INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

ACT WITH EAST POLICY

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, MEGHALAYA

Capacity and Connectivity in Education: A New Hope for Raising Together with East

In order to cope up with the challenges of rapidly globalizing word, India’s foreign policy of   ‘Look East Policy’was shifted into more action oriented ‘Act East Policy’ as course of revision and imbibing practicality.This phase was also characterized by an expanded definition of ‘East’ extending from Australia to China. This was a strategic shift form earlier ‘Look East Policy’, when change in the locus of world economic power from the west to the east as necessitated by the evolving geo politics and trends in the Asia-Pacific. The aim is to inculcate more practicality   in political ties, forge regional security cooperation and develop economic linkage by increasing integration with East Asia. The policy focuses for better economic engagement and forging strategic partnership and security cooperation with countries in that region. The era of globalization and rapid development of technology makes it possible for nations to come together, economically, for mutual benefits. The track dedicated to India’s Trade and Investment in East Asia’ confirms the emergence of a new architecture of world economy which is marked by trading blocs, promoting economic growth within the region. The track dedicated to India’s trade and investment in Southeast and East Asia confirms the emergence of a new architecture of world economy which is marked by trading blocs, promoting economic growth within the region(Devare, 2014). The commonalities of India with Southeast Asia are many compared to the dissimilarities.

Enhancement and enlivening of people to people contact transcending regional and political barriers is an imperative for facilitating cultural interaction among various regions of Asian countries.  The Asiancountriessteadily orient towards their innovative measures within their adequate knowledge of their common interest and gains. The existing opportunities and challenges are to be assessed and grappled proficiently. They must acknowledge andrespects theskillsand potentialsand each other have and concern about each other’s deficiencies and drawbacks. Cooperative undertakings based on mutual understanding and confidence will lead to enduring developing in this region. The thrust areas for this cooperation are through technology Transfer for capacity building and connectivity.Improved connectivity is an important factor that would strengthen the linkage between Asian countries. Greater physical connectivity would provide the impetus for economic development and integration with the region. In contemporary era, Physical connectivity is of utmost importance as it channelizes the means to accelerate the movement of goods, manpower and services and there by acts as a gateway to revive economic endeavours.  In this digital era, connectivity   should go beyond physical connectivity. Effective cyber connectivity would be an impetus to this entire region in almost all aspects of development -economic, educational, medical and socio-cultural.Through networkingeducational institutions in this region, consolidate the development potential of their region, their overall competence level, available potentials, competitiveness edges and innovation ability as well as make business life in the region more varied. The Asian countries can engage in cooperation and collaboration in higher education with each other’s for capacity building endeavours. Through this mutual development the Asian countries can assume global role and responsibilities with its own strength. The road map the regional integration is through innovation and technology transfer. At this juncture we can look into howfar East fulfil educational standards and needs for fulfilling the  millennium goals.

Education policies and programmes can play a vital role in transforming the education landscape and capacity building. A prominent feature of the successful educational transformation in many countries is that policy reforms efforts and programmes are guided by a clear goal or vision, and implemented through coherent planning, management and monitoring process (UNESCO, 2014). Policies and programmes of a country need to address all of the components of the system in a coordinated and coherent way so that changes, in turn, become mutually reinforcing and promote continuous improvement.

Efterskole Project 

The Efterskole is a unique Danish residential school, where students from the ages of 14 to 18 can choose to spend one, two or three years to finish their primary education.

Common educational purpose

Each Efterskole is a self-governing independent institution and they all deal with both the educational and personal development of the students. They embrace a common educational focus on enlightenment for life, general education and democratic citizenship.

History

The first Efterskole were founded about 150 years ago. The schools were closely related to the Danish Folk High School and the educational ideas of N.F.S. Grundtvig (1789-1872) who wanted schools to provide enlightenment for life rather than formal vocational training. Read more about the history

Freedom of the Efterskole

Compared to public schools the Efterskole has substantial freedom in terms of eg. choice of subjects, teaching methods and educational approach. These vary in accordance with the school’s political, religious or pedagogical orientation. Freedom of the Efterskole is assured by substantial state subsidies to both schools and students. 

Teacher-student relationship

One of the things that are unique about the Efterskole is the teacher-student relationship. The teacher is responsible for both teaching and supervision outside of school hours. This means that teachers and students are together all day from the time the students wake up until they go to bed. This often engenders a close, personal and non-formal relationship between students and teachers.

Subjects and exams

Most Efterskoles offer the same subjects and final examinations as the public schools, but many focus on special subjects like physical education, music or theatre, or offer various kinds of special education.

Number of schools and students

There are more than 260 Efterskoles spread across Denmark, mostly in rural areas or near provincial towns. At present approximately 28.500 students attend the schools. Schools vary in size from 25 to 500 students but must have a minimum of approx. 100 students. The number of students has increased considerably within the last 25 years.

MEETING WITH MAYOR OF HESLAV AT SOS EFTERSKOLE, DENMARK

  

 

Global Citizenship

The Global dimension to Education is about a global perspective in education. It is strongly linked to Global Citizenship, our role within society and the wider world.The Global Dimension in Education is about enabling people to critically engage in local and global issues, to actively participate and make informed and ethical choices in an increasingly global society. It is about seeing ourselves as global citizens. 

School  education plays a vital role in helping the young citizens to recognize their responsibilities as citizens of the global community. It equips them with the skills required to make informed decisions and take responsible actions. Global dimension in teaching helps critically examining their own values and attitudes, appreciate the similarities between people live everywhere in the world and learn to value diversity, understand the global context of their local lives and in developing skills that will enable them to protect justice, peace, environment and good health. Such knowledge, skills and understanding empower young people to become responsible Global Citizens and help them to play an active role in the global community.

The term “Global” explicitly encompasses the local/urban, national and inter- or transnational levels of analysis and action. And the word “Citizenship” refers to not only the legal or juridical membership in a specific national polity, but more broadly to the phenomenon of active engagement in the public life of the local, national or transnational communities within which people live. It is worth noting that there are many modalities of citizenship. A partial list of such modalities would include: public intellectual, advocate, dissident, activist, voter, neighbour, public office holder, and community organizer. 

The Main Objectives of the project are:

• to build global academic networks by strengthening International Relationships for Sustainable Development.

• to exchange Local Knowledge and Wisdom • to get to know about the different sectors of economy including major business organizations, Universities, Research Institutions etc.,

• to provide cross cultural learning experiences in arts, music, dance, theatre, media etc.,

It is an Interdisciplinary Educational Project for Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools in India and abroad. We began this project in collaboration with Stockholm School Administration, Sweden in 2008 and organized various academic programs in collaboration with the gymnasiums in Stockholm and high schools in India. Now based on the success experiences, we would like to extend the project to Nordic countries. 

KARTORP GYMNASIUM & NEW ERA SCHOOL ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP

Global Partnership with Swedish Schools began when the Swedish delegation of School Principals visited New Era School back in November 2008. This was an introductory visit and both countries explored the possibilities of working together on mutually workable projects. A symposium was organized on the topic “Education for global citizenship” and reconfirmed that with fast means of communication, inter country boundaries are melting and the schools must equip their students to take benefit and surge ahead to look for greener pastures to study and seek jobs. Swedish Educational Leaders were exposed to the local cultural folk program arranged by the school. They enjoyed the folk tunes and dance and participated whole heartedly.

After the first visit , Mrs. Liz Berg went back to her school and narrated her experience and impressions about New Era School and discussed with her teachers and students the possibilities of growing together as

partners in education. The vibes of both institutions matched and Mrs. Liz Berg along with her social Science and Environment teacher came visiting New Era School with all New Ideas and energy packed to start a partnership. They were at New Era School for a week and New Era teachers and KARTORP GYMNESIUM teachers had very fruitful discussions on the projects they would like to do together. They decided to work on social science and environmental science together. They would like to exchange ideas to maintain the environment and to ensure to halt its degradation. New Era would like to know how Stockholm has become the Green city. New Era has been into energy auditing and has shared the findings with KARTORP teachers. Ever since, the teachers have been in contact with each other through E-mails. We know this partnership is here to stay and grow. 

Future Projections:

Gaining experiences from the project, now we have gone ahead in organizing short-term in-house workshops on the following for two to three weeks for the young  school students and teachers to actually understand and learn the local wisdom of India. This includes expert demonstrations, discourses and field visits to the places of high importance. 

For Further Details contact:

Dr.K.Pushpanadham Ph.D.,

Associate Professor

Department of Educational Administration

Faculty of Education and Psychology,

The Maharaja Sayahirao University of Baroda,

Vadodara-390002, Gujarat, India.

E.mail: pushpanadham@gmail.com

Phone: 0091-265-2792631 (O)

09979301696 ax: 0091-265-2795516 (O)

STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2010

The Stockholm Summit 2010 17-19 May
– Let’s take education to a new level

Do you feel the need for a deepened discussion about change in education and leadership? Do you wish to meet other leaders in education with the same need? Then the Stockholm summit is clearly for you. Here you will get the latest trends from the greatest minds in education today and share experiences and learn from fellow school leaders around the world.
Register here >>
Learn more about Stockholm Summit 2010>>
The Hilton Stockholm Slussen Hotel
The conference venue, Hotel Hilton, Slussen, offers a nice view over the water and is situated right by the picturesque Old Town of Stockholm. Make sure to bring comfortable shoes – in Stockholm, almost everything is within walking distance.
Read more about the accommodation>>
Share the knowledge
Do you have an issue you would like to discuss or an experience to share?
During the speed network sessions you can discuss anything you want and share the knowledge with colleagues from all over the world.
Read more about the speed network sessions >>
Like Harry Potter’s first day at HogwartsOur children’s first day at school should be an enchanting, magical day, according to Bengt Kristensson Uggla, professor at Åbo University and lecturer at the Stockholm Summit 2008. - Schools should use music, poetry and stories to demonstrate the fantastic adventure of knowledge, learning and education, he says.
Read the interview>>
No micro-management of headmastersTeachers forced to work together through rules and regulations will tend to cooperate less. Politicians and headmasters should refrain from micro-management. Instead, the idea is to create a working environment where working together has a purpose – where collaboration is profitable.Andy Hargreaves was one of the most appreciated speakers at the Stockholm Summit 2008
Read the interview>>

COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE AT NEW YORK

GAINING EDUCATIONAL EQUITY AROUND THE WORLD

Teachers College, Columbia University, New York has hosted CIES 2008 Conference and a meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society. The first session of panels began promptly at 8:30AM on Monday, March 17, 2008 and the final session of panels will be on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 10:30AM.

The conference emphasised on the theme of educational equity within and among regions and countries, focusing on the impact of factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, economics, disability, and urbanization.

The venue in New York City and at Teachers College provided a special occasion to return to the roots of CIES. TC faculty John Dewey, James Russell, Paul Monroe, Isaac Kandel, and George Bereday were pioneers in establishing a focus on international and comparative education. R. Freeman Butts, Harold Noah, and Max Eckstein were among many of the early officers and founding board members of CIES who came from the TC faculty, and the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at TC sponsors one of the largest graduate training programs in the world in Comparative and International Education.

In addition, New York City constitutes one of the most internationalized cities in the world with its large multilingual and multicultural populations and its substantial international institutions including the United Nations.

I have made a pannel presentation on on 18th March, 2008 during 1.30 p.m to 3. p.m on "Ganing Equity and Quality in Education: Indian Experiences" and was received well by the international community. This paper was jointly developed by me and my colleague Dr. Anjali Khirwadkar from Baroda University, India.On 19th March, 2008, I have made another presentation with my colleague Prof. Holger Daun, Stockholm University on " Globalization and Education".

Pushpanadham

CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT

CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT

I. Curriculum

The term curriculum is used in a number of different ways by parents, educators, and businesses. Some see curriculum as the "academic stuff that is done to children in school." Others view it as teacher directions and student activities that can be purchased from any number of curriculum publishers. Teachers themselves use the term in different ways depending on their views and needs.

Webster's concisely defines curriculum as, "A course of study offered by a school" (Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary, 1984 p176). Curriculum is also often referred to as learning content, activities, and structures as experienced by students.

Ronald C. Doll, in his book, Curriculum Improvement: Decision Making and Process, goes further, stating that: The curriculum of a school is the formal and informal content and process by which learners gain knowledge and understanding, develop skills, and alter attitudes, appreciations, and values under he auspices of that school (Doll, 1996 p15).

It is this last definition that is perhaps the most useful to educators who wish to affect and improve student learning. Partially this is because it lacks the vagueness that many definitions have, and partially it is because curriculum, as Doll has defined it, can have outcomes that may be measured, allowing for the curriculum to be acted upon and improved.

II. Other definitions:

1. Tyler (1949). In 1949 Tyler identified four questions as the parameters for curriculum study: What educational purposes should the school seek to accomplish? How can learning attaining these objectives? How can earning experiences be organized for effective instruction? How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?

2. Schubert (1986). "A quick survey of a dozen curriculum books would be likely to reveal a dozen different images or characterizations of curriculum. . . To analyze and discuss all of the images that have been advanced would be a massive undertaking, since more than eleven hundred curriculum books have been written in the present century. . . What can be done more economically is to categorize major conceptions of curriculum:" (a) curriculum as content or subject matter, (b) curriculum as a program of planned activities, (c) curriculum as intended learning outcomes, (d) curriculum as cultural reproduction, (e) curriculum as discrete tasks and concepts, (f) curriculum as an agenda for social reconstruction, and (g) curriculum as "currere" (interpretation of lived experience)."

3. Ornstein and Hunkins (1988). "A curriculum approach reflects a holistic position, encompassing the foundations of curriculum, domains of curriculum, and the theoretical and practical principles of curriculum. Five curriculum approaches are (a) behavioral-rational approach, (b) systems-managerial approach, (c) intellectual-academic approach, (d) humanistic-aesthetic approach, and (e) reconceptual approach."

4. Cornbleth (1990) "Curriculum construction is an ongoing social activity that is shaped by various contextual influences within and beyond the classroom and accomplished interactively, primarily be teachers and students. The curriculum is not a tangible product but the actual, day-to-day interactions of students, teachers, knowledge and milieu. The curriculum encompasses what others have called curriculum practice or the curriculum -in-use. Curriculum as product or object, the conventional view, is seen as one aspect of the context that shapes curriculum practice. . . .. . . Curriculum as contexualized social process encompasses both subject matter and social organization and their interrelations. Social organization, including teacher and student roles (and their attendant rights and obligations) and patterns of interaction, provides a setting for academic activities that can extend or constrain students' learning opportunities. Recitation activities, for example, reflect the super and subordinate roles to teachers and students respectively, and the limited communication patterns found in many classrooms. Learning opportunities are constrained by the recitation organization insofar as students are discouraged from pursuing ideas, raising questions, or offering personal observations. Social organization and academic activities also communicate normative messages including the meaning of knowledge, authority, responsibility, work and success.

The curriculum knowledge or subject matter of interest here is primarily but not solely academic (e.g., mathematics, history). It also includes the personal, social, and world knowledge that is communicated or otherwise made available to students and what might be characterized as knowledge about knowledge - Its nature, sources, limits and change. While knowledge typically is treated as an object or commodity to be acquired, that is not the intention here. Curriculum knowledge as the knowledge made available to students refers to opportunities to construct, reconstruct, or critique knowledge. Knowledge selection and organization refer both to the information that is communicated directly and the opportunities that are provided for students to create and critique knowledge. The selection and organization of curriculum knowledge can be purposeful or tacit as seems to be the case when teachers and students follow a textbook. Knowledge treatment refers to what others have distinguished as pedagogy or instruction; it also includes the playing out of assumptions about the nature of knowledge. Knowledge distribution refers to the kinds of knowledge opportunities made available to different groups of students."

III. The Relationship Between Curriculum and Instruction:

Instruction is the creation and implementation of purposefully developed plans for the teaching of curriculum content. It is what teachers often concisely refer to as "planning" and "teaching." The relationship between curriculum and instruction is so intimate that "curriculumandinstruction" is frequently spoken as if it were one word (perhaps we should refer to it as "curstruction" or "instriculum"). With curriculum being the content of what is taught along with an overall process of how that content is to be taught, and instruction being the more detailed plans and the way those plans are implemented in order to teach the curriculum content, it becomes easy to understand that the two must be compatible in order to maximize student learning.
The Bases for Curriculum Planning

When planning for curriculum improvement, two categories of bases should be understood, those that are institutional in nature and those that affect people directly. The institutional bases for curriculum planning include planning domains, the context or characteristics of the school situation, the impact of current trends and issues, and the use of strategic planning. Those bases of curriculum planning that affect people directly include student and teacher needs, local curriculum problems to be addressed, competencies of the planners, and pressures from inside and outside the school (Doll, 1996 p362-378). All of these bases affect the curriculum planning process in various ways and to differing degrees. They can also vary with each situation over time.

IV. Criteria to Plan, Develop, and Implement Curricula

These principles form the criteria of a quality curriculum development process that includes the stages of planning, development, and implementation.

Curriculum decisions should be made:

For valid educational reasons on the basis of the best available evidence in a context of broadly conceived aims of education within a context of previously made decisions and of needs for additional decision making so that balance and other important curriculum considerations may be safeguarded by achieving a resolution of forces originating in the

• nature and development of learners,
• the nature of learning processes,
• demands of the society at large, requirements of the local community,
• and the nature and structure of subject matter to be learned.

V. How Values Can Influence Curriculum Planning

Social forces that can influence curriculum planning come from far and wide. The ideas and values of various groups of people may include their social goals, ideas about cultural uniformity and diversity, social pressures, ideas about social change, their plans for the future, and their concepts of culture (Coutts, 1999).

VI. Curriculum Foundation

At the foundation to every curriculum, including the planning, design, and implementation stages, is the educational philosophy of those directly involved in the process. Often this can influence to a great extent the direction a school or school district takes with its curriculum and instruction. At the school district this writer has been employed with, the philosophy has allowed for a diversity of instructional styles as a way of meeting a diversity of children's learning styles. This has led in the elementary school to several educational options available for students and parents: single-grade, single-grade clusters, multiage, looping, and home-school hybrid educational environments. Because some of these educational structures have different instructional designs than others, there are available different curricular materials. Other nearby schools offer only a single choice and a single curriculum. The basis for these decisions can be found in the above mentioned factors as well as in the educational philosophies of the decision makers.

Sources: ( Go through the following websites for further reading and reflection)

1. http://www.multiage-education.com/russportfolio/curriculumtopics/curoverview.html#anchor1331245

2. http://www.coe.ufl.edu/Courses/TODD/curriculum.html

3.http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm

INTERESTING ARTICLES ON EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Dear Colleagues,

The following are some of the interesting articles on Educational Administration and Leadership. These articles can also be used as "Readings" for our M.Ed.M students. We can ask them to read and reflect and then followed by classroom discussions and explanations.

Of course, we need to read first and uderstand what it is and then put our perspectives for better understanding in the local context.

Dr.Pushpanadham.K


Principles of Reform and Reforming Principal Training: A Theoretical Perspective
Lars G. Bjork and Rick GinsbergEducational Administration Quarterly, 2 1995; vol. 31: pp. 11 - 37.
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International Reports
Educational Administration Quarterly, 1 1981; vol. 17: pp. 107 - 116.
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Inquiry in Educational Administration and the Spirit of the Times
Donald J. WillowerEducational Administration Quarterly, 8 1996; vol. 32: pp. 344 - 365.
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Internationalizing Educational Administration
R. Michael Paige and Josef A. MestenhauserEducational Administration Quarterly, 10 1999; vol. 35: pp. 500 - 517.
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The Sociology of Leadership and Educational Administration
Robert O. SlaterEducational Administration Quarterly, 8 1995; vol. 31: pp. 449 - 472.
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The Professorship in Educational Administration —A Personal View
Roald F. CampbellEducational Administration Quarterly, 1 1981; vol. 17: pp. 1 - 24.
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Feminism and Professionalism in Teaching and Educational Administration
Judith S. GlazerEducational Administration Quarterly, 8 1991; vol. 27: pp. 321 - 342.
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