The contributions to education of one of the great Latin American thinkers, Paulo Freire, have been enormous. His voice and wisdom have inspired educators globally. Three particular contributions--to emancipation, to literacy, and to dialogue--are explored in this article through a critical lens. From a gender perspective, Freire's path to…

The author of this paper considers the influence of Paulo Freire's pedagogical philosophy on educational practice in three different geographical/political settings. She begins with reflections on her experience as a facilitator at Freire's seminar, held in Grenada in 1980 for teachers and community educators, on the integration of work…

This paper revisits and revisions Education for All (EFA) in the age of global migration with the aim of developing more inclusive approaches towards social justice and equity in education. Drawing on cases of internal and international migration in China and Canada, this paper compares and contrasts policies and practices in the education of…

In times of economic uncertainty, questions of the purpose and value of higher education come to the fore. Such questions have particular relevance when directed towards the preparation of professionally qualified graduates who might be expected to contribute to the public good. However, definitions of the public good are contested and the role of…

Over the last two decades, there have been numerous attempts to review and re-examine whether conventional learning and teaching approaches are still useful or relevant. Lifelong learning institutions have grown in number and scope, and now fulfil a significant function in bridging the gap between what traditional formal education systems provide…

Today's world may be characterised as the dawn of the new millennium of the learning society, where knowledge is considered as a country's most valued asset and primary source of power. In the increasingly intense competition among international communities, Thailand has been respected for advancing the concept of transforming…

There is widespread support for expanding access to universities for under-represented groups, such as students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and older students, because of the higher rates of return to university degrees. This study examines whether this assumption holds true for mature-aged graduates who have received their degrees in an…

The purpose of this study is to better understand the differences in selected retention constructs by student nationality in US graduate programs. Surveys administered at four universities across the United States during fall 2010 resulted in responses from 685 PhD students from six international regions. Using univariate ANOVA, responses were…

This article examines changes in completion rates and time-to-degree in Norwegian doctoral training over the last 30 years. A steadily increasing share of doctoral candidates holding a fellowship have been awarded their doctoral degree within five years; from 30% of those admitted in 1980 to 60% of those admitted 25 years later. Furthermore, the…

This quantitative study measures change in certain factors known to influence success of first-year students during the transition to higher education: self-efficacy, autonomous learning and social integration. A social integration scale was developed with three subscales: "sense of belonging", "relationship with staff" and…

The bibliometric methodology is an established technique for research evaluation as it offers an objective determination and comparison of research performance. This paper aims to critically assess some standard bibliometric indicators commonly used (based on publication and citation counts) to evaluate academic units, and examine whether there…

The history of research into higher education teaching and learning has been one led by male researchers. Individual women researchers have always been active in the field but their contributions have not received the same level of recognition as their male counterparts. A review of the research literature in journals focused on teaching and…

The present paper derives from a PhD study investigating the nexus between Grade 4 textbook vocabulary demands and Grade 3 isiXhosa-speaking learners' knowledge of that vocabulary to enable them to read to learn in Grade 4. The paper challenges the efficacy of the four current definitions of "word" for generating high frequency…

This article draws on data from a larger longitudinal qualitative case study which is tracking the progress of students over the course of their undergraduate degrees at a South African university. For this paper, we used background questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 62 first-year students from working-class, township schools who…

This article is based on a discussion with seven voluntary Spanish pre-service primary school English-language teachers on queer issues. The focus group followed a questionnaire on their knowledge and understanding of sexual identity issues in education. The facilitated discussion enabled the participants to be better prepared on the subject. At…