EDU 6515: Comparative Education Research: eBooks

This eBook unites a dynamic group of scholars who examine linkages among local, national, and international levels of educational policy and practice.

Focusing on the post war reconstruction of the education systems in Japan and Germany under U.S. military occupation after World War II, this eBook offers a comparative historical investigation of education reform policies in these two war ravaged and ideologically compromised countries. While in Japan large-scale reforms were undertaken swiftly after the end of the war, the U.S. zone in Germany maintained most of the traditional aspects of the German education system. Why did Japan so readily accept ideas and values developed in the allied countries while Germany resisted? Masako Shibata explores this question, arguing that the role of the university and the pattern of elite formation, which can be traced back to the period of the formation of Meiji Japan and the Kaiserreich, created the conditions for differing reactions from educational leaders in each country; this had a decisive impact on the proposed reforms. By examining these reactions through a sociological, cultural, and historical frame, an explanation emerges. Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation will prove to be a valuable resource both to scholars of history and education reform.

This eBook provides the first academically rigorous description and critical analysis of the Higher Education system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and of the vision, strategies and policy imperatives for the future development of Saudi universities. The government of Saudi Arabia has recognized in both policy and practice the necessity of developing its university system to world-class standard. Significantly increasing access and participation in Higher Education across a range of traditional and non-traditional disciplines is directly relevant to the future social and economic growth of the country. This eBook addresses the way in which Saudi Arabia is moving to develop a quality university system that balances the need for students to gain the knowledge, skills and 'ways of doing' necessary to operate effectively on the world stage while simultaneously maintaining and demonstrating the fundamental values of the Islamic religion and culture. The eBook provides a description and critical analysis of the key components of the Saudi Higher Education system, and of system-level responses to the challenges and opportunities facing Saudi universities. It is written by a team of Saudi academics and authors of international standing from non-Saudi universities so as to provide both internal and external perspectives on all issues and to place information and ideas in the context of the international Higher Education scene.

This superbly researched study offers a chalk-face perspective on the secret of Finland's educational success. Providing an intimate and revealing portrait of the Nordic nation's schools and its teacher training system, it sets out to explain why Finland's students consistently rank top, with low variance and moderate inputs, among OECD countries across the range of criteria, from reading to mathematics. Alongside the detailed analysis culled from many hours of interviews with teachers and principals and dozens of visits to school throughout the country, the author maps the educational landscape of Finland: the sector's history, culture and development, its guiding principles, methodologies, and learning environments. The result is a cogent assessment of how and why Finland is universally regarded as a high-grade educational exemplar. The volume provides the hundreds of researchers, teaching professionals, and policy makers who visit Finland in search of inspiration with essential background material on the country's magic educational ingredients, which include a highly motivated cohort of well-trained teachers, a recognition of the vital importance of early years education and nurture, functional and inviting learning environments, and a rejection of pedagogical dogma in favour of developing methodologies that produce results at the same time as fostering students' confidence and collegiality. At the same age, Finland's schoolchildren have roughly one less year of formal schooling than most of their international counterparts, do not consider themselves to be overworked, and rank alongside hot-housed Singaporean or South Korean youngsters in international assessments of achievement. They are the educational equivalent of world-beating sports stars who make success appear effortless. This volume lifts the lid on the hard work and careful planning that underpin their achievements.

This eBook explores how the global trend of quality assurance in higher education is related to the boom of measuring learning outcomes in Japan. It also presents a comparative study in higher education policy between Japan and the US, examining how both countries have reacted to the demands of globalization. This comparative view will help readers understand the present issues Japanese higher education faces and grasp the commonalties and differences between American and Japanese higher education. The eBook first explores the forces of globalization that have resulted in Japanese universities emphasizing student learning outcomes. Next, it examines how Japanese higher education has learned from the experience of the U.S., whose higher education reform has been regarded as a model for Japan. The eBook explains why quality assurance for teaching and learning has become important for all Japanese higher education institutions. Higher Education on a global basis is now facing a great issue. In order to help students in a competitive global market, universities need to become more teaching-and-learning-centered and develop more internationalized curricula. This eBook provides comparative views for cultural and structural similarities and differences in higher education in two countries which could explain significant differences in the gains students make in college. It will help readers understand not only how student learning outcomes can be measured, but why universities throughout the world must continually strive to become world-class institutions.

Though diverse, the Arab world boasts a unique culture and native language, both of which are unlike those found in English-speaking countries. Perhaps due to the nature of these differences, Arab-Western relations have been described as existing on one of the world's great cultural fault-lines. Debate about the potential effects, both positive and negative, of English-medium education and the learning of English in the region's schools and universities is one expression of this. Even as debate continues, issues of politics, culture, social mobility, and identity are played out in the English language classrooms of the Arab world on a daily basis.The current volume explores some of the concerns related to the place of English and English-medium education in the Arab world. It examines issues of the relationship between English, Arabic, cultural identity and power in the region within a historical and contemporary framework; the experiences of learners from Arabic-medium secondary schools adjusting to English-medium colleges; and the challenges and potential rewards of promoting student-centered classrooms and technology in traditionally teacher-centered environments. These issues are explored from the perspectives of teachers, students, researchers and other stakeholders in Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Sudan.

Textbooks are crucial in shaping today's global and diverse world. They can contribute to making it both 'better' and more 'intercultural', but also, on occasion, create limited and biased ideas about the 'Other'. This collected volume undertakes multidisciplinary research into textbooks, taking one of the best education systems in the world - Finland - as an example. The authors investigate the issue of diversities in textbooks from multiple perspectives, disciplines, school levels and content areas. Together, the chapters provide examples of hidden ideologies, (neo-)stereotyping and othering when looking beneath the surface of texts and illustrations. The authors also present concrete tools that can be used for analysing diversities and interculturality in textbooks. In addition, the chapters will serve to develop teachers' and students' abilities to encounter diversities and similarities in ways that enhance their sensitivity, self-reflexivity and criticality. This volume will be of interest for students in educational sciences; pre-service teachers and in-service teachers of various school subjects; teacher educators; and researchers in the areas of subject didactics, multicultural and intercultural education, language education, educational leadership, curriculum, and policy. Forewords and Commentary by Jari Lavonen, Karen Risager, Adrian Holliday and Julie S. Byrd Clark.

The eBook “Gifted Education in Asia: Problems and Prospects” is the first of its kind in terms of providing a critical assessment of the state of gifted education in nine representative countries or regions in Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mainland China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey), five commentaries that put gifted education in a global context, and a conclusion chapter that provides a long-term projection of future developments in gifted education in an information age and knowledge economy in the 21st century, and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for Asian countries. As Asia has become an economic powerhouse globally, and its education has also gained global attention (e.g., its stellar performance in international comparisons such as PISA), gifted education gearing toward the cultivation of the most precious human capital gains added importance. Authors of the 15 Chapter volume come from Asia, Europe, and North America, and they represent top experts in the field of education. The eBook is an authoritative source of knowledge for anyone interested in gifted education, talent development, and creativity in this region. Policy makers, business and school leaders, teachers, educational researchers, and parents will find this eBook informative and thought-provoking.

Universities everywhere are witnessing growing numbers of students in cross-border, international, and transnational spaces. This trend has resulted in many educators revising their curricula, pedagogical approaches, and assumptions about what it means to provide a university education in the 21st century. This edited collection contributes to a growing body of research in international and transnational education by looking back and looking forward at globalisation's impact on higher education.The authors in this volume provide a solid base of theoretical knowledge and practical applications to readers in similar situations. With growing numbers of students and teachers moving - physically and virtually - across international borders, their expertise is needed. The collection contains authors from Germany, Ghana, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United States of America, and from varied disciplines such as education, English language teaching, higher education administration, indigenous studies, literature, mathematics, rhetoric and composition, and writing centre studies.