The use of Facebook to build a community for distance learning students: a case study from the Open University

Social media platforms such as Facebook are commonplace throughout society. However, within higher education institutions such networking environments are still in the developmental stage. This paper describes and discusses case study data from the Open University’s Faculty of Social Science Facebook page. It starts by giving an overview of the literature surrounding social media in higher education before examining how the Social Sciences Faculty at the Open University has used Facebook to help build an academic community. Data includes numerical information on number of likes, demographic data on students who use the page, analysis on the type and nature of comments and more qualitative extracts from postings related to academic questions. It also discusses challenges and difficulties with using such social media tools in a university environment and suggests fruitful areas for future research.     

Community participation in school management from the viewpoint of relational trust: A case from the Akatsi South District,Ghana

There remain research gaps concerning how community participation in school management leads to educational outcomes. This paper explores the following research question: how do managerial and pedagogical factors in school management affect educational outcomes from the viewpoint of relational trust? The qualitative case study in Ghana revealed that low community participation, provoked by conflicts over a chieftaincy issue, affected learning outcomes owing to a lack of relational trust among actors and factors in school management. This points to the significance of community development, which plays a foundational role in community participation in school management.     

One teacher's identity, emotions, and commitment to change: A case study into the cognitive–affective processes of a secondary school teacher in the context of reforms

This paper presents a cognitive social–psychological theoretical framework on emotions, derived from Richard Lazarus, to understand how teachers’ identity can be affected in a context of reforms. The emphasis of this approach is on the cognitive–affective processes of individual teachers, enabling us to gain a detailed understanding of what teachers have at stake or what their personal, moral, and social concerns are. To illustrate the usefulness of this approach, a case of a reform-enthusiast Dutch secondary school teacher of Dutch language and literature is presented. The analysis of his emotions of enthusiasm for the reforms, and his emotions of anxiety, anger, guilt, and shame related to the way the reforms unfold in his school and influence his work, show the many ways his identity and concerns are affected, resulting in a loss of reform enthusiasm. The paper ends with a reflection on the possible risks of current educational policies to the commitment and quality of the current and next generation of teachers.     

Effects of a positive youth development approach to literacy through young adult literature in the secondary remedial reading class: an action research study

The purpose of this action research study was to determine if a bibliotological approach to literacy with at-risk students met the educational expectations of a remedial reading course while simultaneously accelerating literacy practices and promoting positive youth development. Twenty-four tenth grade students enrolled in a remedial reading course in the southwestern USA participated in a nine-week instructional design that utilized young adult literature as a medium through which to practice literacy skills and strategies while exploring positive youth development simultaneously. Measurement protocols included diagnostic assessments of reading, surveys, Likert-scale inventories, and journals as a way of eliciting students’ voices. Data was analyzed through paired t-tests, Bonferroni Correlation, and typological and inductive coding. Through this approach, all students experienced an increase in self-efficacy, which led to positive youth development and growth in literacy proficiency and practices. Suggestions for future research include the study of this approach in multiple remedial contexts, with multiple young adult texts, and for greater lengths of time. Additionally, a follow-up inquiry to determine potential lasting impact is warranted.     

A case study: Cultural preferences concerning the willingness of Batswana students to use ICT in distance education at North-West University

This investigation was conceived of as fundamentally interpretative and designed within the framework of hermeneutic phenomenology as it focuses particularly on the world as it is lived and experienced by Batswana Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) students in order to determine the views of these students regarding their willingness to use Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Distance Education (DE). For this article, the researcher also undertook an interpretivistic hermeneutic analysis of Social Capital Theory in order to identify directions and norms which could serve as benchmarks to establish whether DE at the North-West University (NWU) could contribute to the structure of social capital. When implementing technology in DE, a sense of community should be created within which Batswana DE ACE students can function in a social structure and where a sense of social cohesion and interconnectedness prevails, as well as a sense of belonging Technology (whiteboards etc.) in DE should consequently be implemented according to the needs and skills of these students.     

A typology of student reading engagement: Preparing for response to intervention in the school curriculum

This study seeks to develop a typology of students’ reading engagement through secondary analysis of international sampled survey data. It aims at providing research-based evidences informing teachers how to help readers advance in reading performance. It hopes that when students complete junior secondary schooling (Grade 7–9) at age 15, more students can read happily, widely and skillfully. After establishing that Fondness for reading, Aspiration for reading, and Good at reading are three pertinent facets of reading engagement affecting reading literacy performance, the effects of variables pertaining to these facets are examined using Macao-China data drawn from the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 Reading Literacy Study. The present study adopts a person-centered approach to arrive at a typology of eight latent clusters of students, each of which is identified with specific reading engagement characteristics. Response to reading intervention can then be proposed to help successive cohorts of junior secondary students enhance their reading literacy performance.     

Barriers and facilitators to health behaviour change and economic activity among slum-dwelling adolescent girls and young women in Nairobi,Kenya: the role of social,health and economic assets

Adolescent girls and young women in urban slum areas in developing countries face a myriad of challenges regarding education, sexual health, livelihoods and gender-based violence. One way of understanding how these challenges interact with each other is through the Asset Building Framework, which posits that girls need a combination of social, health and economic assets in order to make a healthy transition from childhood to adulthood. This study sought to examine barriers and facilitators to health behaviour change and economic activity for girls within the context of this framework. It involved a combination of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 128 young women who were in the age range of 18–25 years, living in various slums in Nairobi, Kenya. We found that economic assets reduce young women's dependence on others (especially parents and relationships with men) so that they are able to make positive changes in health behaviour. Social networks, self-esteem and financial literacy all played important roles in positively positioning girls to make the transition to economic activity safely and successfully. We suggest that programmes that seek to improve girls’ and young women's health behaviour or economic activity include elements of asset building within all three categories of assets.     

Socioeconomic status,mental wellbeing and transition to secondary school: Analysis of the School Health Research Network/Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey in Wales

Young people's wellbeing is often lowest where they assume a relatively low position within their school's socioeconomic hierarchy, for example, among poorer children attending more affluent schools. Transition to secondary school is a period during which young people typically enter an environment which is more socioeconomically diverse than their primary school. Young people joining a school with a higher socioeconomic status intake relative to their primary school may assume a relatively lowered position within their school’s socioeconomic hierarchy, experiencing a detriment to their wellbeing as a consequence. This article draws on data from 45,055 pupils in Years 7 and 8, from 193 secondary schools in Wales, who completed the 2017 Student Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Wellbeing (SHW) survey. Pupils reported which primary school they previously attended, and survey data on wellbeing were linked to publicly available data on the free school meal entitlement of schools attended. In cross-classified linear mixed-effects models, with primary and secondary school as levels, mental wellbeing varied significantly according to both primary and secondary school attended. A higher school-level deprivation was associated with worse mental wellbeing in both cases. Mental wellbeing was significantly predicted by the relative affluence of a child's primary and secondary school, with movement to a secondary school of higher overall socioeconomic status associated with lowered wellbeing. These findings highlight transition to secondary school as a key point in which socioeconomic inequality in wellbeing may widen, and thus as an important focal point for intervention to reduce health inequalities.     

Using Mixed-Methods to Examine Teachers' Attitudes to Educational Change: The case of the Skills for Life strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy skills in England

This paper reports on a longitudinal study that examines how a national reform introduced in England in the field of adult literacy, language, and numeracy is affecting teachers. The paper focuses on the use of a mixed methodology to explore teachers' attitudes to the reform and how these change over time. The quantitative strand includes the construction and use of a Likert-type instrument for measuring the attitudes of a panel of 1,500 teachers. The qualitative strand builds on the quantitative results and includes focus groups and in-depth interviews with a subsample of teachers in the panel. As the study is still in its initial phase, the purpose is not to present findings, but to discuss how quantitative and qualitative evidence can be combined in evaluation research.     

模糊综合评价法在农村居民点整治潜力测算方法优选中的应用——以重庆市长寿区为例

我们采用模糊数学评价法对长寿区农村居民点整治潜力测算方法进行综合评价选择,以期优选最接近可实现整治潜力的分析方法,为本轮县级土地整治规划编制和农村居民点整治实践工作中潜力分析提供借鉴和参考。采用模糊数学评价法、Delphi法和问卷调查法,构建农村居民点整治潜力测算方法优选评价的指标体系,通过评价得出了四种测算方法中,综合评价的分值最低61.282分,最高65.704分,差距不大。农村居民点内部闲置率法最差,城镇体系等规划法为最优,并得出长寿区最可能实现的农村居民点整治潜力。我们发现模糊综合评价法在优选农村居民点整治潜力测算方法时,能够较为准确地表达农村居民点整治的经济社会生态效益和整治成本等评价指标的模糊性,对各测算方法进行较为合理的评判,因此,模糊综合评价法在农村居民点以及耕地整治潜力测算方法的优选评价中,能发挥其重要的作用。     

Analysis of measures for attention to diversity in Compulsory Secondary Education: the case of the Region of Murcia,Spain

In this paper, we present an analysis of the implementation of measures of attention to diversity for students with special educational support needs studying Compulsory Secondary Education (12–16 years) in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Our aim is to learn about the organisational and curricular structures implemented in five secondary education schools with a total of 1967 students. These structures are used to deal with student diversity through common and specific measures of attention to diversity and are established by law. We intend to verify and assess whether these are properly and effectively implemented, providing a quality educational response in conformity with the discourse on inclusion and social cohesion. A review of existing legislation suggests that it may be advisable to apply common measures before specific ones in the event that a student has educational support needs and, if possible, in the usual context, that is, within the regular classroom.     

The role of the Connexions service in supporting the transition from school to post-16 education, employment training and work for young people with a history of specific speech and language difficulties or learning difficulties

The transition from school to the world of post-compulsory education is a major landmark in the lives of young people with special educational needs (SEN). In England the Connexions service set up to support young people during transition was planned to provide both a universal service and one that provided special support to vulnerable young people, particularly those at risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET). The present paper reports the findings of a study of 46 Connexions personal advisers (PAs) who were supporting young people with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) or general learning difficulties, as part of a longitudinal study of these young people's development. Interviews were held with the PAs to identify patterns of organisation, the nature of services delivered to these young people and the factors that influenced successful support. The findings highlight the diversity among Connexions services, the limited expertise with young people with SEN and the structural barriers that may limit effectiveness. In addition, the Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Review Framework was not consistently used. The Connexions service has the potential to provide important support to young people with SEN at this key transition point but our study indicates the need for modifications to its operation.     

A case for adapting and applying continuance theory to education: understanding the role of student feedback in motivating teachers to persist with including digital technologies in learning

In New Zealand schools, the adoption and persistent use of digital tools to aid learning is a growing but uneven, trend, often linked to the practices of early adopters and/or robust wifi infrastructure. The Technology Adoption Model is used internationally to gauge levels of uptake of technological tools, particularly in commerce and also in education. However, this model is inadequate when it is used to attribute reasons for teachers adopting technologies for learning. This article offers an alternative view to understanding why teachers continue using digital technologies for learning. It focuses on the role of student voice and teachers’ pedagogical purposes as motivators, even when teachers have technological hurdles to overcome. The article engages with continuance theory as a lens for understanding these motivations via a qualitative thematic analysis of Moodle postings made by a 2012 cohort of initial teacher education students. The intention is to signpost ideas that might better explain teachers’ continued use of digital technologies in classrooms even if conditions for use are not optimal.