Mapping the Field of VET Partnerships

This paper looks critically at partnerships in education and training by presenting a case study of a community-level partnership aimed at promoting high school apprenticeships in Ontario Canada. The analysis maps the field of social relations within this partnership in order to reveal institutionally-based struggles and their implications for youth training and employment. The assumptions within policy that employers are actively engaged as partners and that they and other stakeholders share a unitary vision for education and training are challenged. Rather, partnerships reflect tensions among partners that must be addressed in order to improve the learning affordances for youth.

A cross‐cultural comparison of anatomy learning: Learning styles and strategies

Cultural influences on anatomy teaching and learning have been investigated by application of a questionnaire to medical students in British and Chinese Medical Schools. Results from the responses from students of the two countries were analyzed. Both groups found it easier to understand anatomy in a clinical context, and in both countries, student learning was driven by assessment. Curriculum design differences may have contributed to the British view wherein students were less likely to feel time pressure and enjoyed studying anatomy more than their Chinese counterparts. Different teaching approaches resulted in British students being more likely to recite definitions to learn, and the Chinese students found learning from cross‐sectional images easy. Cultural differences may account for the observation that British students were more inclined to ask questions in class, and the preference of Chinese students to study in small groups. The findings give evidence to show how ‘cultures of learning’ influence students' approaches and indicate the importance of cultural influences as factors amongst international and home learner groups. Anat Sci Ed 2:49–60, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Boys Will Be Boys; Cows Will Be Cows: Children's Essentialist Reasoning About Gender Categories and Animal Species

Two studies ( N =  456) compared the development of concepts of animal species and human gender, using a switched-at-birth reasoning task. Younger children (5- and 6-year-olds) treated animal species and human gender as equivalent; they made similar levels of category-based inferences and endorsed similar explanations for development in these 2 domains. In contrast, 10-year-olds and adults treated gender and species concepts as distinct from one another. They viewed gender-linked behavioral properties as open to environmental influence and endorsed environment-based mechanisms to explain gender development. At all ages, children demonstrated differentiated reasoning about physical and behavioral properties, although this differentiation became more stable with age. The role of psychological essentialism in guiding conceptual development is discussed.     

Professional development design: Embedding educational reform in New Zealand

Teacher professional development variously supports ongoing skill development, new knowledge, and systems change. In New Zealand, the implementation of major assessment reforms in senior secondary schools provided opportunity to investigate teacher professional development as a function of the particular stage of an educational reform. Multi-method data sources including teacher surveys and school case studies were employed to evaluate professional development during the embedding stage of a standards-based assessment system, revealing a positive relationship between professional satisfaction and teacher involvement in setting priorities for the professional development. Other positive features were networking, personalized learning, and facilitator expertise. This research illustrates the importance of tailoring professional learning to implementation phase of an organizational change.     

The role of child gender and ethnicity in teacher–child relationship quality and children's behavioral adjustment in preschool

The present study examined the role of child gender, child ethnicity, and teacher–child ethnic match in moderating the association between teacher–child relationship quality and children's classroom behavioral adjustment. The study was conducted using data from an ethnically diverse sample of 301 Head Start children and their teachers. Teacher–child conflict was found to be a stronger predictor of hostile–aggressive behavior for boys than girls. In contrast, teacher–child closeness was found to be more predictive of school competence for girls than boys. Similar patterns of association were found between teacher–child relationship quality and school behavioral adjustment for Non-Hispanic, white children and those of Mexican-origin. Results also revealed that teacher–child ethnic match did not moderate the association between teacher–child relationship quality and child behavioral adjustment.     

Advancing innovation in the public sector: Aligning innovation measurement with policy goals

There is sufficient evidence, drawn from surveys of innovation in the public sector and cognitive testing interviews with public sector managers, to develop a framework for measuring public sector innovation. Although many questions that are covered in the Oslo Manual guidelines for measuring innovation in the private sector can be applied with some modifications to the public sector, public sector innovation surveys need to meet policy needs that require collecting additional types of data. Policy to support public sector innovation requires data on how public sector organizations innovate and how a strategic management approach to innovation can influence the types of innovations that are developed. Both issues require innovations surveys to delve deeply into the innovation processes and strategies that are used by public sector managers. Implementation of the measurement framework proposed in this paper would open up opportunities for a new, policy-relevant research program on public sector innovation.     

Room for All? Comparing Criminology and Sociology Completion Rates Across Sex,Race, and Degree Level

This article presents findings based on an alternative to the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology & Criminal Justice data that allowed for examining the intersection of sex and race among criminology and criminal justice (CJ) and sociology program completers at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral level. Five years’ worth of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System revealed that, on average, 85% of students who completed a doctoral degree in criminal justice were white, but only 74% of students who completed a doctoral degree in sociology were white. The average percentage of CJ degree completions accounted for by black Americans and Latinos also decreased by 9 and 15%, respectively, from the Bachelor’s level to the doctoral level. We discuss the need for universities to invest in student and faculty diversity, and conclude by highlighting the importance of building strong partnerships between predominantly white and minority-serving institutions.     

Public Pedagogy and Social Justice in Arts Education

In this article we explore examples of public pedagogical actions and interventions, reading them through a social justice education framework lens. In our discussion we start with definitions of social justice, public pedagogy and case study methodologies. Then, we look at a variety of international examples to highlight the pervasiveness of public pedagogical opportunities in visual culture that include a festival, an individual, a citywide symposium, an online community, a cultural group and a museum exhibition. They are divided into three categories based on social justice principles suggested by Ayers et al. and later interpreted by Dewhurst: (1) Public pedagogy and social justice is rooted in people's experiences: Fiesta del Señor de Choquekillka: Ollantaytambo, Peru and Janet Weight Reed – an artist's public pedagogy utilising social media; (2) Public pedagogy and social justice is a process of reflection and action together: Ideas City Festival and the Vlogbrothers; (3) Public pedagogy and social justice seeks to dismantle systems of inequality to create a more humane society: CULTURUNNERS and sh[OUT]: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex art and culture. It is our hope that in looking more closely at these international examples of public pedagogy and social justice education that the power of such alternative sites of learning is apparent and encourages further interventions and investigations in such spaces of inquiry.     

Measuring clearance mechanics based on dynamic leg length

The aim of this study was to quantify clearance mechanics during gait. Seventeen children diagnosed with hemiplegic cerebral palsy underwent a three-dimensional gait analysis evaluation. Dynamic leg lengths were measured from the hip joint center to the heel, to the ankle joint center and to the forefoot throughout the gait cycle. Significant asymmetry was observed during stance, initial and terminal swing phases, where the hemiplegic limb was found shorter by using a paired t-test at 51 sample points (p < .05). The hemiplegic side was restricted in achieving maximal length during terminal swing. The ratio between the maximal dynamic leg length during the stance phase to minimal dynamic leg length during the swing phase was found higher on the non-involved side and lower on the hemiplegic side (p < .05). Quantifying clearance mechanics based on dynamic leg length can provide an additional insight into the analysis of gait patterns and might assist in detecting time of abnormal kinematic deviations.     

Knee extensor fatigue developed during high-intensity exercise limits lower-limb power production

We investigated the association between changes in vastii electromyography (EMG) and knee extensor fatigue during high-intensity cycling, and the subsequent effect on lower-limb power and intermuscular coordination during all-out cycling. On two separate days, participants completed 30-s all-out cycling or 10-min of high-intensity cycling followed by 30-s all-out cycling. EMG for gluteus maximus (GMAX), rectus femoris (RF), vastii (VAS), hamstrings (HAM) and gastrocnemius (GAS); co-activation for GMAX/RF, VAS/HAM and VAS/GAS; isometric maximal voluntary force (IMVF) and resting twitch (RT) of the knee extensors were measured. VAS EMG increases during high-intensity cycling (6% to 14%, P < 0.05) were negatively correlated (r = ?0.791, P < 0.05) with knee extensor IMVF decreases (?2% to?36%, P < 0.05) following the exercise. Knee extensor IMVF decreases were positively correlated (r = 0.757, P < 0.05) with all-out cycling power reductions (0% to ?27%, P < 0.05). VAS/GAS co-activation did not change (P > 0.05) during all-out cycling while VAS and GAS EMG decreased. Larger increase in VAS EMG during high-intensity cycling was associated with greater knee extensor fatigue and larger power reduction during all-out cycling. High VAS/GAS co-activation potentially limited power reduction induced by knee extensor fatigue during all-out cycling.