Class and pedagogy: a case study of two Chicago preschools

Using a Bernsteinian theoretical framework, this study compares two American early childhood centres, one with a primarily progressive pedagogy (Frank Lloyd Wright Family Centre) and one with a primarily traditional pedagogy (Casimir Pulaski Centre), in high-poverty Chicago neighbourhoods to examine the effects of different pedagogic practices on the development of academic and non-academic skills in young children as measured by pre- and post-testing and observations over five months. The collected data demonstrate that students at Wright experienced greater levels of academic development than students at Pulaski. Children at both sites showed development in literacy and social/emotional skills, but the children at Wright also show development in problem-solving and imagination – skills that aid in abstract thought. While further study is needed on a broader scale, results from this study suggest that early childhood programmes with more progressive elements have the potential to better prepare children for elementary school than programmes with more traditional elements.     

A modeling-based approach to teacher consultation: A case study

Modeling and modeling with information feedback were employed as consultation strategies to change teacher behavior. Seven trainable mentally retarded children in a self-contained, public school classroom and one teacher served as subjects of the study. Dependent measures in the study were the length of teacher commands (number of words) and student compliance rate as a function of commands. The results showed that modeling alone dramatically reduced the number of words in teacher commands, which had a concomitant effect of increasing compliance rate of the children. Modeling with informational feedback had little effect upon command length or compliance rate. The implications of these results were discussed in terms of their applicability for the training of special service personnel.     

Educating the urban poor: a case study of running preschools in non-notified slums of India

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently reported that the world's population is shifting to its cities. India is no exception. Throughout the country, an increasing number of migrants are leaving agricultural lifestyles in search of economic and educational opportunities, often relocating to non-notified slums. Despite the fact that many families move in search of better schools, in reality, children living in non-notified slums lack access to high-quality early childhood educational opportunities, a situation that can disadvantage them throughout their lives. This paper describes an intervention implemented in an Indian non-notified slum in which local residents were recruited to run preschools. The authors reflect upon initial data that both elucidate the challenges associated with serving transitory early childhood populations and suggest that the programme shows promise as a scalable model appropriate for addressing them.     

So far so good? A qualitative case study exploring the implementation of consultation in schools

This paper describes a small‐scale research project carried out one year after the implementation of a consultation model of service delivery within an Educational Psychology Service. Following a series of interviews held with special needs co‐ordinators, a hierarchy of development was identified, and conditions pertaining to this development isolated. Through identifying optimum conditions for the development of consultation, a number of specific recommendations are made, aimed at ensuring that all schools gain maximum benefit from this way of working.     

县域基础教育科研体制改革的路径探讨——基于河北省县域基础教育教学综合改革实验项目

在我国基础教育由规模扩张转向内涵发展的今天,各级教育行政部门及中小学校采取了一系列教育教学改革措施,并在实践层面做了很多有益探索。但总的看来,许多阻碍教育良性发展的制约因素尚未从根本上得到解决。河北省2009年启动的县域基础教育教学综合改革实验项目,为我国县域基础教育科研体制改革探索出了一条有效的路径。该项目的主要特点是区域性、综合性、互动式行动研究、以农村为主,并在研究机制、研究内容和研究方法等方面实现了创新,为我国基础教育阶段教育科研改革提供了有效路径和操作模式。     

县域教育科研机构建设与教师专业化成长——基于河北省县域基础教育教学改革的综合研究

教育现代化要求教师专业化,而教师专业化成长需要教育科研机构进行组织和引领,对于基础教育领域,县级教科研机构建设对教师专业化成长具有关键性促进作用。加强县域教科研机构建设,要从人才规模扩大、职能加强、提升建制层次等方面入手,要拓展县级教科研机构的研究和管理职能,提高教科研活动组织的实效性,使县域教科研机构建设与教师专业化成长形成良性的互动。     

A study of novice teachers: Challenges and supports in the first years

In recent years, it has been reported that an alarming number of teachers are leaving the profession in the first three years after graduation from a pre-service program. This phenomenon is common in North America and it is essential that educators identify the challenges surrounding new teachers and provide supports to assist them. The vast majority of literature surrounding new teacher induction and mentorship support is void of the Canadian context and the novice teacher voice. In this study, Ontario graduates from a two year pre-service program were surveyed and 5 teachers were selected for case studies. Participants found administrative leadership, refining the mentorship selection process, hiring practices, and district-sponsored supports as positive factors necessary for them to grow into the profession.     

综合实践活动课程的评价研究

本采用与学科课程进行比较的方法，阐述综合实践活动课程评价的意义，内容，方法，原则。     

Preschool staff relationships with children with language difficulties: a comparative study in Belarusian and Norwegian preschools

The present study focuses on exploring the relationships of preschool staff and children with language difficulties in Norwegian and Belarusian contexts. A qualitative case design was used, and data were gathered through video observations and video-based conversations. Through different approaches – narrative analysis and analysis of narratives – two stories were constructed and then scrutinised for identification of common patterns. Three aspects illuminating contrasting tensions – initial positioning, instructive support and nurturing support – were revealed. The suggestions derived from the results of the study are the following: adequate preparation of preschool staff, as well as the encouragement of a closer dialogue between different practices is needed to improve the support provided for children with language difficulties in preschool settings.     

一例大学生考试焦虑的个案咨询

本文是对一名女大学生的考试焦虑进行心理咨询的案例报告。来访者由于想减轻家里经济负担,一心想获得校内8000元的国家奖学金,以致对期末考试结果产生了过高的期望,从而产生了焦虑情绪。在与来访者进行协商的基础上,先进行了自我放松训练,再运用合理情绪疗法帮助来访者改变了不合理的观念,形成了新的认知模式。     

Peer and teacher supports in relation to motivation and effort: A multi-level study

This study examined adolescents’ perceptions of peer and teacher supports in relation to internalized values, academic self-efficacy, efforts to learn, and goal orientations at the individual and classroom level in a sample of middle school (n = 169) and high school (n = 71) students from 6 schools (15 classrooms). Novel approaches to assessing classroom-level effects included use of coefficient of variation scores to capture consensus among student reports and use of cluster-robust standard errors to account for clustering. At the individual level, significance tests for indirect pathways and formal mediation indicated that relations between perceived peer expectations for prosocial behavior and effort and mastery orientation were mediated by internalized value; and, the relation between perceived emotional support from peers and effort was mediated by self-efficacy. At the classroom level, teachers who were perceived similarly by students with respect to provisions of emotional support also tended to have students who reported high levels of internalized value, and a high degree of student consensus concerning their teacher’s value for subject matter was related positively to their internalized value and effort. Consensus of student reports concerning internalized value was a negative predictor of performance orientation.     

Peer evaluation: A case study

Peer evaluation is the process whereby students critique the performances of other students. A peer evaluation format emphasizes skills, encourages involvement, focuses on learning, establishes a reference, promotes excellence, provides increased feedback, fosters attendance, and teaches responsibility. The process of peer evaluation is explained, the criteria are specified, the training for use is described, and how standards are maintained is explained. Finally, objections are suggested and addressed. Peer evaluation is a unique, controlled, and precise form of classroom evaluation that involves carefully constructed evaluation instruments, structured classroom situations, and exact evaluative assessments. Peer evaluation is a new and different form of evaluation.     

Language disability: A case study

Conclusion This paper has described the intertwining of linguistic, cognitive, and emotional development in a boy who has a severe language disability. Development proceeded through the usual stages and at the expected ages, yet there were interesting shifts and interactions that appear to be a function of Tony’s individual developmental style, and also, possibly, of intervention. One is particularly struck by the diminishing significance of language comprehension difficulties; expressive problems continue to be troublesome, but verbal conceptual ability has developed well and Tony has acquired an enthusiasm and affection for words. He will continue to struggle with verbal expression, but he knows his difficulty well and has made enough strides in working with it to hold his own in a relatively demanding private school. Early identification of the problem and intervention that has spanned nearly seven years have permitted the observation of developmental regressions and advances which, if viewed statically, might have been misinterpreted. More important, the continued involvement has made possible an emotional commitment between student and therapist that, one hopes, has had a steadying effect and that has led to the investment of verbal content with more richly textured meanings.     

Bridging distance between actual and potential development: A case of using ICT mediated consultation tool

It is an ongoing challenge in higher education context to design appropriate learning tasks for students that balances the diversity in student knowledge and variable skills with student’s potential to learn under guidance. Obtaining feedback from students on what they know is made more complicated when students are passive during learning activities. In this paper we report on a project that ran over 2 years in which 67 students (28 in 2005; 39 in 2006) from culturally diverse socio-historical backgrounds used an anonymous knowledge sharing tool, the dynamic frequently asked questions (DFAQ) to engage with authentic learning tasks in an Organisational Learning Module. The module was part of the Organisational Psychology honours degree programme at a higher learning institution. The students used the DFAQ tool to consult with both peers and faculty staff. DFAQ is a special purpose web-based tool with a Short Message Services (SMS) interface. A thematic analysis was conducted on students’ experiences gathered from focus group discussions. Artefacts from DFAQ are also analysed. The paper reports that DFAQ mediated the educator’s access to the students’ level of understanding and the potential to learn under guidance. The DFAQ tool therefore allowed the educator to provide students with appropriate guidance that met individual students’ knowledge gaps. The paper concludes that DFAQ mediated access to the gap between actual and potential development, stimulated knowledge sharing, peer learning and impacted on pedagogical designs of learning tasks.     

高校中Java课程教学方法探讨

Java技术因为其在IT行业各个领域的广泛应用,国内外众多高校都已开设相关课程。本文将从如何培养学生学习Java兴趣、课程内容的整体与部分有效相结合、将案例融入Java课程教学中以及将团队合作项目引入Java课程教学中等几个方面探讨Java课程教学方法。希望能达到抛砖引玉的目的,并为Java教学者提供一些有益的帮助。     

Student Teachers in Tibet: A case study

A case study of beginner teachers in Tibet describes the demographic characteristics and entry perspectives of Tibetan teacher candidates in comparison with their mainstream counterparts in China. Survey questionnaires, individual interviews, observation in classrooms, and review of relevant institutional, curriculum and instructional materials were used. Findings demonstrate that a typical beginning teacher in Tibet is more likely to be a young male Tibetan under the age of 25, from a middle-class family background, who considers intrinsic reasons to be more important than extrinsic reasons in becoming a teacher. Nevertheless they were reluctant to commit themselves to teaching as a lifelong career, largely because of the low status and poor compensations of the teaching profession, and the added difficulty in finding a suitable spouse and setting up a decent home in their personal lives.     

A comprehensive approach to managing school safety: case studies in Catalonia,Spain

Background: Schools should be safe spaces for students, teaching staff and non-teaching staff. For the concept of ‘safety’ to be meaningful, it must be interpreted broadly to encompass well-being in its widest sense. A common challenge for schools and educational authorities is, therefore, to manage school safety appropriately not only to prevent physical accidents and incidents, but also with the purpose of creating an environment that promotes physical, emotional and social well-being, both individually and collectively.

Purpose: The aim of this research paper is twofold: (a) to explore the concept of safety as it is interpreted by schools and analyse the extent to which schools are committed to the goal of creating safe and healthy school environments; and (b) to identify organisational and management practices that promote the safety of school staff and users.

Design, sample and methods: The research was carried out from a qualitative perspective, based on a study of multiple cases carried out in Catalonia, Spain. The case studies (N = 9 schools) were selected by means of a purposive sampling process in order to obtain a selection of schools covering different education stages and under different types of ownership. The data collection process involved carrying out semistructured interviews (N = 39) with school principals, health and safety officers, teaching staff and non-teaching staff; focus groups with families (N = 2) and a review of general documentation and specific safety documents (N = 58). The data collected were completed and verified by means of interviews with experts (N = 3). The interviews, focus groups and notes arising from the document review were transcribed literally and analysed thematically, following a cross-case analysis structure.

Results: The data analysis indicated that creating safe and healthy environments was not always an explicitly endorsed principle or goal for schools. However, all members of the educational community were involved in ensuring adequate levels of school safety; and diverse management and organisational actions and measures were implemented to ensure physical, emotional and social safety.

Conclusions: We conclude that according to a broad interpretation of safety, which encompasses well-being in its widest sense, a comprehensive school safety management approach had not been fully adopted by schools in the studied sample. Whilst involvement in safety practices was evident, many actions appeared to be carried out without full consideration of the wider promotion of school safety. The study suggests the importance of training and awareness activities for education professionals in order to build and promote safety culture and to facilitate the introduction of a comprehensive school safety approach in the day-to-day management of schools.