Finding Nexus: connecting youth work and research practices

Participation in educational and social research helps to develop understanding of how young people learn and to consider wider aspects of their lives to enable their voices to be heard and acted upon. Research also facilitates the articulation and sharing of methodologies across a range of professional practices. We assert that theory and practice in educational youth work offers a position of strength from which to undertake research. In making this assertion, we suggest cross‐disciplinarity between youth work and research practices in order to build research mindedness among youth workers who, through this nexus, are well‐placed to engage in practice based research. Drawing on discourses about young people, youth work and youth participation, we identify five elements of youth work practice that can be aligned with research processes: reflexivity; positionality and bias; insider cultural competence; rapport and trust; power relationships. The article examines how these elements are present in youth work and a range of research settings. We identify youth work methods and dispositions as enhancing research capacity which could also be useful in building participatory research methods in disciplinary areas beyond education. Yet, in making these connections, we also identify a range of factors that show this nexus as complex and contestable. Reflecting on the lessons learned from our experiences as youth work practitioners and academic researchers, we propose that finding nexus, which in this instance is between youth work and research paradigms, could inform educational research practices and contributes to developing a meaningful praxis.     

Environmental education research in Southern Africa: Dilemmas of interpretation

These multiple framings of our reflections on environmental education research in southern Africa are written as dilemmas of interpretation that aim to disrupt any temptation to generalise or essentialise its qualities and characteristics. Recognising that research is a textual practice, we use J. M. Coetzee's portrayal of the dilemmas faced by African novelists as a point of departure in reflecting on the changing landscape of environmental education research in southern Africa as we have experienced it over six years. We provide readings framed by reference to post-colonialism, changing epistemologies and methodologies, contexts of transformation and tension, the influence of international organisations such as the United Nations and its instrumentalities, and concerns about human rights and accountability. We conclude by affirming the post-colonialist trajectories of environmental education research in southern Africa and speculating on the distinctive possibilities that recovering ubuntu (an ethic of sharing and hospitality) might offer to researchers in this region.     

Scottish toolkit for knowledge management

BACKGROUND: Using specific examples, this paper describes the tools, methods and resources used to develop Managed Knowledge Networks (MKNs) within the NHS Scotland e-Library (http://www.elib.scot.nhs.uk). MKNs help to complete the knowledge management cycle by providing a place to share the learning and discuss the evidence for practice through combining the use of the published material (explicit knowledge) with the experience and knowledge held by individuals, communities and organizations (tacit knowledge). OBJECTIVES: First of all, this paper outlines the e-Library infrastructure, which provides an inter-operable framework to manage the published knowledge using a metadata management system; and a knowledge-sharing tool to support the development of MKNs. It then covers the various stages involved in developing an MKN: gathering and analysing information needs in a variety of ways; presenting and organizing the resources and services for the users as identified in the needs analysis; managing the tacit, personal and local knowledge. CONCLUSION: The toolkit described enables the Knowledge Services Group to take the needs of users, transcribe these into Specialist e-Libraries to provide access to the published information and to support this with accessing and sharing the knowledge of colleagues via MKNs.     

Acquiring new knowledge: The role of retaining human capital in acquisitions of high-tech firms

Many acquisitions of high-tech firms are motivated by the acquirers' desire to enhance their strategic technological capabilities. However, these capabilities are likely to be embedded to a large degree in the tacit and socially complex knowledge of the acquired firms' individual and collective human capital. This presents a dilemma for acquirers because, unlike tangible or financial assets, the acquired firms' valuable human assets cannot be purchased or owned outright and they can leave the firm at any time. Retention therefore is likely to be of central importance during acquisition implementation in knowledge-intensive firms. Using data from a sample of acquisitions in high-technology industries, the results of this study confirm that retention of specific types of human capital is critical for determining the success of the acquirers' efforts to gain valuable new technological capabilities. Applying the theory of relative standing to predict post-acquisition retention, we find that autonomy, status, and commitment significantly affect retention, but economic incentives do not. We discuss and integrate these results in the context of knowledge-based views of the firm and the existing literature on acquisition implementation.     

Representational Classroom Practices that Contribute to Students’ Conceptual and Representational Understanding of Chemical Bonding

Understanding bonding is fundamental to success in chemistry. A number of alternative conceptions related to chemical bonding have been reported in the literature. Research suggests that many alternative conceptions held by chemistry students result from previous teaching; if teachers are explicit in the use of representations and explain their content-specific forms and functions, this might be avoided. The development of an understanding of and ability to use multiple representations is crucial to students’ understanding of chemical bonding. This paper draws on data from a larger study involving two Year 11 chemistry classes (n = 27, n = 22). It explores the contribution of explicit instruction about multiple representations to students’ understanding and representation of chemical bonding. The instructional strategies were documented using audio-recordings and the teacher-researcher’s reflection journal. Pre-test–post-test comparisons showed an improvement in conceptual understanding and representational competence. Analysis of the students’ texts provided further evidence of the students’ ability to use multiple representations to explain macroscopic phenomena on the molecular level. The findings suggest that explicit instruction about representational form and function contributes to the enhancement of representational competence and conceptual understanding of bonding in chemistry. However, the scaffolding strategies employed by the teacher play an important role in the learning process. This research has implications for professional development enhancing teachers’ approaches to these aspects of instruction around chemical bonding.     

Urban High School Student Engagement Through CincySTEM iTEST Projects

Journal of Science Education and Technology - This paper focuses on the notable heightening of underrepresented students’ engagement in STEM education through project-based learning CincySTEM...     

Comprehension and content: planning literacy in low socioeconomic and culturally diverse schools

This article defines comprehension as a pragmatic social and intellectual practice. It reviews literature on current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse and low socioeconomic students, noting the current policy emphasis on the teaching of comprehension as autonomous skills and strategies. The Four Resources model (Freebody and Luke 1990) is used to frame comprehension instruction with an emphasis on student cultural and community knowledge, and substantive intellectual and sociocultural content in elementary and middle school curricula. Illustrations are drawn from research underway on the teaching of literacy in low socioeconomic schools.     

Metacognition in basic skills instruction

Metacognition is increasingly recognized as important to learning. This article describes self-regulatory processes that promote achievement in the basic skills of reading and mathematical problem solving. Self-regulatory behaviors in reading include clarifying one's purpose, understanding meanings, drawing inferences, looking for relationships, and reformulating text in one's own terms. Self-regulatory behaviors in mathematics include clarifying problem goals, understanding concepts, applying knowledge to reach goals, and monitoring progress toward a solution. The article then describes the author's experiences integrating metacognition with reading and mathematics instruction and highlights students' reactions to learning to think metacognitively.