| 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. |
- Brooks, Sheila, 1948-
(författare)
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Learning Motivation in International Primary Schools : The Voices of Children
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this study is to contribute to a greater understanding of learning motivation in primary school education. Particular emphasis is given to investigating how various contextual or situational aspects of the classroom/school environment affect motivation. The study, further, strives to identify, describe and interpret the views and perceptions of students enrolled in two international schools in Switzerland and Sweden.As globalization processes, world cultural flows and personal mobility expand and accelerate, school populations are becoming increasingly multicultural in composition. Educators are challenged to develop and adapt educational programs to fit heterogeneous rather than homogeneous groups of learners. In this study, a multicultural, international population of learners was selected as a sample as they may be representative of diverse student populations becoming more common in the future. Four classes of grade five students, a total of sixty-six children, were selected as participants in this comparative, case study investigation.An eclectic conceptual approach guided the research including principles drawn from problem-based, constructivist and humanistic theories of learning. Bandura’s social cognitive motivational theory also provided a background for the choice of methods and data collection procedures employed. An exploratory, mainly qualitative approach was taken during the two phases of fieldwork. Participant observations were made and in-depth interviews were conducted; a short questionnaire was also administered to provide background information and to function as a screening instrument or guide for subsequent interviews.The findings indicate that a variety of factors in the classroom/school environment affect students learning motivation. Areas identified and described in the study include what to learn, learning processes, learner autonomy, teacher influences, the physical environment and psycho/social influences. In comparing the results from the two case study schools, notable differences were found in student responses in the areas of learning processes, learner autonomy, teacher influences and overall attitude towards school. Students at the school in Switzerland were consistently more positive than those at the school in Sweden. Most of the differences identified were related to the curriculum model utilized and type of school organization and leadership employed. The findings indicate that the educational program based on constructivist, inquiry-based theories of learning implemented in a cohesive, all-school approach, produced higher levels of motivation in individual students.
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| 3. |
- Cars, Mikiko, 1970-
(författare)
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Project Evaluation in Development Cooperation : A Meta-Evaluative Case Study in Tanzania
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The research reported here is a meta-evaluative case study of project evaluation in the context of Official Development Cooperation (ODC) in the education sector in Tanzania, where the particular focus is on capturing the relative values attached to evaluation by various stakeholder groups.Perspectives from the constructivist paradigm are adopted, implying relativist ontology, subjectivist epistemology, and naturalistic interpretive methodology. Based on these perspectives, a review is provided of development theories and evaluation theories, including the actor-oriented approach to development, participatory monitoring & evaluation, utilization-focused evaluation, and responsive-constructivist evaluation. An exploratory qualitative case study strategy is taken, combining several complementary methods e.g. in-depth interviews, questionnaires, document analysis, and observations.Evaluation is considered as an applied social research, implying a managerial and political purpose. It is a reflective interactive process, where the relevance, effectiveness and impact of an intervention in pursuit of certain objectives are assessed, adding value in order to construct knowledge for the enhancement of decision-making. In order to facilitate understanding of the cases under study, their structural contexts are investigated: 1) ODC evaluation systems and strategies (international/ macro context); and 2) ODC in the education sector in Tanzania (national/meso context). Each case (at local/micro level) is located within these contexts and analyzed applying a meta-evaluative framework.Integrating the perspectives of the stakeholders, the study demonstrates the strengths of, and constraints on, each case, factors which are to some extent determined by their respective time-frames. A number of significant discrepancies between theory and practice in ODC evaluation are reported. Findings indicate the significance of constructing consensus values that are based on a synthesis of multiple stakeholders’ values and perspectives complementing each others. The study also find that evaluation ought to be used as a powerful tool in which the values, needs and aspirations of various stakeholder groups can be reflected, especially those of local communities, who are now too often powerless in ODC projects in the education sector.
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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. |
- Huang, Lihong, 1968-
(författare)
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Elitism and Equality in Chinese Higher Education : Studies of Student Socio-economic Background, Investment in Education, and Career Aspirations
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to present an empirical pattern of social equity in Chinese higher education by investigating university students. Student socio-economic background influences access to, and socio-economic conditions in, higher education, and this, in turn, influences student career aspirations. The theoretical background of the study is interdisciplinary and a conceptual framework built on theories and previous research is used to analyse Chinese higher education in a historical, social and economic context. A questionnaire survey was administered at six public universities in the Southwest region of the country to explore students’ socio-economic background, costs and how they finance their studies, as well as their future career aspirations. The relationships between the factors investigated were examined using factor analytical techniques and linear structural relations (LISREL) analysis. The findings indicate that the students come from all socio-economic strata but a disproportionately large number are from high-income families. Students from urban areas are over-represented while rural girls are significantly under-represented. Although the gap between the lowest and highest study costs is enormous, the findings confirm that the average cost of higher education in China far exceeds the average annual income, even for urban residents. Moreover, about one-third of students and their families utilised financial resources other than family such as student loans, borrowing, and other forms of financial assistance. A structural model linking student socio-economic background, enrolment in elite institutions, costs and means of financing education with career aspirations is developed and tested in three stages in order to shed light on the conceptual framework and to present a pattern of social equity. The results show that family socio-economic status has only a modest impact on student access to and in higher education. On the other hand, having social origins in a well-developed community exerts an influential effect. Although study and living costs, and means of financing studies, are influenced by student socio-economic background, they intend to have positive impacts on student career aspirations. While enrolment in elite institutions has a strongly positive impact on costs, it has a moderately negative impact on aspirations to pursue advanced degrees. In conclusion, the study finds that the patterns of socio-economic factors influencing student upward mobility in present-day China are different from those of ancient China and from those previous Communist leaders attempted to achieve only 20 years ago.
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| 6. |
- 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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| 7. |
- 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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| 8. |
- Villalba, Ernesto, 1977-
(författare)
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The uniqueness of knowledge management in small companies : Managing knowledge as an employer strategy for lifelong learning
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The present study explores the relationship between the ‘knowledge-enabling environment’ and the demand for training using a sample of 18 small private companies providing educational and consultancy services in Sweden. In this way, the dissertation is an exploration of the ways Swedish knowledge-intensive companies manage their knowledge. The 18 companies have participated in a European program for developing employee competence, financed by the European Social Fund. As part of this European-financed program companies have evaluated their business activity and determined their training needs in order to remain competitive. The 18 companies, thus, provide a rare opportunity to explore aspects of the demand for training in small enterprises. Knowledge is understood here as both the structure and the content of mental schemas. It is embodied in individuals; it differs from information and data; and it can be tacit or explicit. When looking at organizational processes for managing knowledge, it is important to consider formal organized activities for learning, but also informal learning activities, which constitute the main source for tacit knowledge as well as the conditions in place for knowledge creation, what is here called the ‘knowledge-enabling environment’. It is argued that through knowledge management, companies are indeed implementing strategies for the promotion of lifelong learning.Each company in the sample is rather unique in their ‘knowledge-enabling environment’. The exploration of the demand for training shows that the selected companies invest only less than half their perceived training needs. In both sectors the working-environment characteristics that according to the theories reviewed, should promote learning, do not necessarily foster a higher demand for learning, with the exception of information technology. Finally, Also interesting is that employees demand more training if their engagement in informal learning is low.
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