International Journal of Sociology of Education

I Justify Myself, Therefore I am. Regimes Of Justification In Chilean Elite Universities

2021-07-12T11:06:46+02:00

Few studies focus on understanding the role of universities in the elites’ legitimation processes. This article examines how elite universities -in the context of Chilean tertiary education massification- actively create privileged statuses. Focusing on eight case studies, we examine how these universities justify their roles and existence, generating distinctions that promote highly exclusive spaces, replicating elite privilege. Through 48 semi-structured interviews, this article focuses on understanding the justification arguments employed by faculty and deans from these elite institutions. Following Boltanski’s and Thévenot’s theoretical model, the results illustrate three different justification regimes: i) arguing for their elite status within the university system; ii) justifying the role they fulfil within Chilean society; and iii) defending their existence in the social structure. These regimes combine arguments relating to social justice, efficiency and market system performance in an eclectic and pragmatic way.

Studying in a Pandemic: Analysing the Effects of Online University Teaching Using Photovoice

2023-10-12T11:13:33+02:00

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of online teaching in the context of a pandemic on the experiences of university students at the Universidad de Granada (Spain). For this purpose, the photovoice method was applied, adapted to the online context, and performing a qualitative analysis of text and image material collected. Socioeconomic, gender and geographical origin differences were addressed. A total of 99 students from three undergraduate degree courses and two different academic years participated in the research. The main results indicate that the key effects of online teaching in a pandemic have fundamentally impacted three key aspects: the structural conditions of study and work organisation strategies, the teaching-learning process, and the emotional well-being of students. The greatest difficulties have resulted from the destructuring of learning times and spaces, the lack of places and resources to study, the isolation and depersonalisation of the teaching process, the intensification of their workload, and the lack of adaptation of teaching methodologies. However, positive aspects such as learning new resources, cost savings and flexibility in learning are also highlighted.

The Non-Neutrality in Social Education: Positioning of Catalan Public Universities on Gender Violence

2023-12-12T10:35:38+01:00

Through a discursive analysis using proposals from Feminist Action-Participation Research and Communicative Methodology, the idea of neutrality and non-neutrality in Catalan public universities will be examined, generally, and in the Social Education degrees and their relationship with gender violence, specifically. It is emphasized that the supposed neutrality in social education is fictitious, as various factors such as the beliefs and values of the teaching staff, the political system, ideologies, available resources, and the country's context influence the curricular content, how it is taught, how students interpret it, and how they apply it to their lives. In this sense, the need to work towards offering a variety of perspectives and fostering critical thinking in students is proposed. Likewise, the importance of actions and awareness going hand in hand is suggested to reverse the situation and address the need to improve training to prevent gender violence.

Pedagogical Response to the Needs of Preschool Children in a Disadvantaged Situation

2024-01-16T17:50:24+01:00

The aim of this article is to analyse the pedagogical response of Croatian ECEC teachers to the needs of preschool children in a disadvantaged situation. The quality of pedagogical practise to prevent unfavourable developmental trajectories in children in a disadvantaged situation, particularly in the Croatian system, is poorly researched. A vignette describing an imaginary child in a disadvantaged situation was used and 35 preschool teachers from 15 ECEC institutions described in writing in an online application how they would support the child in his or her development. The qualitative thematic analysis was conducted according to the five components of the strengths-based approach (relationships, empowerment, collaboration, strengths and focus on change). This approach assumes that through reciprocal relationships between children, parents and teachers, previously agreed goals are achieved and personal resources, motivation and belief in the possibility of achieving sustainable change are unleashed. The results show that ECEC teachers are predominantly oriented towards individual components of the strengths-based approach (quality of relationships, focus on children's strengths), while the implementation of the entire strengths-based approach in its entirety is lacking. It is emphasised that the strengths-based approach needs to be more strongly affirmed in Croatian ECEC system so that its principles are recognisable in the pedagogical practise of all ECEC teachers.