School Reform Research Articles

Reclaiming racial justice and building solidarity in Oakland's educational justice movement

ABSTRACT This article examines the ways in which teachers and community-based activists collaborated to advance an anti-privatisation agenda within an urban school district. The article emerges from our respective studies of privatisation in Oakland, one a historical study of the advance of neoliberalism and the other a case study (Merriam 2007, Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education: Revised and Expanded from Case Study Research in Education, 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass) of teacher and community organising against privatisation and school closures. Utilising interviews with key activists and organisers as well as observation and participation in the education justice movement, we describe a set of collaborative political education projects through which activists reclaimed racial justice as the framework to strengthen the movement against privatisation. In these projects, activists called attention to the centrality of antiblackness in advancing privatisation and to the shared disposability and precarity of students of color and the teachers and schools that served them. By shifting from a ‘defend’ public schools to a ‘transform public schools’ framework, they also increased solidarity between teachers, the teachers’ union, and the local community. In the context of the school reform's industry's appropriation of racial-justice language, these political education projects were both a counter-hegemonic and power-building strategy.

Reform of Old-Style Private Schools and Its Implications for Modern School Education

Reform of Old-Style Private Schools and Its Implications for Modern School Education

A Shift in School Reform: Examining Site-Level Spending and Student Academic Growth

Accountability efforts under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has brought greater attention to school-level processes and practices and their impact on student outcomes. This has pushed states to report more school-level inputs, including per-pupil expenditures. Grounded in an open systems theory (OST) framework, we identify the association between school-level per-pupil spending and academic growth on statewide assessments for seventh graders in Michigan. Overall, our findings suggest an overall positive association between school-level per-pupil expenditure and student growth.

Does Education Affect Religiosity? Causal Evidence from a Conservative Emerging Economy

Abstract Does education make people more or less religious? The previous literature offers mixed findings on the relationship between education and religiosity. This may be due to endogeneity bias: education and religiosity can be caused by a third variable such as culture or upbringing. We instrument education by exposure to the 1997 education reform in Turkey which increased mandatory schooling from 5 to 8 years. The schooling reform increased the probability that young girls would complete 8 years of schooling and report lower religiosity later in life. The reform apparently did not influence such outcomes for boys. These effects are observed primarily in females growing up in strongly religious or poor areas.

Maternal Labour Supply and School Enrolment Laws: Empirical Evidence from Brazilian Primary School Reforms

Abstract The relationship between childcare provision and mothers’ labour supply decisions is highly debated due to the potential reverse causality and resultant empirical challenges. We contribute meaningfully to this debate by discussing the effects from a reform on Brazil’s primary education system on maternal labour supply. This reform, which advanced the compulsory children’s enrolment in primary education schools from the age of 7–6, is interpreted as the provision of free childcare. Due to the imperfect compliance of the reform implementation, children’s month of birth is used as an instrumental variable to control for the endogeneity present in any actual school enrolment. We show that the reform presented a positive effect on the labour supply of (1) the Brazilian single mothers and (2) the least educated mothers, increasing their participation in labour market by 12.9 % and furthermore a probability of becoming full time workers by 10.9 %.

The role of cultural supports for Indigenous students: spaces for and impediments to decolonizing education

ABSTRACT The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) final report documents the history of residential schools while outlining responsibilities for schools to advance reconciliation. Schools have undertaken initiatives to affirm Indigenous perspectives and support Indigenous students, however progress toward decolonization remains limited. To support such initiatives, research has revealed the significance of having self-identified Indigenous peoples working at schools. Informed by critical sociology of education analysis and critical theories of settler colonialism and decolonization, we examine perspectives of 201 students, parents, and teachers working with self-identified Indigenous school staff members in Alberta, Canada, to explore spaces for as well as impediments to decolonization in school reforms and practices. Our findings reinforce research demonstrating the positive impact that interactions with self-identified Indigenous school staff can have for students, teachers, and parents. We also observe contradictions imposed by institutional practices that hinder progress towards reconciliation and decolonization.

Mellan tradition och reform: Pedagogiska examensuppsatsämnen vid två svenska folkskoleseminarier 1915–1937

Between tradition and reform: Pedagogical essay topics at two Swedish teacher training seminars, 1915–1937. During the beginning of the twentieth century, a series of school reforms was carried out in Sweden. One concerned the education of elementary school teachers. In this article, we examine which knowledge and teaching ideals that was posed by some of those who had the task of putting this reform into practice. At the center are the nearly five hundred essay topics that were offered at the teacher training seminars in Lund (only male apprentices) and Falun (only female apprentices) 1914–1937. The results advocate that two rather different local cultures of knowledge were developed at the two seminars. While the essay topics that were offered in Lund mostly seems to promote a more traditional reproductive view on teaching, the ones proposed in Falun rather appears to encourage a much more reformistic understanding of schooling. Hence it is suggested that the latter might be understood as an aspiration to establish a more autonomous and independent women teacher identity.

Experiences of Arab Women Leading School Reform Through a School-University Partnership

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study examines the experiences of 10 Arab women educational leaders leading, as part of a school-university partnership, a movement for school reform in the Arab world. An analysis of the findings, guided by the feminist perspective and using the intersection of literature on leadership of school improvement and women’s ways of leading, reveals that participants’ views and practices of leadership align both with best practices for leading school improvement and what the literature found about women’s leadership specially in the Arab World. The results also show that despite alignment between the participants’ experience and the experience of women leading in the Arab region, participants focused their effort on optimizing their assets, such as enabling work conditions, rather than on fighting against the structural constraints that typically hinder women from leading. We argue that the women’s refusal to reflect on their experience through a gendered lens obstructed them from identifying the gendered nature of the enablers and the structural nature of the obstacles they face. This study contributes to the knowledge base on women’s leadership of school-based transformational change in a non-western setting, an understanding necessary if broad-based leadership is to be achieved.

Diversification of subject combinations in the National College Entrance Examination and educational reforms in senior secondary schools: findings from China’s policies on college admissions

Diversification of subject combinations in the National College Entrance Examination and educational reforms in senior secondary schools: findings from China’s policies on college admissions

Balancing Act: School Reforms, Parental Concerns and the Dilemma of No Child Left Behind Era

This research aimed to explore educators' perspectives on the No Filipino Child Left Behind Act of 2013. Employing a qualitative research design, the study involved ten participants selected from five schools in Iligan City, Division Lanao del Norte, using purposive sampling. Through in-depth interviews, the researcher collected substantial data subjected to thematic analysis. The findings indicated that compulsory education for school-age children contributes to a more promising and secure future. Moreover, unwavering parental support emerged as a crucial factor in ensuring education for all. However, participants expressed concerns about Section 2 of the Act, suggesting that it might foster dependency on teachers and compromise the delivery of quality education. The study also unveiled a need to reorient participants on specific Act provisions. Consequently, these results prompted the development of a program aimed at revisiting and clarifying the Act's key provisions.

Impacts of neoliberal school reforms policy on students with disabilities in Nepal

This article argues that special and inclusive education policies in Nepal have been influenced by neoliberal policy reforms. The study employs discourse analysis as a theoretical perspective to analyse the effects of market-based schooling practices on students with disabilities in Nepal. The findings of this study are informed to some extent by the outcomes of the doctoral research project (Thapaliya, 2018). Data was collected through policies and documents. A selection of key education policies and documents between 1990 to 2020 were examined and analysed. One core theme and five sub-themes were identified from the data analysis. Disability as a resource management issue was a main theme. (i) Managing resources; (ii) resource allocation criteria; (iii) professional experts deciding resource funds; (iv) competing for limited resources; and (v) competition and school choice were sub-themes. The available evidence signals that the marketisation model of education does not assist students with disabilities adequately. The findings of this study reveal that the current policy and practice signal changes in government structure rather than working to fulfil these commitments in the everyday practice of students with disabilities. The limitations of the study and recommendations of this research are also discussed.

Impacts of the implementation of the new high education on the continuing training of teachers: a bibliographic excess

Teacher training does not end after initial training, it is unfinished and continuous throughout life. From this discourse, continuing education (CF) is born, which improves the theoretical and practical knowledge of the teacher, within each context, in addition to contributing to interdisciplinary work. With this in mind, the present work sought to analyze the impacts of the New High School (NEM) on teachers CF, whose compulsory implementation began in 2022 in the country's education networks. Using for this, bibliographic and documentary research, the bibliographic work was carried out through an integrative review with a time frame of 5 years (2018-2022), carried out in three databases: SciELO, Portal de Periódicos da Capes and Oasisbr, with specific descriptors. The documentary procedure focused on the analysis of the Curriculum Guidelines for the Continuing Education of Basic Education Teachers and the National Curriculum Guidelines for High School. The results clarify that in line with external demands, the high school reform was created, bringing with it structural problems and a false sense of flexibility. The profile of the professor to work in the implementation of the NEM transcends the mere domain of competencies and abilities, although the guiding documents give relevance to this aspect. On the other hand, continuing education, by placing the teacher at the center of the process, enhances learning and is essential for the new structuring of High School to be applied correctly. As a final consideration, it is stated that the NEM requires a contextualized and real CF, which, in addition to meeting the demands of the context, is based on the discussion of teaching praxis, on the dialogue between basic education and higher education, within a context interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.

How Pedagogues Support Inclusion in Denmark: Experiences, Barriers, and Recommendations

Abstract Danish school reform around inclusive practices became more prevalent in 2014, and efforts to address the needs of children with disabilities increased. One of the primary ways to meet students' needs in an inclusive setting was to move pedagogues out of their traditionally after-school social settings into the general education classroom to co-teach with content teachers. This qualitative study followed groups of pedagogues and classroom teachers in Denmark for two years, using interviews and observations to ascertain the challenges and successes of co-teaching between pedagogues and teachers. The results mirror in many ways the current research on co-teaching in other countries and with other collaborating professionals. The challenges, barriers, and successes experienced by pedagogues and teachers who were expected to co-teach due to Danish school reform on inclusion are shared. Recommendations build on existing literature and address the unique role that Danish pedagogues can play in moving inclusive practices forward and how their experiences can be applied to co-teachers in other countries and settings.

University school training model: Dismantling anti-Blackness and eradicating racism through ecologically grounded training and systemic school reform.

University school training model: Dismantling anti-Blackness and eradicating racism through ecologically grounded training and systemic school reform.

杜威职业教育思想的形成及影响

Dewey was born in a grocer’s family in Burlington, Vermont, in the northeast of the United States in the mid-19th century. He spent his whole schooling in the United States. In college, Dewey, who loved reading, was deeply influenced by Hegel’s philosophy and Hall’s psychology, which became an important foundation for later educational research. Dewey has long served in universities such as the University of Chicago and Columbia University. On the premise of critically absorbing the theories of educators such as Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Frobel, he carried out in-depth teaching experiments, established the “Dewey School”, and proposed and verified the vocational education ideas of “learning by doing” and “active work” in practice. Dewey’s vocational education ideas gave birth to a new type of educational institution in the United States - the comprehensive high school, and had a huge impact on the rise of the new professionalism movement. At the same time, Dewey’s vocational education ideas deeply inspired Tao Xingzhi and Huang Yanpei’s vocational education ideas, deepened the public’s cognition of the status of vocational education in China, and promoted the reform of vocational education schools and institutions and the cultivation of vocational education teachers in China.

INFLUENCING FACTORS AND IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES FOR JUNIOR MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN REGIONAL SCHOOLS-TAKE CHAOZHOU CITY GUANGDONG CHINA AS AN EXAMPLE

In the 21st century, educational development and changes have become increasingly globalized, and teachers have been given an increasingly important role in the educational reform and development of countries around the world. The concept of teacher leadership and actions to develop teacher leadership have been recognized by more and more countries. Based on the urgent need for educational modernization, the new situation of integrated development and reform of urban and rural education, and the changes in the social environment brought about by new urbanization, the comprehensive two-child policy, and the reform of high school and college entrance examinations, China has put forward different and higher requirements for the construction of teachers. In 2018, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly issued "Opinions on Comprehensively Deepening the Reform of Teacher Team Construction in the New Era" with Zhongfa No. 4. There have been new changes in the development of main policy concepts, emphasizing the transformation of teachers from passive policy implementation roles to the main body responsible for education quality. This article chooses junior high school teacher leadership as the research topic. Through interviews with junior high school teachers in Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, China, it explores the development issues of school improvement in junior high school teacher leadership since China’s new round of basic education reform started in 2021.

Pembaharuan Pendidikan di Pondok Tahfidz dan Pesantren Modern (PTPM) Al-Huda Cawan

Educational renewal is a necessity. This research aims to examine in more depth the educational reform at Pondok Tahfidz and Modern Islamic Boarding School (PTPM) Al-Huda Cawan. This research was conducted because of changing times and educational reforms in Islamic boarding schools, in the form of curriculum, methods, evaluation systems and management. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with a field research model. From the results of data observations, interviews and documentation, the results showed that educational reform at PTPM Al-Huda includes management, curriculum, entrepreneurship, moral learning, language skills training with native speakers and a strong synergistic relationship between the Islamic boarding school and the community to support the existence of the boarding school.

Didactic foundations of forming mathematical competence of secondary school students in learning the syntax of the Ukrainian language

Developing a competent personality involves conceptualising the content of language education. In implementing the New Ukrainian School reform, many problematic issues arise regarding the practical reorientation to new standards. Special attention needs to be paid to the organisation of the educational activities of male and female students, in which their integrated ability to apply acquired knowledge in life situations is formed. The research of linguists is focused on developing interconnected ways of combining the subject and key competencies of learners, which contribute to their successful socialisation in society. Considering educational requirements makes it necessary to highlight the methodological potential of forming mathematical competence as a component of linguistic personality. The following methods were used to solve the outlined tasks: analysis and synthesis of scientific research, induction and deduction to determine the categorical concept and substantiation of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the problem. The article analyses modern approaches and principles of language learning, particularly Ukrainian syntax. The concept of "mathematical competence of secondary school students in learning the syntax of the Ukrainian language" has been interpreted. The system of didactic tools for forming students' mathematical competence has been organised. The results of the conducted research are the basis of the professional activities of the lexicographer in the lessons in the preparation of harmoniously developed students of general secondary education institutions.

Are interest groups effective public action influencers in the field of education? Case studies of two school reforms in Switzerland

This article interrogates the legitimacy and influence of interest groups in the elaboration of two school reforms of the last stage of compulsory schooling in two Swiss cantons: Geneva and Vaud. Based on the principle of participatory democracy, the Swiss political system raises questions about the specificities of interest groups’ influence on educational policies. What role is given to them by the political institutions? Conversely, what role do they grant themselves in school reform processes? This article is based on a sociology of public action and aims to determine whether interest groups influence educational policies. We investigated these actors’ involvement in the development of the reforms through a thematic content analysis of four corpora of texts for each canton. Our analysis of the data indicates that the influence of interest groups operates on two fronts: agenda setting and implementation of reforms. In contrast, interest groups are little considered during the process of drawing up bills in Parliament.

THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

The purpose of this research is to look into how middle school students' engagement is affected by information technology. The study will investigate how students' motivation, participation, and engagement levels are impacted by the use of technology in the classroom. This article will investigate the relationship between information technology and student involvement in middle school settings by doing a thorough literature review. Information technology has a variety of effects on middle school pupils' engagement. Research has demonstrated that integrating technology, especially in STEM education, can boost students' enthusiasm and interest in these subjects (Mohr-Schroeder et al., 2014). Furthermore, Yang et al.'s research from 2021 emphasizes the importance of supportive connections in raising student engagement by highlighting the favorable correlation between teacher support, emotional engagement, and academic success. Liu et al. (2023) discovered a favorable association among computer selfefficacy, learning engagement, and teacher support, highlighting the significance of teacher participation in promoting student engagement with technology in learning environments. All of these studies point to the possibility that using information technology to improve academic achievements and student engagement in middle school can be accomplished in concert with teacher support. Furthermore, Theoretical frameworks and innovations in school reform have an impact on students' participation in learning activities (Marks, 2000). Through the interaction of technological acceptability and learning motivation, teacher support has a strong correlation with students' engagement in their studies (Fu-hai et al., 2022). Students are much more interested and successful when technology is included into science classes in middle schools (Alghamdi, 2020). By using interactive technology to provide an inviting classroom and increase student engagement, teachers are crucial (Ibarra & Lu, 2021).