Parental collaboration in relation to children’s school lives – advanced regulation or an opportunity for solidarity?

Abstract

Parental collaboration is both promoted for enhancing children’s performance and criticized for reproducing educational inequality. The issue of parental collaboration, thus, presents an opportunity to discuss theoretical differences in current debates about education, notably the educational consequences of social background and governmentality. The article emphasizes the conflictual nature of children’s school lives and analyzes the social interplay between the involved subjects, who are connected through their engagement in common matters and concerns. Our analysis challenges approaches inspired by Bourdieu that analyze the social reproduction of inequality in terms of discrepancies between parental style and the culture of the school. It also raises questions about the Foucauldian perspective which regards policies and practices of parental collaboration as means to govern parents. Through a discussion of these analyses, the article shows how different ways of conceptualizing parental collaboration offer different opportunities for organizing collaboration and dealing with the historical problems of the school.     

Learner support: The critical link in distance education

This study evaluates the OklahomaTelevised Instruction System, through an analysis of the student support services to include the resources available to the learner, the communications process characterized by the co‐ordination services provided among the on‐campus and distance sites, and the communication process characterized by the mechanical and electronic transfer of information. The study also compares the attitudes and performance of the participating on‐campus and distance students.     

A frame of reference for understanding behaviors related to the academic misconduct of undergraduate teacher education students

The purposes of the present study were to develop a valid self-report survey instrument that would measure the academic misconduct construct and to determine if the instrument could be used effectively to identify different orientations of teacher education students relative to academic misconduct. In an effort to achieve these purposes, an instrument called the Academic Misconduct Survey (AMS) was developed to measure the self-reported academic misconduct behaviors of the respondents. This study was conducted usingR-technique factor analyses and alpha-reliability analyses during Phase I (n=330) to investigate the clustering of variables within the AMS, and Q-technique factor analyses during Phase II (n=90) to investigate the clustering of persons into recognizable prototypes using data obtained from the AMS. Respondents in both phases were undergraduate teacher education students at several selected institutions of higher learning. Phase I results indicated that the instrument measured academic misconduct across five constructs: cheating on tests and assignments, inappropriate use of resources, quasi-misconduct, subtle manipulation, and bold manipulation. The second phase resulted in the identification of several interpretable clusters of persons, ranging from self-proclaimed noncheaters to those who indicated clear propensity toward various types of misconduct.     

COMMUNITY CO‐OPERATION IN BIBLE TEACHING

Even though classified as a new phenomenon, Islamic counseling is actually as old as the Islamic preaching activities among the people. It is because of counseling genuinely is an essential part from the religious activities as depict in a number of Islamic spiritual terminologies. For the context of Moslems society, the existence of institutionalize Islamic counseling occurred since the establishment of boarding schools. The increasing complexity of people's life is parallel with the increase of needs on the Islamic counseling.     

Mobile telephone ownership and usage among 10- and 11-year-olds

Abstract

This study investigated cellular mobile phone ownership among a sample of primary school pupils (N = 351). Results showed nearly half of both girls and boys owned mobiles. While only 19% had self-funded the mobile purchase, almost 50% had paid for their own top-up cards. 45% spent between £5 and £10 monthly on call charges. The favourite call destinations were parents. 38% reported they had used their mobile when confronted by a crisis.The large majority both sent and received text messages, and about 1 in 5 were able to send texts via the Internet and/or search the net. 11% admitted to receiving either a rude message (4%) or a threat (7%). Furthermore, 17% had been sent a frightening message, and 14% admitted to sending one. To conclude, concerns are raised that non-ownership of mobile phones may lead to social exclusion as well as limit pupils’ involvement with and proficiency in using other communication technologies.