Inclusive educational practices in Kenya: Evidencing practice of itinerant teachers who work with children with visual impairment in local mainstream schools

This article presents a findings from an investigation of the work of 38 specialist itinerant teachers (ITs) supporting the educational inclusion of children with visual impairment in Kenya. The research was designed around a participatory action research framework involving in-country researchers and participants (teachers) working in collaboration with researchers in the United Kingdom. Following an introductory training workshop, participants kept research journals over a 2-month period in which they recorded details of their itinerant duties (including the processes and content of their visits). Findings provide information about local practices of ITs support for children with visual impairment in mainstream schools and raise broader questions about the barriers to learning and development facing children with disabilities in mainstream schools in Kenya and other developing countries.     

Cultural mapping and sustainable communities: planning for the arts revisited

The field of arts and cultural planning and the aspirations of cultural practitioners, arts development officers and town planners has had a long, if frustrated, history in the United Kingdom. The relationship between the land-use development system and arts and cultural policy has lacked specific provision guidance or standards. This is in contrast to other areas of leisure and recreation, such as parks and open spaces, sports facilities and libraries. In large part this is due to the discretionary nature of much arts provision and also the fact that there is no single type of provider. Arts facilities and activity are delivered directly and indirectly by local and county councils, community and independent not-for-profit arts organizations – large and small – and private enterprises in the commercial entertainment and cultural industries. The absence of planning guidance and comparable data to assess the need for, and location of, a range of cultural amenities has also hampered an equitable, distributory planning approach. However, renewed interest in amenity planning and the role of cultural activity and opportunity in “place making” is evident internationally, and in the UK in particular, as new housing growth areas, demographic change and population increases require the planning of social as well as physical infrastructure on a scale not experienced since the last major new town developments. This article reviews the evolution of arts and cultural planning in the UK, including an assessment of recent concepts, guidance and resources in the UK and elsewhere. Cultural mapping and planning approaches are then demonstrated in housing growth areas, followed by a proposed methodology and framework for populating the cultural map. Finally, conclusions are made on the state of data and policy integration in what continues to be a fragmented cultural system.     

Benchmarking administration: University s experience in student an Australian

The article explores the role of the Registrar (Chief Operating Officer) in a university, and the ways in which we value the contributions of professional, managerial and administrative (PMA) staff. It assesses the conditions in which PMA staff work and describes the professional development opportunities they enjoy. The article goes on to analyse some of the challenges which PMA staff face, and ends by detailing fifteen recommendations for action. It concludes that valuing PMA staff is a complex, multi-dimensional and dynamic issue, but one which universities can ill afford to neglect.     

From values to virtues: an investigation into the ethical content of English primary school assemblies

School assemblies are unique and important events in the lives of schools. They are an opportunity for a head teacher to shape and celebrate the ethos and priorities of a school. However, the discussion of assemblies has stagnated because it is mired in the debate about legal compliance to the 1988 Education Reform Act and its interpretation in circular 1/94. This article reports on a research project which investigated the ethical ideas communicated in primary school assemblies. It is found that almost all assemblies sought to communicate a form of virtue ethics. We observed the promotion of courage, kindness, loyalty and responsibility. Further, different virtues were emphasised in different schools depending on their social location. For example, perseverance and resilience were often stressed in a school from a low socio-economic area. The article concludes with an examination of the implications of our findings for the discussion of legal compliance to the 1988 Act.     

Research in information science: An assessment

A critical analysis of research methods in the published literature in the field of information science. Report on the results of the comparison made between a set of 430 articles published 1969–1971 and another set of 152 articles published in 1974. Overall findings indicate that while the amount of research reported is remaining stable, the methods have improved somewhat in 1974, as compared to earlier years.