Theory in the flesh: Toward an endarkened epistemology

In her article "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen: Examining an endarkened feminist epistemology in educational research and leadership," Professor Dillard delineates a set of proposals for the study of educational inequity. Professor Wright in his response, "An endarkened feminist epistemology? Identity, difference and the politics of representation in educational research," comments on Professor Dillard's proposals and furthers her analysis by an integration of the cultural studies literature. The author enjoins this conversation in this article by reviewing the proposals by feminists of Color to further social justice in solidarity with Professor Dillard's analysis. In particular, feminists of Color are examined, expanding the definition of "data" to include artistic production such as poetry, personal reflections, and autobiographical essays. The integration of spirituality as it relates to secular teaching is another innovation proposed by various writers. Feminists of Color have also chosen to construct theory and a political agenda for achieving social justice rather than only engaging in intellectual debates that deconstruct existing paradigms. Professor Dillard is part of a cadre of feminist writers who advocate radical changes in the academy to eradicate educational inequity.     

Developing an equalities literacy for practitioners working with children,young people and families through action research

ABSTRACT

The Marginalisation and Co-created Education (MaCE) project was developed between the University of Southern Norway, VIA University in Denmark and the University of Cumbria in the UK and funded by Erasmus+. The project aims to co-create proposals to achieve an equitable and socially just education system through participative action research with ‘Early School Leavers’. This paper establishes a conceptual framework called ‘Equalities Literacy’ that evolved from the first action research cycle of the project. The framework is informed by the practice experience and theoretical knowledge of the international and interdisciplinary research team. It is applied to one youth narrative in this paper to illustrate its efficacy in revealing socio-cultural in/equalities. The Equalities Literacy framework is proposed to challenge and inform practice and further research. Further, the ‘Indirect Approach’ is introduced and located within action research as a participatory methodology that other researchers may wish to adopt.     

Metropolitan high schools: income,race and inequality

A review of the scholarship on urban education indicates that the knowledge base is disputed in fundamental ways and is fragmentary, reflecting educational research generally. Further, many promising practices remain unadopted or poorly implemented, further reinforcing the knowledge‐base problem. The political organization of urban schools (centralized bureaucracy, standardized resource allocation rules and bureaucratic incentives) poses a major obstacle to improving this knowledge base. Correspondingly, the task of generating better knowledge of how urban schools can work must overcome several political problems such as the strength of bureaucracies and their allies; the narrow orientation of consumer‐oriented reform demands, and the resource inadequacies of urban schools. Restructuring proposals do not address these interlocking impediments. Dramatic improvements in urban schools cannot be expected without attention to how the knowledge base can be improved.     

Three Decades of Non‐reform

Abstract

Since the publication of the Crowther Report in 1959 there have been seven major proposals for reducing the degree of specialisation in England and Wales and postponing its onset. This article examines the history and nature of these proposals and the reasons for their failure. Its main contentions are that the historical opposition to any central or local control of the school curriculum has made it very difficult to determine what actually was happening in the schools or what external forces controlled the pattern of studies: and that in the absence of any authority controlling the pattern of the curriculum, it was almost impossible that any proposals for change would be implemented.     

Developing a knowledge network for applied education research to mobilise evidence in and for educational practice

Abstract

Background: The importance of ‘evidence-informed practice’ has risen dramatically in education and in other public policy areas. This article focuses on the importance of knowledge mobilisation strategies, processes and outputs. It is concerned with how these can support the adaptation and implementation of evidence from research and professional knowledge to inform changes in educational practices. It presents a case study of the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER), a tripartite initiative in Canada involving the Ontario Ministry of Education, University of Toronto and Western University and 44 KNAER-funded projects.

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to analyse the developing approach towards supporting knowledge mobilisation by the KNAER provincial partners through the governing body of the Planning and Implementation Committee and strategic and operational work of the university teams, and also the knowledge mobilisation strategies, challenges and successes of 44 KNAER projects.

Design and methods: We utilised a qualitative case study approach to investigate the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research’s (KNAER) approaches to developing knowledge mobilisation over four years (2010–2014).To explore the work of the KNAER provincial partners, we analysed 17 meeting notes from the Planning and Implementation Committee and 9 notes from the university KNAER partners’ meetings. To explore the knowledge mobilisation strategies, challenges and successes of KNAER-funded projects, we analysed the 44 knowledge mobilisation plans, 141 interim reports and 43 final reports submitted by projects. To further investigate the experiences of KNAER projects during their implementation, we analysed responses from 21 people from 19 KNAER projects who participated in a facilitated discussion about their experiences.

Results: The Planning and Implementation Committee’s role involved three core responsibilities: (1) Approving knowledge mobilisation proposals submitted to the KNAER; (2) Ensuring that collaborative partnerships were developed at the local, provincial, national and international levels; and (3) Approving the KNAER operational and strategic plan. The university partners have taken on the roles of operational management, strategic leadership, and research and knowledge mobilisation expertise. KNAER projects varied in their knowledge mobilisation strategies, challenges and successes. ‘Exploiting Research’ projects focused on establishing connections and engaging communities of practice with people relevant to the project’s focus, creating an analysis of needs, designing or producing a relevant knowledge mobilisation product with the purpose of improving practice, monitoring the results or impact of the new product and sharing the dissemination process and results with others. ‘Building or Extending Networks’ projects engaged in creating or extending existing networks, developing a needs-based or gap assessment and producing appropriate products and dissemination processes based on the results gathered. ‘Strengthening Research Brokering’ projects organised steering committees to guide their work and gathered information via a literature review or by collecting information from stakeholders and then served as research brokers by collecting and mobilising relevant knowledge to inform practice. ‘Visiting World Experts’ projects developed knowledge mobilisation plans for host experts’ visits, involving establishing partnerships with networks, including universities and schools, and utilising social media and communication processes for knowledge mobilisation products.

Conclusions: KNAER included aspects of linear, relationships and systems models for connecting evidence and practice. Looking forward, KNAER is seeking to further advance a systemic approach. A systems model is in preference to linear models – which focus on evidence production only without attention to mobilisation or uptake of research, and/or relationships models – which may develop networks, but do not attend to capacity and resource barriers that need to be addressed for systemic and sustainable knowledge mobilisation.     

Information technology in education: policy and provision in Hong Kong schools

Abstract

This article reviews the Hong Kong policy (1998) on information technology in education (ITE). Key proposals in the policy and the rationales presented for introducing new technology in schools are examined. It is suggested that initiatives presented would have been difficult to implement fully without more far-reaching changes in education policies and school practices. Now, other proposals for reform of education in Hong Kong have been released. The ways in which these recent proposals for reform support existing initiatives in ITE are identified and discussed. Available data on the implementation of ITE are also reviewed. It is suggested that while a comprehensive policy framework has now been developed, the ‘vision’ for ITE may take some time to be realised.     

Myths of Environmental Education

Abstract

A review of environmental education literature reveals a paucity of constructivist-based research. To support the case for this approach, the author reviews theoretical aspects of science education research of this type. It first situates different approaches to educational research in relation to different epistemologies and then reviews constructs used in constructivist science education research. Issues associated with the adoption of this epistemology—topics deemed worthy of research, importance given to the learner's pre-instructional knowledge, and perspectives on learning and understanding—are considered. The article concludes with proposals for constructivist research in environmental education across the educational commonplaces.     

Speaking Personally—With Tony Bates

Abstract

The articles published in D &; S concerning the creation and operation of remote training methods can be characterized according to the points of view taken by experts or researchers. The authors are interested in three particular aspects of the training process: organization, design, and impact. Different approaches in the design of these methods determine the economy of their structure. They may include certain constraints, such as when a team has a specific and voluntarist vision or when seeking safety by keeping to the norms, or, on the contrary, to pragmatic approaches consisting in adapting to the situation. All the proposals focus on a central theme: supporting students from a distance.     

Selecting schools for closure: theory and practice in ‘rational’ planning

For more than a decade, LEAs have been under pressure to close schools. During this period the scale of contraction in school provision has been substantial but has nevertheless lagged behind DES expectations. This paper is concerned with the selection of schools for closure or amalgamation and examines in detail the procedures adopted and the proposals advanced in one LEA. While existing evidence suggests that the selection of schools for closure has generally been less than rational, the case selected is an example of what has been officially described as ‘strategic planning’ and ‘good practice’. Policy statements, criteria for selecting schools, and the characteristics of schools earmarked for closure are compared to assess the relationship between theory and practice. In practice, the criteria cited by the LEA were generally not capable of strict application. In addition, unstated criteria, notably school size, appear to have been significant. Thus, the LEA's proposals did not correspond directly to its own stated policy. Further, the extent to which the procedure adopted by the LEA conformed to notions of rational planning was limited. Current legislation is likely to reduce still further the ability of LEAs to produce rational schemes of contraction.     

Markets,Ideologies and Primary Initial Teacher Education

ABSTRACT

The British government's proposals for the reform of primary initial teacher education (ITE), including the transfer of major responsibility to schools, are examined in the context of their plans for more centralised control over the curriculum and the imposition of traditional methods of teaching. A model of appropriate objectives for school‐based primary ITE is outlined and an alternative concept of partnership based on co‐operation between higher education institutions and schools put forward. Implications of the reforms for primary schools are considered. In an attempt to make sense of the government's proposals, the apparent contradiction between its commitment to an educational market and the actual concentration of power in its own hands is explored. The reforms are shown to be part of a sustained attack on education professionals, and to illustrate how market relations may be used to promote the dominance of the central state by fragmenting opposition.     

Policy intervention and power shifts: an evaluation of South Africa's education restructuring policies

This paper argues that the South African educational restructuring policy proposals are unlikely to become interventions that help bringing about greater development, equity, participation and redress. The reasons for this are manifold. It is contended that the policy proposals are flawed in their conceptualization of the problems and misjudge the educational context and dynamics on the ground. These interventions favour the interests of the more organized and privileged sections of society and only indirectly address the needs of the excluded and disadvantaged. The policy proposals are also based on problematic assumptions about policy and the policy process, and the relationship between policy and practice. Finally, these proposals do not have an appropriate understanding of the change process and are unable to develop strategies to influence the reform process and empower the disadvantaged to struggle for a fairer, more equitable and effective education and training system.     

The implications of the risk and resilience literature for gifted students with learning disabilities

This article examines the risk and resilience literature, focusing on the protective factors in the lives of both gifted individuals and those with learning disabilities. The intent of the research is to further our understanding of the constructs of risk and resilience and to discuss their implications for gifted children with learning disabilities. Recommendations are suggested for nurturing resilience in these students so that they may be successful in school and in life.     

Research Activity and Research Culture in Academic Teachers' Colleges in Israel

This paper discusses the importance of research activity in academic teachers' colleges in Israel and analyses how this activity is organised. It investigates the contribution of research to development of professional staff and the state of research activities at teacher training colleges. Major obstacles impeding research at the colleges are pointed out and conditions affecting research performance are indicated. The character of the actual research activity is analysed and five different models are specified. The paper focuses on the research committees and research units, which are the central organisational tools for research development, by analysing and describing the range of research culture in the colleges: from absent to optimal. The paper contributes a theoretical and an applied framework that may support the further development of research at the colleges.     

ESL: In Search of an Identity

Abstract

This paper discusses students' perspectives of their experience of a competence based teacher training programme in Further Education. The students were Further Education lecturers who had to undergo a mandatory one year day release teacher training course if they did not satisfy certain criteria according to rules governing the Further Education sector in Northern Ireland. For the academic year beginning 1989, the University of Ulster introduced a competence based programme, bearing in mind the transformation taking place in Further Education as a result of the proposals of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications. This paper examines the experiences of the first cohort of student to undertake the competence based programme.

Qualitative methodology was used to collect the ‘data’ for this research. The research was carried out over one academic year. Analysis revealed four themes which became significant in developing an understanding of the students' experiences of the programme. The themes are discussed under the headings: i)'This was not what we expected'; ii) Experiencing a new role withing a new course, iii) Time management; and iv) Group relations. Examination of the themes highlights how the students' experiences on the programme changed as the year progressed. The findings of this research may provide some useful insights to those people who wish to develop other competence based programmes, as well as educators in general.     

The analytical lens: developing undergraduate students’ critical dispositions in undergraduate EAP writing courses

ABSTRACT

This paper comprises findings from three parallel case studies within the broad framework of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). These provide results from classroom-based action research conducted over two years working with Semantics, Specialisation and axiological cosmologies from Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Each author shares how one or both of these LCT dimensions have guided their practice in the teaching of English for academic writing and specifically, the development of their students’ critical dispositions by teaching them how to apply lenses to analyse texts so that they may make informed judgements. Data from classroom interventions and student writing are provided. It is hoped that this paper elicits further discussion in the growing field of applying LCT and may draw attention to the role of the EAP teacher as expert in linguistics and the need to focus more on knowledge in EAP writing courses.     

Teacher Leadership: Rationale,strategy and impact

This article presents arguments for teacher leadership. It challenges the current orthodoxy of school organisation and seeks to extend the current debate about distributed leadership. It offers a view of teacher leadership which is inclusive rather than limited to those with management responsibility or specific change agent roles. It focuses on learning-centred development work in which teachers act strategically to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The article includes illustrative cases and proposals for strategies to support teacher leadership. It also offers a framework for planning and evaluating the impact of teacher-led development work.     

Teaching Emotional Virtue: A post-Kohlbergian approach

What are the educational implications of the rising tide of cognitivism and Aristotelianism in the field of emotion research and why have these not been heeded in education circles? This essay explores some of these implications and the somewhat incomplete attempts ('emotional intelligence' and 'multiple intelligences') to translate them into educational practice. It is argued that proposals about the teaching of emotional virtue in schools typically come up against a wall of 'myths' concerning the futility, if not the downright danger, of moral education in general and emotion education in particular. An attempt is made to dismantle some of these myths, paving the way for a more optimistic 'post-Kohlbergian' approach.     

Assessing child abuse: “We need to talk!”

BackgroundThis discussion paper adds to the recent critical debate concerning retrospective measurement of childhood abuse and adverse experiences. A series of recent articles found only modest overlap of prospective informant-based records with retrospective self-report questionnaires, with biases evident in the latter. However, this literature has omitted the use of investigator-based interviews as an alternative retrospective tool for triangulation of measurement. Validated interview approaches can ascertain accurate data using expert scoring that can be used to test both dose-effect and specificity analyses for further research and treatment purposes.ObjectiveArguments for the retention and further promotion of intensive interview measures for retrospective assessment of childhood neglect and abuse in relation to lifetime clinical outcomes are presented, with illustrative analyses.Method and resultsA network analytic approach is outlined, with six types of childhood abuse or neglect experiences scored via a well-validated interview (the Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse). This indicates distinct pathways between types of neglect and abuse, but also from more common emotional abuse (antipathy, critical parenting) through to more pernicious psychological abuse (coercive, sadistic control) involving physical abuse or sexual abuse pathways. This is supplemented by a case vignette to illustrate the different pathways indicated.ConclusionsThe interview approach gives victims a voice with their narrative (chance to talk) needed for better understanding of the specific dynamics of child abuse and neglect and for an entry into psychotherapeutic work. We need to ensure that such methods are retained in the research and practitioner portfolio of measurement tools.     

Developing a science teacher education course that supports student teachers’ thinking and teaching about the nature of science

This paper reports on part of an ongoing research project in England concerning the Nature of Science (NOS). The particular focus is on the initial thinking of the graduate scientists starting a one-year, Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course and the way the course approaches adopted influence their views and understanding of NOS and their teaching. The research is set against a wealth of literature indicating that teachers find it difficult to teach curricula that emphasise NOS. Thus a key impetus for research in this area has been to look for ways that beginning teachers might be better prepared to face such challenges.

Sample

The paper draws on data from three cohorts of secondary PGCE students in a university–schools partnership, involving a total of 169 students.

Design and method

The research lies within a design research tradition. It has used mixed methods, involving written tasks, interviews and focus groups, with an iterative approach where the outcomes from one cohort have been used to inform course developments in successive years.

Results

The results from these cohorts suggest that, while the students starting the course have a less restricted view of NOS than indicated by some other studies, in most cases there is a lack of breadth and depth to their understanding. There is some evidence that the use of specific tasks focusing on NOS in university-based sessions may be helping to develop and deepen understanding. However, the impact of current approaches remains fairly limited and attempts to develop teaching practices often face considerable barriers in the school-based practicum.

Conclusions

Graduate science students’ understanding of NOS as they embark on the PGCE is not highly developed. Hence, the emphasis on aspects of NOS in the school curriculum presents a considerable challenge. This study suggests that there is a need to both further develop an explicit focus on NOS in university-based sessions and to develop closer relationships between schools and university faculty in seeking to support developments in classroom practice in this difficult area.     

Finding the law: A criminal justice guide to basic legal research techniques

Either by choice or by necessity, criminal justice students, educators, researchers, administrators, and practitioners frequently seek information or engage in conduct that somehow concerns the law. There are numerous reasons why persons interested in criminal justice theory and practice may want or need legal knowledge, but a lack of familiarity with the basic techniques for conducting legal research may inhibit access to this knowledge. This article describes the reference materials available for legal research, explains how they are used, and suggests why it is important that more people who are involved with criminal justice become skilled in the basic techniques of legal research.