Challenging The Intersection Of Policy With Pedagogy

Asking key questions about how policies and systems impact on children’s early years and rethinking the ways in which young children’s learning and development becomes integral to policy, this insightful text challenges the common misconception that policy development and pedagogical implementation are separate endeavours. Challenging the Intersection of Policy with Pedagogy explores symbiotic dynamics between policy and practice in the early years to consider the implications of policies relating to documentation, professional well-being, mentoring, the role of the family, language development and diversity. Written to provoke group discussion and extend thinking, opportunities for international comparison, points for reflection and editorial provocations will help students, educators, integrated service providers and policy makers engage critically with a variety of understandings of how policy and practice interact. Considering the role of learning environment, the practitioner, the wider community and policy, chapters are divided into four key sections which reflect major influences on practice and pedagogy: Being alongside children Those who educate Embedding families and communities Working with systems Considering diverse settings and contexts, perspectives, policies and systems, this text will enhance understanding, support self-directed learning and provoke and transform thinking at both graduate and postgraduate levels, particularly in the field of early childhood education and care.

Despite the increasing ubiquity of the term, the concept of the digital university remains diffuse and indeterminate. This book examines what the term 'digital university' should encapsulate and the resulting challenges, possibilities and implications that digital technology and practice brings to higher education. Critiquing the current state of definition of the digital university construct, the authors propose a more holistic, integrated account that acknowledges the inherent diffuseness of the concept. The authors also question the extent to which digital technologies and practices can allow us to re-think the location of universities and curricula; and how they can extend higher education as a public good within the current wider political context. Framed inside a critical pedagogy perspective, this volume debates the role of the university in fostering the learning environments, skills and capabilities needed for critical engagement, active open participation and reflection in the digital age. This pioneering volume will be of interest and value to students and scholars of digital education, as well as policy makers and practitioners.

Despite the increasing ubiquity of the term, the concept of the digital university remains diffuse and indeterminate. This book examines what the term 'digital university' should encapsulate and the resulting challenges, possibilities and implications that digital technology and practice brings to higher education. Critiquing the current state of definition of the digital university construct, the authors propose a more holistic, integrated account that acknowledges the inherent diffuseness of the concept. The authors also question the extent to which digital technologies and practices can allow us to re-think the location of universities and curricula; and how they can extend higher education as a public good within the current wider political context. Framed inside a critical pedagogy perspective, this volume debates the role of the university in fostering the learning environments, skills and capabilities needed for critical engagement, active open participation and reflection in the digital age. This pioneering volume will be of interest and value to students and scholars of digital education, as well as policy makers and practitioners.

The conceptualisation and practice of play is considered core to early childhood pedagogy. In this essential text, contributors from a range of countries and cultures explore how play might be defined, encouraged and interpreted in early childhood settings and practice. Rethinking Play as Pedagogy provides a fresh perspective of play as a purposeful pedagogy offering multi-layered opportunities for learning and development. Written to provoke group discussion and extend thinking, opportunities for international comparison, points for reflection and editorial provocations, this volume will help students engage critically with a variety of understandings of play, and diverse approaches to harnessing children’s natural propensity to play. Considering the role of the learning environment, the practitioner, the wider community, and policy, chapters are divided into four key sections which reflect major influences on practice and pedagogy: Being alongside children Those who educate Embedding families and communities Working with systems Offering in-depth discussion of diverse perceptions, potentials and practicalities of early childhood play, this text will enhance understanding, support self-directed learning, and provoke and transform thinking at both graduate and postgraduate levels, particularly in the field of early childhood education and care, for students, educators, integrated service providers and policy makers.

Aslam Fataar, one of South Africa?s few educational sociologists working with ethnographic methods, captures the complex interactions and dynamics between social life, school processes and youth subjectivity in townships in the Western Cape. His work with concepts of mobilities and space is enormously generative, providing a way for teachers, principals, communities and policy makers to engage with the ?complex ecologies? of young people?s learning in urban schools. As an astute policy analyst, he also well knows the systemic barriers in the way of achieving this. The last chapter, on possibilities for pedagogical justice at the site of the school, considers how disengaged students might re-engage through leveraging explicit pedagogic connections between their lifeworlds and school practices. Acknowledging that pedagogy cannot be the only means for revitalising schooling, the author nevertheless insists that marginalised young people?s consent needs to be won by schools that make use of, rather than ignore, their strengths, knowledges and aspirations. The approach to the troubled question of youth and subjectivity is enlightening, and vital to understanding the post-apartheid city and school. The book fills a much-needed gap in educational sociology in South Africa.

In the complex environment of education, pervasive inequities persist, hindering progress towards a just and inclusive learning environment for all. Students from diverse backgrounds face barriers that impede their educational journey, perpetuating disparities and stifling the potential for collective growth. The need for transformative change is urgent, and it is within this pressing context that Exploring Educational Equity at the Intersection of Policy and Practice emerges as a beacon of hope and a solution-oriented guide for scholars, educators, policymakers, and all stakeholders committed to dismantling these barriers. Exploring Educational Equity at the Intersection of Policy and Practice dives deep into the heart of the equity crisis, synthesizing innovative scholarship to illuminate the multifaceted challenges within the educational system. By critically examining the evolution and various dimensions of educational equity on a global scale, the book presents the intricate web of issues that require our attention. From this thorough analysis, this book propels readers toward a transformative journey, offering methodologically robust interventions and evidence-based insights. This comprehensive approach equips educators, policymakers, and researchers with the tools to navigate the complexities of promoting inclusive and empowering education.

Employing a unique generational approach, this book critically assesses social media in educational contexts across all educational levels: from primary and secondary schools to further and higher education, proposing a schema for social media literacy (SML). Using research obtained from fieldwork observations conducted in online teaching groups, surveys, and in-depth interviews with teachers and educators on the topic of social media and education, chapters interrogate the historical relationship between educator and learner, and use the frame of expert methodology to understand what educators themselves consider important about social media and education relative to their sectors. Bringing together current literature from education, learning and media technologies, along with longstanding debates around technological influence, chapters also draw on audience and communication studies, psychology and arts and humanities at a time when many different disciplines are trying to understand what social media means to our society. This interdisciplinary volume will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduates in the fields of technology in education, media literacy, and critical digital media. Practitioners involved in the sociology of education will also find the book of use.

This report highlights how clearly articulated and experienced values and attitudes can support students’ positive lifelong learning outcomes and promote a more equitable and just society. Despite the variety of values espoused in national curricula, there is an emerging trend in prioritising values that enhance well-being and learning across different countries.

Well-educated populations are important aspects of any contemporary society, as education increases national and global development and the positive expansion of communities to participate actively in civil matters also increases. Educational equality is based on the principles of administrative competence and fairness of access and distribution of resources, opportunities, and treatment, which ensures success for every person. Ensuring equal access to quality education requires addressing a wide range of persistent inequalities in society and includes a stronger focus on how different forms of inequalities intersect to produce unequal opportunities or outcomes that affect marginalized and vulnerable groups. Policy and Practice Challenges for Equality in Education takes a multifaceted look at issues of equality and inequality in education as related to policy, practice, resource access, and distribution. As such, this book explores the potential practices in education that serve to mitigate and transform unproductive practices which have left societies scarred by social and educational inequalities. The chapters provide a critical analysis of the manifestations of inequalities in various educational contexts and discerns how broader social inequalities are informed by education-related matters. This book is ideal for sociologists, administrators, instructors, policymakers, data scientists, community leaders, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in educational equality and the unique challenges being faced worldwide.

In every era, global progressive thinkers have used creativity as a means for cultural reformation and social justice in response to oppressive regimes. For example, theater, cartoons, social art, film, and other forms of representative arts have always been used as critical instigation to create agency or critical commentary on current affairs. In the education sector, teachers in schools often say one of two things: they are not creative or that they don't have the time to be creative given the curricular demands and administrative mandates that they are required to follow. Each day, educators are working to find exceptionally creative ways to engage their students with limited resources and supplies, and this becomes even more of a challenge during turbulent times. Creativity as Progressive Pedagogy: Examinations Into Culture, Performance, and Challenges primarily focuses on pedagogical creativity and culture as related to various aspects of social justice and identity. This book presents experience-based content and showcases the necessity for pedagogical creativity to give students agency and the connections between cultural sensitivity and creativity. Covering topics such as the social capital gap, digital spaces, and underprivileged students, this book is an indispensable resource for educators in both K-12 and higher education, administrators, researchers, faculty, policymakers, leaders in education, pre-service teachers, and academicians.