Gifted and at risk: Four longitudinal case studies of post‐high‐school development

This study explored the subjective experience of post‐high‐school development in four gifted individuals considered at risk because of significant underachievement, depression, or family stress. Conflict with parents was a dominant theme in the language of three of the subjects, and resolution of that conflict appeared to be associated with developmental task‐accomplishment and improved academic motivation and emotional health. The process of differentiating from parents included exploring identity, finding career direction, and struggling with autonomy issues during extended education. The developmental stories of these individuals, largely in their own words, are situated in one transitional developmental period, and the narratives allude to sexual abuse, sexual orientation, relatively early marriage, or depression.     

Students ‘at‐risk’ policy: competing social and economic discourses

Within a context of global reform agendas that promote economic ideologies in education the discourses surrounding ‘school failure’ have shifted from ‘individual risk’ to ‘a nation at‐risk’. Enhancing the quality of schooling through improving educational outcomes and standards for all, and thereby reducing ‘school failure,’ is simultaneously constructed as enhancing both social justice and a nation’s economic advantage in the global marketplace. Within this broader context, this research explores the complexity of issues related to policy for students at educational risk through an analysis of the Education Department of Western Australia’s ‘Making the Difference: Students at Educational Risk Policy.’ This research adopted a theoretical framework of a ‘policy cycle’ (that allowed for an exploration of power relations within the policy process. Primarily, consideration is given to the competing social and economic discourses found within the policy text and subsequent tensions reflected and retracted throughout the policy process from macro (system), to meso (district) and finally to micro levels within the schools and classrooms.     

Girls at risk. Early school‐leaving and early marriage in the 1950s

Britain in the 1950s offered increased opportunities for secondary education leading to better career prospects at a time of full employment. A government report into early leaving in 1954 noted that it was girls of all social classes who were most ‘at risk’ of not staying the course. The following article discusses first the nature of risk and suggests that for girls perhaps, staying at school and delaying marriage, at a time when unequal pay and opportunities were the norm, was perceived as more of a risk than the safety of marriage and dependent domesticity. It then considers the concerns of the Early Leaving Report in more detail. Despite the attempts by policy makers to encourage girls into education, there were rival discourses which persuaded girls into domesticity and the article concludes by indicating the varied and pervasive nature of some of this rhetoric.     

Mentoring at‐risk adolescent girls: listening to ‘Little Sisters’

In order to develop an understanding of mentoring relationships and the impact these relationships might have on the development of high‐risk adolescent girls, this qualitative study explored the relationships between six ‘Little Sisters’ and their ‘Big Sister’ mentors. The purposefully‐selected sample includes women and girls who were actively involved in a formal mentoring relationship for a minimum of three years. Findings suggest that a long‐term, nurturing mentoring relationship had a positive impact on the self‐efficacy, aspirations, and possible selves of the at‐risk adolescent girls.     

An activity theoretical perspective towards the design of an ICT‐enhanced after‐school programme for academically at‐risk students

This paper examines how a game‐like 3D Multi‐User Virtual Environment (MUVE), Quest Atlantis (QA), is used in an after‐school programme to engage a group of 14 academically at‐risk primary students in their learning. It adopts an activity theoretical perspective to identify the disturbances and contradictions during the implementation of the after‐school programme. Based on the analysis of these disturbances and contradictions, the main findings highlight: (1) the importance of the less visible social mediators – the rules, community, and division of labour – in the programme; (2) the pivotal role of the teacher; and (3) the role of QA as both a tool and an object to the students. The findings suggest the importance of the social context where information and communication technology (ICT) is used and the possible use of its engaging elements to first extrinsically motivate these students in their learning.

Eine theoretische Perspektive: Aktivität in Richtung des Designs eines ICT verbesserten ausserschulischen Programms für Risikostudenten

Dieses Papier prüft, wie eine spielähnliche 3D‐Multibenutzer Umgebung (MUVE), “Quest Atlantis (QA)” bei einem außerhalb der Schule benutzten Programms verwendet wird, um eine wissenschaftlich gefährdete 14‐er Studentengruppe in ihrem Lernen anzusprechen. Die Analyse auf Basis der Störungen und Widersprüche zeigt die (1) Wichtigkeit von weniger sichtbaren Sozialmediatoren – die Regeln, die Gemeinschaft und Arbeitsteilung – im Programm, (2) die entscheidende Rolle der Lehrer und (3) die Funktion des Spiels QA sowohl als Werkzeug als auch als Gegenstand für die Studenten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen die Wichtigkeit des sozialen Kontexts wo Informations‐ und Kommunikationstechnologie (ICT) benutzt und gebraucht werden und der mögliche Gebrauch seiner verbindenden Elemente erstmals von außen motivieren das Lernen dieser Studenten.

Perspective théorique sur une activité visant à la conception d’un programme extra scolaire renforcé par les TICE et destiné aux élèves en difficulté

Cet article examine comment on utilise un environnement virtuel à utilisateurs multiples (MUVE) Quest Atlantis (QA) en 3D dans un programme extra scolaire pour impliquer dans leur apprentissage un groupe de 14 élèves en difficulté scolaire. On a adopté une perspective théorique de l’activité pour identifier les troubles et les contradictions rencontrés pendant la mise en place de l’activité extra scolaire. En se fondant sur l’analyse de ces troubles et contradictions, les résultats obtenus font principalement ressortir: (1) l’importance des médiateurs sociaux moins visibles comme_les règles, le groupe, et la répartition des tâches_dans le programme; (2) le rôle central de l’enseignant et (3) le rôle de QA à la fois comme outil et comme objet pour les élèves. Ces observations font apparaître l’importance du contexte social là o[ugrave] on utilise les technologies de l’information et de la communication et le recours possible à leurs facteurs d’implication pour commencer de l’extérieur à motiver ces élèves pour leur apprentissage.

Una perspectiva teórica sobre una actividad conduciendo a un programa posescolar apoyado por las TICs dedicado a los alumnos «en peligro»

Este artículo examina como se utiliza un entorno lúdico virtual en 3D, Quest Atlantis (QA) para usuarios multiples (MUVE) dentro de un programa posescolar para incentivar a un grupo de alumnos «en peligro» para que aprenden. Se adoptó una perspectiva teórica activa para identificar los trastornos y contradicciones encontradas durante la implantación del programa posescolar. Basandose en el análisis de esos trastornos y contradicciones, los principales resultados han destacado (1) la importancia de los mediadores sociales menos visibles, las reglas, la comunidad y la división del trabajo_dentro del programa (2) el papel fundamental del profesor y (3) el papel de QA a la vez como herramienta y como objeto para los alumnos. Esas observaciones resaltan la importancia del contexto social cuando se usan las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC) y el posible uso de sus elementos cautivadores para dar a esos alumnos el primer incentivo externo de su aprendizaje.     

The construction and production of youth ‘at risk’

Following the Commonwealth Government funding cuts in 1986, a hiatus has developed in in‐service teacher education in Australia. Recent curriculum innovations and expanding stresses in the educational environment have generated in‐service education needs which are possibly greater than at any other time in the recent past. The trend in other industrialized countries has been to encourage or even require teachers in primary and secondary education to achieve postgraduate qualifications. Similar pressures are currently mounting in Australia. The combination of the stresses and new emphasis, calls for a rethinking of existing approaches and policies. The restructuring of the education system in a number of States, the difficulties which have become apparent in solution‐centred in‐service programmes and the continuing unsatisfactory ad hoc arrangements for the design and delivery of such programmes across Australia indicate that the need for different policies and provisions in teacher professional development is acute. After analysing the state of the art of in‐service training in Australia, this paper provides possible rationales for such policies and programmes and suggests the development of a multiprogramme policy package which could assist the teachers to ensure a better quality and cost‐effective educational service.     

Learning by mentoring: prospective teachers as mentors to children at‐risk 1

This survey‐based study examined the benefits of mentoring for 299 pre‐service teachers who voluntarily worked with children at‐risk in a nationwide Israeli mentoring project. Results revealed that mentoring taught prospective teachers about the world of children, increased their sensitivity to children at‐risk and to children as individuals, and improved their ability to cope with difficult situations. Mentoring was particularly beneficial for mentors majoring in special education, when viewed as a professional development opportunity, and when guidance was provided that aimed at connecting between academic studies and mentoring experiences. Unlike other field experiences in teacher training programs which emphasize classroom teaching, mentoring offers pre‐service teachers an opportunity to learn about the individual child and the social factors influencing his/her success in school.     

Future EU-UK research and higher education cooperation at risk: what is at stake?

The UK higher education sector has entered a period of turbulence, as the consequences of the UK leaving the European Union (EU) hit home. Higher education institutions are bracing themselves for what will no doubt be a period of substantial change, uncertainty and challenge. The complexity of the intricate relationships linking EU member states, as well as the EU institutions and their member states, appears to have been misunderstood and understated in the UK, by both the political class and the general public, at the time of the June 2016 referendum. If information is indeed power, its current unavailability is a concern, given that the UK government’s plans to remain firmly embedded within the European Research Area and the Erasmus+ programme remain non-committal. In what can be described as a game of high politics between the EU and the UK government, the fate of research and higher education collaboration will be sealed by high-level inter-governmental agreements decided behind closed doors.

     

Evaluating computer‐based assessment in a risk‐based model

There are three purposes for evaluation: evaluation for action to aid the decision making process, evaluation for understanding to further enhance enlightenment and evaluation for control to ensure compliance to standards. This article argues that the primary function of evaluation in the ‘Catherine Wheel’ computer‐based assessment (CBA) cyclic model is evaluation for action and secondary functions are evaluation for understanding and control. By studying segment and cyclic dependencies, conducting a risk analysis and identifying key stakeholders it is possible to identify where action evaluation has the most effect, what is required to be evaluated, who will perform the action and how it will be controlled. Each segment and cycle in the CBA model must therefore be monitored and the observations made must have meaning for the elimination or reduction of pedagogic, operational, technical non web‐based, web‐based and financial risks. It is important to consider stakeholders because they have differing views on what is most important in the evaluation process and inevitably will be involved in the evaluation process itself. CBA system stakeholders include management, academic, support and administrative staff together with external verifiers and students. The information gained from these stakeholders provides quality enhancement and assurance and forms the basis for change.     

Which maltreated children are at greatest risk of aggressive and criminal behavior? An examination of maltreatment dimensions and cumulative risk

This paper explores the well-documented relationship between child maltreatment and aggressive and criminal behavior, specifically examining several dimensions of maltreatment and cumulative child and family risk. Using data from the provincially representative Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS-2013), this paper utilizes a developmental lens to examine whether maltreatment dimensions and cumulative risk can differentiate maltreated young people who exhibit aggressive and criminal behaviors and those who do not.A total unweighted sample of 1837 substantiated maltreatment investigations was examined in this analysis using chi-square, t-test, and logistic regression. The findings indicate that 13% of maltreated children and youth served by the Ontario child welfare system exhibited aggression and 6% of maltreated adolescents were involved in the youth justice system. Aggressive children and youth were more likely to experience severe and co-occurring forms of maltreatment and to experience higher levels of cumulative child risk. In adolescence, youth exhibiting aggressive and/or criminal behavior commonly were investigated because of neglect, specifically because their caregivers were no longer willing or able to remain in a caregiving role. Implications for child welfare policy and practice are discussed.     

Education and training for young people at risk of becoming NEET: findings from an ethnographic study of work‐based learning programmes

This report provides a summary of findings from an ethnographic study of work‐based learning provision for 16–18‐year‐olds who would otherwise fall into the UK Government category of not in education, employment or training (NEET). The research project took place in the north of England during 2008–2009, and investigated the biographies, experiences and aspirations of young people and practitioners working on Entry to Employment (E2E) programmes in four learning sites. The detailed research findings are reported in four papers covering the conceptual background to E2E, and the experiences of learners, tutors and Connexions personal advisers involved with the programme. This report highlights and synthesises some of the key issues raised by these papers and looks ahead to a three‐year longitudinal study of NEET young people which is intended to continue and extend this work, providing an opportunity to follow this group during a period of far‐reaching economic and political change.     

An Experiment Comparing HBSE Graduate Social Work Classes: Face‐to‐Face and at a Distance

This article describes a quasi‐experimental comparison of two master's level social work classes delivering content on human behavior in the social environment. One class, delivered face‐to‐face, was largely synchronous. The other class, delivered using distance technologies, was more asynchronous than the first. The authors hypothesized that students would learn equally well in both classes, and did not reject that hypothesis. That was so even after accounting for strong explanation of achievement by grade point average adjusted for grade inflation. Though this study indicates that the distance education studied was apparently successful, the findings may not be highly generalizable, and the authors suggest that future studies need to look at achievement in various settings and curricular areas while carefully measuring and accounting for extraneous variables.     

Design‐based science and real‐world problem‐solving

Design‐based science (DBS) is a science pedagogy in which new scientific knowledge and problem‐solving skills are constructed in the context of designing artifacts. This paper examines whether the enactment of a DBS unit supported students’ efforts to construct and transfer new science knowledge and ‘designerly’ problem‐solving skills to the solution of a new real‐world design problem in a real‐world setting. One hundred and forty‐nine students participated in the enactment of a DBS unit. Their understanding of the curricular content was assessed by identical pre‐instructional and post‐instructional written tests. They were then given a new design problem as a transfer task. There was a statistically significant increase on scores from pre‐test to post‐test with an effect size of 1.8. There was a stronger correlation between the scores of the transfer task and those of the post‐test than with those of the pre‐test; we use this finding to suggest that the knowledge that was constructed during the unit enactment supported the solution of the transfer task. This has implications for the development of science curricula that aim to lead to the construction of knowledge and skills that may be useful in extra‐classroom settings. Whether participation in consecutive enactments of different DBS units increases transfer remains to be investigated in more depth.     

Student‐oriented versus Teacher‐centred: The effect of learning at workstations about birds and bird flight on cognitive achievement and motivation

The study investigated cognitive and motivational effects of two educational interventions, a conventional versus a student‐oriented approach. We monitored the impact on the cognitive achievement outcome and the motivation of students. Both approaches dealt with the subject of birds and bird flight; the student‐oriented approach consisted of a unit based on workstations, and the conventional one was taught in a more teacher‐centred manner. A total of 326 secondary school pupils of the highest stratification level participated in this study. By using a pre‐test, post‐test and retention‐test design, both approaches were evaluated with the same empirical batteries (by applying a cognitive item set and the “Intrinsic Motivation Inventory”). The conventional approach provided higher achievement scores whereas the student‐oriented approach showed a higher motivational rating. Comparing the student‐oriented approach with and without introduction, the group with introduction attained higher achievement scores. The results are discussed in terms of general expectations about the cognitive outcome in open learning environments and self‐determination theory. Educational implications are drawn concerning the implementation of learning at workstations in school curricula.     

Inclusion at risk? Push- and pull-out phenomena in inclusive school systems: the Italian and Norwegian experiences

The main objective of this article is to explore and compare research data on pull-out and push-out phenomena within inclusive school systems, discussing if and how they represent a risk for inclusion. The terms pull-out and push-out refer to situations in which some groups of students in regular schools learn in settings apart from their peers. Typically, the terms push out and pull out refer to students with disabilities or other special-education needs, but the phenomenon does not refer to these groups exclusively. Italy and Norway are among the European countries that first established inclusive school systems through laws that explicitly refer to what later was to become global inclusive education ideas. Both countries have a reputation for inclusive education and a history of addressing segregation of students with disabilities. However, in both countries, recent data have shown an increase in the removal of students with disabilities and other SEN from regular classrooms. Our aim is to describe and analyse these phenomena through national statistics and data from different independent research projects. Results indicate that, contrary to intentions, special-education-school-type solutions persist along with flexible adaptations within whole-class and group settings for all children.     

Self‐complexity and Self‐integration: Theory and Therapy in Clinical‐Developmental Psychology

Abstract

The growing field of clinical‐developmental psychology has been influenced by Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral judgement. Too literal a use of structural theory, however, has hindered this field's advancement. This paper argues that a new theory of self is required to apply appropriately developmental theory to clinical practice. The model consists of two related dimensions of self: self‐complexity and biographical themes (schemata and themata). A perspective on normal and atypical development given by the interactions between these components is described and implications for practice are discussed.     

‘They are out of control’: self‐perceptions,risk‐taking and attributional style of adolescents with SEBDs

Fifty‐six secondary school students with and without social emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBDs) completed self‐report measures of their strengths and difficulties, self‐concept and social identity, cognitive attributional style and participated in computer‐based tests of risk‐taking and impulsivity. Contrary to common understanding, the students with SEBDs made realistic estimations of their difficulties and were as able to make attributions as their peers without SEBDs; though they tended to attribute negative events internally significantly more often than did students without SEBDs. No differences were found between the two groups in terms of risk‐taking as measured on a computer‐based test. Implications of these findings for identification of and working with students with SEBDs are considered.     

Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk

从前,在宋国有一个养猴子的人。他非常喜欢猴子,所以养了许多。他很了解猴子,猴子们也能够懂得他的意思。为了让猴子们吃饱,他减少了家里的粮食。不久,他家的粮食不够吃的了,他就想减少给猴子们的食物。但他怕猴子们不会听他的。于是,他先哄骗它们“:如果早上我给你们三个栗子,     

Science Laboratory Classroom Environments at Schools and Universities: A Cross‐National Study∗

ABSTRACT

Because already existing classroom environment scales are unsuitable for science laboratory classes, a new instrument was developed and validated in a Class form (student's perceptions of the class as a whole) and a new Personal form (student's perceptions of his/her own role within the class). The instrument was cross‐nationally field tested with 5,447 students in 269 classes in six countries, and cross‐validated with 1,594 students in 92 classes in Australia. Each scale exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and factorial validity, and differentiated between the perceptions of students in different classes. Use of the new instrument revealed that: science laboratory classes are dominated by closed‐ended activities; Class form means consistently were more favorable than Personal form means; associations existed between attitudinal outcomes and laboratory environment; and the Class and Personal form each accounted for unique variance in student attitudes.