School transitions: beginning of the end or a new beginning?

Moving from elementary to middle/junior high school or from middle/junior high to high school is difficult for most students and especially problematic for some. This chapter explores the reasons that these transitions are difficult, the kinds of students that have the greatest difficulty with transitions, and the process of disengagement from school that too often follows unsuccessful transitions. Facilitating successful transitions requires that attention be paid to students’ preparedness for the transition and the kinds of support students need before, during, and after the transition. The chapter concludes with a series of recommendations for facilitating successful transitions.     

Am I a Teaching Artist or an Administrator?

James Miles writes about his transition from teaching artist to administration. Is it for everyone?     

Microteaching: end of a research era?

This chapter provides a brief review of the development and use of microteaching. Research on modelling, practice, and feedback is reviewed and studies of the overall outcomes of microteaching are set against a discussion of conceptual models underlying microteaching. It is argued that despite the many published investigations of microteaching, few definite conclusions can be drawn about its effectiveness. This is attributed to lack of theory-guided investigations, and it is suggested that a synthesis of cognitive models for microteaching with recent work on teachers' thought processes might provide a profitable approach to future work.     

Closing the attainment gap – a realistic proposition or an elusive pipe-dream?

The attainment gap associated with socio-economic status is an international problem that is highly resistant to change. This conceptual paper critiques the drive by the Scottish Government to address the attainment gap through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the National Improvement Framework. It draws upon a range of theoretical perspectives but principally examines the problem through the lens of Steiner-Khamsi’s concepts of ‘reception’ and ‘translation’ of policy and through examination of the international and national (Scottish) policy contexts. The paper argues that, rather than focussing narrowly upon attainment outcomes, an holistic approach should be adopted which takes account of the economic, social and relational constraints which impact upon families in poverty, calling for a systems-level approach. ‘Schools cannot go it alone’: there is a need to focus upon a wide range of public policy to redress inequalities in society. Whilst the Scottish Government has looked to the London/City/National Challenge as a potential solution to the problem, the complexities and limitations of policy borrowing need to be understood. Higher Education Institutions, government agencies, local authorities and schools need to work in partnership to develop research informed practice which will impact upon learning outcomes for all children and young people.     

Teachers’ intercultural competence: a requirement or an option in a culturally diverse classroom?

This paper reports an exploratory study of the development of intercultural competence (IC) in elementary school teachers in Catalonia, Spain, utilising mixed-method quantitative and qualitative assessments. Through enrolment in a teacher training activity, the starting point was the administration of the Intercultural development inventory (IDI) to assess IC. Later, a discussion group was held to reflect on the results of the evaluation and to discuss educational practices in the face of cultural diversity. The quantitative IDI findings indicated that, regardless of the presence of foreign origin students at schools, participant teachers overestimate their level of intercultural sensitivity; there is a tendency to emphasise similarities in all cultures, which can minimise significant cultural differences. Nevertheless, the teachers became interested in cultural diversity after considering their potentially controversial and problematic educational context. Beyond admitted limitations of this study, inherent to small-scale methodological approach, our practice-based reflective proposal highlights obstacles and potentialities for managing cultural diversity in the classroom. These findings support the conclusion that IC is distributed throughout members of a community rather than being strictly an individual attribute. At the same time, the study thus demonstrates a mixed-method training design as an effective means of developing and assessing IC.     

mean还是means?

问:“你对我意味着一切”英文应该怎样翻译?是"you means every-thing to me"还是"youmean everything to me"呢?虽然说“你”后应该跟复数,但这句话的主语其实是“你这个人”,是你整个人作为一个物体对我意味着一切。对吗?答:引句中的主语,"you"是第二人称,动词是"mean"。即使是暗指“你这个人”,重点还是"you",所以应该用"mean"。如,Youthis person, you mean ev-erything to me.mean还是means?…     

Educating global citizens: a good ‘idea’ or an organisational practice?

Higher education emphasises training and skills for employment, yet while the ‘idea’ of educating global citizens appears in university discourse, there is limited evidence demonstrating how the ‘idea’ of the global citizen translates into practice. Recent research emphasises a desire for graduates to be local and global citizens with ethical and critical capacities for global workforce preparedness. The purpose of this paper is to explore the university responsibility for translating the ‘idea’ of the ethical thinking global citizen into practice. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with higher education experts (n?=?26). The interpretive research is discussed through the themes: Constructing the global citizen, Enacting the global citizen, Legitimating the global citizen and The sidelining context (italics used to distinguish research themes in text). The paper contributes to higher education discourse on a contested and topical issue.     

Can a competence or standards model facilitate an inclusive approach to teacher education?

The paper seeks to determine whether programmes of initial teacher education (ITE) can contri–bute to the development of beginning teachers’ inclusive attitudes, values and practices. The majority of ITE programmes are based on government prescribed competence or standards frameworks, which are underpinned by Codes of Professional Values. It is these value statements, which will form the focus of the research, alongside the views of ITE tutors. Since the professional values and practices element is integral to the teacher education framework, it is inevitable that a rather utilitarian approach has been adopted, both to the specification and development of the values statements.     

A Witch or a Son?

Itwashotthatday．Mr．Smithwasworkingonhisfarmwhilehissonwasplayingbythelake．Themandidn＇tfindtheboyfellintothewateruntilhewasgoinghomeforlunch．Hehurriedtopulltheboyoutofthelake，itwastoolate．Theboydiedtwohoursago！Themanandhiswifewereverysad．Awitch?inanothervillageheardofitandwentthereandsaidshecouldmaketheirson＇ssoul?comebackagain，sothathecouldtalktohismother．Ofcourse，shehadtopayherwell．Thewomanmissedhersonverymuchandagreed．Puttingalotofmoneyinherpocket，thewitchclosedhereyesands…     

A Doctor or a Butcher?

Pig studied at a college (大学). His par-ents were poor, so he had to do odd jobs(临时工)during the holidays to pay for his educa-tion. He did not mind working hard.     

The Internet: an aid to student research or a source of frustration?

The Internet is a powerful resource for research providing limitless access to information. This article considers an application in the undergraduate Bachelor of Education in Design and Technology course (B. Ed. [Hons] D&T ).

This four year course prepares students for the teaching of Design and Technology in secondary schools, focusing on the development of skills in design and problem solving. A project based approach is used within the course to encourage individual research activity and promote a student centred learning experience. As well as books and video resources, the students have access to the Internet through a network of Windows NT workstations. The potential for exploration via the Internet has been readily exploited by students and this article reviews the use made of this facility by students and their impressions of its value

Providing Internet access posed many technical and managerial challenges, some of which are considered in the article. The experience gained in its use has provided some interesting insights into other issues surrounding Internet access.

Student response to the Internet as a tool, experience of searches and some of their concerns about their experience in accessing Internet along with the perceived benefits are discussed in the article     

Multi‐sensory storytelling: a tool for teaching or an intervention technique?

This article reports on research undertaken to investigate how multi‐sensory storytelling (MSST) was being used within schools for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties and other special educational needs. Semi‐structured interviews (n = 27) and observations (n = 18) were undertaken in five schools in the East Midlands and south‐east of England. The study identified that MSST was considered to contribute to the curriculum access, assessment, learning and socialisation of students across a wide range of special educational needs. Key opportunities, applications and barriers to use were identified. Findings from this study indicated that the way these teachers used MSST differed from extant research in this area with regard to both design and delivery. It is suggested that the desire to develop a quantitative evidence base may present unnecessary restrictions which inhibit the recognition of pedagogic issues; and that a more fluid conceptualisation of MSST would be reflective of real‐world practice.     

When is a Frog a Book or a Book a Frog?

During early childhood, children adopt a design-based conception of books with increasing consistency. It is not clear if or how young children spontaneously indentify the myriad of commercially produced, book-related props, toys, and other materials as support for their early literacy activities. Guidelines for evaluating these supplementary materials are presented and thirteen books are reviewed and recommended.     

Risk or resilience? What makes a difference?

Dropping out of school has been associated with a student’s ethnicity, socioeconomic status, challenging behaviours and low academic achievement. This paper describes research conducted with 1050 students aged 12–15, in three North Queensland urban high schools to investigate issues related to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at risk of dropping out of school before gaining adequate qualifications.