Category Archives: Michelle Swenson

DQ #12 Will the univerisities survive the European Integration?

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I also agree with Luis that `talking up quality’ is an interesting point in the article. However, I think another possible way of measuring the quality could lie in the involvement of the parents in primary and secondary education. It is known that higher parent involvement in a students education increases the students own engagement in their education. I read another interesting article from the Center of International Education Benechmarking. It states that parents in the Netherlands take their role in their child’s education very seriously and participate more in schools and national groups. The Association for Public Authority Education (VOO), a national group that has a membership of about 25,000, conducted a survey of 787 parents and indicated that 90% of respondents participated in school activities or volunteer opportunities.

What are other measurements of accountability? What incentive systems need to be incorporated to solidly prove the “quality” in order to achieve this international competitiveness?

 

DQ#11 NGO Provision of Basic Education

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One topic in this article discusses how NGOs often times may be the main provider of education, specifically in areas where states have a weak capacity or willingness to provide. When states lack legitimacy, should NGOs be granted full power to delegate and manage education? It is often state that governments should provide free access to education for all, but at what point does one draw the line and education should be provided by the people, leveraging NGOs as a mechanism to provide this to their state?

DQ#10 Regional Influence Domains

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“Humane internationalism is an acceptance that the citizens and governments of the industrialized world have ethical responsibilities towards those beyond their borders who are suffering severely and who live in abject poverty.’’ (Morrison 1998, p. 2). As stated in the article, these values align well with Canada’s, however, how can this concept be integrated into every step of decision-making processes? Even though the Canadian International Development Agency promotes these values, should more be done by the Canadian government to incorporate this value in school curriculum?

What approaches and strategies can be taken to realign Canada’s narrowing vision? What practices can Canada’s government adapt to help focus again on the bigger picture – promoting international development assistance and international cultural education.

DQ #9 A Third Industrial Revolution & Englishes

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A Third Industrial Revolution:

The article had some key points and an interesting perspective on the “digital revolution” stating that  “governments should stick to the basics: better schools for a skilled workforce, clear rules and a level playing field for enterprises of all kinds. Leave the rest to the revolutionaries.”

There are some aspects to consider by leaving “the rest to the revolutionaries”. What is the limit we put for ourselves as human beings and completely replace work performed by humans? How much do certain technologies such as the 3D printer help man kind, when there are still towns and villages without infrastructure and running water? Does using the 3D printer take away the value and human creation behind design? What about project buy-in and ownership?

Englishes:

Regarding the topic on Englishes, how does the implicit role of arts, sports and music effect the internationalization of education? How will these be incorporated into education at low costs and low resources? Using what methods?

DQ#7: The Great Mismatch

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In Tyler Cowen’s book, he argues that in Americans enjoyed the benefits of free land, immigrant labour and powerful new technologies; however, he states that the web has provided essentially less profits and few new jobs. If the web has produced less jobs, then how is it that a vast majority of our industries and job markets require web work? Or knowledge/skills based in new technologies such as social media, data entry, programming etc?

An interesting aspect of the unemployment crisis is the relationship between the increasing unemployment rate and the increasing salaries of the top few percent. How will this be resolved? How will we be able to put education first if we do not have the funding? I think the question lies in the fundamental differences in culture and societies modes of thinking or operating – collectivism versus individualism.

DQ#6: PISA and TIMSS

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If researchers have concluded that PISA is one indicator of whether school systems are preparing students for the global economy and a high ranking on PISA correlates to economic success, in what other ways are school systems using this data?

Statistics reveal that American students do not perform well on PISA compared to students in most other OECD countries, why is this? How and when does culture become a factor?

I enjoyed this question in an article I read from Education Next: “Can PISA really inform a state’s policymakers about how to improve their school system?”

Also, how do international assessments provide concrete evidence on what makes school systems succeed? Is there sufficient findings in these exams?

Article: http://educationnext.org/the-international-pisa-test/

Defending PISA: http://educationnext.org/defending-pisa/

DQ#5: International Schools

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From an article in the New York Times, it states that “many schools, and many parents, see the I.B. partly as a way to show college admissions offices that students have chosen a rigorous program,” however, shouldn’t there be emphasis on the type of student IB schools are producing as well as the values it emulates? And what is the impact of IB schools on communities?

In the article it explains how some parents are actually worried about the teaching of international perspectives. Should informative classes be required for parents? Parents are often required to participate in IB schools, but how could parents be even more involved in the teaching methods so they develop a full understanding?

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/education/03baccalaureate.html

DQ #4 Bologna Process

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1.) How can culturally similar countries be “expected to share cognitions and perceptions concerning problems and their solutions,” when individually countries have vastly different histories, languages and often times different values? How are countries categorized or grouped?

2.) What are the mechanisms of transnational communication? How is the cause for policy convergence determined?

3.) Are the “participating ministers” the ones who plan and modify the conferences and measure the level of adequate monitoring? Who developed this complex governance structure?