The Aftermath of Hobby Lobby and Obergefell: A Reconceptualization of Religious Freedom in the United States and its Potential Implications for Public Schools and Pluralist Democracies

Restricting public employees' free exercise rights or the State to maintain neutrality toward religion has been longstanding precedent in the United States. It has certainly been the case in US public schools beginning in the 1940s and affirmed through the courts over and again through much of the 20th century. The aftermath of 2 recent Supreme Court decisions challenges this long-held precedent, however, as it has led to several instances in which public employees have requested religious exemptions from their professional obligations (e.g., Kentucky court clerk Kim Davis' refusal to grant marriage certificates to same-sex couples). This article provides a foundational framework for exploring the recent reconceptualization of religious freedom and its possible implications for public schools and the larger project of advancing a liberal, pluralist democracy were teachers to refuse to fulfill central elements of their job on the basis of religious objections.     

‘Capitalizing on sport’: sport,physical education and multiple capitals in Scottish independent schools

This paper draws on a research study into the existence and use of different forms of capital – including social, cultural and physical capital – in three independent schools in Scotland. We were interested in understanding how these forms of capital work to produce and reproduce advantage and privilege. Analysis is framed by a multiple capitals approach drawing on and developing the work of Putnam and especially Bourdieu. We suggest that sport plays a role with important effects for strong bonding and for the production of symbolic capital in the form of branding by each school.     

Complementarity Between the Transfer Goals of Community Colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Learning from History

Community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) often serve the same populations; however, the historical purposes, policies, and practices of HBCUs often better prepare them to serve first-generation students. Although both HBCUs and community colleges have their origins within the same historical period, the forces that created each of these branches of higher education also created a divergence in how they operate. This article looks at the most critical of those shaping forces to identify why HBCUs and community colleges often view their mission and their students differently and, thus, perform their work differently. The increased diversity of students whom community colleges are serving provides an opportunity for community colleges to look at HBCUs' successes and determine how community colleges can learn from and adapt those successes with students of color especially. The article suggests that in their mission to serve transfer students, community colleges can learn much from HBCUs' successes with underprepared students.     

Development of Oral Reading Fluency in Young Children at Risk for Failure

The body of knowledge on critical components of reading instruction is broad and deep with phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension serving as building blocks for literacy. The importance of fluent reading (i.e., with speed, accuracy, and proper expression, as well as comprehension) in the formula for success is widely accepted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate oral reading rates in a sample of 2nd-grade children. Using growth curve analysis, we identified models for a combined sample of at-risk and not-at-risk children. Large and important differences in oral reading were evident, but the growth rates remained the same throughout the 2nd- grade; in fact, the gap between at-risk and not-at-risk students remained constant. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and the improvement of practice.     

Normalizing catastrophe: an educational response

Processes of normalizing assumptions and values have been the subjects of theoretical framing and critique for several decades now. Critique has often been tied to issues of environmental sustainability and social justice. Now, in an era of global warming, there is a rising concern that the results of normalizing of present values could be catastrophic. Often, when such concerns arise, education is invoked as a remedial tool, a solution to a crisis and a way of imposing change. However, education is a much-used, yet complicated and sometimes paradoxical, term. Appropriate educational responses to ‘catastrophes’ are contentious, messy and inherently interdisciplinary. This paper will explore intersections of educational philosophy, environmental ethics and social theory to provide some considerations for framing educational responses to the ‘normalizing of catastrophe’.     

Factors that contribute to undergraduate student success

In this paper, we report on the outcomes of a study that was designed to explore the significant characteristics of a nursing professional development programme, which was perceived as having a successful outcome in terms of student attrition, academic attainment, practice development, and motivation for study. We provide a rational for the study, and an outline of the research design. An overview of the process of change and development experienced by the student participants is provided, followed by a detailed exploration of the characteristics of the learning experience found to be most significant in driving and sustaining that process. From the outcomes of this study, we draw tentative conclusions, and suggest recommendations for professional learning in higher education and further research.     

The Ineffectiveness of our Effective Schools

The values and principles underpinning the ‘Leadership for Learning: Cambridge Network’ support the distribution of leadership to all members of the school community. This paper introduces the HCD (Highest Common Denominator) Student Partnership as a key way in which the ‘Leadership for Learning’ team learns from, explores and extends student leadership and participation within the current educational context. The paper opens with a consideration of current issues within the field of student voice before locating the contribution of the HCD Student Partnership within this field. Examples from recent projects with primary- and secondary-aged students are used to reflect on and illustrate the work of the Partnership with a view to sharing new practice and collaborating with new partners.     

School improvement in the context of the special school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Abstract

This article examines the issues which are particular to the KEYWORDS development and improvement of schools for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Key issues such as team formation and teamwork, cooperation, problem solving capabilities and the school’s capacity to take ownership of the change process are analysed against the background of a case study of one EBD school. The process of change in this school is tracked through the evolution of the ownership of change and the dynamics involved in that process.     

What Drives Successful Technology Planning?

ABSTRACT

Providing computers and in‐servicing staff is not enough to get teachers and students using technology for teaching and learning. Schools of teacher education can prepare teachers better by helping college and university education faculty model technology use throughout the teacher credentialing curriculum. Another approach is to help teachers construct a model for identifying and developing factors that will support their own technology initiatives. The literature on technology integration reveals eight success factors for schools attempting to help teachers adopt technology in their classrooms. This article examines those success factors and looks at strategies for implementing them.