This article examines two recent policy initiatives in Singapore: the independent schools scheme and the autonomous schools scheme. The Singapore government has claimed that these reform initiatives, both of which are aimed at promoting greater school operating autonomy, will help attain greater choice and diversity for parents and students as well as promote excellence in education. The author examines the operating framework of both schemes and concludes that even while these schemes purport to offer school heads increased autonomy, the government continues to exert a great deal of influence over all schools. In addition, the author is critical of the extent to which the policy objectives of these two schemes will be attained. (DIPF/Orig.)
Queer studies of education and research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) kids, tightly connected to anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia and norm-critical activism, have become a growing field with a range of theoretical and political positions and methodological approaches. One of the key contentions within this field is what researchers and activists mean by "queer" in the context of education: is it a focus on queer/ed subjectivities? Is it about using queer theories to critique forms and norms of education in a given sociopolitical context? Who is queer/ed in schools? Is the language of homophobia and transphobia the best or even correct way to describe and analyse normative educational settings and frameworks? In this issue of Confero, we highlight both ethnographic investigations of queer and queered kids in school and critical views of school's policy making and normative frameworks. Queer education research is a rapidly growing area of study. Where researchers and activists insist on the entanglements between not least sexual, gendered and racialised structural formations, we also insist on our expectation that principal values in schools meet the increasing challenges from queer activism and research.
Queer studies of education have become a growing field with a range of theoretical and political positions and methodological approaches. Moreover, research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) kids is tightly connected to anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia and norm-critical activism. One of the key contentions within this field is what researchers and activists mean by "queer" in the context of education: is it a focus on queer/ed subjectivities? Is it about using queer theories to critique forms and norms of education in a given sociopolitical context? Who is queer/ed in schools? Is the language of homophobia and transphobia the best or even correct way to describe and analyse normative educational settings and frameworks?
In September 2005 the Government received recommendations fromthe School Meals Review Panel (SMRP) on school lunches and on a number of wider issues concerning food in schools. In response to that report Turning the Tables the newly-established School Food Trust (SFT) was commissioned to advise Ministers on standards for food in school other than lunch.The DfES consulted widely on the recommendations of the SMRP andon a more limited basis on the advice of the SFT. Reports on the responses to each of those consultations are available at: www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conresults.cfm?consultationId=1319Having considered responses to those consultations and taken intoaccount the many representations the Department has received on theseissues from a range of stakeholders, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has arrived at final decisions on the standards. These standards will apply to school lunches and other food provided in all local authority maintained schools in England.
Includes a supplement of Schools, by H. Gannaway and Seals, by E.C. Ellsbree. ; On cover: Reprinted from American and English encyclopaedia of law, 2nd. ed. ; Mode of access: Internet.
Countries that have sustained rapid growth over decades have typically had a strong public commitment to expanding education as well as to improving learning outcomes. South Asian countries have made considerable progress in expanding access to primary and secondary schooling, with countries having achieved near-universal enrollment of the primary-school-age cohort (ages 6–11), except for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Secondary enrollment shows an upward trend as well. Beyond school, many more people have access to skill-improving opportunities and higher education today. Although governments have consistently pursued policies to expand access, a prominent feature of the region has been the role played by non-state actors—private nonprofit and for-profit entities—in expanding access at every level of education. Though learning levels remain low, countries in the region have shown a strong commitment to improving learning. All countries in South Asia have taken the first step, which is to assess learning outcomes regularly. Since 2010, there has been a rapid increase in the number of large-scale student learning assessments conducted in the region. But to use the findings of these assessments to improve schooling, countries must build their capacity to design assessments and analyze and use findings to inform policy.
"Report to the Governor"--Cover. ; "Final report of the Governor's Study Committee on Nonpublic Schools"--Part II. ; "December, 1971"--Part II. ; "December, 1970"--[Part I]. ; Mode of access: Internet.
This dissertation is a series of speculative essays (Schubert, 1991) that address the forces of neoliberalism on schools today– both public and private. While there have been studies on the detrimental effects of high-stakes testing on public schools (e.g., Au, 2015; Giroux, 2014; Wacquant, 2000) as well as the associated harmful effects of school to prison pipeline (e.g., Saltman, 2016; Taubman, 2009), there remains little research associated with the damaging impacts of neoliberalism on Christian schools. Building upon the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy (e.g., Friere, 1970; Kincheloe, 2008; McLaren, 2015), I undertake a critical examination of neoliberalism's calculated efforts on schools (e.g., Gallager, 2007; Giroux, 2008; Kumar,2012; Ryan, 2016) and its dangers to both public and Christian schools--an on-going threat of losing additional Constitutional democratic values that were designed to provide equal treatment for all students. I investigate the damages associated with the one-size-fits-all curriculum implemented initially through the No Child Left Behind legislation in 2002. Through the lenses of my past experiences as a Christian school principal and as an educator, I share with the reader impacts on Christian schools and their primary constituents, middle class families. The dissertation includes my suggestions based upon critical pedagogical research that schools should consider as they move forward in the 21st century. Drawing from Schwab (1978) and the four identified commonplaces of curriculum and more recently, Lake (2014), I examine how each commonplace complements the other in my ideal school. I propose long-term relationships between teachers and students over multiple years. Within such a context, the student and teacher learn from each other beginning at the kindergarten level. Students having opportunities to bond with teachers (e.g., Noddings, 2005) is at the core of such a curriculum where relationships and trust replace the current trend of teaching to the test. I emphasize the need for beginning teachers to practice their skills during an internship period of several years alongside a mentor teacher with reduced class sizes. The dissertation concludes by addressing current inhibiting forces conflicting with implementing this child-centered format for learning.
