Conceptualising knowledge for access in the sciences: academic development from a social realist perspective

Whilst arguing from a social realist perspective that knowledge matters in academic development (AD) curricula, this paper addresses the question of what knowledge types and practices are necessary for enabling epistemological access. It presents a single, in-depth, qualitative case study in which the curriculum of a science AD course is characterised using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT). Analysis of the course curriculum reveals legitimation of four main categories of knowledge types along a continuum of stronger to weaker epistemic relations: disciplinary knowledge, scientific literacies knowledge, general academic practices knowledge and everyday knowledge. These categories are ‘mapped’ onto an LCT(Semantics) (how meaning relates to both context and empirical referents) topological plane to reveal a curriculum that operates in three distinct but interrelated spaces by facing towards both the field of science and the practice of academia. It is argued that this empirically derived differentiated curriculum framework offers a conceptual means for considering the notion of access to ‘powerful’ knowledge in a range of AD and mainstream contexts.     

Evidence‐based practice in educational research: a critical realist critique of systematic review

The paper argues that a critical realist perspective can contribute to a critique of evidence‐based practice, while at the same time not abandoning the idea of evidence altogether. The paper is structured around a number of related themes: the sociopolitics of ‘evidence‐based’; epistemological roots and a critical realist critique; the debate in action based on the recent systematic review of personal development planning; and theory to practice gaps. The advocacy of evidence‐based practice is currently being used to undermine professional autonomy and to valorise the ‘gold‐standard’ of randomised controlled trials. However, the paper proposes that evidence can properly be claimed for critique and emancipatory projects, and that its current discursive location at the core of New Labour thinking is not the only one available. Moreover, thinking from a critical realist perspective liberates the space for theoretically informed work, whereby arguments about method, and in particular randomised controlled trials, do not become a proxy for the open examination of ontological and epistemological assumptions. One of the underlying themes in critical realism is that of critique and emancipation, and evidence properly understood aligned to clear theoretical argumentation is part of this project. Existing models of systematic review fall far short of this aspiration and are of little help to practitioners. As researchers and practitioners we have every reason to maintain a critical stance towards the way evidence is being deployed in debates about policy and practice.     

Ties between the lexicon and grammar: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of bilingual toddlers

Studies using the English and Spanish MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories demonstrated that the grammatical abilities of 20-30-month-old bilingual children were related more strongly to same-language vocabulary development than to broader lexical-conceptual development or maturation. First, proportions of different word types in each language varied with same-language vocabulary size. Second, individual changes in predicate and closed class word proportion scores were linked to growth in same-language vocabulary but not to total conceptual vocabulary. Third, increases in English utterance length and English and Spanish sentence complexity were related to growth in same-language vocabulary but not to growth in conceptual vocabulary. Increases in Spanish utterance length were linked to growth in both Spanish vocabulary and conceptual vocabulary. Possible mechanisms underlying these patterns are considered.     

加强高水平行业特色型大学建设促进我国高等教育科学发展

高水平行业特色型大学是我国高等教育的一支重要力量,在我国高等教育体系中居于重要地位.一般而言,行业特色型高校,是指具有显著行业背景、学科分布相对集中、长期服务于行业发展的高等院校,其中包括教育部直属的一批高水平行业特色型大学.     

Supporting change and scholarship through review of online resources in professional development settings

How can we accelerate innovation and ensure effective dissemination of knowledge about online learning resources? This paper advocates strategies that systematically link online professional development with the research, development and diffusion cycle. The systemic approach we describe can accelerate knowledge advancement and help manage change by improving communication among teachers, trainers, developers and researchers. The examples that are provided are set within two funded projects in the United States that led to the development of two distinct but related strategies—the Online Site Evaluation Form for educators (a web‐based review form used in workshops) and a six‐week online course on technology‐supported assessments. Both strategies make it easier to give feedback to developers and offer incentives to do so in ways that help teachers to learn about online resources individually and with colleagues. The examples are discussed with analysis of their strengths and weaknesses in supporting different modes of interaction. We highlight implications for instructional development, professional development, research and knowledge management in online communities.     

面向产业发展整合教育资源构建大专业平台

本文着重阐述中等职业学校在专业建设中遇到的问题，专业如何有效地构建，如何根据当地的产业结构和经济发展趋势进行建设，如何使学校有限的资源得到充分的利用。笔者提出了“面向当地产业，整合教育资源，构建大专业平台”的专业建设思想，并对其必要性及有效性进行了分析。     

The politics of educational success: a realist evaluation of early school leaving policies in Catalonia (Spain)

The objective of the article is to examine what is ‘taken for granted’ in the policies designed to combat Early School Leaving (ESL) in Catalonia, identifying their implicit ontologies, causal assumptions and logics of action. In order to do so, the realist evaluation is applied. Specifically, this methodology has been applied to compare the discourses, priorities and policies of two key agents in defining and implementing policies to combat ESL in Catalonia: the Catalan Department for Education (Regional Government body) and the Barcelona Education Consortium (Local Government body). In each case, systematic documentary analysis has been conducted as well as in-depth interviews with educational experts and policymakers. The results of the analysis allows opening up the black box of the political priorities defined by this two political agents, identifying two highly controversial logics to understand educational success and to consequently address ESL     

Supporting a School in Special Measures: Implications for the potential contribution of educational psychology

This article describes the experiences of an Educational Psychologist (EP) attached to a school placed in Special Measures following its OFSTED Inspection in October 1997. Requests for increased EP time were met with a specific piece of project work looking at the ethos of the school and relationships within it. The article draws out the strengths that EPs can bring to working with schools in Special Measures. These include a psychological knowledge base, skills in systems analysis and project evaluation, the delivery of training and working within a multi-agency setting. The article suggests that this is an important area of work to which EPs can make a contribution.     

以教育创新推进高等农林教育改革与发展

结合学校实际,在更新教育观念、深化教育教学改革、优化育人环境、完善教学管理制度等方面,以教育创新思想推动高等农林教育改革与发展。     

Professional learning and development needs of women teachers in the Republic of Pakistan: a social realist perspective

ABSTRACT

This article, emerging from a wider study on the professional development needs of women teachers working in Catholic convent schools in the Republic of Pakistan, explores the perspectives and experiences of school leaders and Principals who developed professional development programmes. This area, which has been under-researched in the professional development literature, addresses the complexities and contradictions that the glocalisation of professional development can create for women teachers in developing world contexts. A social realist approach, using Archer’s morphogenetic framework, was employed to facilitate an exploration of the varied responses that professional development needs produce. The responses of former Principals and school leaders and their efforts to provide professional development for women teachers was captured, and revealed different agential responses. These responses included an acceptance of the realities of the education system in Pakistan and the role of women in that context, a desire to follow the ethos of the Catholic religious Order which was at variance with accepted educational praxis, and the changing expectations of society within Pakistan with reference to education of children.     

Exploring ideological becoming in professional development for teachers of multilingual learners: Perspectives on translanguaging in the classroom

This paper explores teachers' perspectives on the pedagogical resource of using students' first languages in the classroom. The authors implemented this action research case study within the context of a larger 15-week online, asynchronous, professional development course, where K-12 in-service public school teacher-participants were introduced to translanguaging and engaged in study and reflection on current practices and the benefits of including students' first languages in learning. This paper reports on the responses of seven representative teacher-participants from Hawai'i, USA, on their learning, with findings showing varied acceptance and resistance to encouraging and supporting their students' first language in the classroom.     

建立有中国特色的教育产业发展机制

教育一方面处于“供不应求”的卖方市场，另一方面其发展所需资金严重短缺且现有资源又得不到合理高效使用。如何解决这对矛盾，教育产业化可以作为一种尝试。教育产业化有其客观必然性，义务教育、高等教育均可采用产业运行机制进行经营管理。不过，在教育产业化的过程中要特别注意国家的宏观调控和收费机制等问题。     

Secondary school transition for children with special educational needs: a literature review

Successful transition from primary to secondary school is important for psychosocial well‐being. Children with special educational needs (SEN) may face additional complexities at transition, although the impact of this process on children's psychosocial adjustment has been underexplored. The article aims to review systematically the literature exploring the impact of transition on the concerns and psychosocial adjustment of children with SEN in comparison to typically developing children. Published studies were identified through a systematic search of six electronic databases. Articles fulfilling inclusion criteria were reviewed and a quality criteria system was developed to rank studies. Children with specific learning difficulties perceive lower levels of social support and more peer victimisation after transition than typically developing children, but methodological limitations and the modest number of studies restricted the conclusions that could be drawn.     

Supporting teachers' professional development in a developing country through practice-based inquiry and distance learning: some key issues

Abstract

This article highlights seven issues the authors encountered when they took on a very difficult task, namely of seeking, through ‘low tech’ print-based distance learning materials, to promote the professional development of experienced but untrained teachers in Namibia. The authors attempt to do this through the advocacy of an action research approach. There has been no tradition of action research in Namibia, indeed those within the country who promote this approach (the Minister of Higher Education) prefer the term Practice-based Inquiry. Moreover, the support systems that can normally be called into service in a developed country to support teachers in a distance learning initiative of this nature are virtually absent ‘on the ground’ in Namibia. The central question is can untrained teachers, themselves with a rudimentary formal education, be encouraged through a distance learning mode, to develop professionally by critically reflecting system strongly advocates ‘social reconstruction’?     

Educational decentralization: a review of popular discourse on Chinese–English bilingual education

Educational decentralization is a worldwide phenomenon, which takes different forms and leads to different outcomes in different socio-economic contexts. Taking Chinese–English bilingual education in Mainland China as an exemplar, this study examines how the decentralization of education has worked in China in the past two decades, and what consequences decentralization has brought about in the country. The analysis reveals that decentralization has created a favourable overall socio-economic and political context for bilingual education to develop, from a local endeavour into a nation-wide undertaking. The analysis also reveals that decentralization has allowed the diversified operation of bilingual programmes at the regional level. However, there has been a visible inconsistency and incoherence between the theoretical underpinnings of the programmes and the practice in schools and classrooms. Such an inconsistency and incoherence may have resulted from a newly reconfigured relation between the central government and local governments, as well as a lack of human or intellectual resources at the regional level, leading to some unintended educational and socio-political outcomes.     

Supporting scientific modeling practices in atmospheric sciences: intended and actual affordances of a computer-based modeling tool

Computer-based learning tools include design features to enhance learning but learners may not always perceive the existence of these features and use them in desirable ways. There might be a gap between what the tool features are designed to offer (intended affordance) and what they are actually used (actual affordance). This study thus aims at investigating how the design features of a computer-based tool supported high school students' modeling practices in atmospheric sciences. Twenty-three 10th graders participated in 16 hours of learning activities by using the tool. We conducted a detailed analysis of students' computer activities, their use of the design features, and their building, testing, analyzing, and evaluating practices. The analysis showed that while some design features such as Variable List and Testing Variables were perceived by students and successfully afforded their enactment of building and analyzing practices, other features including Screen Shot and Edit were rarely used or not utilized in the desirable ways. Based on the findings, this study suggests that the realization of intended affordances may involve factors of learners' characteristics, the nature of learning activities, and the complexity of tasks, and constructs an affordance analysis scheme to inform the design of computer-based learning tools.     

When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children attending bilingual preschool

This article discusses two investigations which explored the bilingual language development outcomes of comparable groups of low-income, Spanish-speaking, Mexican American children who either did or did not attended a bilingual (Spanish/English) preschool. Study 1 is a replication of a study by Rodríguez, Díaz, Duran, and Espinosa, involving a new sample of 26 children who attended bilingual preschool for one year and 20 control children who remained at home. Study 2 represents a 1-year, longitudinal follow-up of Rodríguez et al.'s, sample of children during and after the children spent another year at home or in the preschool. In both investigations, standardized, objective measures of three components of children's language proficiency (productive language, receptive language, and language complexity) in English and Spanish were obtained at the beginning and end of the academic year. Contrary to fears that have been expressed by some that early exposure to English would lead to children's native language loss, the results of both studies offered no evidence of Spanish proficiency loss for children attending bilingual preschool. Children who attended bilingual preschool, compared to those who remained at home, showed significant and parallel gains in Spanish language development as well as significant and greater increases in English language proficiency over time. Results are discussed in terms of the need for more systematic research to be conducted in this area to inform policy and practice in the early education and development of language-minority children.     

Supporting school improvement: the development of a scale for assessing pupils' emotional and behavioural development

This paper reports the construction of a teacher rating instrument designed to monitor the social and emotional development of school age children and young people (4–17 years). The instrument was developed by reviewing previously implemented checklists to build an extensive list of behavioural and emotional criteria and through the use of focus groups to establish the views of key stakeholders. The criteria were categorized according to three areas: conduct, emotion and learning. The initial instrument of 21 items was piloted and amended accordingly. The final trial of the instrument was carried out on a sample of 7285 pupils from a cross‐section of UK schools. A principal component factor analysis confirmed the division of the scale into three factors. The instrument was supported by trends showing that the distributions were different for different types of schools and between males and females. The final version of the instrument was amended to include 15 items, five in each category (conduct, emotion, learning), all expressed positively on a six‐point scale. The scale is a useful tool for providing a basis for a strategic discourse between staff in planning approaches to the emotional and behavioural development of students in school.