When Does 'Good News' Become 'Bad News'? Relationships between Government and the Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland

The development of a set of religiously integrated schools in Northern Ireland since 1981 is often portrayed in wholly positive terms. However, the continued growth of the movement has generated serious tensions at a number of levels which have wider implications for any analysis of the implications of parental choice.     

Book Reviews

The present study explored the relationships of preservice teachers’ levels of commitment to teaching and their beliefs and perceptions of teaching as a career. Participants were undergraduate students enrolled in a teacher education program at a major university in the southeast. Sixty‐seven preservice teachers completed a survey in which they rated the importance of 20 factors for influencing their choice of career. Additionally, among the survey respondents, nine students were selected from three groups of preservice teachers for in‐depth interviews: (1) students who were currently considering teaching as a career choice, (2) students who were undecided about their future teaching career, and (3) students who were no longer considering teaching as a career. Overall, findings from this study revealed that preservice teachers’ understanding of their goal of becoming teachers and interpretations of their motivation for teaching were unique, yet the types of influences on their career choices were similar across participants’ stories.     

Book Reviews

Ronald Barnett and Anne Griffin (eds), The End of Knowledge in Higher Education
Donald McIntyre (ed), Teacher Education Research in a New Context, The Oxford Internship Scheme
Alan C. Kerckhoff, Ken Fogeiman, David Crook and David Reader, Going Comprehensive in England and Wales, A Study of Uneven Change
Paul Dowling, The Sociology of Mathematics Education: Mathematical Myths/Pedagogic Texts
Gary Thomas, David Walker and Julie Webb, The Making of the Inclusive School
Joan Stephenson, Lorraine Ling, Eva Burman and Maxine Cooper, Values in Education
Pat Sikes and Fazai Rizvi (eds), Researching Race and Social Justice in Education: Essays in Honour of Barry Troyna
David Hartley, Re-Schooling Society
Paul Black, Testing: Friend or Foe? Theory and Practice of Assessment and Testing
The Hillcole Group, Rethinking Education and Democracy: A Socialist Alternative for the Twenty-first Century
Peter Woods, Bob Jeffrey, Geoff Troman and Mari Boyle, Restructuring Schools, Reconstructing Teachers
Carol Hayden, Children Excluded from Primary School
Roger Crombie White, Curiculum Innovation: A Celebration of Classroom Practice
Audrey Osler, The Education and Careers of Black Teachers: Changing Identities, Changing Lives
Leonard Bickman and Debra J. Rog (eds), Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods
Tom Douglas, Change, Intervention and Consequence: An Exploration of the Process of Intended Change
Tony Edwards, Carol Taylor Fitz-Gibbon, Frank Hardman, Roy Haywood and Nick Meagher, Separate but Equal? A Levels and GNVQs     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Alistair Ross, Curriculum: construction and critique
E.C. Wragg, G.S. Haynes. C.M. Wragg, R.P. Chamberlin, Failing Teachers?
C. Winch, Education, Work and Social Capital: Towards a New Conception of Vocational Education
Carol Vincent, Including Parents.
Theo Co, (ed), Combating Educational Disadvantage.
Celeste M. Brody, Kasi Allen Fuller, Penny Poplin Gosetti, Susan Randles Moscato, Nancy G. Nagel, Glenellen Pace and Patricia Schmuck, Gender Consciousness and Privilege
H.Altrichter and J.Elliott (eds), Images of Educational Change
David Scott (ed), Curriculum and Assessment.
Sue McGinty (ed), The Politics and Machinations of Education Research: International Case Studies
Frank Coffield (ed), Differing Visions of a Learning Society
Binns, T and Fisher, C (eds), Issues in Geography Teaching
James Arthur and Robert Phillips (eds), Issues in History Teaching
Paul Clarke, Learning Schools, Learning Systems     

Book Reviews

Abstract

This article reports on the distribution of the use of graphic calculators over the whole secondary school population in a Local Education Authority (LEA) in the United Kingdom. Quantitative and qualitative census data on the extent and nature of graphic calculator use have been obtained. A feature of this project is in the use of a teacher research team to gather data naturalistically. This work was designed to augment previous work in this area by providing census details for an entire LEA and by including reasons why graphic calculators are not used. The authors found that the key factors which contributed to use were: expertise within mathematics departments; regard for graphic calculators as learning aides from mathematics staff and as information and communication technology from senior staff; a ‘critical mass’ of older/higher attaining students. Key factors which inhibited use of graphic calculators were: lack of time to learn how to use the calculator and how to teach with it; concern over recent examination restrictions; perceptions of computers being a resource priority     

Further education and skills in Northern Ireland: policy and practice in a post-conflict society

ABSTRACT

This paper contextualises the Further Education (FE) sector in Northern Ireland (NI). It outlines the specific political, social and economic influences that have shaped its position as a major but understated educational provider in what remains a highly divided educational system that is slowly transitioning in a post-conflict environment. Key policy frameworks underpinning sectoral development are described, showing how many policy initiatives have been both ‘borrowed’ from the English context and adapted to local need. The article proceeds to highlight a number of curricular and institutional innovations that have contributed to the development of a small-scale, but distinctive educational, social and economic model. The piece concludes by suggesting that the NI FE experience has the potential to contribute not only to its own specific conditions but, through its ‘policy and practice’ adaptations’, to positively influence FE policy and practice in other parts of the United Kingdom (UK) that require interventions around skills development economic growth and social cohesion.     

The governmentality of reconciliation: adult education as a community relations technique in Northern Ireland

Despite a successfully negotiated peace agreement in Belfast in 1998, tensions between different community groups continue to exist in Northern Ireland. This situation creates a governmental need to find solutions to problems such as segregation, inter- and intra-group violence and other forms of sectarian antagonisms. On the one hand, this is attempted by disciplinary measures such as ‘peace walls’ and an increased presence of state powers such as police and armed forces. On the other hand, community relations discourses remain a common refrain in Northern Ireland with their focus on a ‘conduct of conduct’ approach. In this article, I seek to understand adult community education through community relations initiatives and designated anti-sectarian courses as a governmental technology in Northern Ireland designed to change technologies of the self. The article highlights the possibilities for a way forward inherent in this approach and links community relations to broader contexts of policy developments in Northern Ireland.     

Book Reviews

Whitman. By Edgar Lee Masters. Charles Scribner's Sons. 342 pp. $3.50.

Curriculum Guides for Teachers of Children from Two to Six Years of Age. By Ruth Andrus and Associates. Reynal and Hitchcock. 299 pp. $2.50.

Education and the Class Struggle. By Zalmen Slesinger. Covici-Friede. 312 pp. $3.00.

Educational Psychology. Edited by Charles E. Skinner. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 754 PP- $3.00.

High School English, Books One, Two, Three. By Henry Seidel Canby, Olive I. Carter, and Helen Louise Miller. The Macmillan Co. 337, 413, and 494 pp. $1.00.

Introduction to Modern Views of Education. By W. A. Saucier. Ginn and Company. 490 pp. $2.00.

Principles of Modern Education. By Frank W. Thomas and Albert R. Lang. Houghton Mifflin Co. 340 pp. $2.25.

Public Discussion and Debate. By A. Craig Baird. Ginn and Co. 400 pp. $2.00. Revised Edition.

Teaching Purposes and Their Achievement. By L. John Nuttall. Charles Scribner's Sons. 290 pp. $1.80.

The Beginning Superintendent. By Frederick E. Bolton, Thomas R. Cole and John H. Jessup. Illustrated. The Macmillan Co. 613 pp. $4.00.

The New Culture: An Organic Philosophy of Education. By A. Gordon Melvin. Illustrated. Reynal and Hitchcock. 296 pp. $3.50.

The Small High School at Work. By R. Emerson Langfitt, Frank W. Cyr, and N. William Newsom. The American Book Company. 660 pp. $2.75.

The Social Functions of Education. By Robert M. Bear. The Macmillan Co. 434 pp. $2.25.

A Woman of Washington. By Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. E. P. Dutton and Company. 282 pp. $2.00.

I Was a Probationer. By Corinne Johnson Kern. E. P. Dutton & Co. 314 pp. $2.50.

The Street of the Fishing Cat. By Jolan Foldes. Farrar and Rinchart. 308 pp. $2.50.

A Southern Treasury of Life and Literature. By Stark Young. Charles Scribner's Sons. 748 pp. $1.48.

Grand Tour. Edited by R. S. Lambert. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Co. 167 pp. $2.50.

Monticello and Other Poems. By Lawrence Lee. Charles Scribner's Sons. 92 pp. $2.00.

The Sixteenth Century. By Charles Oman. E. P. Dutton and Co. 247 pp. $3.00.

The Magic World of Music. By Olga Samaroff Stokowski. Illustrated. W. W. Norton. 197 pp. $2.50.

The Concept of Time. By Louise Robinson Heath. The University of Chicago Press. 236 pp. $3.00.

Fifty Million Brothers. A Panorama of Lodges and Clubs by Charles W. Ferguson. Farrar and Rinehart. 389 pp. $3.00.

Mobilizing for Chaos. The Story of the New Propaganda. Yale University Press. 231 pp. $2.50.     

Shared education in Northern Ireland: school collaboration in divided societies

Abstract

During the years of political violence in Northern Ireland many looked to schools to contribute to reconciliation. A variety of interventions were attempted throughout those years, but there was little evidence that any had produced systemic change. The peace process provided an opportunity for renewed efforts. This paper outlines the experience of a series of projects on 'shared education', or the establishment of collaborative networks of Protestant, Catholic and integrated schools in which teachers and pupils moved between schools to take classes and share experiences. The paper outlines the genesis of the idea and the research which helped inform the shape of the shared education project. The paper also outlines the corpus of research which has examined various aspects of shared education practice and lays out the emergent model which is helping to inform current government practice in Northern Ireland, and is being adopted in other jurisdictions. The paper concludes by looking at the prospects for real transformation of education in Northern Ireland.     

The integrated school in a conflict society: a comparative analysis of two integrated primary schools in Northern Ireland

The purpose of this paper is to compare the approach to promoting positive relationships between Catholics and Protestants in two types of integrated primary school in Northern Ireland. Drawing on qualitative interviews with teachers, governors and parents in one transforming school and one grant maintained integrated school, i.e. one representative of each of the two types, the paper shows that whilst there are distinctions in the ways that the schools promote their image and ethos, the ‘lived reality’ of the schools, as reported by the research participants, is almost indistinguishable. The paper suggests that both schools tend not to refer to or explore cultural difference and that this tendency to ‘minimise difference’ seems to have the potential to silence school members who do wish to explore their own and other cultures. It is argued that such practices are likely to impede rather than facilitate the progress of good inter‐community relations.     

Book Reviews

ABSTRACT

Student foundational knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is formed in their elementary education. Paradoxically, many elementary teachers have constrained background knowledge, confidence, and efficacy for teaching STEM that may hamper student STEM learning. The association between teacher preparation to teach STEM and student achievement in STEM motivated the authors' professional development program. The authors created and implemented a professional development program to address K–5 teacher confidence for, attitudes toward, knowledge of, and efficacy for teaching inquiry-based STEM. Using data from 2 independent cohorts the authors found significant and consistent increases in pre- to postinstitute assessments of teacher confidence, efficacy, and perceptions of STEM. Further, they found increased participant attention toward linking STEM curriculum and instruction to learning standards. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Book Reviews

Handwrought Ancestors. By Marion Nicholl Rawson. Illustrated by the author. E. P. Dutton and Company. 366 pp. $5.00.

Brookings. By Hermann Hagedorn. Illustrated. The Macmillan Co. 334 pp. $3.50.

Death Valley Prospectors. By Dane Coolidge. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Co. 178 pp. $2.50.

Her Name Was Wallis Warfield. By Edwina H. Wilson. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Co. 117 pp. $1.50.

Pascal. By Morris Bishop. Illustrated. Reynal and Hitchcock. 398 pp. $3.50.

The Lives of Talleyrand. By Crane Brinton. Illustrated. W. W. Norton. 316 pp. $3.00.

The Man Who Built San Francisco. By Julian Dana. The Macmillan Company. 397 pp. $3.50.

A Student's History of Education. Revised Edition. By Frank P. Graves. The Macmillan Co. 567 pp. $2.50.

Bibliographies and Summaries in Education to July, 1935. By Walter S. Monroe and Louis Shores. The H. W. Wilson Company. 470 pp. $4.50.

Educational Psychology. Edited by Charles E. Skinner. Prentice Hall. 754 pp. $3.50.

Educational Statistics. By M. E. Broom. American Book Company. 318 pp.

Foundations of Curriculum Building. By John K. Norton and Margaret Alltucker Norton. Ginn and Company. 599 pp. $3.00

Remedial and Corrective Instruction in Reading. By James Maurice McCallister. D. Appleton-Century. 300 pp.

Schools for a Growing Democracy. By James S. Tippett, in Collaboration with the Committee of the Parker School District, Greenville, South Carolina. Ginn and Company. 338 pp. $2.00.

The Foundations of Modern Education. By Elmer Harrison Wilds. Farrar and Rinehart, Inc. 634 pp. $2.75.

The Ideal School. By B. B. Bogoslovsky. The Macmillan Company. 525 pp. $2.50.

The Marks of Examiners. By Sir Philip Harteg, E. C. Rhodes, and Cyril Burt. Macmillan and Company, Ltd. 344 pp. 8s 6d.

The Young Child in the Home. By John E. Anderson. D. Appleton-Century Company. 415 pp. $3.00.

Honourable Estate. By Vera Brittain. The Macmillan Company. 601 pp. $2.50.

Gaily the Troubadour. By Arthur Guiterman. E. P. Dutton and Company. 224 pp. $2.00.

Pamela's Daughters. By Robert Palfrey Utter and Gwendolyn Bridges Needham. The Macmillan Co. 479 pp. $3.50

A History of England. By C. E. Carrington and J. Hampden Jackson. The Macmillan Company. 803 pp. $2.40.

A New American History. By W. E. Woodward. Farrar and Reinhart. 900 pp. $4.00.

From Alley Pond to Rockefeller Center. By Henry Collins Brown. Illustrated. E. P. Dutton and Company. 299 pp. $3.50.

The Philosophy of Santayana. Selections from the Complete Works. Edited by Irwin Edman. Charles Scribner's Sons. 587 pp. $2.50.

Mexican Interlude. By Joseph Henry Jackson. Illustrated. The Macmillan Co. 232 pp. $2.50.

London. By Sidney Dark. Illustrated by Joseph Pennell. The Macmillan Company. 176 pp. $1.39.

Paris. By Sidney Dark. Illustrated by Henry Rushbury. The Macmillan Company. 139 pp. $1.39.

News from Tartary. By Peter Fleming. Illustrated. Charles Scribner's Sons. 381 pp. $3.00.     

Book Reviews

This paper explores the role of physical education in Labour Universities (1955–1978) during Franco’s regime as an instrument of indoctrination and declassing of the working class. The conclusions obtained after the study and the analysis of various primary sources indicate that, initially, physical education was used as an instrument of indoctrination for the purposes of achieving the social and ideological model of Franco’s regime after the Fascist uprising (1936–1939). However, this initial orientation became less relevant in the 1960s, in favour of the inherent aspects of sport, which contributed to the declassing of the young workers. In fact, Labour Universities became national benchmarks in the area of sports within the education system. Physical education lost its indoctrinating and declassing roles after the General Law of Education was passed in 1970, and the focus shifted instead to its role as an activity for participation, education and comprehensive training.     

Book Reviews

Geoff Lindsay and David Thompson (eds), Values into Practice in Special Education
Luanna H. Meyer, Hyun-Sook Park, Marquita Grenor-Sheyer, Ilene S. Schwartz and Beth Harry (eds), Making Friends, the Influences of Culture and Development
Robert Phillips, History Teaching, Nationhood and the State: a Study in Educational Politics
Ian Stronach and Maggie MacLure, Educational Research Undone: the Postmodern Embrace
Jane Kenway and Sue Willis with Jill Blackmore and Leonie Rennie, Answering Back: Girls, Boys and Feminism in Schools
William A. Corsaro, The Sociology of Childhood
Graham Haydon, Teaching about Values: a New Approach
Sally Tomlinson (ed), Education 14–19: Critical Perspectives
Andy Hargreaves and Roy Evans (eds), Beyond Educational Reform: Bringing Teachers Back In
Joe Kincheloe and Shirley Steinberg, Changing Multiculturalism
Cedric Cullingford (ed), The Politics of Primary Education
K. Kennedy (ed), Citizenship Education and the Modern State
Bill Atweh, Stephen Kemmis and Patricia Weeks, Action Research in Practice: Partnerships for Social Justice in Education
David Galloway, Colin Rogers, Derrick Armstrong and Elizabeth Leo, Motivating the Difficult to Teach
Richard Smith and Paul Standish (eds), Teaching Right and Wrong: Moral Education in the Balance
Brian Sutton-Smith, The Ambiguity of Play     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Catherine Marshall, Feminist Critical Policy Analysis: a perspective from post secondary education
John Elliott, The Curriculum Experiment: meeting the challenge of social change
Nicola Yelland, Gender in Early Childhood
Christine Tilstone, Lani Florian and Richard Rose, Promoting Inclusive Practice
Stanislas Dehaena, The Number Sense. How the Mind Creates Mathematics
Geoffrey Walford (ed), Doing Research about Education
Andrew Sturman, Social Justice in Education
Reynold Macpherson, Jim Cibulka, Ken Wong and David Monk, (eds), The Politics of Accountability: educative and international perspectives
Rob Halsall, Teacher Research and School Improvement
Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow (eds), From Them to Us: an international study of inclusive education
Carrie Paechter Educating the other: gender, power, and schooling
Keith Sullivan (ed), Education and change in the Pacific Rim: meeting the challenges     

Book Reviews

Though there is a well-established body of research in the field of teacher professional development, it is characterised by a real dearth of any detailed historical analysis. This paper seeks to address this gap, by offering a new historical analysis of a case study of the evolution of organised teacher professional development in England and Wales during the twentieth century. Its approach is hoped to open up the wider debate and to contribute to a fuller understanding of the basis for those questions and dilemmas about teacher professional development that have long exercised teachers, professional educators and policy-makers – questions which turn on fundamental issues of priorities and purpose, funding, scale of teacher engagement, control and reach. The paper is in three main parts. Firstly, the scope of the case study is outlined with key stages in the evolution of teacher professional development in England and Wales identified. Secondly, four themes from the data which characterised this evolution are discussed. These include the restricted engagement of teachers relative to the whole teacher population; limited funding; the highly centralised control over provision for teacher professional development through Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (HMI); and a highly selective and restrictive access to provision by teachers. It is argued that these key characteristics helped to shape a particular culture and ideology of teacher professional development which was dependent on a select cadre of elite teachers for the dissemination and modelling of what was regarded as good practice, so as to improve their colleagues’ performance – the elite excelled while the majority needed to be saved from mediocrity. The particular ideology underlying this model is conceptualised as one of ‘excellence and salvation’. Finally, it is argued that the key issues identified in this story (the restricted engagement of teachers; limited funding; highly centralised control; and ideologies of excellence) raise important generic questions for the field of teacher professional development more widely as well as framing future historical analysis of teacher professional development.     

Book Reviews

Catherine Twomey Fosnot (ed), Constructivism: Theory, Perspectives and Practice.
Basil Bernstein, Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity: Theory, Research, Critique
Robert Jackson, Religious Education, an Interpretive Approach.
Ben Cosin and Margaret Hales (eds), Families, Education and Social Difference.
Gareth Elwyn Jones, The Education of a Nation.
Kamala Nehaul, The Schooling of Children of Caribbean Heritage.
Ann Hodgson and Ken Spours (eds), Dearing and Beyond: 14–19 Qualification, Frameworks and Systems.
Brian Wilcox and John Gray, Inspecting Schools: Holding Schools to Account and Helping Schools to Improve.
Patricia F. Murphy and Caroline V. Gipps (eds), Equity in the Classroom: Towards Effective Pedagogy for Girls and Boys.
Thomas P. Rohlen and Gerald K. LeTendre (eds), Teaching and Learning in Japan.
Alan Ryan, John Dewey and the High Tide of American Liberalism.
Ron Glatter, Philip A. Woods and Carl Bagley (eds), Choice and Diversity to Schooling: Perspectives and Prospects.
Ved Varma (ed), Managing Children with Problems.
Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion and Keith Morrison, A Guide to Teaching Practice.
Andy Hargreaves, Lorna Earl and Jim Ryan, Schooling for Change: Reinventing Education for Early Adolescents
Michael Peters and James Marshall, Individualism and Community: Education and Social Policy in the Postmodern Condition     

Book Reviews

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of intensive interaction during interactive play between a preschool boy with autism and his teacher and, as a consequence, improve the social interaction between the boy and a non-autistic girl in an inclusive class in Greece. A single subject ABA design was applied. Observed variables included changes in the frequency of initiations and responses of the two children. Results indicated significant improvement and post-training maintenance in the social interaction of the two children. Discussion of results in light of known research in autism is highlighted and implications are discussed.     

A content analysis of school anti-bullying policies in Northern Ireland

This original study presents a content analysis of 100 primary and post-primary school anti-bullying policies in Northern Ireland using a 36-item scoring scheme. Overall schools had 52% of the items in their policies. Most schools included reference to physical, verbal, relational, material and cyberbullying but a minority mentioned racist, homophobic, sexual, adult/teacher–pupil bullying or bullying related to disability or religion. There was considerable variation in the source and quality of the definitions of bullying. Overall the policy scores compared favourably with earlier studies carried out in England, however a low percentage of Northern Ireland policies gave detailed information about how incidents of bullying would be recorded, who would coordinate this, and how the data would be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy. Findings are discussed in relation to the proposed new anti-bullying legislation currently being brought before the Northern Ireland Assembly.     

Book Reviews

Increased awareness and improved tests have contributed to the identification of rising numbers of dyslexic students entering higher education in the United Kingdom. Nearly half of these students are not diagnosed until they start their HE courses. Studies of experiences of dyslexic students diagnosed as children exist; however, there is little comparable information on dyslexic students diagnosed as adults.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of six students diagnosed with dyslexia after starting their Masters degrees. Their personal accounts were analysed using thematic analysis. The major themes identified were: ? Distress

? Self-doubt

? Embarrassment

? Frustration

? Relief

? Confidence

? Motivation

The findings revealed that being diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult can be cathartic or devastating depending on the individual’s current emotional status and personality. However, as they develop a deeper understanding of what dyslexia means and how it affects them as individuals, the diagnosis becomes a liberating revelation. Once the label is accepted, the individual can embrace the change in lifestyle that the diagnosis necessitates. This study provides a deeper understanding of the consequences of a late diagnosis and highlights the need for management approaches to be individually tailored to specific needs.