Research in Comparative
and International Education

ISSN 1745-4999

Volume 3 Number 2 2008

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

Aslaug Grov Almås & Rune Krumsvik. Teaching in Technology-Rich Classrooms: is there a gap between teachers’ intentions and ICT practices?, pages 103‑121
Beverly Lindsay, Suzanne Hickey & Issam Khoury. Democracy and Terrorism: what roles for universities?, pages 122‑134
Nitza Davidovich & Shlomo Sharlin. Reflections of Changes in Higher Education in Israel: the case of social work departments, pages 135‑157
Timothy G. Cashman & Rene A. Rubio. Through the Lens of a Neighbor: perceptions of Mexican educators and students regarding current United States policies, pages 158‑166
Lorelle L. Espinosa & José L. Santos. The Impact of Postsecondary Privatization: the case of Costa Rica, pages 167‑178
Alexander W. Wiseman. A Culture of (in)Equality? A Cross-national Study of Gender Parity and Gender Segregation in National School Systems, pages 179‑201
Jonathan M. Eckert. Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): international accountability and implications for science instruction, pages 202‑210
Simon Ulrik Kragh & Sven Bislev. Business School Teaching and Democratic Culture: an international and comparative analysis, pages 211‑221

Teaching in Technology-Rich Classrooms: is there a gap between teachers’ intentions and ICT practices?

ASLAUG GROV ALMÅS Stord/Haugesund University College, Norway
RUNE KRUMSVIK Section of Teacher Education, University of Bergen, Norway

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.103

The Norwegian school system gives a high priority to information and communication technology (ICT), and its ICT density is high, with one laptop per student considered desirable and being nearly accomplished. This study seeks to find the reasons for aspects of Norwegian teachers’ pedagogical behaviour and choices by focusing on their thoughts and practices in technology-rich classrooms and by analysing how they explain them. It aims to enhance our understanding of how teachers in leading-edge schools appreciate the possibilities of a technology-rich environment, using theories about teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge as a framework. The informants in this study had worked as teachers in upper secondary schools for at least five years and were categorised as digitally competent. Interviews conducted early in the study showed them struggling to explain their ICT use because teaching is a complex activity and ICT can not be isolated from it. To increase the validity of the study it was therefore necessary to employ a more composite research method, collecting data from the researchers’ and the schools’ reports and from development work with ICT, interviews with teachers, videotaped lessons, videotaped discussions with teachers after lessons, and videotaped discussions involving teachers sharing their reflections with colleagues. The study shows that if teachers do not feel comfortable with changes, teaching practices stay the same. At the same time these teacher have developed, and have continued to develop, a digital pedagogical content knowledge which seems to be necessary in the digitised school of today.

Democracy and Terrorism: what roles for universities?

BEVERLY LINDSAY, SUZANNE HICKEY & ISSAM KHOURY Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.122

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the study of terrorism has become prominent as a function of the social sciences. The purpose of this article is to examine how terrorism studies relate to university engagement in an effort to reduce violence and terrorist acts across the globe. Illustrations will be explicated from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, Tel Aviv University in Israel, and Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. The article concludes with correlating how these universities have not merely studied terrorism, but how these studies engage their students, faculty, and their communities in combating a phenomenon that is continually evident.

Reflections of Changes in Higher Education in Israel: the case of social work departments

NITZA DAVIDOVICH & SHLOMO SHARLIN Ariel University Center of Samaria, Israel

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.135

This study focuses on the profiles of students of social work and examines whether different profiles of students can be identified in various social work programs in Israel’s institutions of higher education (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Haifa University, Tel Aviv University and the College of Judea and Samaria). The article discusses the students’ profiles in view of the unique practical nature of social work programs and their place in the higher education system. The study also examines whether students’ profiles point to a system of higher education of a binary nature in which distinct programs and curricula cater to distinct target groups, or whether student profiles reflect a monistic system in which all social work programs are similar.

Through the Lens of a Neighbor: perceptions of Mexican educators and students regarding current United States policies

TIMOTHY G. CASHMAN & RENE A. RUBIO University of Texas at El Paso, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.158

Researchers analyzed the perceptions and pedagogies of educators in two Chihuahua, Mexico, public schools with regard to United States foreign policies. The key objective of the research was to provide additional insight into the impact of recent actions taken by the United States Government, including the war in Iraq. Chihuahuan educators and their students suggested that the United States Government should be more engaged in the dialogue of how to address the root causes of terrorism. Additionally, the findings of this study indicated that educators and future teachers in both the United States and Mexico benefit from broader understandings of educators’ roles and students’ perceptions in a bi-national community.

The Impact of Post-secondary Privatization: the case of Costa Rica

LORELLE L. ESPINOSA & JOSÉ L. SANTOS University of California, Los Angeles, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.167

Between 1985 and 2000, the Central American country of Costa Rica experienced rapid and unprecedented private university growth as part of an international movement towards post-secondary privatization. Costa Rica stands apart from other developing countries in that all 50 of the nation’s private universities are proprietary, resulting in a private sector that has dramatically different educational goals from that of a previously dominant public system. This article examines the impact of post-secondary privatization in Costa Rica as viewed through a neoliberal development lens and the subsequent tensions between a well-established public system and under-regulated private sector. Interviews with public and private university faculty and administrators, as well as key education officials, shed light on emergent distinctions between the two institutional types, including their respective mission and purpose, perceived educational quality, and resulting societal impact.

A Culture of (In)Equality?: a cross-national study of gender parity and gender segregation in national school systems

ALEXANDER W. WISEMAN Comparative and International Education Program, Lehigh University, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.179

Recent international education reports have highlighted some of the progress (as well as remaining disparity) in gendered education enrollment rates. But, the problem of gender segregation is still a very real issue even in some nations where girls are enrolled at levels on par with boys. Separate classes, curricula, and in many countries separate schools for boys and girls persist. This is juxtaposed against the opposite extreme that exists in some other countries’ educational systems where girls are sometimes pushed into classes and advanced curricula for which they have not been adequately prepared. Using data from the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this article reports on gender parity across approximately 45 nations in access (measured by enrollment rates), performance (mathematics achievement scores), and opportunity (implemented curriculum, teacher characteristics, classroom interaction) among 13-year-old girls and boys. The results of this study suggest that while cross-national gender parity numerically exists in many of these 45 nations in access, performance, and opportunity, the implications for gender equality are less clear. Several theoretical propositions are posited to explain these cross-national trends in gender parity versus equality.

Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): international accountability and implications for science instruction

JONATHAN M. ECKERT Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.202

International educational comparisons are relatively recent phenomena and have long been the source of international debate. Since the formation of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in the 1950s, assessments have grown increasingly more valid and reliable. TIMSS is an exemplary attempt at cross-national comparison. In trying to link results to practice, TIMSS released video studies that attempt to compare teaching methodologies employed in science in various countries. Much has been made of the TIMSS report and the pedagogy displayed in the video studies, but one question remains unanswered. What are the implications for science instruction based on cross-national comparisons? In countries such as the USA and the United Kingdom, the TIMSS reports have been the basis of much criticism of science instruction. This article explores the implications of the TIMSS reports and offers recommendations for the use of cross-national comparisons to impact classroom instruction.

Business School Teaching and Democratic Culture: an international and comparative analysis

SIMON ULRIK KRAGH Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
SVEN BISLEV Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

doi:10.2304/rcie.2008.3.2.211

Egalitarian and participation-oriented teaching emphasizes critical discussion and informal relationships between students and professors. The authors argue that the use of egalitarian and some aspects of participation-oriented teaching at business schools differs systematically across countries according to the strength of democratic culture. Countries with high levels of well-being, strong emancipatory and civic values as well as a stable political democracy also tend to have egalitarian and, to some extent, participation-oriented teaching at their business schools. The article draws on survey data collected at Copenhagen Business School and macro-sociological data from a number of publicly available databases.

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