Inconsistency between educational attainment and literacy: The case of Russia

From the moment when wide spread of large scale assessments in sociology and economics began, the most commonly used indicators of peoples' qualifications are the number of years spent in education and the possession of a high school/college/university diploma. But what if these formal indicators are unreliable under certain conditions and do not reflect actual literacy and competency of people? This article, drawing on data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), questions accuracy of the basic educational indicators in Russia. There is a linear relationship between the possession of a formal graduation diploma and the measurement of PIAAC literacy of the able-bodied population in OECD countries, including the Eastern European ones. However, the analysis shows that in Russia there is an inconsistency between literacy and formal educational status. This fact in itself casts doubt on the effectiveness of formal education indicators in Russia. The social implications resulting from this inconsistency become apparent through an international comparison of research results. These ill effects have been documented in the areas of employment, education and social reproduction and in the social self-awareness of the Russian people.

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The State, the Family, and Education: Ideology, Reproduction, and Resistance in Western Australia 1900–1929

Australian Journal of Education ◽

10.1177/000494418302700203 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 121-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paige H. Porter

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Education System ◽

Social Reproduction ◽

Formal Education ◽

Division Of Labour ◽

The State ◽

The Political ◽

Complex Process ◽

The Social ◽

The Family

This paper argues that gender-related inequalities in education (and other areas) are most crucially understood as embedded in ideology about the family, and that that ideology is at least partially reproduced through the education system itself. The prevalent ideology about the family corresponds to the nature of the political economy and works to maintain and reproduce the social and sexual division of labour both within the family and in the society at large. This study describes one period of educational reform, 1900–1929 in Western Australia, and examines the ideology about the family that was perpetuated by the state through the formal education system at this time. However, social reproduction is seen as a complex process and subject to human mediation Consequently resistance to the state ideology is described, as are contradictions within the ideology itself. It is hoped that, by looking not only at reproduction but also at resistance and contradiction, the entire process will be seen as a more dynamic one.

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Sustainable Development of a Peripheral Mountain Region on the State Border: Case Study of Moravské Kopanice Microregion (Moravia)

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11195540 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (19) ◽

pp. 5540 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Antonín Vaishar ◽

Milada Šťastná

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

The Social ◽

Gaseous Waste ◽

The Moment ◽

Solid Liquid

The sustainability of rural areas is considered to be most threatened in peripheral, hardly accessible microregions with insufficient economical sources. The paper analyses one such rural area in the eastern part of Moravia from the viewpoint of individual economic, social, and environmental sustainability pillars. The area under study is the mountain territory on the border with Slovakia, which is under large-scale landscape protection. The area with very limited economic sources has been impacted with a change to the geopolitical situation after 1993 (from the centre of Czechoslovakia to the fringe of Czechia). It was stated that the environmental pillar is in the best of conditions; however, perhaps threatened with missing technical infrastructure in relation to the disposal of solid, liquid, and gaseous waste, the social pillar is improving in relation to the post-productive transition, whereas the economic pillar is the most fragile because of its dependence on exogenous jobs in surrounding towns. In general, the microregion seems to be sustainable at the moment. Long-term sustainability will depend on the general economic, demographic, and climatic development of the country and Europe.

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Analysis of Economic Efficiency and Farm Size: A Case Study of Wheat Farmers in Nakuru District, Kenya

Economics Research International ◽

10.1155/2014/802706 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Samuel Mburu ◽

Chris Ackello-Ogutu ◽

Richard Mulwa

Keyword(s):

Economic Efficiency ◽

Large Scale ◽

Formal Education ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Farm Size ◽

Small Scale ◽

Wheat Production ◽

The Social ◽

Small Scale Farmers

The primary objective of this study is to examine the effect of farm size on economic efficiency among wheat producers and to suggest ways to improve wheat production in the country. Specifically, the study attempts to estimate the levels of technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies among the sampled 130 large and small scale wheat producers in Nakuru District. The social-economic factors that influence economic efficiency in wheat production have also been determined. Results indicate that the mean technical, allocative, and economic efficiency indices of small scale wheat farmers are 85%, 96%, and 84%, respectively. The corresponding figures for the large scale farmers are 91%, 94%, and 88%, respectively. The number of years of school a farmer has had in formal education, distance to extension advice, and the size of the farm have strong influence on the efficiency levels. The relatively high levels of technical efficiency among the small scale farmers defy the notion that wheat can only be efficiently produced by the large scale farmers.

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On (Not) Being Milton: Tony Harrison’s Liminal Voice

Text Matters ◽

10.1515/texmat-2016-0017 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 276-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Agata G. Handley

Keyword(s):

Working Class ◽

Formal Education ◽

Cultural Changes ◽

Unique Character ◽

The Social ◽

Poetic Identity ◽

Class Background ◽

The World ◽

Stuart Hall ◽

The Moment

Tony Harrison’s poetry is rooted in the experience of a man who came out of the working class of Leeds and who, avowedly, became a poet and a stranger to his own community. As Harrison duly noted in one interview, from the moment he began his formal education at Leeds Grammar School, he has never felt fully at home in either the world of literature or the world of his working class background, preferring to continually transgress their boundaries and be subject to perpetual change. The paper examines the relation between poetic identity, whose ongoing construction remains one of the most persistently reoccurring themes of Harrison’s work, and the liminal position occupied by the speaker of Harrison’s verse. In the context of the sociological thought of such scholars as Zygmunt Bauman and Stuart Hall, the following paper discusses the way in which the idea of being in-between operates in “On Not Being Milton,” an initial poem from Harrison’s widely acclaimed sonnet sequence The School of Eloquence, whose unique character stems partly from the fact that it constitutes an ongoing poetic project which has continued from 1978 onwards, reflecting the social and cultural changes of contemporary Britain.

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Educational Status of Female Youth in Nepal: A Foundation for Health and Well-being. Where Should Programmes Focus?

South Asian Survey ◽

10.1177/0971523120907207 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 7-18

Author(s):

Devaraj Acharya ◽

Ramesh Adhikari ◽

Gary L. Kreps ◽

Kamal Gautam ◽

Krishna P. Dhakal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Educational Attainment ◽

Formal Education ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Educational Status ◽

Well Being ◽

Wealth Status ◽

Female Youth ◽

The Social ◽

Social Potential ◽

Health And Well Being

Youth are important change agents for social, political and economic issues. However, research evidence suggests that many youth, especially females, face many challenges in Nepal in reaching their social potential due to serious problems with educational access and attainment. This study examines the influence of educational attainment on achieving the social potential of Nepalese female youth through a secondary analysis of data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Results from this analysis show that one out of 10 female youth are illiterate and do not receive a formal education. Socio-demographic variables, such as marital status, caste, place of residence and wealth status were found to be major predictors for literacy status and educational attainment of female youth in Nepal. The findings from this study suggest that special attention should be paid to these critical variables for guiding educational and interventional planning by concerned authorities including stakeholders for improving the social potential, as well as the health and well-being of female youth in Nepal.

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The Digital Culture Of The Academy And The Limits Of Technology

CTC 2021 PROCEEDINGS BOOK ◽

10.17932/ctc.2021/ctc21.007 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan J. Felix

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Large Scale ◽

Formal Education ◽

Digital Technologies ◽

Digital Culture ◽

Pedagogical Practice ◽

Social Phenomenon ◽

The Social

This disruptive nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a large-scale scramble to translate offline modes of instruction to online teaching. Furthermore, this massive shift in teaching and learning in general and higher education, in particular, has seen those digital technologies being used for teaching and learning offer convergent modalities for synchronous and asynchronous classroom delivery. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on education globally indicates that while the affordances of digital technologies provide interesting opportunities for teaching and learning, in no way has it definitively proven to be as emancipatory or revolutionary as some proponents of educational technology have argued before the pandemic occurred. Also, rather than merely reflect, highlight, or exacerbate inequalities, divisions, and conflicts in the real world, the social phenomenon of online teaching en masse due the pandemic serves to demonstrate the importance of multimodal communication and the very social nature of university learning and formal education more broadly. Arguably, the digital identity of both students and teachers have been in constant negotiation since the start of this pandemic has occurred, as online teaching moved from being a marginal pedagogical practice to a widespread social phenomenon. At this juncture in world history, it is worth considering the viability of higher education and the social production of teachers and learners under the unstable and disruptive conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications of this critical intervention pertain to the evolving role of the social institution of the academy itself, the nature of disciplinarity, and the activity that occurs within higher education institutions.

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