Causes of tension in post-observation feedback in pre-service teacher training: An alternative view

A central component in pre-service teacher training is teaching practice and feedback. In some cases, feedback results in disquiet and tension (Brandt, 2008). Many researchers attribute this tension to the incompatibility of the assessment and development roles that the trainer must perform. The research reported on here, however, suggests that tension may also be rooted in a difference in expectation amongst trainers and trainees about the purpose and performance of feedback. This can result in trainees not playing by the rules of the game (Roberts & Sarangi, 2001) either because they do not understand them or because they wish to challenge them.     

Month of Birth and Effect on Literacy,Behaviour and Referral to Psychological Service

The present study sought to examine the effect of month of birth on literacy, behaviour and referral to an educational psychology service. Information was obtained from two main sources; school based assessment (n = 334) and psychological referrals (n = 695). Results indicated there was a significant main effect, (p = < 0.01) between month of birth and performance on literacy measures and behaviour. A chi square analysis, taking into account monthly birth rates showed that children born at the end of the school year (May/June) in Northern Ireland i.e. the youngest in their class, appeared to be substantially over represented in referrals to a psychology service. Implications for schools and the psychology service are discussed in terms of equality issues.     

'Why don't you give the money back?' Questions of accounting and accountability in three accounts of educational research

This paper explores questions of accounting and accountability through three accounts of an empirical study of flexibility in two UK further education colleges. In this study, conceptions of flexibility and lifelong learning are being interrogated primarily through the analysis of interviews conducted with students and staff during the autumn term of 1999. In three parallel representations of this research, the authors present an algorithmic tale, a tale of strategic improvisations and a reflexive tale. A discussion of the performative value, or validity, of each account is linked to questions of accountability - to funding bodies, to participants in the research process, to the authors themselves, their peers and other potential beneficiaries. The paper concludes that writing about empirical research from a poststructural perspective can be a risky undertaking.     

Computerised screening for dyslexia in adults

Identifying dyslexia in adulthood presents particular challenges because of complicating factors such as acquisition of compensatory strategies, differing degrees of intervention and the problem of distinguishing dyslexic adults from those whose literacy difficulties have non‐cognitive causes. One of the implications is that conventional literacy measures, per se, do not provide a satisfactory basis for screening for dyslexia in adulthood as some dyslexic adults have above‐average literacy skills and some non‐dyslexic adults have very poor literacy skills. This study examined an alternative approach to dyslexia screening, using three tests that depend heavily on phonological processing, lexical access and working memory, but which are not conventional measures of literacy. Using these tests, which are computer delivered, 70 dyslexic adults from three different types of educational institution were compared with 69 non‐dyslexic adults from the same institutions. The results showed that the dyslexic and non‐dyslexic groups were significantly different on all three computer‐based tests, with an average effect size of 1.55. Adaptive versions of these tests were then created to reduce overall administration time for the suite to about 15 minutes. Analysis showed that the combined scaled scores from the adaptive versions of the three tests significantly discriminated the dyslexic from the non‐dyslexic group with an increased effect size of 2.07 and with a sensitivity rate of 90.6% and a specificity rate of 90.0%. It was concluded that this approach is a valid and useful method of identifying dyslexia in adulthood, which, given the ease of administration to large numbers of adults, has noted advantages for education and employment.     

What campus-based students think about the quality and benefits of e-learning

There is a trend in Irish universities to utilise the benefits of the e‐learning as a mechanism to improve learning performance of campus‐based students. Whilst traditional methods, such as face‐to‐face lectures, tutorials, and mentoring, remain dominant in the educational sector, universities are investing heavily in learning technologies, to facilitate improvements with respect to the quality of learning. The technology to support reuse and sharing of educational resources, or learning objects, is becoming more stable, with interoperability standards maturing. However, debate has raged about what constitutes effective use of learning technology. This research expands upon a study carried out in 2003 examining students’ perceptions of e‐learning in a large undergraduate accounting class environment. As a result, improvements were made to the instructional design of the course, to enable students to engage interactively with content. The subsequent study, reported in this paper, adopted a broad range of techniques to understand students’ learning experience in depth. The findings of this research provide an insight into how these students really work and learn using technologies, if at all. It is hoped that our findings will improve the experience for both students and lecturers who engage in teaching and learning through this medium.     

Expressing identity: the role of dialogue in teaching citizenship through art

Images and Identity (2008–2010, http://www.image-identity.eu/) was a Comenius funded project in which six European Union countries explored the cross-curricular links between Citizenship and Art Education with both primary and secondary age pupils. The aim of the project was to enhance and develop a sense of the pupils’ identity as European citizens using digital media as a means of expression and communication. As the project developed, it became evident that the role of talk and collaboration was a key element of supporting the pupils’ understanding of their European identity. This article explores that particular dimension in relation to the work carried out with two classes of culturally diverse 9 and 10 year olds in two inner-city primary schools in London, UK. As Zander argues, when working on an artistic production, a creative community is established whereby pupils develop a shared meaning through dialogue which in turn becomes an inherent part of the understanding of their own creative output. In this study, such a creative community was established and this supported the pupils’ emerging understanding of the EU and their own identity within it.