This paper explores the notion of a "just imaginary" for social inclusion in higher education. It responds to the current strategy of OECD nations to expand higher education and increase graduate numbers, as a way of securing a competitive advantage in the global knowledge economy. The Australian higher education system provides the case…

This study examines the relationships between the normative and resource dimensions of a high school counseling department and four-year college-going rates. Utilizing data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS: 09), we employ multiple regression and latent class analysis to identify salient factors related to the college-going…

Previous research related to this study explored early career female leaders' experiences in rural school settings, and probed the personal and professional challenges they faced and their motivations to accept formal and informal leadership roles ahead of the usual timeframes (e.g., Graham, Miller & Paterson, 2009). This study set out to…

This study explores relationships between experiences in initial education, subsequent life experiences/opportunities and the decision to return to education later in life. Semi-structured interviews with seven female returners to education, focused initially upon the women's perceptions of their aspirations and motivations at various ages,…

The issues of professional accountability, faculty member development, and enhancing higher education quality in universities are gaining importance. A strategy that could increase personal control over teaching practices in addition to improving professional development among faculty members is peer review of teaching (PRT). Five themes that are…

In this policy report, the Annie E. Casey Foundation explores the intersection of kids, race, and opportunity. The report features the new Race for Results index, which compares how children are progressing on key milestones across racial and ethnic groups at the national and state level. The index is based on 12 indicators that measure a…

Professional seminar for doctoral students at a Research I University is a 1-credit course, 2 below the conventional courses. However, the course content covers at least 3 years' worth of experiences, knowledge, and processes compressed into a single school year. The course typically extends over 16 weeks and 24 actual contact hours with 1…

This paper examines how opportunity structures for learning, income, and status emerge in a global space shaped by local stakeholders aspiring for strategic positions in international competition. The case-study of Hong Kong suggests that moving up the pyramid of college and university degrees provides opportunities for higher income and reduces…

Background: Literacy-rich environments (LREs) reflect characteristics such as abundance of materials, daily literacy routine, and layout conducive for reading and writing. Shifting from previous conceptualizations, LREs are not confined to schools but are ubiquitous in formal and informal educational settings; they include libraries, museums,…

The current policy interest in early childhood education and care is driven by an investment narrative, a story of quality and high returns emerging from a dominant neoliberal political economy. This short note expresses deep reservations about this narrative, and hints at another narrative that foregrounds democracy, experimentation and…

Early childhood education has long been connected with objectives related to social justice. Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) has its roots in philanthropic and educational reform movements prevalent at the turn of the twentieth century. More recently, with the introduction of the National Early Childhood Reform Agenda, early…

Formal ceramics art education is becoming a fundamental requirement for professional practice in ceramics in Nigeria. Considering the ample resources available for ceramic practices in the country with a teeming population of over 140 million people, there is a promising future for the art, in spite of the effects of globalization and…

There is a widely held view that learning to play a musical instrument is a valuable experience for all children in terms of their personal growth and development. Although there is no statutory obligation for instrumental music provision in Scottish primary schools, there are well-established Instrumental Music Services in Local Education…

In the twenty-first century, organizations need to actively work to foster diversity. This is important because it is the just response to an uneven playing field, because the rapidly changing demographics in the United States demand that institutions be responsive if they are to survive, and because heterogeneous groups are more effective than…

Children's reading skill development is influenced by availability of reading materials, reading habits and opportunity to read. Save the Children's Literacy Boost data have replicated this finding across numerous developing contexts. Meanwhile international large-scale reading assessments do not capture detail on current home literacy.…