Personalised learning: lessons to be learnt

Personalised learning is now broadly endorsed as a key strategy to improve student curricular engagement and academic attainment, but there is also strong critique of this construct. We review claims made for this approach, as well as concerns about its conceptual coherence and effects on different learner cohorts. Drawing on literature around differentiation of the curriculum, self‐regulated learning, and ‘relational agency’ we propose a framework for conceptualising and enacting this construct. We then report on an attempt to introduce personalised learning as one strategy, among several, to improve student academic performance and wellbeing in four low SES regional secondary schools in Australia. We report on a survey of 2407 students’ perceptions of the extent to which their school provided a personalised learning environment, and a case study of a programme within one school that aimed to apply a personalised approach to the mathematics curriculum. We found that while there were ongoing challenges in this approach, there was also evidence of success in the mathematics case.     

Reliability of the Emotion-Related Parenting Styles Scale Across Gender and Parent Status Groups

Research Findings: Emotional and social competence are critical to a child’s current and future well-being. A. D. Paterson et al. (2012 Paterson, A. D., Babb, K. A., Camodeca, A., Goodwin, J., Hakim-Larson, J., Voelker, S., &; Gragg, M. (2012). Emotion-Related Parenting Styles (ERPS): A short form for measuring parental meta-emotion philosophy. Early Education &; Development, 23, 583–602. doi:10.1080/10409289.2011.569316[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) studied a sample of mothers and proposed that an adult’s approach to the socialization of a child’s emotions can be summarized in his or her parenting style as measured by the Emotion-Related Parenting Styles (ERPS) scale. These styles are emotion approving, emotion disapproving, active socialization, and uncertain/ineffective socialization of negative emotions. This study aimed to determine whether the ERPS scale is a reliable measure of the emotion socialization styles of parents and non-parents of both genders. Participants were 521 undergraduate students—males (n = 76), females (n = 445), parents (n = 290), non-parents (n = 231)—with a mean age of 32.26 years (SD = 9.92, range = 18–61 years). There were no significant differences between the ERPS subscale scores of parents and non-parents, but males and younger adults showed higher disapproving and uncertain responses. The factor structure of the ERPS was confirmed for females. One factor was found to be unreliable for males. Practice or Policy: The ERPS is a reliable measure of the emotion socialization styles of females. Further research is required to establish the scale’s reliability with males.     

Does Poor Handwriting Conceal Literacy Potential in Primary School Children?

Handwriting is a complex skill that, despite increasing use of computers, still plays a vital role in education. It is assumed that children will master letter formation at a relatively early stage in their school life, with handwriting fluency developing steadily until automaticity is attained. The capacity theory of writing suggests that as automaticity develops, the proportion of working memory dedicated to the mechanics of handwriting is reduced, releasing capacity for the planning, composing and editing of content. This study examined the handwriting ability of 284 mainstream primary school children and explored possible associated factors. Correlations were found between poor handwriting, lower cognitive and literacy scores, and a longer duration for handwriting tasks. Giving children the opportunity to practise their handwriting sufficiently to increase the level of automaticity may release working memory to be applied to the cognitive demands of the task and may potentially raise their level of attainment.     

LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES FOR PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING TECH PREP

The fundamental purpose of the Tech Prep Education Act is to prepare students for rapid technological advances and the America's participation in a global economy. Technical preparation (Tech Prep) addresses this goal through a curriculum comprising mathematics, science, communications, and various related occupational cluster areas to bridge secondary with postsecondary education. Across the nation, approximately 800 local consortia formed during the 1992 fiscal year to receive federal funding to plan and implement these new educational programs. The present study was conducted to document the planning and implementation processes used in 17 Tech Prep consortia in a Midwest state. The three research objectives were to document (a) how planning and implementation processes occurred, (b) the roles of local Tech Prep project leaders who assumed responsibility for guiding these processes, and (c) the leaders’ perceptions of how various planning and implementation processes contributed to the development of effective Tech Prep programs. The findings from this research can assist local consortia in conducting planning and implementation processes for new Tech Prep programs.     

Similarities and Differences Between Public and Proprietary Postsecondary 2-Year Technical Institutions

Private and public 2-year technical colleges survive side-by-side within the same communities. However, little is known about their characteristics, similarities and differences. The question is whether the 2-year technical institutions are duplicating each other, or are they significantly different in their missions, admission requirements, academic programs, faculty, students, transfer ability, and cost of tuition? The knowledge of what sets them apart is important to prospective students and parents as they decide. This study compared and contrasted two 2-year postsecondary public and proprietary technical institutions in Terre Haute, Indiana on selected characteristics. The results indicate some similarities and major differences between the 2 types of colleges. Recommendations for choosing a 2-year postsecondary technical institution are provided.     

Difficult Conversations

It takes more than diversity of campus populations for individuals to interact in meaningful ways with others of different backgrounds. Debra Miretzky and Sharon Stevens share their experience launching a series of campus conversations focused on raising personal awareness and building relationships across difference.     

Academic developers: an academic tribe claiming their territory in higher education

In this paper we review the current debate regarding the work of academic developers in higher education and their rightful “place” in higher education, particularly with regard to notions of the discipline, research and scholarship of teaching. We describe and compare the work of discipline academics and academic developers and argue that the two are more similar to each other than different. We acknowledge the challenges and tensions that exist in the overlap between the domains of expertise of discipline academics and academic developers, and attempt to articulate sources of these tensions in a conceptual model. Ultimately we defend two propositions: (1) that academic developers are, by the nature of their work, academics, and (2) that the discipline that academic development is a part of, namely the discipline of higher education, is a legitimate academic discipline in its own right. The consequences of these two propositions are explored.     

How Students without Special Needs Perceive Social Inclusion of Children with Physical Impairments in Mainstream Schools: A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of students without special needs’ perspectives in promoting successful social inclusion strategies in the classroom, their perspectives are not well represented in the literature. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarise the perspectives of students without special needs around the social inclusion of students with physical impairments in mainstream classrooms, describe factors impacting these perspectives and identify research gaps. Five databases were searched and 6229 articles were screened for eligibility. Ten articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The findings suggest that students without special needs avoid interacting with students with physical impairments, and are less accepting and less willing to befriend a student with a physical impairment. Combined, there were 13 individual, interpersonal and contextual factors influencing these perspectives, which should be considered to inform future inclusion practices.