The Potential to Be the Most Historic Higher Education Reform Effort of Our Time: Implementation of AB705 As a result of California Assembly Bill 705(AB705, 2017) and California Assembly Bill 1705 (AB1705, 2021), most 1st-year students will enroll directly into transfer level math and/or English courses (Baca, 2021; Lopez, 2022; Melguizo et al., 2022; Sims, 2020). Students once placed into remedial coursework before enrolling in transfer level coursework may need more student support services to ensure course completion and retention (Atkins & Beggs, 2017; Baca, 2021; Cook, 2016; Lopez, 2022; Melguizo et al., 2022; Sims, 2020). The recent implementation of AB705 allows for community colleges to redesign pedagogical practices and restructure student support to address equity gaps and promote student success (Sims, 2020). Prior to AB705, remedial math and English course sequences were often gatekeepers that prevented students of color from completing their educational goals (Bailey, 2015; Bailey et al., 2013; Bragg et al., 2019; McClenney, 2019). As colleges move toward full compliance of AB705 and AB1705, colleges should have a comprehensive understanding of faculty members’ experiences as they implement reform efforts. Faculty perceptions of how the legislation has impacted student equity and success outcomes can inform continued, reiterative, and intentional improvements to reform initiatives. This qualitative study used semistructured interviews of English faculty members to examine if AB705 served as a catalyst for transformative change across academic and student support structures at community colleges. This study uncovered reform recommendations and best practices colleges can implement as they redesign educational support structures at their colleges.

This thesis investigates a relationship between a teacher and a pupil and the understanding of the pupil as an object or a subject of education. The first part describes the objectivist approach to the pupil and the accenting role of the pedagogue in the educational process, which prevailed in the 19 th century. The second part concerns the reformist pedagogical movement of the 1920's and 1930's, which period brought radical changes to the approach to the pupil and an immoderate promotion of the new approach to the pedagogical relationship. The third chapter tries to reflect nationalistic and socialistic pedagogy and offers a description of a comprehensive non-differentiated school. The last chapter deals with the recent conception of the teacher-pupil relationship and their mutual interaction.

The research focuses on the strategies for the transition from elite to mass higher education in China. The expansion of Chinese higher education has accelerated since 1998. The Chinese government plans to increase its gross enrolment rate in higher education to 15% by 2010. According to Trow's (1974:63) phase development theories, this increase of enrolment would lead to fundamental changes in higher education. These changes interact with its contextual factors, such as, economy, politics, society et cetera. The research aimed at analyzing this by using both literature study and qualitative inquiry. The Chinese strategies for the transition were preliminarily evaluated. Findings were that people's elite values, shortage of funds and social inequality are major obstacles for the transition. The study revealed that developing non-traditional higher education, among others, is an effective way to overcome these difficulties and to accelerate the transition from elite to mass higher education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Comparative Education)

The research focuses on the strategies for the transition from elite to mass higher education in China. The expansion of Chinese higher education has accelerated since 1998. The Chinese government plans to increase its gross enrolment rate in higher education to 15% by 2010. According to Trow's (1974:63) phase development theories, this increase of enrolment would lead to fundamental changes in higher education. These changes interact with its contextual factors, such as, economy, politics, society et cetera. The research aimed at analyzing this by using both literature study and qualitative inquiry. The Chinese strategies for the transition were preliminarily evaluated. Findings were that people's elite values, shortage of funds and social inequality are major obstacles for the transition. The study revealed that developing non-traditional higher education, among others, is an effective way to overcome these difficulties and to accelerate the transition from elite to mass higher education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Percebemos na educação a descontinuidade de políticas públicas que introduzem os ciclos de formação como mecanismos de garantir a inclusão e permanência dos alunos na escola. A Proposta Escola Plural, implantada na cidade de Belo Horizonte em 1995, tem convivido com resistências e desconfianças quanto à qualidade da educação ofertada, e continua suscitando polêmicas até os dias atuais. Neste trabalho, buscamos compreender os impasses criados a partir das novas formas de organização do trabalho escolar contidas na Proposta, e as formas com que os gestores públicos lidaram com essas controvérsias, à medida que foram encontrando dificuldades em concretizar os seus eixos. Estas questões nos remetem tanto a uma indagação sobre as mudanças ocorridas na prática pedagógica, quanto aos seus efeitos na representação que os gestores possuem sobre os sujeitos da instituição. Para tanto, além da análise dos textos públicos produzidos, coletamos os nossos dados por meio de entrevistas realizadas com vinte gestores que fizeram parte da administração desde 1995, na busca das justificativas para as transformações ocorridas na Proposta, bem como os dispositivos de intervenção criados que permitissem resolver os impasses. Apoiados no referencial psicanalítico de René Kaës e em conceitos retirados das produções teóricas de Boaventura de Sousa Santos e Paulo Freire, centramos nossa busca nas relações mantidas entre professores, escolas e instituição ao longo deste tempo. Cientes de que a Escola Plural nos coloca frente a questões essenciais da prática pedagógica, acreditamos na possibilidade de criar outros conhecimentos que possam auxiliar os gestores de sistemas públicos de ensino na compreensão das dificuldades inerentes às reformas educacionais. / Education offers, nowadays, a lack of continuity of public policies which introduce formation cycles as mechanisms of inclusion and stability of students at school. The \"Plural School Proposal\", which was established in Belo Horizonte in 1995, has been living with resistance and suspicion about the reality of education which has been offered and it still creates controversy. In this paper, dilemmas created from the new organization forms of the proposal and the way the public managers deal with these problems are discussed. Such questions make us inquire about the changes occurred in pedagogical practices and their effects in the representation that managers have over the institution subjects. For that, besides analysis of produced texts, data was collected from interviews with twenty managers who have been part of the management system since 1995, in search of justifications for the transformations in the Proposal, as well as the attempts of solution for the problems. Based on René Kaës\' psychoanalysis reference and on concepts from Boaventura de Sousa Santos\' and Paulo Freire\'s theoretical productions, our search was centered in relations kept among teachers, school and institution. Aware that \"Plural School\" puts us in front of essential questions of pedagogical practice, we believe we can create other forms of knowledge which can help public managers in understanding of the problems related to educational reformation.

Esta tese decorre do seguinte problema de pesquisa: qual a importância das ideias de docentes sobre educação em sua adesão a reformas educacionais? A hipótese levantada foi a de que o(a) docente de ensino fundamental em escolas estaduais de São Paulo resiste às reformas, entre outros fatores, porque suas ideias sobre educação entram em conflito com as ideias que orientam estas reformas. Dada a complexidade do problema e da hipótese levantada, bem como o prazo para realizar a pesquisa, priorizou-se oferecer uma contribuição parcial ao enfrentamento do problema, concentrando-se em explicitar como variam as ideias sobre educação nas quais se baseia a prática profissional docente, segundo um conjunto de características. Como procedimento metodológico, foi realizado o estudo de caso em duas escolas estaduais (centro e periferia) paulistas e abordando-se doze docentes em cada uma. Empregou-se o instrumental teórico-conceitual e metodológico de investigação construído por Maurice Tardif e colaboradores, assim como o de Bernard Lahire. Verificou-se que as ideias docentes estão fundadas no modelo de escola clássica humanista de base científica em que o magistério foi formado e que o professorado resiste às práticas contrárias a esse modelo. / This thesis stems from the following research problem: what is the importance of educators ideas about education in their adherence to educational reforms? The hypothesis was that elementary school teachers in state schools in São Paulo resist the reforms because their opinions about education conflict with the ideas that guide these reforms, among other factors. Given the complexity of the problem and the hypothesis raised, as well as the period to carry out the research, it was prioritized to provide a partial contribution in tackling the problem, focusing on explaining how the ideas about education upon which the professional teaching practice is based vary, according to a set of characteristics. As a methodological procedure, the case study was conducted in two state schools in São Paulo city (central and peripheral areas), addressing twelve teachers in each. We used the theoretical-conceptual and methodological research instrument built by Maurice Tardif and collaborators, as well as that of Bernard Lahire. It was found that the teachers ideas are based on a humanist classical school model of scientific basis upon which teaching was built, and that the teachers resist practices contrary to this model.

Orientador: Maria Regina Guarnieri / Banca: João Augusto Gentilini / Banca: Cláudia Cristina Fiorio Guilherme / Resumo: A década de 1990 e os anos iniciais do século XXI foram profundamente marcados por reformas educacionais promovidas, em grande parte, sob a influência de agências internacionais de financiamento que defendem a reformulação da função do Estado em diversos setores, inclusive na educação. Baseando-se principalmente na perspectiva dos estudos de Stephen J. Ball sobre a inserção de princípios gerenciais e performativos no meio educacional e pesquisas que analisam reformas educacionais e suas repercussões tanto na organização das escolas quanto para os professores, o objetivo geral desta pesquisa foi o de analisar o projeto "São Paulo faz Escola" e as políticas de desempenho paralelamente implementadas buscando revelar quais são as implicações para o trabalho de professores do ensino fundamental ciclo I da rede estadual de São Paulo. Para isso foi realizado um estudo documental e empírico envolvendo seis professoras que atuavam nos anos iniciais do Ciclo I em três escolas públicas estaduais do interior paulista com diferentes índices de classificação obtidos no ano de 2009 pela avaliação do IDESP. Trabalhou-se com a hipótese de que as ações atuais da Secretaria de Educação do Estado de São Paulo repercutiram no trabalho dos professores de modo intenso, principalmente a partir da inserção dos mecanismos de controle como, por exemplo, a responsabilização docente, a avaliação de desempenho, o monitoramento feito pelo professor coordenador e o atrelamento do desempenho do professor (rendimentos dos alunos no SARESP) à bonificação por resultados. Da mesma forma a prática docente é influenciada por um ambiente educacional, em grande parte, orientado pela competitividade, acirramento da individualidade e a sedimentação de um clima organizacional permeado pela incerteza em relação ao cumprimento das metas estabelecidas. Para tanto, foram... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: 1990 decade and the XXI century early years were deeply marked by educational reforms mostly promoted under the influence of international funding agencies which defend the State's role reformulation in different sectors, including in education. Based mainly on the perspective of Stephen J. Ball's studies about the insertion of management and performative principles in the educational environment and on research analyzing educational reforms and their repercussions not only on schools' organizations but also for teachers, the purpose of this study was to analyze "São Paulo faz Escola" project and performance policies implemented at the same time seeking to reveal what implications there are for teachers' jobs of São Paulo State elementary schools. A documental and empiric study was carried out involving six teachers who worked with the early years of elementary school in three state public schools of the country side of São Paulo State which had different performance classification indexes obtained in 2009 by IDESP assessment. The hypothesis that current actions by Secretaria de Educação do Estado de São Paulo (State's secretary of education) had important repercussions on teachers' jobs was considered, mainly after de insertion of control mechanisms like, as instance, teachers' accountability, performance evaluation, monitoring by a coordinator and the link between teachers' performance (students' performances by SARESP) and bonuses for results. In the same way, the teacher's practice is influenced by an educational environment largely oriented by competitiveness, intensification of individuality and sedimentation of an organizational atmosphere permeated by the uncertainty of meeting established goals. For that, legal documents, which were pertinent to changes made in the state public schools system, were gathered and analyzed and the teachers were... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In recent years knowledge has been brought forward as an important political issue both in the EU and in Sweden. It is said to be of the uttermost importance not just for education but for society as a whole. As a result of increased globalization and a European striving for economic growth, knowledge has come to be associated with both individual and national competitiveness, and education and learning in schools and workplaces have become a political priority. In this global competition the EU has become an important policy actor in the educational field trying to create a common European education policy field. Despite this development, only a limited number of reports relating the European arena to Swedish educational reforms have been published. Against this background the aim of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of the knowledge discourses which struggle for legitimacy in Swedish and European education policy and how these discourses relate to each other and change over time. The empirical material consists of a number of fundamental official policy texts produced by the EU and the Swedish state. The study takes its theoretical point of departure in critical discourse analysis using an analytical grid where production, content and communication are seen as three aspects constituting every knowledge discourse. The result shows a process of silent Europeanization in Swedish school reform where European knowledge discourse is being re-contextualised and in many cases re-interpreted without any declaration in terms of explicit references. It also confirms the general trend towards increased focus on learning outcomes and demands for measurability. Furthermore, the result shows how competition rhetoric dominating the EU contributes to an increased sense of crisis in both European and Swedish educational reforms. As a result of this crisis rhetoric the study shows how the proactive reform-perspective is being replaced by a retrospective where solving already existing problems replaces the planning of an uncertain future.

The bond between the state and education has become stronger due to expended role and control of the state over education especially in the 21st century. Control of the state on education is embodied in educational policies which are the apparatus of modern states used to shape the education system in accordance with the basic interests and values of the society. However, educational policy is a complex, dynamic and multi-tiered concept that is formulated in a diverse sociopolitical system. Understanding the context and the dynamics of educational policy making is required to understand the dynamics of any educational system. This study aimed to investigate the formulation process of educational policies in Turkey and the U.S. through the perceptions of key actors in policy making process. On a broader perspective, this study tried to examine how certain issues became the agenda of the governments, how educational policies were formulated, under what conditions, in which context, and by which agents (persons or groups). For this purpose a qualitative comparative case study design was applied. Two specific policy initiatives of teacher education and teacher quality policies in Turkey (Career Ladders for Teachers, 2005) and Wisconsin, U.S. (Teacher Education Program Approval and Licenses: PI34, 2000) were focused as cases. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Seven key policy makers in each case were interviewed, and primary and secondary documents related to policies were collected. A descriptive, analytical and comparative approach was followed during the data analysis and interpretation. Results of this study showed that policy formulation process in education in two countries is highly complex and under the influence of various factors which determine the policy context in which the policy is developed. Policy context, in both countries, is intertwined by political, economic, social and international factors as well as the culture, values, beliefs, experience, variety and number of the policy actors. Policy process in Turkey, on the account of CLT, can be described as more politicized, and bureaucratic, more straightforward without policy games, and serious conflicts among the policy actors, yet more constrained, top-down, closed, government oriented and elitist process in which democratic procedures were ignored. Wisconsin, on the other hand, demonstrates a more complex policy contexts nested in different levels of government and high number of interest and pressure groups competing with each other, and based on consensus building and participation in within the realms of pluralist tradition.

The Department of Education and Culture (DoEC) has since 1994, after the democratic elections in South Africa, introduced radical changes to the system of education. This systemic change has required a fundamental shift in attitudes of educators and other school constituents in African schools in particular, which were in the past education dispensation marginalized and poorly resourced due to the Bantu education system. One of the main problems in IsiZulu medium schools has always been the seeming reluctance to change from apartheid era practices. The officials of the DoEC have often given what have appeared to be simplistic and platitudinous reasons for the apparent resistance to change and perennial poor academic performance in most IsiZulu medium schools. These reasons were used on a paucity of in-depth study into the underlying causes of the apparent reluctance to change. There was therefore a need to investigate some of the systemic processes which influence change in IsiZulu medium schools. This study therefore sought to identify and describe the processes which are associated with difficulties and inertia in order to try to improve the quality of education in a sample of IsiZulu medium schools. Systems theories, theories of change forces and strategies of educational change formed the conceptual framework of this study. A multi-layered systemic approach provided the basis for understanding the interactive processes within the school, and the interaction between the school and its environment (including the DoEC). The data was collected from a sample of three IsiZulu medium case study schools, utilising focus group methodology. In each school, focus groups of Educators, School Management Team (SMTs), School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and Representative Council of Learners (RCLs) were conducted to collect data through interviews and discussions. The data collection was at the same time intended to be an intervention process. This was done through utilising action research cycles that involved a self-reflective spiral of planning, observing, reflecting and replanning. The action research cycle process helped the researcher to observe how school constituents engaged with change processes. A three-stage process of data analysis was used. The outcome was the generation of categories which eventually emerged into patterns. These patterns were used to theorise about some of the underlying causes of apparent inertia to change in these schools. The study has found that many of the apartheid legacies such as quality of educational training, passivity and dependency syndrome caused by the DoEC's instructional top down approach in education management, still exist. Educators are frustrated by the disempowering management approach of the Department. Consequently they operate in a non-productive vicious circle, with little energy for problem solving and lack of authority and influence over parents and learners. The study has also found that there is a mismatch between job requirements and personal qualities of educators. Educators, parents and learners seemed to lack knowledge, strategies and skills to apply in specific problem areas of their schools. Clashes of ideological and cultural beliefs, lack of support from parents and communication between the school and parents, make it very hard for educators to cope with the new order of educational change. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.