What does the counseling field say about sexuality?A content analysis

Despite the counseling field adopting holistic health and developmental frameworks, sexual health is often absent or underrepresented in these discussions. Via content analysis, the authors examined publications in three counseling journals to assess the current state of the sexuality literature in the field. Almost half (46.6%) of publications are on the topic of sexual identity. There are notable gaps in the literature on topics related to anatomy/physiology, sexual functioning, and pleasure/sexual lifestyle. Implications for counselors and counselor training are discussed.     

Over-education: What influence does the workplace have?

The wage and job satisfaction impacts for over-educated workers have been well-documented; yet little attention has been paid to the consequences for firms. In this paper we examine over-education from the perspective of the workplace. Using linked employer–employee data for the United Kingdom, we derive the standard worker-level penalties on wages and job satisfaction. We then show how over-education rates across workplaces adversely influence workplace pay and workplace labor relations. For individual workers who may be at-risk of over-education, we also distinguish between workforce composition effects and workplace labor practices, such as hiring. The effect of over-education on job satisfaction is particularly strong and its effects are evident at the workplace level. Our results suggest that investigations of over-education at the level of the firm are a promising area of inquiry.     

What do LGBTQ students say about their experience of university in the UK?

Little is known about the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) university students in the UK. One of the main reasons for this seems to be that the monitoring of sexual orientation and gender identity is not routinely undertaken and is not consistent across all Higher Education establishments. This can mean that identifying LGBTQ students is not always easy, and one result of this is that LGBTQ students who have lesser rates of student satisfaction are not being targeted for improvement strategies, which are intended to increase satisfaction and increase student survey scores. One study that gives some new insight into the experiences of LGBTQ students in England was conducted in collaboration with the LGBT service provider METRO and The University of Greenwich. This article explores some of the main findings from that study and discusses the implications these may have for Higher Education and those establishments wishing to increase satisfaction and wider participation with sexual minority students.     

Inquiry-Based Professional Development: What does it take to support teachers in learning about inquiry and nature of science?

This study examined the geologic and evolutionary subject matter and views of inquiry and nature of science (NOS) of a group of 5th–9th grade teachers, and a comparison group, before and after participating in an inquiry-based professional development (PD) experience. Project teachers participated in an intensive, week-long, resident institute where they learned about geology, evolutionary concepts, NOS, and inquiry while engaging in an authentic scientific investigation. They were also given support in how to teach these topics using an inquiry-based approach. Analyses of data indicate that project teachers showed greater gains in subject matter than comparison teachers and the relative change was significantly different statistically. Furthermore, most project teachers demonstrated a shift from less informed to more informed views of inquiry and NOS and the relative change between participant and comparison teachers was significantly different statistically. These gains are promising because they suggest that short-term and intensive PD can support teachers in enhancing their knowledge and views. Moreover, analysis of post-programme questionnaires and interviews indicated that supporting teachers in reflecting on the relationship between their former classroom teaching practice, and new knowledge acquired during PD, may be an important link in enhancing teacher knowledge and supporting change in practice. This suggests that enhanced knowledge and views may not be the only factor contributing to changing one's practice. The study points to the importance of reflection in promoting teacher change. Results from this study add insights to supporting teachers in enacting inquiry-based instruction and teaching about NOS in their classrooms.     

What does technology integration research tell us about the leadership of technology?

Abstract

This systematic review of the literature focuses on the empirical research conducted between 1998 and 2018 at the intersection of leaders, teachers, and technology in K-12 schools. The question guiding this review was “what does the technology integration literature identify as key leadership practices that support teachers’ technology integration efforts?” Findings are presented in terms of the larger body of knowledge about effective leadership practices that are empirically shown to influence teaching and learning by applying a conceptual framework of empirically derived leadership practices. The researchers analyzed, deductively coded, and categorized findings from 34 relevant articles in peer-reviewed journals. Findings emphasized leadership practices for building professional capacity including providing teachers with opportunities to learn, creating communities of practice for them, considering their individualized needs, and addressing issues of access and support. In this article, domains of the conceptual framework are described and convey the findings about leadership practices in terms of IT and offer suggestions for further synthesizing the currently siloed work on technology integration in the leadership, teacher, and technology literature.     

Collaborative teaching for teacher educators—What does the research say?

In this paper, the literature related to collaboration in teacher education programmes is reviewed. The authors discuss the benefits for teacher educators who collaboratively plan and develop team-taught coursework and monitor the impact of their collaboratively developed pedagogy. Gaps in the current knowledge and research are delineated, and recommendations are offered for efforts to further develop the practice of collaborative teaching so as to increase the capacity of future teachers to address the increasingly diverse student populations enter their classrooms.     

What do professional learning policies say about purposes of teacher education?

Enhancing teacher learning is acknowledged globally as a key route to improving student outcomes, thereby contributing to nation states’ economic competitiveness. This globally accepted policy “hypernarrative” is driving reform of teacher education policy internationally. This article seeks to analyse some key features of contemporary teacher professional learning policies in terms of the underpinning purposes of education, in an attempt to make more explicit the purposes and potential implications of particular policy choices. The analysis draws on literature related to the fundamental purposes of school education, highlighting three broad, but distinct categories of “purpose”: the socialisation function; the development of human capital; and “subjectification” which focuses on individual creativity. While principally conceptual in nature, the article draws on the Scottish policy context in exemplifying the analysis, concluding that there is a tendency towards socialisation and human capital functions, at the expense of subjectification purposes.     

What do distance language tutors say about teacher motivation?

Research into motivation in education mainly centres on students’ learning motivation. This article reports on an interview study of teacher motivation with the aim of investigating the effects of student-related factors and tutors’ personal factors on the motivation of language tutors in the distance learning context. Findings from the study indicate that external sources of influence include students’ engagement in learning English, motivation to learn English, progress made, foundation in English and appreciation of tutors’ teaching, while tutors’ internal factors are their self-efficacy in teaching, reflection and self-initiated professional development, interest in the profession of teaching English as well as their sense of achievement. Analysis of the data also suggests that more concrete measures are needed to counteract the demotivating effects from these two dimensions. Implications and suggestions are discussed with regard to enhancing tutor motivation more effectively.     

What does the future hold?

PROFESSIONJobHOMEType of houseWhere it will beFAMlLYLIFESingle/married/divorced/living with a partnerChildrenVEHICLEVehicle you will ownVehicle you will use most oftenTRAVELThe most interesting place you will travel toWhat you will do thereACHIEVEMENTSWhat you will achieve     

What do primary students say about school-based social work programmes?

This article focuses on primary school children’s experiences of school-based social work programmes. These students, aged between 6 and 11, and drawn from a student population comprising 28 different cultural backgrounds and from low socio-economic backgrounds, participated in a case study that researched a school-based social work programme, the St Paul’s Model. The importance of this research lies in the fact that in the area of Australian school social work there is no documented information on how primary school children experience school-based social work programmes. Findings indicate that the school-based social work programmes enhanced the social, emotional, and personal well-being of primary school-aged children and provided enhanced social inclusion programmes and access to resources otherwise denied to primary school-aged children located in economically, socially and politically disadvantaged circumstances.     

What does playing cards have to do with science? A resource-rich view of African American young men

The study examines the resources related to science that African American young men learn and develop by playing a card game called Spades, a common cultural practice in African American communities that dates back to the Civil War Era. The qualitative study examines what the Spades players at a local high school consider when making decisions about what cards to play. A significant finding is that the players use, learn and develop resources such as the ability to make observations, draw inferences, and use empirical data to inform future actions and decisions. Such reasoning bears a resemblance to central practices of science and challenges long held deficit views of African American young men. Implications of the research findings are discussed.     

What effect does flipping the classroom have on undergraduate student perceptions and grades?

There is a lack of consensus of the effects on student perceptions and performance in flipping the classroom and its possible value over the traditional face-to-face (FTF) classroom approach. This research examines the expectation that flipping an undergraduate, introductory level, information concepts and skills class would benefit student learning and evaluates the results of flipping this type of course. The study showed a significant difference in student perceptions about the course itself between web-enhanced, FTF and hybrid, flipped classrooms, but this may be dependent upon the level of technology integration rather than the approach. In addition, students who were required to work in groups on a weekly basis had more positive responses toward the flipped classroom improving their soft skills than those who did not. Finally, for written content exams it seems the flipped class approach is at least as effective as the traditional classroom in terms of grades. However, it appears teaching software skills may be better with at least some direct instruction over just the use of simulation software.     

What does the teacher do?: Constructivist pedagogies and prospective teachers’ beliefs about the role of a teacher

The constructivist pedagogies that are increasingly part of teacher education course work and expectations emerge from an intellectual world where knowledge is seen as created rather than received, mediated by discourse rather than transferred by teacher talk, explored and transformed rather than remembered as a uniform set of positivistic ideas. Increasingly, teacher educators ask new teachers to learn how to elicit and then use students’ existing ideas as a basis for helping them construct new, more reasoned, more accurate or more disciplined understandings. While the role a teacher plays in developing or shaping students’ thinking via constructivist pedagogies is obvious to teacher educators who advocate such strategies, the case of Taylor, a prospective English teacher, suggests that the role a teacher plays when using these strategies may not be at all clear to prospective teachers. Rather than understanding constructivist pedagogies as techniques for thinking with learners, for teaching them, Tayor saw these strategies as ends in themselves. Faced with models of constructivist pedagogies, Taylor concluded that the teacher's role ends when she has activated learners, invited them to talk, successfully engaged their participation. This article describes how she reached this conclusion and explores the ways in which constructivist pedagogies can lead prospective teachers to project a thin vision of their role as a teacher.     

Social StoriesTM: does the research evidence support the popularity?

The use of Social Stories^TM appears to be popular among educational psychologists (EPs) and other children’s services professionals as an intervention for enhancing the social functioning of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). This article explores and evaluates the research evidence upon which this apparent popularity is based. Several areas of significant weakness in the body of literature are identified which, it is suggested, need to be addressed through further research before EPs can recommend Social Stories^TM as a stand alone intervention strategy in the confidence that it represents evidence-based practice.