At the Crossroads: the development of thinking about the role,appointment and training of headteachers in Spain

For many years now, most countries of the world have increasingly valued the headteacher as a powerful force in facilitating school and staff development. Such recognition has resulted in widespread training programmes—even in the poorest countries. In Spain, however, there has been, until very recently, considerable ambiguity over the role of the headteacher. This uncertainty is manifested in the appointment system of headteachers and the lack of commitment to training. This paper seeks to show the reasons for this situation, through an evaluation of recent legislation, the impact of Franco's legacy on education and the current preoccupation with democratic government at all levels. The paper highlights important changes of attitude towards the role of the head now taking place, mainly at local levels, and encourages the government to ensure that examples of effective training, emanating from these ideological shifts, are recognised and contained within national programmes.     

Adolescents’ personal conceptions of intelligence: The development of a new scale and some exploratory evidence

This study presents the building of an instrument to measure personal conceptions of intelligence based upon Dweck research, and some exploratory evidence. The instrument is directed to adolescents, has got more items than the original one and incorporates new aspects, such as the importance of effort and ability in relation with personal conceptions of intelligence. The results of a factor analysis evidenced the existence of two distinct factors — a static and a dynamic one — that explain together 31.7% of the total variance. The internal consistency of the scales evidenced alpha coefficients between .74 and .80. The results of a test-retest reliability study (with a month interval) proved to be better for the static scale than to the the dynamic one, as well as the results of an external validity study (correlations with grade point average). Some differential exploratory studies showed differences in personal conceptions of intelligence related to school grades (5th to 11th): the scores increased from the 5th to the 11th grade, showing that older students were less “static” (more “dynamic”), and also related to the socio-economic status (high vs. low): the higher SES subjects appeared less “static” (more “dynamic”) than the lower SES subjects.     

“Lo que yo en realidad quería hacer”: Rationales of Latina/o DACA Recipients for Pursuing Careers as Teachers

The Urban Review - The decision to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will have major repercussions amongst beneficiaries, especially in terms of employment. One of the sectors...     

Computers in Artificial Intelligence Education

Both the origin and development of artificial intelligence (AI) are connected with the origin and development of computers. Computers play a very important role in engineering education. AI influences such disciplines like CAD, CASE, CAE, and others. The specific experience concerning AI education at a technical university has been gathered in this paper. There is stressed need of good balance between theoretical background and individual training with computers as well as importance of personal experience in solving practical AI.     

Learning Is Moving in New Ways: The Ecological Dynamics of Mathematics Education

Whereas emerging technologies, such as touchscreen tablets, are bringing sensorimotor interaction back into mathematics learning activities, existing educational theory is not geared to inform or analyze passages from action to concept. We present case studies of tutor–student behaviors in an embodied-interaction learning environment, the Mathematical Imagery Trainer. Drawing on ecological dynamics—a blend of dynamical-systems theory and ecological psychology—we explain and demonstrate that: (a) students develop sensorimotor schemes as solutions to interaction problems; (b) each scheme is oriented on an attentional anchor—a real or imagined object, area, or other aspect or behavior of the perceptual manifold that emerges to facilitate motor-action coordination; and (c) when symbolic artifacts are introduced into the arena, they may both mediate new affordances for students’ motor-action control and shift their discourse into explicit mathematical re-visualization of the environment. Symbolic artifacts are ontological hybrids evolving from things with which you act to things with which you think. Students engaged in embodied-interaction learning activities are first attracted to symbolic artifacts as prehensible environmental features optimizing their grip on the world, yet in the course of enacting the improved control routines, the artifacts become frames of reference for establishing and articulating quantitative systems known as mathematical reasoning.     

Multi-actor co-design of extension interventions: paradoxes arising in three cases in the Republic of Ireland

Purpose: This paper demystifies the processes, methodologies and outputs of three co-design projects, identifying how and to what extent are aims and principles of the multi-actor approach realised and upheld in the field. Implications from the cases for participatory principles are discussed.

Design/Methodology/approach: A detailed ethnographic account is presented of three multi-actor co-design cases, supporting diverse readers’ interpretations and learnings.

Findings: Three paradoxes were identifiable from the multi-actor processes: (1) outputs can be orphaned when they lack strong identifiers and affiliations with discrete professional communities outside of the co-design team; (2) combining diverse knowledges co-design can generate outputs that are new and strange (rather than familiar and acceptable) to end-users; (3) for Responsible Research and Innovation, co-creating interventions that are challenging (rather than popular) to society may be required.

Practical implications: Awareness of dynamics and paradoxes arising in the implementation of multi-actor co-design supports enhanced facilitation of processes and impacts of outcomes. Together, the paradoxes highlight the critical importance of communications and engagement initiatives across diverse communities in the aftermath of co-design efforts.

Theoretical implications: Although co-design processes are case-dependent, reflexive accounts of how they play out contribute to the body of knowledge of how co-design may be better understood. The cases in this paper identify paradoxes with implications for principles and theory of multi-actor co-design.

Originality/Value: This paper presents a detailed account of three unique co-design processes. Practical and theoretical implications of the cases are identified.