The dynamics of ‘market-making’ in higher education

Abstract

This paper examines what to some is a well-worked furrow; the processes and outcomes involved in what is typically referred to as ‘marketization’ in the higher education sector. We do this through a case study of Newton University, where we reveal a rapid proliferation of market exchanges involving the administrative division of the university with the wider world. Our account of this process of ‘market making’ is developed in two (dialectically related) moves. First, we identify a range of market exchanges that have emerged in the context of wider ideological and political changes in the governance of higher education to make it a more globally competitive producer of knowledge, and a services sector. Second, we explore the ways in which making markets involve a considerable amount of microwork, such as the deployment of a range of framings, and socio-technical tools. Taken together, these market-making processes are recalibrating and remaking the structures, social relations and subjectivities, within and beyond the university and in turn reconstituting the university and the higher education sector.     

Improving Schools Through School‐Based Management: An Examination of the Process of Change∗

Data from twenty‐two case studies of schools in four North American school districts are examined to assess the process and outcomes of reform through school‐based management (SBM). The analysis is guided by a theoretical model that describes the process through which SBM can lead to school improvement. This model suggests that the formal change in governance reflected in a shift to SBM must first generate improvements in the decision making processes utilized at the school. Better decision making will enable schools to implement needed strategic and operational changes, and these together will help build an effective school culture. An improved culture, along with the strategic and operational reforms implemented at the school, will lead to changes in the behavior of staff members, which is necessary for there to be improvement in various outcomes that serve as indicators of school quality. The analysis of the case studies indicates that schools in our sample most frequently exhibited positive changes in two areas, namely, decision making processes and school culture. Strategic and operational changes were less likely to undergo positive change, as were individual behavior and school quality. However, the overall pattern of findings provides reasonable support for the general validity of the model. Furthermore, the data from this sample of schools suggest that SBM has considerable potential to elicit positive changes in schools. To help insure that such potential is realized, the findings indicate that school leaders must insure that all constituents have an opportunity to participate in school level decisions, that a vision regarding desired outcomes should be utilized to guide the implementation of strategic and operational changes, and that the process of change should be monitored in order to better identify problem areas and allow corrective action to be taken.

     

Differential Use of Elementary Science Kits

The use of kits in elementary science classes is a growing trend in some countries. Kits provide materials and inquiry lessons in a ready-to-teach format for teachers to use in their science instruction. This study examined elementary teachers' instructional strategies, classroom practices, and assessment types in relation to the frequency of science kit use. A total of 503 elementary teachers from an urban school district received professional development, implemented kits in their classrooms for a year, and then completed a survey about science kit use and teaching practices. Despite similarities in demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity, certification/educational level), there were significant differences in teachers' use of inquiry-based teaching and assessment practices by kit use. Teachers who reported using kits the most often were significantly more likely to report that their students designed and implemented laboratory investigations as well recorded, represented, and analyzed data. In addition, the high kit users indicated that they were more likely to use student groups, require students to use evidence to support claims, and use alternative assessments of student work including portfolios, notebooks, and long-term projects than those teachers who used kits less frequently. Those teachers who reported using kits the least often were significantly more likely to report having students practice for standardized tests. The role of kits in promoting reform-based teaching practices is discussed.     

German speech education

Following is a report of German Speech Education based on two visits to Europe, one from January to June 1939 and one from August 1954 to September 1955. It is the hope that these observations may add to what others have found and help to encourage an exchange of philosophies and methods.     

Information Literacy Follow-Through: Enhancing Preservice Teachers’ Information Evaluation Skills Through Formative Assessment

An investigation into preservice teachers’ information evaluation skills at a large university suggests that formative assessment can improve student achievement. Preservice teachers were asked to apply information evaluation skills in the areas of currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose. The study used quantitative methods to assess preservice teachers’ evaluation skills as demonstrated within the context of a final project, or summative assessment, in an elementary education course. The authors compared the preservice teachers’ and researchers’ evaluations to analyze final projects from two semesters. When asked to evaluate the sources cited in a final project for an education methods course, preservice teachers who received formative feedback from librarians improved in most information evaluation areas. Formative assessment is explored as a tool for improving information literacy instruction.     

Threshold Setting and Performance Optimization in Adaptive Filtering

An experimental adaptive filtering system, built on the Okapi search engine, is described. In addition to the regular text retrieval functions, the system requires a complex set of procedures for setting score thresholds and adapting them following feedback. These procedures need to be closely related to the evaluation measures to be used. A mixture of quantitative methods relating a threshold to the number of documents expected to be retrieved in a time period, and qualitative methods relating to the probability of relevance, is defined. Experiments under the TREC-9 Adaptive Filtering Track rules are reported. The system is seen to perform reasonably well in comparison with other systems at TREC. Some of the variables that may affect performance are investigated.     

Introduction to the Special Issue: Overview of the TREC Routing and Filtering Tasks

This paper introduces the special issue, and reviews the routing and filtering tasks as defined and evaluated at TREC. The tasks attempt to simulate a specific service situation: the system is assumed to process an incoming stream of documents against profiles of user interest, strictly in the time order in which they arrive, and immediately refer any matching document to the user. In the adaptive filtering version of the task, the user is assumed to provide a relevance judgement instantly. The rationale for the task definitions and the evaluation measures used is discussed.     

Reference, or advisory, groups involving disabled people: reflections from three contrasting research projects

Increasingly in recent years, the involvement of disabled people as co-researchers has been regarded as 'good practice'. This has been informed by growing participatory and emancipatory research paradigms as well as user-focused policy imperatives. The benefits of these shifts apply to the research itself (improved definition, direction, applicability and impact), to non-disabled researchers (personal growth and enhanced understanding of the reflexive research process), to people with disabilities involved as researchers or collaborators (personal growth and enhanced opportunities), and (if externally funded) to the funder whose ways of operating are likely to be challenged profoundly. In this paper, Ann Lewis, Sarah Parsons and Christopher Robertson (based at the University of Birmingham), Anthony Feiler, Beth Tarleton and Debby Watson (based at the University of Bristol) and Richard Byers, Jill Davies, Ann Fergusson and Claire Marvin (based at the University of Cambridge) discuss the work of three independent research teams carrying out concurrent projects. The authors share their experiences of trying to take seriously the participation of disabled people in research. All three projects were informed, to a significant degree, by their respective reference groups of disabled people. The work of these groups in each of the three projects is outlined and then discussed in relation to five common themes: formal contracts with members of reference groups; considerations concerning drawing on an established reference group; planning for reference group involvement; style of reference group involvement; and building on good practice.     

Parent education: The Dreikurs model

The effects of a 10-week Dreikurs parent education program was investigated in terms of maternal attitudes, expressed practices, and parent-child behaviors. Variables assessed included maternal control, maturity demands, communication and nurturance. Using a Posttest-Only Control Group design, 60 mothers of kindergarten children in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, were randomly selected from a pool of 81 volunteers. The mothers (Ss) were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: experimental and control. Ss in the experimental group participated in the Dreikurs parent education program, while control Ss received delayed treatment. Using Baumrind's (1967) Parent Interview Schedule and Scales, Ss were interviewed and rated regarding their child-rearing attitudes and practices. Ss were videotaped interacting with their kindergarten children in a structured situation and tapes were rated using Baumrind's (1967) Home Visit Sequence Analysis. Results indicated that Ss who participated in the Dreikurs program had more positive attitudes toward independence training and independence granting. Specific suggestions were made for further studies in terms of research design and revision of instruments. Additional suggestions included focus on personality characteristics of parents.The study formed the basis of a doctoral dissertation by the first authorThe paper was presented at the Eight International Conference and Seminar of Counseling, Oslo, Norway in July, 1978.The first author has moved to the University of Calgary since the study was completedInquiries or request for reprints should be directed to Dr. S. Robertson, Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4.University of Alberta