Math, English, Music, and Art between the fifth and the seventh grades but not between the seventh and the ninth grades, while Reading mastery motivation levels remained stable. Upon conducting a cross-cultural comparison of SSMM levels across the countries and grades, we identified only one statistically significant difference in science mastery motivation. The study attempts to explain the absence of cross-cultural differences not only through a conventional lens focusing on the unique characteristics of individual educational systems but also by considering the cultural values associated with each country.

KEUNIKAN SISTEM PENDIDIKAN DI CHINA

KEUNIKAN SISTEM PENDIDIKAN DI CHINA

How do tuition fee increases affect international mobility? The case of European Union students in England

AbstractThis paper presents a descriptive analysis of the impact of tuition fee increases in England on the full‐degree mobility of undergraduate students from the European Union. First, we investigated whether the increase in tuition fees reduced the number of EU students in English higher education institutions. Our analysis shows that, on average, English universities suffered a sudden drop in EU enrolments in 2012/13 but recovered and then expanded their pre‐2012 enrolment levels in subsequent academic years. We observe that those English universities regarded as less prestigious experienced the sharpest decline and took longer to recover their pre‐2012 numbers. Second, we examined how changes in enrolment are associated with EU countries' macro‐level characteristics, using the push‐pull model framework. While there was a significant decrease in the number of students from Northern and Western European countries attending English universities after 2012, the tuition fee increase did not impact the number of students coming from Southern Europe. We found an association between EU countries' youth employment rates and higher education system characteristics with changes in enrolment in English universities. By examining the effect of changes in the tuition fee policy on international student mobility, our research provides new evidence on how tuition fee policies might change the behaviour of students.

Determinants of commuting flows in Germany

The paper studies commuting flows between German regions. Using panel data of 400 German regions from 2013 to 2019 we evaluate the effect of the wide range of indicators determining the magnitude of the commuting flows: demographic factors, indicators of the labour and real estate markets, welfare variables, social and educational system characteristics, etc. We employ the gravity model analysis with Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood, allowing us to consider even the absence of commuters between regions. The novelty of the research is that the full structure of commuting flows, including the direction, is analyzed at the aggregated district level. In addition to other papers devoted to the economics of the labor market and focused mostly on individual data and selected determinants, we investigate a wide range of possible factors and conclude that the main macroeconomic factors determining both the intensity and direction of commuting flows: population, unemployment rate, cost of leasing housing and the number of companies per 10000 people. We also find that commuting flows between regions in the same land are 202% higher than between regions from different lands, and commuting flows between neighbouring regions are 414.5% higher than between regions without a common border.

The effects of system type and characteristics on skills inequalities during upper secondary education: a quasi-cohort analysis of OECD data

ABSTRACT This article examines the effects of education system types and characteristics on changes in the distributions of literacy and numeracy skills during the upper secondary phase of education and training. Whereas there is a substantial literature on system effects on skills during the primary and lower secondary phases of education, much less has been written about these effects in relation to the upper secondary phase. This article reports on research using quasi-cohort data for 15-year-olds in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and 18- to 20-year-olds in the Survey of Adult Skills to test the effects of a range of system indicators on changes in skills distributions during the upper secondary phase. Consistent with some dominant theories, our difference-in-difference analysis identifies a range of system characteristics associated with skills inequality reduction in upper secondary education and training, which relate to ‘system standardisation’ and ‘parity of esteem’, and which can explain why some ‘system types’ are more effective than others in reducing skills inequality.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Sustainability Aspects among Higher Education Students in Qatar

Sustainable development necessitates that societies design activities to meet human needs while protecting the planet’s life-support systems in consideration of depleting natural resources and concern for the state of the resources and climate. Sustainable development emphasizes the conservation and enhancement of natural resources by modifying how they are utilized, highlighting the role of nations in meeting their basic needs for employment, food, energy, and water. Higher education institutions (HEI), such as universities, should be able to produce a workforce that satisfies the demand for competent stakeholders and contributes to the successful implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and sustainability principles into their institutional strategy and organizational culture. This research evaluates the sustainability consciousness of higher education students and the effect of ESD on higher education students in Qatar. The study employs the sustainability consciousness questionnaire (SCQ) to assess HEI students’ sustainable development knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors while considering educational system characteristics such as curriculum, community, and the campus. The questionnaire was distributed among students from different fields and universities in Qatar. Results were analyzed using statistical tools to show that over 80% grasp sustainability-related knowledge. This value gradually decreases in attitudes and behaviors based on evaluating the pro-sustainability student responses. Further, over 60% of the surveyed students indicate external factors excluding the educational system characteristics to have the most profound effect on providing and developing the student’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards sustainable development. Understanding the current state of sustainability education in HEI can lead to an improved preparation of the global youth with the necessary skills to meet the sustainability challenges and to be involved in establishing and sustaining long-term progress that can aid in achieving SDG goals and drive sustainability action.

Employment Status and Well-Being Among Young Individuals. Why Do We Observe Cross-Country Differences?

In this paper we analyse why in some countries the difference in subjective well-being between employed and unemployed young individuals is substantial, whereas in others it remains small. The strength of this relationship has important consequences, hence it affects the intensity of the job search by the unemployed as well as the retention and productivity of employees. In the analysis we are focused on youth and young adults who constitute a group particularly exposed to the risks of joblessness, precarious or insecure employment. We expect that in economies where young people are able to find jobs of good quality, the employment–well-being relationship tends to be stronger. However, this relationship also depends on the relative well-being of the young unemployed. Based on the literature on school-to-work transition we have identified macro-level factors shaping the conditions of labour market entry of young people (aged 15–35), which consequently affect their well-being. The estimation of multilevel regression models with the use of the combined dataset from the European Social Survey and macro-level databases has indicated that these are mainly education system characteristics (in particular vocational orientation and autonomy of schools) and labour market policy spending that moderate the employment–well-being relationship of young individuals.

Corruption in the public schools of Europe: A cross-national multilevel analysis of education system characteristics

Researchers have long theorized that characteristics of education systems impact both perceived and experienced corruption in public schools. However, due to insufficient cross-national survey data with measures on corruption in education and unassembled yet publicly available institutional data, there are few empirical tests of this theory. This article provides the rare direct test of the relationship between corruption in European public schools and three education system factors: government expenditure on education, education staff compensation, and teacher workload (pupil–teacher ratio). With a newly constructed harmonized data set for European countries, and controlling for national economic factors and individual characteristics, results of multilevel analyses suggest partial support for the theory that specific institutional characteristics of education systems impact public school corruption. The theorized institutional factors have different effects that depend on whether we examine bribe-giving experience or corruption perception. Results show that bribe-giving experience in public schools of Europe is weakly yet significantly related to education staff compensation. For corruption perception, low levels of government expenditure on education and a lopsided pupil–teacher ratio (too few teachers per student) increase the probability that people view corruption as prevalent.

Institutional characteristics of education systems and inequalities: Introduction II

This is the second special issue of the International Journal of Comparative Sociology on the role of education systems as institutional settings on the reproduction of inequalities. The first was published in January 2021 and included papers that explored the role of shadow education and country characteristics during early childhood on educational inequalities. This special issue includes three papers that focus on stratification of the education system as a key driver of educational inequalities, cumulative (dis)advantage in the access to higher education, and student experiences in national educational systems. While we already elaborated on the research program, conceptual framework, and methodological challenges in the first introduction, we will deal with the current state-of-research in this second introduction.

The Characteristics of the University Admission System and Their Infl uence on the Accessibility of Higher Education

The study provides a review of the admission to universities models in different countries and also a comparative analysis of the educational systems characteristics from an international perspective. The aim of the research is to assess the possible impact of the educational system characteristics on the accessibility of higher education. There is also proposed an analytical model which explains how the level of autonomy and selectivity of the educational system, along with the characteristics of the student financial support influence the level of accessibility of higher education. The framework of the model is supported by the cases of selected groups of countries: post-Soviet countries, the USA and the UK, Scandinavian countries and Western European countries. Based on the classification of higher education systems, countries with the highest level of access to higher education tend to have low levels of autonomy and selectivity, or they also can be characterized by highly developed system of financial support. As a result, it was found that high selectivity and autonomy level can negatively influence the accessibility of higher education, while high level of the financial support system may neutralize this effect and positively influence on the access to higher education. Results of the study can be useful while reforming the selection system in Russia, since comparative analysis shows which tools make it possible to increase the accessibility of higher education and, as a result, to reduce educational inequality among different social groups.

A search for the determinants of students’ educational expectations for higher education in four European cities: The role of school SES composition and student engagement

Social inequality in students’ educational expectations, a strong predictor of educational attainment, differs substantially between countries. Although education system characteristics are translated into school composition effects, the school level is often forgotten in comparative research. Moreover, to explain school effects, we introduce the concept of student engagement into sociological research on expectations. Results of multilevel analyses (R) on data from 7566 students in 126 high schools in four cities—Barcelona (Spain), Ghent (Belgium), Bergen (Norway), and Reykjavík (Iceland)—demonstrated positive effects of (1) SES composition, but mainly in systems with substantial school segregation, (2) behavioral and emotional engagement on expectations.

Higher education systems and regional economic development in Europe: A combined approach using econometric and machine learning methods

This study deals with the analysis of regional economic development in Europe. Specifically, it examines the extent to which the performance and characteristics of higher education systems (HESs) influence regional economic development. The analysis employs data at the regional level, examining 649 NUTS-3 in 29 European countries, from 2014 to 2016. The empirical analysis, based on an original dataset that we developed, employs a novel methodological strategy that combines a traditional econometric approach with random forest. The findings detect the existence of nonlinear relationships between regional GDP per capita and HES indicators, which could have been overlooked by previous studies in the literature. Furthermore, the empirical results demonstrate the importance of comprehensively modelling the diversity of HESs, since distinct characteristics and performance can contribute differently to the economy of the regions. In particular, the most important factors for regional economic development are the size of HESs, the internationalisation of the students and research productivity. Finally, this paper provides useful insights for policymakers by suggesting new instruments for driving and fostering the economic development of their regions.

The silent expansion of internationalisation: exploring the adoption of the International Baccalaureate in Madrid

ABSTRACT The growth of the International Baccalaureate (IB) worldwide is part of a global trend towards the internationalisation of education (IE). Its implementation, nonetheless, takes different forms depending on national and local contexts. This paper examines the recent expansion of the IB in Madrid, drawing upon the sociology of education policy enactments and recontextualisations and the Cultural Political Economy approach. Combining in-depth interviews, document analysis and secondary quantitative data, this paper shows why Madrid has led the expansion of IB schools in Spain in the last decade, an expansion, which has nonetheless remained relatively unnoticed. Our findings suggest that the growth and penetration of private international education initiatives such as the IB may be related to particular social factors, education system characteristics and education policy ensembles, with a particularly intense manifestation in decentralised systems where neoliberal and neoconservative policies foster autonomy, competition, internationalisation and ‘excellence’.

Institutional characteristics of education systems and inequalities: Introduction II

The second special issue of International Journal of Comparative Sociology (IJCS) on the role of education systems as institutional settings on the reproduction of inequalities includes three papers that focus on stratification of the education system as key driver of educational inequalities, the role of digital inequalities in the school and beyond, as well as how students navigate through the institutional setting of the Taiwanese education system. While we already elaborated on the research program, conceptual framework, and methodological challenges in the first introduction (published in January 2021), we will deal with the current state-of-research in this second introduction.

Возрастание роли образовательного туризма в системе подготовки кадров мировой туриндустрии: социально-философский анализ

The article presents the theoretical generalization of educational tourism as a social phenomenon of modern society. It is shown that educational tourism is now an integral part of the international systems of higher education for training in tourism. Educational tourism is seen as a particular social institution included in the life of the modern state and aimed at continuous modernization and stratification. The specificity of educational tourism, consisting of the synergistic unity of education and tourism, pedagogical principles, and forms of organization of tourist activity, is deduced. Methodologically, the work is done based on a comparative analysis of the training system for the tourism industry in the Russian Federation with relevant educational institutions of some European countries (in particular, Great Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland). The author reveals the specifics and characteristics of Russian and European educational systems, considering modern societies' economic, technological, and cultural features for training professional staff for the tourism industry. It is emphasized that European educational institutions have significant historical experience in training specialists for the tourism industry. In this regard, proposals for the use of positive foreign experience in training specialists for the tourism industry in the educational activities of Russian universities are outlined. External and internal conditions and factors influencing the educational systems of tourism and hospitality training have been revealed. Particular attention is paid to the requirements imposed on such systems by the professional community. The article reveals the goals, objectives, and forms of implementation of educational tourism in European and Russian systems of training for tourism and hospitality. The most crucial goal of educational tourism at the state level, according to the author, is the formation of a multilateral personality, capable of active and constructive activities in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment, with the ability to live in peace and harmony with people of different ethnic cultures and religions.

Ethno-Cultural Characteristics of the Educational System of Pedagogical University: Experience of Comprehension

It raises the question of the necessity and importance of retaining the ethno-cultural component in the educational systems of pedagogical universities in the context of the dialectics of unification and differentiation, originality, as well as the specifics of dual professionalization in the educational process of a pedagogical university. The purpose of the article is to consider the ethno-cultural conditionality of the educational system of a pedagogical university, to justify the relevance and ambiguity of retaining the ethno-cultural characteristics of educational systems in modern conditions. The research methodology is based on systematic, socio-cultural and ethno-cultural approaches. The methods used are a set of methods of theoretical research (analysis, synthesis, generalization, analogy, interpretation), as well as included observation, comparative analysis of information and video series presented on the websites of universities. Attention is drawn to the essential inconsistency of the characteristic “ethno-cultural”, the meaning of personal choice and the process of forming ethno-cultural identity. It is emphasized that ethno-cultural characteristics are objectively present in the educational system, since they are set both essentially (characteristics of the external environment and the environment of the university, attitudes, preferences, experience and identity of subjects) and purposefully (in the process of goal-setting and choosing system-forming activities). Due to the retention of ethno-cultural identity, it becomes possible to maintain the balance of globalization and glocalization at the level of local organizations and communities; to protect the growing personality (due to the effect of “double professionalization” of both the student mastering the teaching profession and his future pupils) from the threat of cultural marginalization and the destruction of ethnic (ethno-cultural) identity; to provide additional driving forces for the development of the educational system itself, oriented by its nature not on standardization, but on the cultivation of uniqueness.

Territorial educational segment as an object of assessment of the functioning conditions of regional education systems

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the contradiction between common strategic objectives for the development of education in the Russian Arctic and the regional differences of their implementation. There is virtually no coordination of educational policy between the Arctic regions. The implementation of these objectives requires a certain scientific justification, which means that it involves the study of the general specifics of the education systems of the Arctic regions and the general external factors affecting their condition. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors of the Arctic territory the influence of which allows the Arctic education systems to form one educational segment. Materials and methods. Using the DEA method, the authors assessed the influence of territorial factors of economic and technical, demographic, information and communication orientation on the appropriate characteristics of regional education systems. The study uses materials from Rosstat, federal and regional education authorities. The comparative analysis concerned the study of the quality of the conditions for the functioning of the Arctic educational systems and other regions from the corresponding federal districts. Results. The education systems of the Arctic regions are more homogeneous under the influence of economic and technical (coefficient of variation does not exceed 0.17) and demographic (0.26) factors than the other regional education systems of the federal districts. In addition, the Arctic regions have a higher efficiency of the education systems functioning (efficiency value for the first group of factors is 0.99; for the second – 0.89). These systems react much more differentially to the action of the information and communication factor – they cope with its influence in different ways (the average value of efficiency is 0.66; coefficient of variation reaches 0.39). Discussion and conclusion. Authors have updated and theoretically justified the concept of a territorial educational segment as a set of geographically close regional education systems with common features, problems, history and common group of territorial factors. The general nature of the influence of economic, technical and demographic factors confirmed the presence of not only external (general strategic objectives for the development of education in the Russian Arctic), but also internal reasons for combining the Arctic education systems into a single territorial educational segment.