Abstract: This article presents the rationale and argumentsfor the presence of morals, values, ethicsand character education in science curriculum and science teaching. The author examineshow rapid science and technological advancements and globalization are contributing tothe complexities of social life and underpinning the importance of morals, values andethics. In order to help conceptualize and articulate a solid theoretical framework for thedevelopment of school programs, syntheses and analyses are presented to thephilosophical and pedagogical questions related to morals, ethics and character education.Various obstacles in teaching morals/ethics and implementing character education in thesciences are discussed. For universal acceptability, a comparative study between thephilosophical and theoretical basis of modern Western moral education and the universalIslamic moral values and education is outlined that may be helpful for future educators andresearchers. A range of teaching, learning and pedagogical techniques are proposed thatmay foster morals, values and ethics in students’ minds and develop various skills andattributes necessary for success in the sciences.

Abstract: In this article, I probe a question at the core of comparative education—how to realize the right to education for all and ensure opportunities to use that education for future participation in soc...

Abstract: Background As education in the United States pushes for accountability, educational programs across the country are attempting to find innovative ways to measure student learning outcomes. Competency-based education is one model favorable among many academic institutions and accreditation agencies because it links theory to practice (Clark, Competency-based education for social work: Evaluation and curriculum issues, 1976; Hall & Jones, Competency-based education: A process for the improvement of education, 1976; Johnstone & Soares, Change, 46, 2014, 12; Pace, Competency education series: Policy brief one, 2013). The research indicates that there is no standard definition of competency-based education and agreement on the criteria that encompass this model (Book, All hands on deck: Ten lessons from early adopters of competency-based education, 2014; Le, Wolfe, & Steinberg, The past and the promise: Today's competency education movement, 2014; Riesman, On competence: A critical analysis of competence-based reforms in higher education, 1979). Methods This research reviewed the literature on competency-based education and interviewed key informants from various disciplines to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Results This research constructs an operational definition of competency-based education and then applies this definition to build an assessment tool to determine the extent that competency-based education exists in an academic program.

Abstract: This article is a review of the literature concerned with transnational, offshore, cross-border, and borderless higher education, which together form a new thematic field within higher education research from the early 2000s onwards. The review places emphasis on the development of this field as well as its most cited contributions. The literature derives from the Database of Research on International Education, while the citation data comes from Google Scholar. The first section describes the growth of the field and its cognitive and institutional structure in terms of keywords, publication types, journals, and topic clusters. The second section provides a review of the most recognized work of this thematic area. Research related to the main themes studied under the label of transnational higher education is discussed. Finally, future directions for research, including methodological issues and substantive concerns, are addressed.

Abstract: Education reform is increasingly portrayed as a means to improve a nation's global competitiveness as measured by its performance in international league tables of pupil achievement. This has created a demand for comparative research which identifies ‘what works’ in high-performing school systems. A diverse array of consultancies, thinks tanks, and entrepreneurs has emerged to satisfy that demand, portraying their approach as a pragmatic and objective form of evidence-based policy-making. However, the attempt to translate complex conditions into straightforward solutions (i.e. ‘what works’) leads researchers into a basic paradox. This paper identifies the strategies used to address this paradox and to advocate reforms. We demonstrate that, though they are persuasive, the strategies fundamentally fail to overcome the problems inherent in the enterprise.

Abstract: Over the past half-century, globalization has had a profound impact on postsecondary education. The twin forces of mass higher education and the global knowledge economy have driven an unprecedented transformation. These fundamental changes have pulled in opposite directions: one pushes for wider access and accompanying challenges of quality, the other toward exclusive, "world class" research-oriented universities. In Global Perspectives on Higher Education, renowned higher education scholar Philip G. Altbach offers a wide-ranging perspective on the implications of these key forces and explores how they influence academe everywhere. Altbach begins with a discussion of the global trends that increasingly affect higher education, including the implications of mass enrollments, the logic of mass higher education systems around the world, and specific challenges facing Brazil, Russia, India, and China. He considers the numerous implications of globalization, including the worldwide use of the English language, university cross-border initiatives, the role of research universities in developing countries, the impact of the West on Asian universities, and the expansion of private higher education. Provocative and wide-ranging, Global Perspectives on Higher Education considers how the international exchange of ideas, students, and scholars has fundamentally altered higher education.

Abstract: Research on policy borrowing is a well-established research area of comparative education. Over the past 20 years or so it gained prominence among globalization scholars. Of great interest is not so much the question of which reforms “travel” internationally, and which ones are homebound, but rather why traveling reforms resonate in a given context and at a specific moment, and how they are subsequently translated or locally adapted. In addition to issues of reception and translation, questions on the politics and economics of policy transfer are central to this research area. Empirical studies have shown that borrowing reforms from other countries, from other sectors within a country, or from “international standards” broadly defined often help coalition-building in a country. Policy borrowing also helps to mobilize financial resources, especially when it is preceded by political talk of falling behind some international standards or “best practices.” Therefore, the methods of inquiry used, the type of research questions asked, and the conclusions drawn in this body of research tend to address political and economic aspects of educational reform. Arguably, a transnational perspective is indispensable to carry out this kind of intellectual project. The academic preoccupation with policy borrowing has helped to formulate the contours of comparative policy studies. The article provides a brief overview of the main tenets of policy borrowing research and then focuses specifically on three aspects: policy reception, policy projection, and the rise of the global education industry as a new actor and beneficiary of global education policy.

Abstract: This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological contributions of Fast Policy: Experimental Statecraft at the Thresholds of Neoliberalism by Peck and Theodore (2015, University of Minnesota Press). It does so by situating the book in the ongoing debate on policy borrowing and lending in the field of comparative education, of which I have been a part. Arguably it is the body of literature in education policy studies that relates directly to the policy phenomena explored in the book, and hence the implications of the book for educational researchers can be most appreciated by situating it in this body of scholarship. I begin by briefly reviewing this ongoing debate in the field of comparative education, identifying key points of contention, as well as the conceptual gains made throughout the debate. And then I turn to the recent ‘spatial turn’ in the field, which has raised a number of questions about the underlying assumptions of the debate itself. Then I move on to identify the key methodological and theoretical insights that Fast Policy offers in light of this debate, articulating how the book can be read to open up new lines of analyses in comparative education scholarship. Policy transfer, or policy borrowing and lending, has been a central concern in the field of comparative education (see Rappleye, 2012, for a comprehensive review). Some scholars engage in the development of a ‘model’ of policy transfer, drawing on a number of historical and contemporary cases of transnational education policy transfer (e.g. Phillips & Ochs, 2003). However, more recent scholarship focuses on the politics and economics of transnational policy borrowing and lending (Rappleye, 2012; Steiner-Khamsi, 2004; Steiner-Khamsi & Waldow, 2012). Out of this scholarship has emerged a set of key analytical concepts such as ‘externalization’, ‘indigenization’, ‘translation’, ‘reference societies’, ‘policy bilingualism’, and ‘silent borrowing’ (or undeclared transfer). These concepts have been developed in response to the so called world-culture approach to globalization – originated in the field of neo-institutionalist organizational sociology – which has

Abstract: Concerns over equity of access to higher education are widespread, but there is significant disagreement over what should constitute a fair system. This article assesses diverse conceptualisations of equity and explores the ways in which they embody themselves in the policies of three systems, those of England, Brazil and Kenya. While showing significant disparities of income level and enrolment ratio, all three have made concerted efforts to expand higher education access, accompanied by increasing stratification in terms of the quality and prestige of institutions. Analysis of policy options and outcomes leads to a proposal of three principles for understanding equity of access: availability, accessibility and horizontality. The third of these principles addresses the little-acknowledged safeguard that disadvantaged students should not be confined to lower-quality institutions, while at the same time allowing for diversity of ethos and disciplinary focus.

Abstract: Education has been central to conceptions of development and of nation building and creating a national citizenry. Moreover, cast as a primary human right, education has been depicted as necessary to the fulfillment of individual basic needs. This fundamental image has informed a great deal of comparative research on education in nation-states and on the related world-level diffusion of related ideas and ideals and practices. Presently, much of this work is from an institutionalist perspective-positing that national education ideals and practices reflect and respond to international cultural and organizational themes and imperatives. This is expressed as a process of institutionalization, or the establishment of consistent principles and the tendency for those principles to guide behavior. Indeed, comparative research has demonstrated amply the isomorphic and convergent character of education and its supporting ideologies and practices throughout the international system.' What we now need is a more general research agenda on the formulation and transmission of world-level educational ideals and prescriptions to individual countries. For example, how precisely does the international system act to determine national educational ideology, structure, and practice? What are the sources of transmission and diffusion of world educational principles? To what extent are they actually adopted by the states in the international system, and what is the process by which this comes about? I suggest that examining related international governmental organization practices and interactions with nation-states may be an instructive and constructive research strategy for answering these questions, as well as more substantively elaborating the process of institutionalization and world influence in education. In short, I argue that international organiza

Abstract: A body of research is emerging on early childhood education teachers’ views on the integration of digital technologies in their practice Despite evidence of the digitalisation of homes in affluent societies and children’s interactions in highly mediated digital environments, few teachers so far have integrated digital devices into a play-based pedagogy Thus, this project aimed to examine the attitudes and aptitudes towards digital devices of teachers in their personal lives and professional practice in five countries (England, Luxemburg, Malta, Greece and Kuwait) An online survey designed to collect broad-scale data was followed by focus group interviews The findings demonstrated that although teachers are digitally competent in their personal lives, there is a dominant ideology regarding the nature of play-based pedagogy that hinders the integration of digital devices into their practice

Abstract: Human capital theory and rate of return methodology have long been a dominant framework in comparative and international education and other fields. While there have been criticisms since its inception, it has been ubiquitous and widely accepted as an important mechanism for educational planning, evaluation, and policy making. In this article, I raise fundamental questions about the internal logic of this framework. In particular, I examine the problems with its two strands of empirical work, dealing with the impact of education on income and economic growth, as well as with its conceptual base. In conclusion, I briefly examine some alternatives to using a human capital framework for educational planning, evaluation, and policy making.

Abstract: This article examines the OECD’s new PISA-based Test for Schools (“PISA for Schools”) program. PISA for Schools is part of the expanding education work of the OECD, building upon main PISA to enable school-to-schooling system comparisons. We examine the development of PISA for Schools, the nature of the instrument, and some initial effects of its introduction. Our theoretical framework focuses on new spatialities associated with globalization and the emergence of topological rationalities and heterarchical modes of governance. We analyze 33 interviews with personnel at the OECD and relevant edu-businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and philanthropic foundations. Pertinent documents and web-based media are also analyzed. We suggest that PISA for Schools provides an exemplary demonstration of heterarchical governance, in which vertical policy mechanisms open up horizontal spaces for new policy actors. It also creates commensurate spaces of comparison and governance, enabling the OECD to “reach into” school-level spaces and directly influence local educational practices.

Abstract: The Hong Kong subproject was supported by the Quality Education Fund of the Education Bureau in Hong Kong, whereas the Portuguese subproject was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and by the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon. The data of this paper were part of the data collected in a multinational project initiated by the International School Psychology Association.

Abstract: It is difficult to deny the impact that education has on a nation, its citizens and its overall economic power and stability. In the developed West, educated individuals typically experience more a...

Abstract: This article examines student accounts of credentials, talent and academic success, against a backdrop of the enduring liberal ideal of an education-based meritocracy. The article also examines Bourdieu’s account of academic qualifications as the dominant source of institutionalised cultural capital, and concludes that it does not adequately account for comparative differences in the social structure of competition and ideological shifts in class (re)production in different national contexts. This analysis is based on an empirical investigation of elite students at Oxford University and Sciences Po in Paris. We investigated how they understand the competition for a livelihood and whether they see themselves as more ‘talented’ than students from non-elite universities. This investigation revealed important similarities and differences between British and French students that have significant sociological implications for the (re)production and legitimation of educational and labour market inequalities.

Abstract: In 2013 Spain introduced a series of educational reforms explicitly inspired by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 results. These reforms were mainly implemented in secondary education – based upon the assumption that this is where Spain's educational problems lie. This paper questions this assumption by attempting to identify the point where Spanish children fall behind young people in other developed countries. Specifically, by drawing data from multiple international assessments, we are able to explore how cross-national differences in reading skills change as children age. Consideration is given to both the average level of achievement and the evolution of educational inequalities. Our conclusion is that policy-makers have focused their efforts on the wrong part of the education system; educational achievement is low in Spain (and educational inequalities large) long before children enter secondary school. This study therefore serves as a note of caution against sim...

Abstract: The ways in which vocational education and training (VET) systems are structured vary significantly from country to country, both because different countries have different objectives for their VET systems and because VET is differently embedded within the education and labour market systems of any individual country. International research in this area makes use of a range of existing typologies to characterise and compare VET systems. However, many of these typologies have weaknesses, for example in relation to the consistency of their descriptive criteria or the extent to which the typology is able to tackle more complex VET systems. This paper therefore takes a multi-perspective approach to developing a new typology that builds on existing approaches from a range of disciplines, justifies a specific combination of these approaches, and substantially expands on them. Specifically, it combines a skill formation approach with both a stratification approach and a standardisation approach. It also explicitly acknowledges the practice of learning as a criterion. This new typology enables VET systems in a range of countries to be categorised systematically across the different levels involved, including in relation to aspects as varied as government regulation, curriculum design, and teaching practices. This will be illustrated using six countries – China, France, Germany, India, Japan and the USA – as case studies. These case studies demonstrate substantial differences but also partial convergences between these countries. The typology offers both a framework for further explanatory approaches in individual country contexts and an opportunity for international comparison of key aspects of VET systems, such as the value attached to vocational qualifications and the possible transfer of VET models from one country to another.

Abstract: Positive teacher attitudes are considered an important prerequisite for the successful inclusion of students with special educational needs in the mainstream classrooms. This study surveyed teacher opinions about inclusion in Finland (N = 298) and Brandenburg, Germany (N = 163), two educational systems in which the number of students transferred to segregated special education is exceptionally high in international comparison. For the measurement of attitudes, a 10-item scale, teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education, was used. The results showed that Finnish teachers were more positive towards inclusion than Brandenburg teachers (d = 0.46). The Brandenburg teachers were especially worried about the extra work caused by inclusion. This concern was possibly related to the different structures of educational organisation. Additional support services were more easily available for the Finnish teachers than for their Brandenburg colleagues. It is argued that teachers’ concerns should be address...

Abstract: This paper explores the ways in which policies for national identity formation and internationalization interact to complement and contradict each other in the context of global higher education. These themes are explored by comparing recent policies in two countries in East Asia, a part of the world currently on the rise in the global hierarchy of higher education (Altbach in Tert Educ Manag 10:3–25, 2004; Marginson in High Educ 4(1), 2011b). China and Japan are presented as case studies, with a focus on the ways the two countries have pursued both higher education internationalization and nationalist agendas through education more broadly. The paper then turns to a discussion of the factors that might explain these approaches as well as the dilemmas that arise from the interaction of these policy agendas in the context of global higher education. The paper argues that while increasing global competitiveness through HE internationalization may prove beneficial to individual nation-states in the short term, countries in East Asia should consider the potential pitfalls of becoming too singly focused on competitiveness at the expense of mutual understanding and peaceful international relations in the region. Furthermore, the continued push to create uncritical nationalistic citizens threatens to undermine the goals of internationalization and may be detrimental to efforts at HE regional cooperation and integration. The paper concludes with recommendations that the two countries consider the potential benefits of global citizenship education and the expansion of regionally focused study abroad programs to help develop graduates with the global competencies conducive to both national competitiveness and regional cooperation.

Abstract: The teaching of writing in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) has been a challenging task for many teachers due to its multifaceted nature. This paper is a reflection on ESL/EFL writing teaching in three countries, namely China, Singapore, and New Zealand, with particular reference to professionalizing ESL/EFL writing and ESL/EFL writing-teacher education. It first addresses issues facing EFL writing and writing-teacher education that relate to the offering of English at various levels in China. It then moves on to elaborate on how western pedagogical practices have been implemented in Singapore, especially that of a genre-based pedagogy. Nestled in the context of globalization, I focus on New Zealand, positing that globalization has exacerbated the challenge in teaching ESL writing because of large numbers of students who are seeking higher education in western countries in English as the medium of instruction, and yet their first language is not English. I conclude the paper with recommendations that professionalizing L2 writing (even in school settings) is a mission for all those who are in this enterprise. Proper teacher preparation programs for training L2 writing teachers should be in place in order for this to happen. China needs to critically appraise, and learn from, successful experiences such as Singapore and many institutions in the USA and Canada. New Zealand is yet to formalize ESOL writing teacher preparation programs, where English-as-an-L2 writing-teacher education for primary and secondary schools is still not a priority in most teacher-education institutions.

Abstract: PART I: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES Globalization as a Notion or Reality? Localization and Taiwan Taiwan's Country Profile The Establishment of Modern Education System Education Reform Era (From 1994 Onwards) PART II: EDUCATION AT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS Taiwan School System Educational Statistics Course Programs Availability Educational Funding Features Teacher Education Shadow Education PART III: TYPICAL SCHOOL DAY IN TAIWAN Pre-School Education Primary Education Secondary Education Higher Education PART IV: LOCAL RESPONSE TO GLOBAL IMPACT ON EDUCATION REFORM The 1994-96 Educational Reform Master Plan University Law for Academic Autonomy and Quality Assurance World Class Research University Project International Student Recruitment Policies Education Adjustment After Access to WTO and ECFA Decentralization of Teacher Preparation Program Establishment of Multiple-channels for University and Senior High School Admission Nine-year Integrated Curriculum Reform Recent Planning of the Twelve Basic Education Program Other Local Reform Schemes Local Responses to Global Challenges Conclusion

Abstract: The superiority of market mechanisms in educational provision is a premise that has received renewed emphasis under the regime of public-private partnerships (PPPs). The central idea of PPPs—enthusiastically embraced by a range of international organizations, development agencies and scholars—is grounded in the assumption that competition between public and private schools is an effective means of promoting education quality and efficiency. PPP policy frameworks are expected to establish genuine market dynamics in which suppliers innovate and boost the quality of their education services as a way to attract families, who are portrayed as benefit maximizers and well-informed consumers. The application of these market ideas to education, however, has suffered from a series of modifications and failures under real world conditions. This study is based on the case of Chile—the most market-oriented education system in the world—and examines how few of the taken-for-granted benefits of market-oriented provision either have been or can be fulfilled, due to the nature of the supply structure and to the effects of agents’ expectations and behaviors.

Abstract: Despite a broad consensus on the ethical dimensions of the teaching profession, and long-standing efforts to align teacher education with wider trends in professional education, little is known about how teacher candidates are being prepared to face the ethical challenges of contemporary teaching. This article presents the results of an international survey on ethics content and curriculum in initial teacher education (ITE). Involving five Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries—the United States, England, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands—the study’s findings shed light on teacher educators’ perspectives on the contribution of ethics content to the education of future teachers and provide a snapshot of how well existing programs line up with their aspirations. The results showed that 24% of the ITE programs surveyed contain at least one mandatory stand-alone ethics course. The meaning of the results vis-a-vis opportunities for expanding ethics education in preservice teaching programs is also discussed.

Abstract: One of the most basic and obvious sources of data for education policy analysis is text. This article discusses content analysis as an important part of the methodological toolbox for elucidating patterns and trends about education policy. Focusing specifically on media, I show how media content analysis can produce nuanced insights about the ways in which educational ideas are understood in a local context. Drawing on a research project that analyzed thirteen years of media coverage of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), I demonstrate the utility of media content analysis for understanding the way in which ideas and global trends influence national education policy on the ground.