30 July 2013

Seeking the Educational Cure

In a recent edition of European Education: Issues and Studies, the editors presented four papers that explored the ways that European education has been exported to other regions around the world. Hoda A. Yousef's contribution to the journal is entitled "Seeking the Educational Cure: Egypt and European Education, 1805-1920s." Dr. Yousef is an assistant professor of the history of the Islamic world at Franklin and Marshall College. She is currently working on a manuscript about the centrality of Arabic literacy, education, and public displays of language to the development of modern Egypt. The following abstract accompanied her paper in European Education:

Egyptian reformers and governments, in their desire to create relevant and effective educational institutions, have often looked to Europe for inspiration. This paper examines the development of European style education in Egypt during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The desire to utilize modern methods while preserving the local character of education created institutions that straddled the line between the strictly European and Egyptian. With these compromises and negotiations, ultimately, one of the most influential legacies of European education was the belief in education as a “cure” for all the ills of modern Egyptian society.
If this gets you wondering about the issue of European education outside of Europe, or gets you interested about the journal, you can find out more about subscriptions here.

16 July 2013

New Issue Published on Eduction in Post-Soviet Ukraine

We are pleased to announce the publication of European Education Volume 45, Number 1, a special issue which takes up the question of Educational Metamorphoses in Post-Soviet Ukraine.Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine initiated a series of sweeping educational reforms aimed at successfully positioning the newly independent state within the global political and economic arena. This special issue brings together scholars and researchers to explore the broad questions about the trajectories of post-socialist transformations by critically examining the educational metamorphoses in post-Soviet Ukraine. The editors Iveta Silova and Noah W. Sobe note in their introduction that "through multiple research lenses, levels, and sites, the authors engage in a timely discussion of the major changes taking place in the educational system of the post-Soviet Ukraine and their implications for education quality and equity, focusing specifically on such areas of education reforms as the Bologna process, educational  standards, quality, access, and teacher development essential for the development of well-being of Ukrainian youth in and outside of Ukraine." The articles in this issue powerfully demonstrate the excitement and uncertainty of post-Soviet transformations. The impact these transformations have on the lives of Ukrainian teachers, students, and youth is great and this issue of European Education is a wonderful addition to the body of knowledge on this topic. If you would like to read this special issue, you can find out more about subscriptions here.

14 July 2013

Table of Contents Volume 45 Number 1 (Spring 2013)

Educational Metamorphoses in Post-Soviet Ukraine: Quo Vadis? 

Editorial Introduction
Educational Metamorphoses in Post-Soviet Ukraine: Quo Vadis? 
Iveta Silova and Noah W. Sobe

Flawed Implementation or Inconsistent Logics?
Lessons from Higher Education Reform in Ukraine
Marta A. Shaw

Teacher Collaboration in Times of Uncertainty and Societal Change
The Case Study of Post-Soviet Ukraine
Benjamin Kutsyuruba

What Are We Educating Our Youth For?
The Role of Education in the Era of Vocational Schools for "Dummies" and Diploma Mill Universities in Ukraine 
Alla Korzh

Ethnic Experience and Politics of Ethnicity in a Globalized Environment
Insights into the Perspectives and Experiences of the Ukrainian Minority Youth in Poland
Ewa Kowalski