28 August 2015

Preschool in Slovenia

In our most recent edition of European Education: Issues and Studies, Marcela Batistič Zorec of the University of Ljubljana explored the impact of introducing the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy at preschools in Slovenia. Here is the abstract of their paper, "Children’s Participation in Slovene Preschools: The Teachers’ Viewpoints and Practice" (DOI:10.1080/10564934.2015.1039878):
This article presents part of the research performed in a project from 2008 to 2013, regarding the introduction of the Reggio Emilia approach to Slovene preschool educators. The study’s aim was to recognize the possible influence of the training—from 2009 to 2011—in this project on educators’ viewpoints and the promotion of children’s participation in practice. We believe that a potential reform of the Slovene national curriculum should establish the participation of children as one of its key principles. It seems that the two-year intensive training of educators, followed by projects in preschool practice, has been a successful step in this direction.
If you would like to read the entire paper and the important voice of teachers in this area, or if you would like to read any other content from our journal, you can find out more about subscriptions at this page.

12 August 2015

Education in Spain: Assessments and Shadows

In European Education's most recent edition, two of the papers highlighted education in Spain. Laura C. Engel's paper "Steering the National: Exploring the Education Policy Uses of PISA in Spain" presents findings from a recent study of the education policy uses and impact of international large-scale assessments. The findings from her paper add to a growing body of scholarly work looking at the ways that international assessments guide education policy within national spaces.
Ariadne Runte-Geidel and Pedro Femia Marzo have written a paper examining the use of shadow education by students in Spain over a ten-year period at the turn of this century. They look specifically at the number of students that use this shadow education system and the way that it has evolved during this period. Their study helpfully contrasts the data on the use of extra classes with the socioeconomic profile of students and other indicators of social inequality.
If you would like to read the entire paper or any other content from our journal, you can find out more about subscriptions at this page.