| 1. |
- Arjmand, Reza, 1963-
(författare)
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Inscription on Stone : Islam, State and Education in Iran and Turkey
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study explores the role of education as means of creation and maintenance of religious hegemony in Iran and Turkey. In the context of this study, state-sponsored systems of mass education aim to socialize generations of children into accepting the ideology and values of the dominant groups as the normal state of affairs. Hegemony, thus, is advanced not solely by excluding oppositional forces but by moral leadership throughout the total ideological and socio-political structure. Reviewing the notion of education in Islam and the role of the Quran and Sunna and other sources of knowledge in Islam, the study focuses on the impact of Shari'a in forming the theories of state and education in Islam. Representing two different schools of Muslim thought, Iran and Turkey have different interpretations of the state and its role in education which determines the degree of involvement and extent of authority of the political and religious leaders over education. Unity of Islam and the state in the Iranian theocratic system provides an ideologically-laden education which is rooted in one principle: training a new generation of pious, “ideologically committed Muslims”. However, the endeavors of the Turkish secular state have been focused on establishing a mass popularized secular education in order to produce nationalist citizens. The Iranian revolution of 1979 contributed extensively to the awakening of the religious revival, calling for a shift from a Western model of social order to the one deeply rooted in Islamic beliefs and values. The close link between education and ideology in Iran is apparent from the goals set for educating the young, most of them openly political: acceptance of God's absolute authority manifested through the authority of ulama; support for the political, economic, and cultural unity of all Islamic global community (umma) and for oppressed peoples (mustaz’afin); rejection of every form of oppression, suffering, and domination. The four ideological pillars of the Islamic Republic, inseparability of religion and politics, Islamic revival, cultural revolution, and creation of a committed Muslim, have had a direct impact on Iranian education. The “Unity of Education Act” in the Republic of Turkey placed all educational activities under strict government control by introducing a state monopoly on education. Kemalism is based on an emphasis on national and republican principles and secularism in which religion has no place and is left out of the scope of formal education. Hence, the transmission of religious knowledge from one generation to another was only possible through informal channels such as family, the small community or underground activities of religious orders. Islam, however, gradually penetrated the public life in Turkey and challenged the secularism. The goal of the Turkish national education as to unite the entire nation through a national consciousness, to think along scientific lines, and intellectually as well as worldly, leaves no place for Islamic religious education. In spite of the government's emphasis on a secular and nationalist system, Islam remains as a force, particularly in its capacity to utilize new elements required for a modern society. Although Islam has not yet challenged the supremacy of secular education in Turkey, it expanded its influence both in formal and informal education, content and structure.
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| 2. |
- Biamba, Cresantus, 1964-
(författare)
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The Role of Principals in Government Secondary Schools in Cameroon: Demands, Constraints and Choices : A Case Study of Eight Secondary Schools
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main aim of this research was to explore the present role of the secondary school principals and the challenges they face in carrying out their duties in the Northwest region of Cameroon. The research, which was exploratory and conducted in the interpretive paradigm, is a case study which was carried out at eight secondary schools. Working in an interpretivist research paradigm within a qualitative research design, the study used semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis methods.The researcher shadowed each principal for a week of intensive observation and interviewing.The findings reveal that tradition, culture and political contexts are crucial factors in understanding what the secondary school principals in Cameroon do and how they conceptualize principalship. The findings show that discussions with parents, staff and desk work were found to be the major job functions taking up most of the principals' time. The findings reveal that principals are agents of accountability and management; they are involved with different regional and local services; are concerned with the safety and security of students; and their day is extended through participation in parent teacher associations and with other local community activities.However, the findings also indicate the multi-varied nature of the principal's role. The principal's day was generally hectic in pace, varied in its composition, discontinuous and superficial in any pursuit of tasks, with the unexpected always as one of the few certainties of the job. The dominant model was that of the transactional leader in fixing things, managing and coping in order to maintain the smooth operation of the school.Results indicated that deputy principals presented similar feedback to that presented by principals. The major difference being in the way deputy principals perceived tomorrow’s principalship ─ one beyond the transactional model of principal as administrator to the transformational model of principal as leading professional.
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| 3. |
- Brattlund, Åsa
(författare)
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What Role of God and National Curriculum in School life? : A Comparative Study of Schools with a Muslim Profile in England and Sweden
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of principles and ethics that dominate four schools with a Muslim profile, two in Sweden and two in England.The specific objectives of the study are: to examine educational policies with regard to primary schools with a confessional orientation in Sweden and England; to compare two primary schools with a Muslim profile in Sweden with two such schools in England; and in these four schools to describe and examine the manner in which school heads, teachers and other staff deal with the encounters between the values found in the national curriculum of Sweden and England respectively and the principles and ethics embodied in their private philosophy of life; to describe and examine the views of school heads, teachers and other staff on school leadership and any educational, ideological or personal role model they emulate; to describe and examine the expectations and views of parents with regard to the school with a Muslim profile; and describe the views of the pupils regarding their schools and the norms and values in school and; finally, to examine the attitudes of some local authority politicians in Sweden to MP schools.The findings indicate great difference between the two schools with a Muslim profile in Sweden, on the one hand, and the two schools in England, on the other. The fundamental reason for that lies in the parameters which had been established in these countries as the conditions for being permitted to establish and run a school with a confessional orientation. Since the schools in both countries had conformed to the relevant legislation and framework in their respective countries with regard to such schools, they had therefore consequently developed in different directions.
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| 4. |
- Garrouste, Christelle, 1976-
(författare)
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Determinants and Consequences of Language-in-Education Policies : Essays in Economics of Education
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of three empirical studies. The first study, Rationales to Language-in-Education Policies in Postcolonial Africa: Towards a Holistic Approach, considers two issues. First, it explores the factors affecting the choice of an LiE policy in 35 African countries. The results show that the countries adopting a unilingual education system put different weights on the influential parameters than countries adopting a bilingual education system. Second, the study investigates how decision makers can ensure the optimal choice of language(s) of instruction by developing a non-cooperative game theoretic model with network externalities. The model shows that it is never optimal for two countries to become bilingual, or for the majority linguistic group to learn the language of the minority group, unless there is minimum cooperation to ensure an equitable redistribution of payoffs. The second study, The Role of Language in Learning Achievement: A Namibian Case Study, investigates the role played by home language and language proficiency on SACMEQ II mathematics scores of Namibian Grade-6 learners. HLM is used to partition the total variance in mathematics achievement into its within- and between-school components. Results show that although home language plays a limited role in explaining within- and between-school variations in mathematics achievement, language proficiency (proxied by reading scores) plays a significant role in the heterogeneity of results. Finally, the third study, Language Skills and Economic Returns, investigates the economic returns to language skills, assuming that language competencies constitute key components of human capital. It presents results from eight IALS countries. The study finds that in each country, skills in a second language are a significant factor that constrains wage opportunities positively.
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| 5. |
- Karlsson, Pia, 1946-, et al.
(författare)
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An Afghan Dilemma: Education, Gender and Globalisation in an Islamic Context
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Afghanistan has a long history of Islamic education while Western type of education (maktab) is of more recent date. The latter type of education has expanded rapidly recently. However, girls’ enrolment remains low, around 35 per cent.The present study examines children’s, particularly girls’, participation in the two educational systems. Throughout history three conflicting issues are apparent in Afghan education: state control over Islamic education, the role of Islam in education, and girls’ participation. A case study approach has been adopted providing an analysis of how history and the present globalisation processes affect current education, and how students, parents and teachers in two villages perceive the changes. The focus has been on capturing the meaning attached to education.The findings indicate high expectations on education as a vehicle to peace, enhanced morals and living standards. The traditional madrasas have declined, other forms of Islamic education have emerged. The Mosque schools are neglected by education authorities but highly esteemed by villagers. Concerns are expressed with the amount of time in maktab and with the quality of learning. The Islamic concept of farz (obligation, responsibility) puts both types of education in high demand.Dilemmas are associated with choosing between Islamic and Western type of education, applying farz to girls’ education and the encounter between Islam and globalisation. Two folk theories, one on globalisation and another on farz in education, were formulated as a basis for the further analysis. Worries are articulated about preserving Islamic values and ethics. Although ‘globalisation’ is a never heard of concept, villagers know some of its features, e.g. secularisation, individualism and consumerism, and fear these may lead to a weakened Islamic identity.Girls’ education is generally accepted. Albeit some consider a few years enough, most consider girls’ right to education to be identical to boys’, on certain conditions. Besides security, a female teacher is the most important. However, findings from the village with a long established girl school with female teachers indicate that this is not the crucial factor. In Islamic education, girls will continuously be excluded from advanced Islamic studies since female mullahs do not exist.Apparently, the real obstacles for girls’ education are the strictly segregated gender roles in Afghan society. Therefore, a new interpretation of farz is emerging, a ‘glocalised’ version. This is likely to be a decisive factor for giving girls equal access to education in both educational systems.
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| 6. |
- Söderqvist, Björn, 1952-
(författare)
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School Leaders' View on Market Forces and Decentralisation : Case Studies in a Swedish municipality and an English County
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this study is to describe and analyse some of the consequences of market forces and decentralisation in the educational systems of Sweden and England.Since the 1980s, many countries have restructured their educational systems and introduced decentralisation and market forces. The reasons have sometimes been the same and sometimes they have differed, but demands for better school performance and the need for economic cuttings in the public sector, including schooling, are two of the most common reasons. This study will describe the development towards market forces and decentralisation in some countries in the western world in general, and, in particular Sweden and England. The thesis makes a general overview of research on these issues in different countries and focuses on certain key concepts. Interviews and document analyses are the principal methods used, and case studies have been conducted in seven secondary schools in one Swedish municipality, and in ten schools in an English county. Interviews were made with 20 school leaders in the Swedish municipality and 20 in the English community in order to study their opinions on market solutions like competition and choice of school, as well as decentralisation and local management of schools.The findings indicate that the educational systems of Sweden and England differ in many aspects, even if both can be described as decentralised. While the Swedish system gives the schools a high degree of autonomy, whereby the school leaders are responsible for almost everything in the daily running of the school, the English system includes more aspects of centralism, and provides less local decision making. The findings also indicate that the school leaders in Swedish municipalities are more satisfied with both decentralisation and market forces in schooling than their English colleagues. Several plausible interpretations could be made of the interview answers from the school leaders, but it seems that the higher degree of decentralisation in the Swedish educational system is perhaps the most important factor in this case. Finally, the findings also indicate that the school leaders see positive aspects of choice and competition in schooling, like increased quality and better efficiency, as well as negative aspects, primarily the risk of segregation due to free school choice.
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| 7. |
- Kolouh-Westin, Lidija, 1962-
(författare)
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Learning Democracy Together in School? : Student and Teacher Attitudes in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The principal aim of this study is to examine attitudes and values, through questionnaires, among students and teachers in the last grade of primary school (grade 8) regarding issues related to authoritarianism, democracy, human rights, children rights, conflict resolution and legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A second aim is to explore and analyze the role of the international community in the democratization and education processes in the light of globalization in this country through secondary sources of data, site visits and observations.Analysis of the student sample reveals suspicion towards democracy, especially when democracy was associated with politics and politicians. When the issue of democracy was de-contextualized from Bosnia and Herzegovina realities in the questionnaire, students showed more positive attitudes towards it. Students generally agreed with very strong authoritarian statements. High achieving students were more democratic, more socially responsible, more tolerant regarding attitudes towards religion, race and disabilities, and less authoritarian compared to low achievers. High achievers felt that they had influence over daily events, and were positive towards social and civil engagement. High achievers viewed politics negatively, but had high scores on the democracy scale. High achievers also agreed to a larger extent that it is acceptable to break the law. The more authoritarian students were somewhat more prone to respond that it is not acceptable to break the law.The major findings from the teacher sample show that teachers who agreed with non-peaceful mediation, and had a non-forgiving and rigid approach to interpersonal conflicts, also agreed with strong authoritarian statements and were less democratic. In general, teachers valued students who behave respectfully, have a good upbringing and are obedient. They were very concerned about the general status of education in society, which they felt was becoming marginalized. Teachers were not happy with the overloaded curricula and they showed an interest in more knowledge and skills to help children with traumatic war experiences. When asked about positive reforms, teachers were highly critical of, and dissatisfied with, the educational situation.Bosnia and Herzegovina is undergoing a transition from a state-planned economy and one party system to a market economy and a multi party system. During this transition, the country has become more involved in the globalization process than ever. Today the country is a semi-protectorate where international authorities intervene when necessary. The International community is attempting to introduce western democracy and some of the many complexities in this process are discussed in this study. Globalization processes imply contradictory demands and pressures on the education system. On one hand, economic liberalization has affected education policies —a closer alignment between education and economic competitiveness. On the other hand, there is a political and ideological globalization process underlying the importance of human rights, and the inclusiveness of education for all children. Students and teachers are caught between two opposing ideals — competition and cooperation.
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