Name writing ability not length of name is predictive of future academic attainment

Background: The Performance Indicators in Primary Schools On Entry Baseline assessment for pupils starting school includes an item which aims to assess how well a pupil writes his or her own name. There is some debate regarding the utility of this measure, on the grounds that name length may constitute bias.

Purpose, method and design: The predictive validity of this item and its link to name length was investigated with a view to using this item in further assessments. Previous modest scale work from the USA, suggests that name writing ability is a robust indicator which correlates substantively with other known indicators of later reading whilst remaining independent of name length. This paper greatly expanded the sample size and geographical coverage and, rather than concurrent measures, the predictive validity of the item is assessed. The sample includes children from England, Scotland and Australia (N = 14932), assessed between 2011 and 2013. Potential confounding factors that are analysed include age, geographical region and ethnicity.

Findings and conclusions: The evidence suggests that the name writing item is a robust measure, with good predictive validity to future academic outcomes in early reading, phonological awareness and mathematics. The length was not related to the ability to write one’s own name nor was it predictive of future outcomes.     

The company of others: generating knowhow in later life

Abstract

This paper explores some important aspects of the generation of practical knowledge through later life. It is about the relationship between knowledge generation, agency and capability, developed informally through the life experiences in and through the Company of Others. It emphasises how the everyday processes of socialisation create invaluable opportunities to know how to navigate the diverse and complex changes thrown up in the journey through later life. It asks where and how knowhow is generated after workforce participation ceases and pays particular attention to ‘third places’, opportunities in the community that enable social connections beyond the first and second places, home and work, respectively. The empirical and theoretical data come from two main Australian sources amplified by new international research in cognate fields. The first is a study about Generating knowhow in later life. The second derives from insights from research for a book into the origins and nature of the now international Men’s Shed Movement.     

Increasing Teacher Mathematical Talk During Shared Book Reading in the Preschool Classroom: A Pilot Study

Research Findings: Shared book reading provides opportunities for adults to engage in literacy-related interactions with children in meaningful ways. Research has examined various dimensions of adult and child behavior during shared book-reading interactions with some focus on how book type affects the reading experience. Little research, however, has examined systematically the use of shared book reading in a mathematical context. Thus, the purpose of the study was twofold: (a) to examine the effect of book type on teacher use of mathematical talk during shared book reading in preschool classrooms and (b) to examine the effect of training teachers specifically to use mathematical talk during shared book reading. A multielement design with 2 female preschool teachers who taught in inclusion classrooms in an urban school district was used. Results generally indicated that the use of mathematical storybooks resulted in increased teacher mathematical talk compared to the use of nonmathematical storybooks. Training and instructional supports resulted in an increase in mathematical talk over that achieved by mathematical storybooks alone. Practice or Policy: Because shared book reading is a common practice in preschool classrooms, strategically choosing books to address mathematical skills can increase attention to mathematics throughout daily routines and provide a means of increasing teacher mathematical talk.     

Truth is in the eye of the beholder: Perception of the Müller-Lyer illusion in dogs

Visual illusions are objects that are made up of elements that are arranged in such a way as to result in erroneous perception of the objects’ physical properties. Visual illusions are used to study visual perception in humans and nonhuman animals, since they provide insight into the psychological and cognitive processes underlying the perceptual system. In a set of three experiments, we examined whether dogs were able to learn a relational discrimination and to perceive the Müller-Lyer illusion. In Experiment 1, dogs were trained to discriminate line lengths using a two-alternative forced choice procedure on a touchscreen. Upon learning the discrimination, dogs’ generalization to novel exemplars and the threshold of their abilities were tested. In the second experiment, dogs were presented with the Müller-Lyer illusion as test trials, alongside additional test trials that controlled for overall stimulus size. Dogs appeared to perceive the illusion; however, control trials revealed that they were using global size to solve the task. Experiment 3 presented modified stimuli that have been known to enhance perception of the illusion in other species. However, the dogs’ performance remained the same. These findings reveal evidence of relational learning in dogs. However, their failure to perceive the illusion emphasizes the importance of using a full array of control trials when examining these paradigms, and it suggests that visual acuity may play a crucial role in this perceptual phenomenon.     

Pretraining and discrimination reversal learning by rhesus monkeys

Groups of five to seven macaques were trained on repeated reversals of a visual (or spatial) discrimination habit after no pretraining, extended discrimination training, or repeated reversal training on spatial (or visual) cues. Neither sort of pretraining had a significant effect on reversal learning on the second cue. These results indicate that monkeys’ capacity to develop generalized “win-stay, lose-shift” hypotheses may have been exaggerated in previous experiments.     

Teachers and Gender: debating the myths of equal opportunities in Scottish education 1800‐1914

This paper challenges the legacy of the historical myth of egalitarianism in Scottish education through a reconstruction of the different experiences of men and women teachers in the nineteenth century. The celebrated myth of the egalitarian and democratic tradition of Scottish education has almost entirely focused on men. It was asserted that the ‘lad o’ pains’ had equality of access to an educational ladder from the parish or burgh schools to a Scottish University. There was a prevailing belief that the Scottish education system was more meritocratic and superior to the English one. The paper also challenges the contention that the Scottish education tradition was more democratic than that in England. What was distinctive about the experiences of schoolgirls and of women teachers in Scottish culture and Scottish education? To what extent did females benefit from this so called democratic tradition in comparison with England? These questions are exploratory because studies of women are seriously neglected in the historical and sociological secondary literature about the educational tradition in Scotland.     

Out of the classroom,into the courts: The legalization of Australian education and its implications for educational research

This paper argues, on the basis of comparative research and a study of recent Federal and State statute law and court decisions, that Australian education is becoming legalized. That is, new rights in education are being elaborated. New procedural protections enforced. The rule of law is developing in Australian education, where custom law used to prevail. This, the writers suggest, calls for new items on the educational research agenda.     

Reconsidering change and ICT: Perspectives of a human and democratic education

Has ICT changed education? Has the reformative, humanistic and emancipatory role that many educators have envisaged for ICT in education been realized in the reality of classrooms? Bearing in mind these two critical questions, the present paper attempts to approach the visionary narrative of the so-called information society (in recent times also referred to as knowledge society) and the rhetoric underlying the role of ICT as an agent for change and a substitute for education. Latest international facts and figures are examined with the purpose of assessing the realization of this role and raising critical arguments against the idea of perceiving ICT as the totem of educational change. From this evidence, it is argued that educational media and tools cannot revolutionize, but can only strengthen, further and reinforce established educational goals, curriculum contents, teaching and learning methods. This leads us to conclude that, as the educational use of ICT becomes assimilated, it mirrors and to a certain degree broadens or exacerbates prevailing socio-economic problems and current educational conditions. Thus the main focus of the paper is to attempt to redefine and re-approach the role of ICT from a human and democratic standpoint. It concentrates on ICT success stories, which seem to whisper the critical pedagogy tale. These stories serve as an avenue for reflecting upon the liberating possibilities of ICT, which can flourish when they are embedded in an alternative and progressive educational setting. In such an educational context, ICT represents an interesting, challenging and essential educational theme, one of the necessary keys for unlocking, understanding and participating in a competitive, demanding and insecure world. On the other hand, critical use of ICT tools enhances, promotes and extends democratic curriculum practices, processes and structures by offering students and teachers a multiple set of media and tools for expression, interaction, creation, reflection, analysis, construction, communication and meaning making. Focusing on students’ participation in common life as critical, knowledgeable, conscious and able citizens appears to bring about a new conception of ICT, namely a critical pedagogy and pedagogy of praxis perspective towards ICT. Yet, for such a focus to prevail we need to change our view of what it means to educate and what it means to be educated.     

Formatively assessing teamwork in technology-enabled twenty-first century classrooms: exploratory findings of a teamwork awareness programme in Singapore

Teamwork, one of the core competencies for the twenty-first century learner, is a critical skill for work and learning. However, assessing teamwork is complex, in particular, developing a measure of teamwork that is domain-generic and applicable across a wide range of learners. This paper documents one such study that leverages technology to help provide a formative assessment of teamwork. It focuses on the self and peer ratings of a teamwork measure and a pedagogical method, which was trialled as a teamwork awareness programme in a mainstream Secondary School in Singapore. This teamwork awareness programme was incorporated into the school’s Interdisciplinary Project Work curriculum. Findings of students’ experiences of the programme are described. The teamwork competency dimension of “team emotional support” was rated highest amongst students. Also, students’ report gains in teamwork awareness, mixed engagement in reflective practices, and on the real-world relevancy of the programme. Discussions and implications of the findings follow.     

Ko wai Au? Who am I? Examining the multiple identities of Māori youth

In this paper, we present preliminary findings from a unique collaborative research project involving six Deaf Māori rangatahi (youth) in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Aotearoa New Zealand. This study utilized kaupapa whānau (research family) protocols, established in consultation with two cultural advisory groups within New Zealand and the young people themselves, combined with elements of photovoice methodology, to explore the identities of these youth. Emerging findings highlight the complex nature of these youth’s cultural identity as well as specific issues related to access to and participation within te ao Māori (the Māori world). Specific and critical reflections on the research process are also included.