School Inspection: A Re-appraisal

In many countries school inspection is a major way in which schools are held accountable. This article sets out some of the limitations of inspection. The aims of inspection, the language of inspection and the inspection of standards, teaching and learning are examined critically. It is argued that school inspection does have its uses as an instrument of accountability but these are far more limited than governments or inspectorates themselves acknowledge.     

TELEVISION IN TEACHER TRAINING

In recent years the uses of educational television in the training of teachers have achieved widespread, sometimes quite spectacular, currency and applause. Probably the best known and most widely used of these is in microtraining, where the trainee either in teaching (Brown, 1975; Wragg, 1974) or in medicine (Morrison and Cameron‐Jones, 1972) may be shown videotapes of ‘expert’ models displaying a particular professional skill to be mastered by the trainee, and may then go on to see videotape of his own use of the skill in a specially scaled‐down training situation. However, although microtraining seems set almost to become the norm, even the cliche, of the professional training world, other uses of educational television have received much less attention. These other uses include the training of student teachers in the observation and analysis of classroom behaviour, discussed with examples in the following paper     

Investigating Change in Adolescent Self‐Efficacy of Food Safety Through Educational Interventions

A successfully targeted intervention can influence food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as encourage participants to recognize their own responsibility for safe food handling. This acknowledgement of an individual's responsibility and capacity to address food safety can be understood as self‐efficacy of food safety (SEFS). This study investigated the impact of a specific educational intervention, Hands On: Real‐World Lessons for Middle School Classrooms, curriculum on SEFS in adolescents and was guided by two research questions: (1) to what extent can an existing food safety curriculum impact students’ SEFS, and (2) to what extent does a relationship exist between changes in self‐efficacy and changes in food safety behavior, particularly when controlling for knowledge gains. A total sample of 424 students across 6 states participated in this study. Teachers were trained to implement the Hands On program in their classrooms and then students were administered a pre‐ and posttest to measure the impact of the program on knowledge, food safety‐related behaviors, and SEFS. The data indicated that there is a strong predictive relationship between SEFS and positive behavior change. Additionally, the Hands On program was effective at increasing students’ SEFS.