Robin Shields

New managerialism in education: commercialization, carelessness and gender

Kathleen Lynch and her colleagues Bernie Grummell and Dympna Devine have produced a frustratingly compelling volume that documents the arrival of ‘new managerialism’ in the Irish education system. To my reading, there is no question this volume provides a strong empirical case and analysis of how a somewhat unique system, from amongst the Occidental systems typically discussed in Anglophile research communities, has adopted similar rationale and procedures of governance now found across the global. In their own terms, this case shows how ‘Ireland has moved from being a state governed by theocratic principles to one governed by market principles’ (21). The subtitle of the volume, Commercialization, Carelessness and Gender, delineates the three main lines of analytical argument present across the volume, which does a superlative job of illustrating how it is that overt policies claiming to promote gender equity actually do not. The detail of how that policy failure happened and the insights given to the mechanisms of exclusion that define the glass ceiling faced by women in senior educational executives is the great contribution of the volume. This is very well-crafted empirical work, bringing together an array of macro-level historical documentation and analysis with the face-to-face interviews of people working through this transition. In essence, it is very easy for readers to see just how the micro and macro worked in tandem, and how individual decisions translate into macro systemic dynamics that really did directly contradict legal intent. (The volume points out that many of the gender equity initiatives were motivated with the force of law behind them.) The analytical scaffolding of this argument is what propels it. That is, after a general introduction to the notion of ‘new managerialism’ and its relationship to capital, the volume begins with a discussion of the ‘culture of governance’ in Irish education, a much-needed and parsimoniously constructed background for those of us not directly familiar with Irish

Globalization and international student mobility:a network analysis

This article analyzes changes to the network of international student mobility in higher education over a 10-year period (1999–2008). International student flows have increased rapidly, exceeding 3 million in 2009, and extensive data on mobility provide unique insight into global educational processes. The analysis is informed by three theoretical conceptualizations of globalization: neoliberalism, critical perspectives (e.g., world-systems analysis and poststructuralism), and world culture theory. Network analysis demonstrates that flows of international students have become more unequal and centralized. Comparisons with other global networks show that international student flows are closely related to world trade and, increasingly, international governmental organizations. While confirming the importance of international governmental organizations in the globalization of education, the study highlights the need for theoretical work that accounts for the nexus between international institutions and the complex power dynamics involved in uneven global processes.

Uneven terrain: educational policy and equity in Nepal

This paper investigates the relationship between educational policy, equity, and national development in Nepal. It argues that current inequities in educational opportunities and outcomes are largely attributable to persistent inequities and biases in the educational policy framework. We begin by surveying the complex, multifaceted reality of educational disparity in contemporary Nepal and trace these inequalities to exclusionary practices in the policy environment that have persisted in various forms since the inception of an independent Nepali state. We then show how these educational inequities contributed to the civil conflict that engulfed Nepal from 1996 to 2006. Analysis and critique of the most recent policy trends, decentralisation and privatisation, provide insight into the future nexus of educational policy and equity in Nepal. We conclude that it is imperative for policymakers to reconceptualise the relationship between development, education, and equity at this critical juncture.

ICT or I see tea? Modernity, technology and education in Nepal

The use of information and communications technology (ICT) for education in developing countries has been a subject of great interest and speculation, with its proponents arguing that ICT improves educational quality, develops critical thinking skills, expands access, increases economic competitiveness and facilitates inclusion in a rapidly expanding global information society. However, few of these claims have been verified from an empirical standpoint, leading to substantial criticism of the push to expand ICT. This article analyses how the global discourse on ICT in education has unfolded in Nepal, concentrating on educational policies on ICT and how these relate to a rather limited domain of practice. It argues that policies on ICT in education reveal an uneasy and fragmented engagement with the global discourse, while in practice its use is often innovative although so limited as to cause little substantive change. However, in both policy and practice the importance of ICT is more due to its power as a symbol of modernity and progress than any utilitarian value.

Student mobility and emerging hubs in global higher education

Bangalore, India, has become an icon of globalization and the rise of the knowledge economy. Virtually every major technology company has opened an office there, seeking to capitalize on the large supply of highly skilled labor that remains relatively inexpensive by global standards. In a juxtaposition of old and new, foreign executives stay in five star hotels while oxen pull vegetable carts in the streets outside. Among the gleaming information technology (IT) office parks, another industry is being born: young foreigners are flocking to Bangalore—not on business, but rather to pursue their own education. The same universities that gave birth to India’s IT revolution have become recognized centers of scientific and engineering education. Students from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates come to the area in growing numbers to receive an education that many consider to rival the best universities in the world at a fraction of the cost.

Reconsidering regionalisation in global higher education: student mobility spaces of the European Higher Education Area

This paper examines international student mobility between member states of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), a group of 47 countries that committed to reforming their higher education systems to improve the comparability and compatibility of degrees. While increased student mobility is a key goal in its official documents, little research has empirically investigated student mobility patterns in respect to the EHEA. The analysis employs multivariate techniques to identify trends in student mobility between 1999 and 2009, using a spatial approach to visualise the relationships between member states as constituted through student mobility flows. Results show that within the analysis timeframe student flows in the EHEA became more even in their distribution, but that in terms of the relationships between states, the EHEA became more centralised and segmented, meaning that key actors mediated exchanges between peripheral states and the region was more easily divided into self-contained clusters. These trends indicate a need to critically reconsider the nature of the EHEA and its role in the globalisation of higher education.

COMPARE Forum: The Post-2015 Education and Development Agenda.

As the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, there are a growing number of processes, preparations and debates on what a post-2015 agenda and framework will look like. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) (as chaired by the United Nations Development Programme) is leading the planning of efforts to catalyse a ‘global conversation’ on post-2015 through a series of some 100 national consultations and 11 global thematic consultations. The aim of these consultations has been to bring together a broad range of stakeholders to review progress on the MDGs and to discuss the options for a new framework. The overall global thematic consultation on education is co-led by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with support from the Government of Canada, the Government of Germany and the Government of the Republic of Senegal. The education consultations focus on the progress to date as well as the possible scope and shape of education within the post-2015 agenda.The purpose of this special edition of the Compare Forum is to contribute to this debate in relation to ideas about how progress towards greater education quality and equity can be achieved, including how and what goals and targets need to be defined and owned and how governments can be made accountable for them.

Developing reading comprehension with moving image narratives

This paper reports the findings from a small-scale exploratory study that investigated how moving-image narratives might enable children to develop transferable reading comprehension strategies. Using short, animated, narrative films, 28 primary-aged children engaged in a 10-week programme that included the explicit instruction of comprehension strategies in small-group settings. Baseline and final data relating to children’s reading accuracy, rate and comprehension of written texts were gathered using a standardised reading assessment. Findings show that children’s reading comprehension scores showed significant improvement after the programme. Furthermore, reading accuracy scores also improved beyond expected levels even though no decoding of written words had occurred in the programme. While further research is needed, these findings offer a challenge to models of reading that potentially over-simplify the complex relationship between the word recognition and comprehension. More importantly, the findings point at the importance of using alternatives to written texts within the reading curriculum.

OpenCases: Case Studies on Openness in Education

OpenCases is a study which is part of the OpenEdu Project. It is a qualitative study consisting of a review of literature on open education and nine in-depth case studies of higher education institutions, a consortium of universities, a private organisation and a national initiative. It analysed the rationale and enabling conditions for involvement in open education, open education activities, strategies, impact, challenges and prospects. The main outcome of this study is evidence that a large number of OER have reached a large group of learners. However, completion rates of MOOCs are low. Accreditation is not formalised and in general its impact on employability is not measured.

The investment model of volunteering in the EU-27 countries: volunteering, skills development and employability. A multi-level analysis

ABSTRACT This article contributes to a better understanding of the social acceptance of the investment model of volunteering, that is, the view that volunteering can enhance employability through the development of professionally relevant knowledge and competences. Based on the analysis of Eurobarometer data, the article explores (1) the prevalence of the investment model of volunteering in the EU-27 countries and the extent to which this varies between individuals with the potential to make hiring decisions (IHP) and the general population, (2) the demographic factors associated with the acceptance of this model, (3) whether national differences in the acceptance of the model are better explained by variation between countries or cross-national demographic factors and (4) whether national institutional characteristics related to the competitiveness of the national labour market, the specificity of the education system, the strength of the continuing vocational training system and cultural factors influence acceptance. The results show that the acceptance of the investment model of volunteering is relatively widespread in Europe and that variation in the acceptance of the investment model among the general population is driven by both individual (age and class) and between-country differences (related to the strength of training for unemployed people), but variation is more attributable to differences between countries than cross-national demographic groups. IHP, on the other hand, tend to be more homogenous in their acceptance of the investment model than the general population.