Employees’ participation in electronic networks of practice within a corporate group: perceived benefits and costs

This paper explores benefits and costs of knowledge exchange perceived by individuals in connected electronic networks of practice (ENoP) in a corporate setting. The results of 25 semi-structured interviews show 9 perceived benefits and 5 perceived costs to be of importance for knowledge exchange. Altruism and reciprocity are the two main perceived benefits from the knowledge providers’ perspective; problem solving is the main perceived benefit from the knowledge seekers’ perspective. Five perceived costs are identified for both knowledge seekers and knowledge providers; time and effort are the most frequently cited.     

Promoting Early Writing Skills through Morning Meeting Routines: Guidelines for Best Practices

Observational studies suggest that early writing instruction rarely occurs in early childhood classrooms, despite the importance of supporting young children’s writing development. Morning Meeting Time (MMT) routine is a typically occurring large group activity in early childhood classrooms that is interactive and familiar to teachers and children. Because it is interactive, occurs daily in most preschool classrooms, and is comprised of regular routines that can easily be modified, MMT provides a meaningful context for promoting young children’s writing development. This article describes the characteristics of MMT, discusses the rationales for infusing interactive writing instruction into MMT, and provides seven research-based guidelines for adding writing to MMT in early childhood classroom environments.     

Parents as partners: parents' perceptions of partnership in Northeren Ireland

The introduction of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs in Northern Ireland has brought to the foreground the issue of parents as partners. Twenty parents of children attending two schools in Belfast for children experiencing learning difficulties were interviewed to determine their perceptions of their role during the process of Stages 4 and 5 of the implementation of the Code. The parents emphasised a sense of anger, frustration and isolation.     

Implications for evaluating abused children: An independent study of the frequency of abused children referred to and enrolled in special education classes in a major Southeastern United States metropolitan area

This study investigated the frequency with which a group of identified child abuse victims in a single year appeared in independently gathered school records as manifesting developmental difficulties. Records from school entry were studied to determine the frequency of school behavioral problems, suspensions, and referral to special education consideration. This procedure based on independent and previously existing records yielded substantially lesser evidence of problems and handicapping conditions than those reported in the literature.