Teaching with technology in higher education: understanding conceptual change and development in practice

Research indicates that teachers’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching with technology are central for the successful imple-mentation of educational technologies in higher education. This study advances this premise. We present a 10-year longitudinal study examining teachers’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching and learning with technology. Nine teachers on an online Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and a Master of Pharmacy programme at a Swedish university were studied using a phenomenographic approach. Results showed clear differences between novice and experienced teachers. Although novice teachers initially held more teacher-focused conceptions, they demonstrated greater and more rapid change than experienced colleagues. Experienced teachers tended to exhibit little to no change in conceptions. Supporting conceptual change should, therefore, be a central component of professional development activities if a more effective use of educational technology is to be achieved.     

A changed language of education with new actors and solutions: the authorization of promotion and prevention programmes in Swedish schools

This article demonstrates how changes in the language of Swedish education policy have opened up a new social perception of education, in which space has been created for new actors, models and solutions in terms of managing activities in schools. Specifically, it seeks to illustrate how various promotion and prevention programmes have been authorized and disseminated without critical inquiry or resistance in the education sector. To this end, we analyse how the specific, essentially contested concepts of health, value base and communication have been employed in authoritative national documents over the two last decades. For our analysis, we draw on speech act theory, with a focus on linguistic performativity, as we have been interested in analysing how concrete authoritative actors have ‘performed’ various arguments. The analysis helps us to understand how the linguistic force originating from authoritative agencies can be used by different actors as a way to legitimize their arguments and actions. The results demonstrate how different national authorities, as a consequence of their use of the three concepts analysed, have contributed to the establishment of promotion and prevention programmes in education.     

Curriculum History Reconsidered

Nordic curriculum history research basically forms part of an international universe historically related to the new sociology of education and critical curriculum theory. In many ways this tradition can be seen as a critical corrective of the optimistic scientific‐rational conception of curriculum and the study of curriculum history on that base. However, the critical tradition can be further developed by being related to ways of analysing on‐going contestation over curriculum questions, using and elaborating a societal theory of curriculum history and the critical pragmatic perspective.     

A dignified success: Knopf’s translation and promotion ofThe Second Sex

When Alfred A. Knopf published the U.S. edition of Simone de Beauvoir'sLe Deuxième Sexe asThe Second Sex in 1953, their marketing deemphasized the book's existentialism and feminism. Rather they promoted it with comparisons to the Kinsey report and stressed its scientific merit. The translator's preface, his condensations, and prepublication promotion avoided overt sensationalism and invested it with scientific and intellectual cachet. This promotional strategy, though a somewhat inaccurate portrayal of the work, set the tone for its critical and popular reception and contributed to both its initial sales and its longevity.     

Physical activity and music to support pre-school children’s mathematics learning

In order to give all children equal opportunities in school, methods to prevent early differences are needed. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two structured teaching methods: Math in Action, characterised by physical activity and music, and common numerical activities. Children (28 girls, 25 boys) were assigned to 1 of the 2 conditions during a period of 3 weeks (2 times a week for a 30-minute session). The results show that children who learn mathematics in an environment characterised by physical activity and music develop their mathematical abilities significantly more than children who learn mathematics through common number activities. We have also shown that children with different motor skill abilities benefit from learning mathematics in an environment characterised by physical activity and music.     

Adolescent social competence: effectiveness in a group setting

We used a longitudinal data set to evaluate an observational assessment of adolescent competence within a group context. Participants were 40 (21 males, 19 females) ethnically diverse children who had earlier been observed in summer camp (age 10) and preschool (age 4 1/2), as well as in infancy. A revealed differences task was videotaped as part of an intensive weekend camp reunion at ages 15 to 16. Raters, blind to the adolescents' developmental histories, coded each adolescent on the following behavioral rating scales: enjoyment of the task, involvement, leadership, self-confidence in the task, and global social competence. Both concurrent validity (strong correlations with independent camp reunion counselor ratings and peer sociometric measures) and clear associations with antecedent measures of peer competence in preschool and middle childhood were demonstrated. A pattern of correlations revealed considerable discriminate validity. Neither IQ nor socioeconomic status accounted for these associations. Overall, the results confirm the power of a developmentally appropriate, taxing, behaviorally based assessment of group functioning as a measure of competence in adolescence.     

Effective Partnerships in School Reform: Lessons Learned From the Midwest Child-Parent Center Expansion

The Midwest Expansion of the Child-Parent Center Education Program (MCPC) is a pre-K to 3rd grade intervention program aimed at improving economically disadvantaged children's school success by enhancing continuity in instruction and increasing parental involvement. Opened in Chicago in the 1960s, this school reform model has undergone significant changes and is currently being expanded in five demographically heterogeneous school districts in Illinois and Minnesota. This article describes the collaborative process that has contributed to effective implementation of the expansion project within at-risk communities. Three themes of collaboration are emphasized: (a) improving the quality of data, (b) establishing and maintaining implementation fidelity, and (c) using research to inform practice. We discuss lessons learned from our partnerships with a number of collaborators including those involved with implementing the pre-K program, researching and evaluating the project, and providing professional development to teachers. Consideration is given to advancing the field of implementation science by successfully initiating and enhancing exemplary partnerships in comprehensive school reforms through effective research design.