Systemic Change: Critically Reviewing the Literature

Systemic change has become a floating signifier for any broad-scale change that an author wishes to suggest is current and worthy of federal funding consideration. For whatever political reasons, the term systemic change has become misused and misunderstood. This study looks critically at the sort of literature being promulgated under the rubric of systemic change. After an exhaustive ERIC search, the data suggest that most studies are theoretical rather than field-based, conservative in their definition of change, and non-systemic in both theory and practice. Suggestions for those interested in pursuing research under the rubric of systemic change are provided. Résumé Le fait que le terme de «changement systémique» soit devenu un signifiant flou, utilisé pour des changements à n’importe quelle échelle est fréquent et mérite qu’on s’y arrête. Pour certaines raisons politiques, ce terme est devenu mécompris et utilisé à mauvais escient. Cette étude passe en revue de façon critique la littérature présentée sous la rubrique «changement systémique». Une recherche exhaustive dans la banque de données ERIC (recherche en éducation) laisse à penser que la plupart des études sont de type théorique plutôt qu’empirique, conservatrices dans leur définition du changement et non systémiques dans leur approche tant théorique que pratique. Des suggestions sont faites à ceux qui souhaiteraient utiliser la rubrique «changement systémique» dans leurs recherches. (Traduction: Catherine Cusin, CSRE, Aarau / Suisse)     

Use of national parks for outdoor environmental education: An Australian case study

Abstract

The need for environmental education through outdoor education experiences is becoming increasingly evident in outdoor education theory and practice. In Australia, this environmental focus is reflected in recent outdoor education curriculum documents, particularly in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). For many outdoor education teachers who do not have expertise in environmental education, this curriculum development presents a challenge. Outdoor education teachers frequently use National Parks to help them address this challenge.

The study examined the educational objectives and roles of teachers and park staff involved in environmental education through outdoor education in National Parks in Victoria, Australia. This paper discusses findings related to the teachers' educational objectives and roles while those of the park staff are examined in a separate paper. The findings indicate that the teachers often lack the environmental knowledge and skills needed to teach some aspects of the curriculum thus making the role of the park ranger or education officer particularly significant in educating teachers as well as students. Issues are raised about the training of outdoor education teachers and of park rangers to meet the environmental education needs of outdoor education students. Questions are also raised about the appropriateness of using National Parks for outdoor education purposes.     

Shared Power,Risk-taking,and Innovation: Participatory Action Research in Jewish Education

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors describe and discuss applications of the Group-Level Assessment/Understanding (GLA/GLU) process, an innovative participatory action research methodology. The authors first describe the GLA/GLU application in the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI) and the creation of an MTEI interpretive community to deeply analyze the collected data. The authors then describe adaptations of the process in their home communities to address community-identified dilemmas, tensions, and problems. The article concludes with reflections on common themes that emerged in the GLA/GLU applications–shared power, risk-taking, and methodological innovation.     

EARLY YEARS EDUCATION AND CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIOURAL AND EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES: NURTURING PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT?

The involvement of parents in early years education has increasingly been advocated as a strategy for meeting the needs of young emotionally disturbed children. We summarise the ideal of parental involvement in the early years as expressed within recent government initiatives. We also draw on a case study of a nurture group in a primary school situated in an inner‐city area of severe deprivation. Against this background, we explore notions of the involvement of parents as a partnership. We suggest that, in providing education for young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, the nurturing of parental involvement is inherently problematic.     

Online learning community development with teachers as a means of enhancing initial teacher training

A purpose‐built blend of teaching and learning activities was used with trainee teachers on a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course, and subsequently evaluated in a cyclical action research study, over a period of two years. The purpose of the blend was to engender the formation of a learning community, by giving them access to each other all through the course, in order to reduce the isolation often felt on school placement. The development of their social presence was encouraged by providing them with the social space in which to construct it. The findings indicate that this blend engendered the formation of a learning community through the creation of social presence and space that reduced isolation on placement for the trainee teachers. Positive voices from the research illustrate that trainees experienced an enhancement of their teacher training course through participation in the learning community.     

Obesity‐Related Hormones in Low‐Income Preschool‐Age Children: Implications for School Readiness

Mechanisms underlying socioeconomic disparities in school readiness and health outcomes, particularly obesity, among preschool‐aged children are complex and poorly understood. Obesity can induce changes in proteins in the circulation that contribute to the negative impact of obesity on health; such changes may relate to cognitive and emotion regulation skills important for school readiness. We investigated obesity‐related hormones, body mass index (BMI), and school readiness in a pilot study of low‐income preschoolers attending Head Start (participating in a larger parent study). We found that the adipokine leptin was related to preschoolers' BMI z‐score, the appetite‐regulating hormones ghrelin and glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1), and pro‐inflammatory cytokines typically associated with early life stress; and that some of these obesity‐related biomarkers were in turn related to emotion regulation. Future work should evaluate how obesity may affect multiple domains of development, and consider modeling common physiological pathways related to stress, health, and school readiness.     

Collection Assessment and New Academic Programs

At Oregon State University, the library is included in the review process for each new program proposal. Historically, this inclusion has taken the form of a mandatory statement regarding the adequacy of the library collection to support the new program. The level of assessment undertaken to justify these statements has changed and become more rigorous over time. These assessments also provide a basis for including collections as a component of the cost of university support for new programs but seldom result in sufficient increased funding. Their true value may be in the opportunity for dialogue on the future of scholarly communication.     

An archive of humanity: the NSW Division of the Australian Red Cross, 1914–2014

To commemorate its centenary, the NSW Division of the Australian Red Cross decided to donate its archive to the State Library of New South Wales in 2014. The State Library is honoured to be the recipient of these significant and extensive archives. In this article, the authors outline the process the librarians and archivists used to manage the donation and the importance of communication, both internally within the Library, and externally with the volunteers at the Red Cross who had arranged, compiled and cared for the archive. They describe the extent and organisation of the collection, the variety of formats and subjects, its historical significance and how it has been promoted to the State Library’s audiences. The authors reflect on how the archive charts the evolution and growth of Australia’s longest-running humanitarian organisation and how it contains the records of people who made history, but did not write the history books.     

Establishing a New Clinical Informationist Role in an Academic Health Sciences Center

The concept of clinical informationists is not new, but has recently been gaining more widespread acceptance across the United States. This article describes the lessons and challenges learned from starting a new clinical informationist service targeted to internal medicine residents in a large academic medical center. Lessons included the need for becoming immersed in evidence-based practice fundamentals; becoming comfortable with the pace, realities, and topics encountered during clinical rounds; and needing organizational commitment to both the evidence-based practice paradigm and clinical informationist role. Challenges included adapting to organizational culture, resident burnout, and perceptions of information overload.