A School—University Collaborative Journey Toward Relevance and Meaning in an Urban High School Physical Education Program

The promise and potential for collaborative teams of school and university colleagues to address substantive issues in physical education were the focus of an international conference and a series of high-profile articles in the late 80s and early 90s. However, school-university partnerships have seldom focused on school reform. Few scholars address secondary school physical education, save for the occasional article describing its eminent demise. Successful implementation of innovative practices, such as curricular and instructional revisions, requires significant investments in teacher development. This paper details a specific collaborative effort in physical education that makes a case for systematic long-term commitments to improve young people's physical education experiences. Stories from a 4-year collaborative highlight the complexities and challenges faced by any subdisciplinary group that commits to connecting professional preparation and practice for the benefit of our respective constituencies.     

The Reflections of a Distance Learner 1977-1997

This paper explores one student's personal experience of the evolution of distance learning in the UK between 1977 and 1997. Reflecting on his experience, the author discusses the growth in opportunities available to the learner as more and more providers have entered the field; the changes in the nature of learning materials; differences in the assessment strategies adopted by the four different providers he studied with, and in learner support; and the extent to which the different providers exhibited degrees of openness. Based on this personal experience, the author discusses the changes that have taken place over 20 years: the increasing consumerism of the sector; the changes in the nature of the providers' response to the market, and in the nature of distance learners; and changes in the underpinning technology.     

Black Mathematics Educators: Researching Toward Racial Emancipation of Black Students

This article focuses on the scholarship of Black mathematics education researchers whose work focuses on Black students in P–20 mathematics spaces. We conducted a metasynthesis literature review of empirical studies by Black mathematics education researchers. The authors utilized critical theories of race and racism to aid in the synthesis of the literature. The Black researchers we reviewed challenged the perspective that failure and limited persistence in Black students who are learning and participating in mathematics is normative. As a critical defense, these scholars offer research that problematizes test score data, race and racism, opportunities to learn mathematics, identity considerations, and other constructs that produce unequal effects in mathematics learning. We found that Black mathematics education researchers strategically disrupt the deficit narrative about Black students. Black scholars select theoretical frameworks that allow them to focus on race and how racism operates in mathematics education. We present this research to incite dialogue among all mathematics educators about improving the mathematical context for Black students.     

The Scope for Stimulation of Demand for Higher Education

Calls for the large-scale expansion of British higher education raise fundamental questions about supply and demand. An increase of 400,000 students by the turn of the century would require action both to stimulate demand and encourage institutions to meet it. This article considers the main types of market that higher education will need to develop in order to fulfil such an ambitious target and concludes that a very substantial marketing effort would be needed in addition to financial incentives if the opportunities available are to be grasped.