Managing teaching and learning in South African schools

This paper examines the significance of leadership and management in enhancing classroom practice and improving learner outcomes in two provinces of South Africa. It is increasingly recognised, internationally and in South Africa, that managing teaching and learning is one of the most important activities for principals and other school leaders. Managing teaching and learning is one of the core modules in South Africa's new national qualification for school principals. Drawing on case studies of eight schools, mostly in disadvantaged contexts, the paper shows that managing teaching and learning are often inadequate, and largely fails to compensate for the social and educational problems facing learners and their communities.     

Public investment and the goal of providing universal access to primary education by 2015 in Kenya

The authors use population census data to project school enrolment for Kenya. They also employ current education sector budget and national revenue base statistics to model the sector budget and to forecast the revenue base growth required to sustain universal primary education (UPE). The 2003 fiscal year unit cost of education is used as the base value for computing the budget needed to fund UPE through 2015, the year by which the international community aims to achieve UPE. The authors apply econometric analysis in exploring the policy implications for the education sector budget and capacity for revenue generation that would support the budgetary growth needed.     

Being old in an always-on culture: Older people's perceptions and experiences of online communication

Research on the digital divide has moved beyond connectivity to skills and usage disparities. Yet for many older people lack of connectivity remains a challenge, and for those who do have access, skills and usage remain an issue. We report findings of an in-depth qualitative study of older people's perceptions of online communications and also their actual experiences. Findings indicate that older people who are already socially well connected benefit from online communication more than those who are not.     

At Hospitality's Threshold: From Social Inclusion to Exilic Education

Abstract Describing actual museum‐wide events developed for the culturally charged arena of the Brooklyn Children's Museum, this article explores the philosophical and pedagogical double binds that have brought multiculturalism to a political impasse. Museums have strived to be valued resources in an increasingly diverse society. In aspiring to broaden their audience base, their work has shifted from developing educational policies that are “object‐centered” to those that are “community‐centered” — a change of strategy affecting everything from programs to exhibit design. Children's museums — distinct (if not marginalized) from the serious work of the traditional art or ethnographic or natural history museum — know and indeed say in their very name — “children's museum” — that they are for the sake of someone and not about something. They have always already been attuned to the visitor at the threshold.     

Changing strategies in evaluations of preschool programs

A number of strategies relating to the evaluation of preschool programs have been changing. One change has been from evaluating service delivery systems and child development outcomes independent of one another. A second area of change has been from evaluating the impact of a particular intervention on an individual child to evaluating the impact of an intervention which is part of a dynamic (ecological) setting, on a child who is within that dynamic (ecological) setting. A third change has been from evaluating simply in terms of child development outcomes to evaluating both outcomes as well as those aspects of a child development program which can be manipulated or controlled by policy and management decisions. These are not mutually exclusive changes, and, indeed, a good deal of overlap will be evident. However, there are sufficient differences in approach to warrant separate treatment. Each of these areas of change will be described largely within the context of programs and concerns of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF).     

The reward-support framework and faculty commitment to their university

The present study examined faculty commitment to their university across hard and soft sciences and across pure and applied fields. Within each field, faculty commitment was separately examined for each career stage and for each level of research productivity. Furthermore, this study assessed (separately for each field) the relative powers of rewards and support variables, derived from the exchange framework, in explaining faculty commitment. A stratified random sample of 40 U.S. research university departments, 10 each in physics, sociology, electrical engineering, and education, was surveyed by means of a questionnaire. The major findings of the study suggest that the reward-support framework plays a meaningful role, although distinctly different for hard and soft sciences, in determining faculty commitment to their university in each of the four fields. The relative power of rewards in explaining faculty commitment is stronger in hard sciences and weaker in soft sciences whereas a reversed pattern is found for support indicators. In addition, faculty commitment to their university varies across fields, career stages, and levels of research productivity (only for hard sciences).     

Economies of small: How a single‐journal publisher remains independent and grows

Key points

• Delivering focused and relevant content that researchers find valuable creates and sustains a dedicated and loyal audience.
• Partnerships expand the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy (JOSPT)’s audience and reach and enable growth.
• Introducing innovations at the right time is key – neither too soon nor too late.
• Investing in specific initiatives developed through strategic planning moves JOSPT forward.

     

Experiences of diverse students in teacher education

The purpose of this study is to describe the teacher education experiences of a diverse group of early childhood students. A basic premise guiding the study was that diverse students may experience the program differently and that knowing what their experiences are may help to inform teacher education programs. This work is exploratory, intended to give focus to subsequent research.