Teachers’ spaces for coping with change in the context of a reform effort

In this paper, we are interested in the emotional responses of teachers in the context of a reform effort, and our study is oriented toward describing the significance of these responses with respect to the space teachers create to deal with reform in their school. Our interest for educational reform incorporates and builds on the work of spatial theories and theories of emotions in education, and most notably the work of Andy Hargreaves whose conceptualization of “emotional geographies” provides an insightful link between emotion and space. This is done through a 2-year ethnographic study with six teachers that were involved in science program restructuring in their school. In this study, we explore three aspects of the spaces for coping with change that were created by this group of elementary teachers: (1) time and space as sources of social and emotional support; (2) teacher collegiality and trust; and (3) teachers’ moral values and concerns. Finally, this paper explores the implications for practice and policy from the development of spaces for teachers to process their feelings about change.

Social mobility: The potential of a genealogical approach

This article highlights the potential of taking a genealogical approach to researching social mobility based on empirical insights generated from a qualitative case study in a secondary school located in the South East of England. The study involved interviews with 42 students and the data lead to a deeper understanding of the role of families in inter- and intra-generational social movement. We begin by highlighting some limitations in existing research on social mobility. Next, the role of households and families in conditioning an individual's identity, dispositions, aspirations and choices is emphasised. We then present findings from the analysis of 42 genealogical work histories over three generations and explore the role of education and family background in shaping young people's employment aspirations. We argue that education has had little impact on overall mobility rates and suggest that whilst education has a significant role in mediating social mobility, the importance of family context should not be overlooked.     

Investigating Antecedents to the Experience of Flow and Reported Learning Among Social Networking Site Users

Using an online survey (N = 888), this study investigated if the experience of flow mediated the influence of perceived social networking site credibility and social capital affinity (the sense of community and likeness felt for people online) on perceived focused and incidental knowledge gain among social networking sites users. The findings indicated that flow acted as a partial mediator in this context. However, social capital affinity strongly predicted perceived social networking site credibility and flow. Both perceived social networking site credibility and flow were predictors of perceived focused learning while social capital affinity was a strong, direct predictor of perceived incidental knowledge gain in this sample.     

The Reality of Sustaining Community-Based Sport and Physical Activity Programs to Enhance the Development of Underserved Youth: Challenges and Potential Strategies

Many community-based sport and physical activity programs take a positive youth development approach when operating in underserved communities around the world (Forneris, Whitley, & Barker, 2013). However, one of the biggest challenges for these programs is sustainability (Lindsey, 2008). The purpose of this article is to present the 3 authors’ experiences related to program sustainability when working with community-based sport and physical activity programs using a positive youth development approach in underserved communities. The authors describe the challenges faced with program sustainability, including ineffective development approaches, building strong relationships with community partners, knowledge translation, and securing funding. Also described are the strategies used to overcome these challenges, such as planning, capacity building, recruitment, and evaluation. This article is intended to stimulate more open and honest discussions about the realities of positive youth development program sustainability around the world.     

Group procedures and applications for developing sociocultural competencies among immigrants

If immigrants are to get the best results in theirsocial and work worlds, they must possess not only therelevant cultural information, but also the requisitebehavioural skills inherent in the novel social rolesthat people acquire as members of the new country. This paper argues that the preferred training modelfor developing such competencies is one which utilizesrole-based learning in groups and incorporates aspectsof group counselling theory and practice. Effectivefacilitators of these immigrant groups should beskilled group leaders competent in taking participantsthrough the four stages - alliance building, culturalmapping, coaching and practice, and contract setting - involved in teaching each of severalkey sociocultural competencies. Group leaders will need to performparticular types of task and maintenance functions,and facilitate the development of group inclusion,control, and trust. To achieve this, facilitators arerecommended to use a range of micro skills for groupleading, processing, and counselling.     

Academic Adjustment and Learning Processes: a comparison of international and local students in first‐year university

This article examines the academic adjustment and learning processes of international and local first‐year students. Twenty first‐year local and international students participated in a semi‐structured interview study upon the completion of their first year in a Faculty of Commerce and Management. Students reported positive and negative critical incidents which helped or hindered their learning during the first year. In addition, students described their feelings, thoughts and behaviours in relation to these incidents. Critical incidents were coded, themes identified, and comparisons made across local and international student groups. The impact of particular teaching processes are considered, and implications for teaching and learning in the first year are discussed.     

The analytical determination of friction for flow through conical converging dies

The effects of friction upon the intermediate and final distorted grids for wire drawing and/or extrusion were analytically studied for an assumed triangular velocity field. An upper-bound solution for the process was used. This solution predicted that the shape of the final and intermediate distorted grids were functions of the process geometry and of friction. Initially, combinations of reduction and semi-cone angle (α) were found for which the triangular velocity field was energetically preferred over an existing spherical velocity field. The analytical final distorted grids were then compared to experimentally obtained final distorted grids to determine the experimental friction. This was done by plotting calibration curves for distortion where friction served as the parameter and by comparing the actual distortion with the family of calibration curves.     

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Intercultural Communication Competence

This study examined the process of developing intercultural communication competence (ICC) with particular attention to cross-cultural differences in communication patterns. A qualitative approach involving 40 interviews with Americans living in Sweden and Swedes living in the US was employed in order to gain a nuanced, in-depth, and contextual understanding of how immigrants and expatriates experience the process. Several differences in verbal and nonverbal communication patterns between the two cultures emerged. The findings provide insights into how ICC is developed differently across cultures, as well as how the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of ICC are interrelated and influenced by culture-specific aspects.     

‘Who cares?’ Gender,care and secondary schooling: ‘Accidental findings’ from a seclusion unit

A breadth of research explores gendered professional identities, practices and spaces across a range of UK educational institutions. One focus has been on links between gender, care and education in early years settings and primary schools, although less attention has been given to caring within secondary schools. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in London within an in-school seclusion unit, this article brings together a Lefebvrian conceptualisation of space with feminist theorisations of care to explore how the unit (conceived as a space of control, discipline and punishment) also became an unlikely space of care. In doing so, the article explores complex intersections between gender and care and how everyday caring practices in schools are inextricably linked to and embedded within broader institutional and spatial agendas and processes.