CHANGING VISIONS OF EXCELLENCE IN ONTARIO SCHOOL POLICY: THE CASES OF LIVING AND LEARNING AND FOR THE LOVE OF LEARNING

In this essay, Rosa Bruno‐Jofré and George Hills examine two major Ontario policy documents: 1968's Living and Learning and 1994's For the Love of Learning. The purpose is, first, to gain insight into the uses of the term “excellence” in the context of discourse about educational aims and evaluation, and, second, to explore how these uses may have changed over time. Bruno‐Jofré and Hills employ the conceptual framework developed by Madhu Prakash and Leonard Waks to elucidate the varied notions of excellence contained in the two reports. Bruno‐Jofré and Hills argue that Living and Learning is an eclectic report that creates continuity by aligning itself with the pedagogically progressive tradition in Ontario; that propounds a holistic conception of excellence centered on the all‐around development of the self; and that seeks simultaneously to secure a sense of being Canadian while dealing with rapidly emerging social fragmentation. For the Love of Learning, in contrast, attempts to combine a technical view of excellence in education (stressing various literacies and skills as measurable indicators) with the principles of caring and the goals of social responsibility. Each report can be seen as an attempt to respond to the expectations of a population that had become increasingly diverse in the interval between the two reports. What is cause for concern in terms of policymaking, Bruno‐Jofré and Hills conclude, is the turn away from broader, more comprehensive and coherent views of excellence in education toward narrower and more fragmented accounts that are preoccupied with various types of literacy or loosely related vocational and other skills. The effect of this shift is to leave educational policy and practice in the schools essentially rudderless.     

Design of technology-based information-referenced grouping systems for use in large urban schools

There are many subtle but extremely important differences between grouping students and tracking students for purposes of designing appropriate instructional interventions. Unfortunately, in many inner-city urban settings, the policy of grouping students eventually becomes a policy ofde facto tracking of students. While grouping students seems to be an educationally justifiable policy in many school situations, tracking students raises serious concerns with regard to its educational value, social desirability, and complicity with the legal notions of due process and equal protection. This study examines the use of a specific form ofshort-term grouping of students that is based on an information-referenced criterion for selection. Using a large sample of ninth- and eleventh-grade students, an information-referenced grouping procedure was designed for the areas of language arts and mathematics. The study finds that grouping selections, using an information-referenced criterion, are strongly associated with teachers perceptions of these students' actual educational and information needs. In addition, the information-referenced grouping design provides important specific educational feedback to both students and teachers to help low-attaining students move to mainstream classes. Finally, many of the due process concerns raised by educational researchers with regard to abuses and shortcomings of presently used ability or standardized test-driven grouping efforts are addressed.     

Reflective practicum in higher education: the influence of the learning environment on the quality of learning

Sustaining students in becoming reflective practitioners is considered as a valued outcome of higher education. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of the learning environment conditions inspired by Schön’s theory of reflective practicum, by discussing a case study of a master’s degree class. The learning environment was designed to sustain reflective practice and meaningful engagement through professional practice simulation, problem-based learning and reflective writing. Unlike much of the research into reflective learning, the quality of learning was evaluated by assessing the use of reflective practice in students’ weekly journaling, rather than measuring students’ satisfaction or perceptions of effectiveness. Two hundred and six journal entries of 23 students were assessed and used in a quantitative analysis based on a linear mixed-effects model. Findings indicated that the reflective practicum has an incremental effect on students’ reflective practices and that reflective practice is dynamic and sensitive to specific learning environment conditions. In conclusion, students’ co-responsibility of the learning environment allowed by the professional practice simulation appears to foster meaningful and reflective learning. Conversely, conditions that stimulate only cognitive engagement have little impact or even inhibit reflective practices. Practical implications of the use of reflective journal are discussed.     

Equality of educational opportunity at racially isolated schools: Balancing the need for teacher certification with teacher shortage

Providing for equality of educational opportunity at racially isolated schools continues to be an important area of concern for educational policy makers. Quality teachers to staff instruction programs at these schools is essential to promoting equal opportunity for minority groups. Unfortunately, these schools continue to suffer chronic teacher shortages. Recently, California implemented a teacher certification examination (CBEST) designed specifically to improve the quality of teachers entering the profession. An unintended consequence of the certification movement was the exacerbation of the teacher shortage problem at racially isolated schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of teachers who passed and failed the CBEST. The study finds that failure rates are highest among minority teachers that are presently employed. The study also finds that the mathematics knowledge subscale scores best discriminate those passing from those failing the CBEST. An analytical approach for determining optimal cutoff scores on the CBEST which balances the need for certification with the problem of teacher shortage is proposed.     

Performance equivalency between computer‐based and traditional pen‐and‐paper assessment: A case study in clinical anatomy

The time, material, and staff‐consuming nature of anatomy's traditional pen‐and‐paper assessment system, the increase in the number of students enrolling in medical schools and the ever‐escalating workload of academic staff have made the use of computer‐based assessment (CBA) an attractive proposition. To understand the impact of such shift in the assessment method, an experimental study evaluating its effect on students’ performance was designed. Additionally, students’ opinions toward CBA were gathered. Second‐year medical students attending a Clinical Anatomy course were randomized by clusters in two groups. The pen‐and‐paper group attended two sessions, each consisting of a traditional sectional anatomy steeplechase followed by a theoretical examination, while the computer group was involved in two similar sessions conducted in a computerized environment. At the end of each of the computer sessions, students in this group filled an anonymous questionnaire. In the first session, pen‐and‐paper group students scored significantly better than computer‐group students in both the steeplechase (mean ± standard deviation: 66.00 ± 14.15% vs. 43.50 ± 19.10%; P < 0.001) and the theoretical examination (52.50 ± 12.70% vs. 39.00 ± 21.10%; P < 0.001). In the second session, no statistically significant differences were found for both the steeplechase (59.50 ± 17.30% vs. 54.50 ± 17.00%; P = 0.085) and the theoretical examination (57.50 ± 13.70% vs. 54.00 ± 14.30%; P = 0.161). Besides, an intersession improvement in students’ perceptions toward CBA was registered. These results suggest that, after a familiarization period, CBA might be a performance equivalent and student accepted alternative to clinical anatomy pen‐and‐paper theoretical and practical examinations. Anat Sci Educ 11: 124–136. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

The economics of music festivals

This paper attempts to explain the rapid growth in the number of classical music and opera festivals. Two secularly increasing demand factors — a rise in real disposable incomes and an increased amount of time and money devoted to holidays — are well met by the supply of music festivals which almost perfectly combine culture and holidays. On the supply side, festivals may profit from low marginal cost of production factors and are considered as an effort to avoid restrictions from government regulations and trade unions.     

The application of transformational leadership theory to parenting: questionnaire development and implications for adolescent self-regulatory efficacy and life satisfaction

We draw upon transformational leadership theory to develop an instrument to measure transformational parenting for use with adolescents. First, potential items were generated that were developmentally appropriate and evidence for content validity was provided through the use of focus groups with parents and adolescents. We subsequently provide evidence for several aspects of construct validity of measures derived from the Transformational Parenting Questionnaire (TPQ). Data were collected from 857 adolescents (M(age) = 14.70 years), who rated the behaviors of their mothers and fathers. The results provided support for a second-order measurement model of transformational parenting. In addition, positive relationships between mothers' and fathers' transformational parenting behaviors, adolescents' self-regulatory efficacy for physical activity and healthy eating, and life satisfaction were found. The results of this research support the application of transformational leadership theory to parenting behaviors, as well as the construct validity of measures derived from the TPQ.     

Wanted: Tesseract. One Hypothesis on Languages,Cultures, and Ethics for Mind,Brain, and Education

For potential consideration by the Mind, Brain, and Education community, here is a modest but provocative hypothesis regarding the relationships between acquisition of languages, awareness of cultures, and development of ethics in human beings. Starting from the basic idea according to which “a fish does not know what water is,” and using both various literature sources and my personal experience of linguistic/cultural diversity, I postulate, using the mathematical metaphor of the “tesseract,” that mastery of several languages is not only essential to developing cultural awareness but also a key to (partial) access to global awareness. This might open research avenues for colleagues interested in some of these fields, or in all of them; if sound neuroscientific work, possibly combined with quantitative studies, proves the hypothesis right, then we may hope to take one small step toward more tolerance: yet another “giant leap for mankind”? Let us dream—it is not forbidden yet.