Search Results

The increasing demand for competent users of English in the era of globalisation has had a significant impact on English Language Teaching (ELT) in Bangladesh. Among a number of changes to improve the quality of ELT, teachers of English have been encouraged, even required, to adopt a communicative language teaching (CLT) approach. To facilitate the successful implementation of these changes, besides introducing local training programmes to familiarise teachers with CLT, teachers of English from Bangladesh have also been sent overseas, especially to the English-speaking West, for further training. Drawing on a qualitative research study, this paper discusses the pedagogical concerns of Bangladeshi English teachers, including those who are Western-trained, in relation to their teaching of English. It also investigates their perceptions of the politics of the Western Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) industry associated with problems of pedagogical ethics and appropriacy. Based on the findings and discussions, recommendations are offered for enhancing the quality of ELT in Bangladesh and strategically responding to the commercialised hegemonic but necessary ‘evil’ of TESOL training.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

As New Zealand has become increasingly pluralistic, the teaching profession has become progressively less reflective of the wider population. This paper reviews the literature on impediments to teaching for minority students, and reports on a case study exploring factors that deter Asian New Zealanders from pursuing teaching as a career. The findings indicate that although the salary of an occupation is an important consideration, many other factors interact to deter Asian New Zealanders from teaching. Many of the reported barriers align with those identified for North American studies. The paper offers suggestions for short-term measures to attract Asian New Zealanders into teacher education programmes, and highlights the need for further research to inform a longer term resolution of the ethnic disparity in New Zealand’s education sector.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This paper analyses the policy of reservation for lower castes in India. This policy is similar to that of affirmative action in the United States. The paper provides a brief overview of the caste system and discusses the types of groups that are eligible for reservation, based on data from government reports. The stance of this paper is that affirmative action has not benefited the lower castes due to contextual factors like low school enrolment and completion rates, and high dropout and failure rates. Also, continuous addition of more and more castes to the fold of reserved categories has diluted the positive impact of the reservation policy. This paper suggests that under-representation of any social group in educational institutions should be assessed with reference to sub-populations of secondary school completers and argues that, unlike Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Other Backward Castes are not markedly under-represented. Hence, the 27% quota declared by the government recently is not justified. The paper also highlights social, pedagogic, psychological and political issues involved in the policy of reservation, and suggests that quotas should be based on economic criteria rather than on caste considerations.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Meeting the educational needs of a linguistically diverse population is a challenge for many countries. This is a particular challenge for New Zealand (NZ) which, until the 1980s, had a white immigration policy. The last 30 years have seen NZ become a full member of the Asia Pacific Region and move from being a mostly homogenous society to one of the most heterogeneous. This article explores the historical context of education and migration and current initiatives for inclusive academic language teaching (IALT) in NZ. IALT is a teacher-development approach recently developed for multilingual Europe by the European Core Curriculum for Mainstreamed Second Language Teacher Education. The approach rests on principles of acknowledgement of first language and culture, inclusivity and teachers having specialized knowledge of the academic language requirements of their subjects. This analysis seeks to show that knowledge, policy and practices that were once at the margins of the education system must now be central and will benefit all students, particularly those from diverse backgrounds.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Human resource (HR) management is defined as the sum of activities employed by an organization to attract, develop, and retain people with the appropriate knowledge and skills for effectively and efficiently achieving organizational goals. An understanding of the HR practices in schools is important, as the assembly of a team of qualified and committed teachers, directly or indirectly, affects the quality of instruction in general and in particular in Hong Kong, where a high wastage rate of new teachers has been recorded. The literature has emphasized the importance of each HR element in school and yet not much work has been done that attempts to link the various HR elements together, even though the complementarities and interdependencies among these practices have been acknowledged. The present study aims to provide a general picture of the HR practices in schools from the perspective of beginning teachers, using a quantitative methodology. In addition, the link between these practices and the beginning teachers’ commitment was also examined. The findings confirm the complexity and diversity of HR practices in Hong Kong schools and suggest that the practices in the areas of training and development and working conditions warrant special attention as they are linked to the affective commitment of new teachers to schools.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This paper considers an alternative teacher certification pathway known as Teach for Australia (TFA) that is currently operating in the Australian state of Victoria. A discursive approach informed by critical theory is used in the paper to critically examine the specific case of TFA as an alternative teacher certification pathway charged with improving student learning outcomes and reducing educational disadvantage. The problematization of educational programs such as TFA, including specific terms and statements found in TFA documentation, features prominently in the paper alongside the political and economic policy context of public education. The argument and central contention of the paper is that TFA will not overcome educational disadvantage; nor will it over time improve student learning outcomes.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

In Taiwan, substantial resources have been invested in upper-secondary vocational education for Aborigines as a solution to their lack of career development opportunities. This study examined the schooling experiences and career aspirations of Taiwanese Indigenous vocational high school students. A case study was designed to collect data through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 24 aboriginal students in 12th grade at a Major Indigenous Vocational High School (MIVHS). The findings indicated that aboriginal students experienced mainstream-centric schooling that focused on preparing students for college education with additional support. The schooling contributed to their solid educational aspirations to attend non-prestigious technological colleges and vague occupational aspirations with low occupational self-efficacy. It also enforced their strong cultural aspirations of living in their homelands and benefiting their people. The findings suggest that the MIVHS could provide the culturally responsive schooling for aboriginal students’ diversity to facilitate their career development.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This article looks at the impact of globalisation on transitional, transforming and reconstructing societies. After defining these terms, and giving examples from each category, the paper examines globalisation as a key force for change. It shows, from a comparative perspective, that there are common trends in all those societies or regions that have undergone transformation or reconstruction during the 1990s. These are identified as the breakdown of central control; moves towards decentralisation; weakening of central finance; the related growth of the private sector; a fresh approach to what is taught in the curriculum; the rejection of languages of oppression and the adoption of English as a major global language. As with all revolutions things are messy and the poor are increasingly disadvantaged. The article concludes by raising certain issues of concern.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

A vast array of cultural traditions and languages can be found among China's 55 legally recognized minority nationalities. Mother tongue education has been the norm for several of the large minority groups (namely, Koreans, Kazaks, Mongolians, Tibetans, and Uyghurs) for most of the time since 1949. This article, which is based on empirical data, reports a study of a group of academics with a Uyghur background at Xinjiang University. The findings indicate that language issues have had a great impact on the professional and personal identities of these academics. The language of their formal school education, either Chinese, the official language, or their mother tongue, has not only had an effect on their perceptions of language learning, but has also created ethnic and cultural divisions among people of the same origins. The authors explore the implications of these identity, language and culture dilemmas for minority academics in China.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

In a globalizing world, local and global governance arrangements are increasingly interdependent, which produces harmonization in some instances and new tensions and contradictions in others. Analysis shows that successive waves of globalization have affected the governance of education in Viet Nam differently. It shows that the globalization of Viet Nam’s social and political economy has not diminished the centrality of Viet Nam’s state in the governance of education, but that the character of the state’s governance roles has changed significantly. Even in the context of the current global turbulence, it seems clear that Viet Nam’s economy will continue to grow. But it is equally clear that what transpires in the field of the governance of education will profoundly influence the sustainability of that growth, its distribution, and its qualitative impacts on social life in Viet Nam.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less