The SENCO role in post-primary schools in Ireland: victims or agents of change?

This paper considers the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in mainstream post-primary schools (12–18 years) in Ireland. Little is known of the role in the Irish context and it is hoped that this research will inform policy. The Irish educational landscape has witnessed seismic change recently with further transformation imminent. The SENCO role is a recent phenomenon in Irish schools and while much is known of the role internationally, Irish SENCOs tend to operate in a policy vacuum. This paper draws on research with a purposive sample of twenty-seven SENCOs. A lengthy postal questionnaire served as the method of data collection, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Findings reveal the complexity of the role in an evolving education system. SENCOs continue to fulfil largely operational roles and are limited in their capacity to effect change in inclusive practice from a whole-school perspective. Lack of formal recognition of the SENCO role has led to its ad-hoc development. This research makes the case for the formalisation of the role at policy level and recognition of the need to develop the SENCO as strategic leader, firmly situated within school management. Otherwise, Irish SENCOs risk being victims rather than agents of change.     

Invisible care? The role of librarians in caring for the ‘whole pupil’ in secondary schools

This paper draws on the ‘accidental’ results of a UK national survey of school libraries to explore how school librarians can contribute to student pastoral care. Although the survey did not ask specific questions about student social development, responding librarians identified three key aspects of their contribution: support for learning; maintaining a safe and secure environment; and providing individual support. The librarian’s role in these aspects of social development support are described and then elaborated into three approaches to the pastoral role: ‘play it down’; promote the social role of libraries within the school; or focus on the pastoral needs of individuals. Views are then offered on how school managers, teachers and school librarians themselves can build on the existing pastoral role in a context where there is no statutory requirement to provide school libraries and where library development is heavily dependent upon the vision of the school senior leadership team.     

Teacher unions’ participation in policy making: a South African case study

This article contends that teacher unions’ participation in policy making during South Africa’s political transition was characterised by assertion of ideological identity (unionism and professionalism) and the cultivation of policy networks and alliances. It is argued that, historically, while teacher unions were divided along political and ideological lines, they have demonstrated flexibility in contesting for influence in the policy arena. In this regard, teacher unions’ agency plays an important part and is reflected in changes in organisational strategies to ensure their independence or prevent marginalisation. The article highlights the threat of state co-optation for teacher unions and suggests that a framework for managing teacher union–state relations based on ‘professional unionism’ could potentially contribute to more effective education service provision. Comparisons with teacher unions’ experiences elsewhere in the world are also made, while recognising the specificity of the South African situation.     

Changing South African schools?: an analysis and critique of post‐election government policy

This article provides an exposition, analysis and critique of post‐election policy concerning state schooling in South Africa. In particular the article focuses on the White Paper on the Organisation, Governance and Funding of Schools. Policy is analysed at three levels, namely the economic, ideological/discursive and the political. At the economic level it is argued that although the White Paper makes provision for redress of past inequalities, limitations in government expenditure are limiting the possibilities for reform. It will also be argued that the White Paper must be seen as the outcome of contestation between different discourses concerned with race, culture and education. Finally the White Paper has been shaped by the interim constitution as well as by political struggles within the state and civil society.     

The role of mediating organizations for school reform: independent agents or district dependents?

This paper examines the role of mediating organizations in helping schools engage in whole school change as part of a school district's reform agenda. Specifically, it examines the Learning Community Program in Los Angeles, a programme designed by an external school reform organization, to assist schools in planning and implementing LEARN (Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now). The programme's success is shaped by the district and school contexts in which it operates. As mediating agent, the Learning Community Program must balance the challenges facing the schools ‐‐ particularly their readiness to engage in reform ‐‐ with the demands of the district for scale, accountability and resources. As it does so, it faces the challenges of maintaining program flexibility, building sustainable changes, and preserving its organizational independence. These pressures generate three central dilemmas and threaten to undermine the success of the district's reform and the Learning Community Program ‐‐ scale versus sustainability, district mandates versus site autonomy, and organizational independence versus survival. It concludes that mediating agencies can be constrained by their dependence on policymakers for critical resources.     

South African students’ perceptions of the role of a gap year in preparing them for higher education

Abstract

Students often drop out of university because they were not yet ready for higher education studies. This article reports on research done on the perceptions of a group of students of the role that their gap year had played in preparing them for higher education studies. The research approach was qualitative. Data was gathered by means of 34 interviews. The findings revealed that the participants mostly took a gap year because they were uncertain about a field of study or career choice, suffered from burn-out or wanted to earn money to finance their own studies. Their gap year experience played a constructive role in preparing the participants for higher education: it gave them time to get clarity on a career choice which resulted in a higher level of motivation and a more focused approach to their studies; it cured them from burn out; facilitated their adjustment at university; improved their intercultural and interpersonal relationship skills and contributed to their personal development, independence and self-knowledge. The disadvantages of a gap year are also discussed.     

Enhancing the participation of immigrant families in schools through Intermediary Organizations? The case of Parents’ Associations in Catalonia

This paper discusses the results of an action-research project developed in a federation of Parents Associations (PAs) in Catalonia, aimed at helping PAs involve immigrant families. First, I nuance the idea of participation in schools to highlight some of the problems associated with participative initiatives targeting ‘hard to reach’ parents. Then, I borrow the notion of Intermediary Organizations (IOs) to assess in what ways PAs may be able to become a valuable resource to help schools involve immigrant parents. In this regard, I analyse the situation of Pas located in multicultural contexts. Then, three specific PA projects are discussed to illustrate PA’s strengths and weaknesses when leading their own projects. In conclusion, I argue that, in order to work as truly IOs, PAs must: (a) build on the experiences of successful PAs leading projects; (b) strengthen their organizational closure; and (c) lessen their responsibility to carry on important school services.     

Learners’ socio-cultural backgrounds and science teaching and learning: a case study of township schools in South Africa

Cultural Studies of Science Education - In an effort to pursue and achieve quality and equity in science education, the South African National Curriculum Statement stipulates that learners should...     

The role of cash transfers in maximising schools’ protective effects for children in extreme settings: An ecological approach

Given growing attention to inequities and hardest-to-reach children, there is increasing interest in how to support children in extreme settings, including through schooling. We focus on cash transfer programmes – poverty reduction initiatives aimed at human capital development – and adopt an ecological focus, considering children in informal and formal settings in households, schools, communities and broader polities. Using qualitative methodologies we explore how cash transfer programmes can facilitate schooling in Kenya, Palestine and Peru. We argue it is critical to consider both demand and supply side challenges and entry-points. We conclude that involving communities in programme design, monitoring and evaluation is essential to promote greater transparency and accountability, and ultimately child wellbeing outcomes.     

South African Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Learners with Different Abilities in Mainstream Classrooms

This research sought to examine South African teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of learners with different abilities in their hypothetical mainstream classrooms. Participants were 93 South African teachers who responded to the Teachers’ Attitudes and Expectations Scale, a measure developed for this study, regarding four vignettes depicting learners with different types of impairments. Overall, teachers reported that inclusion would benefit learners’ social development (mean scores from 2.57 to 3.35) more than their intellectual development (mean scores from 2.14 to 2.83). It also was found that teachers overwhelmingly were more confident about including learners with Down syndrome into their hypothetical mainstream classes when compared with the inclusion of learners with other disabilities, F(3, 90) = 9.59, p < 0.01. The results suggest that providing teachers with sufficient resources within the classroom and training that includes hands-on experience with children with disabilities could positively influence their attitudes toward the inclusion of learners with disabilities in their classrooms.     

The significance of ‘participation’ as an educational ideal in education for sustainable development and health education in schools

This article examines the significance of the concept of participation for teacher meaning-making processes in education for sustainable development and health education. In Scandinavian public schools, education for sustainable development and health education focus on a wide palette of societal problems rather than on narrow curricula. Drawing on selected reviews of research literature on education for sustainable development and health education, Lacanian psychoanalysis provides inspiration for our analysis of the concept of participation, and how it is positioned and enacted in these fields of practice. Essentially, we argue that the concept of participation has a dual nature: it serves both as an educational ideal and as a teaching strategy. We also explore how the failure to achieve the ideal of ‘true’ participation may serve a positive purpose for the teacher; the acknowledgement that participation is not always as genuine as desired establishes a pedagogical situation where ideals of engaging pupils through true participation can continue to exist side by side with clear signs of a less consequential participation.     

Catholic schools or school quality? The effects of Catholic schools on labor market outcomes

This paper studies the effects of attending a Catholic high school on students’ labor market outcomes. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, I find that Catholic schooling is significantly associated with higher wages over the careers even after taking into account possible selection into Catholic schools with instruments. Using matched school quality data for public and Catholic schools, I further find that Catholic and public schools are different in various aspects of school quality measures and that these differences explain most of Catholic school effects. Among the school quality variables, teacher quality and the number of math courses taken are estimated to matter the most for students’ later earnings in the long run.     

Recipients, agents, or partners?: The contradictions of teacher participation in Mexican secondary education reform

The countries of Latin America have been no exception to global calls for educational transformation and teacher professionalization at the secondary level. One of the newest of these reforms is Mexico’s Reforma de la Educación Secundaria (RS) (Reform of Secondary Education), launched in 2006. This article examines portrayals by various actors of the nature and extent of the participation of both teachers and the teachers’ union in the different phases of the RS, beginning with the initial formulation of the reform through the implementation and the “follow-up.” Findings indicate that in spite of efforts to provide more transparency and opportunities for teacher participation, for the most part secondary teachers in Mexico neither felt like agents nor partners in the RS, nor did they function as such in the reform process. As in previous reform efforts, teachers mostly felt that they were recipients of plans formulated by government officials, and as a result many have evidenced neither complete compliance nor full commitment to the reform. The national teachers’ union, meanwhile, claims to represent teachers’ voices and thus a form of teacher participation, but this claim is denied in the findings. The discussion and conclusions emphasize the multiple significations of teacher “participation” and the need to overcome system-wide contradictions, while drawing on theory about the conditioned state, bureaucracy, and democratizing civil society to help situate and explain the findings.     

Forbidden fruit: the politics of researching young people’s use of online sexually explicit materials in South African schools

This paper explores some of the difficulties of doing research concerning young people’s use of online sexually explicit materials in three high schools in South Africa. Against the backdrop of young people’s sexual agency, we elaborate on the ways in which getting permission to conduct the research unsettled gatekeepers, as research on young people’s use of such materials remains taboo. Anxieties related to conducting school-based sexuality research, particularly with pornographic elements, stem from understandings that sex is a forbidden topic. During the course of seeking participants for our study, we found that the majority of boys in one school refused to participate. We argue that this was because online network sites were regulated and censored by the school, specifically those related to sexually explicit material, with punitive consequences for their use. Sexuality researchers operate in conditions of increased surveillance and we give attention to the difficulties of the researcher in school-based research. The need to conduct research into young people’s use of sexually explicit online materials is acute but needs to be supported by policy frameworks that foreground the specific conditions and challenges that researchers may face in a country such as South Africa.     

Gang behavior in the schools: Reality or myth?

The purpose of this review is to explore the nature of gang behavior in U.S. schools, with a particular focus on the extent to which such behavior affects or exacerbates the larger issue of school violence. An unanticipated finding was the absence of strong empirical support for school gang violence. The evidence does show youth gangs have changed dramatically over the last several decades and have become more violent, largely due to drugs and weapons-carrying. One major impact of this violence on schools has been the dissolving of the school as the neutral zone, where gang activity ceased. Thus, it appears that the similar turf issues of the street gangs have infiltrated the schools. The review explores problems related to school gang violence definitions and literature, trends in school-related gang activity, reasons for gang membership, at-risk youth, and proposed strategies for ameliorating the problem.     

The implementation of ‘Education for Citizenship’ in schools in Scotland: a research report

Changes in society and government have increased concerns of low participation and involvement by people, especially the young, in the political process and decision-making. As a result, citizenship has become a focus of recent curriculum developments in many countries. In Scotland, ‘Values and Citizenship’ has been made one of the Scottish Executive's national priorities for education and is linked to the major national initiative, ‘Education for Citizenship’. This is seen as encouraging pupils to make informed choices and decisions and to take action, individually and as part of the community. More recently, A curriculum for excellence 3–18 (SEED 2004 Shucksmith, J. and Spratt, J. 2001. Education for citizenship in Scotland: An analysis of responses to the consultation paper, Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen.  [Google Scholar]) placed promoting responsible citizenship at the heart of the curriculum. This article reports on the extent to which a sample of Scottish schools was making progress towards developing education for citizenship, the strategies they developed and the barriers encountered in this implementation. It compares progress and developments in Scotland to the model devised in a longitudinal study for citizenship in England (Ireland et al. 2004 Ireland, E. and Kerr, D. 2004. Making citizenship education real: Learning from current approaches in schools. Teaching Citizenship, 9: 20–25.  [Google Scholar], 2006 Ireland, E., Kerr, D., Lopes, J., Nelson, J. and Cleaver, E. 2006. Active citizenship and young people: Opportunities, experiences and challenges in and beyond school, London: DfES.  [Google Scholar]).     

The role of schools in explaining individuals’ subject choices at age 14

Abstract

The subjects that young people study from age 14 onwards may have important consequences for their future academic and labour market outcomes. These decisions are shaped by the schools in which they find themselves. Schools also face constraints of their own. This paper explores the extent to which individuals’ decisions are affected by the school they attend and to what extent this is affected by the composition of schools in terms of academic attainment, gender, and socioeconomic background. We use multi-level variance decomposition models applied to administrative data on the subjects that young people in mainstream state-funded schools in England study between ages 14 and 16. Our results highlight the important role that constraints on schools play in subject choice decisions. We also note the particular role of attending a non-selective school within a selective schooling district.     

The governance of the South African higher education system: balancing state control and state supervision in co-operative governance?

The publication of the National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE) in 1996 was hailed as the first systematic attempt to map out a policy terrain for higher education in South Africa since the elections of April 1994. Its recommendations, particularly on the governance of higher education, elicited much discussion and debate. The debate continued (and continues) with the publication of the Green and White Papers, the Bill on Higher Education, and the Higher Education Act (HEA) in late 1997.This paper explores and seeks to clarify the emerging model of educational governance that has been accepted by the Ministry of Education in South Africa as the basis for managing and transforming the inherited system of higher education. Specifically, the paper considers the philosophy of “co-operative governance” and the governance recommendations of the NCHE Report and the HEA. These documents are examined in relation to state control and state supervision models of higher education governance. The paper concludes by considering the politics of policy development in the transformation of the South African higher education governance system.