Between-Class Ability Grouping, Cram Schooling, and Student Academic Achievement in Taiwan

Taiwan government has been executing the educational reform programs for more than two decades. However, the so-called between-class ability grouping which is prohibited by Taiwan government is still found in many places; and Taiwan＇s cram schools are even more popular and diversified than before. The authors argue that, in addition to individual＇s socio-economic background, regional characteristics and school attributes also play important roles. Bringing these two factors back in, the causal relationships among ability grouping, cram schooling, and student academic achievement can be analyzed more accurately. Using data from Taiwan Education Panel Survey, the authors＇ empirical results show that, first of all, in more urbanized area, between-class ability grouping is less popular but cram school participation is wider spread these years. Secondly, the effects of family backgrounds on students＇ cram school participation are not as critical as they were before. Thirdly, between-class ability grouping and students＇ performance are positively associated but the internal mechanism still needs further investigation.

Confucianism versus Individualism： A Cross-cultural Comparison of Nurturing and Schooling between China and the United States

family and school are two significant institutions of human society, involving two important phases, i.e., nurture and schooling. A study of how these two phases progress in China and in the United States would help us to get a glimpse of the cultural differences bctween the two countries. Whereas Confucian traditions still strongly influence present-day China, individualism prevails in American society.

Mothers’ Level of Schooling, Monitoring of Their Pregnancy and Perinatal Prognosis at the Reference Health Centre of Commune V of the District of Bamako

Introduction: The level of schooling of mothers is a determining factor in the follow-up of pregnancy and consequently the prognosis of childbirth and the quality of the newborn. Objective: The aim was to assess the impact of the level of education on the follow-up of their pregnancy and perinatal prognosis at the Reference Health Centre of Commune V of the District of Bamako. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional and analytical study aimed descriptive from August 15 to December 15, 2021. We included in this study all pregnant women who had a gestational age of at least 22 weeks of amenorrhea and who gave birth or were received in the immediate postpartum period at the maternity ward of the Reference Health Center of Commune V. Results: Out-of-school parturients accounted for 60% of cases. Among the parturients in school, 18% had a higher level. In our study, 14.3% of women in labour knew the date of the last menstrual period. In our series, 100% of mothers in higher and secondary school had completed an antenatal consultation (CPN) compared to 90.7% in the out-of-school mothers. CPN1 was performed in the first trimester of pregnancy in 21.1% among out-of-school parturients compared to 83.5% among higher-level parturients. The number of NPCs was greater than or equal to 4 in 47.9% of parturients. Conclusion: Women’s schooling has an impact on their socio-economic conditions on the one hand and on the monitoring and prognosis of pregnancies on the other.

Is China Ready for Home Schooling?

The new semester has begun in China and students have gradually returned to their schools.However,the end of the summer holiday doesn’t mean a return to school for some children as today a growing number of parents believe home schooling offers a better education.Public opinion is voicing dissatisfaction with an education system criticized as being outdated.

Systematic barriers to schooling of migrant workers’children and policy recommendations

A population of migrant workers have appearing during the process of China’s urbanization,and is an important part of the society that cannot be ignored.In the process of integration into cities,the equal development between the rights and obligations of migrant workers is gaining attention.Especially,the issure of schooling of their children has garnered a lot of attention.All problems resulting from schooling of their children are rooted in the asynchronization between system changes and social development.Systematic barriers have become the crux of schooling problem of migrant workers’children.

The three-dimensional hydrodynamics of tadpole model’s solitary swimming and parallel schooling

Tadpole swimming, including a solitary tadpole swimming and schooling side-by-side in an in-phase mode, is investigated numerically in the present paper. The three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for the unsteady incompressible viscous flow are solved. A dynamic mesh fitting the tadpole’s deforming body surface is adopted. The results showed that for a solitary tadpole swimming, two vortex rings are shed in each undulating period. However, as the resultant force on the tadpole is drag, the vortex rings are obviously asymmetric, shaped like “C”. When the resultant force in the swimming direction approaches zero, the axes of the vortex rings are nearly vertical to the swimming direction. Distorted vortex rings are found when the resultant force on the tadpole is thrust. When the tadpole model obtains the optimum propulsive efficiency, its swimming speed and undulating frequency are close to the values observed in nature. For tadpoles swimming side-by-side in an in-phase mode, the vortex structures in the wake may merge, split and recombine. Compared with a solitary tadpole swimming, only a small hydrodynamic advantage occur with schooling in parallel, which may be one of the reasons why tadpoles rarely, if ever swim, side by side for any amount of time or distance in nature. The effect of the undulating frequency on the tadpoles schooling is similar to that on a solitary tadpole. In addition, with an increase in the Reynolds number, the thrust force and the propulsive efficiency both increase, while the power consumption decreases. We also found that the tadpole benefits from the vortex pair shedding from its blunt snout, which can strengthen the vortex intensity in the wake and improve the pressure distribution.

De-schooling Well-being: Toward a Learning-Oriented Definition

Purpose:(1)Critique conventional schooling as detrimental to student well-being and learning.(2)Articulate an alternative that is more conducive to learning and well-being in classrooms,schools,and educational systems.Design/Approach/Methods:I review the historical functions of compulsory schooling,the main critiques to conventional schooling developed over the past century,emerging knowledge on the neuroscience of learning and well-being,and cases of large-scale pedagogical transformation from the Global South.Findings:I argue that conventional schooling is detrimental to well-being,that deep learning is a precursor of well-being,and that compulsory schooling is not designed to cultivate it.Well-being has to be de-schooled so that students thrive in schools:The grammar of schooling has to be replaced with the language of learning.This requires deep and widespread cultural change,and some movements of pedagogical renewal from the Global South offer important lessons on how to accomplish this.Originality/Value:Expanding the scope of existing debates about student well-being by questioning the assumption that compulsory schooling is inherently good and pointing out that unless the default culture of schooling is replaced with cultures of robust learning,student well-being efforts will simply reproduce the very problems they seek to solve.

Schoolbag as a Mirror:The Transformation of Chinese Children’s Schooling Experiences in Songs over the Past 70 Years

The practice of integrating songs into educational research is seen as an emerging phenomenon,focusing on students’existential situation from the perspective of culture.This paper explores the connections between the songs selected and children’s life experiences in different periods between the 1950s and the present.There exist numerous songs involving the theme of schoolbags over the past 70 years.In 14 typical popular songs,the cultural implications of schoolbags roughly fall into four categories,namely political,emotional,playful,and visionary,each respectively reflecting different degrees of weight captured by the song originators.Accompanied by the diversity of musical rhythms and melodies,the musical images of schoolbags may vary in terms of phenomenology and schooling culture.The nature of schoolbags in songs keeps changing,closely related to the micro-political experiences of the singers.Therefore,as a teaching resource outside the classroom,popular songs exert a greater influence on students’spiritual cultivation than formal knowledge.

Do the Recent Labor Market Changes Negatively Affect Schooling?

The Chinese labor market has transitioned from a dual labor market to a neoclassical labor market. With wages increasing for skilled workers, the impact on schooling must be considered by policy-makers. Taking advantage of national representative data for 2005 and 2010, the present paper examines the hypothesis that increasing opportunity costs reduce children＇s schooling. The empirical result is of particular relevance to poor areas, where people tend to have high discount rates and place more value on real time income. Although the total public investment in education has been increasing, our findings suggest that targeting relevant regions and compensating opportunity costs will improve the efficiency of education investments.

A survey on the democratic qualities of high school students and the schooling for democracy

Using the method of purpositive sampling,this research makes an empirical study on the relationship between the schooling for education and democratic qualities of public high school students in Beijing.The results show that the democratic qualities of the students in public high school of Beijing are better as a whole,but they are still lack of democratic knowledge and abilities,etc.The results of correlation analysis,multiple regression analysis and independent-samples T test show that there are four different kinds of relationships between the schooling for education and democratic qualities of students.Firstly,there is little distinct correlation between school reputation and democratic knowledge,attitude and abilities of students.Secondly,there is little distinct correlation between prospective achievement and democratic knowledge and attitude of students,but have a large correlation with the democratic abilities of students(P<.001).Thirdly,there is a large correlation between teaching and democratic knowledge,attitude and abilities of students(P<.001).Lastly,there is a large correlation between activities participation and democratic knowledge,attitude and abilities of students(P<.001)

Do Village Girls Gain Empowering Capabilities through Schooling and What Functionings Do They Value?

This paper explores the relationship between girls’schooling and empowerment in western China in the first decade of the 21st century.This paper adopted a capability-empowerment framework based on Sen’s capability approach into which were integrated concepts by Bourdieu,Appadurai,Nussbaum,Kabeer,and Unterhalter,to help to understand the tenacity with which village girls pursued schooling.In interviews with a group of 23 girls and young women,several valued functionings of intrinsic capability sets in the freedom dimensions of well-being and agency and their association with rising levels of school attainment were found.The girls were found to be gaining empowering capabilities through schooling,but that these were not equally distributed,neatly slicing the group into two sharply defined groups with different life paths.One set dropped out in the middle school years with a smaller set of empowerment capabilities to work in low-skilled jobs in cities,which offered them new places to change.The other set remained in school longer to achieve a larger set of empowering functionings that they converted into more substantive freedoms in a variety of settings.

Should Poor Students Have Luxury Schooling?

It is called the most beautiful Hope school in China. Located at the foot of the mountains of southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality,the primary school has a sweeping view of

Schooling the Boss

Though relatively new to China, EMBA courses are proving a hit with the country’s business leaders“I can feel growing problems in operating my company, and that’s why I decided to take the EMBA course,” said Lin Wen,

Should Experiments With Home Schooling Be Allowed?

In July this year, a controversial new school featuring traditional Chinese education, called Meng Mu Tang, came under the spotlight. Unusual in the current primary schooling in China, the private full-time school based in Shanghai differed in both teaching methods and content. "The students, aged between 4 and 12, are taught to recite Confucian classics," said Lu Liwei, one of the school's founders. "No lectures, no simple

Towards a New Model of Teacher Training in Europe

The current situation of European educational systems leads to the lack of historical precedents,considering that it implies the end of educational systems based on exclusion,configuring a new conception of educational systems that we are still not able to appreciate at their true value,because we were educated by and in the previous educational system.Lacking other references,we inevitably tend to compare current problems with previous situations,without understanding that the generalization of education to 100%of the population implies a qualitative change that modifies the objectives,forms of work,and the very essence of the educational system.This stage change,marked by the acceleration of social changes,including the pandemic situation,explains why,despite the best educational system so far,teachers with the best levels of training and a financial and material endowment unimaginable until recently,try a sense of crisis and a general feeling of confusion is manifested among the teachers and parents of the children,seeing that education is no longer what it used to be(Esteve,1998).The key to defuse this apparent paradox is in the tendency to judge the new education system by the mentality and standards of the former selective education,in which most of the adults present were educated.Thus,although we continue to apply to the new general education situation the parameters of the previous situation,in which the selective system excluded every year the students who had behavior problems in the class or had difficulties regarding the mastery of certain educational subjects(Esteve,1998).In this way,we are currently criticizing the school failure of a percentage of our students,without realizing that their schooling itself is a success,because,although their level is low,they had no level before.One speaks of a low educational level,when,in reality,the educational level is increasing—the general level of the people and the individual level of the best students(Baudelot&Establet,1990).Indeed,it is true that in our education systems there are students with a very low educational level,although even so,it is a success that they have some education because they used to be on the streets;and,in any case,the current education system produces a higher percentage of students with higher levels than the best students of the 90s.The main element of change,the most substantial transformation,is the elimination of exclusion,today having access to secondary education,alongside students with an excellent level.Thousands of children who were previously expelled from it,thus comply with the European measures of access to education for all children and young people.The previous educational system can be compared to a hospital from which the sickest were kicked out,and those who created behavioral problems were eliminated through the selective mechanisms of the system.However,teaching today is qualitatively different from what it was 20-30 years ago.First of all,because working with a homogeneous group of children as a result of the selection or dealing with all the children in a country,with social and personal problems,is not the same thing.That is why many general education teachers are social workers rather than teachers;and the new configuration of our educational systems requires secondary teachers to assume diverse educational roles rather than the traditional one of intellectual training.History cannot go backwards;to have better quality educational systems,the solution is not to return to the exclusionary system.Society asks teachers to make an effort to integrate;but,during this time,our society must support and revalue the activity of teachers in order not to put them in front of impossible tasks.The transition from a selective to a general education was based on the increase/amplification of compulsory schooling.For the first time in history,European educational systems have assumed the role of declaring secondary education compulsory.This decision implies a new stage,a definitive break from the previous reality in which secondary education was reserved for those who later attend a university.

基础教育数字化转型的国际动态研究——以日本GIGA School构想为例

教育数字化转型已成为国际热议话题,国际上各国成效显著的基础教育数字化转型政策与行动对解决我国基础教育数字化转型中的问题有借鉴意义。近年来日本通过GIGA School构想的实践正逐步实现一人一台电子终端的基础教育数字化转型。因此,尝试从日本的相关政策中解析其转型目的以及落实措施,并提出细化教育数字化转型目标、明确教育数字化转型标准、搭建转型建设体系、构建多方面政策联动系统的实践启示。

Adolescent suicide risk factors and the integration of socialemotional skills in school-based prevention programs

Adolescents are considered one of the most vulnerable groups affected by suicide.Rapid changes in adolescents’physical and mental states,as well as in their lives,significantly and undeniably increase the risk of suicide.Psychological,social,family,individual,and environmental factors are important risk factors for suicidal behavior among teenagers and may contribute to suicide risk through various direct,indirect,or combined pathways.Social-emotional learning is considered a powerful intervention measure for addressing the crisis of adolescent suicide.When deliberately cultivated,fostered,and enhanced,selfawareness,self-management,social awareness,interpersonal skills,and responsible decision-making,as the five core competencies of social-emotional learning,can be used to effectively target various risk factors for adolescent suicide and provide necessary mental and interpersonal support.Among numerous suicide intervention methods,school-based interventions based on social-emotional competence have shown great potential in preventing and addressing suicide risk factors in adolescents.The characteristics of school-based interventions based on social-emotional competence,including their appropriateness,necessity,cost-effectiveness,comprehensiveness,and effectiveness,make these interventions an important means of addressing the crisis of adolescent suicide.To further determine the potential of school-based interventions based on social-emotional competence and better address the issue of adolescent suicide,additional financial support should be provided,the combination of socialemotional learning and other suicide prevention programs within schools should be fully leveraged,and cooperation between schools and families,society,and other environments should be maximized.These efforts should be considered future research directions.

Are school uniforms associated with gender inequalities in physical activity? A pooled analysis of population-level data from 135 countries/regions

Purpose:It is aimed to assess whether school uniforms are associated with population-level gender inequalities in physical activity,and whether associations differ by school level,country/region income,and assessment method.Methods:An ecological study design was employed.We collected data about global uniform practices using an online survey.We searched for country/region-level estimates of school-aged youth meeting physical activity guidelines from international surveillance studies.Study selection was conducted in duplicate using a systematic process,and a random sample of all data was checked to ensure extraction and pooling processes were accurate.We calculated absolute and relative gender inequalities in physical activity for each country.Linear regression examined associations between country/region-level uniform practices(binary yes/no exposure variable) and country/region-level gender inequalities in physical activity guideline compliance(absolute and relative inequalities).We investigated moderation by school level,stratified analyses by income group,and repeated primary analyses using device-measured data.Results:Pooling data from 135 countries/regions(n=1,089,852),we found no association between population-level uniform practices and gender inequalities in physical activity across all ages(absolute:β=-0.2;95% confidence interval(95%CI):-1.7 to 1.3,p=0.74;relative:β=0.1;95%CI:-0.1 to 0.2,p=0.51).Subgroup analysis suggested a positive association in primary school settings(absolute:β=4.3;95%CI:-0.0 to 8.6,p=0.05).Among high-income countries,absolute inequalities were significantly greater in countries/regions with uniform practices(N=37) compared to those without(N=48)(9.1(SD=3.6) vs.7.8 percentage points(SD=4.3)).Repeating analyses using device-measured data(n=32,130;N=24) did not alter our primary finding.From initial descriptive statistics,we found that in countries/regions where a maj ority of schools(>50%) reportedly use uniforms,there was lower compliance with physical activity guidelines among all genders(median:16.0%,interquartile range:13.2%-19.9%,N=103) compared to generally non-uniform countries/regions(median:19.5%,interquartile range:16.4%-23.5 %,N=32)(z=3.04,p=0.002).(N=countries,regions and studies repre sented;n=sample size or participants included).Conclusion:School uniforms are associated with greater gender inequalities in physical activity in primary school settings and in high-income countries.Our population-level findings warrant testing using individual-level data across contexts.