Catherine M. Jere

Disrupting patterns of educational inequality and disadvantage in Malawi

Abstract This paper is concerned with the gap in educational provision for vulnerable learners in Malawi who are at risk of falling behind and dropping out of school due to irregular attendance. It draws on a study in high HIV-prevalence areas that explores the patterns of inequality and disadvantage that disrupt learning and uses this knowledge to design a school-based intervention to complement conventional schooling with more open and flexible delivery of the curriculum and increased school and community support. The intervention was implemented over one school year and evaluated using a randomized controlled design. The findings show that the intervention reduced dropout overall by 42% in intervention compared to non-intervention group. These findings suggest that there is a role for more open and flexible models of schooling and support in reducing educational inequalities. However, transforming established practice would require an integrated strategy supported by national policies that recognize the need for schools to change.

Challenging deficit discourses in international education and development

Research and policy in international education has often been framed in terms of a deficit discourse. For instance, policy debates on women’s literacy and education have begun by positioning women ...

Fair Access to Higher Education: Global Perspectives ed. by Anna Mountford-Zimdars, Daniel Sabbagh, and David Post

their mission, local ties to community, and funding differences, like the ability to have local taxing districts in some states necessitating the participation in the voting/elections process. Any discussion of higher education is not complete without the inclusion of the community college system in the U.S.A., further education in the U.K., and similar systems worldwide. Despite this omission, Austin and Jones have authored a valuable resource in Governance of Higher Education: Global Perspectives, Theories, and Practices. Faculty teaching governance in higher education should consider adopting the book as a text in a seminar course. Scholars may want to consult one or more chapters as a starting place before constructing a literature review, theoretical framework, or empirical design. Austin and Jones should revisit the subject in a few years and consider updating the current content and expanding topics identified as new issues and challenges. Much will change about governance in the coming decade, and the topic will continue to be of interest to scholars and practitioners.