Promoting diversity in creative art education: the case of Fine Art at Goldsmiths,University of London

Students studying art at university in the United Kingdom tend to be female, from higher social classes and from majority ethnic groups. This paper considers some of the complex and deeply-rooted social and economic factors that militate against wider participation in the arts and describes how we started to tackle under-representation at Goldsmiths using a participatory action research approach. Working in partnership with local colleges, the project aimed to increase student diversity and widen participation in the Goldsmiths BA Fine Art Degree. The need for university applicants to have the ‘right sort’ of cultural capital is particularly marked in Fine Art, indicating that standard widening participation aspiration-raising activities would not solve the problem. A range of interventions were developed to support potential applicants, underpinned by participatory action research. The flexibility and responsiveness of the research model allowed us to reflect on and respond to issues as they arose and to achieve immediate positive impact.     

Guardian consent for children's participation in sociometric research

Sociometric research has been plagued by low consent rates that potentially decrease the validity of assessment results. This study focused on ways to increase consent rates and documentation of guardians' reasons for nonconsent. A planned sequence of increasingly more personalized communication steps with parents yielded a 92% consent rate. Reasons for nonconsent ranged from children telling their parents that they did not want to participate to not having enough information about the research to make an informed decision. Discussion focuses on strategies that may increase guardian support for children's involvement in educational research.     

„Dear Dr. Rogge“: Die Skispringerinnen und die „human rights issue“

Based on the origin of women’s ski jumping, this contribution describes the efforts of women ski jumpers to have their sport accepted as an Olympic event at the 2010 Winter Olympics. It becomes clear that the arguments put forth to exclude women from a sports discipline have barely changed since the end of the eighteenth century.     

Children's long-term reactions to participating in sociometric assessment

Fifth-grade children completed a positive- and negative-peer nomination technique during the last week of school and were subsequently assigned to peer status groups of Average, Controversial, Neglected, Popular, Rejected, and Other. Following summer vacation and return to school, 45 of the subjects (now sixth graders) were individually interviewed to assess their reactions to the sociometric procedures. As many as one third of the subjects indicated that they had discussed the measures with their peers, in spite of directions not to do so. Subjects liked participating in the sociometric procedures, although they liked the negative nomination technique significantly less than any of the other measures. Comments about the nomination techniques were analyzed by peer status group; no evidence of reactions indicative of harm was revealed. Directions for future research are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Reconstructing Iconic Experiments in Electrochemistry: Experiences from a History of Science Course

The decomposition of water by electricity, and the voltaic pile as a means of generating electricity, have both held an iconic status in the history of science as well as in the history of science teaching. These experiments featured in chemistry and physics textbooks, as well as in classroom teaching, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This paper deals with our experiences in restaging the decomposition of water as part of a history of science course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. For the experiment we used an apparatus from our historical teaching collection and built a replica of a voltaic pile. We also traced the uses and meanings of decomposition of water within science and science teaching in schools and higher education in local institutions. Building the pile, and carrying out the experiments, held a few surprises that we did not anticipate through our study of written sources. The exercise gave us valuable insight into the nature of the devices and the experiment, and our students appreciated an experience of a different kind in a history of science course.     

The Training Evaluation Inventory (TEI) - Evaluation of Training Design and Measurement of Training Outcomes for Predicting Training Success

Training evaluation in research and organisational contexts is vital to ensure informed decisions regarding the value of training. The present study describes the development of a valid and reliable training evaluation inventory (TEI), as it does not exist so far. The objectives were a) to construct an instrument that is theoretically and empirically founded, but at the same time applicable within typical organisational constraints, and b) to include the assessment and perception of training design as a formative evaluation aspect. Based on previous research, ten scales were constructed, covering the training outcome dimensions subjective enjoyment, perceived usefulness, perceived difficulty, subjective knowledge gain, and attitude towards training, as well as the training design dimensions problem-based learning, activation, demonstration, application, and integration. Reliabilities of the scales were satisfactory. Data from two training studies show that the training outcome dimensions were related to external training outcome measures, underlining the validity of the TEI. Two survey samples were used to predict training outcomes based on training design. Demonstration, application, and integration emerged as the most important design dimensions. The TEI is applicable in both training research projects and in organisational contexts. It can be used for formative and summative training evaluation purposes.     

«Si quieres avanzar,hazte con una teoria»

Resumen

Aunque las investigaciones de Ginebra han proporcionado un análisis detallado de las estructuras cognitivas, nuestro conocimiento de los procesos cognitivos sigue siendo fragmentario. El interés se centra ahora no sólo en el macro-desarrollo sino también en los cambios que tienen lugar en las secuencias de acción espontánea de los niños en microformación. Están en marcha una serie de experimentos diseñados con el fin de estudiar la conducta dirigida hacia una meta. Este artículo describe las secuencias de acción de 67 sujetos entre 4;6 y 9;5 años en una tarea de equilibrio de bloques. No es un estudio de la comprensión de una noción específica por parte de los niños, sino un intento por abrir el camino a la comprensión de los procesos más generales de la conducta cognitiva. El análisis se centra en la interacción entre las secuencias de acción de el niño y sus teorías implícitas, que el observador infiere a partir de las secuencias más que de sus comentarios verbales. Se pone énfasis en el papel de los contraejemplos y en los desplazamientos de la atención desde el fin a los medios. La construcción y la sobregeneralización de «teorías-en-acción» parecen ser procesos generales y dinámicos que no están vinculados a ningún estadio. Los resultados sugieren también ciertas analogías, más funcionales que estructurales, entre la adquisición del conocimiento físico y la adquisición del lenguaje.     

Changing workloads of primary school teachers: ‘I seem to live on the edge of chaos’

The roles and workloads of teachers have been widely noted as changing considerably over recent decades. In this 2009 replication of a 1992 study, 379 New Zealand primary school educators are surveyed regarding their workloads, how these changed and their perceived sustainability. It investigates how respondents believe that educational reforms and initiatives impact on their work, their home life, their health, and their view of teaching as a career. Results from both cohorts signal warnings to school leaders as workloads increase in hours and complexity, leaving educators to grapple with the complicated balance of demands made of them.