The role of the teaching principal in promoting ICT use in small primary schools in Ireland

The focus of this study was to examine the leadership role as lived by teaching principals in a selection of small primary schools in the west of Ireland and in particular the implications information and communications technology (ICT) has for that role. The study involved the use of individual one‐to‐one semi‐structured interviews with a selection of 13 primary school principals in the mid‐west region. Following analysis of the interview data a focus group interview with eight of the principals was conducted to validate and explore the issues to emerge from the one‐to‐one interviews. Principals had enthusiastically responded to the national ICT in schools initiative (Schools IT2000) but it had significantly added to the demands of their positions. While the lack of up‐to‐date resources, poor levels of technical support and time were identified as the main impediments, a lack of familiarity of ways in which the technology could be integrated across the curriculum affected the quality of pedagogical leadership provided by them. The research highlights the need for alternative models of support and leadership to be considered.     

Reappraising Athleticism?

Hickey has presented a powerful rebuttal of Kerrigan's refusal to accept a role for athleticism in the development of English elementary school sport, and has identified further self-contradictions and inconsistencies in this refusal. Much more importantly, however, he has presented compelling evidence of the influence of athleticism on educational thinking and policy-making in relation to this sector of schooling. In doing so, he indirectly points to the need to reappraise the impact of the ideology of athleticism on schooling and society in general. A case can be made that it was even more powerful and pervasive than has been previously argued.     

Learning disabilities in children with very low birthweight: prevalence, neuropsychological correlates, and educational interventions

This study examined achievement, neuropsychological, and intervention outcomes at a mean age of 11 years in children with very low birthweight (VLBW, <1500 g) compared with a term-born control group. To assess the prevalence and correlates of specific learning disabilities (LD), the sample was limited to children without neurosensory disorders who had at least low average IQ. Participants included 31 children with <750 g birthweight, 41 with 750-1499 g birthweight, and 52 controls. The <750 g group obtained lower scores in math, IQ, and perceptual-organizational skills than the term-born group. The < 750 g group also had higher rates of past and present LD than the controls. Despite these differences, the groups did not differ significantly in rates of special education or tutorial/remedial assistance. These findings suggest that children with extremely low birthweight without gross physical or intellectual impairments are at higher risk for LD and cognitive deficiencies than their term-born peers and that further efforts are needed to improve identification and treatment of these learning problems.     

The effects of classroom climate on college science students: A replication study

This replication studied the effect of two specific classroom climates on learning of science process skills and content achievement in college science classes. Two classroom climates were established and designated as discovery classroom climate (DCC) and nondiscovery classroom climate (NDCC). The term discovery denotes the degree of freedom the teacher established in classroom interactions, both verbal and nonverbal. Verbal interactions were monitored with the Science Laboratory Interaction Categories. These data indicate that students in the two classroom climates achieved equally as well on learning of biological content of the course and on scores in science process skills as measured by the Welch Science Process Inventory. This study indicates students in the less directive discovery climate learned as much content as a more directive comparison class—they lost nothing of what is traditionally sought in a college science class. Differences between the original and the replication study on the Science Process Inventory were noted.     

Learning via mnemonic pictures: Analysis of the presidential process

In three experiments, junior high school students learned the numerical order of 14 U.S. presidents according to either a complex mnemonic strategy or their own techniques. Reliable performancepattern differences between the two groups were detected, both in the presence and absence of overall level-of-recall differences. Chief among the pattern differences were the classic serial-position profiles produced by control subjects, but not by those using mnemonic strategies, and the slower response times (suggesting a more complex retrieval process) of subjects using mnemonic strategies.