international journal of sociology of education

International Journal of Sociology of Education

Survey the Influence of the Creativity Teaching Model on Teachers'

Knowledge, Attitude, and Teaching Skills - Afzal Sadat Hoseini.…….106

Mother Tongue Based (MTB) Classroom Instruction: The Attitudes and

Perceptions of School Community in Sidama Zone - Mebratu Mulatu

Bachore……..………………………………………………….………….........118

Equity and Professional Mobility in Higher Education and Some

Questions Concerning the EHEA from the Catalan Experience - Sandra

Fachelli & Jordi Planas…………………………………..……………….......136

Factors Affecting the Distribution of Information and Communication

Technologies in an Egyptian Public University- Nivien Zakaria

Amin…….………………….…………...........................................................167

Can Education Change Society?- Cecilia Serrano ………………….......188

Girls Behind Bars: Reclaiming Education in Transformative Spaces –

Gisela Redondo……...……...…………………………………………………190

Volume 3, Number 2

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Survey the Influence of the Creativity Teaching Model on

Teachers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Teaching Skills

Afzal Sadat Hosseini 1,

1) University of Tehran, Iran

Date of publication: June 25th, 2014

Edition period: June 2014-October 2014

To cite this article: Hosseini, A.S. (2014). Survey the Influence of the

Creativity Teaching Model on Teachers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Teaching

Skills. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(2), 106-117. doi:

10.4471/rise.2014.08

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RISE – International Journal of Sociology of Education Vol. 3 No. 2

June 2014 pp. 106-117

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.08

Survey the Influence of the Creativity Teaching Model on Teachers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Teaching Skills Afzal Sadat Hosseini

University of Tehran

(Received: 29 September 2013; Accepted: 19 May 2014; Published: 25 June 2014) Abstract

Teachers, as one of the most important training and education elements, have a key

role in nourishing creativity. The teachers attitude toward creativity, their level of

understanding of it, and also their type of attitude and teaching method have direct

relationship on enriching the class environment for students' growth of creativity.

Therefore it is necessary to help the teachers gain the attitude and skills for the

growth of the students’ capacity of creativity. In order to assess how creativity is

taught in elementary school period, 120 instructors were participating (60 instructors

in a test group and 60 instructors in a control group). The test group became

involved in "teaching of creativity" program so that the impact of the program and

training model on instructors ' knowledge, attitude, and skill would be assessed. The

results were examined through T test and showed that there is significant difference

between the two groups, the "test group" and the "control group". The results stated

the positive impact of the training period. A set of suggestions have been made for

the growth of students’ creativity based on the finding this research.

Keywords: creativity teaching, knowledge, attitude, teaching skills.


June 2014 pp. 106-117

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.08

Encuesta de la Influencia del Modelo Pedagógico Creativo en el Conocimiento, la Actitud y las Habilidades DocentesAfzal Sadat Hosseini University of Tehran

(Recibido: 29 Septiembre 2013; Aceptado: 19 Mayo 2014; Publicado: 25 Junio 2014)

Resumen

Los maestros, como uno de los elementos de formación y educación más

importantes, tienen un papel clave en nutrir la creatividad. La actitud de los

profesores hacia la creatividad, su nivel de comprensión de la misma, así como su

tipo de actitud y método de enseñanza tiene relación directa en el ambiente de la

clase para el crecimiento de la creatividad de los estudiantes. Por lo tanto, es

necesario ayudar a los maestros a obtener la actitud y las habilidades para el

crecimiento de la capacidad creativa de los estudiantes. Con el fin de evaluar la

forma en que se enseña la creatividad en el período de la escuela primaria, han

participado 120 instructores (60 instructores en un grupo de prueba y 60 instructores

en un grupo de control). El grupo de prueba se involucró en "la enseñanza de la

creatividad", programa para evaluar el impacto y el modelo de formación en el

conocimiento, la actitud y la habilidad de los instructores. Los resultados se

analizaron mediante la prueba T y mostraron que no hay diferencias significativas

entre los dos grupos. Los resultados indicaron el impacto positivo del periodo de

formación. Se realizaron un conjunto de propuestas para el crecimiento de la

creatividad en los estudiantes basadas en los hallazgos de esta investigación

Palabras clave: creatividad docente, conocimiento, actitud, habilidades docentes

108 Hosseini – Creativity Teaching Model

reativity is a fashionable notion of contemporary discourses that

is frequently used in educational contents and contexts

(Karwowski et al., 2007). Nevertheless, based on many

researchers, creativity is a vague term and we have some difficulties when

required to put its meaning into words (Sawyer, 2006). The term creativity

as used in everyday life and in academic fields refers to the process, person,

product, or context, and has many definitions. However, creativity

researchers agree that creativity is a process that leads to an outcome that is

novel, original, and unconventional and is accepted as appropriate, valuable,

and useful. (Kampylis and et. al., 2009)

It is clear that many of human achievements and advancements and due

to his/her ability to think creatively. Therefore it is obvious that to pay

attention to these subjects and to create the grounds for its development and

nurturing is very important. School one plat has a fundamental role in the

development and expansion of creativity and in contrast damaging and

destroying it in the society. The curriculum, the educational content, and the

creativity in such programs and educations are influenced by the teachers,

principles, other employees, as well as the educational atmosphere and

facilities. Through this, the teacher's role however is a multifaceted direct

influence in this area.

Researches show that teachers are generally not successful in a variety of

fields related to creativity, inability to identify the creative students

(Torrance 1968; Renzulli, 1993), lesser attention, encouragement, and

approval of creative students (Gatzeles & Jackson, 1962; Gallagher, 1985),

not showing proper attitude toward creativity (Hosseini, 1999), and not

taking advantage of creative teaching methods (Croply, 2000). These points

make the necessity for conducting educational programs for teachers

obvious. The program would work for creating the proper awareness, skill,

and attitude.

Research Background

The Limitations of Creativity in Education

Based on Craft (2003), there are four limits to creativity in education: The limitation of terminology. There are considerable distinction

C

RISE – International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(2) 109

between creative teaching and teaching for creativity. Conflicts in policy and practice. Although creativity is encouraged

in the classroom, the means by which creativity and other educational

goals are achieved extremely limit teachers. Another limitation to

creativity is the discontinuities in the curriculum. Limitations in curriculum organization. Creativity is dependant to

the curriculum and is not subject-specific. Limitations stemming from centrally-controlled pedagogy. The

fostering of creativity is extremely relevant to the pedagogical

limitations.

Torrance (1965) showed that teachers are not usually familiar with

creativity and even avoid it. Although the teachers generally value creativity,

they have negative attitudes and cannot tolerate behaviors and attributes

associated with creativity. Therefore, some teachers may follow “inhibiting practices” (Alencar, 2002) for the expression of students’ creativity. According to Alencar (2002), the term “inhibiting practices” incorporates the

following:

(i)emphasis on the correct response, reinforcing the fear of failure,

(ii) exaggerated emphasis on reproduction of knowledge,

(iii) low expectations about the students’ creative potential, (iv) emphasis on the students’ obedience and passivity, and (v) Little emphasis on fantasy and imagination.

Furthermore, teachers have a narrow and cliché view of creativity and

stress the lack of attention to creativity in teachers’ education. (Kampylis et

al. 2009)

Beghetto (2007) believes that unfortunately, in many classroom

discussions, some teachers do not well receive novel ideas. Indeed, such

ideas often are rejected by teachers, because novel ideas are unexpected

ones.

He continues that creativity requires a combination of uniqueness and

relevance, but too much emphasis on relevance can make some problem. For

instance, students’ creativity might be neglected if too much emphasis is placed on whether novel ideas have relevance.

This claim does not mean that students should never be taught how to

balance originality with relevance. Actually, providing students with

informative feedback make them determine how and when to appropriately


express their ideas and it is a key aspect of creativity enhancement

(Beghetto, 2007). However, if teachers place too much emphasis on

relevance and avoiding mistakes, students may not release their novel ideas.

So, teachers must establish a classroom environment, in which students

feel safe taking risks (Tighe, et al., 2003). This starts with accepting of

unique students’ responses, even if those responses are rarely relevant to the conversation. (Beghetto, 2007)

The research results also show that creative teachers nurture and develop

more creative students. On top of this, teaches who have a warm, sincere,

and accepting character increase the creativity possibility among the

students. Gallagher (1985) asks a group of teachers to assume that creativity

is a very valuable characteristic. He then asks the teachers how they would

have destroyed it if they could. The teachers provided many suggestions,

some of which were their own methods of teaching. From the point of view

of mist if the teachers the most important causes for destroying creativity

include the following:

1.A compressed curriculum which is carried on in a limited time period;

2. The teacher's lack of skill in teaching the material he's been assigned;

3. When only one source is accepted as the valid one through the course;

4. When no opportunity is provide for the student to discuss and state his

opinion.

If we pay attention to obstacles teachers refer to in Gallagher's research,

and if we do a simple investigation about the school teacher's performance,

we can see that often these issues are also found among Iranian teachers'

teaching as well. During our research, the question of "What are the

obstacles for creativity in the class? " was raised for the teachers. In

response, the teachers stressed the following points: a- Large mass of school

books; b-cliché; d- inflexible standards and rules; and e- considering creative

students bothersome.

Fryer & Collins (1991) found in their research that 75 percent of teachers

believe that students have small bit of creativity. Sternberg (2001) conducted

a research about "the impact of teaching creativity on the students'

performance" on 110 students came to certain conclusions: he came to point

that the amount of impact of teaching creativity is related to cognitive and

personal characteristics of the students. James and Asmus (2001) also

concluded from their research on 41 students that the shaping of creativity,


cognitive and personality characteristics has mutual impact.

Renzuli (1993) offered a comprehensive plan with the goal of expanding

and circulating creativity in schools. Although the plan had broad objectives,

it was able to reach successful results due to its simplicity in being

conducted.

Sue Lyle (2008) showed: Drawing on recent developments in dialogic

approaches to learning and teaching, he said; I examine the roots of dialogic

meaning-making as a concept in classroom practices.

Developments in the field of dialogic pedagogy are reviewed and the

case for dialogic engagement as an approach to classroom interaction is

considered. The implications of dialogic classroom approaches are discussed

in the context of educational research and classroom practice. Dialogic

practice is contrasted with monologist practices as evidenced by the

resilience of the IRF as the default discourse structure in classrooms. Recent

evidence suggests the IRF is resistant to attempts to introduce interactive

approaches to whole class teaching. Discussion of dialogic practice as a

vehicle for increasing pupil engagement at a deep level and raising the

quality of classroom interaction is illustrated through a consideration of

Philosophy for Children, which is identified as a dialogic approach to

classroom practice which has transformative potential for children’s learning. Philosophy for Children offers an approach to pedagogy which

enables teachers to value pupil voice and promote reflective learning. As

such it has much to offer the current debate on dialogic teaching and

learning. Research evidence suggests it will promote improved pupil

outcomes on a range of Assessments.

Robin Simmons and Ron Thompson (2008): Examined the

circumstances affecting creative teaching and learning within the specific

context of English further education (FE)—a sector which has proved to be

particularly fertile ground for perform activity. Beginning with an analysis

of notions of creativity in education and a description of the peculiar history

and policy context of FE,

Eun Ah Lee (2006) examined Korean elementary teachers’ understanding of creativity ,in particular those who teach the gifted students

.Facilitating creativity was one of the major goals in gifted education in

Korea, and teachers’ role was considered to be crucial in achieving this goal. Forty-two elementary teachers were surveyed with an open-ended


questionnaire to identify their understanding of creativity. Their answers

were analyzed based on cognitive, personal, and environmental components

of creativity. Teachers who mentioned all three components were recognized

to have a balanced view. However, one third of the teachers had a biased

view, mentioning only 1 component. Many had an intermediate view,

mentioning 2 components. Preference for the cognitive component, the

disregard of the personal component, and the partial understanding of the

environmental component were also discovered. To successfully facilitate

creativity in gifted education, teachers’ balanced view is essential. Thus the personal component and the environmental component shouldbe emphasized

to improve their understanding creativity may only serve to reproduce and

exacerbate existing inequalities in education.

Considering all the above beliefs, there is a need to know what teachers

really mean when they use the word creativity to achieve the creative

schools (Kampylis et al., 2009). Teachers’ conceptions of creativity may facilitate or inhibit students’ creative behavior, because the ways in which teachers organize the classroom activities are influenced by teacher’s belief and knowledge (Beghetto, 2007). Thus, teachers’ conceptions should be taken into account in any educational program and curriculum. Moreover,

teachers’ conceptions show the type of knowledge that is gained from real classroom environment (Kampylis et al., 2009).

Research Objective and Hypotheses

The main objective of this research is the investigations and evaluation of

the "program for teaching creativity to teachers” in order to clarify its impact on the positive attitude. In order to achieve the three main fundamental

objectives of the research, the following hypotheses were put to testing:

1. The creativity teaching program results in increase in the teacher's

teaching skill.

2. The creativity teaching program results in of positive attitude toward

creativity.

3. The creativity teaching program increases the teachers' knowledge

about creativity.


Statistical population and sample

The statistical population of this research is consisted of all teachers

currently working in the elementary schools of the 19 education districts of

the city of Tehran in the school-year 2001-2002. From this group, a study

sample was randomly selected, including 60 persons for the experimental

group for the experimental group, and 60 persons for the control group.

Data Collecting Instruments

Considering the three variables that are focused on in the research, i.e.

knowledge, attitude, and teaching skill, a questionnaire with three parts was

prepared in the format of a pres-test and post-test. The test was consisted of

10 questions in the knowledge section, 30 questions in the attitude section,

and 35 questions in the skill sections.

Both research groups were asked to take a primary test. After that, a70

hour training course was a held for them during one month. The training was

carried out as training workshop with both theory and practice and the

training was done in three parts.

- 15 hours of instruction about the essence of creativity and the

principle fundamentals in creativity,

- 25 hour for creativity teaching methods, and

- 30 hours for creativity research methods in school and class.

The Research Findings

Table 1

Means comparison between test and control groups regarding skill.

Test Group Mean Sum SD T-value

Pre-test Test 59.62 60 10.65

0.11 Control 60 61 14.2

Post-test Test 68.64 60 10.57

2.53 Control 60.62 61 14.1

The results of the independent T-test for the test and control groups with

respect to skill are provide in Table 3. The T-value obtained (T=2.65) is


greater than the value in the statistical table (T=2.33) at d.f=119 and CI=

99%, denoting a significant difference between the test and control groups.

Moreover, the observed T-value before the course (T=0.11) is less than the

value in the statistical table (T=2.33). So, the two groups were not

significantly different on the pre-test. However, the observed T-value for the

post-test (T=2.53) is greater than the value in the statistical table (T=2.33),

indicating a significant difference.

Table 2

Means comparison between test and control groups in terms of attitude.


Pre-test Test 114.79 60 2.38

1.53 Control 110 61 1.32

Post-test Test 121 60 1.51

4.5 Control 109.1 61 1.6

Table 2 contains the results of the independent T-test for the test and

control groups regarding attitude. The T-value obtained (T=2.57) is greater

than that in the statistical table (T=2.33) at d.f=119 and CI=99%, indicating

a significant difference between the two groups with regard to attitude.

The observed T-value before the course (T=1.53) is less than that in the

statistical table (T=2.33). Therefore, the two groups were not significantly

different on the pre-test. This is while the observed T-value for the post-test

(T=4.5) is greater than the value in the statistical table (T=2.33), showing a

statistically significant difference between the two groups.

Table 3

Descriptive statistics of the post-test TTCT scores


Pre-test Test 11.58 60 1.5

0.07 Control 11.54 61 2.4

Post-test Test 14.1 60 1.06

10.58 Control 10.5 61 1.5

Regarding the results in the above table, the T-value obtained (T=3.44) is

greater than that in the statistical table (T=2.33) at d.f=119 and confidence


interval= 99%. Therefore, there is a significant difference between the test

and control groups in terms of knowledge.

As can be observed, the T-value for the pre-test (T=0.07) is less than the

T-value in the statistical table (T= 2.32). So, the test and control groups did

not have a significant difference in the pre-test. However, the observed T-

value (T=10.58) is greater than that of the statistical table (T=2.33), which

indicates a significant difference.

Conclusion

The current research was conducted for the purpose of studying and

investigating the impact of "creativity teaching course" on the teachers'

knowledge, attitude, and teaching skills. The research ample is consisted of

primary school teachers of various educational districts in Tehran, which

was divided into the experimental group and the control group. Pre-test and

post-test were taken from both of the course on the experimental group. The

results of the research are as follows:

I. In the teaching skill factor, the T-test result showed that the difference

between the two groups is significant, this confirms the first

assumption.

II. In the attitude factor, the T-test result showed that the difference

between the two groups is significant, this confirms the second

assumption.

III. In the knowledge factor, the T-test results is based in the significant

difference of the two groups. Therefore the 3th assumption of the

research that states that the creativity research program increases the

teachers' creativity is confirmed.

With regard to the results derived from the statistical analysis the

training course period has had a positive impact on increasing the teachers'

Knowledge, change of attitude, and teaching skill. On top of this, the

teachers' open-ended responses about the course showed that over 90 percent

of the teachers believed that this course not only had a positive impact on

their knowledge, attitude, and skill, but also caused their attitude to change

toward life and create fundamental changes in their life and career.

The deep impact of this program on teachers was also very obvious on

their students. The teachers stated that from then on the students participated


with much more motivation in the class activities. The students even

preferred to stay in class during their break times and to continue with their

activities.

These results showed that if the teachers are provided with a suitable

structure, they will again a positive attitude and will have a more appropriate

educational activity by having more awareness about creativity. This on its

own will guide the students to respond to educational issues with higher

motive and activity.

References

Alencar, E. M. (2002). Mastering creativity for education in the 21st century.

Istanbul: Turkey.

Beghetto, R. A. (2007). Does creativity have a place in classroom

discussions? Prospective teachers’ response preferences. Thinking

Skills and Creativity, 2(1), 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2006.09.002

Craft, A (2003). Limits to creativity in education: Dilemmas for the

educator. British Journal of Educational studies, 51(2), 113-127. doi:

10.1111/1467-8527.t01-1-00229

Croply, A. J. (2000). Creativity in education and learning: A Guide for

teachers and educators. London: kegan Pawel.

Fryer. M., Collings, Y. (1991). British teacher views of creativity. Journal of

Creativity Behavior, 1( 1), 7.

Gallanger, J.J. (1985).Teacher the gifted child. New York : Alln and Bacon.

Gatzeles, J. W., Jackson, P.W. (1962). Creativity and intelligence. New

York: John Willy.

Hosseini, A. (1999). The nature of creativity and the methods of training it.

A. G. R. Publishing Co, Mashhad, Iran.

James, K., Asmus, Ch. (2001). Personality, cognitive skills, and creativity in

different life Domains. Creativity in research Journal, 13(2), 149-159.

doi: 10.1207/S15326934CRJ1302_3

Kampylis. P, Eleni. B., Pertti, S. (2009). In-service and prospective teachers’ conceptions of creativity, Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4. 15–29.

doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2008.10.001

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2006.09.002

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Karwowski, M, Gralewski, J., Lebuda, I.(2007). Creative teaching of

creativity teachers: Polish perspective, Thinking Skills and Creativity,

2, 57–61. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2006.10.004

Lee Eun A. (2006). Understanding of Creativity by Korean Elementary

Teachers, Gifted Education Creativity Research Journal, 18( 2), 237–242. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1802_9

Lyle, S. (2008). Dialogic Teaching: Discussing Theoretical Contexts and

Reviewing Evidence from Classroom Practice, Language and

Education, 22(3), 24-29. doi: 10.1080/09500780802152499

Renzulli, J. (1993). Through the pursuit of idea act of learning gifted. Child

Quarterly, 36(4), 119-121.

Sawyer, R. K. (2006). Educating for innovation. Thinking Skills and

Creativity, 1(1), 41–48. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2005.08.001

Simmons, R. (2008). Creativity and perform activity: the case of further

education, British Educational Research Journal, 34(5), 601–618.

Sternberg, W. (2001). It doesn’t to add: Effect of instruction to be creativity. Creative research Journal, 13(2), 197-210.

Tighe, E, Picariello, M. L., & Amabile, T. M. (2003). Environmental

influences on motivation and creativity in the classroom. Cresskill,

NJ: Hampton Press.

Torrance, E. P. (1968). Creative abilities of elementary school children.

Teaching creative. Endeavor. Indiana University.

Afzal Sadat Hosseini is Associate Professor at the University of

Tehran (Iran).

Contact Address: Direct correspondence to Afzal Sadat Hosseini at

Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Jalal Al-

e-Ahmad Ave, Tehran, Iran, P.O. Box 11455/6456. E-mail:

[email protected]


http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15326934crj1802_9

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500780802152499




Learners’ Success in Mother Tongue Based Classroom Instruction and the Attitudes and Perceptions of School

Communities

Mebratu Mulatu Bachore1,

1) Hawassa University, Ethiopia



To cite this article: Bachore, M.M. (2014) Learners’ Success in Mother Tongue Based Classroom Instruction and the Attitudes and Perceptions of

School Communities. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(2),

118-135. doi: 10.4471/rise.2014.09








June 2014 pp. 118-135

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.09

Learners’ Success in Mother Tongue Based Classroom Instruction and the Attitudes and Perceptions of School Communities Mebratu Mulatu Bachore

Hawassa University

(Received: 15 April 2014; Accepted: 4 June 2014; Published: 25 June 2014) Abstract

The basis of the current study, which was conducted in the schools in three

provinces of Sidama Zone: Ethiopia, is the learners’ assessment results which were obtained through standard exams. Accordingly, most of the students scored below

average. So, the main objective of the study is to assess the attitudes and

perceptions of school community towards mother tongue based classroom

instruction in relation to the learners’ results. The approach employed to carry out the study was mixed one: quantitative and qualitative approach. The tools which

were used to collect data are questionnaires and interview. There were 70 students, 6

parents and 10 teachers who were taken by using cluster and random sampling. The

results of the study showed that most parents and almost half of the sample students

have negative attitude and perception towards using mother tongue as a medium of

instruction. But, the teachers’ attitude and perception can be rated as good.. Therefore, it is possible to say that the learners’ success and failure in mother tongue based instruction has relation with the perception and attitude of the community.

Keywords: learners’ result, mother-tongue, attitude, perception,


June 2014 pp. 118-135

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.09

El Éxito de los Alumnos en la Educación en el aula en su Lengua Materna y las Actitudes y Percepciones de las Comunidades Escolares Mebratu Mulatu Bachore Hawassa University

(Recibido: 15 Abril 2014; Aceptado: 4 Junio 2014; Publicado: 25 Junio 2014)

Resumen

La base de este estudio, que se realizó en las escuelas en las tres provincias de la

Zona Sidama, Etiopía, es resultado de la evaluación de los alumnos a través de

exámenes estándar. La mayoría de los estudiantes obtuvo calificaciones inferiores a

la media. Así, el objetivo principal del estudio es evaluar las actitudes y

percepciones de la comunidad escolar hacia la instrucción en el aula basada en la

lengua materna en relación con los resultados de los alumnos. El método empleado

para llevar a cabo el estudio mezcla un enfoque cuantitativo y cualitativo. Las

herramientas que se utilizan para recoger datos son cuestionarios y entrevistas. Una

muestra de 70 estudiantes, 6 padres y 10 maestros fue tomada utilizando clúster y

muestreo aleatorio. Los resultados del estudio mostraron que la mayoría de los

padres y casi la mitad de los estudiantes de la muestra tienen actitudes negativas

hacia el uso de la lengua materna como medio de instrucción. Pero, la actitud de los

profesores y su percepción pueden ser clasificadas como buenas. Por lo tanto, es

posible decir que el éxito y el fracaso de los educados en su lengua materna tiene

relación con la percepción y la actitud de la comunidad.

Palabras clave: resultados de los estudiantes, lengua materna, actitud, percepción

120 Bachore – Mother Tongue Based Classroom Instruction

ost African countries have embarked on new education policies

and curriculum changes after UNESCO’s 1990 World Conference on “Education For All”. Yet, education success for

the majority of children remains elusive. The measure was taken to provide

quality education for citizens.

Although there are many factors involved in delivering quality basic

education, language is clearly the key to communication and understanding

in the classroom. Many developing countries are characterized by individual

as well as societal multilingualism, yet continue to allow a single foreign

language to dominate the education sector. Instruction through a language

that learners do not speak has been called “submersion” (Skutnabb-Kangas,

2000) because it is analogous to holding learners under water without

teaching them how to swim. Compounded by chronic difficulties such as

low levels of teacher education, poorly designed, inappropriate curricula and

lack of adequate school facilities, submersion makes both learning and

teaching extremely difficult, particularly when the language of instruction is

also foreign to the teacher.

Mother tongue-based bilingual programs use the learner’s first language, known as the L1, to teach beginning reading and writing skills along with

academic content. The second or foreign language, known as the L2, should

be taught systematically so that learners can gradually transfer skills from

the familiar language to the unfamiliar one. Bilingual models and practices

vary as do their results, but what they have in common is their use of the

mother tongue at least in the early years so that students can acquire and

develop literacy skills in addition to understanding and participating in the

classroom.

Though mother tongue based education has such roles, discussions of the

role of the MT (mother tongues) are often controversial and polarized, full of

misunderstandings and an unhealthy amount of guilt. The banning and the

use of the MT have come and gone throughout history. However, Ball

(2010) points out that most teaching methods since the 1880s have adopted

the direct method avoidance of the L1 and recent methods do not so much

forbid the L1 as ignore its existence altogether.

According to Hovens (2003) and Walter and Dekker (2011), for a

successful mother tongue based classroom instruction, the attitude of the

school community towards it is very significant. However, the analytic

M


report of EGRA, released by the USAID (2010) reveals that the mother

tongue based classroom instruction in the current study area was not

successful as it is compared with other areas in the nation. The result shows

how the problem was very serious. In the report, the part which is specified

by SNNP refers the sample areas taken from Sidama zone which the area of

the current study. The Percentage of Children scoring zero on reading

comprehension is 72.8% and 87.5% of Grade 3 children read less than 30

words per minute. In addition, the report revealed that 69.2% of the children

could not read one word in Grade 2.

According to the researcher, since the students’ result is extremely poor per the standard measurement, investigations should be carried out to

identify the causes of the problem. Moreover, the research works conducted

so far in the area haven’t assessed the attitude and perception of the society,

the learners and the teachers on the role of MT in education.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the research is to assess the attitude and perception of

the wider school community towards mother tongue based classroom

instruction. Very specifically, the research attempts to:

Identify parents’ views and level of understanding towards mother tongue based classroom instruction. Assess the attitude of teachers and students towards using in mother

tongue for classroom instructional purposes. Identifying if there is relationship between learners’ results and the community perception and attitude towards mother tongue based

instruction. Sort out the opportunities and challenges that the school community

experiences and imply directions for future action.

Significance of the Study

Since the issue of mother tongue based classroom instruction is somehow

controversial and a discussion point across the country, it is paramount to

study in depth to disclose the existing classroom reality. We know that our


country is the home of diversified culture and more than eighty languages.

Therefore, basically, this research helps the governmental and the non-

governmental organizations which are engaged in training society about

bilingual and multi-lingual education. Moreover, the results also serve as an

input for designing training manuals, brushers, etc.

Very specifically, professionals who are working in the area of mother

tongue education and curriculum designing are direct beneficiaries from the

output of this research. In addition, it gives scientific direction to various

school community members on the role of mother tongue for conducting

classroom lessons so that they act accordingly to get maximum output from

the teaching learning process. In other words, the benefit also extends up to

improving the quality of education. Finally, this research paves away to

other researchers to conduct further studies on the area.

Review of Literature

The use of several Ethiopian Languages in primary education is a reflection

of reforms in the geopolitical structures of the State after 1991 that divided

Ethiopia into regional states. The borders of the regions were based upon the

use of languages and the previous body of linguistic literature that attempted

a categorisation of Ethiopian people according to language and geographical

area. The rights of nationalities within the State to use languages for official

purposes are enshrined in article 39 of the 1994 Constitution of Ethiopia.

The use of Regional languages is a strong feature of federalism and an

aspect of the representation of Ethiopia’s ethno-linguistic groups of people

(Cohen, 2006).

The Education and Training Policy (1994) promotes the use of regional

and local languages for two stated reasons. The first reason is the claim that

learning in the mother tongue has clear pedagogical advantages for the child,

who feels comfortable and reassured by their ability to understand and

analyse information in their own language. The second reason is the claim

that the use of local languages in education accords with the rights of

nationalities to self-expression that are enshrined in the Constitution of

Ethiopia. The Ministry of Education, therefore, presents both pedagogical

and ideological justifications for promoting the use of local languages for

primary education (Cohen, 2000; 2006).


MTB education is instruction in a child‘s first language (L1), usually with a planned gradual transition to a second language (L2) or foreign

language at a specified time in primary school. MTB instruction usually

takes place exclusively in the language most familiar to children. In some

cases, it may be provided as part of a bilingual or multilingual education

program. In MTB programs, students have the opportunity to learn core

concepts primarily in a familiar language, and, later, they learn the labels or

vocabulary for those concepts in a new language. MTB education is

especially beneficial in early childhood programs, preschool, and the early

grades (up to grade 6), when children are learning to read and gaining new

concepts (Benson, 2006). People have different vies concerning MTB

classroom instructions. Some of them promote it, whereas, some of them are

against by forwarding various justifications. However, recently, the

dominant figure of the scholars and population is pro mother tongue based

classroom instruction (Cummins, 1991; CSDE, 1991; Chumbow, 1990 and

Fasold, 1984).

Scholars forward various benefits of conducting classes through MT.

When curriculum content is presented in an unfamiliar language, an

enormous amount of time must be spent first teaching children to

understand, speak, read, and write L2 or a foreign language, something that

is extremely difficult and wastes valuable years in the early grades that could

be spent learning to read and learning academic concepts in L1. Moreover,

children, who cannot understand the language used in the classroom, are

unable to demonstrate what they know, ask questions, and participate. In

contrast, providing children with an opportunity to learn in a language they

understand—starting on the first day of school—confers significant

advantages for the education system, teachers, parents, and students (Smits

et al., 2008; Bender et al., 2005; Ball, 2010 and Walter and Dekker, 2011).

MTBE Impacts on Quality of Schooling in many ways. Well-

documented empirical studies of mother tongue-based bilingual programs in

developing countries began appearing in the 1970s and still form the basis of

what is done in the field today. Among the impacts the most common are

increasing classroom participation, positive affect and increased self-esteem

(Richardson 2001), increasing parent participation (Cummins, 2000) and

increasing participation of girls (Benson, 2002).


However, implementing effective MTB education requires careful

planning and commitment. According to Carole Benson (2004), factors to

consider and steps to take to ensure your program is effective include the

language model, language distribution, teacher recruitment and preparation,

materials development and provision: parental support and education sector

alignment.

Materials and Methods

Research Design

The study basically assesses the attitude and perception of school

communities towards mother tongue based classroom instruction. The

design which the study employed was mixed approach. It combined both the

qualitative and the quantitative approaches. In other words, the researcher

has collected both qualitative and quantitative data.

Research Setting

The present study was undertaken in Sidama Zone (Dale, Shebedino and

Hawassa Zuriya) in SNNPRS. The zone was selected by the researcher as

mother tongue was being used as a medium of instruction in primary

schools. The other justification was that since the area was near to the

researchers’ working site, it would minimize the challenge that the research

might face to get the appropriate data.

Research population and Sampling Techniques

The research was supposed to be conducted in the area where mother tongue

is used as a medium of classroom instruction. Therefore, the researcher

selected three schools randomly from three Woredas in Sidama Zone.

Similarly, three Woredas are selected by clustering the 22 Woredas in the

Zone in to three groups. Then, one school was selected randomly from each

group. In addition, Hawassa college of Teacher Education was taken as a

sample purposively.


From the schools’ population, 10, 6 and 70 teachers, parents and students respectively were selected as research samples. The sampling technique

employed was clustering and random sampling. Regarding teachers, from

grade 1-4, two teachers from each grade level were selected and 4 teachers

who were teaching in Hawassa Teacher Education College were selected.

From each of the three schools, two parents, 6 in total, were selected as a

sample. Finally, 20 students were selected randomly from each primary

school and 10 students were selected in the same way from Hawassa College

of Teacher Education.

Data Gathering Tools

This research is supposed to be both qualitative and quantitative. Hence,

tools which are appropriate for both approaches. A questionnaire was used to

test students' attitude and perception towards Sidama language as medium of

instruction. The questionnaire was slightly adapted from Taylor's Language

Attitude Scale, Gardner Attitude/Motivation Scale and other scales. It is a 5-

point Likert type which rates the attitude as "strongly agree", "agree",

"undecided", "disagree", and "strongly disagree". Similarly, another

questionnaire was designed to be administered to the Sidama language

teachers. This questionnaire was designed by the researcher by considering

various literatures in the area of mother tongue instruction. Before

administering the questionnaire, it was piloted in a small population, and it is

reliability was computed: 0.82 which is rated as very good. The other tool,

an interview, was designed in the same procedure with teachers’ questionnaire and administered to the sample parents in the schools. The

students’ questionnaire and the parents’ interview questions were translated in to the Sidama language to facilitate the informants’ comprehension.

Data Gathering and Analysis Procedures

The data was gathered from the stakeholders (school Communities) through

the tools stated above. Specifically, first, the questionnaire was administered

to the students and teachers who were involving in classrooms where

Sidama language is a medium of instruction. Finally, an interview was

undertaken to the school parents based on the questions developed by the


researcher.

Concerning the analysis, priority was given to the quantitative data:

questionnaire. The data from the students’ questionnaire was analyzed first. Then, teachers’ questionnaire scores followed. Then after, the qualitative data, the parents’ interview, was analyzed and the information was

triangulated with the questionnaire results. The quantitative data was

analyzed in tables which are categorized under various titles in their

relationship. The qualitative data was analyzed through discussion which is

often termed as textual analysis.

Results and Discussions

Students’ Questionnaire

Figure 1. Learners’s Attitude and Perception

First, the students were asked about their attitude towards the role of

mother tongue in classroom. Accordingly, the quantitative average data of

the respondents disclosed that 39 (45.9%) respondents have a positive


attitude towards the role since the sum of SA (strongly agree) and A (agree)

results the indicated number. However, the addition of the two negative

categories (Strongly Disagree and Disagree) shows that 25 (35.7%) students

have a negative attitude towards the classroom role of the mother tongue.

Likewise, 5 (8.1%) students were unable to decide on the role of mother

tongue in classroom. From this, we can understand that though most of the

students have a positive attitude towards the role of mother tongue,

considerable number of the learners have a negative attitude towards the

classroom role of their mother tongue.

Similarly, the questionnaire assessed the learners’ perception towards the standard of mother tongue to meet the class room demands. The data reveals

that 50 (72.2%) students agreed on the standard of the mother tongue to

handle the issues in the classroom. On the contrary, 16 (23.1%) learners

indicated that the language is not competent enough to meet the demands of

the classroom. Also, 3(4.2%) respondents were unable to decide their

position on the standard of the language in attaining the classroom needs.

This implies that most of the students are convinced on the efficiency of the

Sidama language to carry out the classroom activities. But, some students

are not convinced in this regard.

In addition, quantitative data was collected on the learners’ involvement and classroom preference in the case of mother tongue. It reveals that 40

(57.9%) students agreed that mother tongue is important to promote

learners’ involvement and improvement of results. Hence, they prefer they prefer their classes to be conducted in mother tongue. Nevertheless, 22

(31.5%) students reacted against to the use of mother tongue for the stated

purposes. On the other hand, 8(12%) students were suspicious on the issue.

Thus, we can say that even though most of the students prefer mother tongue

as in improves the learners’ involvement and results, some students are against the role. And, considerable number of learners are in confusion to

decide on the issue.

Finally, the questionnaire assessed the attitude of the learners towards the

availability of learning resources for mother tongue based classroom

teaching and learning context. The quantitative data indicated only 24

(34.9%) students stated that there are enough resources for teaching and

learning in Sidama language. However, 41 (58.8%) students mentioned that

there is scarcity of learning and teaching resources in Sidama language.


5(7.8%) respondents couldn’t decide on the stated point. According to most respondents, there is clear teaching and learning resource limitations in

Sidama language. Teachers Questionnaire

Figure 2. Teachers’ Attitude and Perception

The first part of the teachers question was concerned with the teachers’ interest and motivation to teach the Sidama language. Accordingly, 7

(66.3%) teachers disclosed that they are interested to teach various subjects

in the Sidama language. But, 43(35.4%) teachers indicated that they are not

so much interest and motivated to conduct classrooms in the Sidama

language. This shows that most of the teachers are interested in teaching

subjects in Sidama language, however, some teacher lose their interest and

motivation to impart different subjects in the Sidama language.


The teachers were also asked about their feelings regarding the classroom

interaction and checking the learners’ understanding. Accordingly, 7 (68.3%) teachers replayed that the classroom interaction with learners and

the learners understanding in the Sidama language classes are good.

Nevertheless, 3 (24.9%) teachers don’t agree on this. In addition, 1 (6.8%) teachers couldn’t decide their position. This conveys that due to the use of Sidama language as medium of instruction, the degree of classroom

interaction is improved and the extent checking understanding is facilitated.

The final part of the teachers’ questionnaire was on code switching and marking assignments in the Sidama language classes. Most of the

respondents, 8 (68.1%), replied that they feel code switching to other

languages during mother tongue based instruction is not appropriate; 4

(31.7%) said that they agree on code switching. On the other hand, the

respondents were asked about their interest of marking their learners’ assignment and if their students experience writing problems. Accordingly, 6

(54.4%) respondents expressed that they are not interested to mark their

students’ script; they also confirmed that their students have problems of

writing in the Sidama language. Conversely, 5 (45.4%) stated that they are

interested to correct their learners’ assignments; they said that their students’ writing in the Sidama language has no problem. From this, we can say that

most of the respondents confirmed that code switching is the common

strategy in the mother tongue classroom. In addition, the teachers are not

interested to mark their learners’ writing assignments as their writings might have problems.

School Parents’ Interview

The other tool which the researcher has employed to gather data was an

interview. Six school parents were interviewed to reflect their views on the

seven semi structured questions.

The first question was “Learners should be taught in their mother tongue language at primary level. Do you agree on this view?” Accordingly, three parents confirmed their agreements, where as two parents said that they

disagree on the issue. The rest, one individual disclosed that he partially

agrees. This shows that, like that of the students, the parents’ perception is not uniform on the importance of using mother tongue in the schools.


The second question forwarded to respondents was “Do you think your child is able to perform at his/ her level best because Sidama language is

used for teaching and learning? Why?” Two of the respondents said that since the Sidama language became the medium of instruction, our children’s academic performance showed progress. This is because, they said, our

students can cope up with the school environment very easily since the

language used at home and school is the same. The other point is that the

students can understand what the teacher’ say without any language related problems. On the contrary, three respondents disclosed that they don’t think. When they tried to justify their answers, said that some of the words are new

for the students as they were created by the text book writers. This resulted

in poor performance of the students. Similarly, they pointed out that the

students are not giving due attention for what the teachers are teaching in the

Sidama language as they perceive it as something which is easy. The rest,

one informant, replied saying that Sidama language based instruction

contributes for students result improvement to some extent only. From this,

we can say that most of the parents believe that the Sidama language based

instruction hasn’t brought sufficient change on the learners’ academic scores.

The other question raised during the interview was “Do you think your child perform better in the exam if she/he is taught and examined in her/his

indigenous language, Sidamigna?” Among the interviewees, two of them replied positively to the issue. That means they have thought that their

children’s perform well in the exam because they were taught in their

language. On the contrary, three respondents reacted negatively to the

contribution of the Sidama language for better performance of their children

in the exams. One respondent shared the views of the former respondents

equally. This shows that most of the respondents reacted that they don’t think mother instruction improves their children’s exam results.

Two questions: “How does teaching in the medium of Sidama contribute to students’ in schools?” and “To what extent do you encourage your child

to speak Sidama even at home?” were also forwarded to the school parents. For the first one, they said that since the Sidama language is used as medium

of instruction, it creates communicative environment by which the learners

can claim whatever they need in the class and in the school compound


without any reservation. In addition, it enforces the children to stay in the

school happily which in turn reduces the dropout rate. Regarding the other

question, almost all respondents confirmed that they do nothing special to

encourage their children to speak the Sidama language at home.

The last inquiry to the parents was “Are you happy if Sidama language becomes the medium of instruction throughout your child’s education? Why?” Most of the parents replied that they won’t be happy if the language is used as a medium of instruction throughout their child’s education. The reason behind is that the students will not stay throughout their life in the

Sidama areas. Rather, they may work in different areas of the country where

the language (Sidama) may not be used any more. Moreover, as the children

grew up, they join different higher education institutes where courses might

be delivered in other languages. This might create confusion in the students’ academic career.

Conclusions

The main objective of the present study is to investigate the attitude and

perception of school community towards mother tongue based classroom

instruction. Very specifically, it aims to identify perception issues of school

community related to mother tongue based classroom instruction. It also

attempts to evaluate the attitude of teachers and learners in imparting and

learning classroom knowledge in mother tongue. Eventually, it sorts out the

challenges in their category and implies directions for future action.

The findings under the attitude and perception of the community on

mother tongue based classroom instruction revealed that around half of the

respondents in the students’ category have a positive attitude and perception and the rest half have a negative attitude and perception towards using

mother tongue as a medium of instruction. Regarding teachers, almost 70

percent of them indicated they have positive attitude and perception on

mother tongue use. In addition, most of the parents stated that they agree to

use mother tongue for classroom education, however, considerable number

of parents reacted negatively.

Regarding evaluating the attitude of teachers and learners in imparting

and learning class room knowledge in mother tongue, though some of the

students stated that leaning in Sidama language doesn’t contribute for their


participation, most of the students disclosed that mother tongue promotes

students involvement during classroom lesson. Richardson (2001)

underscore on the importance MT in promoting learners participation.

Surprisingly, this result is confirmed by teacher with equal figure in

quantitative data. The other issue related to teaching and learning is

measuring students’ performance through exams and assignments. Most of

the parents don’t believe that their children’s results were improved due to the use mother tongue in classroom. But, if classroom participation

increases, there will be improvement on the learners’ achievement (Smits et

al., 2008). The question might be the degree of the progress. In relation to

this, the teachers revealed that they are interested to administer tests, exams

and assignments in a class, but their learners’ have been experiencing

varieties of problems in their writing.

In the part of the problem statement, the students’ assessment results revealed that their status was poor. So, the results of the study indicated that

most of the school community perceptions and attitudes towards mother

tongue instruction were negative. Therefore, it is possible to say that the

problem in the students’ performance arises from the negative perception and attitudes of the school community.

The last objective of the study is sorting out the opportunities and

challenges that the learners and the teachers as well as the parents are

experiencing in handling mother tongue based Education. Most of the

students revealed, as stated in Carole Benson (2004), that the main problem

lies on the scarcity of references and learning materials in the Sidama

language. Similarly, some students pointed out that learning in Sidama

language affected their attempt to learn second/ foreign languages. On the

contrary, the students disclosed that learning in the Sidama language has

improved their classroom participation and interaction. This can be

considered as an opportunity. For parents, as the students will not stay

throughout their life in the Sidama areas where the language has wider

operational range, rather they may work in different areas of the country

where the language (Sidama) may not be used any more, mother tongue

based instruction may not be significant for sustainable life career . As an

opportunity, they confirmed that mother tongue based education creates

communicative environment by which the learners can claim whatever they

need in the class and in the school compound without any reservation. This


in turn enforces the children to stay in the school happily which reduces the

dropout rate.

References

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and their policy implications for education in Africa . Working paper

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Languages of Instruction, Accra, Ghana, August 26-30 1996.

Ball, J. (2010). Enhancing learning of children from diverse language

backgrounds: Mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual

education in the early years, UNESCO.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001869/186961e.pdf

Bender, P., N. Dutcher, et al. (2005). In Their Own Language…Education for All. Education Notes, World Bank.

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nNotes/EdNotes_Lang _of_Instruct.pdf

Benson, C. (2004) Bilingual schooling in Mozambique and Bolivia: From

experimentation to implementation. Language Policy 3, 47-66.

Benson, C. (2002) Bilingual education in Africa: An exploration of

encouraging connections between language and girls' schooling. In

Melin, Mia (ed) Education—A Way out of Poverty? Research

presentations at the Poverty Conference 2001. New Education

Division Documents No. 12. Stockholm: Sida, 79-95.

California State Department of Education, Office of Bilingual Bicultural

Education (1991). Schooling and language minority students: A

theoretical framework. Sacramento: Evaluation, Dissemination and

Assessment Center, California State University.

Chumbow, B. (1990). The place of mother tongue in the national policy on

education. In Emananjo, E. N. (Ed.), Multilingualism, minority

languages and policy in Nigeria (pp.61-72). Port Harcourt: Central

Books Ltd.

Chuo, K., Walter, S. (2011). The Kom Experimental Mother Tongue

Education Project Report for 2011.


http://siteresources.worldbank.org/


Cohen Gideon, P.E. (2000) Identity and Opportunity: The Introduction of

local languages for the purpose of primary education in the SNNPR,

Ethiopia. PhD Thesis, London University.

Cohen Gideon P.E. (2006) ‘The Development of Regional and Local

Languages in Ethiopia’s Federal System’ in David Turton Ed., Ethnic

Federalism: The Ethiopian Experience in Comparative Perspective,

Oxford.

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the Crossfire. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Fasold, R. W. (1984). The sociolinguistics of society. New York: Basil

Blackwell Ltd.

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experiences. Niamey: Albasa.

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edition. Washington DC: American Educational Research

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Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights? Mahwah NJ: Lawrence

Erlbaum.

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developing world, UNESCO.

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education: Achieving quality, equitable education.

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International Review of Education, 57(5-6), 667-683



Mebratu Mulatu Bachore is Lecturer at the Hawassa University

(Ethiopia).

Contact Address: Direct correspondence to Mebratu Mulatu Bachore

at School of Language Studies and Communication, College of Social

Science and Humanities, Hawassa University, P.O. box 05, Hawassa,

Ethiopia. [email protected]



Equity and Professional Mobility in Higher Education and some

Questions Concerning the EHEA from the Catalan Experience

Sandra Fachelli & Jordi Planas 1

1) Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain



To cite this article: Fachelli, S., Planas, J. (2014) Equity and Professional

Mobility in Higher Education and Some Questions Concerning the EHEA

from the Catalan Experience. International Journal of Sociology of

Education, 3(2), 136-166. doi: 10.4471/rise.2014.10










June 2014 pp. 136-166

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.10

Equity and Professional Mobility in Higher Education and some Questions concerning the EHEA from the Catalan Experience

Sandra Fachelli Jordi Planas

Autonomous University of Autonomous University of

Barcelona Barcelona

(Received: 15 April 2014; Accepted: 4 June 2014; Published: 25 June 2014)

Abstract

This article deals with the equal opportunities and professional mobility of Catalan

university students in the first decade of the XXI century. The data presented

demonstrate that there is a high level of equity and intergenerational professional

mobility between graduates and their parents. Using these results, and the factors

that have rendered them possible, the text raises questions about whether the

progressive incorporation of Spanish universities into the European Higher

Education Area (EHEA) can result in a greater differentiation between universities,

leading to a decrease in the equity of the university system and a more selective

occupational mobility.

Keywords: higher education, equity, intergenerational professional mobility


June 2014 pp. 136-166

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.10

Equidad y Movilidad Profesional en Educación Superior y Algunas Cuestiones Relativas al EEES desde la Experiencia Catalana

Sandra Fachelli

Autonomous University of

Barcelona

Jordi Planas

Autonomous University of

Barcelona

(Recibido: 15 Abril 2014; Aceptado: 4 Junio 2014; Publicado: 25 Junio

2014)

Resumen

Este artículo analiza la igualdad de oportunidades y la movilidad profesional de los

universitarios catalanes en la primera década del siglo XXI. Los datos presentados

demuestran que existe un alto nivel de equidad y de movilidad profesional

intergeneracional entre los graduados y sus padres. Utilizando estos resultados, así

como los factores que lo han hecho posible, el texto plantea preguntas acerca de si la

progresiva incorporación de las universidades españolas en el Espacio Europeo de

Educación Superior (EEES) puede resultar en una mayor diferenciación entre las

universidades, dando lugar a una disminución de la equidad en el sistema

universitario y en una movilidad ocupacional más selectiva.

Palabras clave: Educación superior, equidad, movilidad profesional

intergeneracional

138 Fachelli & Planas– Equity and Professional Mobility

he transition from the educational system to employment or the

professional transition of young people is one of the phenomena

that most determines the construction of people’s adult life, and, consequently, the future of our societies. As a result, social scientists take

great interest in studying it in order to describe and interpret the process by

which youths stop being youths. This interest is reflected in the abundant

literature on the subject, from the pioneer study by Coleman (1979) to the

works carried out by Raffe (2003, 2011). This transition is a privileged point

of observation for analysing the functions of three fundamental institutions

in our societies: the family, the educational sphere and the labour market.

The specific way in which an individual embarks on the adult period of

his or her life is certainly the result of his or her own decisions, as well as of

the social and cultural contexts behind these (social class, gender, place of

birth, etc.). However, it also depends on institutional situations that limit and

channel these decisions: educational opportunities, the strategies of

employers who have to hire them or not, the structure and preferences of the

economically active population competing with him/her, the public policies

supporting youth employment, etc.

In short, the transition from school –and from university in particular- to

the professional world is a subject of study that involves different

dimensions, offers often contrasting perspectives and refers to the

complexity and variability of our labour markets and our societies as a

whole.

To focus on such a complex subject of study as the professional transition

of youths, it is essential to situate it in a historical perspective (Sala et al.

2007).

Historically speaking, the generation of which we are analysing the

professional insertion, in terms of studies, is a generation that was educated

at the height of mass schooling, contrary to their parents, who were born at

the end of the 40s and went to school during the 50s and 60s, characterised

by the educational destitution of the Franco-regime.

The growth of education is one of the most significant social phenomena

of the second half of the XX century in European societies. It is the result of

a historic agreement between states, productive organisations, individuals

and families, all interested in contributing to an increase in the levels of

education. It involved, therefore, a massive widening of training, both in

T


terms of the population (through the universalisation of the educational

system) and time (the average length of studies has continued to increase

since the decade of the 60s). In the case of Spain, the increase in education

came later than in neighbouring countries, but it was more sudden. As a

result, the differences in the educational opportunities of the generations

studied and those of their parents are much greater than those observed in

neighbouring countries for the same generations (Beduwe, Planas 2003: 173-

175).

The evolution of Spanish youths’ participation in university in recent decades demonstrates one of the greatest increases (OECD 2007:29) and a

higher degree of equity (OECD 2007: 116-117) out of all of the European

countries and the OECD. If we consider the objectives proposed for the

European Higher Education Area (hereinafter EHEA) (European Ministers

Responsible for Higher Education 2009 with the Horizon 2020 plan), both in

relation to the increase in the participation of youths in university studies and

equity in accessing university, the case of Catalonia, and by extension,

Spain, are an “exemplary” precedent, the interest of which goes beyond the specific territorial sphere.

Since the 60s, and, especially during the post-Franco regime democratic

period, a great increase has taken place in the student population at all levels

and particularly in universities, as the result of a quantitative transformation

based on the growth of the public offering of Catalan university places, both

in each university and in the number of universities. But the social function

of universities has also changed, leaving behind its elitist nature. During the

democratic period the number of university students has tripled both in

Spain in general, and in Catalonia in particular (IDESCAT and Rotger,

2009; INE 1976 and 2009). As a result, if we analyse the insertion of

university graduates from current university, we must bear in mind the

effects of the changes in their social origin on this insertion. To understand

the professional insertion of graduates from the former elitist university, we

must bear in mind, apart from the quality of their studies, the economic

capacity of their families (financial capital), their social relations (social

capital) and the educational level of their parents (cultural capital).

Comparatively, the families of graduates from the new university of the

masses have a financial, social and cultural capital that is comparatively

lower than that of graduates from the elitist university of their parents'


generation. This factor should be considered when comparing the insertion

of university graduates from the parents' generation with that of the new

graduates, even when this is, as demonstrated in the results presented below,

quite good.

This phenomenon, as previously indicated, is shared at least, by all the

OECD countries (2010), making the particular case presented in this text

even more significant.

In these pages we will analyse the professional insertion in 2008 of the

generation of 2004 university graduates, and will compare it with that of

their parents. It can be considered an emblematic question because, in this

case, the distance between the birth date of the parents and the graduation

date of the children spans the half century that was dominated by educational

growth. The parents were born around 1950 and the children graduated in

2004.

Among the priorities indicated in the development of the EHEA (2009)

for 2020, the Leuven Communiqué refers directly to two of these: “Social dimension: equitable access and completion” and “Employability”. Bearing in mind that the generation of graduates being analysed began their

university education in 2000, as part of a university model prior to the

“Bologna Process”, the population studied comprises a type of “control group” to evaluate the results of its implementation in relation to the aforementioned priorities.

For the generations analysed, the percentage of people accessing

university stands at around 40% (EPA - National Statistics Institute, 2005).

The extended education mainly increases for women and children from the

lower class, and becomes little less than a “social duty” for middle and upper classes (in pursuit of avoiding downward mobility). This growth has been

based on the certainty regarding both the social and personal value of

education. In our societies, especially in moments of crisis, the uncertainty

surrounding social and economic changes that we have to overcome is

accompanied by the belief that raising the educational level of the

population, but especially of young people, is an essential factor to face

these.

Even so, unlike the phase of the first school of the masses, this new

context gives rise to increased expectations through the educational system

which do not always correspond to the social opportunities available. It


coincides in time with the great crisis of the labour market generated from

the 70s onwards, which has continued to happen periodically. Europe, then,

began a break with the growth models, under the weight of technological

and organisational changes as well as the globalisation of the markets, which

provoked the economic crisis of key sectors and the instability of the

occupation of skilled work.

The period analysed between qualification and the survey about

graduates’ insertion was characterised by an increase both in the supply and demand of skilled work. The professional insertion period we are analysing,

between 2004 and 2008, was probably one of the most favourable in terms

of the professional insertion of young university graduates, for two reasons.

On the one hand, the drop in the birth rate had started to reduce the number

of graduates and, on the other hand, because it was a period of economic

growth; although in a labour market, especially for young people, marked by

employment instability. At the same time, it was a period of growth both of

the economic activity rate and the employment rate, especially for women

(Esteban, Martín, Miguélez, Molina and Recio, 2009).

The data we present below enable us to have a clearer idea about whether

our university system, the ensemble of our universities, plays the role of

“social elevator” that it is given by some, or whether as others believe, on the contrary, it reproduces the differences stemming from the social origin of

the youths, filtering access and/or conditioning their academic performance.

This article contributes elements of analysis, using the case of Catalan

universities, concerning the degree of “equity” and “employability” of graduates trained prior to the implementation of the Bologna Process, which

we can use to raise a series of questions about the possible effects of its

application up to now and of its development in the near future with the

horizon of “The Bologna Process 2020” (European Ministers Responsible

for Higher Education, 2009).

Education, Equity and Intergenerational Mobility

The role of schools in our societies has been one of the central themes of

social science and of sociology in particular. In this text we tackle two of the

dilemmas set out by the social sciences regarding the educational system and

university in particular: on the one hand, the dilemma of equity in accessing


higher education and, on the other, that of occupational mobility stemming

from university education.

With regards to equity, the main question raised since the 70s regarding

the educational system in general, and university in particular, has been: Is

school a social institution that provides the same opportunities for all

children and young people regardless of their family of origin? Or, on the

contrary, does it reinforce and legitimise the inequalities stemming from the

social origin of students?

In view of this question, different theoretical and ideological trends have

emphasised each of the options.

Since 1959 Parsons (1959), within the functionalist and meritocratic

trend, emphasised the role of the school as distributor, among its students, of

the functions required for the technical division of work in a meritocratic

context, meaning, that it would provide students with the same opportunities

of access and success regardless of their family of origin.

Later, from the 70s onwards, mainly within the Marxist movement –although also from the perspective of critical functionalism (Coleman 1979,

1982) –theories of reproduction were formulated (Bowles, Gintis 1976;

Baudelot Establet 1979) that criticised the functionalist theories and

highlighted the discriminatory nature of schools as agents that reproduced

the origin inequalities of children and youths, by providing them with

different access opportunities and results on the basis of their social origin.

In this way, this research and many more that later abounded in this line of

thought, portray the educational system to us as a social system that

reproduces and legitimises in children the social differences of their parents.

Additionally, sociological literature has been traditionally involved in

analysing the relation between educational level and occupational status and

has found a very high relation between both elements (Boudon, 1983:40).

Pioneer research carried out in this field, such as that of Blau and Duncan

(1967) using the causal analysis method, observe the incidence of 4 variables

on the occupational status of children (father's education and occupation, and

child’s education and first job), explaining 43% of the total variance.

Although this technique improved with what is known as the Wisconsin

model of educational attainment in 1975 by adding psychological variables,

it manages to explain 40% of occupational attainment and 57% of

educational attainment. The authors observe that the effects of the socio-


economic status of the parents on their child’s educational and occupational attainment operate by means of other variables (main referents of the child -

his/her parents-) that influence the educational and occupational aspirations

of the children (Kerbo, 2003: 174-177). Moreover, a review of the

Wisconsin model analyses a generation prior to that of the parents and finds

that the socio-economic status of grandparents did not influence the

occupational and educational attainment of the grandchildren (Warren and

Hauser, 1997: 561-572).

It is interesting to note that sociological literature traditionally took the

occupation of the head of the family as a focal point to stratify society or, in

general, that of working men. Some of the most prolific lines of work in this

field were the contributions made by John Goldthorpe and his colleagues at

Nuffield College in Oxford. This author considers the occupation of a

position in the labour field to be a sufficiently appropriate indicator for

evaluating the social position of an individual.

Goldthorpe developed a class schema, which was later improved, but

which initially consisted of three categories taking the male head of the

home as a unit of analysis: the service class (with Class I and II in the

classification), intermediate class (Classes III to V) and working class (Class

VI and VII) (Goldthorpe, 1980: 39-42). But the great changes that took place

in society modified the perspective of the matter and it became clear that this

division of work by gender responded to the separation of men and women’s spheres of activity, which was considered as natural (Crompton, 1999: 105)

in such a way that in more recent decades, the woman began to be

incorporated into these analyses.

Numerous studies have been carried out about the relation between the

occupations of parents and children using traditional social mobility studies.

In fact, mobility studies began to be carried out after the Second World War.

They sought explanations about the development of industrial societies.

Some examples of this line of work are the studies by David Glass and his

team from the London School of Economics in 1949, the work by Lipset and

Zetterberg in 1956 and that by Lipset and Bendix in 1959. Glass, for

example, combined educational categories and socio-professional categories

in order to carry out this kind of study (Hernández de Frutos, 1997: 152-

154). Carabaña (1999) and Echevarria (1999) are the pioneers’ researchers in Spain about mobility, using the methodology of Erikson and Goldthorpe.


But as Moreno Mínguez (2011) states there are still few empirical studies

that reflect the distribution of educational attainment in terms of family

background.

The wide use of occupation indicators has been applied to men only as

shown. This has given rise to a “…reductionist identification between social mobility and male mobility, which has had as its most immediate

consequence, the practical invisibility of the female half as subject of study.” (Salido Cortés, 2001: 43). In general, the relations between gender, values

and social structure have been studied very little (Xiao, 2000) and until now,

a minority of studies have analysed the relative contribution of both parents

(Kalmijn, 1994) leaving the influence of the socio-economic status of

mothers on the social and psychological results of their children an unknown

matter (Hitlin, 2006: 29).

There is a whole line of analysis about young people’s transition from dependence to independence, which puts particular emphasis on the

formation of their values. Hitlin states that values and aspirations, although

formed and channelled socially, represent the emotional and cognitive

orientations of the individual agent (the youth) making the occupational

decisions. Youths choose careers (or pathways), given their skills and

abilities, when they have structural opportunities to do so and when they are

perceived as real (Hitlin, 2006: 26). The author, carrying out an exegesis of

the relation between the socio-economic status and the development of

values and aspirations, compiles important contributions and states that

many works follow the approach developed by Melvin Kohn who studied

the relation between the socio-economic status of the family and two

particular values: consent and autonomy. A position in the class structure

influences the adoption of these values providing (or preventing) the

opportunities to experience them in an occupation (Kohn, 1969, 1976, 1977,

1981; Kohn and Schooler, 1982, 1983; Kohn et al. 1990; Pearlin and Kohn,

1966; Slomczynski, Miller and Kohn, 1981). Parents’ consent and autonomy values are made up of a fundamental complexity of the occupational and

class context and are transmitted within the family (Kohn and Schoenbach

1993; also see Johnson 2002).


Methodology

In this work we want to examine the tradition of the occupational and

educational analysis of young people, avoiding sexist biases. However, the

analysis of the socio-economic status of a certain population provides

different results, depending on whether one or another indicator (or both) is

applied. The education indicator relates the family origin of students to their

early age, in terms of cultural capital, and it is relative to the educational

opportunities available for each generation. On the contrary, the

occupational indicator reflects a situation that is easier to change that the

educational level. The parents can change their job throughout their

professional life but they reach a certain educational level during their youth

and it is difficult to change this later.

The survey conducted with university graduates, has variables of the

parents’ educational and occupational level, and as a result, our work addresses the family origin of the graduates by analysing these two aspects.

In the particular case of our analysis, occupation is an indicator of the socio-

economic level of the parents at the time of the survey (2008) while the

indicator of the educational level refers to the youth of the parents. However,

there is a relation between both indicators (R de Pearson 0.51).

In methodological terms, it is important to highlight that the graduates’ answers about both topics (the education and occupation of their parents)

exceed 98%. Consequently, a good base has been established from which we

can carry out the analysis presented below.

Variables

In our analysis, the variable that allows us to identify the education of the

graduates’ parents does not differentiate between father and mother, and is

sorted into five categories: both parents have primary education or have no

education, one of the two has secondary education, both parents have

secondary education, one of the two has higher education and both have

higher education. In order to obtain a greater capacity to describe and reveal

the origin of the graduates according to the educational level of their parents,

these categories are grouped into three: parents who have primary education,

parents who have secondary education (one or both) and parents who have


higher education (one or both).

With regards to the variable occupation, our work focuses on considering

the highest occupational level whether it is the mother or father (Fachelli,

2009). In this way, we differentiate between groups of employed individuals,

and more specifically, we select the highest occupational status of the father

or the mother in order to analyse the main characteristics of the graduates’ families. In this regard, the classification that we put forward has 5

categories as detailed below:

(1) Employed: Management

(2) Employed: Senior technician (including self-employed, requiring

university studies)

(3) Employed: Skilled

(4) Self-employed: University studies not required

(5) Employed: Unskilled

It must be noted that, in order to carry out this analysis, we did not reduce

the categories to three groups of employed individuals, since it is of

analytical interest to maintain the five categories. In general, the resulting

analyses of this way of organising information (transition matrices) are more

interesting the more categories the base information has. Since our

information about the parents has been sorted into five categories, we

decided to follow the same procedure with the children, meaning,

reorganising the information in the same way that the survey compiles

information about the parents’ occupation. Likewise, in order to avoid the difficulty of comparing graduates who work part-time and those who work

full-time, we chose those graduates who were employed full-time at the time

of the survey, comprising 80% of the total sample.

Procedure and Participants

Professional insertion studies about Catalan universities are carried out by

the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU) on the basis of

surveys conducted since 2001. The survey was conducted between 16th

January and 13th March 2008 (AQU, 2008: 5). The population of graduates

surveyed in the 2003-2004 academic year was 12,258, although in the case

of medicine degrees, the reference population is the student group that

graduated in 2001, since medicine presents a longer professional transition


than other studies. Appendix 1 contains the data sheet of the study.

What Universities Are We Discussing?

The distribution of university graduates between the public and private

sectors in Catalonia is 90% in the public sector and 10% in the private

sector. The survey on which this article is based does not cover graduates

from all the universities in Catalonia; firstly, because it was considered that

those from the Open University of Catalonia (who make up 18% of

students), due to their irregular characteristics of distance learning, could not

be analysed together with those from on-campus universities; secondly,

because the survey was not able to interview graduates from 3 private

universities who make up 7% of the university student body.

As a result, the reference population of this analysis are those graduates

from all the on-campus public universities and one of the private universities

that makes up 25% of the private sector students. These universities cater for

75% of the total number of Catalan university students.

If we want to make a comprehensible typology of the differences

between the universities, beyond that marked between public and private, we

can establish 3 core areas: a) historical, b) geographical location and area of

influence and, c) orientation and/or vocation.

The survey includes the two “historical” universities (founded prior to

1968) in Catalonia: the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Universitat

Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC); a public university founded in 1968, the

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), those that emerged from the

decentralisation of the university system in the eighties, and those that were

founded more recently such as the public Pompeu Fabra University (UPF)

and the private University of Vic (UV).

With regards to location, four of the universities considered are in the

Metropolitan Area of Barcelona and educate 71% of the “on-campus” university student body of Catalonia. Meanwhile, “on-campus” universities located outside the Barcelona area (let us call them “decentralised”), although they only represent 20% of the student body, have played a key

role in the growth and democratisation of the university population of

Catalonia, by reducing, among other aspects, the indirect costs of university

education arising from the costs of changing residence in order to access


university for young people living outside the Metropolitan Area of

Barcelona.

Finally, as regards the “vocation/orientation” aspect, the majority of the universities have a general orientation (with a wide range of specialty areas),

while the UPC has, due to its tradition, a markedly technological orientation,

as indicated by its name. It is also important to note that the UPF –the most

recently founded- has a “selective and elitist intention/orientation”, despite its moderate results in this regard and the fact that it is public.

Results

An Approximation Towards Equity: The Educational Level of Parents,

of the Generation of the Parents and Its Presence Among the

Graduates.

A first global fact is that the majority of graduates come from households

where the parents have, at most, primary education (40.1%). The others are

distributed equally between those from households with parents who have

secondary education and parents who have higher education.

Table 1

Highest educational level of graduates’ parents

Highest educational level of the parents Cases % Grouping in 3

categories

%

Both have primary education or no

education

4,908 40.1 Up to primary

education

40.1

One has secondary education 1,828 14.9 Secondary

education

30.6

Both have secondary education 1,918 15.7

One has higher education 2,054 16.8 Higher

education

29.3

Both have higher education 1,524 12.5

Total 12,232 100.0 Total 100.0

Source: own creation using the AQU base

However, this distribution is moderately heterogeneous if we consider it

according to universities, training pathways and simultaneity between study

and work.


The survey does not provide the age of the graduates’ parents, so we have made an estimate. The aim is to have an equity indicator when obtaining the

university qualification. We are interested in analysing the relation of the

graduates’ parents with regards to the average population of their generation. To achieve this we carried out an exercise as a guideline on the relation

between graduates’ parents and their generation, with regards to their educational level. Lastly, the result is that the “average” generation of the parents of graduates in 2004 in Catalonia, is that of fathers born in 1949 and

mothers born in 1953.

On the basis of these data we can consider a relation that would illustrate

the representative level of graduates’ parents in relation to their generation. This relation is shown in the following graph:

Figure 1. Comparison of the educational level of graduates' parents in 2004 with the

educational level of their generation (individuals between 55 and 59 years of age).

Rate of presence

Source: Microdata from the AQU and EPA surveys (2nd semester 2005)

It is important to note that the rate of presence reflects the comparison of

the educational level of the generation aged between 55 and 59 years, with

the group of parents of university graduates. Thus, the value 1 means

equality in presence of the different educational levels of graduates’ parents

53.4

34.8

11.8

40.1

30.6 29.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Up to primary education Secondary education Higher education

Generation from 55 to 59 years old Graduates’ parents

Rate: 0.8

Rate: 0.9 Rate: 2.5


in relation to that of their generation; a value of less than or more than 1 in

the groups being analysed, means under-representation or over-

representation respectively.

We can observe that parents with no education or with primary education

who have children in university are slightly under-represented in university

in relation to their generation (0.08). Parents with secondary studies are

represented in the university almost proportionally to their generation (0.9).

Lastly, those parents with higher education are over-represented in

university (2.5), meaning, the proportion of parents with higher education

with children who graduated in 2004 is clearly higher than the presence in

their generation, since only 11.8% of people aged between 55 and 59 years

have higher education, and within the university this percentage reaches

nearly 30%.

We present the same data as indicated by the probability of being a

university graduate according to the parents’ educational level, if the average probability of being a university graduate from the generation born in 1980

is 28% (EPA 2nd term 2009), the probabilities of graduating from university

on the basis of the parents’ education, obtained by multiplying this average figure by the rate of presence of each group of parents (Graph No. 1), are the

following:

Table 2

Percentage of children who are university graduates and non-university graduates

based on the parents’ educational level for the entire generation of graduates

Parents Primary Secondary University Total

Children's

qualification

University 22.4% 25.2% 70.0% 28.0%

Non-university 77.6% 74.8% 30.0% 72.0%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Source: Own creation using microdata from the AQU survey and EPA (2nd term

2005 and 2nd term 2009).

But this phenomenon has not always been the case; rather, as Marina

Subirats demonstrates on the basis of the Barcelona Metropolitan Survey

(2009: 19-20), it is the result of a gradual process of increasing the

participation of “low professional categories” in university.


It is worth highlighting four facts from the previously presented data; 1)

the large majority of university graduates in 2004 are children of parents

who do not have university studies (70%); 2) of these, graduates from

families with primary education or less, comprise the relative majority (40%

of the total), 3) there are very few differences in the opportunities of

accessing university qualifications between children from families who have

primary education or less and those who are from families with secondary

education; 4) children of university graduates, although a minority in today's

university, have much greater opportunities to access university, than those

from homes with parents who do not have university studies.

Lastly, it is important to point out that this exercise is approximate, since

the comparison is made between an estimate of the educational level of the

generation of parents and the information provided to us by children in the

AQU survey about the higher educational level of their mother or father.

What is the Occupation of Graduates Compared to That of Their

Parents?

Firstly, we would like to highlight the high economic activity rate of the

graduates, since the unemployment rate in 2008 of Catalan university

graduates from 2004, was only 3.1%. These figures support Manel Castells

(2006: 15) when he states that “…one of the biggest mistakes repeated in the media in our country is that "university is a factory producing unemployed

people". This is not the case in Spain (the unemployment rate of university

graduates is much lower than that of those who do not study beyond

secondary education) nor worldwide, as demonstrated by Martin Carnoy,

upon finding a high statistical correlation between the number of years of

study and the salary level throughout a person's career.

Addressing the comparison between the occupation of graduates and that

of their parents, we regroup five occupational categories into three groups,

as we did with the parents’ educational level, in order to obtain a greater capacity to describe and reveal the family origin of the university graduates

on the basis of the occupational hierarchy of their parents. Firstly, we present

the highest occupational level of the parents in Table No. 3.


Table 3

Highest occupational level of parents

Highest occupational level of parents Cases % Occupational

status %

Employed: Management 1,894 15.7

High status 35.3 Employed: Senior Technician 1,523 12.6

Self-employed: University studies

required 840 7.0

Employed: Skilled 3,849 31.9

Medium

status 31.9

Self-employed: No university studies

required 2,493 20.7

Low status 32.7

Employed: Unskilled 1,453 12.1

Total 12,052 100.0 Total 100.0


The distribution of the occupational status of the parents of graduates is

grouped into three almost equal parts. This distribution shows a relative

variation when considered according to universities, training pathways,

simultaneity between work and study (see Planas & Fachelli, 2010).

In global terms, the following table reveals the relation between

children’s and parents’ occupations. Thus, we can observe the proportion of graduates who carry out jobs of the same level, and also those who carry out

jobs of a different level than their parents, whether of a higher or lower

hierarchical level. The result presented below reflects all the graduates in

full-time employment.


Table 4

Occupation of graduates according to parents’ occupation

Highest occupational status

of parents

University graduates in full-time employment

Management Senior

Technician Skilled

Self-

employed Unskilled

1 Management 6.0 1.8 6.8 0.7 0.3

2 Senior Technician 6.2 2.4 8.6 1.1 0.6

3 Skilled 9.5 4.4 15.5 1.0 1.3

4 Self-employed without

university education 6.4 2.9 10.0 1.3 0.8

5 Unskilled 3.7 1.3 6.3 0.4 0.7


A large proportion of university graduates, despite being in their first

professional insertion, obtain higher positions than their parents, who due to

their age, are in the final phase of their professional career. 51.1% of the

total number of graduates (obtained by adding all the percentages of the left

margin and bottom of the grid) already carry out jobs of a higher hierarchical

level than that of their parents.

Furthermore, 25.9% carry out similar jobs to those of their parents (sum

of the diagonal figures) and 23.3% still carry out jobs of a lower hierarchical

level (right margin and top of the grid).

It is interesting to note that the insertion of the graduates we are analysing

is early. Therefore, they have a long road ahead to advance in their

professional career. In many cases this will mean an occupational rise for

graduates who will tend, even more so than now, to exceed the occupational

positions of their parents.

If we observe the results in terms of gender (see Table No. 1 of Appendix

2) it is clear that men carry out jobs of a higher hierarchical level than

women, although the differences are very slight (52.4% and 49.8%

respectively).

Consequently, women are over-represented in lower hierarchy jobs. For

example, men who work in management whose parents are senior

technicians or skilled workers add up to 18.6%. On the contrary, in the case


of women, this figure is 13.7%.

Additionally, if we observe the occupations above the diagonal line (jobs

of a lower level than those of their parents) women represent 24.2%, while

men represent 22%.

The proportion of men and women who carry out jobs of the same level

as their parents is similar (26% and 25.6% respectively). In both cases the

higher rate is found in skilled jobs (17.4% for women and 12.7% for men).

Lastly, men appear in higher positions more than women (10.6% compared

to 6.8% in positions of management and senior technician).

Children’s Occupation Compared to That of Their Parents

If we carry out a reading considering the occupation of the father as an

indicator of the university graduate’s family origin we obtain the following results:

Table 5

Occupation of graduates according to occupation of parents

Highest occupational

status of parents

University graduates in full-time employment

Total Management

Senior

Technician Skilled

Self-

employed Unskilled

1 Management 38.0 11.7 43.4 4.8 2.2 100

2 Senior Technician 32.6 12.7 45.4 6.0 3.3 100

3 Skilled 30.0 13.7 49.0 3.2 4.2 100

4 Self-employed

without university

studies 30.0 13.4 46.7 6.0 3.9 100

5 Unskilled 29.8 10.3 51.0 3.0 5.9 100


(1) Management: bearing in mind that this is the highest occupational

category, and consequently, they cannot have ascending mobility, it can be

observed that 38% of children carry out jobs of the same level, 43.3% carry

out skilled jobs and 11.7% carry out jobs as a senior technician. Very few

children are self-employed (4.8%) and only 2.2% carry out an unskilled job.


(2) Senior Technician: Almost 13% of children carry out jobs of the

same level, while approximately one third exceed them in hierarchical

terms and carry out management jobs. On the contrary, 45% carry out

skilled jobs and the rest are divided between 6% who are self-employed and

3.3% who are in unskilled jobs.

(3) Skilled: almost 50% of the children carry out jobs of the same level

as their parents. 43.7% exceed their parents in hierarchy, while little more

than 7% carry out jobs of a lower hierarchy.

(4) Self-employed (without university studies): children who carry out a

job of the same level as their parents, in this case, decrease to 6%.

Excluding almost 4% who carry out unskilled jobs, the remaining 90%

carry out jobs of a higher hierarchy.

(5) Unskilled: 6% of children carry out jobs of the same level as their

parents, and considering that this is the lowest occupational category, the

rest carry out jobs of a higher hierarchy.

If we perform the same analysis differentiating between the gender of

the graduates (see Table No. 2 of Appendix 2), relevant differences appear.

Of the total number of male children of parents working in a position of

management, 44% have a similar position. This percentage reduces to 33%

in the case of women. This situation balances out with a greater proportion

of women in skilled positions (50%) compared to 36% of men.

Male children of senior technicians carry out management jobs to a

greater extent (37.5%) than women from the same family origin (29.2%).

More than 15% of men have the same place of origin as their parents, while

in the case of women this figure is 10%.

Children of skilled workers who carry out the same jobs as their parents,

are more numerous in the case of women (53.8%), than in that of men

(41.5%).

If we observe the category of parents who are self-employed and have

no university education, we see that the percentage of children who exceed

them in other occupations of a higher hierarchy is similar between men

(89%) and women (91%).

The number of children who carry out the same unskilled job as their

parents is approximately 6% in both genders and as the lowest category, the

remaining 94% work in higher categories.


Lastly, it seems reasonable to conclude that university provides tools to

place children in jobs that hierarchically exceed the job carried out by their

parents, and that the influence of the origin of the parents in occupational

terms on the child's occupation is not very important.

Conclusions

In the first pages of this text we raised a question regarding the equity of

our educational systems: Is school, in this case university, a social

institution that provides the same opportunities to all young people

regardless of their family of origin, or, on the contrary, does it reinforce and

legitimise the inequalities stemming from the social origin of students?

Having observed the results, the answer cannot categorically favour

either of the two options without matrixes. However, from the information

we have retrieved, two particularly relevant corollaries emerge regarding

the social function of Catalan universities. Firstly, advances can be

observed in the equal opportunities that exist when obtaining qualifications

from Catalan universities, considered globally on the basis of the origin of

the university students. This allows us to assume that the mentioned equity

is also found in access to universities. Consequently, we must highlight the

reduced discrimination in the universities’ job of raising the educational

level of the population. This fact is consistent with data presented by the

OCDE in reference to all Spanish universities compared to those from other

countries belonging to the same international organisation.

Even when we use approximate estimates, the rate of presence of the

different educational levels of the parents, if we compare the educational

level of the graduates’ parents with the average for their generation, is not homogeneous. However, it is very close to 1, both for those who have

primary education (0.8), and those who have secondary education (0.9).

The difference is greater for children of parents with higher education who

have a rate of presence of 2.5. As a result, if the generation born in 1980

has on average 28% of opportunities of obtaining a university qualification,

the opportunities of those who were born into families with primary

education or less are 22.4% and those from families with secondary

education are 25.2%, while those children whose parents have university

qualifications represent 70%.


Synthetically, in relation to the educational level of graduates’ parents we can state that: a) the large majority of graduates in 2004 are children of

individuals who do not have university education (70%); b) of these the

graduates who come from families with primary education or less, make up

the relative majority (40% of the total) of the graduates surveyed; c) there

are very few differences between the opportunities of accessing university

qualifications for children from families with primary education or less and

those for children from families with secondary education; d) children of

university graduates, although currently a minority in university, still have

many more access opportunities that those from families without higher

education.

The second result that we would like to highlight is the high rising

professional mobility of graduates compared to their parents. This is a

comparison between one generation, that of the parents, who are at the end

of their professional career, and another, that of their children, who have

recently started their career. We observe that the university system

facilitates graduates having hierarchically higher jobs than their parents

within only 4 years of graduating. This does not necessarily mean that the

occupation in which they are working meets all the expectations of the new

graduates but it nearly does, since the percentage of graduates who consider

their insertion adequate with regard to their training is 80% and all of the

surveyed graduates rate the training received globally with “6/10 points”. This phenomenon is also reflected in the fact that the graduates who are

in higher occupational positions are children of families of very different

origins, and are distributed in similar proportions for each of the social

strata of the parents.

Strictly speaking, with the data available, we can only discuss

intergenerational occupational mobility and not social mobility. In any

event, the fact that graduates from 2004 have, already in 2008, a mainly

higher occupation that that of their parents tells us that their insertion

matches, at least, the changes in the work demand and, consequently, the

evolution of the social structure.

However, these two major results must be qualified; discrimination on

the grounds of social origin is apparent in university, on the one hand, in the

higher relative presence of students whose parents have higher education,

even when currently these, in absolute terms, comprise a minority. On the


other hand, it is apparent in the higher presence of students whose parents

have a low educational level and low occupational status in shorter cycle

courses. Lastly, discrimination is also apparent in the fact that graduates

whose parents have a higher occupational level have a greater probability of

having higher work positions.

As well as these results about the social function of Catalan universities,

the data analysed provide us with other interesting results both regarding

society in general and parents and university students. Students from all the

universities are not equal; neither are their parents, nor their opportunities.

But the main fact is still the great similarity within their diversity. Although

it is not the aim of this article, we cannot avoid the fact that the greatest

difference appears on the grounds of gender and is evident in the choosing

of different fields of study and degrees within the university. It is also

especially evident in the negative discrimination of women when accessing

high occupational positions, despite their higher educational level, and

mainly in their salaries when they find themselves in equivalent

occupations despite a progressive comparison in the duties.

As we pointed out in the introductory section, if we consider the

objectives proposed for the EHEA with the Horizon 2020, both in relation

to the increase in youths’ participation in university education and the equality in accessing university and employability, the case of Catalonia

and, by extension Spain, comprise an “exemplary” precedent, the analysis of which acquires a value that goes beyond its specific regional sphere.

Furthermore, bearing in mind that the generation of graduates being studied

started their university education in 2000, as part of a university model

prior to the “Bologna Process", the studied population constitutes a type of “control group” to evaluate the results of its implementation, in relation to the aforementioned priorities.

Using the results presented, we set out a question that we consider to

have a general value for the implementation process of the EHEA: To what

extent should “innovation” take place in institutions that present a high degree of efficiency and equity? In the process of becoming incorporated

into the EHEA, transformations have occurred both in the contents and in

the organisation and management of the university system, without paying

much attention to preserving those organisational, managerial and content

elements that facilitated the high level of efficiency and equity. In general,


no previous analysis has even been conducted, such as that presented in this

text, of the degree of efficiency and equity of university before the

implementation of the "Bologna Process". Regardless of the intentions and

statements of principles that preceded the changes taking place in our

universities in terms of equity and efficiency in professional insertion, this

is no guarantee that changes which are fixated on “excellence” do not result in, although they do not seek it, an increase in the inequity of our higher

educational systems. For example, what would be the effects of introducing

obligatory full-time education if it is not accompanied by a more generous

grant system? since it would make it more difficult for children from a

lower social origin to access the Catalan university system. The results of

previous study show that full-time dedication to education has a clear

relation with the social origin of the students (Planas & Fachelli, 2010;

Fachelli & Planas, 2011). In this regard, the results presented should make

us reflect on the role of public universities outside Barcelona, which, by

having catered for a higher percentage of students from low status families,

have played a key role in the democratisation of university studies.

What is being done so that university systems, such as the Spanish

system, during their incorporation into the EHEA, do not lose the

“exemplary” nature that they have had, at least prior to the implementation

that is being carried out?

What evaluation and intervention measures are being considered so that

the recommendations made for the 2010-2020 stage of the “Bologna Process” regarding equity, employability and increase of presence do not remain simply as good intentions?

How will these aspects be affected by the budgetary restrictions

stemming from the current economic crisis? Especially if we bear in mind

that the EU countries that have been most affected by the crisis are those

which already had less of a budget per capita of university students.

Will the 2020 objective of guaranteeing equity in the construction

process of the EHEA involve another type of “convergence” in the budget per capita of European university students from different countries?

If this is not the case, there is a clear risk that the differences

(divergences?) between the university systems in the different countries

will increase the internal inequity in the EU; regardless of the fact that the

intentions being drawn up as EHEA objectives for 2020 state the contrary.


From this research, the answer to these questions can only be to create a

mechanism that facilitates a detailed and objective follow-up (university by

university, country by country) of the impact of the EHEA development

process, which should provide us with information about the effects of the

changes in course by establishing a system of indicators which enables the

evolution of equity in access and employability for university graduates to

be monitored, relating them to the changes in course.

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Appendix 1

Sandra Fachelli is is PhD in Sociology at the Universidad Autónoma

de Barcelona (UAB) and Associate Professor at the University of

Barcelona (UB)

Jordi Planas is Cathedratic professor of Sociology at the Universidad

Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Contact Address: Direct correspondence to Sandra Fachelli at

GRET - Grup de recerca en Educació i Treball. Edifici B. Campus de

la UAB. Despatx B3/ -107 (08193) Bellaterra, Barcelona. E-mail:

[email protected]




Table 1

Population and sample per university

University Population Sample

Response

out of

total

population

(%)

Sample

error

University of Barcelona 7,363 3,279 44.53% 1.27%

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 4,759 2,605 54.74% 1.29%

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya 3,594 1,694 47.13% 1.73%

Pompeu Fabra University 1,682 892 53.03% 2.25%

University of Girona 1,599 1,100 68.79% 1.65%

University of Lleida 1,411 975 69.10% 1.74%

Universidad Rovira y Virgili (URV) 1,935 1,226 63.36% 1.69%

University of Vic 680 487 71.62% 2.37%

Total 23,023 12,258 53.24% 0.61%

Source: AQU (2008: 5)

Appendix 2

Table 1

Occupation of graduates by gender according to parents’ occupation

Highest occupational

status of parents

Female employed graduates Male employed graduates

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1 Management 4.8 1.8 7.2 0.5 0.4 7.6 1.9 6.2 1.1 0.3

2 Senior Technician 5.5 2.0 9.6 0.9 0.8 7.3 3.0 7.3 1.5 0.4

3 Skilled 8.3 4.4 17.4 0.7 1.6 11.3 4.3 12.7 1.4 1.0

4 Self-employed

without university

studies 5.9 2.9 11.2 1.1 0.8 7.1 2.8 8.1 1.5 0.8

5 Unskilled 3.5 1.2 6.7 0.3 0.7 4.0 1.4 5.6 0.5 0.7



Table 2

Occupation of graduates by gender, according to occupation of origin of parents

Highest

occupational status

of parents

Female employed

graduates Total

Male employed graduates Total

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1 Management 32.9 12.1 49.2 3.3 2.5 100 44.4 11.1 36.1 6.5 1.8 100

2 Senior

Technician 29.2 10.7 51.2 4.7 4.2 100 37.5 15.5 37.2 7.7 2.1 100

3 Skilled 25.6 13.5 53.8 2.3 4.8 100 36.7 14.0 41.5 4.6 3.2 100

4 Self-employed

without university

studies 27.0 13.1 50.9 5.2 3.8 100 34.8 13.8 40.0 7.2 4.2 100

5 Unskilled 28.1 9.7 54.3 2.2 5.8 100 32.4 11.3 46.0 4.2 6.1 100




Factors Affecting the Distribution of Information and

Communication Technologies in an Egyptian Public University:

A Case Study of the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams

University

Nivien Zakaria Amin1

1) Ain Shams University, Egypt



To cite this article: Amin, N.Z. (2014) Factors Affecting the Distribution of

Information and Communication Technologies in an Egyptian Public

University: A Case Study of the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams

University. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(2), 167-187.

doi: 10.4471/rise.2014.11








June 2014 pp. 167-187

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.11

Factors Affecting the Distribution of Information and Communication Technologies in an Egyptian Public UniversityNivien Zakaria Amin

Ain Shams University

(Received: 14 February 2014; Accepted: 13 June 2014; Published: 25 June 2014)

Abstract

This research investigates the three main factors that affect the provision, access, and distribution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) among senior and junior faculty members in the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University. These three factors include laws and regulations organizing the procurement of ICT in public universities in general and in the Faculty in particular, the organizational structure of the Faculty, in which the position of ICT can be determined, and the administrative and decision-making mechanisms that help distribute ICT across the departments of the faculty and the determinants that govern the execution of decisions related to ICT. The study conducted interviews with the dean (provost) of the faculty, the three vice-deans (vice-provosts) and seventeen heads of faculty departments and secretaries. The study revealed that the current elected faculty administration has shown real progress. After the election of the new administration, distribution of technologies was carried out according to new demands that priority should be given to departments that had not gotten equipment in the previous year.

Keywords: ICT, distribution, public university system, organizational

structure


June 2014 pp. 167-187

2014 Hipatia Press

ISSN: 2014-3575

DOI: 10.4471/rise.2014.11

Factores que afectan a la distribución de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación en la Universidad Pública de EgiptoNivien Zakaria Amin

Ain Shams University

(Recibido: 14 Febrero 2014; Aceptado: 13 Junio 2014; Publicado: 25 Junio 2014)

Resumen

Esta investigación estudia los tres factores principales que afectan al suministro, al acceso y a la distribución de las Tecnologías de la de la Información y de la Comunicación entre los miembros del cuerpo docente en la Facultad de Educación de la Universidad de Ain Shams. Estos tres factores, como las leyes y reglamentos de la organización de la adquisición de TIC en las universidades públicas en general y en la Facultad, en particular, la estructura organizativa de la Facultad, en la que la posición de las TIC puede ser determinante, y los mecanismos administrativos que ayudan a distribuir las TIC a través de los departamentos de la facultad y los determinantes que rigen la ejecución de las decisiones relacionadas con las TIC. Se realizaron entrevistas con el decano de la facultad, los tres decanos vicepresidentes y diecisiete jefes de los departamentos de la facultad y secretarios. Se reveló que la administración de la facultad elegida actual ha mostrado un progreso real. Después de la elección de la nueva administración, la distribución de las tecnologías se llevó a cabo de acuerdo a las nuevas demandas que se debería dar prioridad a los departamentos que no habían conseguido equipamiento en el año anterior.

Palabras clave: TIC, distribución, sistema universitario público, estructura


he use of ICT among faculty members has been a priority in most

Egyptian public universities, especially following the election of

universities’ administrations after the Egyptian Revolution of

January 25, 2011 (Kolar, 2012). The election of the new

administrations was carried out by senior and junior faculty members and not

the State Security as was the case before the Revolution; elected were deans

(provosts) and three vice-deans-deputies (vice provosts)—one for student

affairs, one for graduate studies and research, and one for the environment.

For the members of these newly-elected administrations, ICT represent the

most essential aspect of enhancing not only the academic capacity of faculty

members, but the educational process for teachers and their students as well

(Machin, 2006; Nesbitt, 2008). Though the administration of the Faculty of

Education has embedded ICT into its agenda as a necessary priority, it found

that the provision, access, and distribution of ICT are uneven across the

departments of the faculty in favor of the scientific disciplines in comparison

with those in the humanities and education. This paper, then, investigates the

Faculty’s laws and regulations, its organizational structure, and its administrative and decision-making mechanisms all of which impact the

provision, access, and distribution of ICT.

ICT is variously defined. The United Nation Development Program’s (UNDP) definition states that ICT are tools that people use to gather, share

and distribute information and to communicate with one another through the

use of computers and computer networks (ESCAP, 2004). According to the

World Bank, ICT consists of hardware, software, networks, and media for the

collection, storage, processing, transmission, and presentation of information

in the form of voice, data, text, and images. The Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines ICT as a combination of

manufacturing and service industries that capture, transmit and display data

and information electronically (Chen, 2004). As long as the current study

investigates the position of ICT in the Faculty of Education, the operational

definition of ICT adopted in this paper is the following: a collection of

technologies and applications, which enable senior and junior faculty

members to process, store, and transfer information. These technologies and

applications include computer equipment, PowerPoint projectors and access

to the Internet.

The idea of the equal distribution of ICT is connected to applying the

T

170 Amin – Factors for Distributing ICT

institutional system to both Ain Shams University and the Faculty of

Education as a process and as a property variable (Zucker, 1977). The Faculty

of Education is an entity with its own rules and regulations determining its

relation with other entities; it is also an autonomous educational or a cultural

system characterized by various features and properties (Scott, 2001). We also

have to take into account that institutionalization is a process that has to

develop its organizational structure and decision making according to its

needs as well as global challenges that can help such entity to achieve

stability and progress (Scott, 2001).

The argument of this study is based on three main claims. First, there is an

imbalance in the distribution of ICT in the Faculty of Education in favor of

the scientific disciplines in comparison with other disciplines in the

humanities and in education. Second, a clear gap exists between the laws and

regulations of ICT, on the one hand and the executive decision making

practiced in the faculty, on the other. Finally, a claim could be made that the

elected administration—whether the current one or the next, and in

comparison with the previously appointed ones—can act to close the gap

between laws and regulations and the decision making process by modifying

the design and practice of the organizational structure of the faculty to include

ICT as a separate unit like any other educational unit embedded in this

structure.

The present study will examine two specific areas:

1. Investigating the effect of legislative, organizational and administrative

factors in the Faculty of Education on the provision, access and distribution

of ICT either across the three sectors or within departments.

2. Identifying to what extent there is a gap between the laws and regulations

of ICT, on the one hand and administrative procedures in distributing ICT, on

the other.

Research Questions

1. What are the laws and regulations that govern ICT in Egyptian public

universities in general and in the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams


University in particular?

2. How does the faculty’s organizational structure affect ICT provision, distribution and access to it by faculty members?

3. Is there a link between the decision-making system and executive

mechanisms, on the one hand and access, provision and distribution of ICT,

on the other within the faculty?

4. What are the possible solutions toward an equitable distribution of ICT

across three divisions (scientific-humanities-educational) within the faculty?

Methodology

This research adopted a qualitative methodology. The selection of the sample

is based on purposive and non-random technique. The first stage of the

research sought to recognize the difference between the elected

administration—including the dean (provost), all his three deputies (vice-

provosts) and all heads of the seventeenth departments—and the previously

appointed one.

Two focus group discussions were conducted: the first took place on April

24, 2012 with seven faculty members (three from scientific, two from the

humanities, and two from educational departments). The second happened on

May 5, 2012 with eight junior faculty members (four from scientific, two

from humanities and two from educational departments).

During the second stage, the study explored the factors affecting the

imbalance in the distribution of ICT across the three sectors. Three factors

were identified: laws and regulations, which govern the procurement of ICT,

the organizational structure of the Faculty of Education, as well as its

administrative and decision-making mechanisms. Consequently, data and

documents were collected about the laws and regulations of ICT in public

universities in Egypt and in the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams

University. It was also during this stage of the study when interviews were

conducted with the dean (provost), the three vice-deans (vice-provosts), (ICT)

program managers at Ain Shams University or within the Faculty.

Additionally, questionnaires were sent to seventeen heads of faculty

departments and secretaries.


Limits to the Study

1. It is very difficult to pass ICT laws and regulations in Egypt. All projects

throughout either Ain Shams University or the Faculty of Education that aim

to develop the technical skills of faculty members and to provide public

faculties with ICT equipment and expertise, are only concerned with tangible

mechanisms and procedures rather than with laws and regulations that would

organize and legalize the availability and access to ICT.

2. Procuring a chart of the organizational structure of the Faculty of

Education was difficult as it is not available either online or as a hard copy. I

was able to obtain an outdated version of the chart, and only after several

attempts, from the university’s Educational Quality Unit, while a new version

is currently being prepared.

Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University and ICT

Ain Shams University is the third oldest in Egypt. It was founded in July

1950 under the name Ibrahim Pasha University. Presently, it includes fifteen

faculties and two high institutes. In 1950 there were only eight faculties: Arts,

Law, Commerce, Science, Engineering, Medicine, Agriculture, and Women's

College. In 1969, the Faculty of Education, known since 1880 as Teachers’ College, became the ninth faculty in the university (Al-Sayyid, 2010).

Each university in Egypt is governed by a president who is assisted by

three vice-presidents. Their areas of competence vary to include student

affairs, graduate studies and research, and community and environmental

affairs. Each dean is assisted by three vice-deans. Heads of departments are

appointed by the dean of the faculty. The Law of the Organization of

Universities (Law 143) issued in 1972 gives Egyptian professors and faculty

members the right to elect the dean of their faculty; the names of three front-

runners are sent to the university president who appoints the candidate who

has received the highest number of votes (Reid, 1990). However, in 1994 the

situation changed as Dr. Hussein Kamel Baha’ El-Din, then-Minister of

Higher Education, decided that elections of deans gave rise to much

infighting among professors (Al-Sayyid, 2010). He got one of his followers,

a member of the People’s Assembly who became a senior official at the


Ministry of Education, to amend the Law 143 related to the election of deans.

Thus, since May 1994, university presidents have the privilege of appointing

deans of faculties.

After the Egyptian Revolution of January 25, the president of the

university, three vice-presidents, deans (provosts) of faculties, three vice-

deans and heads of departments were elected by professors and faculty

members. During conducting focus group discussions within the Faculty,

senior and junior faculty members assured me that there was a positive

relationship between electing these leaders and enhancing educational

processes and outcomes for both teachers and students within the faculty. In

comparison to the tendency of the former heads of department, provosts, and

vice-provosts who were more inclined to represent the interests of the state

before the Revolution, the loyalty of these elected leaders after the Revolution

would be to their colleagues, to the faculty members, and to their students and

they would not follow the interests of the president of the university or the

interests of the state. In turn, the elected administration, based on the

effectiveness of the educational services that it provides, can hope that senior

and junior faculty members would reelect it.

Previously, the appointed leaders of public universities were focused on

satisfying the corrupted political regime, including the members of the

National Democratic Party (NDP) and the State Security. In the opinion of

the members of the Faculty of Education, appointed deans were pro-regime,

unwilling to be accountable, they were co-opted and unwilling to change the

power structure and they enjoyed almost full discretion over the allocation of

ICT resources. Also, they disregarded the demands of faculty members and

showed passivity towards developing the educational process within the

faculty. Elected deans, on the other hand, responded to the demands of

faculty members, applied the principles of equity in all educational aspects

(including ICT), and responded to accountability—faculty members have a

say in changing deans (provosts) and monitoring their performance and

decisions.


Factors Affecting the Distribution of ICT Devices

Laws and Regulations of ICT in Egypt

Since the late 1990s, the regulation and development of the

telecommunication sector became a top priority to the Egyptian government.

Two of the main objectives of the National Communications and Information

Technology Plan (NCITP) announced in 1999 under the Ministry of

Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and which were used

by the universities, were to create a robust IT industry in Egypt and to

establish an information society to acquire and benefit from endless sources

of information. In 2003, the Telecommunications’ Law was enacted to regulate the communications' services sector and to disseminate and improve

services using as a benchmark the most advanced technologies. Accordingly,

the total investment in ICT exceeded USD 44 billion dollars by the end of

2010 (MCIT, 2013).

The new Communications’ Law of 2003 included the establishment of the

Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), which is responsible for

licensing telecom operators and implementing government

telecommunication policies (UNECA, 2009). With the belief that investment

in education via ICT is the solution to ensure national development, MCIT

worked closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of

Higher Education (MOHE) on a number of projects with the goal to empower

both teachers and students with IT skills.

There are no effective mechanisms, such as annual evaluation reports, for

measuring the quality of teaching and accountability (formative or

summative) in Egyptian public universities generally. Criteria for assessing

performance, particularly in teaching, are insufficient. Deans and

departmental chairs are not empowered to take any meaningful action

following up on evidence of poor performance by their staff. Except for some

individual and isolated initiatives, there is also limited expertise for

developing strong standards for performance and there is no available data

that could be used as indicator of educational quality (Becta, 2006; Parri,

2006). Also, there is no motivation in the workplace that can lead faculty

members to innovative teaching or creative research. In addition, office space

is limited and universities do not provide academic staff with computers.


Egypt’s administrative-to-teaching staff ratio is 4:3 in public universities,

which is considered high by international standards. Personnel management

regulations make the intervention to reduce the number of employees in the

administration extremely difficult and university officials cannot remedy this

situation. Therefore, the share in public spending devoted to actual teaching is

low. In addition, there is no mandatory retirement age, in which means that

there are more senior faculty members and fewer junior teaching staff. In the

absence of a funding formula, university budgets are determined by the

Ministry of Planning (MOP) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) and are based

on individual discussions and needs assessments for each university.

It is impossible to continue developing this industry and adopting

innovation strategies without establishing cooperation channels between

business and academia (Oliver, 2002; Angel, 2004; Unwin, 2009). The

Information Technology Academia Collaboration (ITAC) is a program of the

Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) designed to

foster cooperation between ICT companies and Research and Development

(R&D) institutions in order to shed light on the importance of linking industry

research with market needs. To empower competition in local and global

markets, ITAC programs promote collaboration between industry and

academia creating more opportunities for undergraduates and graduates in

getting advice on ICT and access to the Internet within ICT companies

(MCIT, 2010).

Recent initiatives to improve ICT infrastructure in higher education in

Egypt (currently, the first of six, such projects is being considered) include

upgrading operations of the unified high-speed information network

inaugurated in January 2007, linking Egyptian universities, research centers,

and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The upgrade operations include updating

the technological environment of seventeen Egyptian universities via the

establishment of 315 IT clubs inside the different colleges (MCIT, 2010).

The Egyptian University Network (EUN) was established in 1987 by the

Supreme Council of University (SCU) with the major objective of linking

Egyptian universities to the Internet as part of an effort to facilitate

communication and the exchange of information between them. Egypt

introduced its first Internet use in 1993 through a link between the EUN and

France. EUN serves twenty universities in addition to various government

and research institutes. Its mission includes the following: establishing the


leading portal of information at the national and international levels, an e-

library that provides researchers and decision makers with significant

information; integration, co-ordination and linkage between Egyptian

universities to maximize the use of available information and informatics

resources; and creating an e-learning center to enhance the system of higher

education (EUN, 2013). Large disparities exist between universities regarding

ICT resources and use of e-learning as some universities have established e-

learning centers while others have not provided any e-learning facilities.

Said (2001) argues that the lack of an overall technology plan, coupled

with a short-term funding model and the absence of a clear acquisition and

replacement plan, has led to "an inconsistent and unproductive approach to IT

implementation (El-Shenawi, 2005). Within individual universities, there is a

shortage of up-to-date ICT for teaching, libraries and research. In this context,

El-Shenawi observes that in spite of the efforts of the MOHE to integrate

technology into the education system, results are far behind what was

intended. This is due to a lack of coordination between universities and

between different departments within each faculty.

To sum up, and in regard to the laws and regulations of ICT in the Faculty

of Education, Ain Shams University, there is a lack of forming laws by public

universities in tackling ICT. Also, there are no integrated regulations that can

coordinate the activities of ICT within different departments in each faculty

and across universities (Fox & Yuan, 2007). The laws enacted by the

Ministry of Communications alone, without laws formed by the Ministry of

Higher Education, cannot guarantee establishing cooperation channels

between business and academia.

The Organizational Structure

The organizational structure is one of the most important factors that can

determine the efficiency of the institution (the Faculty of Education, in this

case). The structure has to include three specific variables: the total number

of the workforce in the faculty (administrative staff, senior and junior faculty

members, professors, office boys, etc.), the extent of complexity of the

faculty vertically as well as horizontally (diversity of organizational activities,

jobs, and departments), the legitimacy of the faculty [the extent to which the

faculty is subject to written rules and regulations enacted through procedures,


instructions, and communications] (Blankshtain, 2004; Bates, 2006; UNDP,

2010). Such official legitimacy includes the role of each person involved in

the structure, the authority relations that determine the extent of

professionalism and the main features of the professional hierarchy,

communication between such persons--whether oral or written, and the main

criteria and sanctions based on written rules and policies applied in case of

violations (Mohamed, 1997).

The organizational structure in the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams

University does not include several components mentioned above such as size

of the faculty and the legitimacy. These components were not part of the

previous organizational structure, but are included in the current diagram of

the hierarchical organization, which shows that the faculty still needs to

undergo several institutional developments. Concerning ICT, the

organizational structure of the Faculty of Education does not include an

Information Technology (IT) unit. This unit is embedded in Ain Shams

University’s new strategy. Accordingly, an IT unit within each faculty is planned, which is included as part of the Information and Communication

Technology Project (ICTP) (Abd El-Latif, Personal Interview, April 2013).

According to Abd El-Latif, ICTP, in coordination with the university,

aims to decentralize the developed capacity-building of faculty members and

students. It is supposed that some faculty members and trained employees are

responsible for running such IT unit efficiently through an activated

consultancy and a maintenance and help desk unit. An experienced engineer

associated with each faculty provides technical help in case of a break-down

of equipment (such as hardware- and software- operating system-networks).

However, the matter was different at the level of university administration—when asked to establish a faculty IT unit, university officials told the elected

administration that the unit needs two rooms of forty five square meters each,

that the focus of the unit would be on the consultancy aspect and that the unit

cannot provide the faculty with help on technical maintenance. In response,

the faculty rejected the proposal of two rooms permanently available to the IT

unit. Thus, the principles that the regulations ratified and acknowledged are

more idealistic than what was actually enacted.

Although the organizational structure does not include an ICT component,

it does have a Center for Electronic Learning. The establishment of this

center is extremely important but, at the same time, its existence is


conditional on the equal access to ICT of faculty members in different

departments and programs, something that has not been acknowledged until

now. Also, the position of ICT in the organizational structure is limited to the

establishment of the center and does not take into account other important

components like establishing technological infrastructure and providing all

departments with equal number of equipment (computer devices and

PowerPoint projectors) and with equal access to the Internet (Yasser,

Personal Interview, 22 April 2013). According to Khalil, "the maintenance

unit in the faculty does not have guidelines or a systematic vision and

therefore, it does have neither executive managers nor technicians". (Khalil,

Personal Interview, 24 April 2013).

However, with the application by the elected administration of

transparency and complex work processes and directions, the organizational

structure of the faculty can extend to include more sophisticated, productive

and regular provisions for ICT through the establishment of IT and

maintenance units. In such a way, the unit can get several considerable

projects underway, providing faculty members with equipment and access to

the Internet and training, and it can establish database site to monitor the

number of ICT equipment in each department (Kageto, 2002; Bauer &

Kenton, 2005; Abd El Reheem, 2006). This monitoring can in turn show

discrepancies in the numbers of equipment provided to each faculty and

unfair distribution to some sectors. Ultimately, priority should be given to

those departments that have the smallest ratio between the number of

equipment and the number of faculty members.

The Administrative and Decision-Making Mechanisms

How Faculties Such as the Faculty of Education Get Technological

Equipment?

Two things can be noted here. First, any one of ICTP’s five projects can provide faculties with only a small number of equipment. Second, faculties

can acquire devices either autonomously through their links with centers,

projects and other sources or, as is most often the case, through the

Continuous Improvement and Qualifying for Accreditation Project (CIQAP),

which provides the faculty with large number of computers and PowerPoint


projectors (Yasser, Personal Interview).

The procedure for distributing computers and PowerPoint projectors is

this: the faculty informs the storekeeper that the university has supplied the

money for acquiring various tools like computer equipment, projectors, office

furnishing, chairs, etc.; a committee convenes to determine the needs of each

department and after purchasing the equipment, the storekeeper informs the

departmental secretaries of the time of delivery of the devices and the process

of equipment distribution begins (Abo-El-Ela, Personal Interview, January

2013).

After the storekeeper receives the numbers of equipment required, the

procurement office makes a supplying order. Once the storekeeper receives

this order, he calls on forming a committee to examine the equipment

acquired and to add it to the total number of technological devices that have

been received before. The distribution of this equipment is then the

responsibility of the vice-provost of post-graduate studies. For instance, in

2010-11 the Faculty of Education requested hundred and seventy-nine

computers and nine PowerPoint projectors, but in 2011-12 the number of

computers declined to forty-four and that of PowerPoint projectors increased

to fifty. There is a clear disparity in the number of equipment distributed not

only in time as it differs from year to year, but also in the types and numbers

of equipment distributed each year.

In this context, Sayed, the storekeeper, asks: “According to which criterion did the university specify that this year only four-four computers

will be acquired while in the previous year the number was hundred and

seventy-nine and why did the university specify that this year fifty

PowerPoint projectors will be had and the previous year the number was

nine? What is the justification of such disparity?” The numbers for equipment for this year were sent late because of the Revolution and when the

storekeeper and the vice-provost for graduate studies asked about the

statistics determining the distribution of ICT devices across all faculties and

departments, they realized that such statistics had not been produced. In this

case, the storekeeper and the vice-provost used old copies of the departments’ applications reflecting their needs of ICT equipment in previous years and

distributed the equipment acquired by Ain Shams University according to

these applications, which did not necessarily reflect the committee decisions

about the distribution of such equipment. Computers are most commonly


distributed through a corporation called The Arab Institution of

Industrialization; the majority of acquired projectors are from the Sony

Corporation.

Dr. El-Gamal, the dean of the faculty mentioned "the acquisition of ICT,

before the revolution, was based on favoritism to specific corporations, not on

the efficiency of particular technologies or the quality of a company’s products". He added "The selected brand-name equipment was the cheapest

available; therefore its quality was lower in comparison with other high-cost

ones. The committee is obligated to select and examine the equipment

intentionally disregarded high-quality technologies and selected equipment

that broke down sometimes even during the first year" (El-Gamal, Personal

Interview, April 26 2013).

To explain the causes of such misdistribution across departments within

the same faculty, Yasser claims that some departments did not know when

equipment would be delivered and whether faculty members from other

departments had been informed about such deliveries and had the chance to

take the entire equipment quotas available in faculty stores. He comments: “I did not see any secretary asking for equipment and did not take them.” Sometimes, under the pressure of bureaucratic procedures, some secretaries

do not ask for any tools or equipment that would require long and

complicated acquisition process and paperwork (Yasser, Personal Interview).

The technical unit in each department is responsible for determining the

quality of the devices that the faculty receives per year. The university is

mainly concerned with acquiring and delivering those devices at a low cost,

however, the technical unit has the right to select technological devices of

good quality; if professors insist on high-quality devices, they have to get

them (Khalil, Personal Interview). The deputies of the faculty agreed on the

fact that "Having Internet access empowers departments in the faculty;

however, the person, who is supposed to distribute the Internet quotas

between departments is a switch worker, not an engineer. In this regard, the

administration of the Faculty of Education sent petitions to the university to

regulate the network". In addition, for them, there is no dependable technical

maintenance unit in the faculty and there is a proposed plan from the current

elected administration to establish such a unit based on the principles of anti-

censorship and transparency.


Findings

In comparison with those who were appointed by the president of Ain Shams

University before the revolution, the new administrative members of the

Faculty of Education have positive and progressive attitudes concerning

following-up the principles of loyalty, rationality and accountability in a way

that actualizes its members' interests in operating the faculty and facilitating

the activities of their faculty and junior members.

Public universities in Egypt initiated five-year strategies, which include

the maintenance of IT units as they can facilitate the long-term

implementation of IT in all universities, including Ain Shams University. If

such five-year strategy is sustained, there would be no gap between the rules

and regulations on the one hand, and the policies on the other, a gap which

was noticeable over the last decade. Two such strategic plans have been put

in effect so far—in 2007-2012 and 2012-2017.

The Minister of Higher Education decentralized university IT units by

designating 20 percent from faculties in which to establish IT prototypes with

the intention to select a larger sample in the future. Instead of relying on a

central line (ICTP) and seeking to entrench the capacity-building of faculties,

the university tended to establish similar IT units and projects.

One of the major factors contributing to the misdistribution of ICT across

sectors in the Faculty of Education in favor of scientific departments is that

the appointed provost was always a faculty member from a science program.

This situation creates a conflict of interest where the incumbents tend to

disregard the required neutrality of their administrative position and are

inclined to prioritize services for their own scientific departments, including

ICT equipment and online access. For instance, the provost was in close

contact with his colleagues from the same discipline and fulfilled all of his

departments’ demands. In addition, there is no common plan of organizing ICT and that each faculty has its own priority.

Compared to the previous situation when provosts were appointed, the

current elected faculty administration has shown real progress as faculty

members have better access to the equipment, which has been added to the

assets of their departments. Previously, departments’ needs for technology were set aside once the new equipment arrived. The new process of

distributing equipment began in 2012, regardless of whether or not the


previous demands of all departments had been fulfilled or not, as they had not

submitted requests for technological devices in the previous year. After the

election of the new administration, distribution of technologies was carried

out according to new demands that priority should be given to departments

that had not gotten equipment in the previous year. Under the elected

administration, the storekeeper himself calls the departments and informs

their secretaries that the shipment of ICT is ready for distribution according to

the needs of the departments. The storekeeper also has to inform the vice-

provost of graduate studies about the accurate time when faculties will

receive the equipment and other tools that they have requested. Khalil added:

“During this transitional stage, there is no time schedule for improving access to the Internet. But there are ongoing efforts of the faculty, although such

efforts are not in parallel with those of the university.”

The Future Vision

1. It is crucial to establish laws governing higher education in general, and

ICT specifically, laws that would impose measures for accountability (Ouda,

2011). Currently, there is no code of ethics, no transparency, no sense of

belonging, while mistrust and disrespect among senior and junior faculty

members are common, especially when compared to the situation in

European and American universities.

2. All departments and the administration of both the faculty and the

university should move to computerized and digital working environment

with regular access to the Internet. This will enable faculty members to send

exams, request vacation times and receive assignments electronically.

3. The issue is not about management; it is about “thinking management” which encourages flexibility and avoids subordination to the interests of a

single person, a single department, perspective or schema (Zaky, 2002;

Nguyen & Frazee, 2009; Renes & Strange, 2011). Emphasizing variety and

flexibility provides justification for strategies based on the development of

human resources and for tactics based on informed decisions. In this way, the

workforce in the faculty will become more flexible. Such flexibility is

supposed to be encouraged, not exploited, through the provision of education

and training schemes.

4. Strengthening basic and long-term research with the partnership of the


private sector on new ICT systems (Zhao & Alexander, 2009; Fahim & Sami,

2011) as such research can contribute to:

-The growth of the whole ICT sector and lead to its openness

-The development of the sector in public universities

-Financing the research into the innovation process

-Developing appropriate conceptual tools to analyze and shape the

evolving new ICT systems (Collis & Moonen, 2001; Fransman, 2010).

In addition, the focus should be on developing appropriate conceptual

tools to analyze and shape the evolving new ICT systems.

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Appendix: Questionnaire Concerning the Three Factors Affecting the

Distribution of ICT in the Faculty in Education

Figure 1. The three factors affecting the distribution of ICT

1. What are the main laws and regulations organizing the ICT in higher

education in general and in public universities in specific?

2. What are the procedures of bringing equipments of ICT?

3. How does the committee select equipment? Is there a specific

criterion?

4. How were the devices of ICT distributed?

5. Who is responsible for distributing the equipment?

6. Who is responsible for the access to the Internet?

7. Why is there imbalance in distributing the devices of ICT in favor of

scientific departments in comparison with educational and humanities

departments?

8. Is there a gap between the laws and regulations of ICT on the one hand

and the policies executed in public universities? If the answer is "Yes," why

is this so?

9. What are the obstacles that hinder the faculty to distribute the

equipment equally?

10. What are the visions of the future development of ICT at the level of

the Faculty of Education as well as in Ain Shams University?



Can education change society?

Cecilia Serrano1

1) University of Zaragoza. Spain



To cite this article: Serrano, C. (2014). Can education change society?

[Review of the Book]. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(2),

188-189. doi: 10.4471/rise.2014.12










RISE – International Journal of Sociology of Education Vol.3 No.1

June 2014 pp. 188-189

Reviews (I)

Apple, M. W. (2012) Can Education Change Society?, New York,

Routlegde

l libro Can Education Change Society? de Michael Apple es una

aportación personal fundamentada en la corriente educativa crítica.

En su aproximación socio-política, se pregunta acerca de si la

educación puede cambiar la sociedad. Esta pregunta que, en inicio

parece sencilla de responder, demuestra ser compleja. De manera crítica y

creativa, Apple ofrece una serie de respuestas a aquellos problemas prácticos

a los que se enfrentan los educadores. Del mismo modo, aporta su visión

acerca de lo que éstos pueden hacer para lograr un cambio socialmente justo

e incluyente para todas las personas.

El libro está dividido en diversas secciones que versan sobre las

relaciones entre educación y poder. La estructura central del trabajo combina

la teoría con la práctica y aporta su punto de vista acerca de la potencialidad

de la educación como eje central en transformaciones políticas sociales y

culturales.

Al inicio trata de contextualizar las situaciones de desigualdad en las

sociedades, las cuales están cada vez más basadas en ideologías neoliberales.

Para desafiar lo anterior propone aplicar una serie de valores, como los de

amor, cuidado y solidaridad. Sus aportaciones continúan mediante la

ejemplificación de las obras de algunos autores como Paulo Freire (el rol de

la educación como transformación), y otros pensadores que se han

aproximado a la figura del investigador-activista crítico. Entre algunos

investigadores destaca a George Counts, el cual defiende la educación como

actor en la lucha por las transformaciones, W.E.B. Du Bois, que aboga por

una educación contra-hegemónica, y Carter G. Woodson, cuya aportación se

centra en que los afro-americanos lograsen una restauración de su memoria

colectiva.

E


Entre las aportaciones prácticas y centrales del libro, aparecen casos

recientes que muestran cómo la educación puede llegar a transformar la

sociedad. Entre estos ejemplos destacan la creación de una “Citizen Schools” en Porto Alegre y el caso de Wal-Mart. El primer ejemplo supuso

un cambio real en la educación, basado en criterios de emancipación,

participación e integración. El segundo ejemplo muestra una transformación

opuesta, puesto que se basa en los intereses que tienen las principales

instituciones económicas por adoctrinar a los estudiantes, desde los cursos

de primaria hasta la universidad. Esto responde a la tónica de un sistema

neoliberal cuya ética se centra en un consumismo masivo.

Con los ejemplos anteriores, Apple muestra que la educación puede

cambiar la sociedad, pero no necesariamente del modo que los educadores y

activistas críticos desearan. Por ello, el autor anima a realizar un esfuerzo en

la creación de nuevos espacios que permitieran re-situar la educación para

que no estuviera exclusivamente al servicio del poder, es decir, se trataría

posicionar la educación como una herramienta de transformación social,

política y cultural, que respondiera a los intereses de todas las personas.

Cecilia Serrano, Universidad de Zaragoza

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Girls Behind Bars: Reclaiming Education in Transformative

Spaces

Gisela Redondo1

1) University of Barcelona. Spain



To cite this article: Redondo, G. (2014). Girls Behind Bars: Reclaiming

Education in Transformative Spaces [Review of the Book]. International

Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(2), 190-191. doi: 10.4471/rise.2014.12









RISE – International Journal of Sociology of Education Vol.3 No.1

June 2014 pp. 190-191

Reviews (II)

Sharma, S. (2012) Title: Girls Behind Bars: Reclaiming Education in

Transformative Spaces, New York, Continuum.

uniti Sharma, en su obra Girls Behind Bars: Reclaiming Education

in Transformative Spaces, analiza desde su propia experiencia como

docente de Inglés en un centro de detención de menores en la India

el contexto social, económico y educativo de las chicas que tuvo

bajo su tutela durante ese período, y cómo las instituciones penales aplican

un modelo único a todas las menores, sin tener en cuenta dicho contexto

particular de cada una de ellas. Este análisis, discurre, por tanto, desde la

perspectiva micro de las historias de vida de estas niñas y sus familias, hasta

el estudio macro de las características estructurales de la sociedad, tales

como el sistema de justicia penal, el sistema legal, y la pobreza.

Las historias de vida que va recogiendo la autora sirven para evidenciar

su tesis principal: la ineficiencia de la detención como una respuesta a la

desviación en el comportamiento de estas jóvenes, y su papel en la

reproducción de la estigmatización de raza y género de las adolescentes. La

historia de cada chica se pone en contraste con su descripción institucional,

concluyendo que muchas de estas chicas se comportan de manera poco

convencional, como respuesta a la violencia y la injusticia que han sufrido a

lo largo de sus vidas, incluyendo el abuso físico, la violación y el abandono.

El intento por parte de las instituciones de rehabilitar a las niñas siguiendo

una única norma convencional, un ideal, es analizado por Sharma como otra

forma adicional de injusticia el abuso, pero en este caso, permitido, ya que se

realiza desde las propias instituciones.

Sin duda, una de las aportaciones fundamentales de Sharma, es la

promoción del empoderamiento de estas niñas, no sólo a través del

contenido de su discurso, sino, sobretodo, con el uso de técnicas de

investigación social como la autoetnografía crítica y la autorreflexión, que

dan voz a los sujetos investigados. La autora denuncia la invisibilización a la

S


que se ve sometida la situación de estas menores por parte tanto de la

sociedad, como de las instituciones, por lo que en su investigación opta por

incluir en el mismo plano científico la propia interpretación de las

adolescentes. Realiza, además, un llamamiento a los educadores y a las

educadoras para aplicar ambas técnicas también en su trabajo diario con los

y las adolescentes, con el fin de evitar privilegiar los discursos dominantes

en la educación. Sharma argumenta que, con el fin de enseñar y ayudar a los

y las estudiantes de manera efectiva, los educadores deben reconocer las

múltiples formas en que los comportamientos de una persona se pueden

considerar apropiado o normal, no sólo siguiendo el patrón único que dictan

las instituciones. El dar voz a estos chicos y chicas permite a maestros,

profesores y educadores comprender el comportamiento de los estudiantes

como parte de un contexto más amplio personal y mejora su capacidad para

atender las necesidades de cada estudiante.

El trabajo de Sharma concluye con una idea fundamental que enlaza con

todo lo que se ha expuesto anteriormente: Al deconstruir los modelos

tradicionales de la inteligencia, el éxito, o la normalidad, atendiendo a la

propia interpretación de los y las jóvenes sobre su vida y su contexto todas

las instituciones sociales podrían ser más inclusivas, más capaces de servir a

las necesidades individuales, y más capaces de promover la justicia.

Gisela Redondo, Universidad de Barcelona

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]