Mothering and the work of educational care – an integrative approach

This article, through looking at mothers’ modes of engagement with their children’s education, proposes an integrative analytical approach to the study of the making of mothers, mothering, and motherhood. The article presents and brings into dialogue four different bodies of anthropological and sociological literature: mothering as a form of care work, anthropological work on child-rearing in different cultural settings, sociological studies of the class negotiation of home–school boundaries, and the theoretical and empirical literature on consumption in post-industrial society. Bringing together ideas of care, culture, class, and consumption into one analytical framework is crucial for attending to, in holistic fashion, the complex ways in which mothering, in different social–cultural contexts, is perceived and practiced.     

Digital competence – an emergent boundary concept for policy and educational research

Digital competence is an evolving concept related to the development of digital technology and the political aims and expectations of citizenship in a knowledge society. It is regarded as a core competence in policy papers; in educational research it is not yet a standardized concept. We suggest that it is a useful boundary concept, which can be used in various contexts. For this study, we analysed 76 educational research articles in which digital competence, described by different terms, was investigated. As a result, we found that digital competence consists of a variety of skills and competences, and its scope is wide, as is its background: from media studies and computer science to library and literacy studies. In the article review, we found a total of 34 terms that had used to describe the digital technology related skills and competences; the most often used terms were digital literacy, new literacies, multiliteracy and media literacy, each with somewhat different focus. We suggest that digital competence is defined as consisting of (1) technical competence, (2) the ability to use digital technologies in a meaningful way for working, studying and in everyday life, (3) the ability to evaluate digital technologies critically, and (4) motivation to participate and commit in the digital culture.     

Examination and learning: an activity‐theoretical analysis of the relationship between assessment and educational practice

The backwash effect of assessment on learning is widely acknowledged. This article discusses the impact of assessment on learning in a wider sense, by focusing on how assessment drives not only student learning, but also the teaching practices, the designing of educational programmes and the production of learning material. The focus is on how assessment affects education at a system level and the article conceptualizes the backwash effect of assessment on learning from a systemic perspective. Activity theory, as developed by Engeström (1987 Engeström Y (1987) Learning by expanding. An activity‐theoretical approach to developmental research (Helsinki, Orienta‐Konsultit Oy)  [Google Scholar]), is used as a framework to conceptualize this systemic affect of assessment. The empirical basis for the analysis is an ethnographic study of the compulsory preparatory course in philosophy, logics and philosophy of science at the University of Oslo.     

Language teachers’ conceptions of assessment: an Egyptian perspective

The current study investigates the assessment conceptions of both pre-service and in-service English teachers within a high-stakes, test-driven context in Egypt. For this purpose, 170 Egyptian pre-service and in-service teachers completed an assessment conceptions questionnaire. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis were employed to answer the research questions. The results of the study showed in-service teachers preferring a combination of formative and summative assessment practices while pre-service teachers favored a relatively summative paradigm. With regard to functions of assessment, in-service teachers endorsed the improvement function of assessment more than the pre-service group. Both groups had negative perceptions about the effectiveness of teacher training programs. The study provides a number of implications for language teachers, teacher educators, and policy-makers.     

Formative assessment – an optimistic but incomplete vision

The preceding articles in this issue describe a diverse range of projects which had in common the aim of implementing or improving the practice of formative assessment, and thereby to secure some of the benefits attributed to it. This article attempts to set up a framework within which each of the different studies may be located and inter-related. There are three main sections. The first deals with the roles of assessment, both formative and summative, within a comprehensive model of pedagogy. The second considers the specific ways in which the different practices of assessment feedback help to develop the capacity of each student to become a thoughtful and independent learner. The third reviews the ways in which new assessment practices present problems to teachers in challenging them to re-think their role and similarly to students, when for both groups, new practices affect their ways of coping in the classroom.     

Becoming an educational leader – exploring leadership in medical education

Research on educational leadership emphasizes the importance of having institutional leaders heavily involved with advanced instructional programming. Best practices for developing educational leadership in higher education health care and medical faculties have to be better understood. Within the framework of a seminar series, researchers and practitioners were involved in a dialogical process of inquiry, coupled with an explicit activity-oriented approach emphasizing empowerment among educational leaders. In a reflective paper, 10 participants of the seminar series elaborated on what it meant to develop and to ‘take’ leadership in your professional role and which factors that were identified as adding value to the development of professional leadership expertise. Qualitative content analysis was conducted resulting in thirteen categories reported in relation to Wenger’s theory of communities of practice. The findings show that educational leadership involves processes on the levels of students, teachers as community and at the organizational level. The individuals created a place for backstage conversations at which they got opportunity to develop their thinking and inspiration to break new ideas into their own educational communities. In addition, a systemic approach is essential for the effective implementation of educational leadership to reach all levels via interaction and communication across an organization.     

Academic failure of first-year engineering and technological students in India and assessment of motivation factors – a case study

This study has been conducted to show that there is a recent trend in engineering colleges in India that students who are considered to be highly intelligent show poor academic performance during their 1st year. This article is proposed to examine the role of motivation factors such as teaching methods and learning material in the academic performance of engineering and technological students in India. A test was carried out among engineering students. A total of 200 male and female students participated in this test. A 2-group discriminator analysis was done to analyse the data. The results showed that there was a significant correlation (p = 0.000) between motivation factors and academic performance of engineering students. The higher the rating of these factors by the students, the higher their performance.     

Global engineering teams – a programme promoting teamwork in engineering design and manufacturing

Engineering graduates are expected to possess various competencies categorised into hard and soft skills. The hard skills are acquired through specific coursework, but the soft skills are often treated perfunctorily. Global Engineering Teams (GET) is a programme that promotes project-oriented tasks in virtual student teams working in collaboration with industry partners. Teamwork is a major success factor for GET as students always work in groups of varying sizes. A questionnaire-based survey of the 2008 cohort of GET students was conducted to assess teamwork, communication and conflict resolution among group members. The results confirmed that deliverables are readily achieved in teams and communication was open. A challenge of using virtual teams is the availability of high-speed Internet access. The GET programme shows that it is possible to deliver engineering design and manufacturing via industry/university collaboration. The programme also facilitates multidisciplinary teamwork at an international level.     

Relationships between pre-service teachers’ conceptions of assessment,approaches to instruction,and assessment: an achievement goal theory perspective

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationships between pre-service teachers’ conceptions of assessment and their intended approaches to classroom instruction and assessment. We operationalised approaches to instruction and assessment according to Achievement Goal Theory, postulating that pre-service teachers approach instruction and assessment from either a mastery or performance perspective. The results from a correlational study of 344 Canadian pre-service teachers showed that intended instruction and assessment practices were separated according to mastery and performance approaches. However, there was also alignment between the concepts such that pre-service teachers who had a mastery approach to instruction were more inclined towards a mastery approach to assessment. Approaches to assessment were also related to pre-service teachers’ conceptions: beliefs that assessment holds students and schools accountable were positively related to a performance approach to assessment. In contrast, a belief that assessment improves teaching was positively related to a mastery approach to assessment and negatively to a performance approach. We discuss relationships between conceptions of assessment, approaches to classroom instruction and assessment as conceptualised from an Achievement Goal Theory perspective.     

Cooperative Learning in Vietnam and the West–East educational transfer

Under pressure of the continuing need to modernize, Vietnam is rapidly reforming its education system. Cooperative Learning (CL) with a Western-based model is being enthusiastically applied. This paper suggests that an authentic form of CL has long existed in the foundations of Vietnamese education. The reasons why Western-based CL is encouraged can be attributed to false universalism (the belief that a practice that originated from elsewhere can be “cloned” with similar results) and neo-colonialism (the perpetuation of a colonial mindset under the pressure of financial loans). While an adjusted form of CL has been suggested by previous studies to make CL culturally appropriate, this paper argues that a true hybrid form of CL which takes into account the authentic CL will have more potential to make this method not only culturally but institutionally appropriate. The paper indicates a strong need to identify and incorporate indigenous practice in the process of educational reform.     

Oh to be a scholar – an HE in FE perspective

This paper considers conceptions of the term ‘scholarship’ amongst lecturers delivering business higher education programmes (BHEPs) in further education colleges (FECs). A condensed overview of leading authors’ work on the subject of scholarship is first considered; then, at the end of the paper, an alternative definition is offered in the hopes of stimulating discussion. The data was drawn from a doctoral study by the author (2009) looking at this subject area, and is based on findings from primary data collected in 2006–7. Due to the lack of published work in and on higher education (HE) in further education (FE) at that time, the study drew heavily on literature from HE. This paper highlights potential issues and anxieties of the lecturers who took part in the study, and identifies that the term ‘scholarship’ is not one familiar to, or easily defined by, those delivering BHEPs in FECs.     

Implementing vertical and horizontal engineering students’ integration and assessment of consequence academic achievement

Recent scholarship references indicate that integration of the student body can result in an enhanced learning experience for students and also greater satisfaction. This paper reports the results of a case study whereby mechanical engineering students studying at a newly established branch campus in Dubai of a British university were exposed to vertical and horizontal integration. Different activities have been embedded to ensure that students integrated and worked together with their peers and colleagues at different levels. The implemented processes and practices led to improved academic achievements, which were better than those of a similar cohort of students where no effort had been made to integrate. The analysis revealed that cooperative learning and the degree of academic support provided by teachers are positively and directly correlated with academic as well as the students’ own sense of personal achievement. The results are discussed in light of previous research and with reference to the cultural context of the study.     

Generating knowledge in a Learning Study – from the perspective of a teacher researcher

The purpose of this article is to discuss and describe how a clinical research method can be used to generate knowledge about teaching and learning. This will be addressed from a teacher researcher’s perspective, taking a conducted Learning Study as the departure. Learning Study is an interventionist, iterative and collaborative research approach, focusing on the teaching of an object of learning. The actual study was conducted by a teacher researcher leading a teacher research team in a study about story-writing in primary school. The research process and the results are discussed using four areas that are described as dichotomies by Labaree (Labaree, D.F. 2003. “The Peculiar Problems of Preparing Educational Researchers.” Educational Researcher 32 (4): 13–22). Labaree states that teacher researchers need to go from being normative, experimental, personal and particular to being analytical, theoretical, intellectual and universal. By using examples from the Learning Study, I argue that these areas do not have to be seen as dichotomies; instead they can be combined and intertwined. Thus, in a Learning Study, elements from both the teaching practice and the academic practice matter, thus enhancing the possibility that results are useful for practitioners.