Predictors of reading delay in deaf adolescents: the relative contributions of rapid automatized naming speed and phonological awareness and decoding

Deaf readers often fail to achieve age-appropriate reading levels. In hearing children, two cognitive factors correlated with reading delay are phonological awareness and decoding (PAD) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) of visual material. In this study we explored the contribution of these factors to reading and reading delay in a sample of deaf students (N = 49, mean age 13 years) whose reading age (RA) was around 7 years. Although PAD performance was poor in the deaf students compared with RA-matched hearing controls, it nevertheless correlated with their RA. Whether tested in sign or speech, RAN was much faster in the deaf group than in RA-matched hearing controls but showed no direct relationship with reading level or reading delay. We conclude that in contrast to PAD, which is a factor in both deaf and hearing reading achievement, RAN may be only indirectly related to reading in deaf students.     

RANKINGS OF PREDICTORS OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE BY TOP LEVEL COACHES

Two studies are reported in which coaches of Dutch top level athletes ranked 10 general factors recognized as predictors of athletic performance. In the first study, the coaching staff of the national teams in judo, speed skating, swimming, and table tennis were involved (n=50), and in the second coaches in field hockey, golf, and track and field (n=65); in track and field, two types of athlete were assessed: the “explosive” and the “endurance” types. Agreement among coaches within a sport appears to vary from rather high to quite low, indicating that they do not always rank the various factors in an identical way. In spite of these imperfect interjudge reliabilities, most of the groups of coaches made very similar group rankings, in which three factors were generally considered to be of primary importance: physical fitness, mental fitness and natural endowment These findings are discussed in the context of the emphasis which is often given to the effects of the immediate environment in the development of talented individuals.     

Secondary modern schools: are their pupils disadvantaged?

There are still 10 English local educational authorities (LEAs) that are wholly selective and a further 10 with some grammar and secondary modern schools. This article examines the academic performance of pupils in secondary modern schools and the funding of these schools using national data sets matching pupils' performance at Key Stage 2 and General Certificate of Education (GCSE) as well as data on funding from Section 52 statements. Students in secondary modern schools gained one less grade on average than equivalent students in comprehensive schools while grammar school pupils obtained five grades more. After taking account of the cost factors and grant entitlements that influence funding per pupil, secondary modern schools in the years 2000/01–2002/03 were funded around £80 less per pupil while grammar school pupils received over £100 more per pupil compared to comprehensive schools. Secondary modern schools were more likely to be in financial deficit than comprehensive and particularly grammar schools. Thus, students are academically disadvantaged by attending secondary modern schools, which in most selective LEAs do not receive sufficient additional funding to offset the depressing effects on attainment of the increased social segregation arising from a selective system.     

Student accounts of action learning on a DBA programme: learning inaction

This account of practice sets out the action learning experience of three doctoral students on the same Doctoral Programme in Business Administration at a UK university. It also include the sense-making of a fourth member of the set. It explores the tension between their area of work and their engagement in the action learning process and, in so doing, contributes to the ongoing debate about the relative priority of learning and problem-solving in action learning. The account narrates the students’ personal accounts of their involvement with the action learning set (ALS), what they felt worked and what did not before reflecting on their personal contributions as hybrid practitioner-learners. Insights into the experience are offered up to illuminate the function and purpose of the ALS within a management education programme.     

Education under the shadow of politics: school buildings in Cyprus during the British colonial period

This paper examines how politics have shaped Turkish Cypriot educational institutions and school buildings in Cyprus, focusing on the British colonial period (1878–1960). Unlike other British colonies, Cyprus enjoyed considerable autonomy on educational matters in the early decades of British occupation. During this period education, which was segregated, played a pivotal role in cultivating national aspirations of the two major ethnic populations on the island. The two decades following the 1931 revolt against the colonial regime was a period in which the British took serious measures in matters relating not only to education but also to school architecture. Atatürk’s reforms in creating a new modern Turkish society, on the other hand, evoked Turkish Cypriot ethnic nationalism. Without having the tension of the ideals of nationalism and modernism Turkey had to pacify, Turkish Cypriots embraced the modern as necessarily national and built their schools during and after the 1950s in a modern style.     

Developing empathy towards older adults in design

In design disciplines, an affective understanding of users’ everyday lives can increase designer sensitivity and awareness, leading to higher-quality design outcomes. Developing students’ empathic understanding within design education is required to accomplish this goal. This article discusses learning strategies that enhance students’ empathic horizons, and specifically analyzes an assignment conducted in an Interior Architecture and Environmental Design course, “The Grandparent Experience.” Here, exposure through observation and interviewing, and art-based methods are employed to develop students’ empathy towards older adults. We conducted a survey with students who completed the exercise and the course, exploring their perspectives on their learning. The results reveal that students had positive views on the assignment’s effectiveness regarding the learning outcome and learning process. Implications for empathic design education and educational gerontology are discussed.     

French-speaking universities in sub-Saharan Africa

Director of IREDU (Institut de Recherche sur l'économie de l'éducation), a laboratory of the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) at the University of Burgundy in Dijon. Author of numerous books and articles on the sujet of the costs, financing and efficiency of education systems. He is also a consultant to international organizations (UNESCO, IIEP, UNDP, OECD, World Bank, ILO) and governments, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.