Papers by Carol Anne Spreen
The Wiley Handbook of Global Educational Reform
is a professor of International Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her work... more is a professor of International Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her work focuses on globalisation, education, and inequality. She is currently working on a book on 'Globalization, Higher Education and Uneven Development' based on research in the Andhra and Telangana region. She is also working on issues of equity
In this research project, we examine how human rights education can go beyond the symbolism and r... more In this research project, we examine how human rights education can go beyond the symbolism and rhetoric of rights and, instead, be understood in a way that critically considers the continued social, economic, and political inequalities that persist. Learning about rights should be informed by the lived experiences of those whose rights have been and continue to be violated. We
This paper will examine student achievement and teacher quality under different policy approaches... more This paper will examine student achievement and teacher quality under different policy approaches in five countries (South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Namibia) by looking at variables around teaching (goals, methods, teacher experience, training and support) and examining these in light of student performance and school capacity. Using the SACMEQ II data archive, our study compared and described at the national level how pupil characteristics and social context interact with schooling inputs and capacities (e.g. teacher characteristics, school and classroom-level inputs) to impact student performance. While more research in this area is necessary, the findings of this study help us begin to explain how teachers and schools are responding to the complex pressures of school reform particularly in developing and/or transitional societies and enable us to begin to assess whether and how policies can be designed to improve teaching and learning to facilitate democratic tra...
This chapter is part of a volume from Sense Publishers edited by Rhiannon D. Williams and Amy Lee... more This chapter is part of a volume from Sense Publishers edited by Rhiannon D. Williams and Amy Lee. The scope and complexity of global initiatives have dramatically increased at institutions of higher education (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Many colleges and universities conceptualize their programmatic and curricular responses to these calls for internationalization around global citizenship education (Deardorff, 2006; Morais & Ogden, 2011; Musil, 2006; Nussbaum, 2006). However, despite the increasing focus on internationalization in education policy and programming, neither university nor high school curricula have been sufficiently able to address how to prepare students to participate in their communities as active and engaged citizens. Moreover, there is little consensus on what “global citizenship education” actually is or should be and how students should experience it (Green, 2012), especially outside of study abroad programming (Lewin, 2010). In some ways, global citizenship education can function as a just and equitable approach to internationalizing campuses: by de-centering elitist understandings of global experiences and de-emphasizing global travel as key ways to approach cultural engagement, global citizenship education can avoid the usual critiques of study abroad and international service learning (Green, 2012; Lewin, 2009; Engle & Engle, 2003; Musil, 2006; Butin, 2010; Siaya & Hayward, 2003). Conversely, the term “global citizenship” itself is so broad as to include many competing, if not divergent definitions. For example, “global citizenship” may be defined as global activism and global reform (Schattle, 2009; Urry, 2000); global cosmopolitanism (Appiah, 2008; Schattle, 2009; Urry, 2000); global hybridity (Rhoads & Szelényi, 2011); or global management and global capitalism (Falk, 1994; Schattle, 2009; Urry, 2000). Yet, educating for global capitalism is quite different from educating for global activism (Davies, 2006). As such, it is crucial for institutions to understand the underlying assumptions of global citizenship education and to take a critical approach to global citizenship initiatives.
FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 2017
Although global initiatives have brought attention to the lack of quality in education systems wo... more Although global initiatives have brought attention to the lack of quality in education systems worldwide; the question remains, how do we implement quality education? Teachers, a vital component of the education process, are not usually included in these global conversations; this results in government initiatives missing key obstacles faced by teachers daily. In this article, we used a rights-based approach to examine the Quality Educators Initiative, specifically its curricular component, as it tries to assist teachers in northern Uganda, an area whose schools and communities are vastly under-resourced and dealing with post-conflict effects. Using a mixed-methods approach, we highlight teachers' experiences with the National Thematic Curriculum and reveal through our findings that regional contextual factors, and teachers' voices and changing roles due to these factors, must be taken into consideration when rolling out new education policies.
response from dr carol anne spreen discussion and deliberations session 2. researching teacher Pr... more response from dr carol anne spreen discussion and deliberations session 2. researching teacher Professionalism and status: the south and southern african context Promoting teacher recognition and status in southern africa transnational migration, gender and teacher status enhancing teacher Professionalism and status 1
Globalisation, Human Rights Education and Reforms, 2016
In the present paper, the researchers historicize the rise and growth of human rights education (... more In the present paper, the researchers historicize the rise and growth of human rights education (HRE) in the post-Cold War era and importantly, periodize changes in the actors involved in the implementation of HRE, their approaches to HRE programming. The researchers detail three distinct periods that demonstrate the changing nature of warfare in the post-Cold War era: from sectarian, intra-state conflict to the global war on terror. The researchers' narrative points towards possibilities for subsequent research that either asks new questions about HRE programming or explores old questions about HRE programming in new ways. Finally, the researchers explore the shift from HRE to Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and conclude by arguing for continuing and renewed emphasis and action on behalf of HRE, and examine a handful of key principles necessary for programs to realize the promise of human rights education as the new civics education for the new world order.
Perspectives in Education, Dec 1, 2012
more than most countries, the meaning of citizenship and related rights has faced severe contesta... more more than most countries, the meaning of citizenship and related rights has faced severe contestation centred on categories such as race, class and nation. Close to two decades after the first democratic elections, notions of citizenship in South Africa represent a complex dynamic involving a combination of one or another of these social constructs, as they relate at different times to changing social, political and economic imperatives. In this article we explain that analyses of citizenship education in South Africa have traversed different phases over the last two decades and discuss some of the research on how ideas and values around citizenship are translated into classroom practice. We then examine notions about citizenship and social justice in the shadow of the xenophobic or Afrophobic attacks of 2008/2009 and in the light of the present rise in racial tensions within and across communities in South Africa. Our conclusion highlights the paradox that, despite the normative framework of the Constitution, policies and the curriculum, structural inequalities in society will continue to thwart attempts at social cohesion.
As part of the University of Virginia’s (UVa) Academic Community Engagement (ACE) initiative, the... more As part of the University of Virginia’s (UVa) Academic Community Engagement (ACE) initiative, the course entitled “Useful Knowledge and Its Role in the Local and Global Community” (UK) offers UVa undergraduates, primarily first and second year students, the academic space within which to consider socially engaged scholarship. This endeavor requires a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach that introduces students to the complexities of social, cultural, and environmental contexts in which global problems are immersed. Engaged scholarship must demonstrate respect for these contextual complexities and must acknowledge that such research creates relationships that have moral and ethical implications. As part of this course, we explore how the ever-globalizing world and concurrent advancements in technologies do (and do not) change the ways that useful knowledge is produced and shared. Perhaps the most important goal of this course is to link the “reason to be at the university” wit...
Internationalizing Higher Education, 2015
The scope and complexity of global initiatives have dramatically increased at institutions of hig... more The scope and complexity of global initiatives have dramatically increased at institutions of higher education (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Many colleges and universities conceptualize their programmatic and curricular responses to these calls for internationalization around global citizenship education (Deardorff, 2006; Morais & Ogden, 2011; Musil, 2006; Nussbaum, 2006).
In recent years, the National Security Education Program (NSEP) has supported an increasing numbe... more In recent years, the National Security Education Program (NSEP) has supported an increasing number of programs for teaching languages using different technological media. This compilation of case study initiatives funded through the NSEP Institutional Grants Program presents a range of technology-based options for language programming that will help universities make more informed decisions about teaching less commonly taught languages. The seven chapters describe how different types of technologies (e.g., Web, ITV, and audio-or video-based materials) are used to support language programs, discuss identifi able trends in e-language learning, and explore how technology addresses issues of equity, diversity, and opportunity. This book offers many lessons learned and decisions made as technology changes and learning needs become more complex.
World Studies in Education, 2012
ABSTRACT In this paper we show the ways in which advocacy by progressive social movements present... more ABSTRACT In this paper we show the ways in which advocacy by progressive social movements presents new possibilities for democratic participation in policy making. We look at how formal policy making has been transformed by social movements through: i) forms of citizen participation; ii) situated knowledge production; and iii) the insertion of rights-based discourse into education policy debates. This paper reflects on the possibilities for democratic approaches in education policy-making that have emerged through collaborative research between community-based social movements and the Education Rights Project in South Africa. The discussion focuses on the strengths and possibilities of action research for transforming education.
Comparative Education Review, 2013
This article reflects on the possibilities for democratic and direct participation that have emer... more This article reflects on the possibilities for democratic and direct participation that have emerged through socially engaged research on education rights in South Africa. The Education Rights Project is located in a university-based research and advocacy center for education rights and social justice that has been working with township communities to monitor the implementation of right to education legislation. In this article we examine the ways in which rights-based participatory research combined with citizen struggle and community mobilization can contribute to new understandings of rightsbased education policy, citizen participation, and democracy.
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Papers by Carol Anne Spreen