Shaun's Story: Troubling discourses of white working-class masculinities

This article tells the story of a hard-working, well-behaved, poor, white, working-class boy trying to achieve academically in a 'sink' inner-city boys' comprehensive school, whilst simultaneously trying to maintain his standing within the male peer group culture. In doing so, it raises questions about the possibilities of bringing together white working-class masculinities with educational success in inner-city working-class schooling. It is argued that to combine the two generates heavy psychic costs, involving young men not only in an enormous amount of academic labour but also an intolerable burden of psychic reparative work. Shaun's narrative also suggests that the problem of 'failing boys' cannot be solved through school-based initiatives. Until social processes of male gender socialisation move away from the imperative of privileging the masculine and allow boys to stay in touch with their feminine qualities, the problem of 'failing boys' will remain despite the best efforts of teachers and researchers.     

A classroom-based model of language intervention for preschool language-impaired children: Principles and procedures

It is now generally recognized that a language impairment in preschool children may be predictive of later linguistic, reading, and academic difficulties. Language intervention procedures, derived from theoretically-based principles of language development and implemented in a child’s regular classroom environment, may benefit children at risk for persistent language and learning problems. This paper describes the development and application of individualized intervention procedures in a classroom for preschool language-impaired children. The discussion focuses on selected language development principles which helped determine the setting, timing, interactive participants, purpose, and content of the language intervention program. Resulting changes in language comprehension and production are reported based on individual classroom performance as well as a comparison of pre-and posttest scores for a range of comprehension skills. A version of this paper was presented at the Annual Conference of the Orton Dyslexia Society, November 5, 1987, San Francisco.     

Developmental Changes in Achievement Evaluation: Motivational Implications of Self-Other Differences

In order to explore the development of self-evaluative biases, children at 3 age levels (5–6, 7–8, 9–10) evaluated themselves or another child when given social or temporal comparison feedback. Evaluative biases were indicated by higher evaluations for the self than another, especially after failure. Children at different ages were not differentially responsive to temporal vs. social comparison information. However, evaluative bias in response to the type of evaluation differed by age; there was greater bias for general ability evaluations by older children and greater bias for specific performance evaluations by younger children. Alternative explanations for these self-other differences were minimized, as differences in visual orientation were held constant and differences in knowledge of effort were controlled statistically. Other aspects of the design as well as sex differences support a motivational interpretation of these biases. How these biases are manifested is related to children's level of understanding and concerns at different ages.     

A Market in Waste: Psychic and structural dimensions of school-choice policy in the UK and children's narratives on 'demonized' schools

Transformations in local secondary schools markets in the UK have not simply been accomplished at a structural and policy level: social changes are crosscut by fiction and fantasy that resonate with and implicate subjects at the level of the personal. Drawing on a study of children's transitions to secondary school, we analyse the emotional processes through which particular schools come to be 'demonized' in the minds of Year 6 children, consider the impact such damaging discourses have on children who were to go to those schools, and explore connections between social and psychic realities in the increasing polarization of secondary schools. We examine the impact of discourses of race and racism on the psychic construction of 'good' and 'bad' schools and explore how this connected with family practices of secondary school choice and current constructions of UK local educational markets.     

A Qualitative Investigation of Fifth- and Sixth-grade Students’ Attitudes towards Intellectual Disability

Research suggests that attitudes of typically developing children towards intellectual disability (ID) play an important role in the social integration and acceptance of children with IDs. To date, however, few studies have investigated children’s attitudes towards ID. The primary objective of this study was to examine the cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of children’s attitudes towards ID. Thirty-nine (14 boys, 25 girls) fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students participated in the study. Seven focus groups were created in five different schools. Results suggested that inaccurate beliefs and negative emotions regarding ID may contribute to social and school integration problems experienced by children with IDs. The findings of the present study could be useful for the development of education and awareness programs that promote the development of more positive attitudes towards ID.     

Women Scientists in Academia: Geographically Constrained to Big Cities, College Clusters, or the Coasts?

Women scientists in academia have been shown to be less geographically mobile than their male counterparts, a factor that may exacerbate gender inequities in faculty representation, tenure, and salary. This study examines the extent to which the jobs of academic women scientists are disproportionately concentrated in large cities, areas with many colleges and universities, and regions where most doctorates are granted. We also investigate whether jobs in these locations affect salary, tenure, full-time faculty status, and employment outside one's field of training in ways that differ for women and men. Our analysis is guided by arguments that geographic constraints on women's mobility are rooted in social factors, such as gender roles and mate selection patterns. Data are drawn from over 13,000 faculty respondents in the national Survey of Doctoral Recipients, representing 22 science and engineering disciplines and over 1,000 4-year colleges or universities. Regression analysis reveals that, irrespective of their family status, women faculty are more likely than their male counterparts to reside in doctoral production centers, areas with large clusters of colleges, and large cities. Responsibility for children intensifies women's geographic concentration more than marriage does and in ways that differ from men. Geographic concentration also appears generally more harmful to women's careers than to men's. Women in doctoral production centers are less likely to have tenure and more likely to work part time; those in larger cities are more likely to be in jobs off the tenure track. Locales with many colleges appear to present somewhat better career prospects for women.     

To promote,or not to promote fundamental British values? Teachers’ standards,diversity and teacher education

In this article we seek to problematize the presence of the requirement within the teachers’ standards (DfE, 2012), that they ‘should not undermine fundamental British values’ in the context of initial teacher education in England. The inclusion of this statement within the teachers’ code of conduct has made its way from the counter‐terrorism strategy, Prevent and raises questions about Britishness, values and the relationship between the state and the profession more generally. We argue that the inclusion of the phrase within a statutory document that regulates the profession is de facto a politicization of the profession by the state thereby instilling the expectation that teachers are state instruments of surveillance. The absence of any wider debate around the inclusion of the statement is also problematic as is the lack of training for pre‐service and inservice teachers since it means this concept of fundamental British values is unchallenged and its insidious racialising implications are unrecognised by most teachers.     

Supporting Communication of Girls with Rett Syndrome and their Mothers in Storybook Reading

In this study mother-child storybook reading was explored as a context within which to support early symbolic communication of girls with Rett syndrome. Baseline measures of mother-daughter interaction were gathered as mothers read familiar and unfamiliar storybooks with their daughters. Then three experimental interventions were studied in the homes of four girls: (a) resting hand splints, (b) light tech augmentative communication systems such as voice-output devices and symbols, and (c) very basic parent training. Access to devices, symbols, and training increased the frequency of each of the four girls, labeling and symbolic communication during storybook reading. Parent training was particularly useful in increasing the percentage of appropriate switch use by three of the four girls. The study suggests that parents can provide substantial support to early communication development in girls with Rett syndrome, if they are provided with basic information and materials.     

Postmodern Feminisms: Problematic Paradigms

In 1995 Frances Borzello claimed that feminist art criticism had ‘just touched the national curriculum with its fingertips.’ [1] Over the last five years constant challenges to curriculum provision have all but resulted in a loss of contact as educators pull back into ‘safe’ places and away from the edges where feminist art practices were just starting to take hold. Clinging to ‘safe’ practices has meant the affirmation of formalist modernist orthodoxies which have fostered a restricted canonical patriarchal approach to the subject. The recent publication of the ‘Manifesto for Art’ 1999 which calls for a postmodern view of art with an emphasis on ‘difference, plurality and independence of mind’ can, all too easily, be read as a panacea ‘a post modern solution to a postmodern situation.’ [2] However, embracing postmodern pluralism creates as many problems as it solves. Postmodernism often renders any feminist intervention superfluous in spite of new feminist art criticisms’ insistence that the politics of feminism remains a vital element of both artistic practice and critical discourse. While agreeing that art education urgently needs to review its complicity with high Modernist values, we suggest that there are dangers in uncritically accepting a postmodern view of education. Surely postmodernism renders any blueprint for change problematic. This paper does not provide answers, rather it raises questions in order to encourage teachers to reflect upon existing practices with a view to identifying what is still missing and why. It sets out to interrogate implications for pedagogy, educational policy and social transformation of the contemporary academic preoccupation with postmodernism.     

Head Start Teaching Center: Outcome Evaluation of 3 Years of Participatory Training

The design and evaluation of the New England Head Start Teaching Center (NEHSTC), one of 14 federally funded programs created to test the efficacy of participatory, hands-on training for enhancing Head Start service delivery is the focus of this article. The unique characteristics of the NEHSTC and the outcome evaluation results from 3 years of training will be discussed. The findings demonstrate the NEHSTC was successful in implementing high quality, participatory training within the context of an ongoing Head Start program. Various Head Start staff who participated in the NEHSTC trainings demonstrated gains in knowledge, skills, and attitudes compared to similar Head Start employees who did not receive training. The positive findings suggest that participatory training should be included in the menu of training options available. Because of the unique size and scope of Head Start, the success of ongoing efforts to improve the quality of its programs and services are particularly significant. Within Head Start, this discussion of quality enhancements via innovative training models is timely given the advent of the new performance standards and the restructuring of the Training and Technical Assistance system. Additionally, the findings are relevant for broader efforts to improve early care and education programs nationwide.