Teacher Predictions of Young Children's Literacy Success or Failure

Research into professional decision-making indicates that judgements tend not to be made on a rational, systematic basis, but are often formed rapidly and intuitively from a limited set of cues. This study addresses the issue of whether and how teachers assess the literacy competencies of young children prior to starting formal schooling in a UK context. Seven Reception teachers from four primary schools were asked to make literacy predictions for the incoming cohort of children aged 4 to 5 years. Data are presented based on interviews with the teachers, completion of baseline literacy assessments, and the scrutiny of daily reading records. The study explores the factors which influence teacher predictions for 30 children, including 17 for whom literacy success was predicted and 13 for whom literacy difficulties were anticipated. The study shows that teachers do indeed form early judgements about children based on pragmatic factors, with a strong link between teacher predictions and families' socioeconomic status. Importantly, initial representations of children as 'likely to fail' tend to become more permanent over time, whilst teachers are also inclined to provide less support for children expected to perform poorly. Implications for professionals are discussed in relation to the Code of Practice for identifying children with special educational needs and new guidelines for baseline assessment of children at school entry recently issued to UK headteachers.     

The Right Stuff in the Right Place: The Institution of Contemporary Art

Abstract A long walk in the “world” of contemporary art gives multiple views of interlocking ecologies that, in their particularities, contradict the stereotypes suggested by language, invert “north” and “south,” question what is “traditional” in artistic practices, reflect on the intermix of society and art, glimpse the colonial mind in postmodern dress, and illuminate a restless subculture of professional migrants. What does our ramble reveal about the institution of contemporary art? “Diversity” hardly seems an adequate word.     

Contextual factors affecting the utility of surrogates within exploratory search

In this paper we investigate how information surrogates might be useful in exploratory search and what information it is useful for a surrogate to contain. By comparing assessments based on artificially created information surrogates, we investigate the effect of the source of information, the quality of an information source and the date of information upon the assessment process. We also investigate how varying levels of topical knowledge, assessor confidence and prior expectation affect the assessment of information surrogates. We show that both types of contextual information affect how the information surrogates are judged and what actions are performed as a result of the surrogates.     

Testing a model of antecedents and consequences of defensive pessimism and self-handicapping in school physical education

There has been very limited research on the use of self-worth protection strategies in the achievement context of school physical education (PE). Thus the aim of the present study was to examine some antecedents and consequences of defensive pessimism and self-handicapping. The sample comprised 534 British pupils (275 females, 259 males) recruited from two schools who responded to established questionnaires. Results of structural equation modelling analysis indicated that self-handicapping and defensive pessimism were positively predicted by fear of failure and negatively predicted by competence valuation. In addition, defensive pessimism was negatively predicted by physical self-concept. In turn, defensive pessimism negatively predicted enjoyment in PE and intentions to participate in future optional PE programmes. Self-handicapping did not predict enjoyment or intentions. Results from multi-sample structural equation modelling showed the specified model to be largely invariant across males and females. The findings indicate that although both strategies aim to protect one's self-worth, some of their antecedents and consequences in PE may differ.     

New structures for post-secondary education

The O.E.C.D. reportTowards new structures of post-secondary education (1971) outlines the main problems associated with the approach to mass higher education. Two aspects are described; firstly alternative structures for the system as a whole and secondly short cycle higher education.

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Résumé Le rapport de l'O.C.D.E.Vers de nouvelles structures de l'enseignement post-secondaire (O.C.D.E., 1971) passe en revue les principaux problèmes posés par l'enseignement supérieur de masse. Deux directions sont offertes à la reflexion, d'abord l'examen de ce que pourraient être d'autres structures pour le système d'enseignement dans son ensemble, ensuite la question d'un cycle court de l'enseignement supérieur.

     

Exclusion from school in Scotland and across the UK: Contrasts and questions

This article draws on findings from the first cross-national study of school exclusion in the four jurisdictions of the UK. It casts new light on the crucial aspects of children's education that lead to school exclusion. It investigates the reasons for the UK disparities, as well as the policy and practice in place. The focus of this article is on a detailed analysis of the policy context in Scotland, where official permanent exclusion reduced to an all-time low of just five cases in 2014/15. This is much lower than in Northern Ireland and Wales and in stark contrast to England, where exclusions have increased substantially since 2012. Our analysis seeks to understand Scotland's success in reducing exclusion and offers new insight into the ways in which national policies and local factors more generally shape schools and their practices and the consequent impacts for children and young people more broadly in the UK.     

Does authentic assessment assure academic integrity? Evidence from contract cheating data

ABSTRACT

Contract cheating occurs when a student outsources their assessment to a third party, regardless of the third party’s relationship with the student, or whether money is exchanged. In higher education, there is a widespread belief that assessment design is a solution to the problem of contract cheating and that authentic assessment tasks are particularly effective. This research analysed two datasets – 221 assignment orders placed on academic custom writing websites and 198 assessment tasks in which contract cheating was detected – to investigate if authentic assessment can assure academic integrity. The authenticity of assessments was determined using five factors derived from the literature: frequency, fidelity, complexity, real-world impact and feed forward. Our analysis found that assessment tasks with no, some, or all of the five authenticity factors are routinely outsourced by students.