‘Trying to find the extra choices’: migrant parents and secondary school choice in Greater Manchester

This article, based on qualitative research in Greater Manchester, examines the experience of migrants in navigating the education system, and in particular in choosing secondary schools for their children. There has been extensive research on the process of choosing schools since the policy reforms of the 1980s, but none has examined how the process of choosing a secondary school is impacted by the material and affective impact of migration. The article argues that migrants’ experience is embedded in gendered, classed and racialised processes and that, despite the heterogeneity of the category, migrants often face particular barriers in negotiating the school system. Nonetheless it also explores the importance put on education by the migrants who were interviewed and the active labour they engage in to try and achieve the best results for their children.     

Women Faculty of Color: Stories Behind the Statistics

In this qualitative study we address two primary research questions: What are the experiences of women faculty of color (WFOC) who departed the tenure track at predominantly White, research universities? Using the modified lens of the newcomer adjustment framework, what socialization factors may have contributed to the WFOCs’ departure? Through a longitudinal, in-depth examination of three WFOC who left their university prior to earning tenure, themes of gendered and racialized tokenization and isolation, a need for a more intrusive style of mentoring, and poor institutional fit were identified. Implications for future research on faculty members’ social identity and promising practices for faculty development are shared.     

The dark side of social support: Understanding the role of social support,drinking behaviors and alcohol outlets for child physical abuse

The purpose of this study is to examine how parental drinking behavior, drinking locations, alcohol outlet density, and types of social support (tangible, emotional, and social companionship) may place children at greater risk for physical abuse. Data on use of physical abuse, drinking behaviors, types of social support, social networks, and demographic information were collected via telephone interviews with 3,023 parent respondents in 50 cities in California. Data on alcohol outlet density were obtained by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Multilevel Poisson models were used to analyze data for the drinking levels in the entire sample and dose-response drinking models for drinkers. Social companionship support was related to more frequent use of physical abuse. Having a higher percentage of social companionship support network living within the neighborhood was related to more frequent physical abuse in the full sample. This relationship was moderated by on-premise alcohol outlet density. With regards to drinking behaviors, drinking behaviors from ex-drinkers to frequent heavy drinkers used physically abusive parenting practices more often than lifetime abstainers. The dose-response models show that each additional drinking event at a bar or home/party was related to more frequent use of physical abuse. Practitioners working with parents who abuse their children should be aware that not all social support is beneficial. Findings build evidence that child maltreatment is influenced by the interaction between individual and ecological factors.     

Classroom Emotional Support predicts differences in preschool children's cortisol and alpha-amylase levels

Accumulating evidence suggests children enrolled in full-time child care often display afternoon elevations of the hormone cortisol, which is an indicator of stress. Recent advances in immunoassays allow for measurement of activity in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the autonomic sympathetic nervous system from saliva, and measurement of both systems provides a more complete understanding of activity in the stress response system. This study is the first to examine both cortisol and alpha-amylase in children attending child care and focuses on the influences of specific indicators of classroom process quality. A diverse sample of 63 preschool children nested in 14 classrooms of varying quality participated in this study; child salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were collected at six times over 2 days. Results indicate that children in classrooms with higher Emotional Support displayed a greater decline in cortisol from morning to afternoon. Further, children in classrooms with higher Emotional Support exhibited lower total alpha-amylase output while attending child care. Implications for professional development for early childhood teachers and measurement of classroom quality are discussed.     

Creating case studies of practice through Appreciative Inquiry

Taking a positive view is a fruitful way to prompt educators to reflect on and to develop their practice. Teachers, teacher educators and children bring a wide range of ideas that provide a powerful basis for developing understanding of the complexities of classroom practice. Using appreciate inquiry the authors show how they developed their understanding of professional development as they worked with groups of teachers who investigated their science teaching practice with young children and produced case studies of practice. The authors also show how the roles and ideas of themselves as university tutors were challenged and emerged to suit the range of contexts involved. Their view of Continuing Professional Development was influenced by the lived experiences of the teachers and themselves. They worked to systematise learning through identifying commonalities of experience and reflection along four dimensions: creating spaces for growth; working with emergent purposes; action research as rhizomatic growth; and collaborative and collective action. The rich variety of outcomes shows the value of creating space for growth for children and for adults. The energy and enthusiasm liberated motivated the participants to explore their worlds in ways that were difficult to predict at the start of the project.     

Students and school characteristics related to elementary school students' views of the nature of science

The purpose of this study is to investigate student- and school-level factors that help to explain the difference in the nature of science (NOS) views. Overall, the design of this study is correlational. The sample consisted of 3062 students enrolled in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades of elementary schools in Turkey. A hierarchical linear modelling was selected as a modelling technique. This study has established the importance of the student's socioeconomic background, learning approaches undertaken, self-efficacy, and motivational goals in the formation of their NOS views. The findings reveal that quality of both the physical infrastructure of schools and the educational resources in schools, parent educational levels, student achievement, self-efficacy, experience of meaningful learning, and learning goal orientation are positively related to different dimensions of student NOS views. Additionally, performance goal orientation and rote learning approaches have a negative relationship with different dimensions of student NOS views.     

Recurring themes

Many schools experience playtime and lunchtime disputes in the playground. Some schools employ games or activities in an attempt to improve discipline. This article gives consideration to the extent that a playground ethos can be improved, and the number of less-severe disputes reduced, through the introduction of playground games.