IRANIAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
Year:2018 | Volume:1 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:6

The work presents a comparative analysis of mobile phone use by university students from two universities, a group from Isfahan (Iran) and another from Má laga (Spain). To do this, two groups of young people (90 students from the University of Isfahan and 108 students from the University of Má laga) responded to an online survey translated to Farsi, which analyzed several items. The data indicated that the presence and use of mobile phone is very widespread among the young population. Nine students out of ten keep the mobile on forever. Although differences are observed in the use of applications, times, in the case of the students of Isfahan it seems to be used more frequently in almost all sections (social networks, informal chat, photographs, etc. ) than its equals of Spain. The results confirm the strong implantation of the mobile phone in the social life of young people but not so much as an academic or professional resource of the same.

The thesis of this paper is that while culture as it appears in the world of the early twenty-first century, is radically different than was the case in all earlier centuries; schools and education systems worldwide still reflect the templates upon which they were built in eras past, and are not aligned with the realities and exigencies of the contemporary world as regards culture. The paper traces the beginning of schools in the ancient world, and how, according to the Cohen hypothesis, schools began to foist down a uniform, dominant culture. After the creation of mass systems of public schooling, school systems have still been serving as agents of cultural hegemony. However current demographic and social trends have coincided to create increasingly diverse societies; and current political, economic and life-philosophical contextual imperatives ask for an appreciation of diversity, and in such a context, inherited school systems appear to be more and more an anachronism. How education should be reformed in view of the new exigencies, form the concluding section of the paper.

Set against the background of the Chinese government’ s commitment to universalise early childhood educational provision, this exploratory study investigated the value attributed to play and drama-based teaching and learning in ECE from the perspectives of parents, teachers and Head Teachers from Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. We applied content and statistical analyses on the search results, and the findings indicate that while parents expressed interest in less regimented and more active, play-based approaches to education in their children’ s classrooms, broader societal and philosophical influences about the purposes of education prevail, and they are concerned about their children falling behind in a highly competitive education system. Teachers and Head Teachers are similarly aware of the value of play in young children’ s development, but lack the knowledge, skills and resources to implement a play-based approach to teaching and learning in their classrooms. The implications of the modernisation project in early childhood education in China is discussed.

The educational content of the Greek language education in Egypt is drawn from the metropolitan centre (Greece) with the aim of developing a national consciousness based on a single ethnocultural identity (see Greek). Such a choice is debatable as to its feasibility and results in the sense that it contrasts with the conditions of Greek children socialization in the host country (Egypt), which are bilingual, coming from two different cultures, while their education is ethnocentric or oriented around Greece. In our research we examine the reasons that led to an education cut off from the sociocultural reality of the Greeks of the Diaspora, as well as its consequences, given that the Greek community has lost its past dynamics and it is on a declining path. The role of the Greek community has proven to be decisive in educational matters and has largely determined the educational policy of Greece, and partly of Egypt, and, on the other hand, it shaped the attitudes and behaviours of alien residents on this issue. Our analysis reveal the need for an intercultural specification of the ethnic identity in migratory environments in order for this identity to reflect the experiences and living conditions of its bodies.

Reviewing the ups and downs of English in Iran indicates that especially in the last two decades it has been a site of growing struggle between two rival sectors. The first one is the private sector which has been the main contributor to the spread of English in its international version and the second one is the public sector which has been the representative of the localized version of English. Due to the low efficacy of the public sector, the private sector, as a booming market, is playing the main role of English education. Considering the fact, the authors first aim to introduce these two rival sectors. Then, based on the available literature on the topic, it is attempted to delve into the reasons of this growing struggle. The findings indicate that the future will be a scene of continuing presence of English in the private sector in its globalized version and English in the public sector in its localized version.

The Efficacy of jigsaw-learning model on students’ academic performance in chemistry at the polytechnic level in Nigeria has not been not been adequately investigated. This study therefore investigates such effect by comparing the academic performance of higher ability, average ability and low ability students exposed to the jigsaw-learning model and those exposed to the traditional method. Two groups of students were randomly selected for the study. One group was exposed to the Jigsaw-learning model of cooperative learning (experimental group) while the other group was exposed to the traditional method (Control group). Variable investigated was effect of the strategy on academic performance of high ability, average and low abilities students. The data generated was subjected to Scheffs’ test of multiple comparisons at P≤ 0. 05 level of significance. Result obtained revealed that:  The use of jigsaw-learning model can be in tertiary institutes  It has significant effect on the academic performance of students of all ability levels.  It can be used to improve the performance of low abilities students  It is a suitable method of teaching students of heterogeneous grouping. This paper therefore recommends that chemistry teachers in polytechnics and other tertiary institutes need to have a clear understanding of the abilities level of their students to enable them tailor their teaching to meet the students’ learning abilities and need of their students.