Chinese parents’ goals and practices in early childhood

We review the literature on Chinese parents’ views and practices through the lens of Confucianism. Confucianism advances seven developmental goals for children – knowledge, social norms, modesty, shame, self-restraint, filial piety, and harmonious relationships – and unique beliefs about parents’ role in children's development (Guan). We examine how these goals and beliefs are reflected in parents’ socialization of their young children, and how they play out in associations between parenting and children's development. We close with a contextualized, dynamic approach to the study of parenting goals and practices by describing historical shifts in China's economy, policies, and the global context that have led to marked changes in Chinese parenting.     

Consumer preference for flexible education

Sam Ayer and Catherine Smith of the School of Health at the University of Hull, England, present the findings of a market research project to identify consumer preferences for flexible education. The research con‐centrated on two major aspects of flexible education: access to learning and choices within courses. It explores what specific aspects of flexibility within education and training provision are most relevant to prospective students of flexible education and thus highlights potential market opportunities.     

Students' Self-Concept and Perceptions of Mentoring Relationships in a Summer Mentorship Program for Talented Adolescents

Mentoring is widely advocated as an educational experience for academically talented students because mentors may provide stimulation for academic growth and serve as positive role models for students in areas of career interest. This study examined the experiences of 72 talented teenagers attending a university-based summer mentorship program. Students completed pretest and posttest measures assessing self-concept and perceptions of research aptitude; they also shared their perceptions of their mentoring relationships in written journal entries. Results demonstrated increases in students' perceived research skills and job competence; students reported positive relationships with mentors, particularly when they felt that their mentor spent a great deal of time with them and was approachable, friendly, and engaging.     

Links between early rhythm skills, musical training, and phonological awareness

A small number of studies show that music training is associated with improvements in reading or in its component skills. A central question underlying this present research is whether musical activity can enhance the acquisition of reading skill, potentially before formal reading instruction begins. We explored two dimensions of this question: an investigation of links between kindergartners’ music rhythm skills and their phonological awareness in kindergarten and second grade; and an investigation of whether kindergartners who receive intensive musical training demonstrate more phonological skills than kindergartners who receive less. Results indicated that rhythm skill was related to phonological segmentation skill at the beginning of kindergarten, and that children who received more music training during kindergarten showed improvement in a wider range of phonological awareness skills at the end of kindergarten than children with less training. Further, kindergartners’ rhythm ability was strongly related to their phonological awareness and basic word identification skills in second grade. We argue that rhythm sensitivity is a pre-cursor skill to oral language acquisition, and that the ability to perceive and manipulate time intervals in sound streams may link performance of rhythm and phonological tasks.     

Characterising the development of the understanding of human body systems in high-school biology students – a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students’ systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students’ system understanding was evaluated using the Components Mechanisms Phenomena (CMP) framework for conceptual representation. We coded and analysed the repertory grid personal constructs of 67 high-school biology students at 4 points throughout the study. Our data analysis builds on the assumption that systems understanding entails a perception of all the system categories, including structures within the system (its Components), specific processes and interactions at the macro and micro levels (Mechanisms), and the Phenomena that present the macro scale of processes and patterns within a system. Our findings suggest that as the learning process progressed, the systems understanding of our students became more advanced, moving forward within each of the major CMP categories. Moreover, there was an increase in the mechanism complexity presented by the students, manifested by more students describing mechanisms at the molecular level. Thus, the ‘mechanism’ category and the micro level are critical components that enable students to understand system-level phenomena such as homeostasis.     

Supervisor Impression Management: Message Content and Channel Effects on Impressions

The current study focuses on the delivery of negative feedback and how supervisors can accomplish that delivery while maintaining their own image and their employees' face. We look at delivery of feedback with and without face-saving messages through two different channels: face-to-face (FtF) and email. Results indicate that the inclusion of face-saving messages had relatively consistent positive effects on a variety of employees' impressions of supervisors. Channel was found to interact with message content to impact perceived face threat of a message and the perception of the supervisor's appropriateness. These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical applications, as are limitations and directions for future research.     

Re-conceptualising the concept of a nexus? A survey of 12 Scottish IS/IM academics’ perceptions of a nexus between teaching,research, scholarship and consultancy

Abstract

This article starts with a personal perspective written by Stephen Rowland. This is responded to in each of the four contributions which follow. In order to stimulate debate from a wide basis of experience, Catherine Byron, Frank Furedi, Nicky Padfield and Terry Smyth were invited to respond as academics from very different disciplinary backgrounds and types of Higher Education institution in the UK.

In a brief conclusion to the article, Stephen Rowland draws together the contributions. Questions are raised for further discussion, reflection and research amongst those concerned to develop higher education teaching, and to resist the managerialist discourse which dominates in this field.

We hope that the article will stimulate debate amongst readers of the journal from different parts of higher education at a time when the very purpose of higher education is itself in a state of flux. We suspect that the issues raised here apply in many countries and would particularly welcome a response from readers not in the UK.     

Empowering or disabling? Emotional reactions to assessment amongst part-time adult students

This article focuses on emotional reactions to learning and assessment. It draws on a qualitative research project involving first-generation adult students on a foundation degree programme. Endorsing the notion of emotional reactions as situated in participants' lived power relations, we map out emotional patterns to Semester 1 and then explore in more detail, participants' particular emotional reactions to assessment. We found three key themes: higher education assessment as an unknown risk; assessment success ‘out of the blue’ and assessment as trauma and euphoria. A major aspect of the project was to offer socially constructed pedagogic developments in response to these themes and nurture emotion as positive energy for transformation.     

BOOK REVIEWS

This paper presents findings from a collaborative evaluation project within a masters programme in professional education. The project aimed to increase knowledge of research methodologies and methods through authentic learning where participants worked in partnership with the tutor to evaluate the module which they were studying. The project processes, areas of the course evaluated and the data collection methods are outlined. The findings focus on key themes from evaluating the effectiveness of using a collaborative evaluation approach, including: enhanced student engagement; creativity of the collaborative evaluation approach; equality between the tutor and students; and enhanced research skills. Discussion focuses on the outcomes and effectiveness of the project and tutor reflections on adopting a collaborative approach. This paper highlights lessons from the project relevant to those interested in staff–student partnership approaches and those facilitating postgraduate learning and teaching programmes and educational research courses.

Cet article présente les résultats d’un projet collaboratif d’évaluation ayant eu lieu dans le cadre d’un programme de master en formation professionnelle. Le projet visait à accroître les connaissances des méthodes et méthodologies de recherche par l’entremise d’un apprentissage authentique dans le cadre duquel les participantes ?uvraient en partenariat avec le tuteur à l’évaluation du module auquel elles prenaient part. Les processus du projet, les parties du cours ayant été évaluées et les méthodes de collecte des données sont présentées. Les résultats se concentrent sur les thèmes principaux provenant de l’évaluation de l’efficacité d’une approche collaborative d’évaluation. Ceux‐ci comprennent : l’engagement accru des étudiantes ; la créativité de l’approche collaborative d’évaluation ; l’égalité entre le tuteur et les étudiantes ; et les compétences de recherche développées. La discussion porte sur : les résultats et l’efficacité du projet de même que des réflexions du tuteur au sujet de l’adoption d’une approche collaborative. L’article met en lumière les leçons tirées de ce projet pouvant être pertinentes pour ceux qui seraient intéressés par les approches de partenariat enseignant‐étudiant et pour ceux qui ont la charge de programmes de 2e ou 3e cycle en pédagogie universitaire ou de cours de recherche en éducation.     

“Unhomely” Academic Developer Identities: More post‐colonial explorations

Academic developers are very often disciplinary migrants, performing hybrid, liminal roles at the “fault lines” between teachers and learners, between academics and managers, and between teaching and research. As a result, their identities as scholars can be described as “unhomely.” While this in‐between space is uncomfortable and ambiguous, its deconstructive power lends itself to “thinking at or beyond the limit” of current teaching and learning discourses. This article seeks to apply the post‐colonial notion of “unhomeliness” to academic development so that we can more critically understand academic‐developer identities and how the relentless march of performativity impacts on them. The article also explores some deconstructive possibilities inherent in the liminal educational development zone that may bring back the playfulness of exploring transgressive ideas about teaching and learning.

Les conseillers pédagogiques sont très souvent des étrangers à la discipline, jouant des rôles hybrides ou à la limite des « lignes de faute » entre les enseignants et les apprenants, entre les universitaires et les gestionnaires, et entre l’enseignement et la recherche. Le résultat est que leurs identités en tant que chercheurs peuvent être décrites comme « non accueillantes ». Tandis que cet espace intermédiaire est inconfortable et ambigu, son pouvoir déconstructif se prête à une pensée « à/au‐delà de la limite » des discours actuels sur l’enseignement et l’apprentissage. Cet article cherche à appliquer la notion postcoloniale du « non accueillant » au développement pédagogique de façon à ce que nous puissions comprendre de manière davantage critique les identités du conseiller pédagogique ainsi que l’impact, sur ceux‐ci, de la marche implacable vers la performativité. Cet article explore aussi les possibilités déconstructives inhérentes à la zone liminale de développement pédagogique, lesquelles sont en mesure de ramener l’espièglerie sous‐jacente à l’exploration d’idées transgressives au sujet de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage.