Can Legislation Reduce Gender Differences in Subject Choice? A Survey of GCSE and A level Entries Between 1970 and 1995

This paper investigates the extent of gender differences in subject choice patterns at GCSE and A level between 1970 and 1995. A Gender Inequality Index (GII) is derived to analyse national examination entry data, in particular to compare the impact of the Sex Discrimination Act and National Curriculum on the overall time trends. The paper finds that the GII slopes downwards over time, but that neither intervention had a significant impact on the rate of decline at A level and only the National Curriculum did so at GCSE level.     

Purchasers and Providers: The Impact of the NHS Reforms on Medical Schools

The introduction of the National Health Service (NHS) reforms, and more particularly of an internal market for the provision of health care to local populations, is continuing to impact on medical education and research in ways that create considerable challenges for university managers. The lack of an overarching framework of principles at national level means that they are having to negotiate outcomes and develop solutions to problems locally, with no guarantee of consistency across the country. Moreover, the market is not a totally free market, but subject to Government intervention when this is considered politically expedient. University managers'efforts to safeguard the interests of medical education nationally and institutionally may have salutary lessons for other areas of university activity, and provide an indication of future trends.     

What Is the Impact of Computer Literacy on the Academic Performance of D-learning Students？

Due to the globalization and the spread of the Internet, distance learning （D-learning） has gained extraordinary impulse in recent years by classes broadcasted by Websites and assignments fulfilled by students in their own computers. D-learning facilitates the access to education to those people who are working or have low buying power due to its reduced cost and time convenience. Although D-learning has existed in the world for over 150 years, only in the last decades, it has become the focus of academic studies and researches in a systematic way. In this context, the objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of computer literacy on the academic performance of the D-learning students of Faculdade lnterativa COC--EAD （COC--D-learning Interactive College）, P61o Lafaiete （Lafaiete Branch）, Ribeirao Preto. The research consisted of a questionnaire with 21 qualitative dichotomous questions, concerning the level of knowledge and mastery of information techdologies, besides the gender and academic performance （weighted average and marks of the last module）. The data were tabulated, being considered two main variables： （a） academic performance, represented by the marks of the last module; and （b） computer literacy, represented by the sum of the questions concerning this matter. The data were analyzed statistically, and the correlation between the two variables considered was analyzed by Pearson＇s Correlation Test. The interviews of the 54 interviewees （24 males （44.45%） and 30 females （55.55%）） taking the business administration course were analyzed. The correlation coefficient r = 0.303 indicates that there is a meaningful correlation between the students＇ academic performance （marks） and their computer literacy, that is, the greater the computer literacy, the better the marks obtained by these students in the D-learning course. D-learning has computing as its main tool, theretbre, the students with less computer literacy find barriers in D-learning, which o ref     

Us and them: Finding irony in our teaching methods

This paper reports a collaborative project to explore our work as teacher educators, an effort to reconstruct a stance for ourselves in relation to our students. Our analysis is aligned with feminist post-modern perspectives, involving a reflexive representation of our teaching identities. To collect these expressions, we kept a real-time dialogue journal, sitting together weekly over the course of a semester, writing to each other in conversation about our ongoing interactions with students. We reviewed these written records looking for contradictions in our talk about our students and our methods of instruction. This paper shares our discovery of the ironic in our desires for authoritative knowledge, effective methods, coherent organization, and harmonic relationships that mirrored our students' requests of us. We suggest the importance of planting seeds of irony alongside our teaching recommendations, so that our students might recognize and embrace the limitations of our authority. I wonder about the value in talking about what concerns us in our teaching. The labels we dredge up get us to the same old places where we win, students struggle, and colleagues don't get it. Well, I don't usually get it either. I mean, I think you can get used to an audience and figure out how to address it, and that might get you good course evaluations. But to what end? (Hinchman, 9 September 1995).