Twenty-first-century headteacher: pedagogue,visionary leader or both?

In recent years the UK secondary educational landscape has witnessed significant change, with the introduction of an ever-extending spectrum of competing government initiatives and policies. This has resulted in the steady erosion of the traditionally recognised role of headteacher. This paper presents the results of a practitioner-based study centred on the professional career journeys of a selected group of senior incumbent headteachers from across Liverpool, United Kingdom. The purpose of the research was to consider key features of difference in the headteacher role over a 30-year period. Five heads were interviewed about how they rose to headship and the influences and events that guided their career choices. Findings include acknowledgement of the requirement for self-directed career development, paucity of skills in preparation for headship, transformation in leadership models and the changing skills, qualities and qualifications required of contemporary and emergent headteachers.     

Casting the assessment net wide: Capturing all student learning

North Georgia College and State University has joined a national effort to move away from the isolated approach to measuring student learning. Educators from three divisions offer their perspectives.     

Australian higher education third party arrangements: an independent institute case study

Tertiary Education and Management - The marked increase in transnational higher education third party arrangements in recent years represents globalizing forms of education. Third party...     

Weak Ties in Networked Communities

Communities with high levels of social capital are likely to have a higher quality of life than communities with low social capital. This is due to the greater ability of such communities to organize and mobilize effectively for collective action because they have high levels of social trust, dense social networks, and well-established norms of mutuality (the major features of social capital). Communities with “bridging” social capital (weak ties across groups) as well as “bonding” social capital (strong ties within groups) are the most effective in organizing for collective action. People who belong to multiple groups act as bridging ties. When people with bridging ties use communication media, such as the Internet, they enhance their capability to educate community members and to organize, as needed, for collective action. This article summarizes evidence from stratified household survey data in Blacksburg, VA, showing that people with weak (bridging) ties across groups have higher levels of community involvement, civic interest, and collective efficacy than people without bridging ties among groups. Moreover, heavy Internet users with bridging ties have higher social engagement, use the Internet for social purposes, and have been attending more local meetings and events since going online than heavy Internet users with no bridging ties. These findings may suggest that the Internet—in the hands of bridging individuals-is a tool for enhancing social relations and information exchange, and for increasing face-to-face interaction, all of which help to build both bonding and bridging social capital in communities.     

Do Fourteenth Amendment considerations outweigh a potential state interest in mandating cochlear implantation for deaf children?

Currently, the decision concerning pediatric cochlear implantation for children remains a personal choice for parents to make. Economic factors, educational outcomes, and societal attitudes concerning deafness could result in an increased governmental interest in this choice. This article examines case law related to the issue of parental autonomy to determine whether the state, acting in the role of parens patriae, could use economic and social reasons to mandate the provision of cochlear implants for all eligible children. The author uses previous cases as a framework to develop an opinion on whether a constitutional protection for parents may exist.     

An analysis of assignment completion and accuracy across time under fixed, variable, and extended token exchange periods in a classroom token economy

This research investigated the effects of employing fixed, variable, and extended token exchange periods for backups on the completion and quality of daily assignments of a total fifth- and sixth-grade class. The results indicated a higher percentage of assignments was completed when the number of days between point exchanges was variable, and that performance was maintained when the number of school days between point exchanges was gradually increased. The overall accuracy on assignments was high, but varying, and did not appear to be under the systematic control of the experimental procedures. Data for all pupils indicated that there were individual differences as to the effects of the various token (point) exchange procedures. Pupils with inconsistent assignment completion during Fixed Exchange Conditions (Fixed Period (FP-I, -II, -III) increased their assignment completion during the Variable Token Exchange Procedures (Variable Period (VP)-I, -II, -III). Thus, the variable sequencing of the number of days should be an important consideration in any effort to maintain the positive effects of token-reinforcement systems within classroom settings.     

Modification of Reconciliation Behavior through Social Experience: An Experiment with Two Macaque Species

Reconciliation, defined as a friendly reunion between former opponents shortly after an aggressive encounter, is common in the stumptail macaque (Macaca arctoides) but rare in the rhesus macaque (M. mulatta). Juveniles of the two species were cohoused for 5 months, after which they were observed with conspecifics only. Control rhesus monkeys, matched in age and sex to the experimental subjects, went through the same procedure without exposure to the other species. A threefold increase in the proportion of reconciled fights was measured in the rhesus subjects. The difference emerged gradually during cohousing with the tutor species and was sustained following removal of this species. Other behavior, such as grooming and aggression, decreased over time. It is suggested that the social attitude of the subjects was affected through contact with a species characterized by a more relaxed dominance style.     

Primary Teachers’ Reflections on Inquiry- and Context-Based Science Education

Inquiry- and context-based teaching strategies have been proven to stimulate and motivate students’ interests in learning science. In this study, 12 teachers reflected on these strategies after using them in primary schools. The teachers participated in a continuous professional development (CPD) programme. During the programme, they were also introduced to a teaching model from a European project, where inquiry- and context-based education (IC-BaSE) strategies were fused. The research question related to teachers’ reflections on these teaching strategies, and whether they found the model to be useful in primary schools after testing it with their students. Data collection was performed during the CPD programme and consisted of audio-recorded group discussions, individual portfolios and field notes collected by researchers. Results showed that compared with using only one instructional strategy, teachers found the new teaching model to be a useful complement. However, their discussions also showed that they did not reflect on choices of strategies or purposes and aims relating to students’ understanding, or the content to be taught. Before the CPD programme, teachers discussed the use of inquiry mainly from the aspect that students enjoy practical work. After the programme, they identified additional reasons for using inquiry and discussed the importance of knowing why inquiry is performed. However, to develop teachers’ knowledge of instructional strategies as well as purposes for using certain strategies, there is need for further investigations among primary school teachers.