Using social network analysis to measure the impact and value of work that takes us beyond institutional boundaries

In educational development, accountability is paramount, in particular for activities that take educational developers away from their institutional boundaries to local, national, and international venues. Educational developers must demonstrate the benefits of such work to the home institution and its constituents. We asked educational developers from around the world to comment on the nature and value of their external work. Their responses made clear that such work expands valuable social networks and, concomitantly, builds social capital. Using these observations, we explain how social network analysis can be used to assess and demonstrate the impact of external work.     

Parents’ perceptions and children's experiences of early intervention – inclusive practice?

This paper explores the experiences of early intervention for three families in England. The case study research considers parental perspectives and children's experiences of early intervention: what do parents want and what are children's experiences? In particular the ways in which parents and children participate in early intervention programmes in order to support learning will be explained. Case study data includes interviews with four parents. The early intervention experiences of three children with Down Syndrome aged 3–4 years old will be described and placed within the context of early years and inclusive education policy and practice in England ( DfES, 2001, 2003a,b; 2004a; TSO, 2003; QCA, 2000 ). Recent recognition within Government policy towards increased parental involvement in the learning of young children will be considered within the context of inclusive education and early years policy and practice. The ways in which parents are encouraged to be involved in developing the learning of their children and their support from professional services will be considered. The parents’ views and experiences enable a conceptualisation of the implementation of policy and practice, in relation to the opportunities provided and the difficulties encountered. The tensions identified raise questions about whether parents are receiving the kinds of support they need and expect, and in particular whether suitable consideration has been given to the pedagogic models being applied through early intervention programmes.     

Civic education in Lesotho: implications for teaching of democratic citizenship

This paper investigates the extent to which civic education is achieving its goals of teaching democracy and producing responsible democratic citizenship in Lesotho. This is done by analysing the conceptions of civic education, democracy, public participation, human rights, freedoms and responsibilities that appear in Lesotho’s documents that are used to teach people about democracy through formal, non-formal and informal education. I therefore argue that in the current Lesotho’s political history, these conceptions do not provide enough conditions for the cultivation of active democratic citizenship. Instead the materials dwell too much on teaching citizens about the systems and structures of government, preoccupied with inconsistent definitions and characteristics of democracy and with informing citizens of the importance of knowing how to vote and abide by the laws of the country; without showing how democracy should operate in a democratic country. The findings reveal that civic education for adults in Lesotho is offered informally, through the civil society organisations and politicians that are largely based in urban parts of Lesotho. This suggest that civic education should be tailored for the rural and urban citizens in a context of democratic transition in a country that still embraces strong traditional ties to communitarian living.     

Teacher and Student Teacher Ratings of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Three Cultural Settings

Since the criteria for diagnosis of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) include that the symptoms present in at least two situations, usually home and school, the role of teachers in the identification and diagnosis of this condition is crucial. There is, however, evidence of inter-cultural differences in ratings of AD/HD in children and young people, by teachers and others, though it is not possible to make comparisons between the various studies, because the conditions were not comparable. The focus of this article is the cultural influences on ratings of AD/HD-type behaviour. Evidence is presented of culturally related differences in such ratings, under conditions designed to ensure directly comparable conditions, involving teachers and student teachers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom. There was some evidence that the teachers from mainland China rated the behaviour of a "target" child, presented on video, higher on a number of items than either the teachers from Hong Kong or the United Kingdom. There was only limited evidence of differences between the ratings of teachers and student teachers within the same culture.     

The Cost-Effectiveness of Increasing Hours Per Week of Early Intervention Services for Young Children with Disabilities

Although there is a widespread belief that increasing the hours of early intervention services for children with disabilities will result in increased benefits for the participating children and their families, there is little research evidence to support this point of view. In this study, young children with disabilities were randomly assigned to receive either one hour per week of early intervention services, or three hours per week. Measures of child and family outcomes over the subsequent five-year period demonstrated no consistent benefits associated with increasing the hours of intervention. Possible reasons for the lack of benefits are discussed in the context of previous research.     

Group assessments: dilemmas facing lecturers in multicultural tertiary classrooms

‘Group is good, and group is good for curing all social ills’ was the cynical observation of one of the lecturers in this study. Her comment reflects the uneasiness of lecturers at tertiary institutions with the notion that the educational advantages of group assessments far outweigh the disadvantages, and that such an approach promotes the integration of minority groups in multicultural universities. The dilemmas facing lecturers in multicultural tertiary classrooms are reflected on in this paper, when they adopt group assessment as a means of evaluation and highlight those challenges that often jeopardize the successful implementation of this type of practice.     

The World of Chance

This article describes ‘The World of Chance’, an unconventional statistics course taught at the University of Canberra since 1998, modelled on the Chance courses devised at Dartmouth College. Statistical concepts are introduced via a mixture of lectures, class discussions of news stories, and activities.     

在多伦多第一次找工作

和所有新移民一样,我到多伦多安顿下来之后,就怀着忐忑不安的心情开始找工作了。上网浏览一番之后,感觉工作机会挺多的,起码比在国内想像得好些。我把自己感觉合适的工作的联系地址记下来,陆续发出一些简历。过了一两周不见音讯,我开始着急起来。难道一个都不合适吗? 我反问自己,也许我的简历有问题吧。我请在这里有工作的朋友帮忙提意见,不断完善简历的格式和内容。一阵渺茫的感觉过后,我终于接到一些代理的电话。他们在电话中问了一些简单问题,比     

Classroom Effects of a Hybrid Universal and Indicated Prevention Program for Preschool Children: A Comparative Analysis Based on Social and Emotional Competence Screening

Research Findings: The current study's main aim was to implement a multifocused, community-based intervention for preventing conduct problems in preschool children. Our assumption was that the same intervention program could be delivered concomitantly as a universal prevention program for all children as well as an indicated prevention program for high-risk children selected after screening for social and emotional competencies development. We used a quasi-experimental design with a between-subjects variable (intervention vs. comparison) and a within-subjects variable (preintervention, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up). The efficacy of the intervention was assessed for high-risk children targeted by the indicated intervention as well as for moderate- and low-risk children, who received the universal intervention. Practice or Policy: First, our results demonstrate the capacity of classroom-based interventions, without added pull-out sessions, to generate significant changes in high-risk children's competencies as well as externalizing and internalizing problems. Second, similar results were found for the moderate-risk, but not the low-risk, group, and these data suggest that marginally at-risk children are the most likely to benefit from participating in universal interventions. And third, comparing data from social and emotional competence risk groups indicates that underdeveloped emotional competencies might have a prolonged negative effect on children's social skills, which increases as a function of higher risk status.