Academic calendar change impact on enrollment patterns and instructional outcomes

A study of 10 universities in two states was completed to determine the impact of a change from the quarter to the semester calendar on enrollment patterns and instructional outcomes. A decrease in average student credit hour load and an increase in the percentage of students withdrawing from courses were observed after institutions changed to the semester calendar system.Presented at the 23rd Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Toronto, May 1983.     

Why biosecurity matters: students’ knowledge of biosecurity and implications for future engagement with biosecurity initiatives

Background: Research on biosecurity is important as New Zealand’s agricultural export-driven economy is susceptible to biosecurity threats. Because New Zealand is reliant on the primary industries to drive its economy, bovine diseases such as foot and mouth could have a devastating effect on the economy.

Purpose: Making sure that the general public are aware of the importance of maintaining biosecurity is crucial in order to protect New Zealand’s economy, human health, the environment, and social and cultural values. New Zealand Year 9 students’ knowledge of biosecurity was gauged as these students represented the next generation of individuals tasked to maintain biosecurity in New Zealand.

Design: A qualitative approach using the interpretive mode of inquiry was used to investigate the knowledge about biosecurity with New Zealand Year 9 students. Questionnaires and interviews were the data collection tools.

Sample: One hundred and seventy-one students completed a questionnaire that consisted of Likert-type questions and open-ended questions. Nine students were interviewed about their knowledge.

Results: The findings showed that New Zealand Year 9 students lacked specific knowledge about unwanted plants, animals and microorganisms. These students saw illicit drug plants as unwanted plants and mainly saw possums as unwanted animals in New Zealand. Their knowledge about unwanted microorganisms in New Zealand was dominated by human-disease-causing microbes. A lack of knowledge of biosecurity issues in New Zealand was seen as the major factor in these students limited understanding of biosecurity.

Conclusions: Based on these findings, it can be said that knowledge of an issue is critical in enabling individuals to develop an understanding about biosecurity. Explicit teaching of biosecurity-related curriculum topics could provide New Zealand Year 9 students with an opportunity to develop knowledge about biosecurity in New Zealand.     

Changing What Is Taught: Hearing the Voices of the Underrepresented

A major challenge facing institutions today is determining the role of multiculturalism in the curriculum. Institutions that decide to incorporate multicultural perspectives into the general education curriculum will face a long and complex process. In 1991, policy makers at Florida State University made the decision to require all students to take multicultural courses to fulfill general education requirements. This article provides insight into the challenges that institutional policy makers face as they seek to change the curriculum to include the voices of those previously underrepresented.     

School-age child care: A review of five common arguments

During the past decade, parents and educators have increasingly expressed concern over the potential safety and developmental risks associated with children in self-care, or the care of another child (Garbarino, 1984; Harris, Kagay, & Ross, 1987; Robinson, Rowland, & Coleman, 1986; 1989; Zigler & Ennis, 1988). One result has been a growing interest in school-age child care (SACC) programs.Mick Coleman is Assistant Professor, Child and Family Development, and Extension Human Development Specialist, University of Georgia, Hoke Smith Annex, Athens, Ga. Bryan E. Robinson and Bobbie H. Rowland are both Professor of Human Services, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC     

Specification of the stimulus-reinforcer relation in multiple schedules: Delay and probability of reinforcement

Control of pigeons’ keypecking by a stimulus-reinforcer contingency was investigated in the context of a four-component multiple schedule. In each of three experiments, pigeons were exposed to a schedule consisting of two two-component sequences. Discriminative stimuli identifying each sequence were present only in Component 1, which was 4, 6, or 8 sec in duration, while reinforcers could be earned only in Component 2 (30 sec in duration). Control by a stimulus-reinforcer contingency was sought during Component 1 by arranging a differential relation between Component 1 cues and schedule of reinforcement in Component 2. In Experiment 1, rate of keypecking during Component 1 varied with the presence and absence of a stimulus-reinforcer contingency. When a contingency was introduced, rate of keypecking increased during the Component 1 cue associated with the availability of reinforcement in Component 2. In Experiment 2, the stimulus-reinforcer contingency was manipulated parametrically by varying the correlation between Component 1 cues and Component 2 schedules of reinforcement. Responding in Component 1 varied as a function of strength of the stimulus-reinforcer contingency. The relatively high rates of Component 1 responding observed in Experiments 1 and 2 pose difficulties for conceptions of stimulus-reinforcer control based on probability of reinforcement. In these two experiments, the stimulus-associated probabilities of reinforcement in Component 1 were invariant at zero. An alternate dimension of stimulus-reinforcer control was explored in Experiment 3, in which Component 1 cues were differentially associated with delay to reinforcement in Component 2, while probability of reinforcement was held constant across components. When the stimulus-reinforcer contingency was in force, rate of responding in Component 1 varied inversely with delay to reinforcement in Component 2. In a quantitative analysis of data from Experiments 2 and 3, relative rate of responding during Component 1 was strongly correlated with two measures of relative delay to reinforcement.     

Ratings in the Research Assessment Exercise 2001 – the Patterns of University Status and Panel Membership

Ratings awarded to university departments in the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 were analysed to determine whether they were influenced either by the status of the university (pre‐1992 or post‐1992) or by whether the university was represented on the panel that determined the ratings. There was little evidence that panel membership has any effect on ratings, but an analysis of covariance also showed that, among universities not on the panel, pre‐1992 universities were more favourably assessed, relative to post‐1992 universities, than would be expected on the basis of their ratings in the 1996 RAE. This finding, along with the preponderance of pre‐1992 universities on all panels (even those where the majority of the research is conducted by post‐1992 universities), is used to urge strongly that in future RAEs, panel membership should be made much more representative of higher education in general and of the institutions submitting the research considered by each panel in particular.     

The future role of the school administrator

The paper suggests that there is currently a good deal of uncertainty over the role of the principal, which is frequently described as one of educational leadership. This notion seems obsolete. Currently, there are pressures on principals to substantially modify this role, and these pressures seem to push the principal toward the definition of his role as that of administrator. On the basis of the beliefs of those involved in training programs for educational administrators, it is possible to predict that the future role of the school principal will, in fact, be that of building or school administrator. The role can be defined as that of administrative leader, as opposed to instructional leader. Administrative leadership involves at least the following elements: purpose-definding for the organization; coordination of the work of specialists, including decision-making; and responsibility for external relationships. The paper concludes by pointing out that this redefinition of the role of the school administrator, or administrative leader, has significant implications for in-service training for administrators, collective negotiations, and affiliation with teacher associations.

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Résumé D'après cet article, il y aurait actuellement une bonne dose d'incertitude quant au rôle du principal, rôle assimilé fréquemment à celui d'un leader en éducation. Or cette notion semble être périmée. De nos jours, les principaux d'écoles sont soumis à des pressions pour modifier considérablement ce rôle et ces pressions semblent pousser le principal à considérer son rôle comme celui d'un administrateur. D'après les croyances entretenues par les responsables des programmes de formation des administrateurs scolaires, il est possible de prédire que le rôle futur du principal d'école sera, en fait, comparable à celui d'un administrateur d'école ou d'immeuble. Ce rôle peut être assimilé au rôle de directeur administratif qui se distingue du directeur pédagogique. La direction administrative implique, au minimum, les éléments suivants: définition des objectifs d'organisation, coordination du travail des spécialistes, y compris la formulation de la politique et enfin responsabilité des relations externes. En conclusion, l'auteur souligne que cette redéfinition du rôle de l'administrateur scolaire ou du directeur administratif a des répercussions considérables sur la formation pratique des administrateurs, les négociations collectives et l'adhésion aux associations d'enseignants.

     

The Role of the HEI Tutor in Initial Teacher Education School-based Placements

One area of great change and continuing development in the UK is the mentoring role of the Higher Education Institution (HEI) tutor during trainees' school-based professional placements. It might be suggested that with schools assuming ever greater responsibilities for trainees the role of the HEI tutor in school is diminishing and may even become extinct. This paper suggests that whilst tutors' roles are clearly changing, tutors have a crucial role to play in minimising the limitations and maximising the undoubted benefits of professional placements. A wide range of issues relating to trainees' placement schools, HEIs, the development of school-based mentors and trainee teachers, and the role of the HEI tutor are evaluated with suggestions for improving future practice.