Academic literature on the topic 'Public schools – Mauritius – Case studies'

This paper presents a research on work-related learning through School-work Alternance in Secondary Education that involved researchers of University of Florence, ten secondary Schools, public and private entities in the Province of Arezzo and La Spezia. From the analysis of three case studies, it elicits criteria for an educational model that integrates work-related learning with student voice perspective

AbstractIn education, the ‘Nordic model’ refers to the similarities and shared aims of the education systems developed in the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway—after World War II. Traditionally, there have always been many similarities and links between the Nordic countries through their historical connections and geographical proximity. The common experience of solidarity and political oppression during World War II also created the basis for a common political orientation in the postwar period, which was also reflected in the education systems during the development of the countries’ economies and their establishment of welfare states. At the same time, this very process has been strongly supported by social-democratic governance in these countries in the 1960s and 1970s (Blossing, Imsen, & Moos, 2014). The model is based on a concept ofEducation for All, where equity, equal opportunities and inclusion are consistently cited as the goal of schooling and orientation (Blossing et al., 2014; Telhaug, Mediås, & Aasen, 2006). This corresponds to the egalitarian idea of a classless society, which is characterised by individual democratic participation, solidarity and mutual respect and appreciation for all. This idea was manifested in, for example, major reallocations of economic resources through the tax systems and free schooling for all, which arose out of the principle that parents’ lack of economic resources should not prevent children from obtaining a good quality education. The equalisation of structural inequalities and creation of equity was—and still is—the task of the education system in the Nordic countries. Worldwide, especially within the Nordic countries, the view is being shared that the education system should be fair and provide access and opportunities for further education, regardless of where someone lives, the status of the parental home, where someone comes from, what ethnic background someone has, what age or gender someone is, what skills one has or whether someone has physical disabilities (Blossing et al., 2014; Quaiser-Pohl, 2013). Some special features of the Nordic system are therefore deeply embedded in the school culture in the countries, for example, through the fact that access to free and public local schools and adapted education is statutory, which is in contrast to many other countries, even other European ones (further developed and discussed in Chap.10.1007/978-3-030-61648-9_2). The Nordic model is widely considered a good example of educational systems that provide equal learning opportunities for all students. Achieving equity, here meaning the creation of fairness, is expressed concretely in political measures to distribute resources equally and strengthen the equality of marginalised groups by removing the barriers to seize educational opportunities, for example, when mixed-ability comprehensive schools are created or the educational system is made inclusive regarding students with special needs (UNESCO, 1994; Wiborg, 2009). Equality is roughly connoted with ‘sameness in treatment’ (Espinoza, 2007), while equity takes further in consideration also the question of how well the requirements of individual needs are met. Thus, the goal of equity is always linked to the concept of justice, provided that an equality of opportunities is created. If, however, one looks at individual educational policy decisions on the creation of educational justice in isolation, one must weigh which concept of equity or equality is present in each case. For example, it is not enough to formally grant equal rights in the education system to disadvantaged groups, but something must also be done actively to ensure that marginalised groups can use and realise this equality. The complexity of the terms becomes even greater when one considers that to achieve equality, measures can be taken that presuppose an unequal distribution of resources or unequal treatment and, therefore, are not fair e.g., when resources are bundled especially for disadvantaged groups and these are given preferential treatment (will be further developed and discussed in Chap.10.1007/978-3-030-61648-9_2). Thus, equality and equity rely on each other and are in a field of tension comprising multiple ideas (Espinoza, 2007).

Medical advances have increased the number of children who have survived and are now living with chronic medical conditions (Irwin & Elam, 2011; Singer 2012). Diseases and conditions that as recently as a decade ago were considered fatal or completely debilitating are now increasingly treated as chronic conditions. Among these are several types of cancer, HIV/AIDS, respiratory illnesses, and severe epilepsy. Increasingly, students with severe chronic conditions are educated in public schools instead of home or hospital settings. The purpose of this chapter is to present case studies of real children and families that will allow educators and others a personal glimpse into the lives of children with chronic illness and their families. Suggestions for analyzing the case studies are provided that will help teachers, administrators, and teacher educators to examine the complex issues surrounding the educational needs of children with chronic illnesses.

Medical advances have increased the number of children who have survived and are now living with chronic medical conditions (Irwin & Elam, 2011; Singer 2012). Diseases and conditions that as recently as a decade ago were considered fatal or completely debilitating are now increasingly treated as chronic conditions. Among these are several types of cancer, HIV/AIDS, respiratory illnesses, and severe epilepsy. Increasingly, students with severe chronic conditions are educated in public schools instead of home or hospital settings. The purpose of this chapter is to present case studies of real children and families that will allow educators and others a personal glimpse into the lives of children with chronic illness and their families. Suggestions for analyzing the case studies are provided that will help teachers, administrators, and teacher educators to examine the complex issues surrounding the educational needs of children with chronic illnesses.

Chapter 2 examines Malnak v. Yogi (1979), the first federal appellate case to scrutinize under the Establishment Clause meditation practices from a religion other than Christianity. Malnak found that a New Jersey elective high-school course in the Science of Creative Intelligence/Transcendental Meditation (SCI/TM) was “religious” despite being marketed as “science.” A concurring opinion by Judge Arlin Adams articulated criteria for identifying “religion.” Malnak analyzed the textbook written by Indian-born Hindu Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (c. 1918–2008) and chants used in the pūjā ceremony—which involves prayers for aid from deities, bowing, and offerings to the deified Guru Dev—where students received a secret Sanskrit mantra, identified by Maharishi as “mantras of personal gods.” Following Malnak, TM was rebranded as “TM/Quiet Time” and, although students still receive secret Sanskrit mantras in a pūjā, TM continues to be taught in public schools with funding from the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. Because Malnak identified “religion” through belief statements, subtracting the textbook and adding scientific studies deflected attention from how the practice of mantra meditation might encourage acceptance of metaphysical beliefs. The chapter argues that secularly framed programs may be more efficacious than overtly religious programs in promoting religion.

Digital participatory media offer urban social studies teachers a unique opportunity to foster students’ civic skills and public voice while enhancing their understanding of social justice within a democratic society. This case study addresses how an 8th grade U.S. history teacher in a New York urban school, when using wikis and online discussion with his students, came to realize that “what [technology] users need in order to take charge of their own online decision making is at best an art and, more often than not, a series of trial-and-error solutions” (Lankes, 2008, p. 103), while operating within two constraints identified by Bull et al (2008): “Teachers have limited models for effective integration of media in their teaching; and, only limited research is available to guide best practice” (p. 2). While using digital collaborative tools enabled students to develop collaborative and communication skills and begin to learn social justice oriented content, the teacher faced challenges related to technology integration, curricular alignment, selection of appropriate digital tools, and fostering online academic norms among students. This chapter focuses on a teacher’s three-year journey from his first day of teaching to his connecting the use of technology to relevant curricular content to promote his students’ use of online public voices for social justice.

The topic of green schools has come into the public discourse with increasing visibility in the past few years. This chapter illustrates one vision of the direction that the green schools movement is taking and the direction it will need to take to be successful. The author discusses several steps needed to follow through on the promise of better learning and teaching environments for students and school staff, from better transparency and understanding about school conditions to alignment around the strategies needed to make schools healthy, efficient, and inspiring. Using stories, case studies, and survey data, this chapter demonstrates solutions that are currently working and what may be needed to scale these efforts up by increasing public engagement in the green schools movement.

Our chapter aims to explore the challenges, advances, and perspectives of language-education technology in Brazil. Language-education is an extremely important topic for Brazil because many indigenous languages are nearing extinction due to the legacies of colonization and the fact that Portuguese, the national language of Brazil, is the only official language and thus the single most utilitarian method of communication. This issue is further complicated by Brazil's increasingly globalized economy, which, for many individuals, demands the acquisition of a foreign language in order to compete. The English language has been introduced into the curriculum of the vast majority Brazilian public schools over the course of the past few decades. Additionally, several private, for-profit English learning enterprises now have widespread services throughout the country. But rates of English (and even Portuguese) fluency still vary greatly among the population. This raises a number of critical questions that will be discussed in this work. Why is learning a new language such a challenge? Which methodologies can be utilized to increase language acquisition and build fluency? What are the new technologies that are used in teaching a second language in Brazilian schools, and how is their impact being measured? Are Brazilian teachers prepared to integrate new technologies and innovative methods of teaching and learning? Our methodology involves bibliographical research including a literature review, a case-study, and participatory research through semi-structured interviews. Our results have shown that several technologies are being implemented in Brazil, and that as a theoretical framework, educational communication has been recognized as a powerful tool to incorporate such technologies in language education. Overall, the use of learning technologies is common and growing among students, while it is increasing at a more institutional pace among teachers.

ABSTRACT Background: After families, school plays an important role in taking account of children’s health at elementary school. This is because students spend a lot of time at schools and often encountered various health problems. Studies have shown that School Health Based Centre are particularly suited to meet the children needs for proper health services. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of trias of school health center program (UKS) at Giwangan elementary school, Yogyakarta. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study with case study approach. The study was conducted