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Canada Has Homework If It Wants To Be An ‘Education Superpower’

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Canadá/Agosto de 2017/Fuente:  Huffpost

Resumen:  En el artículo publicado el 2 de agosto por la BBC, «Cómo Canadá se convirtió en una superpotencia de la educación», Sean Coughlan toma los resultados de la evaluación de la última prueba PISA y concluye que Canadá es una «superpotencia de la educación». Los resultados del rendimiento de 2015 indican que Canadá ha subido al nivel más alto de los rankings internacionales y está en la posición número 10 en matemáticas, lectura y ciencia. A nivel universitario, Canadá tiene la proporción más alta del mundo de adultos en edad laboral que han pasado por la educación post-secundaria – 55 por ciento en comparación con un promedio en los países de la OCDE de 35 por ciento. Más de un tercio de los adultos jóvenes en Canadá son de familias donde ambos padres son de otro país. Los hijos de las familias migrantes recién llegadas parecen integrarse rápidamente y desempeñarse al mismo nivel que sus compañeros de clase. La variación de las calificaciones en Canadá causada por los estudiantes «favorecidos» y «desfavorecidos» era baja y las diferencias socioeconómicas en Canadá eran del 9%, frente al 20% en Francia y el 17% en Singapur.

Cherry picking a single test point and creating a generalization based on a single set of data can lead to inaccurate assessments and conclusions. In the article published on August 2 by the BBC, «How Canada became an education superpower,» Sean Coughlan takes assessment results from the latest PISA test and concludes Canada is an «education superpower.»

Coughlan uses the following reasons to give Canadian education such an honorary standing:

  • 2015 performance results indicate Canada has climbed into the top tier of international rankings and ​​​is in the top-10 position in math, reading and science.
  • At university level, Canada has the world’s highest proportion of working-age adults who have been through post-secondary education — 55 per cent compared with an average in OECD countries of 35 per cent.
  • More than a third of young adults in Canada are from families where both parents are from another country. Children of newly arrived migrant families seem to integrate quickly and perform at the same level as their classmates.
  • The variation in scores in Canada caused by «advantaged» and «disadvantaged» students was low, and that socio-economic differences in Canada was nine per cent, compared with 20 per cent in France and 17 per cent in Singapore.

Thank you for the gracious pat on the back, Mr. Coughlan and the BBC, but let’s look at more data before our Canadian school policy makers and universities believe their «achievements.»

Where other countries are systematically and carefully investing in their education, we are falling behind.

International assessment rankings

Looking at the historic data dating back to early 2000s, Canada’s performance on PISA tests is in decline. We are definitely not climbing any ranks. In PISA 2003, only two countries performed better than Canada on the combined mathematics scale. In PISA 2015, Canada ranked in the 10th position. Our students today aren’t as strong in their knowledge and problem-solving skills as those who took the test a decade earlier, and we have been outranked by more than a handful of countries during this time.

HTTP://WWW.OECD.ORG/CANADA/PISA-2015-CANADA.HTM
Source: PISA 2015

(Source: PISA 2015)

The downward trend isn’t only in our PISA scores. Two Chinese universities took giant steps forward in the 2017 Times Higher Education World University Ranking and outranked the University of British Columbia and McGill University, two of Canada’s top universities. In the midst of global competition where other countries are systematically and carefully investing in their education, we are falling behind.

Canada’s high proportion of working-age adults with post-secondary education

Pumping out post-secondary students doesn’t say much about the health of a country’s education system. Post-secondary studies are more accessible for Canadian students, as university and college tuition isn’t as astronomical as countries like the United States or the U.K. Also, our low population density and the presence of ample universities and colleges ready to accept tuition money creates an atmosphere where a larger percentage of our population gets a post-secondary education. This has led to our degrees losing their worth — even minimum-paying jobs require a post-secondary education. An exchange student commented on UBC Confessions Facebook page:

«As an exchange student at Sauder, there’s something I don’t understand. I come from a country where we have around 30-35 hours of classes a week, with essays to write and presentations to make as often as here, and where the grading system is way more harsh. However, I see more students getting overwhelmed by the amount of work here at UBC in one semester than in my three years at my home university. This semester honestly felt like holidays to me while I passed all my classes with better grades than what I’m used to.»

Canada’s high proportion of post-secondary degree holders doesn’t tell the entire story or indicate the health of our education system.

YAKOBCHUKOLENA VIA GETTY IMAGES

Quick integration of migrant children

I see that most of the time the children of new migrants are a couple of years ahead in math and science courses compared to their Canadian schoolmates. And often they come from countries where education is highly respected and valued. They have already achieved a level of mastery in learning and study skills that allows them to adapt to their new environment quickly. This is not a true indicator of the health of our education system, either.

We have a lot of work to do to stop the decline in our education.

Low performance variation in ‘advantaged’ and ‘disadvantaged’ children

It’s important to look closer into who is in the «disadvantaged» group to get a full picture of the situation. A large group that is «disadvantaged» in Canada is the children of first-generation immigrant parents who are highly educated and highly skilled, but because their training and education was from another country they struggle to find relevant work in Canada. Although their socio-economics may be low, these families place a high priority on their children’s education, giving our PISA results a false boost in equity. Canadian education equity needs a lot of work, as many of our students from a poor background or students with learning disabilities struggle and don’t receive the support they need.

Our students have a lot of potential. They want to learn. They want to create high quality work. Are our schools and universities willing to raise the bar on Canadian education and give our teachers the training and the support they need?

As much as it feels good for policy makers to have their egos stroked and be proud for their work being viewed as having some «superpower» status, we have a lot of work to do to stop the decline in our education. As long as we refuse to recognize the symptoms of our failing system and accept there is a problem, our situation will not get any better.

Fuente: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/mehrnaz-bassiri/canada-has-homework-if-it-wants-to-be-an-education-superpower_a_23062342/

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Japan Might Be What Equality in Education Looks Like

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Japón/Agosto de 2017/Fuente: The Atlantic

Resumen:  En muchos países, incluidos los Estados Unidos, los antecedentes económicos de los estudiantes a menudo determinan la calidad de la educación que reciben. Los estudiantes más ricos tienden a ir a las escuelas financiadas por altos impuestos a la propiedad, con instalaciones de primera categoría y personal que les ayudan a tener éxito. En los distritos donde viven los estudiantes más pobres, los estudiantes a menudo obtienen instalaciones de mala calidad, libros de texto obsoletos y menos consejeros de orientación. No en Japón. Según la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), un grupo de 35 países ricos, Japón ocupa un lugar destacado entre sus pares en proporcionar a sus estudiantes ricos y pobres con igualdad de oportunidades educativas: La OCDE estima que en Japón sólo alrededor del 9 por ciento De la variación en el rendimiento estudiantil se explica por los antecedentes socioeconómicos de los estudiantes. El promedio de la OCDE es del 14 por ciento, y en los Estados Unidos, del 17 por ciento. «En Japón, usted puede tener áreas pobres, pero usted no tiene escuelas pobres,»

In many countries, the United States included, students’ economic backgrounds often determine the quality of the education they receive. Richer students tend to go to schools funded by high property taxes, with top-notch facilities and staff that help them succeed. In districts where poorer students live, students often get shoddy facilities, out-of-date textbooks, and fewer guidance counselors.

Not in Japan. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of 35 wealthy countries, Japan ranks highly among its peers in providing its rich and poor students with equal educational opportunities: The OECD estimates that in Japan only about 9 percent of the variation in student performance is explained by students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. The OECD average is 14 percent, and in the United States, it’s 17 percent. “In Japan, you may have poor areas, but you don’t have poor schools,”

John Mock, an anthropologist at Temple University’s Japan campus, told me.

Perhaps as a result, fewer students in Japan struggle and drop out of school—the country’s high-school graduation rate, at 96.7 percent, is much higher than the OECD average and the high-school graduation rate in the United States, which is 83 percent. Plus, poorer children in Japan are more likely to grow up to be better off in adulthood, compared to those in countries like the U.S. and Britain (though Scandinavian countries lead in this regard). “It’s one of the few [education] systems that does well for almost any student,” Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the OECD’s work on education and skills development, told me, adding, “Disadvantage is really seen as a collective responsibility.”

For instance, in the village of Iitate, which was evacuated after being contaminated by radiation after the Fukushima nuclear-power-plant disaster in March 2011, many families still have not come back. Piles of contaminated soil, covered up, still dot the landscape, and many homes are shuttered. The local primary school has just 51 students, compared to more than 200 before the accident. Yet the quality of education given to returnees is top-notch. The government built a new school for students outside the radiation zone, in a town called Kawamata, and though the classes are still very small—first grade has only two students—the school is well staffed. In a classroom I visited, all five second-graders in the school watched a teacher demonstrate flower-arranging as three other teachers surrounded them, helping them with each step. In another, a math teacher quizzed students on odd and even numbers, and as the students split into groups to discuss a problem on the board, another teacher leaned in to help. Walking around the school, it almost seemed there were as many teachers as students.

“The quality of education is better than before March 11th [2011],” Tomohiro Kawai, a parent of a sixth-grader and the president of the school’s parent-teacher association, told me, citing the low student-teacher ratio. Many of the children who returned to the area are from single-parent families, a group prone to struggling economically; some parents moved back to Iitate because they needed help from their own parents in watching their children, according to Satoko Oowada, one of the school’s teachers. But the federal government takes pains to prevent economic hardship from affecting the quality of students’ education. It gave a grant to Iitate so that all students in the school would get free lunch, school uniforms, notebooks, pencils, and gym clothes. “Equality of education is very important for children in Iitate Village,” the school’s principal, Takehiko Yoshikawa, told me. “Everywhere, students receive the same education.”

The equity in Iitate stands in stark contrast to a place like New Orleans, which was also hit by a disaster. While Japan’s national government tried to ensure that students in the affected area got more resources after the accident, officials in New Orleans disinvested in the public educational system in their city. Public-school teachers were put on leave and dismissed, many students disappearedfrom schools’ rolls, and the New Orleans system now consists almost entirely of charter schools. (To be sure, New Orleans is something of an outlier—districts in New York and New Jersey, for example, received federal money to help deal with Hurricane Sandy’s impact on education.)

There are a number of reasons why Japan excels in providing educational opportunities. One of them is how it assigns teachers to schools. Teachers in Japan are hired not by individual schools, but by prefectures, which are roughly analogous to states. Their school assignments within the prefecture change every three years or so in the beginning of their careers, and then not quite as often later on in their careers. This means that the prefectural government can make sure the strongest teachers are assigned to the students and schools that need them the most. “There’s a lot going on to redirect the better teachers, and more precious resources, towards the more disadvantaged students,” Schleicher said.

It also means that teachers can learn from different environments. Young teachers are exposed to a series of different talented peers and learn from their methods. That’s a big contrast to some place like the United States, said Akihiko Takahashi, a onetime teacher in Japan and now an associate professor of elementary math at DePaul University’s College of Education. “Here in the U.S., the good teachers go to the good schools and stay there the whole time,” he told me.

Japan’s educational equality is also a matter of how funds are distributed. Teacher salaries are paid from both the national government and from the prefectural government, and so do not vary as much based on an area’s median household earnings (or, more often, property values). The same goes for the funding of building expenses and other fees—schools get more help from the national government than they would in the U.S. According to Takahashi, the Japanese educational system aims to benefit all students. “Their system is really carefully designed to have equal opportunity nationwide,” he said. This contrasts with the U.S. education system, he said, which he judges to raise up the best students but often leave everyone else behind.

What’s more, Japan actually spends less on education than many other developed countries, investing 3.3 percent of its GDP in education, compared to the OECD average of 4.9 percent. It spends $8,748 per student at the elementary school level, compared to the $10,959 that the United States spends. But it spends the money wisely. School buildings are not much to look at. Textbooks are simple and printed in paperback, and students and teachers are responsible for keeping schools clean. Japan also has fewer administrators on campuses—there is usually just a principal and a few vice principals, and not many others in the way of staff.

Despite the country’s relatively low spending on education, Japan’s teachers are paid more than the OECD average. And the profession has high barriers to entry: Much like the bar exam for American lawyers, Japan’s teacher entrance exams, which are administered by prefectures, are very difficult. Oowada told me she took the Fukushima Prefecture teaching exam five times before she passed it. She’s now a permanent teacher, guaranteed a pension and a job in the prefecture until age 60; she said that the year she passed, 200 people took the test, and only five passed. (Her co-teacher, Yuka Iinuma, had still not passed the test, and was working as a one-year contract teacher, moving from school to school each year. Many people who think they want to become teachers eventually give up when they can’t pass the exam, Oowada and Iinuma told me.) And even after their full certification, teachers have an incentive to perform better and better, as every three years they get reviewed for a promotion.

There are of course some downsides to being a teacher in Japan. Because they feel responsible for all students in their classes, teachers often spend lots of time outside of normal hours helping students who are falling behind. Yoshikawa, the school principal, told me of a teacher from Iitate who, when there was a gasoline shortage that prevented him from driving, rode his bike 12 miles to school each day from the evacuation zone to Kawamata, which includes an impressively hilly stretch. One teacher in Tokyo I talked to, who didn’t want her name used, said it wasn’t uncommon to work from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and said some teachers stayed until 9 at night. (There are teachers’ unions in Japan, but their power has eroded somewhat in recent years.)

Still, Japanese teachers are rewarded with a great deal of autonomy on how to improve student outcomes, Takahashi said. In a process called a “lesson study,” teachers research and design a new lesson over a set time period, and then present it to other teachers, who give feedback. Teachers also join together to identify school-wide problems, and organize themselves into teams to address those problems, sometimes writing a report or publishing a book on how to solve them, he said. “It’s not about an individual star teacher, but about teamwork,” he said.

Schleicher says that teachers’ focus on pedagogy contributes to the Japanese education system’s equality. The emphasis, he says, is not as much on absorbing content as it is on teaching students how to think. “They really focus on problem-solving, which means the ability to attack problems they had never seen before,” Takahashi said. In subjects like math, Japanese teachers encourage problem-solving and critical thinking, rather than memorization. For instance, Japanese students were explicitly taught how to solve just 54 percent of the problems on the international Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test, but received an average score of 565, according to the Lesson Study Alliance, an education nonprofit. Students in the U.S. were explicitly taught how to solve 82 percent of the problems, yet received a lower average score, 518. Ironically, some of these Japanese teaching methods came from the United States—in particular, from an American group, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which urged American teachers to change their methods throughout the 1980s. But it was Japanese teachers who listened to this advice.

Japan’s educational equality is also a matter of how funds are distributed. Teacher salaries are paid from both the national government and from the prefectural government, and so do not vary as much based on an area’s median household earnings (or, more often, property values). The same goes for the funding of building expenses and other fees—schools get more help from the national government than they would in the U.S. According to Takahashi, the Japanese educational system aims to benefit all students. “Their system is really carefully designed to have equal opportunity nationwide,” he said. This contrasts with the U.S. education system, he said, which he judges to raise up the best students but often leave everyone else behind.

What’s more, Japan actually spends less on education than many other developed countries, investing 3.3 percent of its GDP in education, compared to the OECD average of 4.9 percent. It spends $8,748 per student at the elementary school level, compared to the $10,959 that the United States spends. But it spends the money wisely. School buildings are not much to look at. Textbooks are simple and printed in paperback, and students and teachers are responsible for keeping schools clean. Japan also has fewer administrators on campuses—there is usually just a principal and a few vice principals, and not many others in the way of staff.

Despite the country’s relatively low spending on education, Japan’s teachers are paid more than the OECD average. And the profession has high barriers to entry: Much like the bar exam for American lawyers, Japan’s teacher entrance exams, which are administered by prefectures, are very difficult. Oowada told me she took the Fukushima Prefecture teaching exam five times before she passed it. She’s now a permanent teacher, guaranteed a pension and a job in the prefecture until age 60; she said that the year she passed, 200 people took the test, and only five passed. (Her co-teacher, Yuka Iinuma, had still not passed the test, and was working as a one-year contract teacher, moving from school to school each year. Many people who think they want to become teachers eventually give up when they can’t pass the exam, Oowada and Iinuma told me.) And even after their full certification, teachers have an incentive to perform better and better, as every three years they get reviewed for a promotion.

There are of course some downsides to being a teacher in Japan. Because they feel responsible for all students in their classes, teachers often spend lots of time outside of normal hours helping students who are falling behind. Yoshikawa, the school principal, told me of a teacher from Iitate who, when there was a gasoline shortage that prevented him from driving, rode his bike 12 miles to school each day from the evacuation zone to Kawamata, which includes an impressively hilly stretch. One teacher in Tokyo I talked to, who didn’t want her name used, said it wasn’t uncommon to work from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and said some teachers stayed until 9 at night. (There are teachers’ unions in Japan, but their power has eroded somewhat in recent years.)

Still, Japanese teachers are rewarded with a great deal of autonomy on how to improve student outcomes, Takahashi said. In a process called a “lesson study,” teachers research and design a new lesson over a set time period, and then present it to other teachers, who give feedback. Teachers also join together to identify school-wide problems, and organize themselves into teams to address those problems, sometimes writing a report or publishing a book on how to solve them, he said. “It’s not about an individual star teacher, but about teamwork,” he said.

Schleicher says that teachers’ focus on pedagogy contributes to the Japanese education system’s equality. The emphasis, he says, is not as much on absorbing content as it is on teaching students how to think. “They really focus on problem-solving, which means the ability to attack problems they had never seen before,” Takahashi said. In subjects like math, Japanese teachers encourage problem-solving and critical thinking, rather than memorization. For instance, Japanese students were explicitly taught how to solve just 54 percent of the problems on the international Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test, but received an average score of 565, according to the Lesson Study Alliance, an education nonprofit. Students in the U.S. were explicitly taught how to solve 82 percent of the problems, yet received a lower average score, 518. Ironically, some of these Japanese teaching methods came from the United States—in particular, from an American group, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which urged American teachers to change their methods throughout the 1980s. But it was Japanese teachers who listened to this advice.

Japan’s schools can also be extremely stressful places for students, who are sometimes bullied if they fall behind. “As long as I performed well in school, things were okay. But once I started to deviate just a little—they [parents and teachers] went to the extreme and started treating me incredibly coldly,” one student told Anne Allison, a cultural anthropologist at Duke University who has written extensively on Japan. Japanese students are also expected to belong to after-school clubs for sports or dance, which can keep them at school until 6 p.m. “When they come home, it’s already dark and all they have left to do is eat dinner, take a bath and do their home assignment and sleep,” the Tokyo teacher told me.

Despite these flaws, Japan’s educational system still sets an example for other countries to follow. That’s partly because Japan has different goals for its schools than somewhere like the United States does. “The Japanese education system tries to minimize the gap between the good students and everyone else,” Takahashi told me. That means directing more resources and better teachers to students or schools that are struggling. It also means giving teachers the freedom to work together to improve schools. This could be difficult to transplant to the United States, where education has long been managed on a local level, and where talk of sharing resources more often leads to lawsuits than it does to change. But Japan’s success is relatively recent, according to Schleicher. About 50 years ago, Japan’s schools were middling, he said. Countries can make their schools more equitable. They just need to agree that success for all students is a top priority.

Fuente: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/08/japan-equal-education-school-cost/535611/

 

 

 

 

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Sudáfrica: Gauteng Education Deals With Sexual Assault Cases

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Sudáfrica/Agosto de 2017/Fuente: All Africa

Resumen:  El Departamento de Educación de Gauteng dice que seis de 11 casos disciplinarios de agresión sexual han sido concluidos y los cinco restantes están bajo investigación. El departamento dijo el viernes que todos los educadores implicados fueron removidos de sus respectivas escuelas, mientras se finalizan sus procedimientos disciplinarios. De los seis que se han tratado, se despidieron a tres educadores, uno fue declarado no culpable, otro se ha colocado en dos meses de suspensión sin salario y otro educador ha renunciado. El departamento dijo que los estudiantes tienen acceso a servicios psicológicos proporcionados por los Equipos de Apoyo Basados en el Distrito, los cuales están vinculados con Organizaciones No Gubernamentales (ONGs) y otros departamentos gubernamentales para proveer servicios de consejería a estudiantes abusados.

The Gauteng Education Department says about six out of 11 disciplinary cases of sexual assault have been concluded, and the remaining five are under investigation.

The department on Friday said all implicated educators were removed from their respective schools, pending finalisation of their disciplinary proceedings.

Of the six that have been dealt with, about three educators were dismissed, one was found not guilty, another one has been placed on two months suspension without salary, and another educator has resigned.

The department said learners have access to psychological services provided by District Based Support Teams, which are linked with Non-government Organisations (NGOs) and other government departments to provide counselling services to abused learners.

Referrals are also done to specialist organisations such as Teddy Bear Clinic, Childline, Kidz Clinic and Child Welfare.

The department has assured the public that it has zero tolerance towards sexual harassment.

«We strongly condemn any acts of sexual misconduct in schools and always encourage learners to report such incidents to the relevant authorities at schools accordingly.

Such cases are reported to the department and upon receipt we always act immediately for appropriate action to be taken.

The department’s MEC Panyaza Lesufi said sexual assaults will never be tolerated at Gauteng schools, and warned that perpetrators will always be dealt with harshly.

«It is our responsibility to protect our children, especially a girl child. I am comforted that out of all reported cases, disciplinary steps were immediately taken and that all those found guilty were dismissed while those under investigation were removed from their respective schools pending the outcome of their disciplinary cases,» said the MEC.

According to education legislation, sexual relations between educators and learners are forbidden, even if learner/s consents to sex.

It is imperative that educators, learners and parents have a legal and ethical obligation to report such cases to the relevant authorities, for a prompt action.

«We always continue to call upon all educators to refrain from all types of misconduct because educators should lead by example to ensure that learners mirror their conduct in creating a safe school environment, conducive for effective teaching and learning at all times.

«Any transgressions will be promptly investigated and the department will deal with the perpetrators in accordance with relevant prescripts.»

Fuente: http://allafrica.com/stories/201708040729.html

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New Zealand Excellence Awards for Indian students

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Nueva Zelanda/Agosto de 2017/Fuente: Scoop

Resumen:  Treinta y un talentosos jóvenes estudiantes universitarios de la India han recibido un Premio de Excelencia 2017 de Nueva Zelanda, anunció Education New Zealand (ENZ) hoy. Los estudiantes están realizando estudios de pregrado o posgrado en Nueva Zelanda en los campos de negocios, diseño o programas relacionados con STEM (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas). El presidente ejecutivo de ENZ, Grant McPherson, dijo que India es un socio comercial, económico, político y educativo para Nueva Zelanda, con un comercio de dos vías valuado en alrededor de US $ 2.500 millones. «Estos mejores jóvenes académicos fortalecerán aún más los lazos entre nuestros dos países, contribuyendo a un intercambio más amplio de ideas en nuestras universidades, construyendo nuestras respectivas capacidades de investigación y enriqueciendo la cultura de Nueva Zelanda. «Felicito a estos estudiantes por ser seleccionados por su universidad para estos premios, y espero que tengan éxito en sus estudios y se conviertan en embajadores de por vida para Nueva Zelanda». Diecinueve de los estudiantes recibieron sus premios en persona en la cumbre anual del Consejo Empresarial de la India Nueva Zelandia (INZBC) en Auckland hoy, que se centra en oportunidades de educación y tecnología. INZBC invitó a una delegación de la India a participar en esta cumbre.

Thirty-one talented young university students from India have received a 2017 New Zealand Excellence Award, Education New Zealand (ENZ) announced today.

The students are pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate study in New Zealand in the fields of business, design or STEM related programmes (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson says India is a core trade, economic, political and education partner for New Zealand, with two-way trade valued at around $2.5 billion.

“These top young scholars will further strengthen ties between our two countries, by contributing to a broader exchange of ideas in our universities, building our respective research capabilities, and enriching New Zealand culture.

“I congratulate these students on being selected by their university for these awards, and I hope they succeed in their studies and become lifelong ambassadors for New Zealand.”

Nineteen of the students received their awards in person at the annual India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) Summit in Auckland today, which is focussed on education and technology opportunities. INZBC invited a delegation from India to take part in this summit.

The New Zealand Excellence Awards were established by New Zealand’s universities and Education New Zealand in 2016, to increase the number of talented Indian students studying in universities here. All eight of New Zealand’s universities are ranked in the top 450 in the QS world rankings.

This is the first round of the awards, and each scholarship has a value of NZD $5,000 towards the first year tuition fee. The scholarships will be awarded again in 2018, and applications are due to open on 1 September 2017.

Last year, more than 28,000 Indian students came to study in New Zealand, making India the second largest source of international students. Indian student enrolments at New Zealand universities are continuing to increase each year, reflecting a market trend towards higher level qualifications.

The full list of 2017 New Zealand Excellence Award winners has been published on the Study in New Zealand website here.

Fuente: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1708/S00014/new-zealand-excellence-awards-for-indian-students.htm

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Education in Russia

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Rusia/Agosto de 2017/Fuente: Relocate Global

Resumen: Las familias que viven en la Federación de Rusia deberán examinar cuidadosamente las opciones de educación disponibles para sus hijos. Con un gran número de escuelas internacionales y un sistema de educación que está creciendo en la reputación internacional, hay mucho para elegir. Desde el final del período soviético, el sistema de educación de Rusia ha ido de fuerza en fuerza, liderando la marcha mundial en la educación, aunque la inversión del gobierno en escuelas y educación ha aumentado en los últimos años, sin embargo, el porcentaje de gasto por estudiante sigue siendo inferior al promedio de la Organización de Cooperación y Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) pero la situación está cambiando constantemente. La OCDE informa que Rusia es uno de los cuatro países BRICS con la mayor proporción de estudiantes que realizan «progresos notables» en el nivel de educación secundaria, por lo que su sistema educativo no debe descartarse de plano.

Families making a move to the Russian Federation will need to look carefully at the education and schooling options available to their children. With a large number of international schools and an education system that is growing in international reputation, there are plenty to choose from.Since the end of the Soviet period, Russia’s education system has been going from strength to strength, leading the global march in education attainment and boasting small class sizes.Although government investment in schools and education has grown in recent years, however, the percentage of expenditure per student remains lower than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, and literacy results lag significantly behind.But the situation is constantly changing. The OECD reports that Russia is one of four BRICS countries with the highest proportion of students making “notable progress” in secondary-education attainment, so its education system should not be dismissed out of hand.

How the education system works in Russia

Compulsory education in the Russian Federation starts at the age of seven. This is quite a lot later than in most other OECD countries. For example, children in England start primary school between the ages of four and five.After primary school, the Russian education system is broadly in line with the systems of other OECD countries. What is called ‘basic general’ education follows primary school at around the age of 11, and ‘secondary general’ (or vocational) education starts at about the age of 16.Younger children have the option of attending a state-funded kindergarten. But, says Moscow-based consultancy Intermark Relocation, a past winner of the Relocate award for Relocation Service Provider of the Year, admissions to state-run kindergartens are done through government committees, which are different for each Moscow district, and there is usually a waiting list, so the earlier families apply, the better.With younger children being so open to new experiences and able to learn new languages more quickly than adults, attending a local kindergarten can be a great way for them to integrate into their local community.“My two children have had a very happy time in the Russian nursery near to where we live,” says an Intermark Relocation client. “My youngest ‘graduates’ this summer, having spent four years in the nursery. They now eat all kinds of food, know how to dress for the cold Moscow winters, and are very polite to adults. Above all, they speak Russian without an accent.”Government investment in schools has increased significantly since 2000, but remains below the OECD average, both per student and as a share of gross domestic product. In 2015, however, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which looks at the educational performance of 15-year-olds in OECD countries, reported that Russian students achieved mean scores above the OECD average in both reading and mathematics, but fell slightly below the OECD average in science.Despite a rise in the average size of primary-school classes between 2005 and 2014, class sizes in the Russian Federation remain below the OECD average – 20 pupils per class in primary school (OECD average 21) and 19 per class in lower secondary school (OECD average 23).Also of note is that 54 per cent of those aged 25–64 in the Russian Federation hold a tertiary (post-secondary) degree – 19 percentage points more than the OECD average. At 11:1, the ratio of students to teachers at the tertiary level is one of the lowest among OECD and partner countries. The OECD average is 17:1.

International schools

For those willing to immerse themselves in the Russian way of life, learn the language, and integrate into their local community, a state school is worth considering. For those on shorter assignments or with language restrictions, there are a healthy number of international schools to choose from.The country has 74 English-medium international schools, of which the majority (55) are based in Moscow. Most international schools teach in the English language and offer learning programmes ranging from the English National Curriculum to the American Programme and the full International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.The International School of Moscow (ISM), in the northwestern Krylatsky Hills area, teaches an English curriculum to students aged from two to 18. It offers a broad range of GCSE and A Level subjects, and has partnerships with all the major British examination boards.“At ISM, we pride ourselves on being truly international,” says headteacher Paul Keach. “Our students hail from over 50 nationalities. We celebrate this diversity, and take great pride in our community. International schools are often the hub of community life, especially amongst expatriate families.”Alongside the international schools in Moscow, there are a number of national schools run by the embassies, which cater for many nationalities, including French, Dutch and Japanese.

How schools can help you to settle in

Above all, relocating families need to feel confident about settling in to their new environment. “Many of our parents who relocate to Moscow are understandably concerned about adjustment and transition, not just to a new school, but to a new city,” says Paul Keach.“We understand these concerns, and work hard to ensure that parents feel welcome in our community by creating opportunities for them to meet one another, including events such as coffee mornings and parent representative meetings.Our students become familiar with Moscow as a vibrant and exciting place to live through school visits to its cultural centres, including art galleries, theatres and museums.”A final word from the children themselves, responding to questions from Intermark Relocation about their thoughts on their new life in Russia.“Moscow is a very culturally active city; there are many world-famous paintings in the galleries, performances from the renowned Russian ballet, and classical music and rock concerts. Bands like 30 Seconds to Mars and U2 have come here.“And if you’re not familiar with snow, you’ll like Moscow, because we get a lot of it!”

Fuente: https://www.relocatemagazine.com/articles/education-schools-international-guide-2017-education-in-russia

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Cuba: Hiroshima y Nagasaki, no olvidar

Noticias

Cuba/Agosto de 2017/Fuente: Cuba Debate

El crimen genocida de Hiroshima y Nagasaki, es el único bombardeo nuclear que ha conocido la humanidad. Pero la especie humana y el planeta están en riesgos permanentes mientras tales armas, multiplicadas en cantidad y poder explosivo, permanezcan en manos de unos pocos países. Se necesita un desarme nuclear completo.

El sitio Fidel soldado de las ideas quiere compartir con los lectores de Cubadebate algunos de los fragmentos de discursos relacionados con este horrendo acto de barbarie. Después de estas tragedias el mundo fue diferente, las huellas del crimen caminan aún por esos territorios.

Discurso pronunciado en el Acto Central Nacional por el XXV Aniversario del Asalto a los Cuarteles Moncada y Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Ciudad Escolar 26 de Julio, Santiago de Cuba, 26 de julio de 1978

“¿Cómo pueden hablar de derechos humanos los dirigentes de un estado cuyas agencias de inteligencia organizaron atentados contra los líderes de otros países, y cuyos ejércitos lanzaron en Viet Nam cantidades de explosivos cientos de veces equivalentes a las bombas nucleares hechas estallar sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki, y asesinaron millones de vietnamitas sin que se hayan dignado siquiera pedir excusas a unos e indemnizar a otros; de un Estado que tradicionalmente intervino en los países de América Latina y somete a los pueblos de este continente a su yugo explotador, y por cuya culpa mueren cientos de miles de niños cada año de enfermedad y hambre?”

Reflexión: “Bush lo espera todo de un zambombazo”, 25 de mayo del 2007

“No se puede estar jamás de acuerdo, en cualquier tipo de guerra, con hechos que sacrifiquen a civiles inocentes. Nadie podría justificar los ataques de la aviación alemana contra ciudades británicas en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, ni los mil bombarderos que en lo más álgido de la contienda destruían sistemáticamente ciudades alemanas, ni las dos bombas atómicas que en un acto de puro terrorismo contra ancianos, mujeres y niños Estados Unidos hizo estallar sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki.”

Reflexión: “La OTAN, gendarme mundial”, 21 de noviembre de 2010

“La OTAN, ave de rapiña empollada en las faldas del imperio yanki, dotada incluso de armas nucleares tácticas que pueden ser hasta varias veces más destructivas que la que hizo desaparecer la ciudad de Hiroshima, está comprometida por Estados Unidos en la guerra genocida de Afganistán, más compleja todavía que la aventura de Kosovo y la guerra contra Serbia, donde masacraron la ciudad de Belgrado y estuvieron a punto de sufrir un desastre si el gobierno de aquel país se hubiese mantenido firme, en vez de confiar en las instituciones de justicia europea en La Haya.”

Para conocer más sobre el ideario y la acción del líder de la Revolución Cubana, visite el sitio: Fidel Soldado de las Ideas.
Siga esta web sobre Fidel en Facebook: @FidelCastroSoldadodelasIdeas
Y en Twitter: @Fidelensusideas.

fidel-castro-hibacushis-580x386

“No se puede estar jamás de acuerdo, en cualquier tipo de guerra, con hechos que sacrifiquen a civiles inocentes”. Foto: Roberto Chile/Fidel Soldado de las Ideas.

Roberto Chile

“¿Cómo pueden hablar de derechos humanos los dirigentes de un estado cuyas agencias de inteligencia organizaron atentados contra los líderes de otros países, y cuyos ejércitos lanzaron en Viet Nam cantidades de explosivos cientos de veces? . Foto: Roberto Chile / Fidel soldado de las ideas.

Fuente: http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2017/08/06/hiroshima-y-nagasaki-no-olvidar/#.WYdR1hU1-00

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Entrevista a Carmen Pérez: “Esta es una de las agendas más radicales en la historia de Estados Unidos”

Entrevistas
Entrevista a Carmen Pérez, directora ejecutiva de Gathering for Justice
“Esta es una de las agendas más radicales en la historia de Estados Unidos”

Carmen Pérez, directora ejecutiva de Gathering for Justice y co directora de la Marcha de las Mujeres, participó en la mesa de apertura del Global Media Forum, realizado en Bonn. Pressenza aprovechó para hacerle esta entrevista, que compartimos con nuestros lectores.

P: Carmen, el mundo se sorprendió el día que tanta gente y sobre todo tantas mujeres se movilizaron en Estados Unidos. Quizás no se entendió del todo qué fue lo que hizo que esa movilización fuera tan sorprendente, multitudinaria y poderosa. ¿Cuáles fueron los procesos que estuvieron detrás de esa marcha?

CP: Mucho de lo que ustedes vieron se debió a que habíamos intentado hablar con personas y crear un punto de entrada para que la gente empiece a involucrarse. Después de la elección de Trump, nosotros nos sentíamos como si alguien se hubiera muerto en nuestro país. Era un duelo. Sentí una responsabilidad por mi comunidad, como descendiente de mexicanos. Mi mamá es nacida en México, mi papá es nacido en los Estados Unidos. Pero lo que el presidente dijo de mi familia, de nuestros hermanos que son de allá, hizo que me decida a involucrarme en la organización de esta marcha. Nos unimos con Tamika Mallory, afroamericana y Linda Sarsour, palestina-musulmana y decidimos organizarla, hacer la agenda, traer a las personas., sumar a nuestros equipos y a muchas organizaciones.

Yo trabajo en la organización Harry Belafonte, desde la cual buscamos fomentar el compromiso cívico y organizar acciones políticas. Por ello pensamos que teníamos que ser parte de la marcha de las mujeres, centrándonos en musulmanes, LGBTQIA, indocumentados, afroamericanos, derechos de las mujeres, todos estos diferentes grupos, y teniendo como base nuestros principios de la noviolencia.

Teníamos claro que no iba a ser una marcha en contra de Trump, porque uno de los seis principios de la noviolencia es atacar las fuerzas del mal, no a las personas que hacen el mal. Así que, no se trata de Trump, sino de luchar contra las instituciones que empujan el racismo, el sexismo y cualquier tipo de discriminación.

P: Tú has mencionado varias veces la importancia de poner la agenda. ¿cuál es la agenda que pusieron en esa marcha y por la que ahora están trabajando?

CP: Nosotras creamos una plataforma en la que todos se sintieran incluidos. Fue un proceso transparente y muy participativo. Esa plataforma incluye 14 puntos relacionados con género, medio ambiente, justicia criminal, derechos indígenas, comunidades LGBTQIA. Es una plataforma política interseccional. Nuestra agenda no es únicamente de mujeres, porque como mujeres, somos interseccionales también: yo soy hija de una madre mexicana nacida en California, que creció con violencia en su comunidad, estudié psicología… No somos monolíticas. La plataforma que generamos es, sin duda, una de las más radicales plataformas políticas en la historia de los Estados Unidos.

El 21 de enero estuvimos 1.2 millones de personas, aunque el permiso que nos dieron (y solamente a nosotras nos exigieron contar con un permiso para organizar la movilización), era solamente para 200 mil. Queríamos que se movilizara mucha gente de color, que marchan también los inmigrantes e indocumentados. Eran 70 organizadoras a nivel nacional, 400 coordinadoras. Esta marcha se hizo con la participación de gente de todo el mundo, con mujeres que eran voluntarias, nadie recibió un cheque para organizar esta marcha. Había cinco millones de personas participando en todo el mundo y ningún incidente violento. Ese es el poder que nosotros vemos cuando la gente, cuando las mujeres se unen para hacer algo grande.

P: Has mencionado varias veces los seis principios de la noviolencia. ¿Cuáles son esos seis principios?

CP: No los tengo todos de memoria. Hay uno que dice, “Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve our goal” (Acepta el sufrimiento sin represalias por el bien de la causa, para alcanzar nuestro objetivo). Otro principio dice, “The Universe is on the side of justice” (El universo está del lado de la justicia). Otro es: “The Beloved Community is the framework for the future” (La Comunidad querida es el marco para el futuro). La comunidad querida es aquella en la que podamos vivir en armonía, sin violencia, con nuestros niños jugando, vivir en paz.

P: ¿Cómo podemos enlazar al movimiento de las mujeres de los Estados Unidos con los movimientos sudamericanos, como por ejemplo el Movimiento Milagro Sala, por la que venimos luchando de una manera no violenta en toda Sudamérica para su liberación, o ahora en Chile con la candidata a la presidencia, Beatriz Sánchez? ¿Cómo podemos crear vínculos entre los movimientos de Estados Unidos y los Sudamericanos?

CP: Creo que en realidad es una gran pregunta. Creo que lo que hemos venido tratando de hacer en Estados Unidos es convertirnos en ese vínculo para otros países, y creo en las continuas conversaciones y diálogos y construcción de relaciones que tenemos que hacer, creo firmemente que necesitamos construir solidaridad más allá del muro de Estados Unidos, de las fronteras que se crearon antes de nosotros.

P: ¿Si alguien de ustedes pudiera venir a Sudamérica, podríamos, por ejemplo, organizar una visita a Milagro Sala en su celda, o a la campaña de Beatriz Sánchez?

C: Sí, tenemos varias organizadoras de la Marcha que están en diferentes países, así que podemos conectarlos a ustedes con uno de nuestros coordinadores. Pero también pienso que es importante para nosotras, las mujeres de los Estados Unidos, que podamos tener un intercambio cultural para construir algo más allá de las fronteras que nos han impuesto, porque nosotros no creamos las fronteras. Somos gente que fluye y más allá de dónde provengas (algunas pueden ser de Marruecos, o de otros países), creo que las conversaciones, este tipo de interacción entre una y otra, demuestra que hay un gran movimiento. Nosotras, como mujeres de color en Estados Unidos, también somos oprimidas, y la única manera en que ganaremos es creando una solidaridad estratégica entre una y otra más allá de las fronteras que nos han impuesto. Pero todo empieza con las conversaciones.

P: Carmen, ¿cómo sigue ese movimiento? ¿Cuáles son los desafíos?

CP: Por ahora, regreso a mi organización, dado que tengo muchas responsabilidades. Pero la manera de continuar es que la gente se acerque a sus vecinos, en lugar que permanecer aislados. Necesitamos hablar uno con otro, necesitamos poder hablar cruzando las fronteras con gente que cree en nuestras mismas políticas. Necesitamos construir relaciones. También necesitamos formar a las nuevas generaciones.

Hay un gran salto generacional. Me he impresionado ver a alguien como Harry Belafonte, pero también tengo un padre de 94 años de edad. Por eso es importante tener esas relaciones. Pero la manera de continuar es que a través de la Marcha hemos construido nuestro Consejo, que es nuestro brazo político de la Marcha de las Mujeres, y estamos tratando de contratar personal, porque no podemos sostener un movimiento en base a voluntarios, tenemos que pagar a personas para que hagan este trabajo, tenemos que encontrar a los mejores, y tenemos que ser estratégicos.

Tenemos que defender el espacio, cómo atraemos a más mujeres. Tenemos estas delegaciones culturales cruzadas, pero se sostendrá cuando la gente crea y se haga cargo del cambio de las políticas de sus países, y no empieza cuando tú les dices a la gente qué es lo que tiene que hacer, porque hay muchas oportunidades para la gente. La gente piensa con frecuencia que no vale la pena o no saben cómo tomar las oportunidades. Es cuando piensan que se trata de su responsabilidad personal, y yo pienso que mi responsabilidad personal fue asegurar que nuestras comunidades estuvieran presenten en la marcha, y es por ello que la marcha tuvo tanto éxito.

Fuente: http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=229168&titular=%93esta-es-una-de-las-agendas-m%E1s-radicales-en-la-historia-de-estados-unidos%94-

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