A behavioristic interpretation of language

This essay argues that Bitzer's situational theory provides non‐deterministic causal explanations of rhetoric by recognizing the operation of external and internal factors upon rhetors and audiences, including the necessary role of perception. Understood in this way, the theory accounts for forms of rhetorical creativity through the definition of controlling elements of situations, for the production of rhetoric as purposive action, and for the degree of accuracy or clarity with which observable features of situations have been interpreted.     

Bridging the teacher/researcher divide: Master’s-level work in initial teacher education

There is much current debate about the purpose and usefulness of educational research and the perceived communication gap between teaching professionals and academic researchers. UK government intervention into initial teacher education has in recent decades contributed to this divide by favouring school-based training. The most common route into teaching in England remains, however, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, provided by higher education institutions and therefore required to comply with the higher education qualifications framework. The majority of initial teacher education in England therefore lies at the cusp of these two worlds, pulled in apparently opposing directions. The ‘teacher-as-researcher’ movement is widely seen as a bridge spanning these tensions, though there is discussion about the quality of practitioner research as well as about the appropriateness of a rigorous academic approach for investigating practice. This article offers examples of the use of small-scale research projects as a valid means of ‘discovery learning’ in pre-service teacher education. It argues that induction into research techniques as a means of exploring practical challenges can lead to knowledge production and ownership.     

Maintaining a Social‐Emotional Intervention and Its Benefits for Institutionalized Children

This article reports the maintenance of one of the largest interventions conducted in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) orphanages for children birth to 4 years using regular caregiving staff. One orphanage received training plus structural changes, another training only, and a third business as usual. The intervention produced substantial differences between these institutions on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory and on the Battelle Developmental Inventory scores for children. These institutional differences in HOME scores (N = 298) and Battelle scores for children (N = 357) departing the institutions for families in St. Petersburg and the United States were maintained for at least 6 years after the intervention project. This result may be associated with certain features of the intervention and activities conducted during the follow‐up interval.     

In the public eye: Swedish school inspection and local newspapers: exploring the audit–media relationship

This paper focuses on the dual dependencies apparent at the intersection of the media society and the audit society by empirically exploring and discussing the relationship between Swedish local newspaper coverage and school inspection activities. The research questions pertain to the Inspectorate’s media strategy, how inspection is represented and conveyed, the messages sent, and who gets to speak. Literature on governance, and the role and function of the media in the wider audit society is applied theoretically. Four municipalities were selected to represent different demographical and economical structures and previous inspection experiences. The empirical material includes interviews with leading inspection officers and newspaper articles. The local newspapers portray the Inspectorate as a legitimate institution acting on behalf of and protecting the public, and even more so, the educational consumer. The current format used by the Inspectorate – a succinct reporting only on deviations – links with a favored format of the media, reinforcing the tight media–inspection relationship and leading to implications for education governance and policy.     

An Educator's Guide to the Development of Advanced Practice Competencies in Clinical Social Work

The 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards identified 10 core competencies that all social work graduates should master. MSW programs found themselves with a need to identify knowledge, values, and skill statements that reflected what concentration-year students were expected to know and be able to do. In 2009 a group of educators convened at the Council on Social Work Education in Alexandria, VA to develop a model of advanced practice in clinical social work. This article describes the work group's process; identifies and describes the resulting advanced clinical knowledge, values, and skills statements; discusses the key debates and issues that arose during the development of the statements; and concludes with the implications for social work education and practice.     

Exploring Changes in Student Engagement through the RULER Approach: An Examination of Students at Risk of Academic Failure

The present paper examines if developmental pathways for students at risk for academic failure can be improved through social and emotional learning (SEL). Specifically, we test this hypothesis by accounting for shifts in student engagement, a highly studied and malleable construct often inclusive of SEL interventions, as the pathway by which to impact student achievement outcomes. Using longitudinal data from a randomized control trial, we identified students at risk for school failure (n?=?318) within a larger sample of fifth graders (N?=?1,352). Multigroup path model revealed that participation in RULER significantly impacted the relationship between student engagement and conduct behaviors for at risk students: students who experienced RULER demonstrated increased engagement a year later (at sixth grade) and improved conduct the following year (in seventh grade). The potential for and limitations of SEL programs on developmental trajectories for students at risk for school failure are discussed.     

Beginning literacy: links among teacher knowledge, teacher practice, and student learning

Although the importance of phonological awareness has been discussed widely in the research literature, the concept is not well understood by many classroom teachers. In the study described here, we worked with groups of kindergarten and first-grade teachers (the experimental group) during a 2-week summer institute and throughout the school year. We shared with them research about learning disabilities and effective instruction, stressing the importance of explicit instruction in phonological and orthographic awareness. We followed the experimental group and a control group into their classrooms for a year, assessing teachers' classroom practices and their students' (n = 779) learning. The study yielded three major findings: We can deepen teachers' own knowledge of the role of phonological and orthographic information in literacy instruction; teachers can use that knowledge to change classroom practice; and changes in teacher knowledge and classroom practice can improve student learning.     

Education and assessment in Sweden

Education and assessment in Swedish schools have been affected by several reforms during the last two decades. The educational system has moved from centralization to decentralization and a goal‐oriented approach has been introduced on all educational levels. This paper provides an historical overview of the Swedish educational system, educational and assessment policies and principles, to explain why and how the reforms have been carried out. This is followed by a discussion on the effects and consequences of recent reforms, based on findings in recent education and assessment research.