Singapore: the Fourth Way in action?

This article has two main objectives. It first outlines the first three waves of change termed by Hargreaves and Shirley (The Fourth Way: The inspiring future for educational change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2009) as the First, Second and Third Way that defined global educational policy and practice since the 1960s. It then introduces the main tenets of the Fourth Way, which is characterised by inspiring success stories of educational leadership and change that have led to remarkable leaps forward in student learning and achievement. The Fourth Way is distinguished by a paradigm shift in the change mindset of educational leaders of how they push educational frontiers to achieve a more sustainable future. It is defined not merely as a destination but a journey in itself. Second, it considers how Singapore presents an interesting case study of paving the Fourth Way through its many forward-looking educational initiatives and fidelity in the implementation of these reforms. In doing so, this article also sets the stage for the other articles in this volume which cover different aspects of the Singapore education story, from pre-primary to tertiary education, to teacher preparation, and leadership development to the internationalization of its teacher education programmes and how educational research translates into policy and practice in this unique nation.     

Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of classroom learning environment in Bhutanese eighth-grade mathematics classes

This paper reports a study of students’ and teachers’ perceptions of their classroom learning environment in Bhutanese eighth-grade mathematics classes. Research suggests that positive perceptions of the learning environment can have a positive influence on students’ learning outcomes, interest and engagement in classroom activities. The study was conducted in 2013, using the survey samples of 608 students and 98 teachers from 22 lower- and middle-secondary schools in western Bhutan. Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the classroom environment were measured using the Mathematics Classroom Learning Environment Survey (MCLES). Students and teachers mostly perceived their classroom environments favourably on the MCLES scales irrespective of gender, school level and school location. The study is significant for understanding and evaluating the implementation of new mathematics curriculum in Bhutanese schools because it could guide the development of strategies for more-productive mathematics classroom learning. It is also significant from the perspective of Bhutan’s national goal of Gross National Happiness because perceptions and happiness always go hand-in-hand.     

Gender matters in higher education

Much of the research in higher education has treated student bodies as homogeneous groups with a consequent neglect of any consideration of gender differences. To test the validity of such research a questionnaire was administered to 255 psychology students. The results showed some important differences in responses between the genders. In particular, the female students reported attaching more importance than males to pre‐course aims, rated various learning activities as more valuable and interesting than males and reported more improvement in nine of the 12 skills surveyed than the males. The males rated experiencing less difficulty for various aspects of the course than anticipated than did the females for 11 of 12 potential difficulties listed. As a consequence, it is suggested that researchers ought to be wary of conducting research into various aspects of higher education without considering potential gender differences.     

The Androgynous Mentor: bridging gender stereotypes in mentoring

This paper explores the possibility that a suitable mix of instrumental and expressive personality traits‐the concept of psychological androgyny — are required to allow a complete mentoring relationship. The discussion seeks a solution to a mentoring paradox which arises from the argument that instrumentality is necessary in reaching positions of influence, power, authority and experience ‐from which pool mentors may be selected in organisations ‐yet expressiveness as necessary for mentoring behaviour.

A comment on research into mentoring and psychological androgyny is offered, and this concept is discussed in regard to the experienced mentor combining such instrumental and expressive personality traits. A review of the literature on gender and mentoring is also offered and reveals several causes for concern. However, such literature rarely focuses upon what both genders can do. This paper offers the hypothesis that the experienced mentor will be androgynous‐thus being able to display both instrumentality and expressiveness according to situation‐specific demands.     

Book Reviews

This article deals with the apparently increasing problem of disturbing behaviour within mainstream primary and secondary schools and the increase in the exclusion of children. The author examines the recommendations of D.f.E. reports and recent legislation and asks why the number of disturbing/disruptive/disaffected pupils continues to increase.

The author takes the view that the D.f.E.E. philosophy that Pupil Referral Units should aim to re-integrate excluded pupils to mainstream schools is Ineffective since many RR.U.s are merely dumping grounds for the most disturbing and schools are reluctant to tarnish their image. He. contends that schools and LE.A.s need additional help from the Government to tackle the growing problem of exclusion in a more realistic fashion.     

The Relevance of Management Theory to the Classroom

In this paper the author explores the relevance of business theory to the work of teachers in classrooms. After exploring a number of key issues in management theory, including the roles of managers and leadership, the author applies these ideas to the teaching context. The author concludes his analysis by suggesting that management theory is valuable and relevant to the classroom teacher, but that the effective teacher is more than simply an effective manager. Effective teaching the skills of the effective manager plus the ‘magic ingredient’ of specifically pedogocal skills.     

Comparing Theories of Media Learning: Cognitive Mediation,Information Utility,and Knowledge Acquisition from Cancer News

Determining what factors predict media learning is an important avenue of research for the field of mass communication. The present study provides a comparative investigation of two models of media learning: the cognitive mediation model and the information utility model. Participants (N = 1,076) read a news article related to scientific discoveries relevant to cancer prevention and responded to all constructs of the two models. Recognition and comprehension were used to measure knowledge acquisition. Results generally support previous predictions of each model, though predicted variance remains small. In addition to testing the existing models, a modified cognitive mediation model using a key construct related to information utility—perceived relevance—was tested. The refined cognitive mediation model offered a more nuanced understanding of certain causal mechanisms but did not result in a meaningful change in predictive power of the model. Implications of the theoretical comparison and integration are discussed.     

Face Out: The Effect of Book Displays on Collection Usage

Business librarians at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library are confronted with considerable and consistent declines in usage of print books in business and economic disciplines. Inspired by commercial businesses, where in-store displays are commonly used to increase sales, business librarians decided to highlight the library's business and economics collections by creating book displays. The study revealed that displays produced a substantial increase in circulation. Prior to the displays, featured books had an average usage of less than four times per year; after these books were featured in the displays, their usage per year increased by 58%.     

BASES 2006: “From education to application”

The dependence of power on aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism and on force production was studied in maximal leg exercise. National and international level male rowers (n = 9) performed four modified (legs‐only) rowing ergometer exercises: a progressive test, 2‐min (T2), 12‐min (T12) and 6‐min (T6) all‐out tests. In T2, significant correlations were observed between power in T2 (P_T2) and oxygen debt (r = 0.83, P<0.05) and between P_T2 and average force production (F_av) during the last 30 s (r = 0.85, P<0.05). These parameters explained 93% of the variation in P_T2. The highest correlations between power in T6 (P_T6) and physiological parameters were as follows: maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂ max: r = 0.87, P<0.01), blood bicarbonate concentration before the test ([HCO^‐ _3before]: r=0.85, P<0.05) and blood lactate concentration on anaerobic threshold (BL_anT: r= —0.82, P<0.05). Together, these parameters explained 92% of the variation in P_T6. In T12, the total power (P_T12) correlated with power of anaerobic threshold #OPP_ANT’. r = 0.95, P< 0.001) and with the highest VO₂ value in this test (VO₂ peak: r = 0.92, P<0.001). These two parameters explained 96% of the variation in P_T12.

The decrease of at least one of the force parameters during each test was taken as a sign of fatigue. The decline in force was compensated for by an increase in stroke rate at the end of T6 and T12 (P<0.01, P<0.001). Consequently, the power remained unchanged or even increased at the end of T6 and T12. The term ‘power endurance’ is introduced to describe the ability to resist and to compensate for local muscular fatigue.