Performance Funding Programs: Assessing Their Stability

State programs of performance funding for public colleges and universities are both popular and volatile. A previous article identified some characteristics of stable programs by comparing the survey responses of state and campus leaders from Tennessee and Missouri about their mature programs with those from four states that later dropped performance funding. This article uses those characteristics to assess the stability of the continuing programs in Florida, Ohio, and South Carolina. This article compares the survey responses of state and campus leaders from each of these three states about their programs with those from Missouri and Tennessee. The findings suggest trouble for these three programs, for they share few of the characteristics common to the stable programs in Missouri and Tennessee.     

Using Theater and Drama to Expose and Expand the Epistemic Insights of Youth Regarding the Nature of Science

Students learn about science in a range of life contexts. Unfortunately, science classrooms are often disconnected from the ways of knowing about science that are embedded in, and embodied by, the life experiences of students. Drama has been identified as a potential means by which deeper understandings of the nature of science can be derived and nurtured but research on how this might be achieved is sparse. This study uses drama methodology to explore epistemologies of science with two groups of secondary school students from very different social contexts: one from a private university preparatory school and another from an after-school community group in a low-income neighborhood. We use a combination of traditional instruments and contemporary methodologies to elucidate students’ perspectives on the nature of science. Despite the similarity in perspectives revealed by the two groups when using the more traditional nature of science testing format, we have shown how drama activities can uncover very different ways in which the two cohorts mobilize their understandings about science. We propose ways in which these methodologies may be employed by teachers to explore and expand the epistemic insights that students bring to the science classroom.     

Equity Issues in Teaching and Teacher Education

Concerns about creating greater equity in education are often projected outside of teaching. Yet the creation by teachers of more equitable and inclusive educational experiences and opportunities can play an important part in wider struggles for social justice. We argue that equity must become a central dimension of teacher education to challenge the complex ways that insidious inequalities are reproduced in and through educational frameworks and practices.     

Literacy in a ‘broad and balanced’ primary school curriculum: the potential of a disciplinary approach in Irish classrooms

The prominence afforded to literacy in the Irish Primary School Curriculum has received considerable attention in recent years, spurred by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings, governmental priorities, public commentary and academic debate. At times, this discourse has presented literacy as a separate and distinct entity to the other areas of the curriculum, including the arts, social and scientific education. The current paper proposes a more integrated view of literacy’s role in the curriculum. Recent research on the teaching of literacy in the content areas has emphasised the potential of a disciplinary approach, which embraces the key skills, dispositions and forms of knowledge connected with reading, writing, speaking and listening in different disciplines. This paper examines some of the key features of disciplinary literacy, including its underpinning rationale and learning implications. It also highlights the potential for a disciplinary literacy lens in the review of the Primary School Curriculum, as well as associated opportunities and challenges.     

What Motivates Today’s Criminal Justice Student to Become an Engaged Learner?

The use of student-centered High Impact Practices (HIPs) has become increasingly popular across university and college faculty. HIPs increase student development of critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. HIPs also provide students the opportunity to engage in real-world application of course knowledge. While HIPs increase student engagement and intrinsic motivation, little research has explored student perception of these concepts. This article describes a pilot course offered to upper level criminal justice students that incorporated three HIPs: undergraduate research, collaborative assignments, and service/community-based learning. Semi-structured interviews were used to facilitate individual student discussion regarding their perceptions and experiences of the course related to their level of motivation and engagement as compared to traditional classes. Results indicated student expectations for the course were exceeded; students believed the course would positively impact their future career/education plans; and the HIPs motivated the students to engage more than their traditional lecture-oriented courses.     

The phenomenon of legislative advocacy among parents of children with disabilities

Although parents of children with disabilities have forged systemic changes for individuals with disabilities, little is known about the phenomenon of legislative advocacy (LA) including methods and barriers. In this United States‐based study, 49 parents of individuals with disabilities participated in focus groups about LA reporting both positive and negative experiences with LA. One focus group was held in Spanish; notably, none of the Spanish‐speaking parents reported experiences with LA. When discussing methods of LA, parents reported a variety of strategies including: building relationships, educating legislators, collective advocacy, and encouraging fathers and other parents to meet with legislators. Parents also reported barriers to LA: lack of knowledge, disempowerment and feeling overwhelmed. Implications for research to better understand LA and policy are discussed.