Research in Comparative and International Education
ISSN 1745-4999

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

From Higher Education to Work: public and professional sector employment in Germany and Britain

KATHRIN LEUZE Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB), Germany

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.344

Comparative analysis of the transition from higher education to work often focuses on cross-national variations of higher education systems to explain country-specific mobility patterns of higher education graduates. The structure of graduate labour markets, however, has received less attention, despite differences across countries. Variations in the structure of public services and the professions are particularly pronounced. This article, therefore, analyses graduate employment patterns in professional and public sector jobs. It develops an explanatory framework based on the concept of internal labour markets and asks whether country-specific degrees of social closure in the public and professional sector influence individual transitions from higher education to work. To answer this question, the study looks at two countries that vary strongly in their institutional organisation of public and professional services – namely, Britain and Germany. Empirically, the transition to public and professional sector employment is studied, as well as between-sector career mobility of higher education graduates. Results indicate that public and professional sector employment is more common in Germany, while further career mobility between these sectors is higher in Britain.

Higher Education in Europe: a comparative female approach

ANNA MARIA PIUSSI Department of Philosophy, Education, Psychology, University of Verona, Italy
REMEI ARNAUS Department of Teaching and Educational Organization, University of Barcelona, Spain

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.366

The recognition of women’s growing quantitative participation in higher education worldwide has to date been rarely accompanied by analysis of the quality of this participation. In Europe, the national and transnational policies of the past few decades have promoted female inclusion in higher education, through positive action aimed at bridging the gender gap, but have not taken into account the different human experience, aspirations, values and expertise of women, interpreting these as a minus value and thereby neutralizing the sexual difference in a universalistic male-dominated paradigm. This article draws on case-study research in five European universities, exploring the free, original voice of women who, as teachers, researchers and university administrators, recount their own university experience, the obstacles in their path and the resistance met with, as well as their own strategies and work practices – including inventive practices – expressing in words their desires and aspirations above and beyond the given order. In the current crisis of the Western universities, caught in the grips of financial distress and symbolic conflicts regarding their mission, we need to give a political transformative sense to these practices and words, offering a new measure of university life necessary for all.

Influences on the Decision to Enter Higher Education in Cyprus: a comparison of students’ and teachers’ perspectives

MARIA ELIOPHOTOU MENON Department of Education, University of Cyprus

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.382

This article examines the main influences on the decision of secondary school graduates to select higher education over labour-market entry. It reports the views of prospective higher education students and secondary school teachers regarding the main influences on the students’ intention to pursue higher studies. Survey research was used to collect information from 611 students and 215 secondary school teachers in the Republic of Cyprus. Respondents were asked to rate factors commonly considered to influence the choice of higher education, including the economic and career benefits of a university degree, and reference individuals such as teachers and parents. According to the findings, there were both similarities and differences in the importance students and teachers assigned to different factors. Both students and teachers acknowledged the importance of personal, economic and occupational considerations in the choice of higher education. However, secondary school teachers tended to overestimate their own influence on the decisions of their students. The article discusses the implications of the findings for education policy, especially in relation to measures required to address the needs and wants of prospective university students.

Recognising the Roma and their Rights: an analysis of exclusion and integration in the education system

ANNA HORVAI Department of Education, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.394

This article draws from a small-scale qualitative study related to Roma integration in the Hungarian education system, from the perspective of academics and officials from leading civil society organisations. Based on semi-structured interviews and extensive analysis of the literature, the study identified and categorised key obstacles to Roma integration within the education system, along with methods for improving Roma access, retention and achievement. The study ultimately evaluated the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) for Roma children and families by analysing select ECCE services for disadvantaged families in Europe. This article will outline the key findings from the study in light of rising anti-gypsyism, the continued deportations of Roma across Europe and the rapidly approaching Millennium Development Goals (2000‑2015) and Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005‑2015) deadlines.

Early Childhood Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Technology to Children in Japan and the United States

SATOMI IZUMI-TAYLOR Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership, University of Memphis, USA
YOKO ITO Faculty of Education, Chiba University, Japan
ANDREW GIBBONS New Zealand Tertiary College, Auckland, New Zealand

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.408

The purpose of the study was to examine early childhood education pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the increasing role of new technologies in classroom environments. Given the growth in interest in a teacher’s technological literacy, the research focused on similarities in and differences between pre-service teachers’ concepts of technology use in Japan and the United States. The participants consisted of 41 female pre-service teachers in the southeastern United States and 41 pre-service teachers (seven males and 34 females) on the main island of Japan. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded five major themes regarding conceptions of technologies: competence; communication; pros and cons of technology; the importance of external and internal assessments; and the media. The results contrasted American and Japanese pre-service teachers’ notions of the role of technology in teaching. American and Japanese pre-service teachers mostly agreed on the importance of child, parent, and community involvement in implementing technology in the early childhood centre.

Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Development Opportunities in the Curriculum Reform of China

XUE HAN School of Education, Dominican University, River Forest, USA
HEQUN WANG Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.421

This study examined the professional development opportunities that about eighty mathematics teachers of junior high schools were provided with in the national curriculum reform of China and explored how their beliefs in mathematics instruction and instructional practice were affected by the professional development opportunities available to them. A questionnaire was administered to collect data. The results showed that the length of time the participants spent on attending school-based learning activities had a significant effect on their attitudes toward the effectiveness of the professional development and on their instructional practice. The content of the training programs that focused on studying textbooks and observing and reflecting upon model lessons was highly correlated to the implementation of conventional mathematics instruction. Another factor that related to the implementation of conventional mathematics instruction was the collegial support the teachers received at their schools.

The Critical Thinking Movement in Kazakhstan: a progress report

NANCY BURKHALTER & MAGANAT SHEGEBAYEV Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research

doi:10.2304/rcie.2010.5.4.434

Having gained independence in 1991, Kazakhstan is making major adjustments in its educational system to meet the demands of its changing workplace. To that end, the Ministry of Education has mandated that critical thinking be incorporated into all levels. Given the importance of this goal, the authors surveyed teachers’ understanding and use of critical thinking in their classrooms. This article reports the survey results, which provide a brief overview of the status of the teaching and learning of critical thinking in Kazakhstan today. The results point to a growing understanding of critical thinking among Kazakhstani teachers in this region. That said, 10 per cent of respondents plagiarized their surveys, suggesting that many feared looking incompetent, despite assurances of anonymity. The authors recommend the survey be conducted in other regions in Kazakhstan and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to assess the status of critical thinking.

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