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Continuing education that is planned and prepared thoroughly and comprehensively, is rarely done and is well implemented in most developing countries in the world, including Asia and Indonesia, therefore coaching and special attention must be given by each policy-maker and every element of the nation to the field of education, the nature of which is sustainable and comprehensive, so there is no overlap in management and implementation, particularly in the field of education for the benefit of sustainable development. Continuing education must be able to answer the demands of society, the nation and even the country at large, because education is what can be said as a barometer that determines the progress and decline of community life in a nation, which affects the life of the nation and state, if the people of a nation's education level can be aligned to the tertiary level in all elements of national life, then whether it is recognized. It will have a direct impact on the life and welfare of a country. And that prosperous life will help the government to run programs after programs that have been prepared for its people, to achieve certain targets for sustainable development.

This article employs historical records, cultural traditions, and insights from recent interviews with history teachers to trace the beginnings of history teaching and the political landscape that has shaped school history and history curricula in Ghana. The article argues that history education in Ghana has survived the ravages of time, Western historiographical ideals and imperialist ambitions as well as politically motivated legislations and reforms. The article concludes that history education is regaining its grounds in Ghanaian schools and raises implications for teacher education and resource provision in schools. The article contributes to an understanding of the evolution of history education in Ghana and the impact of colonial and political forces on curricula, teaching and learning of African history.

This study explores the role and meaning of general education in Chinese higher education in the face of ongoing social changes in China, using Fudan University (FU) as a case study. General education has been heatedly discussed and greatly promoted in Chinese higher education since the last decade of the 20th century. Since existing theories and conceptions of general education mainly focus on Western, especially American, higher education, there has been little exploration of the meaning and role of general education in China, which has very different sociopolitical and cultural traditions from those of many Western nations, especially in the context of economic globalization. Therefore, an exploration of the meaning and role of general education in Chinese higher education could help to provide either challenges or supplements to existing theories and conceptions of general education. This study adopted the qualitative case study with FU as the case to explore the research problem. It used three data collection methods – document collection and review, interviews and observation – to gain an in-depth understanding of the development and tasks of general education at FU during periods of social transformation of China from 1905 to 2004, and during the latest reforms to general education at FU, between 2005 and 2012. Data collected from historical documents identified that general education at FU had mainly assumed two persistent tasks during periods of social transformation of China between 1905 and 2004. The first task was to facilitate the transmission of core cultural values, as defined mainly by the leaders of the state in different periods, to help the state to preserve its national identity. The second task was to equip students with knowledge, capacities and values, mainly Western in origin, to facilitate the state's economic modernization. Further analysis of documentary, interview and observation data also identified continuities in and changes to the sociopolitical/cultural and economic tasks of general education at FU between 2005 and 2012; specifically, that general education still transmitted state-promoted core cultural values and still equipped students with a wider range of knowledge and capacities, but the contents of those values and the nature of those knowledge and capacities had changed due to the further development of China's market economy and the effects of economic globalization. Based on these findings, this study proposed a concept to understand the meaning and role of general education at FU in the context of ongoing social changes in China. This thesis argues that, at FU, general education can be interpreted as a curricular instrument for nation-building that helps China promote its sociopolitical/cultural and economic tasks by facilitating (a) the inheritance of selected Chinese and non-Chinese cultural values, and (b) the equipment of students with a broader range of knowledge and capacities to cope with China's changing economy. This study identified that, to facilitate China's nation building ambitions, general education transmitted to students (a) Chinese and non-Chinese (particularly Western) cultural values, and (b) both traditional cultural values and contemporary cultural values prescribed by different national leaders (and/or scholars) in different historical periods. Further, this study identified two tensions in general education for nation-building: (a) the tension between traditional and contemporary Chinese cultures, and (b) the tension between selected Chinese and non-Chinese cultures. This study shows the ebb and flow of traditional Chinese cultural values in the sociopolitical/cultural task of general education, and how it has been shaped by China's nation building since the early 20th century under the economic and military challenges of foreign nations. The concept of general education proposed by this study helps to explain the persistence of the economic and the sociopolitical/cultural task of general education at FU during the periods of social changes of China from 1905 to 2012. The study also identified that the economic task of general education mandated the import of elements of Western culture and values and therefore created tension with the Chinese cultural values transmitted in general education's sociopolitical/cultural task. The concept of general education proposed by this study has implications for existed theories and conceptions of general education (mainly Western in context) which do not show (a) the coexistence of and the tensions between traditional and contemporary national cultures in the tasks of general education, and (b) the coexistence of and tensions between the economic and sociopolitical/cultural tasks of general education. Further research is suggested into the complex relationships among and tensions between different cultures as general education facilitates nation-building. ; published_or_final_version ; Education ; Doctoral ; Doctor of Philosophy

In what ways does access to undergraduate education have a transformative impact on people and societies? What conditions are required for this impact to occur? What are the pathways from an undergraduate education to the public good, including inclusive economic development? These questions have particular resonance in the South African higher education context, which is attempting to tackle the challenges of widening access and improving completion rates in in a system in which the segregations of the apartheid years are still apparent. Higher education is recognised in core legislation as having a distinctive and crucial role in building post-apartheid society. Undergraduate education is seen as central to addressing skills shortages in South Africa. It is also seen to yield significant social returns, including a consistent positive impact on societal institutions and the development of a range of capabilities that have public, as well as private, benefits. This book offers comprehensive contemporary evidence that allows for a fresh engagement with these pressing issues. ; Published by African Minds.

This paper takes its point of departure in action learning- and research carried out with teacher educators from six universities within the project Democracy Education in Ukraine, Norway and Palestine. The teacher educators received training in accordance with the Dialogos approach to dialogical philosophizing, and tried out the approach with colleagues and/or with students in their own teaching practices. However, the main concern of the article is the discussion the potential of action learning and action research in teacher education when it comes to the development of phronesis or practical wisdom as an element in democracy education. Democracy Education the Dialogos Way is part of the project Democracy Education in Ukraine, Norway and Palestine. The author stresses that the results of the project can be studied from many perspectives. In accordance to the author's point of view, it is relevant to see the project as a new step in the bigger action research project work to justify and show the relevance of the Dialogos approach, regarding the enhancement of democratic ways of living together in a shared world. Important in this respect, is that edification towards wisdom and prudence cannot be taught directly. It requires active participation from the student, a will to wisdom and a willingness to put his or her horizon of understanding into play in the educational situation. It requires teacher educators who are willing to do the same. The teacher educators and the students are in the philosophical dialogues as well as in the action research together. The author describes how she let Socrates speak through the written dialogue of Plato's Republic. The author concluded that according to Socrates the faculty of sight already exists in the human being. It needs only to be re-awakened.Key words