International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 2019
The theme of the 2018 Oceania Comparative and International Society (OCIES) conference held at Vi... more The theme of the 2018 Oceania Comparative and International Society (OCIES) conference held at Victoria University of Wellington, in Wellington, New Zealand aimed to explore, celebrate, and deepen Oceanic relationalities. This special issue of the International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives responds to this call for scholarship to examine how Comparative and International Education (CIE) can be repositioned around the notion of relationality to contribute theoretically, practically, and spiritually to education at global, regional, national, and community levels. In this Special Edition, we celebrate the work of seven new and emerging researchers from OCIES. This paper introduces us as a community of scholars, connected geographically by sea, yet it is our shared commitment to relationality that has enabled us to further the scholarship of CIE within our region.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the dominant conceptualisation of quality in Afgh... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the dominant conceptualisation of quality in Afghanistan's higher education strategic planning and policies, and consider the implications a broader conceptualisation of quality might have within Afghanistan's conflict-affected context. Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on data from document analysis and semi-structured interviews, the author identifies the dominant policy conceptualisation of quality. Findings-The dominant conceptualisation of quality in Afghanistan's higher education policy documents aligns with the sector's primary policy purpose of promoting economic growth. However, quality assurance processes were developed with significant input from international actors, and replicate global norms for quality assurance. Whilst this is important for validity and legitimacy, at the same time it can be delegitimising for local stakeholders, and can limit opportunities for conceptualisations of quality which genuinely engage with the particularities of Afghanistan's broader conflict-affected social context. Research limitations/implications-Introducing conceptualisations of quality in Afghanistan's higher education policy which de-centre economic growth, and rather re-position social goals of cohesion and political sustainability as a central understanding of quality higher education, opens possibilities for the sector's contribution towards national development. Originality/value-There is limited published research into conceptualisations of quality within low-income and conflict-affected higher education contexts in general, and Afghanistan in particular. This paper intends to extend a critical conversation about the non-economic dividends a quality higher education sector can offer in such contexts.
Disaster Recovery Guidance Series, World Bank, 2019
At the national level, the role of education in promoting social cohesion, economic growth, and t... more At the national level, the role of education in promoting social cohesion, economic growth, and technological and scientific advancement cannot be underestimated. For individuals, education helps to develop the skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to lead healthy, productive, and meaningful lives. Yet, it is estimated that each year approximately 175 million children have their schooling interrupted by a disaster (Global Campaign for Education 2016; Nicolai, Hine and Wales 2016). When the education sector is poorly prepared to recover quickly from a disaster, the impact on children and young people can be severe.
This paper explores how a national higher education sector can be assembled upon a relatively nar... more This paper explores how a national higher education sector can be assembled upon a relatively narrow ideological foundation during and in the aftermath of violent conflict. It analyses the case of Afghanistan's higher education system, and argues that the violent disintegration of this system during the 1980s and 1990s created the conditions for a neoliberal reassembly and subsequent expansion of higher education from 2001. This paper draws on data gathered from document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with key policy actors. It identifies an ideological grounding in neoliberalism within higher education policies which are responsible for directing the sector's growth since 2010. I argue that this neoliberal agenda, largely driven by globalised influences, has exploited Afghanistan's conflict-affected context to position higher education primarily as a driver of economic growth, thus limiting policy emphasis on higher education's non-economic dividends. The paper concludes by critiquing the underlying assumption that this role is sufficient if higher education is to serve as a key institution in Afghanistan's ongoing national development.
Teacher education in and for uncertain times, 2018
In 2018, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) is set to introduce a... more In 2018, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) is set to introduce an assessment of Global Competence in its Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA). This assessment lays the foundation for a set of knowledge, skills, values and beliefs that the OECD considers necessary to become a globally competent citizen. Throughout this chapter, we identify and critique the intended socialising function of PISA’s Global Competence and consider its implications for Initial Teacher Education (ITE). We do this by drawing on Bernstein’s theoretical tools to engage in a critical analysis of PISA’s Global Competence framework. Our analysis reveals three key findings: (1) PISA’s Global Competence acts as a symbolic regulator of consciousness, (2) PISA’s Global Competence facilitates a new form of global pedagogic governance and (3) ITE can play an important role in either reproducing, disrupting or transforming the socialising function of PISA’s Global Competence. In conclusion, we argue that engaging with Comparative and International Education scholarship will prepare pre-service teachers to respond to the complexities and demands of an uncertain educational future within an increasingly globalised educational landscape.
Transforming education: Design and governance in global contexts, 2018
The imaginary of the modern learning environment projected by the New Zealand Ministry of Educati... more The imaginary of the modern learning environment projected by the New Zealand Ministry of Education marks a subtle yet significant departure from a previously progressivist hegemony in pedagogy formation towards an instrumentalist pedagogy. The chapter interrogates this imaginary and its projected pedagogical implications for teachers. Analysed is a recently relaunched website specifically dedicated to MLEs, ile.education.govt.nz. Lefebvre's concept of mental space is key to this analysis. Document analysis is used to argue that a critical reading exposes an underlying advocacy for placing the emphasis of pedagogic formation onto the physical environment and new technologies available to the practitioner. This amounts to de-centring the child in pedagogy formation. An instrumentalist education agenda, seated within a neoliberal philosophical approach, underpins the process of this shift to MLEs. Instrumentalism in education is sharply distinct from progressivism, which understands education as an end-in-itself. This shift occurs as a result of the apparent similarity in the meanings of certain key terms which actually operate from markedly distinct philosophical bases. By retaining much of the progressive discourse, instrumentalist pedagogic approaches are gradually altering the meaning beneath these signifiers. The de-centring of the child develops symbiotically with the adoption of an instrumentalist pedagogic identity. This chapter promotes critical debate around the fundamental drivers of pedagogic formation in an innovative and modern learning environment, and what implications this presents for a national education system.
1937 marked a pivotal point in New Zealand’s educational history. An international organisation k... more 1937 marked a pivotal point in New Zealand’s educational history. An international organisation known as the New Education Fellowship held a conference in New Zealand. Fourteen internationally renowned lecturers spoke on topics concerning the reorganisation of education in democratic societies. The New Education Fellowship delegates lectured from a pedagogical understanding that had been developed by the likes of Dewey and Nunn, and was referred to as both progressive education and new education. By the closing lecture of the conference, the idea of a new education pedagogy had been introduced and legitimised to mainstream New Zealand educators and public on a previously unprecedented scale. Through the development of a thorough understanding of this conference, a historiographical survey follows the influence this idea exerted over the following seven years as it made its way from an idea to a pedagogical orthodoxy by 1944.
International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 2019
The theme of the 2018 Oceania Comparative and International Society (OCIES) conference held at Vi... more The theme of the 2018 Oceania Comparative and International Society (OCIES) conference held at Victoria University of Wellington, in Wellington, New Zealand aimed to explore, celebrate, and deepen Oceanic relationalities. This special issue of the International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives responds to this call for scholarship to examine how Comparative and International Education (CIE) can be repositioned around the notion of relationality to contribute theoretically, practically, and spiritually to education at global, regional, national, and community levels. In this Special Edition, we celebrate the work of seven new and emerging researchers from OCIES. This paper introduces us as a community of scholars, connected geographically by sea, yet it is our shared commitment to relationality that has enabled us to further the scholarship of CIE within our region.
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the dominant conceptualisation of quality in Afgh... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the dominant conceptualisation of quality in Afghanistan's higher education strategic planning and policies, and consider the implications a broader conceptualisation of quality might have within Afghanistan's conflict-affected context. Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on data from document analysis and semi-structured interviews, the author identifies the dominant policy conceptualisation of quality. Findings-The dominant conceptualisation of quality in Afghanistan's higher education policy documents aligns with the sector's primary policy purpose of promoting economic growth. However, quality assurance processes were developed with significant input from international actors, and replicate global norms for quality assurance. Whilst this is important for validity and legitimacy, at the same time it can be delegitimising for local stakeholders, and can limit opportunities for conceptualisations of quality which genuinely engage with the particularities of Afghanistan's broader conflict-affected social context. Research limitations/implications-Introducing conceptualisations of quality in Afghanistan's higher education policy which de-centre economic growth, and rather re-position social goals of cohesion and political sustainability as a central understanding of quality higher education, opens possibilities for the sector's contribution towards national development. Originality/value-There is limited published research into conceptualisations of quality within low-income and conflict-affected higher education contexts in general, and Afghanistan in particular. This paper intends to extend a critical conversation about the non-economic dividends a quality higher education sector can offer in such contexts.
Disaster Recovery Guidance Series, World Bank, 2019
At the national level, the role of education in promoting social cohesion, economic growth, and t... more At the national level, the role of education in promoting social cohesion, economic growth, and technological and scientific advancement cannot be underestimated. For individuals, education helps to develop the skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to lead healthy, productive, and meaningful lives. Yet, it is estimated that each year approximately 175 million children have their schooling interrupted by a disaster (Global Campaign for Education 2016; Nicolai, Hine and Wales 2016). When the education sector is poorly prepared to recover quickly from a disaster, the impact on children and young people can be severe.
This paper explores how a national higher education sector can be assembled upon a relatively nar... more This paper explores how a national higher education sector can be assembled upon a relatively narrow ideological foundation during and in the aftermath of violent conflict. It analyses the case of Afghanistan's higher education system, and argues that the violent disintegration of this system during the 1980s and 1990s created the conditions for a neoliberal reassembly and subsequent expansion of higher education from 2001. This paper draws on data gathered from document analysis, and semi-structured interviews with key policy actors. It identifies an ideological grounding in neoliberalism within higher education policies which are responsible for directing the sector's growth since 2010. I argue that this neoliberal agenda, largely driven by globalised influences, has exploited Afghanistan's conflict-affected context to position higher education primarily as a driver of economic growth, thus limiting policy emphasis on higher education's non-economic dividends. The paper concludes by critiquing the underlying assumption that this role is sufficient if higher education is to serve as a key institution in Afghanistan's ongoing national development.
Teacher education in and for uncertain times, 2018
In 2018, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) is set to introduce a... more In 2018, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) is set to introduce an assessment of Global Competence in its Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA). This assessment lays the foundation for a set of knowledge, skills, values and beliefs that the OECD considers necessary to become a globally competent citizen. Throughout this chapter, we identify and critique the intended socialising function of PISA’s Global Competence and consider its implications for Initial Teacher Education (ITE). We do this by drawing on Bernstein’s theoretical tools to engage in a critical analysis of PISA’s Global Competence framework. Our analysis reveals three key findings: (1) PISA’s Global Competence acts as a symbolic regulator of consciousness, (2) PISA’s Global Competence facilitates a new form of global pedagogic governance and (3) ITE can play an important role in either reproducing, disrupting or transforming the socialising function of PISA’s Global Competence. In conclusion, we argue that engaging with Comparative and International Education scholarship will prepare pre-service teachers to respond to the complexities and demands of an uncertain educational future within an increasingly globalised educational landscape.
Transforming education: Design and governance in global contexts, 2018
The imaginary of the modern learning environment projected by the New Zealand Ministry of Educati... more The imaginary of the modern learning environment projected by the New Zealand Ministry of Education marks a subtle yet significant departure from a previously progressivist hegemony in pedagogy formation towards an instrumentalist pedagogy. The chapter interrogates this imaginary and its projected pedagogical implications for teachers. Analysed is a recently relaunched website specifically dedicated to MLEs, ile.education.govt.nz. Lefebvre's concept of mental space is key to this analysis. Document analysis is used to argue that a critical reading exposes an underlying advocacy for placing the emphasis of pedagogic formation onto the physical environment and new technologies available to the practitioner. This amounts to de-centring the child in pedagogy formation. An instrumentalist education agenda, seated within a neoliberal philosophical approach, underpins the process of this shift to MLEs. Instrumentalism in education is sharply distinct from progressivism, which understands education as an end-in-itself. This shift occurs as a result of the apparent similarity in the meanings of certain key terms which actually operate from markedly distinct philosophical bases. By retaining much of the progressive discourse, instrumentalist pedagogic approaches are gradually altering the meaning beneath these signifiers. The de-centring of the child develops symbiotically with the adoption of an instrumentalist pedagogic identity. This chapter promotes critical debate around the fundamental drivers of pedagogic formation in an innovative and modern learning environment, and what implications this presents for a national education system.
1937 marked a pivotal point in New Zealand’s educational history. An international organisation k... more 1937 marked a pivotal point in New Zealand’s educational history. An international organisation known as the New Education Fellowship held a conference in New Zealand. Fourteen internationally renowned lecturers spoke on topics concerning the reorganisation of education in democratic societies. The New Education Fellowship delegates lectured from a pedagogical understanding that had been developed by the likes of Dewey and Nunn, and was referred to as both progressive education and new education. By the closing lecture of the conference, the idea of a new education pedagogy had been introduced and legitimised to mainstream New Zealand educators and public on a previously unprecedented scale. Through the development of a thorough understanding of this conference, a historiographical survey follows the influence this idea exerted over the following seven years as it made its way from an idea to a pedagogical orthodoxy by 1944.
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Papers by Daniel Couch