Perceptions of the school self-evaluation process: the case of Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has initiated educational change and school improvements. As part of the school reform agenda, ADEC has introduced school self-evaluation-Irtiqaa (SSE-Irtiqaa). This research probes the effectiveness of school administrators (SAs), including principals, vice principals, academic principals, and heads of faculty, and their perceptions of the implications and implementation of SSE-Irtiqaa. The study also intends to improve school quality and help benchmark Abu Dhabi public schools with international academic standards, by tracing challenges faced during the SSE-Irtiqaa process. Public SAs are the participants of this study. This research is an exploratory case study that employed a qualitative research tool. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 14 administrators representing 6 public schools in Abu Dhabi. Findings and recommendations shed light on the areas and paths of development required to facilitate and improve the SSE-Irtiqaa process.     

Feedback loops and the longer-term: towards feedback spirals

A key challenge for feedback practice involves promoting student uptake through the closing of feedback loops. This paper investigates feedback loops by using the concepts of single and double-loop learning to interrogate student responses to feedback. Single-loop learning tackles an identified problem or task, whereas double-loop learning additionally re-evaluates how the problem or task is approached. Evidence from a five-year longitudinal enquiry into four undergraduate students’ experiences of feedback is used to analyse feedback loops. Students reported a variety of experiences: failing to engage significantly with end-of-semester comments; short-term uptake within modules which had two assignments; and longer-term efforts at improving their learning strategies. A model of long-term student engagement with feedback is proposed, including single-loop feedback processes, double-loop feedback processes and unresolved learning puzzles. Whereas feedback loops are mainly focused on the shorter-term, it is suggested that feedback spirals represent an alternative way of analysing complex, iterative longer-term learning processes. Implications for practice focus on student self-regulation and the development of student feedback literacy.     

Using Markov Chain Analyses in Counselor Education Research

This study examined the efficacy of an infrequently used statistical analysis in counselor education research. A Markov chain analysis was used to examine hypothesized differences between students' use of counseling skills in an introductory course. Thirty graduate students participated in the study. Independent raters identified the microskills students used and the effectiveness of participants' counseling sessions. Significant differences were found in the counseling processes of students who were rated as effective and ineffective using a Markov chain analysis. Implications for future research using Markovian analyses in counselor education research are explored.     

SCAN: A method of community collaboration

Recent research has highlighted the complexity of the battered child syndrome. Clinical experience suggests that treatment of troubled families is a long-term process, draining financial resources of agencies and emotional resources of professionals. The need to provide support and case consultation to professionals working in the area of child abuse and neglect evolved in the establishment, in 1968, of the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Program at Children's Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This program provides an effective method of intervention through identification, consultation, referral and follow-up of at-risk families. Weekly meetings offer multi-disciplinary case coordination, treatment recommendations, and a channel of communication for representatives of community agencies. This paper traces the history and present status of the SCAN Program, as well as the role of SCAN as a force for change of community attitudes.     

An afterschool intervention program for educationally disadvantaged young children

The research investigated the premise that if educationally disadvantaged children experience increased instructional time combined with an educational setting that is sensitive to their culture and that provides perceptions of control, enhanced achievement and interest in learning will result. The research setting was the Hilltop Emergent Literacy Project (HELP), an afterschool educational program serving poor, mostly African American five- to nine-year-olds (kindergarten to third grade) who reside in a subsidized apartment complex. A treatment group of 12 kindergartners was compared to a control group of 12 kindergartners. In the spring of kindergarten, the treatment group was outperforming the control group on standardized test scores, but both groups were below national norms. In the spring of first grade, the treatment group was still outperforming the control group and was above national norms in some areas. Report card data and qualitative indicators also provide evidence of the effectiveness of the program.We thank the Hilltop Emergent Literacy Project (HELP) head teachers Teresa Bunge and Diana Reamsnyder, the HELP students, and the many graduate and undergraduate students who have served at HELP. This program was partially funded through grants from the University of Toledo, Ohio Board of Regents, General Mills Foundation, and Toledo Public Schools.     

Some ‘Spill‐over’ Effects of a Home‐based Reinforcement Programme in a Secondary School

Abstract A home‐based reinforcement (H‐BR) programme was carried out in a secondary school to increase rule‐following and work completed by two groups of disruptive students. Of particular interest was whether the positive effects of the programme on target students would ‘spill‐over’ to equally disruptive control students in the same classes. The results showed highly significant improvements in the work and behaviour of both sets of target students but positive ‘spill‐over’ effects on controls were only apparent in one of the classes. Possible explanations for this are discussed. It is concluded that the already considerable value of H‐BR programmes in secondary schools as minimal intervention techniques would be enhanced even more if ‘spill‐over’ effects on non‐targeted, classroom sub‐groups could be planned for, rather than hoped for.