Is this radical enough? Curriculum reform,change, and the Language of Probability

Utilizing multiple perspectives as theoretical groundings the writer discusses both the need and construction of a Language of Probability as a companion to the extant languages of critique and possibility in critical curriculum theory. If radical curriculum reform is ever to move beyond the realm of the not yet, it is crucial that certain systemic realities are acknowledged and a language developed to deal with the negotiations necessary for the democratic application of critical curriculum theory in the public school systems of this country. Such developments are discussed by the writer relative to the extension of this new language. It is important to note this is neither a purely theoretical nor practical essay. Rather this melds the two mutually supportive positions into a concrete plan for action in radical school reform by beginning to define what are, and what are not, legitimate evaluative criteria for constructing the limits of the project.     

Engineering graduates’ perceptions of how well they were prepared for work in industry

This study investigated how well chemical engineering graduates perceive they were prepared for work in industry. To this end, sixteen interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of recent University of Cape Town chemical engineering graduates. Qualitative analysis of the interview data showed that graduates felt that overall, they were well prepared for work in industry. They perceived their strengths to be their technical background, problem solving skills, formal communication skills and life-long learning abilities. The following areas of weakness were also identified: work in multi-disciplinary teams, leadership, practical preparation and management skills.

The use of interviews for data collection is a significant departure from the methods used in other studies in this area. The rich and contextual data gathered from the interviews justified this choice and contributed to the identification of issues not previously mentioned in the literature. For example, an unexpected finding of the study was that there was a clear link between the technical and non-technical attributes of engineering graduates, a result which has clear implications for the design of undergraduate engineering programmes.     

Using Charter Schools to Alleviate Racial Exclusion in Rural America: An Innovative Idea or a Trojan Horse?

ABSTRACT

Racial segregation has remained a lasting legacy of rural schools in southern states. Our article explains a case where community leaders created a diverse charter school to change its historical practice of an isolated White private school and isolated African American public schools. We scan documents and literature related to this integration strategy to surface key themes when using rural charter schools to alter patterns of school segregation. First, we explain pressing issues in rural schools. Second, we describe how segregation and inequality have evolved in the South. Third, we explain research showing how charter schools maintain patterns of school segregation, but with exceptions and nuances in certain contexts. Fourth, we consider the benefits and tensions surrounding one rural charter school that offers an integrated educational program. Benefits range from societal to individual as the school fosters an environment where students are exposed to diverse educational experiences. Tensions include shifting power and funding dynamics and the possibility of using a good example to shepherd in less effective charter models elsewhere.     

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory-based assessment with deaf and hard of hearing children in the school setting

The general purpose of the present article is to emphasize contemporary research-based and theory-based assessment, specifically Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory-based assessment (Carroll, 1993, 1997; Horn & Noll, 1997), in work with deaf and hard of hearing students in the school setting. The article focuses on the history of cognitive ability theory and test development and interpretation, as well as contemporary perspectives, including recent applications of CHC-based assessment useful with deaf and hard of hearing students in school-based evaluations. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.     

Classification of legal texts by computer

A suite of computer programs has been developed for representing the full text of lengthy documents in vector form and classifying them by a clustering method. The programs have been applied to the full text of the Conventions and Agreements of the Council of Europe which consist of some 280,000 words in the English version and a similar number in the French. Results of the clustering experiments are presented in the form of dendrograms (tree diagrams) using both the treaty and article as the clustering unit. The conclusion is that vector techniques based on the full text provide an effective method of classifying legal documents.     

Development of an Evaluation Tool for Online Food Safety Training Programs

Abstract: The objective of this study was to provide the person in charge and food safety instructors an assessment tool to help characterize, identify strengths and weaknesses, determine the completeness of the knowledge gained by the employee, and evaluate the level of content presentation and usability of current retail food safety training platforms. An existing evaluation tool was modified to assess online food safety training programs that contained 5 areas of emphasis: content and instruction, learners, job transfer, design and packaging, and operation. Participation included watching 3 food safety training modules and afterwards evaluate what degree the module content met objectives. More than 85% of the participants responded positively to the scale‐based items of the course evaluation. Items addressing the content and instruction received positive responses. The assessment tool helped panelists to objectively evaluate an online food safety training program that provided numeric data for a valid comparison.     

Coupling Admissions and Curricular Data to Predict Medical Student Outcomes

The relative impact of admissions factors and curricular measures on the first medical licensing exam (United States Medical Licensing Exam [USMLE] Step 1) scores is examined. The inclusion of first-year and second-year curricular measures nearly doubled the variance explained in Step 1 scores from the amount explained by the combination of preadmission demographic characteristics and admissions factors. In addition, the relationship between the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and Step 1 scores becomes counterintuitive in models that include curricular measures, where students with the lowest combined admissions metrics (MCAT, grade-point average) score higher, on average, than those with some of the highest admissions metrics. Overreliance on traditional metrics in admissions decisions can exclude students from medical school who have the ability to succeed.     

Secular and Koranic literacies in South Asia: From colonisation to contemporary practice

This paper explores the distinction between ‘secular’ and ‘Koranic’ schooling and literacy in South Asia. It begins by tracing an archaeology of the distinction between secular ‘literacy’ and religious ‘illiteracy’. It locates the emergence of the distinction in the colonial census of the 19th century, in the development of ‘English’ education, and the responses within madrasa schools. The second part locates these debates and their on-going importance within a contemporary ethnographic setting. It examines the relevance of the distinction in relation to women's literacy practices. The paper argues that both secular and religious literacy practices are significant for women's status and well-being, and illustrates the centrality of religious reading and learning in Bangladesh. The paper challenges the conventional distinction between religious and secular schooling and literacy, noting their complementary and overlapping nature.     

What Does it Mean to Assess Gifted Students’ Perceptions of Giftedness Labels?

Measuring gifted and talented (GT) students’ perceptions of their GT label might seem to be a relatively straightforward affair. Most of this research uses survey methods that ask GT students to complete Likert scale or open-ended response questionnaires about their perceptions of the label and then presents results in clear and quantifiable terms, such as “X % of students hold positive perceptions of the GT label.” However, our qualitative study of GT students in two middle school social studies classrooms presents findings that not only trouble, but prompt questions about simple proclamations regarding GT students’ perceptions of the GT label. What we found was that given the opportunity to share their thoughts at length, this group of GT students expressed a range of often contradictory perceptions about their GT label. Students expressed multiple interpretations and perceptions of the GT label, as well as both embraced the label and rejected the label.