Informational Sources,Social Media Use,and Race in the Flint,Michigan, Water Crisis

Safe, clean water is necessary for health and well-being. Water issues affect minority and vulnerable populations at disproportionate rates, including the poor and racial and ethnic minorities. An investigation of the relationships of race, social media use, and informational sources during the municipal water crisis in Flint, Michigan, reflects an instrumental view of communication and uses and gratifications theory in this study. Data from 208 Flint residents in 2016 indicated that African American respondents favored interpersonal networks and resources and were more likely than other racial groups to obtain current information about the water crisis via Instagram. Preferred channels and sources to receive additional crisis information varied on the basis of race.     

Indigenous students' persistence in higher education in Australia: contextualising models of change from psychology to understand and aid students' practices at a cultural interface

The need to address the substantial inequities that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in higher education is widely recognised. Those factors that affect the performance of Indigenous students in tertiary education have been reasonably well documented across different institutions, disciplines, and programme levels but there has, to date, been less consideration of the processes by which Indigenous students either persist or desist in higher education. This paper aims to present a conceptual understanding of academic persistence that can inform the delivery of tailored academic support interventions to Indigenous students who are at high risk of leaving higher education.     

Individual Differences in Fifth Graders’ Literacy and Academic Language Predict Comprehension Monitoring Development: An Eye-Movement Study

In this study, we investigated fifth graders’ (n = 52) fall literacy, academic language, and motivation and how these skills predicted fall and spring comprehension monitoring on an eye movement task. Comprehension monitoring was defined as the identification and repair of misunderstandings when reading text. In the eye movement task, children read two sentences; the second included either a plausible or implausible word in the context of the first sentence. Stronger readers had shorter reading times overall suggesting faster processing of text. Generally fifth graders reacted to the implausible word (i.e., longer gaze duration on the implausible vs. the plausible word, which reflects lexical access). Students with stronger academic language, compared to those with weaker academic language, generally spent more time rereading the implausible target compared to the plausible target. This difference increased from fall to spring. Results support the centrality of academic language for meaning integration, setting standards of coherence, and utilizing comprehension repair strategies.     

Media and the Museum: A Response to Learning Science in Informal Environments

Abstract Digital environments are one of the newest methods of resource‐ and program‐creation to be added to the museum toolkit, and are increasingly employed by museums across all fields to support learning. Unfortunately, this category is also one of the least‐fleshed‐out components in the Learning Science in Informal Environments (LSIE) chapter devoted to media. The report does not take into account the increasingly interwoven nature of media resources, particularly those found in digital environments. It is imperative that museums both become familiar with the breadth of research that is available related to digital environments and that they continue to specifically build an understanding of how this works in a museum setting.     

The passion of successful leadership

This paper reports multiperspective research on 10 successful, experienced headteachers working in a range of urban and suburban schools of different sizes (with different school populations and free school meals indices of between 20% and 62%). All had raised the levels of measurable pupil attainments in their schools and all were highly regarded by their peers. A key characteristic among the heads was that, regardless of styles and strategies, all revealed a passion for education, for pupils and for the communities in which they worked. The research revealed that the 10 headteachers sustained their success by the application of the a combination of 10 essential leadership qualities, skills and principles and that these enabled them to manage a number of tensions and dilemmas associated with the management of change. Fundamental to the achievement of success, however, was their passion for students, school and community. This paper explores the nature of this passion in relation in particular to six factors which are fundamental to success; achievement, care, collaboration, commitment, trust and inclusivity.1 This research is part of a longitudinal, international, eight country study (ISSLP) which is seeking to establish cross‐country, cross‐cultural comparisons of successful headship in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Norway, Sweden and the USA. For details of this project see: www.oise.utoronto.ca/～schoolleadership/ssl.html. The English study on which this research is based was financially supported by N.C.S.L., NAHT and S.H.A.      

The Challenge to be the Best: Reckless curiosity and mischievous motivation

In recent years, 'being the best' as a teacher has become less of a moral imperative based on a sense of integrity and trust, and more of a dictat from governments intent on imposing their performativity agendas on teachers in the name of raising standards. One consequence of the rise of the so-called school reform agenda is that there has been a demise of teacher renewal. Each of the papers in the present issue has addressed this paradox in one way or another. The present paper suggests that the models of teacher development adopted by policy-makers do not adequately address teachers' learning needs over a career or contribute to enhancing motivation and commitment essential to raising standards in the classroom. It concludes by suggesting that universities themselves have a moral commitment to develop further new kinds of sustained knowledge, creating roles with schools and teachers through which teachers' active professionalism will be enriched.