Frontiers In Education Research Articles

Characterizing Learning Mediated by Mobile Technologies: A Cultural-Historical Activity Theoretical Analysis

Mobile technologies have not yet triggered the knowledge revolution in schools anticipated, in particular, by the telecommunications industry. On the contrary, mobile technologies remain extensively used outside the frontiers of formal education. The reasons for this are many and varied. In this paper, we concentrate on those associated with the prevalent methodological weakness in the study of innovative educational interventions with mobile technologies. In this context, the paper investigates the following question: what is the potential of second-generation cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) for characterizing learning activities mediated by mobile technologies? To this end, an empirical study was designed with the goal of examining five small groups of students (fifth grade, age 12) who were using mobile devices in authentic educational settings, within a natural science inquiry-based learning activity outdoors. Second-generation CHAT was operationalized as an analytical and dialectic methodological framework for understanding learning activities mediated by mobile devices. The study contributes a characterization of mobile learning and identification of constraints and transformations introduced by mobile technology into students’ tasks.

Problems and Solutions Upon University Counselor’s Work on Ideological and Political Education

Universities are the main frontier of ideological and political education for university students. The quality of Ideological and political education for university students is not only related to the healthy growth of a student, but also the prosperity of his family, his country and the future development of its cause. University counselors, who regularly have the most frequent contact with students, have an immense influence on students in terms of Ideological and political education. During students’ daily life and study, university counselors provide guidance on Ideological and political education. They bear an important responsibility of reinforcing Ideological and political education of university students. Therefore, university counselors need to conform to the requirements of the times, adapt to the requirement of their profession, continuously upgrade their professionalism, employ a variety of means of education, create a favorable atmosphere for education, and make outstanding contributions to the reform of education and the making of a stable and harmonious society.

Collaboration, partnerships and alliances: perspectives on Erasmus Mundus MA/Magistr in special education needs

It has been argued that higher education has irreversibly changed over the past 15–20 years. University education has moved from an elite system to a mass system. The frontiers of higher education have expanded more rapidly than they have ever done before by extensively moving across geographical boundaries and accommodating different forms of partnership, alliances and collaboration. Using a case study methodology, this article discusses the link between collaboration, partnership and alliances related to the Erasmus Mundus MA/Magistr in Special Education and aims to show the inter-relationships between policy and practice in the delivery of an internationally recognised postgraduate programme. It also identifies threads of inclusion that allow such a programme to flourish and the tensions that can become pitfalls as a result of global and regional politics. Primarily, drawing on interviews with current students and my own perspective as a recent scholar on the programme, the article will examine this programme and identify some of the issues that pertain to globalisation and internationalisation of inclusive education. I argue that the Erasmus Mundus programme provides among other things, a real opportunity to critique Euro-centric notions of curriculum and pedagogy.

Exploring new frontiers in anesthesia education

Exploring new frontiers in anesthesia education

Trainee resident participation in health research in a resource-constrained setting in south-eastern Nigeria: perspectives, issues and challenges. A cross-sectional survey of three residency training centres

BackgroundThe participation of trainers and trainees in health research is critical to advance medical science. Overcoming barriers and enhancing incentives are essential to sustain a research culture and extend the frontiers of medical education. In this study, we investigated the roles of individual and system factors influencing trainee resident participation in health research in Enugu, south-eastern Nigeria.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey of trainee residents was conducted across three residency training centres in Enugu, Nigeria, between February and March, 2010. The number and speciality distribution of trainee residents were determined from personnel records at each centre. A 19-item questionnaire was used to record demographic characteristics, research training/experience, and attitudes toward and perceived barriers to health research. Data were analysed to yield frequencies, percentages and proportions. Values of p < 0.05 were considered significant.ResultsThe response rate was 93.2%. The respondents (n = 136) comprised 109 males and 27 females. Their mean ± standard deviation age was 35.8 ± 5.6 years (range: 25–53 years). Participation in research was significantly associated with previous research training [odds ratio (OR): 2.90; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35–6.25, p = 0.003, β = 22.57], previous research participation (OR: 2.21; 95% CI: 0.94–5.29, p = 0.047, β = 22.53) and research publication (OR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.00–7.06, p = 0.03, β = 22.57). Attitude towards research was significantly influenced by perceived usefulness of research in patient care (OR: 7.10; 95% CI: 3.33–15.13, p = 0.001), job promotion (OR: 8.97; 95% CI: 4.12–19.53, p = 0.001) and better understanding of disease (OR: 21.37; 95% CI: 8.71–54.44, p = 0.001). Time constraints (OR: 0.06; 95% CI = 0.025–0.14, p = 0.001), funding (OR: 0.028; 95% CI: 0.008–0.10, p = 0.001) and mentorship (OR: 0.086; 95% CI: 0.36–0.21, p = 0.001) were significant barriers to research participation.ConclusionsSystem and individual factors are significant incentives to research participation, while system-derived factors are significant barriers. Pre-residency research, dedicated research time, adequate research funding and commensurate research mentorship rewards are instructive. Prospective longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Cross-Fertilization of Engineering Education Research and Development

There is considerable concern over the slow rate of dissemination of proven engineering education innovations (Borrego et al. 2010). One possible cause of the slow rate of dissemination is that engineering educators in different engineering disciplines rarely communicate with one another. To study this issue, we analyzed the citations in all the 2009 papers in the nine U.S. engineering education journals and the proceedings listed in Table 1. This guest editorial presents data and recommendations for the Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. Because none of the engineering or science education journals can unilaterally solve the problems caused by lack of crossfertilization and low rates of dissemination, results for other journals and proceedings are published in the following companion guest editorials: Journal of STEM Education, the Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Meeting, and the Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference (Wankat 2011c); Chemical Engineering Education (Wankat 2011a); and IEEE Transactions on Education (Wankat 2011b).

Singapore: the Fourth Way in action?

This article has two main objectives. It first outlines the first three waves of change termed by Hargreaves and Shirley (The Fourth Way: The inspiring future for educational change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2009) as the First, Second and Third Way that defined global educational policy and practice since the 1960s. It then introduces the main tenets of the Fourth Way, which is characterised by inspiring success stories of educational leadership and change that have led to remarkable leaps forward in student learning and achievement. The Fourth Way is distinguished by a paradigm shift in the change mindset of educational leaders of how they push educational frontiers to achieve a more sustainable future. It is defined not merely as a destination but a journey in itself. Second, it considers how Singapore presents an interesting case study of paving the Fourth Way through its many forward-looking educational initiatives and fidelity in the implementation of these reforms. In doing so, this article also sets the stage for the other articles in this volume which cover different aspects of the Singapore education story, from pre-primary to tertiary education, to teacher preparation, and leadership development to the internationalization of its teacher education programmes and how educational research translates into policy and practice in this unique nation.

Frontiers in outreach and education: The Florida red tide experience

To enhance information sharing and garner increased support from the public for scientific research, funding agencies now typically require that research groups receiving support convey their work to stakeholders. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) funded Aerosolized Florida Red Tide P01 research group (Florida Red Tide Research Group) has employed a variety of outreach strategies to meet this requirement. Messages developed from this project began a decade ago and have evolved from basic print material (fliers and posters) to an interactive website, to the use of video and social networking technologies, such as Facebook and Twitter. The group was able to track dissemination of these information products; however, evaluation of their effectiveness presented much larger challenges. The primary lesson learned by the Florida Red Tide Research Group is that the best ways to reach specific stakeholders are to develop unique products or services to address specific stakeholders’ needs, such as the Beach Conditions Reporting System. Based on the experience of the Group, the most productive messaging products result when scientific community engages potential stakeholders and outreach experts during the very initial phases of a project.

Emerging frontiers of pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia: The metamorphosis in the last fifty years

The trends in the quality of biomedical education in pharmacy schools have witnessed significant changes in the 21st century. With the advent of continuous revision and standardization processes of medical curricula throughout the world, the focus has been on imparting quality education. This pedagogic paradigm has shifted to pharmacy schools. In Saudi Arabia, the concept of “medical and pharmacy education” is relatively new as mainstream pharmacy curriculum and universities were established only half a century ago. This period has seen major changes in the dimension of “pharmacy education” to keep pace with the education systems in the United States and Europe. As our knowledge and perceptions about pharmaceuticals change with time, this motivates educators to search for better teaching alternatives to the ever increasing number of enthusiastic and budding pharmacists. Recently, the academic system in Saudi Arabian Pharmacy has adopted a more clinically-oriented Pharm. D. curriculum. This paper deals with the major changes from the inception of a small pharmacy faculty in 1959, the College of Pharmacy at the King Saud University, Riyadh, to the model of progress and a prototype of pharmacy colleges in Saudi Arabia. The fifty year chronological array can be regarded as an epitome of progress in pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia from its traditional curriculum to the modern day Pharm. D. curriculum with a high population growth and expanding health care sector, the demand for qualified pharmacists is growing and is projected to grow considerably in the future. The number of pharmacy graduates is increasing each year by many folds and to meet the needs the system lays stress upon a constant revising and updating of the current curriculum from a global perspective.

The battle for creativity: Frontiers in science and science education

The battle for creativity: Frontiers in science and science education

Biorefinery Design As A Case Study In Chemical Engineering Design

Biorefinery Design As A Case Study In Chemical Engineering Design

Exploring the global significance of Chinese education: A new start for Frontiers of Education in China

Exploring the global significance of Chinese education: A new start for Frontiers of Education in China

Globalization and the Growth of International Educational Testing and National Assessment

Education has long been characterized as a central requirement for national economic development and political democratization in the contemporary world. Moreover, international benchmarking has been identified as the “basis for improvement. . . . It is only through such benchmarking that countries can understand relative strengths and weaknesses of their education systems and identify best practices and ways forward” (OECD 2006, 18). Statements such as this example signal an international consensus that has emerged— at least among “developed” countries—about the legitimacy and, even more so, the necessity of international testing and national assessment. As David P. Baker and Gerald K. LeTendre (2005) observe, both international testing and national assessment are linked to efforts to reform educational systems and are often themselves stimuli for further cycles of reform. The results of international testing, they note, will fuel further interest in national assessment. Here we develop an argument about the global forces that have led to the explosive growth of national educational assessment and international testing. In particular, we argue that the international acceptance of testing comes from key ideological forces in the world polity that are associated with the accelerating globalization of national and international cultural, economic, and political structures. As we develop and warrant this argument, we also qualify it by pointing out that national adaptations to this larger world culture may vary depending on the presence and capacities of international organizations and regional associations that act to mediate and adapt these changes to conditions in individual countries. In addition, we consider the effects of subnational movements in introducing pressures for change that may favor more national assessment.

Websites of note

Websites of note

“You can be anything you want, but you have to believe it”: Commercialized Feminism in Gender‐Specific Programs for Girls

“You can be anything you want, but you have to believe it”: Commercialized Feminism in Gender‐Specific Programs for Girls

Reflections on Theory, Method, and Practice in Comparative and International Education

I have been very fortunate in my professional life in many ways. One way is that I get paid, in part, to reflect on some of the significant issues of our day. Over the years, my views have evolved, shaped by what I have seen, discussed, experienced, read, and studied. I wish to take the opportunity afforded by this presidential address to reflect on what I believe and how I came to believe it. I hold strong views about our field of comparative and international education, views that often clash with the dominant modes of theory, method, and practice. In this address, I wish to explain what I see as fundamental flaws in some of these dominant modes of thinking and explore what some of the alternatives to those views are. I will begin by saying a few words about how I see the field of comparative and international education and then discuss theory, method, and practice in turn.

Citizenship as Privilege and Power: Australian Educators’ Lived Experiences as Citizens

Previous articleNext article No AccessCitizenship as Privilege and Power: Australian Educators’ Lived Experiences as CitizensJoan G. DeJaeghereJoan G. DeJaeghere Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Comparative Education Review Volume 52, Number 3August 2008 Sponsored by the Comparative and International Education Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/588759 Views: 156Total views on this site Citations: 6Citations are reported from Crossref History © 2008 by the Comparative and International Education Society. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Ariel Loring Literacy in Citizenship Preparatory Classes, Journal of Language, Identity & Education 16, no.33 (May 2017): 172–188.https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2017.1306377Sally Knipe, Tanya Fitzgerald Caught Between Competing Worlds: Teacher Education in Australia, (May 2017): 129–142.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4133-4_9Peter Strandbrink Fair and cloudy weathers of tolerance in civic and religious education in northern Europe, Education, Citizenship and Social Justice 10, no.11 (Nov 2014): 3–20.https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197914558399Yuxin Tu , Frontiers of Education in China 6, no.33 ( 2011): 426.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-011-0140-4Wai-Chung Ho, Wing-Wah Law The struggle between globalisation, nationalism and music education in Hong Kong, Music Education Research 11, no.44 (Dec 2009): 439–456.https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800903390741Peter Strandbrink Citizenship Education, (): 431–446.https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7110-0.ch018

A Dime a Day: The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan

This paper looks at the private schooling sector in Pakistan, a country that is seriously behind schedule in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Using new data, the authors document the phenomenal rise of the private sector in Pakistan and show that an increasing segment of children enrolled in private schools are from rural areas and from middle-class and poorer families. The key element in their rise is their low fees - the average fee of a rural private school in Pakistan is less than a dime a day (Rs.6). They hire predominantly local, female, and moderately educated teachers who have limited alternative opportunities outside the village. Hiring these teachers at low cost allows the savings to be passed on to parents through low fees. This mechanism - the need to hire teachers with a certain demographic profile so that salary costs are minimized - defines the possibility of private schools: where they arise, fees are low. It also defines their limits. Private schools are horizontally constrained in that they arise in villages where there is a pool of secondary educated women. They are also vertically constrained in that they are unlikely to cater to the secondary levels in rural areas, at least until there is an increase in the supply of potential teachers with the required skills and educational levels.

Frontiers Of Education: Japan As “Global Model” Or “Nation At Risk”?

The Japanese educational system is undergoing extensive change, affecting all stages from pre-school programmes to higher education. As Japan has moved from a nation at the top to “A Nation at Risk,” certain dichotomies have been highlighted. Viewing Japan as either educational super-power or educational tragedy, depending on the era of research or background of the researchers, has been especially provocative for educators and policy-makers. At the same time, the controversies in America surrounding the report A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education) are well known, a major impetus for the report of course being Japan. Central to the question of whether Japan is best understood as a Global Model or A Nation at Risk are themes of cross-national attraction and educational transfer. What can the world learn from Japan? What does Japan need to learn from the world? The answers to these questions have particular significance for Japanese higher education, which we take up as a case study here, with its urgent task to innovate in the face of a steep demographic downward trend. For those in Japan who feel that Japanese education is in a dismal state, what are the origins of this serious decline? For observers in other national contexts who envisage Japan as a model, how do the calls to ‹learn from Japan’ reflect genuine attempts to improve practice at home? Or are they simply rhetorical tools in support of domestic political projects?

Identifying Bruneian Undergraduates and Graduates' Levels of Familiarity with the Basic Concept of Online Learning: A Pilot Study

Online learning is one of the last education frontiers for Brunei Darussalam. For a country that is not restrained to spatial boundaries due to its size, the benefits of online learning over on-campus learning is trivial. This paper is a pilot study to explore the levels of familiarity of tertiary education students with the concept of online learning. The study employs a quantitative survey design to obtain initial data that will inform further research. From a sample size of n=50, the study found that students have different levels of familiarity towards online learning. The concept of online learning itself has not penetrated the whole student population as there are distinct differences in how different learners conceptualised online learning.