A Comparative Study of the Value Orientations of Foreign Language Education Policies in China and the United States in the 21st Century

Since the 21 st century, both Chinese Mainland and the United States have formulated foreign language education policiesbased on their national needs. This paper makes a comparative study of the value orientations of foreign language education poli-cies in Chinese Mainland and the United States in the 21 st century and finds that both China and the United States have regardedtheir national interests as the essential value orientation of their foreign language education policies. To be specific,the core valueorientation of foreign language education policies in China is to enhance its cultural soft power.In contrast,the core value orienta-tion of foreign language education policies in the United States is to safeguard its national security. Through the comparison of thedifferent value orientations of foreign language education policies of the two countries, the paper provides some reference for the for-eign language education policy-making in Chinese Mainland.

Book Review of Developing Multilingual Education Policies:Theory,Research and Practice Edited by Michal Tannenbaum,and Elana Shohamy,London&New York:Routledge,2023,PP.208,$135.ISBN:978-0-367-61989-3(hbk)

In the book review,the author introduced the latest theoretical and practical endeavors by Isreali scholars to tackle challenges posed by multilingualism.Michal Tannenbaum and Elena Shohamy conducted a comprehensive examination of the Isreali social and educational context,setting the stage for their proposal of a new multilingual policy.The new multilingual education policy has been formulated on the basis of extensive domestic and overseas research and empirical investigation,it is expected to be offer some insights into promoting multilingualism and social justice in both Isreal and the world.

Gifted Students’Special Educational Programs in France:An Analysis of Students’Needs as Perceived by Headmasters-A Secondary Publication

Some French public middle schools offer gifted students the opportunity to pursue their education in general classes,while benefiting from specific facilities within the framework of a dedicated educational program.In this study,we sought to identify and analyze the needs of these students as perceived by the headmaster of each middle school involved.The results highlight two main student needs,common to all these programs(uneasiness and difficulties in peer relationships)as well as needs specifically mentioned by some headmasters(non-adaptive behavior).

Development of International Chinese Language Education in Iran:An Analysis in the Context of Iran’s Foreign Language Policy Characteristics

This paper focuses on examining the relevant policies concerning Chinese language education within Iran’s foreign language education policy framework from the perspective of its historical context.By analyzing the characteristics of Iran’s foreign language policy and the current situation of Chinese language teaching in Iran,this paper studies the future development of international Chinese language education in Iran.

A comparative analysis of information literacy curriculum standards in the educational programs of high schools in China and in the United States

Our study aims to take a closer look at China's current information literacy(IL) program standards at secondary schools and to analyze their level of success and/or failures in a comparative way with those of the United States in terms of fulfilling their each other's mission-oriented mandates. Our research findings show that China's current IL standards of high schools contain a disproportionate emphasis on information technology(IT). Moreover, the stipulations of these IL standards are narrowly construed and without being solidly grounded on a broad and comprehensive educational perspective. We also suggest that there are two underlying causes for this set of unsound IL standards in China.Firstly, there is a lack of collaboration between two major competing forces engaged in the curricular development and research of IL in China: Those professionals in educational IT discipline vis-à-vis those in Library and Information Science. Secondly, library professionals have a very limited influence on major socio-cultural policies, even at their own institutions. As a result, this paper recommends the following three possible measures,which may help remedy this situation strategically: 1) Establishing a set of new IL curriculum standards based on an IL-centered educational perspective; 2) establishing a teacher-librarian's training program to promote school librarians' role in IL education; and 3) strengthening the research and development of an online IL education program and an accompanied evaluation mechanism.

Reflections on Foreign Language Education Policy Reform in China Under the Background of“One Belt and One Road”Initiative

The initiative of“One Belt and One Road”is an important development strategy under the new normal economic background of China,and foreign economic development relies heavily on foreign language talents of the nation.However,the current foreign language education in China has faced problems from a shortage of compound foreign language talents,inadequacy of foreign languages offered,and imbalanced regional development.Given that the initiative has higher requirements for cultivating foreign language talents,we hold that China’s current foreign language education policy may reform from conducting theoretical studies of foreign language teaching,offering more foreign languages and enhancing professional development of teachers.Conversely,China’s foreign language talents can contribute more to the effective and smooth implementation of the“One Belt and One Road”initiative.

Native-speakerism in China:An Investigation of Foreign Language Education Policy and Learners’Attitudes

With the development of globalization,the use of English is no longer restricted to native speaker(NS)but also widely spread to non-native speaker(NNS).The importance of English learning is also acknowledged by Expanding and Outer Circle,and English as a foreign language(EFL)education plays a significant role in China’s education.Admitting the fact that non-native English teachers(NNESTs)take up a large proportion of English teachers,English language teaching(ELT)is still greatly influenced by native-speakerism.This research aims to investigate language ideologies reflected in Chinese foreign language education policy(FLEP)at higher education level,and Chinese English learners’attitudes towards native-speakerism and English teachers.A mixed method of policy analysis and survey is adopted in this research.After conducting analysing two FLEPs in higher education level,it is found that linguistic instrumentalism is the prominent language ideology,although native-speakerism and standard English ideology is implicitly demonstrated.Questionnaire is used to investigate 58 Chinese English learners’attitudes,revealing that most participants do not demonstrate bias towards either NESTs or NNESTs.Instead,the strengths and weaknesses of both NEST and NNEST are identified,though participants adhere to native-speakerism in terms of English variety.Overall,English learner’s attitudes are consistent with language ideologies in FLEPs.This research may provide implications for future studies on addressing native-speakerism in Chinese FLEPs,as well as relationship of students’attitudes and language policies.

Research on the Dynamic Relationships among Taiwan’s Early Childhood Education and Its Stakeholders: The System Dynamics Perspective

In Taiwan,the low birth rate has become one of the most critical problems faced by the government and educational institutions at all levels.The enrolling student number of kindergartens perhaps is the most directly affected by such trend.The purpose of this study aims at constructing a system dynamics model to depict the relationships between the preschool children and their stakeholders for deducing the evolutionary trends of,and the interactions of,governmental policies and the operations of the early childhood education institutions.Through the interpretation of policies and simulation analysis of the twenty-year growth trend related to the child population in Taiwan,this study found that governmental policies and the promotion of education and care services have a positive effect on the growth of all levels of kindergarten classes.Besides,the relationship between the education and care service staff and the kindergarten play a causal balancing role in our proposed model.We suggest that the system dynamics model proposed by this study can help to observe the dynamic relationships formed by the stakeholders in preschool education and care system based on the“joint responsibility”of Taiwan’s early childhood education.

“Real People” is the Core View of the Materialization of the Object of Patriotic Education

The object of patriotism education is the people,who are the creators of the spirit of patriotism and constantly add new connotations to it.Historical activities are the activities of the masses,with the deepening of historical activities,it will be the expansion of the masses.Patriotism education is an important part of ideological and political education activities,and it is the stage that cannot be crossed to realize the real community.

Contribution of International and Comparative Approach to the Policy and Practice of Teacher Education

This study intends to identify the value and pitfalls of international and comparative approach for the policy and practice of teacher education.The structure of this article proceeds as follows:the first section focuses on explaining the meaning and the values of international and comparative approach;based on previous discussions,the second section makes a more in-depth analysis of the values of international and comparative approach to teacher education from five key themes;the final section of this article proposes and interprets the drawbacks of international and comparative approach in teacher education.

What Efforts has the Chinese Government Made to Reduce Educa­tional Inequality in Poor Areas?

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949,China’s per capita education level has risen from less than two years to 9.91 years.However,as the province with the lowest per capita education level in China,Tibet has only reached the level of 6.75 years per capita.This illustrates the worrying educational inequality that still exists between China’s poorer and more developed regions.This educational inequality can also be expressed by the Gini coefficient of education.In order to eliminate this educational inequality,the Chinese government has made great efforts.The Chinese government has expanded the demand for education through the right incentive system and the nine-year compulsory education law.On the other hand,the Chinese government directly or indirectly grants subsidies to education suppliers and demanders to achieve the purpose of increasing education output.Based on the positive externality of education itself,the Chinese government attaches great importance to the cultivation of human resources for offspring,and hopes to transform China’s quantity-based demographic dividend into quality-based demographic dividend,and finally realize sustained economic growth.We believe that some education-related policies promulgated by China have indeed reduced educational inequality in poor areas to some extent,but there is still potential for progress in further addressing educational inequality in poor areas by the Chinese government.

Philanthrocapitalism and the State:Mapping the Rise of Venture Philanthropy in Public Education in Australia

Purpose:This article maps the rise of venture philanthropy in public education in Australia,exploring how policy networks mobilize high-level systemic reform and governance technologies.This is philanthrocapitalism,a fundamental shift for policy mobility and modes of redistribution.Design/Approach/Methods:Drawing upon network ethnography,I focus on a node called Social Ventures Australia(SVA),an organization committed to revolutionizing venture philanthropy in Australian education reform.SVA,the brainchild of McKinsey&Company and multinational corporations,is a useful example to map how venture philanthropy leverages resources and,in the process,fundamentally changes the shape,functionality,and form of traditional government.Findings:SVA has successfully advocated for several intermediaries,such as an evidence broker(Evidence for Learning),a national charity(Schools Plus),and a national education research institute(Australian Education Research Organisation).Overlapping philanthropy and state,the intermediaries stand as a critical assemblage and technology of governance.Originality/Value:Venture philanthropy and the way in which these networks achieve high-level systemic reform is under-researched in Australia.It stands as a critical lever of policy reform in public education.This article will scrutinize and map the way these networks mobilize reform and function as an identifiable form of economic exchange.

Determining Administrative Costs in Greek Public Administration

The purpose of this paper is to approach the administrative costs in the field of education and to answer questions such as:How are administrative costs measured and evaluated?Is it taken into account in the analysis of policy options?Administrative costs affect all areas of public education and absorb a large part of the state budget appropriations intended for education.Through the presentation of the general and specific objectives but also the European participation in the rational management of the management costs of the educational units,we lead to a holistic approach to the operational costs of the education that is part of the social costs.

Policies,Strategies,and the Evolutionary Logic of Large-Scale Teacher Training in China

Purpose:Based on a systematic review of policy documents in China related to teacher training over the past four decades,this paper identifies and analyzes the main policy shifts and strategies in terms of teacher training in China.Design/Approach/Methods:Using quantitative trend analysis,high-frequency word analysis,and content analysis,this study presents the policy changes in and reform of China's national teacher training system and elucidates the reasons for such changes.Findings:Chinese teacher training and practice reforms resonate with the paradigm shifts of international teacher training and development,particularly those based on real-world scenarios.However,innovations have also been made in response to the problems of Chinese in-service teacher training and development,such as the lack of time for teachers and the separation between learning and practice.Such innovations reflect the government's efforts to narrow the gaps between theory,policy,and practice by improving China's macro policy design.Originality/Value:This study contributes to the longitudinal study of policy shifts in teacher training in China.

Reviewof China's Online Education Policy,1999-2022

Purpose:This study traces the development of China's online education policy over the past 20 years.Design/Approach/Methods:Employing a textual research method,this study examines online education policymakers,policy content and influence,and related policies and regulations.Findings:This study identifies the starting point of China's online education policy and divides its development into four stages:namely,the pilot exploration stage(1999-2002),the standard development stage(2002-2012),the transformation stage(2012-2017),and the governance improvement stage(2017-present).Policy development reflects three characteristics:the need to meet the requirements of the times,shifting from a single management to multiple governance approach,and developing from one object for some people to one object for everyone.Current policy focuses on regulating institutions,content,and products,as well as guiding social capital to participate in online education.Originality Nalue:This study systematically analyzes the development of China's online education policies,discerns policy characteristics,and identifies current policy priorities.In doing so,this study enhances our understanding of the current status and potential needs of online education in China so as to promote its development from the perspective of education policy and governance.

STEM Education as a Concept Borrowing Issue: Perspectives of School Administrators in Turkey

Purpose:As a borrowed concept,science,technology,engineering,and mathematics(STEM)education holds limited relevance in many country contexts.This study investigates how school administrators in Turkey view STEM education from three dimensions:(a)their understanding of STEM education,(b)their experiences of STEM implementations,and(c)their perception of their roles in STEM implementation.Design/Approach/Methods:This phenomenological study analyzes the perceptions of school principals working in prominent high schools in Turkey.Findings:The findings indicate that there are gaps in STEM implementation at both the conceptual level and the school level,including epistemological issues,infrastructural gaps,mismatch with overall organizational culture,and knowledge and skill gaps.Despite efforts to integrate STEM education into educational practices,significant deficiencies are making it an unrealistic practice in Turkey.Originality/Value:While the literature on STEM education is expanding,a few empirical studies focus on school management in relation to STEM education.Arguably,despite promising to transform science and mathematics teaching,STEM education appears to have limited relevance to science and mathematics teaching in Turkeyrendering it yet another example of concept and policy borrowing in education.

Beyond Well-being: The Quest for Wholeness and Purpose in Education

Purpose:This article develops a critique of contemporary understandings and practices related to well-being in education.It proposes a fuller development of wholeness and purpose that supplements and goes beyond the new well-being agenda.Design/Approach/Methods:This article draws upon a document analysis of conceptual and policy frameworks related to well-being.It builds its critique of well-being with reference to a qualitative study consisting of 222 interviews with educators in the Canadian province of Ontario with regard to their understandings of well-being.It includes references to the research and development work in the U.S.,Germany,and Norway.Findings:The inclusion of well-being in policy agendas is an important step forward in the field of educational change,but this indication of progress is in danger of being reified through simplistic understandings of life satisfaction and other frameworks that evade the complexity of human development.Wholeness and purpose are concepts that include but also go beyond well-being that should be addressed by educators.Originality/Value:Most of the criticisms of the new well-being agenda in educational policies and research simply assume its status as a summum bonum for human development.This essay acknowledges the importance of well-being but expands beyond it to define wholeness and purpose as an alternative set of constructs with their own independent integrity that should not simply be subsumed into current well-being agendas.

Post-PISA Education Reforms in China:Policy Response Beyond the Digital Governance of PISA

Purpose:This study analyzes the Programme for International Student Assessment(PISA)data,revealing that the test itself reflects China’s educational problems as well as the resultant effect of digital governance.Examining the root cause of these problems,this study demonstrates that the education reforms implemented in response to the PISA have gone beyond digital governance.Design/Approach/Methods:This study conducts a text analysis of materials related to China’s education system,including PISA data and analytical reports published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since 2009.Findings:Reflected by PISA data,the main problems facing China’s educational sector include the overburdening of students at school,emphasis on knowledge acquisition during the teaching process,and the prevalence of extracurricular tuition.The digital governance effect triggered by PISA is highly consistent with China’s constant and excessive pursuit of efficiency,emphasis on scores,and the rate of students entering higher level schools.In the new era,China actively reflected on the disadvantages of digital governance before implementing a series of education reforms that go beyond it.Originality/Value:This study is based on China’s cultural background and the latest contexts.It examines the impact of the large-scale international assessment on China’s education governance and discusses the impact of digital governance on the education reforms in other countries.The implementation of China’s post-PISA education reforms demonstrates that different countries can implement rational education reforms based on their own cultural traditions and social realities as well as by referencing and using PISA data with care and prudence.

Education Universalization,Rural School Participation,and Population Density

In many developing countries,low population density may be a major reason for low school participation in rural areas,and the problem is likely to worsen with rapid urbanization.However,few studies have investigated empirically the role of population density in rural education,especially the moderating effect of population density on the outcomes of education policies.This study aims to fill this gap in the literature.From 1999 through the early 2000s,China launched a set of major nationwide policies aimed at universalizing 9-year compulsory education in rural areas.Using difference-in-differences and triple difference strategies,we show that the policies significantly increased the probability of junior high school enrollment of rural children and,more importantly,these policies were more effective in densely populated regions.These findings confirm the imporance of population density to rural education.

International Collaboration in Brazilian Higher Education

This paper examines the approach Brazil has taken to promote the internationalization of higher education over the last decade.Three key areas are identified:human resources development,institution building,and international partnerships.Our analyses of initiatives in these areas demonstrate that Brazil does not follow global trends such as the creation of world-class universities or the pursuit of“excellence initiatives”to help universities reach higher positions in global rankings.Instead,recent strategies for international collaboration in higher education follow variegated domestic goals that encompass the logics of foreign policy and the internal priorities of federal research and education agencies.The nature and limitations of these strategies are discussed.