The device in the room: Technology’s role in third grade literacy instruction

Abstract

This yearlong study explores how digital technologies are used during literacy instruction in the critical year of third grade. We analyzed technology use in 16 classrooms across six geographically and socioeconomically diverse schools. We examined the multiple layers of technology’s influences on teachers’ instructional decision-making and on students’ engagement. Applying Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy alongside the SAMR model, expectations for student technology use varied across settings and resulted in mixed levels of student engagement. Although technology has the potential to transform teaching and learning, it is most often used as a substitution for traditional instructional tools and to support students’ remembering and understanding rather than more complex tasks. Analysis suggests technology tools are not being strategically employed to support the development of 21st century learning skills.     

The ‘foreign’ language teacher: negotiating the culture of a school when unfamiliar with the language of instruction

This article examines and theorises the experiences of 12 primary pre-service teachers at an Australian university, undertaking a two week professional teaching experience in Bangkok. This qualitative ethnographic study of our students’ and to some extent our own experiences draws on interviews, questionnaires and observations from the students, as well as reflective notes from two participating supervisors, and sets out to account for and understand the sources of the achievements and frustrations experienced by our pre-service teachers. The findings illustrate differences between the students’ overseas experiences and Australian-based experiences. These differences include organisational structures, teacher mentoring and cultural understandings, and the effects these had on the students. In particular, we distinguish the more readily observable structural nature of the schools in which the pre-service teachers were teaching, and the less visible cultural aspects that underlie these structures. We propose ways of helping students, as part of pre-departure briefings, to become more aware of these cultural underpinnings, with a view to helping them become more at ease negotiating intercultural workplaces.     

Migrants and the language of instruction: Is the EU policy deficit driving new innovations in social inclusion?

Language learning has long been seen as an important tool for achieving European Union (EU) targets for social inclusion. However, “mainstream” policy instruments like the Action Plan on Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity and the European Charter for Minority Languages have been undermined in recent years by the effects of the global financial crisis, which has contributed to the widespread decimation of welfare budgets in many EU member states. This has been accompanied by the increasing influence of a “neo-liberal” discourse in welfare and social service policies and practices, leading to the delegation of responsibility for service provision from central, regional and local government to commercial enterprises, civil society and, ultimately, to citizens themselves. At the same time, the gaps in service provision that have resulted from this “financial crisis” have opened up new opportunities for social innovators. New kinds of organisations are beginning to develop and apply new approaches using language learning to deliver innovative services aimed, for example, at supporting the integration of immigrants in society. Using case study analysis, this paper explores how these new approaches have developed, what kinds of innovation are being delivered and the contribution these social innovations are making to broader EU social inclusion objectives.     

Does educational expansion encourage female workforce participation? A study of the 1968 reform in Taiwan

Between 1968 and 1973 the Taiwanese government undertook the most extensive expansion on record of the public junior high school system in Taiwan. This study analyzes the effects of the 1968 education reform and subsequent high school expansion on gender disparities in employment generally, as well in different sectors and classes of employment. Our results show that the education expansion exerted a major influence on the reallocation of female workers across various sectors and types of employment, thereby contributing to the efficient reallocation of females in the Taiwan economy.     

The future of the academic calling? Junior researchers in the entrepreneurial university

This article explores what motivates junior researchers to engage in academic work and what questions are central for their academic identities. The context of the study is the entrepreneurial orientation of today’s university, which according to many leaves little space for the academic calling. The main argument is that the identity work of the junior researchers interviewed revolves around four key questions: What kind of research should I do? What kind of tasks should I prioritize? Am I good enough at what I am doing? What would be the right place for me in the future? Their answers to these questions show that while some elements of the traditional academic identity continue to appeal to the junior researchers, they also search for new interpretations and sources of meaning.     

Technologies of disciplinary power in action: The norm of the‘Good student’

We have completed a piece of research into the process of production of speech on the part of students as regards their idea of ‘the good student’, taking social postmodern theories as a conceptual reference and within the university context. The study tries to show how disciplinary technologies are a major influence in the make-up of particular types of students. It is an exploration of the discourses used by students reflecting their vision of university, teaching and learning. The aim is to understand their reasoning by means of the view they have of academic activity and life. Starting from Michael Foucault’s thoughts on power relations in the context of educational practices we present a plan of discourse analysis based on accounts made by the students themselves.     

Collaborative filtering for expansion of learner’s background knowledge in online language learning: does “top-down” processing improve vocabulary proficiency?

In recent years, collaborative filtering, a recommendation algorithm that incorporates a user’s data such as interest, has received worldwide attention as an advanced learning support system. However, accurate recommendations along with a user’s interest cannot be ideal as an effective learning environment. This study aims to develop and evaluate an online English vocabulary learning system using collaborative filtering that allows learners to learn English vocabulary while expanding their interests. The online learning environment recommends English news articles using information obtained from other users with similar interests. The learner then studies these recommended articles as a method of learning English. The results of a two-month experiment that compared this system to an earlier collaborative filtering system called “GroupLens” reveal that learners who used the collaborative filtering system developed in this study read various news articles and had significantly higher scores on topic-specific vocabulary tests than did those who used the previous system.     

Can university qualification promote social mobility? A review of higher education expansion and graduate employment in China

Higher education expansion is expected to widen access to universities and promote social mobility, but evidence from the real world frequently contradicts this expectation, and China is no exception. Most empirical studies have been conducted on the relationship between social origins and education without considering studies on education and social destinations. As a result, relatively weak modifying measures are suggested without a panoramic view to inform structural changes. Inspired by the ‘positional competition’ observed by Mok, this study attempts to continue the exploration by constructing a dialogue between the two studies and look into the fluidity process across the two relationships to trace the determinants of social stratification in the country. Key findings include the following: 1) The education system is obligated to play a specific role in China depending on the governing theme of the regime, that is, the existing one prioritises economic growth but not social mobility. 2) Social elitist status in China is associated with an occupation in the public sector, the pursuit of which constitutes over-education among graduates. 3) The queuing model derived from the screening and signalling theory exercises explanatory power in the analysis of the public sector, whereas the thesis of human capital may still be illuminative in the private market. This study argues that, without addressing the state’s continual grip on commanding heights, which is a fundamental reason behind weak fluidity, future modifying measures to propel mobility may be fruitless.     

Global rankings in the Nordic region: challenging the identity of research-intensive universities?

Global university rankings currently attract considerable attention, and it is often assumed that such rankings may cause universities to prioritize activities and outcomes that will have a positive effect in their ranking position. A possible consequence of this could be the spread of a particular model of an “ideal” university. This article tests this assumption through an analysis of a sample of research-intensive universities in the Nordic region. Through document analysis and interviews with institutional leaders and staff from central administration, the study explores whether high-ranked Nordic universities take strategic measures as a response to global rankings, and whether the traditional identities of the universities are changing, as they are influenced and affected by the rankings. The study shows that rankings have a relatively modest impact on decision-making and strategic actions in the Nordic universities studied, and that there are few signs of rankings challenging the existing identities of the universities in this region.     

Making the connection: Examining the relationship between undergraduate students’ digital literacy and academic success in an English medium instruction (EMI) university

The transition through the first year of university study is challenging for the majority of students. For students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, commencing studies in an English-Medium Instruction (EMI) university program presents a number of specific challenges. These students are faced with meeting both language demands as well as learning expectations of the institution, which often differ markedly from their previous formal learning experiences. Developing CALD students’ digital literacy practices has been shown to lead to improved academic performance, success and retention in some higher education settings. This paper focuses on the digital literacy practices of undergraduates at a national public university in a Gulf State. Results from a survey and focus groups are analysed to identify the students’ access to and use of digital technologies, in order to better understand how their academic success can be enhanced through digital literacy development. The study identifies a disconnect between students’ perceptions of their digital capabilities and the institutional requirements for study. The research recommends that providing integrated, institution-wide digital literacy development focused on accessing, assessing and incorporating online resources in their work, will help improve transitioning CALD students’ preparedness for undergraduate study in this and other EMI universities.

     

Less inequality through universal access? Socioeconomic background of tertiary entrants in Australia after the expansion of university participation

This article investigates the consequences of an expansion of domestic university places in Australia after 2009 for inequalities in access to tertiary education. I focused on how different individual-level socioeconomic factors were influencing not only the likelihood of continuing education at the tertiary level but also a type of institution one studies at. Thus, I simultaneously analyse vertical and horizontal dimensions of inequalities in access. The expansion has not dramatically changed the differentiated access within different socioeconomic groups. However, the influence of parental education and secondary school context on continuing education has weakened. But those who have benefited the most are young people from upper service class. They not only approach near-universal access faster than other social classes but also improve their relative chances to study at the most prestigious institutions. Controlling for academic ability at the age of 15 showed that socioeconomic background continuous to matter after that age. This means that student-oriented equity policies undertaken closer to the point of transition to tertiary education have a capacity to decrease educational inequalities. Results are discussed against the background of the current higher education policy trends regarding equity in access.     

The acquisition of literacy skills in 1:1 classrooms – the Danish case

In Denmark, 1:1 classroom has been implemented in all public schools (grades 1–9). Each student regularly accesses, processes, produces and exchanges written material using a computer (PC, laptop, tablet, etc.). These devices are considered as tools to enhance educational objectives, and in the article I present findings from research about how these devices might be used to enhance the students’ acquisition of literacy skills. An internationally comparative analysis by the OECD of the digital skills that students have acquired shows no appreciable improvements in student achievement in reading in the countries that ‘had invested heavily in educational technology’. The Danish cases presented in this paper, however, identify ways of using digital technology in order to improve student digital literacy skills. They provide evidence suggesting a positive influence on student reading, creating and sharing of learning material in 1:1 classrooms. The results gained are considered critical in the sense that they can be generalized with a view to future development of 1:1 educational initiatives.     

Can individuals with Down syndrome acquire alphabetic literacy skills in the absence of phoneme awareness?

Two studies investigating the relationship betweenphoneme awareness and word reading ability in Downsyndrome (DS) are reported. The first study included33 Brazilian individuals with DS (mean age = 23years). They all had begun to read and all showedclear signs of phonological recoding skills. Thirty-three normal children (mean age = 7 years),matched with the individuals with DS for readingability, participated as controls. The second studyincluded individuals with DS with a wider range ofreading ability: a group of 46 readers (mean age = 22years) and a group of 47 nonreaders (mean age = 18years). The results question Cossu, Rossini, andMarshall's (1993a) claim that phoneme awareness is notrelated to alphabetic reading acquisition in DS.Although the individuals with DS who participated inthe first study performed rather poorly on a task thatpresupposes the ability to explicitly manipulatephonological representations, they performed quitewell on a task assessing the ability to detectphonemic similarities in words. We suggest that it wasthis ability that enabled them to acquire phonologicalrecoding skills as well as they did, despite theircognitive limitations. The results of the second studywere consistent with this interpretation. The abilityto detect phonemic similarities in wordssignificantly differentiated between the readers andthe nonreaders, even after we controlled forvariations in letter knowledge, intelligence, andchronological age.     

National quality assessment systems in the Nordic countries: developing a balance between external and internal needs?

The article compares national quality assessment systems of higher education in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The intention is to study whether there is a balance between internal institutional and external societal needs in the design and organisation of quality assessment systems. The study shows that the systems are highly adjusted to each countrys specific governing strategy for higher education, and that these procedures so far have resulted in very incremental changes in the existing power structures of higher education.     

Congratulations or condolences? The role of human capital in the cultivation of a university administrator

Administrative skill is essential to organizational effectiveness. Yet, few studies examine how human capital investments over a career affect selection into administration. We use panel data for economists to estimate the probability of choosing administration over a pure academic track. The results show that, while research-specific human capital reduces the probability of becoming an administrator, general human capital increases it. There are also inferior administrative opportunities for women that have not improved over time and variation in the role of human capital according to institutional research mission. Thus, our results suggest academic leaders are not merely born, but cultivated through their human capital investments.