Monday, June 9, 2008
The Fulbright Seven
In a follow-up to the previous posts I made concerning the Fulbright grantees from Gaza, the seven Gazan students will now be allowed to study in the United States as Fulbright grantees. Both the Israeli and United States Governments have reviewed the cases at the senior administrative levels and have reversed earlier decisions. I found the following New York Times brief editorial on the situation to be interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/opinion/08sun3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin.
Friday, June 6, 2008
German Population Decreasing, Foreign Students Increasing
In the May 30, 2008 News from DAAD New York, an interesting piece on the decline of the German population and the increase in the number of foreign students coming to Germany caught my attention. You can access the report on the declining German population here: www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3347799,00.html and the report on the increasing foreign student population here: www.bmbf.de/pub/internationalization_of_higher_education_2008.pdf .
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Historical Functionalism
This is the fourth post where I will briefly review the works of comparative education scholars and place them along an epistemological spectrum. For this post, I’m looking at historical functionalism.
Kandel, I.L. 1956. Problems of Comparative Education. International Review of Education 2, no. 1: 1-15.
A review and discussion of Issac Kandel’s Problems of Comparative Education provides an opportunity to illustrate the historical functionalism theoretical approach in comparative education. Kandel provides advice to the student of comparative education throughout the piece and states that “it is by analysis that he can acquire a clearer understanding of the problems of education. An educational system not only has its roots embedded in a traditional cultural pattern which is constantly being modified by influences that are at one time spiritual, at another political, and at still another socio-economic, but it also reflects the hopes of a nation for the future.”[1] Further examples of both ideographic and nomothetic thought are found in the following statements by Kandel, “it is questionable whether the subject can be successfully studied without a firsthand observation of several school systems and this often requires not only the means to travel but knowledge of foreign languages. Observation and visitation are essential, for one is likely to be misled by the information found in educational literature if there is no opportunity to check it”[2] and “another set of difficulties await the student of comparative education because of the complete absence of standardized terminology and statistical reports.”[3] Kandel allows for both nomothetic and ideographic approaches to comparative education as a means of answering questions.
Thurber, C.H. ca. 1900. The Principles of School Organization: A Comparative Study Chiefly Based on the Systems of the United States, England, Germany and France. PhD diss, Clark University.
In Thurber’s work we see the first historical functionalism epistemological framework in comparative education. In his dissertation, Thurber writes that “education, as a system, is a development, a product of the evolution of society, and that if the form we have seems not quite to fit our highest conceptions, the way to better is not by bartering what we have for what some one else has, not by building a lean-to against our present structure. Further study might well be given to the basal problem for each country: how has the existing condition-system or lack of it- been developed out of the co-operations and antagonisms of universal principles and national peculiarities?”[4] This statement above is perhaps the first statement of historical functionalism in comparative education.
[1] Kandel, I.L. Problems of Comparative Education. (International Review of Education 2, no. 1, 1956), 5.
[2] Ibid, 6.
[3] Ibid, 10.
[4] Thurber, C.H. The Principles of School Organization: A Comparative Study Chiefly Based on the Systems of the United States, England, Germany and France. ( PhD diss. Clark University, ca. 1900), 6.
Kandel, I.L. 1956. Problems of Comparative Education. International Review of Education 2, no. 1: 1-15.
A review and discussion of Issac Kandel’s Problems of Comparative Education provides an opportunity to illustrate the historical functionalism theoretical approach in comparative education. Kandel provides advice to the student of comparative education throughout the piece and states that “it is by analysis that he can acquire a clearer understanding of the problems of education. An educational system not only has its roots embedded in a traditional cultural pattern which is constantly being modified by influences that are at one time spiritual, at another political, and at still another socio-economic, but it also reflects the hopes of a nation for the future.”[1] Further examples of both ideographic and nomothetic thought are found in the following statements by Kandel, “it is questionable whether the subject can be successfully studied without a firsthand observation of several school systems and this often requires not only the means to travel but knowledge of foreign languages. Observation and visitation are essential, for one is likely to be misled by the information found in educational literature if there is no opportunity to check it”[2] and “another set of difficulties await the student of comparative education because of the complete absence of standardized terminology and statistical reports.”[3] Kandel allows for both nomothetic and ideographic approaches to comparative education as a means of answering questions.
Thurber, C.H. ca. 1900. The Principles of School Organization: A Comparative Study Chiefly Based on the Systems of the United States, England, Germany and France. PhD diss, Clark University.
In Thurber’s work we see the first historical functionalism epistemological framework in comparative education. In his dissertation, Thurber writes that “education, as a system, is a development, a product of the evolution of society, and that if the form we have seems not quite to fit our highest conceptions, the way to better is not by bartering what we have for what some one else has, not by building a lean-to against our present structure. Further study might well be given to the basal problem for each country: how has the existing condition-system or lack of it- been developed out of the co-operations and antagonisms of universal principles and national peculiarities?”[4] This statement above is perhaps the first statement of historical functionalism in comparative education.
[1] Kandel, I.L. Problems of Comparative Education. (International Review of Education 2, no. 1, 1956), 5.
[2] Ibid, 6.
[3] Ibid, 10.
[4] Thurber, C.H. The Principles of School Organization: A Comparative Study Chiefly Based on the Systems of the United States, England, Germany and France. ( PhD diss. Clark University, ca. 1900), 6.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Resources from NAFSA conference sessions
During the NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference last week in D.C. I was a panelist at three separate sessions and chaired the special research seminar on global student mobility. The plan is for all of the power point slides and other handouts to be made avialable online. As the session materials or other information about the sessions become available I will post messages with information on where to access the documents. Following is what is currently available:
Assessment Toolbox for International Educators
Presenters: David Comp, University of Chicago
Darla Deardorff, Duke University
Elaine Meyer-Lee, Saint Mary's College
Lee Glover Sternberg, James Madison University
Victor Savicki, Western Oregon University
http://www.saintmarys.edu/~cwil/php/intercultural.learning/IILOutcomes.php
and
Data and Research on U.S. Multicultural Students in Study Abroad
Presenters: David Comp, University of Chicago
Gayle Woodruff, University of Minnesota
http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/29/nafsa
Assessment Toolbox for International Educators
Presenters: David Comp, University of Chicago
Darla Deardorff, Duke University
Elaine Meyer-Lee, Saint Mary's College
Lee Glover Sternberg, James Madison University
Victor Savicki, Western Oregon University
http://www.saintmarys.edu/~cwil/php/intercultural.learning/IILOutcomes.php
and
Data and Research on U.S. Multicultural Students in Study Abroad
Presenters: David Comp, University of Chicago
Gayle Woodruff, University of Minnesota
http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/29/nafsa
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Court tells Israel to review Gaza student travel
For those of you who have been following the recent news of Israel’s refusal to allow Palestinian students to leave Gaza to study abroad in the United Kingdom, Germany and in the United States on a Fulbright (now reinstated by the State Department after initially withdrawing the awards), an article published by Reuters yesterday provides an update as the Israeli Supreme Court has now weighed in. You can read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSL02404231
Monday, June 2, 2008
IIE and AIFS Foundation to Launch New Research Report Series
From the May 27, 2008 IIE.Interactive Special:
The Institute of International Education (IIE) and the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation will launch a new series of Global Education Research Reports. The first report, to be published in Fall 2008, will look at educational exchange between the U.S. and China. The reports will include original research by IIE, as well as contributions by other experts in the field of international education.
The AIFS Foundation has provided a grant to publish five reports over the next three years, with the goal of exploring the most pressing and under-researched issues affecting international education policy today. Support for this research initiative is part of the Foundation's mission to provide educational and cultural exchange opportunities to foster greater understanding among the people of the world.
As two of the largest and most experienced cultural and educational exchange organizations in the United States and the world, IIE and AIFS possess an unmatched capacity to engage educators, policymakers and institutions in the internationalization process. The two organizations will jointly distribute the research reports to their members and partners and other interested parties including educators, researchers and policy professionals.
This project builds on a series of twenty-nine IIE Research Reports commissioned and published since 1983. These reports covered diverse topics such as "Absence of Decision: Foreign Students in American Colleges and Universities," "Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response" and "Obligation or Opportunity: Foreign Student Policy in Six Major Receiving Countries." These reports were researched and written by leading scholars in international education studies, including Philip G. Altbach, Alice Chandler, Craufurd D. Goodwin, and Michael Nacht.
IIE has a history of providing timely and targeted policy information to the international education community. For over 50 years, IIE has published the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. More recently, IIE developed the Atlas of Student Mobility, an important data source on global student mobility and began publishing Meeting America's Global Education Challenge, a series of White Papers on capacity issues in study abroad. IIE also produces the bi-annual IIENetworker Magazine, which publishes articles and updates on key topics in international education.
The AIFS Foundation's previous reports include "The Gender Gap in Post-Secondary Education Abroad," by Steven W. Shirley, "Innocents at Home Redux: The Continuing Challenge to America's Future," by Denis P. Doyle, and several reports edited by Martin Tillman, including "Study Abroad: A 21st Century Perspective" and "Impact of Education Abroad on Career Development: Four Community College Case Studies."
The Institute of International Education (IIE) and the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation will launch a new series of Global Education Research Reports. The first report, to be published in Fall 2008, will look at educational exchange between the U.S. and China. The reports will include original research by IIE, as well as contributions by other experts in the field of international education.
The AIFS Foundation has provided a grant to publish five reports over the next three years, with the goal of exploring the most pressing and under-researched issues affecting international education policy today. Support for this research initiative is part of the Foundation's mission to provide educational and cultural exchange opportunities to foster greater understanding among the people of the world.
As two of the largest and most experienced cultural and educational exchange organizations in the United States and the world, IIE and AIFS possess an unmatched capacity to engage educators, policymakers and institutions in the internationalization process. The two organizations will jointly distribute the research reports to their members and partners and other interested parties including educators, researchers and policy professionals.
This project builds on a series of twenty-nine IIE Research Reports commissioned and published since 1983. These reports covered diverse topics such as "Absence of Decision: Foreign Students in American Colleges and Universities," "Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response" and "Obligation or Opportunity: Foreign Student Policy in Six Major Receiving Countries." These reports were researched and written by leading scholars in international education studies, including Philip G. Altbach, Alice Chandler, Craufurd D. Goodwin, and Michael Nacht.
IIE has a history of providing timely and targeted policy information to the international education community. For over 50 years, IIE has published the Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. More recently, IIE developed the Atlas of Student Mobility, an important data source on global student mobility and began publishing Meeting America's Global Education Challenge, a series of White Papers on capacity issues in study abroad. IIE also produces the bi-annual IIENetworker Magazine, which publishes articles and updates on key topics in international education.
The AIFS Foundation's previous reports include "The Gender Gap in Post-Secondary Education Abroad," by Steven W. Shirley, "Innocents at Home Redux: The Continuing Challenge to America's Future," by Denis P. Doyle, and several reports edited by Martin Tillman, including "Study Abroad: A 21st Century Perspective" and "Impact of Education Abroad on Career Development: Four Community College Case Studies."
Back From NAFSA Conference
I'm back home in Chicago from a grueling week at the NAFSA conference held in Washington, D.C. While I was out of the office I wasn't blogging as internet access whas a bit challenging and my schedule was packed with presentations and meetings. I will be resuming my blogging activities again this week.
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