Academic literature on the topic 'Transnational curriculum'

In the last 20 years, reforms of higher education have produced a Southeast Asian higher education space. It resembles the European educational space in being a supra-national development and some scholars suggest it is inspired by Europeanization. These reforms include credit transfer, twinning, distance learning, and academic mobility programmes. But, researchers are divided about the character of these reforms. Some scholars describe these developments as ‘transnational higher education’ but others suggest that dual degree programmes, such as those between Britain and Malaysia, are ‘international’ initiatives. Is the ‘dual degree’ an international or transnational space of higher education? Using the concept of ‘curriculum making’ to understand the cultural character of dual degree programmes, this paper reports on an interview-based study of curriculum writing in Malaysia to understand the character of Malaysian–British dual degrees. The experiences of two Malaysian curriculum writers are drawn upon to explain the process of curriculum making, how discussions about content and organization of curriculum are resolved, and the complexities of these curriculum decisions. I argue that the dual degrees are neither strictly transnational nor international in character but a novel intersectional education space where ‘Europeanization’ and ‘transnational’ influences inflect historic understandings of Malaysian higher education.

In this article, the focus is on exploring the perspective of equity in curriculum. From a background of understanding curriculum as embedded in wider transnational policy movements, in this article the author suggests a framework for exploring the trajectories between equity policy and different types of curricula with implications for what counts as knowledge, drawing on the capabilities approach developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The analysis highlights the instrumental, intrinsic and positional values in terms of actual functionings, expanding the individual's set of capabilities and a pluralistic learning environment. The results suggest that the technical form of the curriculum can have determining effects on the meaning of knowledge acquisition and that the capabilities approach offers an important frame of analysis for understanding how different aspects of equity are included or excluded in curriculum.

This study examines conceptions of criticality and its instruction in the History learning environ- ment in Sweden, Russia, and Australia as evidenced in one sample upper secondary class in each country. To achieve this, data were collected at macro, micro and meso levels. At the macro level, elements of curriculum theory were used to analyse the policy framework provided to develop students’ criticality in the upper secondary History classroom and to identify the conceptions of criticality as manifested in the policy documents. At the micro level, a content-based, thematic analysis was used to examine how the teachers and student focus groups conceptualise criticality and the ways of its teaching and learning. At the meso level, the conceptions of criticality and its instruction modes identified in the policy documents and interviews were used to analyse the class- room data collected in the selected classes. The combined findings from the three levels of analysis provide a transnational account of criticality and its instruction. They suggest that criticality is conceptualised as a generic skill of questioning at the overarching curriculum level, whereas it is reconceptualised as a discipline- specific skill at the subject level. Discipline-specific conceptions include criticality as source criti- cism, as meaning making from historical evidence, as questioning historical narratives, and as educating for citizenship. The findings indicate that the visionary criticality objectives of the curricula might be obstructed at other policy levels and by the interviewees’ conceptions of criticality as well as the classroom practicalities. Based on the transnational findings, it is proposed that harmonisation between the curriculum contents and time allocation might contribute to the promotion of narrative diversity. As argued in the study, narrative diversity is a prerequisite for criticality as questioning historical narratives. To nurture this form of criticality, the policy makers might consider a shift of attention towards the lower stages of schooling that could equip upper secondary students with necessary background knowledge. Further, harmonisation between the teaching objectives and learning outcomes of basic History courses might help avoid excluding certain groups of students from receiving criticality instruction on unclear grounds. This might ensure the equity of education with regard to criticality instruction for all upper secondary students, as required in the national curricula in Sweden, Russia and Australia.
Bakgrund Att kunna vara kritisk är ett förväntat studieresultat i ämnet historia på gymnasienivå i Sverige, Ryssland och Australien. Genom att lära sig om sitt lands och världens historia i klassrummet skapar elever en nationell identitet. På historielektioner förväntas elever vara kritiska men vad det innebär kan skilja sig åt i olika utbildningskontexter. Denna avhandling syftar därför till att undersöka hur undervisning i att vara kritisk sker på historielektioner i tre gymnasieklasser: en klass i norra Sverige, en i nordvästra Ryssland och en i sydöstra Australien. Mina språkkunskaper och kontakter i länderna har möjliggjort insamling av data som annars sällan jämförs. Metoder Undersökningen är en småskalig primärstudie med fokus på enskilda aspekter inom utbildningssystemet (Ember & Ember, 2001). Den har genomförts inom de ramar för komparativa utbildningsvetenskapliga studier som föreslagits av Phillips (2006). Med utgångspunkt i den anpassade ontologiska modellen av lärmiljön (Bhaskar, 1978; Brown, 2008) och de läroplansteoretiska begreppen formuleringsarenan och realiseringsarenan (Lindensjö & Lundgren, 2014) har jag samlat in data från makro-, mikrooch mesonivå i varje land. På makronivå analyseras de nationella styrdokument som reglerar historieundervisningen på gymnasiet i Sverige, Ryssland och Australien – den avsedda läroplanen. Eftersom gymnasieutbildningen i Australien främst styrs av delstaterna analyseras även styrdokumenten för den aktuella delstaten Victoria. Dessutom tas hänsyn till en rad andra utbildningspolitiska dokument med relevans för studien, såsom kommentarer till läroplaner och kursplaner från de undersökta länderna. Analysen syftar till att identifiera skrivningar som explicit refererar till kritiska perspektiv och tolka statusen av dessa skrivningar i ett utbildningspolitiskt sammanhang. Vidare identifierar jag några ramfaktorer för historieundervisningen i allmänhet, och för undervisning i att vara kritisk i synnerhet. På mikronivå genomförde jag semi-strukturerade intervjuer med lärare och deras elever i varje utbildningskontext. Intervjuguiden testades i en pilotundersökning med lärare och en fokusgrupp med elever som läste ett högskoleförberedande program i norra Sverige. I huvudstudien intervjuade jag tre lärare, en från varje land, och 16 av deras elever. Fyra elevintervjuer genomfördes, där tre elevintervjuer skedde i fokusgrupp och en individuellt. Samtliga intervjuer spelades in och transkriberades, och utvalda delar översattes till engelska. Alla deltagande skolor har gott rykte och ligger i medelstora städer i respektive land. Lärarna i studien är behöriga i historia och har mer än 20 års undervisningserfarenhet. Eleverna var vid studiens genomförande i snitt 17 år gamla. De svenska eleverna gick ett yrkesprogram och läste den obligatoriska kursen Historia 1a1. Eleverna i Ryssland och i Australien gick de program som ger allmän behörighet till studier på högskolenivå. De ryska eleverna läste en obligatorisk historiekurs på basnivå, medan de australiensiska eleverna läste en valbar kurs i Australiens historia. Insamlad intervjudata analyserades innehållsligt. Analysen syftar till att urskilja lärares och elevers uppfattningar om vad det innebär att vara kritisk samt deras erfarenheter och upplevelser av undervisningen i att vara kritisk, något som kan sägas ingå i den erfarna och upplevda läroplanen. På mesonivå observerades 17 historielektioner. Under observationen använde jag två till fyra inspelningsapparater beroende på undervisningsmoment. Inspelningarna kompletterades med fältanteckningar enligt en observationsmall (se Appendix 20). Därefter transkriberades den största delen av inspelningarna och utvalda delar översattes till engelska. Analysen syftar till att undersöka hur undervisningen i att vara kritisk, den genomförda läroplanen, förhöll sig till den avsedda läroplanen samt den erfarna och upplevda läroplanen. Resultat Studiens resultat tyder på att det finns olika formuleringar av vad det innebär att vara kritisk beroende på vilken nivå i styrdokumenten som undersöks. På läroplansnivå uttrycks det som en generisk förmåga att kunna ifrågasätta samt att kunna föra ett resonemang genom att styrka sina påståenden och dra rimligaslutsatser. På kursplanenivå för ämnet historia uttrycks det som en ämnesspecifik förmåga att kunna kritiskt granska källor och att kunna skapa mening utifrån historiska källor. Styrdokumentanalysen identifierar följande potentiella ramfaktorer för undervisning i att vara kritisk i historieklassrummet: den kunskapsorienterade läroplanen i Ryssland, nationella prov i historia i Ryssland och Australien, kursens svårighetsgrad och avsatt lärarledd tid i Sverige och Ryssland. Intervjuanalysen visar på att lärarna och eleverna betonar vikten av att ha ett kritiskt förhållningssätt i skolan och i vardagslivet. Inom ämnet historia uttrycks det, i samtliga länder, som en förmåga att kunna ifrågasätta 167 historiska narrativ. Dessutom förknippas det kritiska förhållningssättet med medborglig bildning i Sverige och Ryssland. Analysen av klassrumsdata tyder på att lärarna undervisar i att vara kritisk på i huvudsak tre sätt. Den svenska läraren fokuserar på att fostra elever till medborgare som delar specifika värderingar, vilket syftar till att undvika upprepade tragedier som förintelsen och försäkra sig om att elever gör ”goda” val i framtiden. Den ryska läraren, som eftersträvar narrativ mångfald i historieklassrummet, ser till att det åtminstone förekommer intra-narrativ mångfald med hänsyn till ramfaktorerna. Den australiensiska läraren undervisar sina elever i att skapa mening utifrån multimodala källor och försöker bidra till narrativ mångfald. Dock kontrollerar läraren vilka alternativa narrativ som får utrymme i klassrummet. Rysk och australiensisk klassrumsdata visar prov på att motstridiga historiska narrativ kan existera i undervisningsdiskursen, medan svensk data visar på ett enda historiskt narrativ under datainsamlingsperioden. Slutsatser Studiens resultat tyder på att läroplanernas ambitiösa förväntade studieresultat för kritiskt förhållningssätt kan påverkas av formuleringar i kursplaner, av lärares och elevers uppfattningar om vad det innebär att vara kritisk samt av andra skolrelaterade omständigheter. För att bidra till elevers möjligheter att ifrågasätta historiska narrativ skulle man kunna fokusera på att förse elever med nödvändiga bakgrundskunskaper i lägre årskurser. Ett ytterligare utvecklingsområde skulle kunna vara att balansera historiekursers omfattning i förhållande till avsatt tid. Slutligen bör förväntade studieresultat för kritiskt förhållningssätt stämma överens med de instruktioner lärarna får om måluppfyllelse även i kursplaner för ”enklare” historiekurser. Detta skulle kunna leda till en mer likvärdig undervisning i att vara kritisk för alla elevgrupper, vi

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The increase in higher education provision is a process supported or performed by the governments of several countries. This phenomenon is related to the increased level of economic processes demands as well as the democratization of countries regarding schooling of the population, increasing, therefore, social participation. Furthermore, it can also be related to the increasing demand for professional qualification. The expansion of higher education, while encouraging trans-national integration processes, also contributes to the fight against regional and social inequalities. This thesis analyzes the process of integration of Information and Communication Digital Technologies (ICDT) with the curriculum. Herein, we demonstrate that this is constituted as a formative element for the development and cultural and social unity of the MERCOSUR countries. It is important to consider the need and importance of guaranteeing the right to education and its strategic role for development in Latin America. Compared to the process of educational integration, which happened in Europe by the Bologna process, it is possible to observe a similar process in South America. By conducting a literature review, bibliographic and documentary research and by conducting a PhD research at the Open University of Portugal (UAb-PT), we could observe that the process of integration of ICDT in schools and curricula has taken place in an environment marked by strong social changes and expansion of technological resources, which are available to schools and universities. With this research, we aim at evaluating a critical contextualization of the concept of technology and its penetration in social relationships, causing several changes and implementing new concepts in schools, such as digital culture, culture of innovation and education in the age of mobility. Recognizing the evidence and importance of integrating ICDT in the school context, but at the same time, doing a critical and contextualized review, it appears that the inclusion of ICDT in education - in schools or universities - will not automatically bring changes or innovations to the curriculum. With regard to the importance of establishing a common transnational curricular base, there is the need for a proposal for the collaboration among Latin American countries, ranging from a basic platform of studies, plans, practices and training for Education. This basic platform can be named transnational curriculum. This is not exactly to propose a curriculum for schools within MERCOSUR or even in Latin America, but a curriculum from which it allows to plan and operate structuring training programs, dialogue, discussion and publication for educators, managers and students from the countries. We conclude that the expansion and educational integration requires a joint work among all parties involved in the process, to strategically and democratically deal with the diverse and complex issues of the coordination of ICDT in schools and curriculum
O aumento da oferta de educação superior é um processo claramente apoiado ou realizado pelos governos de diversos países. Esse fenômeno tem a ver com o aumento do grau de exigência dos processos econômicos e de democratização dos países em busca da escolarização das populações que ascendem a níveis maiores de participação social, mas também se relaciona com a procura necessária por qualificação profissional. Realizar esta expansão da educação superior, fomentando ao mesmo tempo os processos de integração transnacionais, contribui também para o combate às desigualdades regionais. O presente trabalho analisa o processo de integração das Tecnologias Digitais da Informação e Comunicação (TDIC) ao currículo para demonstrar que este constitui-se como elemento formativo e motor para o desenvolvimento e unidade cultural e social dos países do MERCOSUL, considerando-se, sobretudo, a necessidade e a importância da garantia do direito à educação e o seu papel estratégico para o desenvolvimento no âmbito da América Latina. Como no processo de integração educacional acontecido na Europa, por intermédio do Processo de Bolonha, pode-se observar o parecido processo no âmbito da América do Sul. Por intermédio da realização de uma revisão de literatura, de pesquisas bibliográficas e documentais e mediante a realização de um estágio doutoral realizado na Universidade Aberta de Portugal (UAb-PT), pode-se observar que o processo de integração das TDIC nas escolas e nos currículos vem ocorrendo num ambiente marcado por fortes mudanças sociais e expansão dos recursos tecnológicos, estes à disposição de escolas e universidades. Procura-se realizar nessa pesquisa uma contextualização crítica acerca do conceito de tecnologia e sobre a sua penetração nas relações sociais, provocando diversas mudanças e implantando novos conceitos nas escolas, tais como cultura digital, cultura da inovação e educação na era da mobilidade. Reconhecendo a evidência e importância da integração das TDIC no contexto escolar, mas, ao mesmo tempo, lançando sobre este fenômeno um olhar crítico e contextualizado, constata-se que a inserção das TDIC na educação - nas escolas ou nas universidades - também não trarão, de forma automática, mudanças ou inovações para os currículos. No que diz respeito à importância do estabelecimento de uma base curricular transnacional comum, vê-se a necessidade de uma proposta concebida numa ampla colaboração entre os países latino-americanos, a partir de uma plataforma básica de estudos, planejamentos, práticas e formação para a Educação. A esta plataforma básica pode dar-se o nome de currículo transnacional. Não se trata, exatamente, de propor um currículo para as escolas no âmbito do MERCOSUL ou mesmo da América Latina, mas de um currículo a partir do qual se permita planejar e operar programas estruturantes de formação, diálogo, debates e publicação para educadores, gestores e alunos entre os países. Concluímos que para que se tenha expansão e integração educacional é necessário um trabalho conjunto realizado entre todas as partes envolvidas neste processo, para que sejam tratadas de maneira estratégica e democrática as diversas e complexas questões que envolvem a articulação das TDIC nas escolas e nos currículos

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 original purpose of this thesis is to explore the possibility of setting up a school in Aotearoa (New Zealand) that operates according to the principles and philosophies of Summerhill School in Suffolk, England. An examination of Summerhill School is therefore the purpose of this study, particularly because of its commitment to self-regulation and direct democracy for children. My argument within this study is that Summerhill presents precisely the type of model Māori as Tangata Whenua (Indigenous people of Aotearoa) need in our design of an alternative schooling programme, given that self-regulation and direct democracy are traits conducive to achieving Tino Rangitiratanga (Self-government, autonomy and control). In claiming this however, not only would Tangata Whenua benefit from this model of schooling; indeed it has the potential to serve the purpose of all people regardless of age race or gender. At present, no school in Aotearoa has replicated Summerhill's principles and philosophies in their entirety. Given the constraints of a Master's thesis, this piece of work is therefore only intended as a theoretical background study for a much larger kaupapa (purpose). It is my intention to produce a further and more comprehensive study in the future using Summerhill as a vehicle to initiate a model school in Aotearoa that is completely antithetical to the dominant neo-liberal philosophy of our age. To this end, my study intends to demonstrate how neo-liberal schooling is universally dictated by global money market trends, and how it is an ideology fueled by the indifferent acceptance of the general population. In other words, neo-liberal theory is a theory of capitalist colonisation. In order to address the long term vision, this project will be comprised of two major components. The first will be a study of the principal philosophies that govern Summerhill School. As I will argue, Summerhill creates an environment that is uniquely successful and fulfilling for the children who attend. At the same time, it will also be shown how it is a philosophy that is entirely contrary to a neo-liberal 3 mindset; an antidote, to a certain extent, to the ills of contemporary schooling. The second component will address the historical movement of schooling in Aotearoa since the Labour Party's landslide victory in 1984, and how the New Zealand Curriculum has been affected by these changes. I intend to trace the importation of neo-liberal methodologies into Aotearoa such as the 'Picot Taskforce,' 'Tomorrows Schools' and 'Bulk Funding,' to name but a few. The neo-liberal ideologies that have swept through this country in the last two decades have relentlessly metamorphosised departments into businesses and forced ministries into the marketplace, hence causing the 'ideological reduction of education' and confining it to the parameters of schooling. The purpose of this research project is to act as a catalyst for the ultimate materialization of an original vision; the implementation of a school like Summerhill in Aotearoa. A study of the neo-liberal ideologies that currently dominate this country is imperative in order to understand the current schooling situation in Aotearoa and create an informed comparison between the 'learning for freedom' style of Summerhill and the 'learning to earn' style of our status quo schools. It is my hope to strengthen the argument in favour of Summerhill philosophy by offering an understanding of the difference between the two completely opposing methods of learning.

The portfolio explores the construction, representation and interpretation of internationalisation at the University of South Australia (UniSA) within the broader concept of internationalisation in higher education. The research is situated within a postmodern, postcolonial world and is influenced significantly by the work of Foucault ([1972] 2003), Fairclough (1989; 1992), Said (1995 [1978]) and Cherryholmes (1988). The portfolio consists of three related research reports and a meta-analysis which both connects these individual reports and conducts further analysis of the issues and themes arising from the research. The literature reviewed in Research Report 1 describes a range of approaches to internationalisation and issues associated with its definition and implementation in universities. It is concluded that internationalisation in higher education is part of a network of constantly developing and changing discourses all of which both influence and are influenced by political, social and economic contexts and agendas. The nature of the discourse of internationalisation at UniSA and the power/knowledge relations which are embedded within and support it are the focus of the second research report which consists of a critical discourse analysis of a corpus of documents related to internationalisation and Graduate Quality #7 at UniSA. Five discourses of internationalisation at UniSA are identified and the roles associated with the primary subjects of the discourse (academic staff, Australian students and international students) are described. Significant shifts in the discursive construction of internationalisation at UniSA over time are also identified, including the tendency for the economic discourse to be viewed as dominant and the associated ideology to be naturalised. The third research report consists of ‘snapshots’ of the experience of internationalisation in different places and from different perspectives. It strives for a deeper understanding of the complexity of internationalisation at UniSA through exploration of the construction of Graduate Quality #7 (that students of UniSA will develop international perspectives as professionals and citizens) in two different cultural and educational contexts ���������������� Adelaide and Hong Kong. The research highlights the need to embed and integrate intercultural learning into the culture of UniSA – to assist all staff and all students to move into uncomfortable intercultural spaces; to learn from and with each other within those spaces; to challenge their stereotypes and prejudices and to move on from them. The three reports are drawn together in the meta-analysis which concludes that although there are signs of ideological struggle within the discourse of internationalisation, the constructions of internationalisation and its subjects and actors at UniSA and beyond are consistent with a construction of internationalisation as a neo-colonialist activity. It suggests a modified approach to internationalisation – one that challenges the stereotypes and hegemonies currently associated with it. This has implications for the focus of professional development and student services to support internationalisation at UniSA and other Australian universities.