Research in Comparative
and International Education

ISSN 1745-4999

Volume 2 Number 2 2007

CONTENTS [click on author's name for abstract and full text]

Yuki Imoto. The Japanese Preschool System in Transition, pages 88‑101
Nafsika Alexiadou. The Europeanisation of Education Policy: researching changing governance and ‘new’ modes of coordination, pages 102‑116
Aidan Kenny. Evaluation: emergence, mode of inquiry, theory and practice, pages 117‑134
Susan Harris-Huemmert. Researching External Evaluators of Higher Education in Germany: methods and techniques, pages 135‑143
Erik Westlund. Time and Comparative and International Education, pages 144‑153
Paul Washington Miller, Guy Mulvaney & Kimberly Ochs. The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol: its impacts and implications for the global teaching profession, pages 154‑161
Hakan Türkmen, Jon E. Pedersen & Robbie McCarty. Exploring Turkish Pre-service Science Education Teachers’ Understanding of Educational Technology and Use, pages 162‑171

The Japanese Preschool System in Transition

YUKI IMOTO Green College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.88

This article is an anthropological analysis of the recent policy reforms of the Japanese preschool system. It takes the introduction of the nintei-kodomoen (‘accredited children’s centre’) as a point of entry to discuss the historical, social and political debates concerning early childhood education and care. The ‘dual system’ which characterized the post-war Japanese preschool system is undergoing change. The falling birth rate and the increasing number of women choosing to continue their careers after childbirth are bringing changes to the values of motherhood and childhood. The reforms taking place in the preschool system – which are accelerated by the political process of liberalization – both reflect and affect these changes.

The Europeanisation of Education Policy: researching changing governance and ‘new’ modes of coordination

NAFSIKA ALEXIADOU Keele University, United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.102

This article explores how the European Union coordinates education policy making through the use of a mode of governance called the open method of coordination (OMC). Part One briefly presents and discusses the mechanisms of the education OMC and its key characteristics. Part Two draws on contemporary theories of Europeanisation and discourse analysis to provide a theoretical and methodological framework for researching the response of member states to this policy coordination. Member states of the European Union are not seen as passive recipients of policies from the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. Rather they engage in a complex process of selective adoption of policy measures that suit particular purposes, formulate various aspects of policy often in tension with other member states, and possibly reject those elements of policy that do not fit national priorities or timelines. Finally, the author briefly exemplifies these issues by operationalising key research questions around the issue of domestic response to the education OMC through a suggested research approach for the exploration of the process of Europeanisation of education policy.

Evaluation: emergence, mode of inquiry, theory and practice

AIDAN KENNY Skills Research Initiative, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.117

The aim of this article is to present the reader with an accessible and practical account of evaluation as a mode of inquiry within the broad domain of social science. The starting point is the presentation of a general outline of the main milestones relating to the emergence of evaluation as a mode of inquiry and some of the prominent advocates of contemporary evaluation. Particular attention is directed towards what is termed as ‘programme evaluation’. Then the author endeavours to explore whether evaluation as a mode of inquiry is practice or theory led. A definitive answer to this question is not presented here in this short article; instead, the author makes assumptions based on his interpretation of the reviewed discourse within the field and personal reflection from practice. The case of the European University Association’s quality review of the seven Irish universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology is cited as an example of evaluation in practice in the Irish higher education sector. Issues such as the politics and power, decision making, and the use, misuse or non-use of findings of evaluations are briefly introduced.

Researching External Evaluators of Higher Education in Germany: methods and techniques

SUSAN HARRIS-HUEMMERT New College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.135

Expert committees are frequently called into institutions to analyse the status quo and make recommendations for improvement or change. This is so within the fields of medicine and law, and increasingly so within the field of education, and higher education in particular. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms at work within such expert committees in any of these contexts as literature is surprisingly scarce. German higher education is presently undergoing a process of change as it moves towards a three-tiered degree structure: Bachelor, Masters and doctorate. Experts are being called upon to examine the state of education and make recommendations that can have a major impact on the future of a discipline or department. It is the aim of this article to reveal some of the issues that need addressing when the focus of study is the people who make up expert evaluation commissions.

Time and Comparative and International Education

ERIK WESTLUND Exeter College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.144

This article argues that epistemological and theoretical issues surrounding time in relation to comparative and international education need further exploration in consideration of the new understandings of time that have emerged (or re-emerged) during the last century. By drawing on an interdisciplinary selection of ideas as well as various scholars’ conceptualizations of time that range from antiquity to the present, the article suggests practical ways, supported by sociological and historical examples, to theorize time for application in comparative educational research. Appropriating a more nuanced understanding and abstraction of temporality is necessary and opens different time-worlds for comparison, resulting in knowledge informed and shaped by a time that transcends Newtonian linearity and discreteness. The article is written with the understanding that as technology continues to stimulate globalization and redraw the boundaries of space and time, the importance of reconsidering temporality in regard to educational research is clear.

The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol: its impacts and implications for the global teaching profession

PAUL WASHINGTON MILLER Highlands School, Enfield, London, United Kingdom
GUY MULVANEY London, United Kingdom
KIMBERLY OCHS London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.154

This article discusses the development and implementation of the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol, which was adopted in September 2004. Following a review of the contextual issues of international teacher migration, the challenges of teacher recruitment are discussed. Key features of the Protocol are highlighted and discussed with regard to the current task of implementation. A comparison is made between recruitment before and after the adoption of the Protocol, focusing on the United Kingdom. In conclusion, the article highlights challenges and opportunities for Protocol implementation and areas for further research.

Exploring Turkish Pre-service Science Education Teachers’ Understanding of Educational Technology and Use

HAKAN TÜRKMEN Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
JON E. PEDERSEN University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA
ROBBIE McCARTY Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, USA

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.162

Helping prospective teachers become more knowledgeable and skilled in the use of technology in education is an important goal of today’s teacher preparation programs. This article reports the results of a survey, ‘Pre-service Teacher Technology Survey: technology usage and needs of science educators’, that determined pre-service science education teachers’ perceptions of their preparation vis-à-vis technology and the pre-service teachers’ knowledge and desired knowledge of technology. More specifically, the focus was to address the understandings of Turkish pre-service teachers regarding their current and desired knowledge of educational technology. The findings of this study show that Turkish pre-service science education teachers are relatively unfamiliar with the advantages of educational technology and do not maximize its use. However, they have a desire to know more about the advantages of educational technology and its use in the education of Turkish children.

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