Enacting the role of special needs educator – six Swedish case studies

With the increasing focus on inclusion, special needs educators (SNEs) are now expected to share responsibility for pupils with teacher colleagues and to lead school development, but it is a challenge to enact this role in schools. The aim of the study was to explore how professional roles of Swedish SNEs are enacted in local school contexts. From a survey of SNEs in 10 Swedish municipalities, six participants whose work tasks were expected to correspond to the degree ordinances for their university training were chosen. The participants were followed at work, and data were collected through observation of the participants at work, participants’ diaries and interviews with the participants, their teacher colleagues and their school principals. The analysis involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, based on the researchers’ observations of the participants at work, categories of SNEs’ tasks were discerned, and the amount of time devoted to those categories of tasks was summarised. Second, case study narratives of the SNEs’ work were constructed to describe how the participants, their teacher colleagues and their school principals view the SNE role and to describe how the work is enacted in various school contexts. The results revealed seven categories of work tasks practised to varying degrees by the six SNEs. The case study narratives exposed large variation in how the SNEs conceptualised their role and how it evolved in relation to local school contexts. The results of the study are discussed with regard to the role of the SNE in relation to policies of inclusion.     

The Joint Influence of Intra- and Inter-Team Learning Processes on Team Performance: A Constructive or Destructive Combination?

In order for teams to build a shared conception of their task, team learning is crucial. Benefits of intra-team learning have been demonstrated in numerous studies. However, teams do not operate in a vacuum, and interact with their environment to execute their tasks. Our knowledge of the added value of inter-team learning (team learning with external parties) is limited. Do both types of team learning compete over limited resources, or do they form a synergistic combination? We aim to shed light on the interplay between intra- and inter-team learning in relation to team performance, by including adaptive and transformative sub-processes of intra-team learning. A quantitative field study was conducted among 108 university teacher teams. The joint influence of intra- and inter-team learning as well as structural (task interdependence) and cultural (team efficacy) team characteristics on self-perceived and externally rated team performance were explored in a path model. The results showed that adaptive intra-team learning positively influenced self-perceived team performance, while transformative intra-team learning positively influenced externally rated team performance. Moreover, intra-team and inter-team learning were found to be both a constructive and a destructive combination. Adaptive intra-team learning combined with inter-team learning led to increased team performance, while transformative intra-team learning combined with inter-team learning hurt team performance. The findings demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between both the scope (intra- vs. inter-team) and the level (adaptive vs. transformative) of team learning in understanding team performance.     

Processing of expository and narrative texts by low- and high-comprehending children

The present study investigated comprehension processes and strategy use of second-grade low- and high-comprehending readers when reading expository and narrative texts for comprehension. Results from think-aloud protocols indicated that text genre affected the way the readers processed the texts. When reading narrative texts they made more text-based and knowledge-based inferences, and when reading expository texts they made more comments and asked more questions, but also made a higher number of invalid knowledge-based inferences. Furthermore, low- and high-comprehending readers did not differ in the patterns of text-processing strategies used: all readers used a variety of comprehension strategies, ranging from literal repetitions to elaborate knowledge-based inferences. There was one exception: for expository texts, low-comprehending readers generated a higher number of inaccurate elaborative and predictive inferences. Finally, the results confirmed and extended prior research by showing that low-comprehending readers can be classified either as readers who construct a limited mental representation that mainly reflects the literal meaning of the text (struggling paraphrasers), or as readers who attempt to enrich their mental representation by generating elaborative and predictive inferences (struggling elaborators). A similar dichotomy was observed for high-comprehending readers.     

Analysing the state of student participation in two Eco-Schools using Engeström’s Second Generation Activity Systems Model

Abstract

This research investigates the state of student participation in the Eco-Schools programme in two selected secondary schools located in Spain and the Netherlands. The focus is on understanding the levers of student participation and of the factors leading to a whole-school approach. Engeström’s Second Generation Activity Systems Model is used as an analytical framework. The study also reflects on the merits and shortcomings of this framework. The analysis of the two cases revealed contradictions in the intended effect of the Eco-School programme on fostering student-led change towards sustainability and a whole-school approach. The research suggests that student participation in Eco-School programme can be fostered by using an activity-based ‘whole institution’ approach that interlinks a reflective and action-based procedure, by adapting the students’ learning environment according to their needs and capabilities, by providing for close teacher guidance in Eco-School activities and establishing good student-teacher-relationships, and, finally, by incorporating the Eco-School programme into the school’s overall educational framework.     

Introduction: problematizing voice and representation in youth media production

This introduction to the special issue Voice and representation in youth media production in educational settings: transnational dialogues presents a discussion of the notions of voice and representation and an overview of the contributions to this issue, and reflects on the possibilities and limits for a transnational dialogue within current academic traditions and publishing practices.     

A validation framework for science learning progression research

This article provides a validation framework for research on the development and use of science Learning Progressions (LPs). The framework describes how evidence from various sources can be used to establish an interpretive argument and a validity argument at five stages of LP research—development, scoring, generalisation, extrapolation, and use. The interpretation argument contains the interpretation (i.e. the LP and conclusions about students’ proficiency generated based on the LP) and the use of the LP. The validity argument specifies how the evidence from various sources supports the interpretation and the use of the LP. Examples from our prior and current research are used to illustrate the validation activities and analyses that can be conducted at each of the five stages. When conducting an LP study, researchers may use one or more validation activities or analyses that are theoretically necessary and practically applicable in their specific research contexts.     

Students’ relationships to knowledges,place identity and agency concerning the St. Lawrence river

Our study is framed according to a transformational-sociocritical approach to an education for sustainable development (ESD) that, in particular, considers landscapes as learning contexts of potential use for fostering engagement in the areas of environmental protection and sustainable development. In keeping with this perspective, we surveyed students aged 16–17 years from the Lower St. Lawrence region (Quebec, Canada) concerning their knowledge and perceptions of issues pertaining to the St. Lawrence, the river facing them on an everyday basis, and about their role as citizens in that connection. In respect of theoretical considerations, we propose developing the concepts of relationships to knowledge, place identity and agency. An analysis of questionnaires (N=334) has served to: bring out the learnings and issues pertaining to the St. Lawrence River that students consider to be meaningful; characterise the various identity-centred relationships with this landscape; and define the eco-civic agency of the students surveyed. The results of this analysis then provide a basis for some proposals for an ESD curriculum relating to the St. Lawrence River that is rooted in students’ concerns. While the environmental issues dealt with occur locally, the potential transfer of results into other curricula and educational contexts is also discussed.     

The impact of formative and shared or co-assessment on the acquisition of transversal competences in higher education

The use of formative and shared or co-assessment has been shown to improve the motivation, involvement and learning of university students. The aim of this study is to analyse the effect that implementing these processes has on university students’ perception of their acquisition of transversal competences. The participants in the study were 1021 students from five Spanish universities taking degree courses in primary education or physical education and sport science. They all experienced formative and shared or co-assessment throughout a complete academic year of their courses. For the data collection, a Self-Perception Scale of Transversal Competences was created, which had adequate values of reliability and validity. Using a transversal design (inter-subjects), inferential statistical analysis was undertaken of the differences in means between the perception of a range of transversal competences before and after the course. The results show significant perceived improvements at the end of the course for most of the competences analysed, which indicates, among other thing, the value and importance of this type of assessment for the educational process.     

Knowing what we don’t know: cognitive correlates of early spelling of different target types

Reading and Writing - Although research on cognitive correlates of spelling has been conducted, these studies generally do not distinguish between different types of targets that need to be...