Formal School System Research Articles

Education and Youth Unemployment: A Reappraisal

It is a widely held belief that labour market failure amongst young people is heavily influenced by formal educational attainments. Few British studies, however, have paid specific attention to the question of what particular level of academic achievement is valued most highly by the market within any period of time. This article queries the focus of earlier research – explicitly concerned with education and labour market fortune – which implicitly suggested that the Certificate of Secondary Education was of prime importance in securing employment for the youngest members of the labour force in recent years. Moreover, it is demonstrated that omitting controls for influences frequently held to be important determinants of educational attainment generates upward bias in the estimated returns to education and thereby inflates expectations as to the benefits likely to follow from even seemingly radical reforms to the formal schooling system.

Sweden: The 'Integrated' Upper Secondary School as Main Provider of Vocational Education

As is well known, the Swedish debate about social equality has centred around the issue of educational access and content. Centralised reform efforts of the past 40 years have sought to make the choice of education depend upon personal abilities and interests rather than the economic and cultural conditions of a student's family background. Recent years have seen considerable deconcentration of control, with the employment sector and local authorities outside the formal school system increasing their influence over vocational education and training. At the same time, although compulsory schooling ends at the age of 16, the Ministry of Education has extended its purview to cover all young people under the age of 18. The expansion in numbers of young people as a result of very high birth rates in the 1960s, in conjunction with periods of economic downturn in the 1970s that grew even more severe in the 1980s, contributed to a doubling of the average unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds in Sweden over this period. By the mid 1980s, the unemployment rate for 18 to 19 year olds had risen to become the highest in the country, with considerable regional variations. The strain of youth unemployment has therefore had profound effects upon the availability and content of VET, and the latter has been affected by young people's preferences just as much as by official policies exercising socio-functionalist perspectives on the value of education.

Causes of school failure: The case of the state of Bahia in Brazil

The failure of the formal schooling system in Brazil to meet the educational needs of the nation's population has been well documented (Brand~io et al., I983; Brazil, I985a, I985b; Ribeiro, I984; World Bank, I986). The I98o Census reveals that the mean years of study among those I5 years of age and more is only 3.8, and 26 per cent of this population are unable to even write their names. For those who are still children, the educational situation seems equally dismal. Only about 75 per cent of those aged 7 to 14 are currently in school and, of those enrolled, less than 25 per cent are at the age which officially corresponds to their grade level. The problem, of course, is not merely a lack of schools. Many who matriculate are subsequently ~pushed' or 'pulled' out of school, a fact reflected in high drop-out and repetition rates. It has been estimated that for every I,OOO students who enter the first grade,

Introducing Sex Education in the Formal Education System in Nigeria

Abstract Evidence exists about the increasing rate of sexual involvement, decrease in age of first sexual experience and the existence of different forms of sexual aberration such as prostitution, sexual exploitation and rape among Nigerian youth. In spite of these problems sex education has not been included in the framework of the formal education system in Nigeria. The introduction of sex education in our formal school system is now necessary not only to provide adolescents with valuable knowledge about sex, but also as a means of averting risks associated with unplanned coital sex such as teenage pregnancy, illegitimacy and other medical and psychological risks. This paper attempts to answer questions related to such issues as who should teach sex education, whether sex education should be taught as a subject or integrated into some or all school subjects, the content of sex education and how sex education materials should be presented. It is anticipated that the introduction of sex education in the formal school system is likely to lead to some conflicts with cultural and religious norms and with existing sex knowledge which youths have from their peers, magazines, pictures and pornography.

The Need for a Political Economy of Educational Finance: A Response to Thobani

As a vehicle that encourages our thinking about the issues of educational finance facing low income countries, Thobani's article is exceptionally interesting for a number of reasons: it is a well-done example of the application of the dominant economics paradigm reasoning to education in a real world context; it makes major educational policy recommendations for Malawi that, with the weight of the World Bank behind them, were to some extent actually implemented; and it tries to provide a plausible rationale for the startlingly counterintuitive argument that raising the tuition charges for schooling will advance the interests of the disadvantaged, poorer segments of the population. However, despite Thobani's coherent exposition, I wish to argue that the analysis is seriously flawed, even within the logic of the neoclassical economics paradigm that guides his argument. The essential problem I see with Thobani's article is reflected in the difference in titles we use: the language of charging user embodies Thobani's view that his recommendations result from dispassionate technical analysis, while my economy is meant to suggest my belief that, from either a neoclassical or radical economics perspective, such analysis cannot be technical but is necessarily of a political and social character. While I will focus on Thobani's article, my objections are directed more generally to the entire neoclassical approach to educational (and other public sector) policy evaluation, which cavalierly assumes a world far different from the one we all observe and which is even internally inconsistent, violating its own assumptions and tenets. Finally, I should say that I do not wish to debate Thobani's conclusions as to whether tuition fees should be raised; the issues raised here are about how one analyzes that question. To begin, I will summarize my view of the argument that Thobani carefully constructs. Overall, he wishes to demonstrate that increasing the school tuition charged by the government in Malawi is both an efficient and equitable way of expanding and improving the formal school system. He begins his argument by using a neoclassical economics partial equilibrium

The philosophy and services of non-formal education in Thailand

This paper begins as an historical outline of non-formal education in Thailand, from its inception as the Adult Education Division in 1940 to the present day. The philosophy and curricula of adult and non-formal education are examined, particularly in terms of the overall concept of ‘khit-pen’. The paper gives an overview of activities currently on offer by the Non-Formal Education Department and other involved agencies. There are programs designed to provide basic knowledge and skills, in particular General Adult Education and Functional Literacy Programs; there are programs designed to provide training in vocational and occupational skills; and there are programs designed to provide relevant knowledge and up-to-date information. An attempt is made to view these developments in terms of their relationship with the formal school system, and the paper concludes with some thoughts on future plans and initiatives.

Operating characteristics of rural non-farm enterprises in Central Province, Kenya

The ILO has identified seven characteristics which describe the operation of informal sector enterprises. These operating characteristics are assessed using survey data on rural non-farm enterprises located in market centers in Central Province, Kenya. Two characteristics (family ownership and small scale of operation) appear to be entirely true, but the remaining five are in need of qualification. Not all activities use labour-intensive technologies, indeed some require fairly large capital inputs. Indigenous resources are not important in many rural non-farm activities. Some important business skills are acquired inside the formal school system. There are not insignificant barriers to entering the more profitable non-farm enterprises. And these barriers, in conjunction with other factors, limit competition in some activities in many of the market centres. It appears that the operators of the more profitable and technically more advanced enterprises are forming a rural petty bourgeoisie. Thus contrary to the ILO interpretation, growth of the rural non-farm sector may be associated with greater income inequalities.

"The Children and the Instruments of a Militant Labor Progressivism:" Brookwood Labor College and the American Labor College Movement of the 1920s and 1930s

When labor strikes, it says to its master: I shall no longer work at your command. When it votes for a party of its own, it says: I shall no longer vote at your command. When it creates its own classes and colleges, it says: I shall no longer think at your command. Labor's challenge to education is the most fundamental of the three. Henry de Man (1921) A growing body of literature is calling for the historical study of educational experiences outside of the realm of the established school system. Lawrence Cremin has recommended that educational historians move beyond the traditional analysis of schools and colleges. In Traditions of American Education, he broadly defines education “as the deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to transmit, evoke, or acquire knowledge, values, skills, or sensibilities, as well as any outcomes of that effort.“ Herbert Gutman similarly urges that educational historians transcend the exclusive study of institutional history by exploring such untouched areas as the “selfactivity” of workers and its relationship to class development and class formation. Rolland Paulston delineates a theoretical framework to ascertain the social and economic conditions, ideological bases, programmatic characteristics, and contributions of “nonformal education” in social movements. He posits that nonformal education functions as structured, systematic, nonschool education that relies upon training activities of relatively short duration and involves a fairly distinct target population. “It is, in sum, education that does not advance to a higher level of the hierarchical formal school system.”

Education in Indigenous Languages: The West African Model of Language Education

The use of the indigenous languages of West Africa in the formal school system owes its origin to the efforts of the early Christian missions. Since the number of available white missionaries who were native speakers of the colonial languages was few, and only a negligible number of native missionaries could be trained to teach in these languages, there was no alternative for the missions but to adopt a policy of initial literacy through the medium of the indigenous languages. Besides, the Christian missions aimed at reaching the masses, and this meant getting the message directly to the people in their own languages. Formal education for the many, therefore, meant education in an African language with some knowledge of the colonial language, if they were able to attain the upper grades of the primary school. It was not long before the colonial government had to intervene in language education. To administer a territory, a choice of language had to be made; and whatever choice was made had to be enforced through the educational system. The most important factor to be considered in this choice was the ultimate goal of the colonial power. Basically, there were two apparently divergent goals: assimilation and separate development. The former envisages bringing the colonial subjects to a reasonable educational level so that they may be absorbed into the culture of the colonizing power. This inevitably meant education in the colonial language. The latter envisages giving the colonial subjects free scope to develop in their own way outside the culture of the colonizing power. This meant education in their own languages. The French and the Portuguese favored assimilation, and hence discouraged the teaching of African languages in schools, while the British and the Belgians favored

School and Wage Labor

The paper presents a criticism of the widely held assumption that the major function of schools is to educate and train indivduals and that the functioning of society depends decisively upon the school's sozialization function. The question for individual socialization is replaced by a discussion of how schools fit into the development of western society which has been described by Marx as increasing expropriation of workers and reification of society and by Max Weber as increasing bureaucratization or objectification. In the context of Marx's and Weber's theories of capitalist development three effects of the formal school system are discussed: 1. Effects of the formalization of cultural traditions upon the quality of their content. 2. Effects of the educational system as a mechanism for the distribution of knowledge. 3. Effects of the educational system as a system of social positions.

Education for international understanding in Japanese schools

Japan is in a unique position regarding the question of education for international understanding: it participated actively in the Second World War, which is lost through the tragic events of which we are all aware. This dual heritage, from the war and then the post-war period, is clear in the two following articles which describe from very different viewpoints the role of eduction for international understanding in the national context. Reading them, in either order, should in our point of view not so much open a debate (who is against peace?) as on the contrary, stimulate thought on future action. The first article describes the evolution and current status of education for international understanding within the official school system. The second, theoretical, puts forth the point of view of those who work within the peace movement in Japan and who feel something more and different is needed from the formal school system. Such contrast, even tension, between two attitudes equally but differently aiming towards the same goal, is an excellent illustration of the fact that even though education for international understanding and peace, through its efforts, its successer or its inadequacies, is more than ever a question of foremost importance, it is one that no educational system can pretend to have definitively settled.

The Yoruba Language and the Formal School System: A Study of Colonial Language Policy in Nigeria, 1882-1952

This paper is the report of a rather broad examination of colonial language policy in Nigeria from 1882 to 1952 as it affected the role and status of the Yoruba language in the formal school system in Western Nigeria. Role of the Yoruba language here means the variety of functions expected of or carried out with the use of the language in the development of the curriculum in the formal school setting. I define status to mean the degree of acceptance and/or the prestige accorded it there. Curriculum is used broadly to describe a rounded program of learning and living whose vital impact touches the individual and group needs, interests, and abilities of children, and which is necessary for the transmission, renewal, and improvement of the culture of a society. Furthermore, for purposes of consistency and clarity I prefer the term mother tongue to vernacular. The definition of mother tongue varies with the writer; sometimes it appears as synonymous with, sometimes as an alternative to, vernacular. Still, it is less objectionable than vernacular, which can denote an inferior local language relative to that

An Evaluation of the Effects of Population Control Programs

An Evaluation of the Effects of Population Control Programs

“Spiritual Education” in a Japanese Bank1

Many Japanese companies train their new employees according to a philosophy of “spiritualism,” a set of ideas about human psychology and character development that inspired much of the country's pre‐war education. “Spiritualism's” debts to the Zen, Confucian and samurai traditions are quite apparent. It emphasizes social cooperation and responsibility, an acceptance of reality, and perseverance. Its educational methods emphasize specially constructed training experiences. As a case study in the anthropology of education, Japanese company spiritual education points to the value of (1) studying educational processes outside formal school systems; (2) considering native concepts of psychology in analyzing educational processes; (3) finding relationships between educational techniques and techniques found in religious conversion, psychological therapy, and social initiation; and (4) discovering avenues of education that proceed by non‐verbal means.

Nonformal Education in Africa: Micro-Solutions to Macro-Problems?

In Africa, as in other parts of the world, most people have traditionally acquired their skills, knowledge, and attitudes from institutions other than formal schools. Even where formal school systems have been established (a relatively recent phenomenon), it is still difficult to separate the impact of schooling from that of one's family, community, cultural and social institutions, and training on the job. But it has increasingly become apparent in all countries that learning acquired in a life-long process, both before and after school, is of far greater importance than the more specific knowledge transmitted in schools. The modernization process, however, has continued to place a heavy emphasis on formal school systems, by defining for them a set of demanding tasks. These educational systems are expected to create useful citizens, to teach literacy, and to prepare young people for the lives they must lead in adult societies by providing them with basic minimum skills. Demands by parents for publicly-supported schooling as the principal means of escape from poverty have led to dramatic increases in the provision of educational opportunity throughout the world. These demands are reinforced, and the growth of schooling accelerated, by the recognition on the part of governments and private industry of a pressing need for higher levels of trained manpower. Econanists often disagree as to whether education is a prerequisite for development, or vice-versa. Yet the close relationship between education and human resource development leaves little doubt that one cannot proceed very far without the other. (For a useful treatment of these issues, see Anderson and Bowman 1965. See also Harbison and Myers 1964. ) In Africa the demand for education on the part of parents and governments developed rapidly during the 1960's, to the point where

Utilising selected informal science experiences to teach science in inquiry-centred Nigerian classrooms

The formal and informal sciences can be integrated for the enhancement of training, research and teaching in the formal school system. The knowledge and methods of informal science, although regarded as crude, local or native, when embedded with formal science, can be subsequently developed and packaged as teaching innovation for the promotion of scientific knowledge, skill and training. This is the focus of this study where selected informal science experiences were used to teach some science concepts in inquiry-centred Nigerian classrooms. In inquiry-based lessons, teachers only act as facilitators and resources, creating the environment for investigations to take place. In the experiment, students' explorations were centred on informal science activities which were guided to be incorporated into the knowledge structure of formal science classroom experiences. Subjects were Senior Secondary School 11 male and female students taught the topic alkanols; types and preparation including concepts such as fermentation and the brewing process. Informal science activities involving the processing of cassava, grains and other local products were explored by subjects in the experimental group and there was a control group whose subjects were not exposed to informal science activities. Differences in the cognitive and affective learning outcomes of students from the two groups upon data analyses were found to be significant with sex playing a major role. Implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations were made.