User dyads in software testing: bypassing the need for expert observers

This paper arises out of a research study into the online help facilities provided in popular software applications such as word processors. Its particular focus is on experimental methods of evaluating the effectiveness and usability of those facilities. Focus groups, questionnaires, and online surveys had already been used in other phases of the study, but it was judged that these approaches would be unsuitable for measuring effectiveness and usability because they are susceptible to respondents’ subjectivity. Direct observation of people working on set word‐processing tasks was ruled out initially because of a lack of trained observers; it would have taken too long for the investigator to observe a large enough sample by himself. Automatic recording of users’ actions was also rejected, as it would have demanded equipment and/or software that was not available and seemed too expensive to acquire. The approach and techniques described here were an attempt to overcome these difficulties by using observers drawn from the same population of students that provided the test subjects; as a by‐product, this may also have enhanced the acceptability (and hence possibly the validity) of the experiments by reducing the “exam pressure” perceived by participants.     

Making sense of and with mathematics: the interface between academic mathematics and mathematics in practice

This article summarises what we can learn from research into workplace practice and vocational preparation to inform the design of mathematics education curricula for learners in general education undertaking compulsory schooling. Key findings about workplace practices are identified and explicated through the report of a case study from research in which researchers, students, teachers and workers explored workplace and mathematical practices together. Further to this, issues of learning and personal development are considered and explored from a point of view that sees learning as practice (doing) and identity development (becoming). This leads to a proposal for principles that provide a strategic vision for curriculum design. A potential approach to tactical design that facilitates curriculum structuring is illustrated in the particular instance of understanding developing measures as a modelling activity. Overall, the exercise, whilst providing some insight into possible ways forward in curriculum development, also suggests areas that require further research and development.     

The New Right and the national curriculum: State control or market forces? 1

This paper takes as its starting point an apparent tension within the Education Reform Act between its imposition of a national curriculum and its stress elsewhere on parental choice and market forces in determining the shape of the school system. The paper then explores differences within the New Right over the issue of the school curriculum, but also points to ways in which neo‐liberal and neo‐conservative positions may ultimately be reconcilable. However, it also suggests that neither position may prove entirely attractive to the government's industrial sponsors who wish the curriculum to be more responsive to the needs of industry. The paper then draws on the findings of a recent research project on school choice to consider some possible consequences of allowing market forces to determine the nature of the curriculum. In conclusion, it stresses the importance of seeing the national curriculum within its broader structural context and notes that there are important lessons to be drawn from the approaches taken by both the tendencies identified within New Right thinking about the curriculum.

     

Mathematics and science inequalities in the United Kingdom: when elitism,sexism and culture collide

An examination of gender, social class and ethnicity performance and participation patterns in different UK countries shows that inequities occur in relation to gender, class and ethnicity but that the patterns of inequity look quite different in the three domains. Achievement is equal for different genders but many more males take mathematics forward to advanced levels; social class differences persist in both achievement and participation; and ethnicity shows a varied pattern with some groups performing and participating at particularly high levels and some particularly low. This paper identifies some critical issues that we face in making mathematics and science equitable and begins to analyse some of the barriers that stand in the way of students who are female, and from some ethnic and social groups.     

Publisher,be damned! From price gouging to the open road

All four authors are members of the Leicester school of critical management and have previously written together on academic publishing. David Harvie lectures in finance and is interested in ethical issues related to this and other matters. He is a member of The Free Association writing collective. Geoff Lightfoot lectures in entrepreneurship and has particular interests in the ideology of markets and critical accounting. Simon Lilley works on information aspects of organisation and is currently head of the School of Management at Leicester University. Kenneth Weir is interested in accounting practices, especially critical and social accounting.