Watching transitions unfold: a mixed-method study of transitions within early childhood care and education settings

Unlike the transitions children make between settings, those they undertake between age groups within early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings are seldom studied. Accordingly, this exploratory study followed seven preschool children (three boys and four girls) as they moved to new rooms in five ECCE settings. Structured observations of children’s behaviour were collected along with semi-structured parent interviews and participatory child interviews. All boys and one girl demonstrated increased anxiety behaviours following transitions. This gender difference was mirrored in parental reports of negative affect and aggression in sons, but independence and assertiveness amongst daughters. Families also reported shifts in children’s identity from expert to novice and a sense of becoming ‘big’. Interviews highlighted the challenges and opportunities underlying transitions, and parents provided a rich overview of the factors they believed support and hinder transitions, emphasising the importance of strong home-centre connections. These exploratory findings suggest that internal ECCE transitions may be unique junctures in children’s ECCE experiences.     

Data Collection Strategies and Measurement Tools for Assessing Academic and Therapeutic Outcomes in Recovery Schools

Accurate evaluation and documentation of the efficacy of recovery schools can be vital to the continuation and expansion of these beneficial resources. A very limited data set currently exists that examines the value of specific schools established to support adolescents and young adults in recovery; additional research is necessary. The following article outlines the methodology utilized in a current quasi-experimental study evaluating both academic and therapeutic outcomes of adolescents attending recovery high schools as compared to traditional (non-recovery-based) high schools. The developmental considerations in assessing adolescents in recovery and their parents is delineated in this article, which underscores the need for extensive knowledge of adolescent substance abuse and other mental health issues. In addition, sensitivity around privacy among adolescents, parents, schools, and health providers is highlighted, as well as the validity of assessment. Key assessment strategies, including protocol of recruitment and interviewing techniques, are also presented along with a list of parent and adolescent assessment instruments and their corresponding interpretive variables. Protocol recommendations for future research are also outlined.     

Pedagogy to empower Chinese Learners to adapt to western learning circumstances: a longitudinal case-study

Deficit theorisations of Chinese Learners studying in western countries are criticised for dichotomising learning attributes into Surface- or Deep-learning approaches. Subsequent context-dependent, small culture studies of students transiting between cultures theorise learning as a dynamic journey of adapting to a range/continuum of learning attributes. Here we employ the transformative learning theory to examine whether pedagogical interventions could facilitate adaptation to deeper learning strategies by couching discipline-specific detail/facts within the discipline’s theoretical structure. Our longitudinal case-study of Chinese Learners in an Australian tertiary institution revealed that (1) Achievement-motivated CLs were more likely to harness the benefits of this discipline-specific pedagogical intervention and move towards independent, student-centred learning than Surface-motivated CLs; (2) Achievement-motivated CLs were less likely to normalise teacher-centredness than Surface-motivated CLs despite being exposed to examination tips early in their enrolment; and (3) fluency in the host language is instrumental to adapting successfully to deeper learning.     

The role of education in peacebuilding: an analysis of five change theories in Sierra Leone

This paper raises a number of critical questions regarding the contribution of education to peacebuilding. Despite recent calls for greater collaboration between the two fields, there is still a lack of clarity regarding the change theories through which education may contribute to peacebuilding processes. This paper outlines developments over the past decade in the field of education and conflict, before identifying five rationales for the ways in which education contributes to peacebuilding. The second half of the paper examines the translation of these rationales into practice. Sierra Leone is often regarded as a success story of UN peacebuilding and, 10 years post-agreement, offers the opportunity to examine a broad range of programming. Using data gathered during a two-week field study (17–28 January, 2011), the paper reflects on five education programmes that operated in Sierra Leone in the post-conflict period. Semi-structured interviews were held with project personnel and beneficiaries, educational officials, students and graduates, community leaders and UN personnel to assess views on the contribution of education to peacebuilding, the rationales informing projects and challenges to implementation. A number of critical questions are raised regarding the lessons learned by the international community, its tendency to pursue its own agendas and its commitment to conflict transformation through peacebuilding.     

Group work and the learning of critical thinking in the Hong Kong secondary liberal studies curriculum

This article reports the findings of a one-year longitudinal study that investigated the impact of group work on the development of students’ critical thinking in Hong Kong secondary schools. It explores whether the participation of teachers in a group-based teaching intervention adapted from an earlier study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) facilitated students’ use of critical arguments in Liberal Studies lessons. In addition to examining students’ critical thinking skills through test performance and the use of reasoned justifications in written class-work, the article also discusses the applicability to the Hong Kong context of the programme on which the intervention was based. In general, the results of the study indicate that group work is more effective than whole-class instruction in developing students’ critical-thinking skills and that students make better progress in ‘teacher-supported’ than ‘student self-directed’ group work.     

Changes in children’s cognitive development at the start of school in England 2001–2008

Since 1997, England has seen massive changes in the Early Years including the introduction of an early childhood curriculum, free pre‐school education for three‐year‐olds and local programmes for disadvantaged communities. Many of these initiatives took time to introduce and become established. Beginning in 2001, and each year thereafter until 2008, the authors collected consistent data from thousands of children when they started school at the age of four on a range of variables, chosen because they are good predictors of later success. These included vocabulary, early reading and early mathematics. Children from the same set of 472 state primary schools in England were assessed each year. This paper contributes to the existing studies of educational trends over time by examining the extent to which children’s scores on these measures changed over that period; in general, they were found to have remained stable.     

The lay sister in educational history and memory

A tiered and hierarchical system of membership has in the past characterized many Catholic religious teaching orders.¹ In women's orders, those who undertook domestic duties were usually referred to as lay sisters. Those who undertook teaching and administrative duties were called choir nuns. Histories of Catholic education have tended to include scant references to the system and virtually no systematic exploration of its meaning in the culture of Catholic schools. The aim of this paper is to provide an exploration of the construction of lay sisters in a particular religious order and school setting. The exploration is informed by poststructuralist theory; in particular, notions of ‘discourse as practice’, the symbiotic and hierarchical relationship between the binary oppositions, individual consciousness as the site of the discursive struggle, and investment in discourse. These notions are drawn upon to explore the construction of the category of lay sister within educational histories, texts that pertain to the order in question and interviews undertaken with choir nuns, one lay sister, ex-students and ancillary staff. The narrative of one lay sister is explored in order to locate her understanding of the construction.     

Reflections on a Job-Shadowing Experience

Various studies from the past 30 years indicate that the number of new, qualified catalogers is dwindling. This article explores the reasons why library students are being deterred from specializing in cataloging and suggests methods to improve the situation. One highly recommended solution is for library schools to promote job shadowing. Shadowing is a career exploration tool that can be beneficial for both students and practitioners. Both authors have experienced the benefits of shadowing and offer their perspectives on being a shadow and a host.