The use of the Infant Index/Baseline-PLUS as a baseline assessment measure of literacy

The Infant Index was initially developed as a baseline assessment instrument for children at school entry, with literacy as a key component. A later version, Baseline-PLUS, was developed to meet the accreditation criteria of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The paper reports the results of a study of 5915 children, which comprised the 1996–97 cohort for one local education authority. The results indicate that the instrument is reliable (Cronbach’s alpha 0.92), that girls are rated as more advanced than boys in literacy and other domains, and that there are significant differences with respect to both children’s ethnic status and home language. Results for pre-school experience are also reported, but these are confounded by the LEA’s policy of provision. The implications for the use of the Infant Index/Baseline-PLUS and for the national scheme are explored.     

Managing course design

Any complex activity, such as course design, which involves group work must be managed. In universities, where academics are not always familiar with managing, it is often unsystematic. A modest attention to management can help a project, and may pay dividends in the avoidance of waste, conflict, overruns of time or budget or other potential disasters. The author presents a comprehensive framework for the various aspects of managing that may be needed and offers an extended checklist.     

Interactive Multimedia in Introductory Accounting: A preliminary analysis

This paper describes the development of an interactive multimedia package designed for incorporation into the teaching program for degree‐level first year accounting. The initial module forms part of a pilot study at James Cook University where interactive multimedia will form an integral part of the teaching program in accounting. This module includes four sessions, equivalent to one quarter of the semester's requirement. These sessions were trialed by students, colleagues and practitioners to assess the package's effectiveness in communicating introductory accounting concepts and enhancing the learning process. Some results of these trials are presented.     

LEARNING TO BE IN PUBLIC SPACES: IN FROM THE MARGINS WITH DANCERS, SCULPTORS, PAINTERS AND MUSICIANS

ABSTRACT:  This article reports research in three Nottingham schools, concerned with (1) 'The school as fertile ground: how the ethos of a school enables everyone in it to benefit from the presence of artists in class'; (2) 'Children on the edge: how the arts reach those children who otherwise exclude themselves from class activities, for any reason' and (3) 'Children's voices and choices: how even very young children can learn to express their wishes, and then have them realised through arts projects'. The research methodology was rooted in two modes of inquiry, philosophical investigation and action research. The article draws on this research to argue that arts-based work in school has helped disadvantaged and/or disaffected children to engage in activities (both arts-based and others), and to be able to lay the groundwork for exercising voice and agency as they did so. If social justice is to flourish there is a need for particular kinds of public spaces and a need to create conditions such that children can learn to participate in those spaces, whether or not they are comfortable with the usual settings for 'rational argument' or 'deliberative democracy'. It is suggested that arts-based education, in some forms, is one good way of creating these conditions.     

教育男生和女生:对性别平等教育的启示

性别平等教育长期被视作教育中的次要问题,教育学界对此也存在不少误解。“零和式”的教育使性别平等问题走向了极端。性别平等教育的目标不仅使女生享有平等的教育的机会,同时也使男生受益。打破教育体制中固有的性别成见才是实现平等教育的根本途径。     

Inclusive education: a critical perspective

The Gulliford Lecture 2002 was given by Professor Geoff Lindsay, Director of the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Warwick. Professor Lindsay's lecture, on which this paper is based, addressed a number of key topics, including the development of inclusion and inclusive practices; models of special educational needs and disability; and the values that underpin our thinking about these matters. Basing his argument on the research evidence, Professor Lindsay provides a searching critique of prevailing notions about inclusion and of current approaches to research. His conclusions will be of interest to everyone concerned with the education of children and young people with special educational needs.     

A Dual Effect of Pictorial Enrichment in Learning from Television News: Gunter's data revisited

An impairing effect of TV visuals reported by Gunter in this journal in 1980 appears to be inconsistent with other recent findings, which have suggested beneficial effects of still and film visualisations on news learning. Re‐examination of Gunter's data reveals that visual enrichment of news stories influenced learning in two distinct ways. Pictures reduced the recall of concurrently presented spoken information, but at the same time enhanced the recall of information presented in ‘talking head’ lead‐ins which preceded them.     

Patterns of interaction between a mother and her Down's syndrome child: A single case ethological study

The study reports the analysis of a mother/child interaction sequence. Its focus is on the mother's teaching strategies. The child was presented with two tasks. The first task was new and not previously experienced by the child; the second task was one that had been experienced. The mother's teaching of the tasks was videotaped and analysed. The material was analysed according to ‘on task’ behaviours. The results indicated that:

1. (a) both the mother and child were able to maintain a continuous communication sequence;

2. (b) the mother structured both tasks, but structured the new task more, and allowed some flexibility in the old task;

3. (c) the language used by the mother was ‘restricted';

4. (d) in responding to her child's behaviour, the mother made more use of verbal cues and used fewer non‐verbal cues