Development to learning: semantic shifts in professional autonomy and school leadership

In the digital age, technology is playing an important role in changing the nature of professionalism. Newer forms of professional learning stand in contrast to more traditional forms of professional development. The shifting paradigm has implications for school leaders in all contexts. This study sought to qualitatively examine how a sample of eight school leaders worked to support professional learning in their school communities and leverage tools in areas such as content aggregation, media creation, blogging and social media. In one-on-one and focus group interviews, participants discussed how technology is changing professional learning in their context and reflected on how their leadership has evolved in response to perceived challenges. Findings suggest that school leaders are aware of the importance of supporting professional learning through multiple device platforms, online networks and opportunities to play, and experiment with technology. Current issues identified include the need to shift from “buyer” to “driver” mindsets and to respond to the increasing role of popular thinkers whose ideas are amplified through online channels, such as social media.     

What is it about education that makes us healthy? Exploring the education-health connection

Reviews of the evidence conclude that correlations exist between measures of education and physical health and that a substantial element of this correlation results from the effects of learning upon health. Closer examination reveals that the correlations between education and health change across levels of education, and depend upon when during the life course education is experienced, the type of health condition and the national context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate these variations with a view to developing fuller understanding of the mechanisms through which learning affects physical and psychological health. Such an understanding throws light upon the importance of context in relation to the impacts of education upon health.     

Doctors diagnose,teachers label: the unexpected in pre-service teachers’ talk about labelling children with ADHD

A study in an Australian university investigated 150 pre-service teachers’ responses to and participation in discourses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Interesting data surfaced around the notion of ‘labelling’ children with ADHD. It seemed that the pre-service teachers did not believe ‘ADHD’ to be a label. Whilst the literature reviewed acknowledged diagnosing a child with ADHD to be tantamount to labelling (that is, ‘ADHD’ is a medical diagnostic label), the pre-service teachers in this study differentiated diagnosis from labelling and cast labelling as occurring in the classroom sometime pre- or post- diagnosis. Speaking of diagnosis and labelling in this way re-defines an object of dominant labelling discourse: ‘doctor as labeller’ is replaced with notions of ‘teacher as labeller’. Using Foucault’s ‘rules of discursive formations’ to frame its analysis, this study pondered the pre-service teachers’ conceptions of labelling and in doing so revealed a ‘teacher as labeller’ discursive formation. This article provides examples of how this discursive formation features in pre-service teachers’ talk and outlines an important implication of the ‘teacher as labeller’ discursive formation, namely that it enables teachers to cement their role in the ADHD medical diagnostic apparatus.     

History

EDISON'S ELECTRIC LIGHT: BIOGRAPHY OF AN INVENTION by Robert Friedel, et al. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1986—$27.95 until July 1st, then $35)

ENGINEERS & ELECTRONS: A CENTURY OF ELECTRICAL PROGRESS by John D. Ryder and Donald G. Fink (IEEE Press, 345 East 47th St., New York 10017—price not given)

THE MAKING OF A PROFESSION: A CENTURY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN AMERICA by A. Michal McMahon (New York: IEEE Press, see address to left, 1984—price not given)

IBM'S EARLY COMPUTERS by Charles J. Bashe, et al (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986—$27.50)

THE POWER OF THE PRESS: THE BIRTH OF AMERICAN POLITICAL REPORTING by Thomas C. Leonard (New York: Oxford, 1986—$22.50)     

Accountability and accomplished teaching: Researching the chartered teacher programme in Scotland

The Scottish chartered teacher programme (2003–2011) is an important example of a national policy designed to support the development of ‘accomplished teaching’. This paper provides an account of the emergence of the programme before discussing how the impact of such a scheme might be assessed and thus rendered accountable. The difficulties of developing valid and reliable methodologies for ensuring accountability are explored, including an account of a pilot research project and an indication of what the international literature may reveal about such aspirations. The paper concludes with a summary of four major challenges facing researchers who wish to offer insights that are of use to policy-makers and practitioners.     

Augmented Reality for Teaching Science Vocabulary to Postsecondary Education Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Autism

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of an emerging technology called augmented reality to teach science vocabulary words to college students with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders. One student with autism and three students with an intellectual disability participated in a multiple probe across behaviors (i.e., acquisition of science vocabulary words) design. Data were collected on each student's ability to define and label three sets of science vocabulary words (i.e., bones, organs, and plant cells). The results indicate that all students acquired definition and labeling knowledge for the new science vocabulary terms. Results are discussed in the context of applying universal design principles with emerging technologies to create authentic opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders to learn science vocabulary. (Keywords: augmented reality, autism, intellectual disability, science vocabulary, universal design for learning)     

School belonging among low‐income urban youth with disabilities: Testing a theoretical model

Positive school environments and school belonging have been associated with a variety of positive academic, social, and psychological outcomes among youth. Yet, it is not clear how these constructs are related, and few studies have focused on urban at‐risk youth with disabilities. This study examines baseline survey data from 136 low‐income African American and Latino students in grades 5 to 12, most of whom have disabilities, recently transferred following a school closure. Using structural equation modeling, we tested a model that examined the relationships among school stressors and resources, school belonging, academic outcomes (school satisfaction and academic self‐efficacy), and psychological outcomes (anxiety and depression). This model was an excellent fit with the data, and findings indicate that school belonging plays a central role in explaining how school context can affect both psychological and academic outcomes. This model has implications for school‐based interventions that can enhance student success and well‐being. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.