Coping strategies for adaptation to new teacher appointments: Intervention for retention

Findings are presented from a qualitative longitudinal collective case study of 29 teachers newly appointed to rural or remote schools in Western Australia. All participants experienced stress and articulated coping strategies in response: direct-action, palliative and avoidant strategies. Where protective structures and processes existed in environments, teachers employed direct-action problem-solving strategies. Avoidant strategies were more common in young and mature-aged novices, rather than experienced teachers.Three critical times were identified to support adaptation: first weeks of appointment for information, first semester for assistance, support, feedback for development of competence and three months before the year-end for stability and certainty.     

Pragmatic language in deaf and hard of hearing students: correlation with success in general education

Deaf and hard of hearing children have shown delays and difficulties in pragmatic behaviors due to insufficient exposure to common daily discourse and underlying impoverishment in all components of language development. In a study in a school district in a southeastern U.S. state, the researchers investigated the relationship between sociolinguistic pragmatic competence in 81 deaf and hard of hearing students and these students' degree of hearing loss, communication mode, and degree of success in general education. Two measures, one devised by the state's department of education and one developed within the local school system, were used: the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (Georgia Department of Education, 2000) and the Socio-Pragmatic Skills Checklist for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (Cobb County School District, 1997). The researchers found that whether the students used spoken language or signed language, socio-pragmatic language had a high, positive correlation with academic outcomes.     

Distancing to self‐protect: the perpetuation of inequality in higher education through socio‐relational dis/engagement

This paper explores the social class‐differentiated behaviours of access and traditional‐entry students, based on a three‐year constructivist grounded theory study with 45 undergraduates at an Irish university. The participant groups behaved significantly differently within the socio‐relational realm, engaging in various forms of distancing behaviours motivated by a desire to self‐protect and based on perceived relative social positioning. The paper illustrates some ways in which both disadvantage and privilege are performed at the post‐entry stage in a widening participation context. It is argued that the ‘closure’ behaviours of class‐based groups constrain the building of social capital by working‐class students, thus potentially limiting the ability of widening participation policies in achieving equality goals.     

Professional Development for School Library Media Professionals: Elements for Success

The American Association for School Librarians suggests an important mission for school librarians is to ensure personal growth through ongoing exposure to conferences, journal articles, webinars, presentations, and membership in professional organizations. As professional educators, School Librarians should exemplify the vision for being life-long learners. Methods and means to grow in the profession should be evaluated and examined for elements that lead to success in growth and maturity as professionals in school library media. This article investigates the attributes of successful professional development experiences which include learning environment, characteristics of learners, methodologies, and instructional design of staff development workshops.     

Use and Perceptions of E-books by Academic Staff in Further Education

This article reports on a study of the awareness, perceptions and use of e-books by academic staff in Further Education (FE) colleges throughout Northern Ireland (NI). It is the first comprehensive study of e-book use by FE faculty in NI and fills a significant gap in the research literature on e-books in education, which has tended to focus on Higher Education and the university setting. Data was collected through an online survey which was distributed to FE faculty across NI. The findings show that although FE academic staff are receptive to e-books and welcome them as a resource, poor reading experience and lack of awareness of relevant titles have had an impact. In particular, the research found that 40% of academic staff, in post less than five years, had not used e-books. Greater availability of titles, promotion, and better integration within teaching and learning emerge as key requisites for effective service delivery and enhancement of e-books within FE, as does the need for better targeted instruction and training aimed at academic staff. Understanding patrons' views, awareness, needs, habits and expectations in relation to e-books is crucial to help direct collection content while budgets remain tight and physical space limited.     

Improvements in heat tolerance induced by interval running training in the heat and in sweat clothing in cool conditions

To compare the effectiveness of training in heat and in sweat clothing in cool conditions on improving heat tolerance, two groups of active subjects (n = 6 in each) performed an interval running heat-tolerance test before and after a 7-day experimental treatment. On each treatment day the subjects attempted to complete 4 x 15 min interval treadmill running periods (a 7.5 s effort every 30 s, on 15 km h-1, 15% grade; the same exercise format as the heat-tolerance test), which were interspersed with 5-min recovery periods (total time each day = 80 min). Group 1 (heat) ran in shorts, socks and shoes in hot humid conditions, and Group 2 (sweat clothing) ran in cool conditions dressed in shorts, socks and T-shirt covered by a polyester-cotton tracksuit, over which was worn 100% nylon spray-proof pants and jacket (cotton lined) with an acrylic cloth bobble hat (beanie) on the head. Both groups displayed changes typical of heat acclimatization over the 7-day period, with significant decreases in final rectal temperature (Tr) and heart rate (HR) being evident, but no change in sweat loss. Mean skin temperature (Tsk) was similar in both groups during the training sessions (heat group: 34.8-35.7 degrees C; sweat clothing group 34.9-35.5 degrees C). After the heat-tolerance test, both groups had significantly lower Tr, Tsk and HR values than before, and sweating sensitivity (g m-2 h-1 degrees C rise in Tr) was significantly increased. There was only one significant difference between the two groups (Tsk, 20th min value). It was concluded that training in sweat clothing in cool conditions can provide the same improvements in heat tolerance as training in hot humid conditions where a fixed exercise intensity and duration are used.     

Using journals with third year classes

Sorry about the writing—I was in a rush to let you know love Rosie
Third year groups (pupils of 13–14) have always presented me with the most difficult problems of management in the mixed-ability classroom. Each year as August ends, I convince myself of the need to radically rethink this area of the curriculum. Each September, as the term swings into full action, I find my intentions swept away by what appear to be the more pressing requirements of other groups. Third years appear to occupy an educational no-man's land in the middle reaches of secondary schooling. Old enough to have lost the spontaneity and enthusiasm that makes the junior forms so rewarding, they have yet to complete the metamorphosis which makes fourth years co-operative and self-motivating. Third years have frequently been the irritant in an otherwise pleasant, smooth running day.