In the September 2008 issue of National Geographic there is an article on high school international education exchanges. This article, while brief, provides an interesting data chart on the flow of secondary school students to and from the United States.
You can access the article here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/exchange/silver-text
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Bono on CNN American Morning
On Friday, September 26th, Bono was interviewed by CNN anchor John Roberts about the ONE Campaign and last week’s UN General Assembly. You can access the interview here:
http://www.atu2blog.com/2008/09/26/bono-on-cnn-american-morning/
http://www.atu2blog.com/2008/09/26/bono-on-cnn-american-morning/
Friday, September 26, 2008
School Choice Continuum
On one side of the school choice continuum (the left) you have public-public choice which is a liberal egalitarian perspective and on the right side of the school choice continuum you have the public-private choice which is more of a neo-liberal or neo-conservative perspective and in the middle is the semi-private choice. According to Martin, the public-public choice options include: a school within a school, intra-district schools, inter-district schools and magnet schools. The semi-private choices include charter schools and home schooling and the public-private choices include vouchers and tuition tax credits.
In his article, Sweetland reviews the economics principles that have been brought into the school choice debate. Sweetland discusses free markets and the concept of competition and notes “today the school must cater to multiple social, political, religious, and economic demands. A consumer orientation is developing, but who is the customer?” Sweetland answers this question with “everyone” is the customer as “the public school complex was designed to serve everyone, not just the best, brightest, or most able.” By introducing competition (i.e. vouchers) as a choice for parents will “drive schooling costs down and effectiveness up.”
Fowler goes beyond the “superficial levels” of the school choice debate which are “how students should be assigned to schools? and which schools should receive public funding?” to briefly discuss the “deeper levels” of this debate. These “deeper levels” of the school choice debate include “the nature of human beings and society, the purpose of education, the right of parents to make crucial decisions about the welfare of their children, religious freedom, and the social prerequisites of democracy.” Fowler also discusses market ideology and provides a good example of inviting the chairman of the Ohio Senate Education Committee to his graduate education policy course and the chairman describes schools as businesses like McDonalds and are encouraged to compete against each other.
Gorard, Taylor and Fitz discuss the concept of “spiral of decline.” The authors describe a “spiral of decline” and how markets lead to this decline “rests heavily on two key components: a fall in numbers and an increasingly disadvantaged intake of children.” The authors conclude that it is very difficult to answer the question of school choice leading to spirals of decline primarily due to lack of longitudinal data and a “lack of agreed definitions."
Jellison Holme’s article provides a very interesting look at adult social networks and status in relation to school choice. The parents in this study had the financial means to either attend a private school or to move to a neighboring city and send their children to public schools they felt would be the best. Rather than investigating all of the educational opportunities available to them in their local and surrounding areas they relied on the advice of their social network of peers to guide their decisions to purchase a new home in a new community. Regardless of this being an appropriate method or not, those families who did decide to move were, in a way, increasing their social capital.
Sliwka and Istance provide an interesting European perspective and overview to the school choice debate. One of the main focuses of their article is on diversity through alternative forms of schooling such as selective vs. non-selective, public vs. private, and formal vs. home schooling. In there article, Sliwka and Istance look at “exit” behavior as a result of school choice. They describe this “exit” behavior as “choosing a different school, or even abandoning formal schooling altogether, means to leave another school behind. A key issue for school systems today is thus the impact overall of these aggregated ‘exit’ decisions – on quality, on the schools that are predominantly left behind, and on equity in general.”
While there are many “levels” to the school choice debate as seen in the literature and identified by Fowler, the main issue I see is one of economics. Economics on a personal level (micro) and what one can and cannot afford in terms of schools for their children to economics at the school level (macro) and the debate about free markets and competition have a heavy presence in the school choice debate.
Resources
Fowler, Frances C. “The Great School Choice Debate,” The Clearing House, 2002): 4-7.
Gorard, S., Chris Taylor and John Fitz. “Does School Choice Lead to ‘Spirals of Decline’?” in Journal of Education Policy, Vol. 17 no. 3, (2002): 367-384.
Jellison Holme, Jennifer. “Buying Homes, Buying Schools: School Choice and the Social Construction of School Quality,” Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 72 no. 2, (2002): 177-205.
Sliwka, Anne and David Istance. “Choice, Diversity and ‘Exit’ in Schooling – A Mixed Picture,” European Journal of Education, Vol. 41 no. 1, (2006): 45-58.
Sweetland, Scott R. “Theory into Practice: Free Markets and Public Schooling,” The Clearing House, (2002): 6-12.
In his article, Sweetland reviews the economics principles that have been brought into the school choice debate. Sweetland discusses free markets and the concept of competition and notes “today the school must cater to multiple social, political, religious, and economic demands. A consumer orientation is developing, but who is the customer?” Sweetland answers this question with “everyone” is the customer as “the public school complex was designed to serve everyone, not just the best, brightest, or most able.” By introducing competition (i.e. vouchers) as a choice for parents will “drive schooling costs down and effectiveness up.”
Fowler goes beyond the “superficial levels” of the school choice debate which are “how students should be assigned to schools? and which schools should receive public funding?” to briefly discuss the “deeper levels” of this debate. These “deeper levels” of the school choice debate include “the nature of human beings and society, the purpose of education, the right of parents to make crucial decisions about the welfare of their children, religious freedom, and the social prerequisites of democracy.” Fowler also discusses market ideology and provides a good example of inviting the chairman of the Ohio Senate Education Committee to his graduate education policy course and the chairman describes schools as businesses like McDonalds and are encouraged to compete against each other.
Gorard, Taylor and Fitz discuss the concept of “spiral of decline.” The authors describe a “spiral of decline” and how markets lead to this decline “rests heavily on two key components: a fall in numbers and an increasingly disadvantaged intake of children.” The authors conclude that it is very difficult to answer the question of school choice leading to spirals of decline primarily due to lack of longitudinal data and a “lack of agreed definitions."
Jellison Holme’s article provides a very interesting look at adult social networks and status in relation to school choice. The parents in this study had the financial means to either attend a private school or to move to a neighboring city and send their children to public schools they felt would be the best. Rather than investigating all of the educational opportunities available to them in their local and surrounding areas they relied on the advice of their social network of peers to guide their decisions to purchase a new home in a new community. Regardless of this being an appropriate method or not, those families who did decide to move were, in a way, increasing their social capital.
Sliwka and Istance provide an interesting European perspective and overview to the school choice debate. One of the main focuses of their article is on diversity through alternative forms of schooling such as selective vs. non-selective, public vs. private, and formal vs. home schooling. In there article, Sliwka and Istance look at “exit” behavior as a result of school choice. They describe this “exit” behavior as “choosing a different school, or even abandoning formal schooling altogether, means to leave another school behind. A key issue for school systems today is thus the impact overall of these aggregated ‘exit’ decisions – on quality, on the schools that are predominantly left behind, and on equity in general.”
While there are many “levels” to the school choice debate as seen in the literature and identified by Fowler, the main issue I see is one of economics. Economics on a personal level (micro) and what one can and cannot afford in terms of schools for their children to economics at the school level (macro) and the debate about free markets and competition have a heavy presence in the school choice debate.
Resources
Fowler, Frances C. “The Great School Choice Debate,” The Clearing House, 2002): 4-7.
Gorard, S., Chris Taylor and John Fitz. “Does School Choice Lead to ‘Spirals of Decline’?” in Journal of Education Policy, Vol. 17 no. 3, (2002): 367-384.
Jellison Holme, Jennifer. “Buying Homes, Buying Schools: School Choice and the Social Construction of School Quality,” Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 72 no. 2, (2002): 177-205.
Sliwka, Anne and David Istance. “Choice, Diversity and ‘Exit’ in Schooling – A Mixed Picture,” European Journal of Education, Vol. 41 no. 1, (2006): 45-58.
Sweetland, Scott R. “Theory into Practice: Free Markets and Public Schooling,” The Clearing House, (2002): 6-12.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Changing the Face of Study Abroad
On September 26th the Chronicle of Higher Education published an article entitled “Changing the Face of Study Abroad”. It’s an interesting read and I thought many readers might find it of interest. You can access the article here: http://tinyurl.com/3zfze5
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Grateful Dead to Reunite and Play PSU in Support of Barack Obama
Following up on the February, 2008 show of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead in support of Barack Obama they will reunite again October 13th at Penn State University in support of the Obama campaign. The Obama campaign has received support from other musicians when Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds performed a benefit for Obama at the University of Indiana in April.
You can read more here:
http://www.gratefuldead.com/features/news/rock-legends-play-obama-fundraiser
http://www.barackobama.com/psu
You can read more here:
http://www.gratefuldead.com/features/news/rock-legends-play-obama-fundraiser
http://www.barackobama.com/psu
Monday, September 22, 2008
Increase in the number of German students studying abroad
The DAAD reported in its September 12th weekly newsletter that Germany is seeing an increase in the number of German students studying abroad at foreign universities. According to the German Federal Statistics Office (Destatis), the number of German students studying abroad increased 7.5% over last year and that the number has nearly doubled since 1996. Approximately 4.8% of German students study abroad each year with top destinations being the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland.
Call for Papers - Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars
Phi Beta DeltaHonor Society for International Scholars
CALL FOR PAPERS
Twenty-Third Annual International Conference on the World’s Shared KnowledgeComing together at the Water’s Edge: Cooperation and Collaboration in a Changing Global Environment
April 2–3, 2009 — Miami, Florida
Phi Beta Delta’s annual conference is intended to provide a welcoming and collegial venue foracademicians, students, and professionals in all fields to engage in discussion on international topics and issues across disciplines. The emphasis is to engage in discussion and professional growth with others inside and outside one’s own particular discipline. Consequently, we encourage submissions representing all areas of study; ones that offer insights from multiple disciplines and perspectives will be particularly welcome.
As we gather together at the water’s edge on the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, we seek to explore what it means to be a member of the community of international learners faced with the challenges—and opportunities—that arise out of a changing global environment. How can cooperation and collaboration expand our ability to overcome these challenges and avail ourselves of the opportunities that exist? What do these new challenges and opportunities mean for those of us who seek greater cooperation and collaboration within our community of international learners? What lessons have we learned from the past and what insights can we gain from our artistic and literary expression of the human experience that can help us face the challenges of a changing global environment? It is questions like these that we will explore “together at the water’s edge.”
Instructions for Authors: Submissions require the following:
(1) one page that includes author’s name, title/position, institution, postal address, email address, office phone, fax number (if available), and the title of your paper; and
(2) a second page with the title and short (300 words) abstract of your paper, list of key words, and an introduction that summarizes the contributions of the paper at a level appropriate for anon-specialist reader.
Please submit these items via electronic means in MS Word to jdelosreyes@uh.edu by November 15, 2008. Submissions will be acknowledged via email by December 1, 2008. Final abstracts of accepted submissions will be posted on the Society’s website after the conference’s conclusion. Additional details regarding registration for the conference will be posted on the website shortly. www.phibetadelta.org
For more information regarding paper submissions, please contact:
Guillermo de los Reyes, Ph.D.
Department of Hispanic Studies
University of Houston
413 Agnes Arnold Hall
Houston, TX 77204-3006
Fax: 713-743-0935
E-mail: jdelosreyes@uh.edu
CALL FOR PAPERS
Twenty-Third Annual International Conference on the World’s Shared KnowledgeComing together at the Water’s Edge: Cooperation and Collaboration in a Changing Global Environment
April 2–3, 2009 — Miami, Florida
Phi Beta Delta’s annual conference is intended to provide a welcoming and collegial venue foracademicians, students, and professionals in all fields to engage in discussion on international topics and issues across disciplines. The emphasis is to engage in discussion and professional growth with others inside and outside one’s own particular discipline. Consequently, we encourage submissions representing all areas of study; ones that offer insights from multiple disciplines and perspectives will be particularly welcome.
As we gather together at the water’s edge on the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, we seek to explore what it means to be a member of the community of international learners faced with the challenges—and opportunities—that arise out of a changing global environment. How can cooperation and collaboration expand our ability to overcome these challenges and avail ourselves of the opportunities that exist? What do these new challenges and opportunities mean for those of us who seek greater cooperation and collaboration within our community of international learners? What lessons have we learned from the past and what insights can we gain from our artistic and literary expression of the human experience that can help us face the challenges of a changing global environment? It is questions like these that we will explore “together at the water’s edge.”
Instructions for Authors: Submissions require the following:
(1) one page that includes author’s name, title/position, institution, postal address, email address, office phone, fax number (if available), and the title of your paper; and
(2) a second page with the title and short (300 words) abstract of your paper, list of key words, and an introduction that summarizes the contributions of the paper at a level appropriate for anon-specialist reader.
Please submit these items via electronic means in MS Word to jdelosreyes@uh.edu by November 15, 2008. Submissions will be acknowledged via email by December 1, 2008. Final abstracts of accepted submissions will be posted on the Society’s website after the conference’s conclusion. Additional details regarding registration for the conference will be posted on the website shortly. www.phibetadelta.org
For more information regarding paper submissions, please contact:
Guillermo de los Reyes, Ph.D.
Department of Hispanic Studies
University of Houston
413 Agnes Arnold Hall
Houston, TX 77204-3006
Fax: 713-743-0935
E-mail: jdelosreyes@uh.edu
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