Strategic Planning From the Bottom Up: A Unit Strategic Plan That Pushes Change

This article describes an example of a unit level strategic plan, its formation, and its effects in implementation. The argument is presented that unit level strategic plans can help libraries by giving individuals specific goals that are tailored to their strengths and make up for the unit's weaknesses.     

Learning for work and working to learn： Challenges within a changing UK higher education system

Higher education in the United Kingdom is currently undergoing major changes. In the foreseeable future, it will also undergo farther change. The nature of these changes can be attributed to several key areas-government demand for change, industry demand for change and student demand for change. The UK, like many other major economies and not for the first time in recent history, is having to face the implications of severe skills shortages in its workforce, coupled with the increasing competitiveness of more globalised workforees and workplaces. A recent major government report has set out the country＇s skills agenda until 2020 and UK higher education is starting to wrestle with the implications of these changes, some of which challenge the traditional preserves of university education. This paper will focus on the implications of these skills shortages and the impact that is having on UK higher education. In particular, reference will be made to the impact of the new 2 years vocational Foundation Degrees, to the shift from supply-led to demand-led higher education, the increasing integration and tensions of work-based learning and to the accreditation of Continuous Professional Development （CPD） within an academic framework. This paper presents one story of the growing and changing relationship between higher education and industry.     

Documenting professional practice through the use of a professional portfolio

Many early childhood practitioners use pedagogical documentation as an important process that enables children's thinking to be represented in a form that can be readily shared with others (Dahlberg et al., 1999 Dahlberg G Moss P Pence A (1999) Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: postmodern perspectives (London, Falmer Press)  [Google Scholar]). Documentation in the form of a professional portfolio provides a vehicle for reflection and an appreciation of the complexities and ambiguities of professional practice in the human professions. The nursing and teaching professions have also embraced professional portfolios as a means through which accountability to self and to others can be judged. However, it is the fusion of process and product within professional portfolio development that enables those involved in the human professions to examine, reflect on, understand, explain and further develop their professional practice. It is through this interrogation of practice that we can not only gain insight into our capabilities but also the theories, beliefs and values that underpin the wisdom of our professional practices. The process of professional portfolio development can be enriching and empowering. An outline for organizing a professional portfolio is provided.     

Predictors and outcomes of low-income fathers’ reading with their toddlers

Most studies of parent–child bookreading have focused on mothers reading to their children. Though the role of fathers in children's lives is widely emphasized, we know almost nothing about father–child bookreading, particularly among low-income families. The present study was designed to examine how often low-income fathers report reading to their children and what the predictors and effects of paternal bookreading are. The fathers in this study were participants in the national evaluation of Early Head Start (EHS) and were recruited via mothers enrolled in the EHS study. Participating fathers were interviewed at home and their children's cognitive and language development were assessed using standardized measures from ages 2 to 5. Results demonstrated a wide variety in frequency of bookreading among fathers. Fathers were more likely to read to their children frequently if they spoke English at home, if they had a high school education, and if their children had better language skills. Fathers’ bookreading predicted children's cognitive outcome. Paternal bookreading did predict children's language outcomes but only for children whose fathers had at least a high school education.     

Vulnerability to Bullying: Teacher-reported conduct and emotional problems,hyperactivity, peer relationship difficulties,and prosocial behaviour in primary school children

Twenty five class teachers completed a "Strengths and Difficulties" assessment for 523 children aged from 7 to 11 years of age. Children self-completed a 39-item "My Life in School" questionnaire. One third of the sample were self-reported victims of bullying behaviour. Boys with poor prosocial skills, emotional problems and general difficulties with social interaction, expression of emotion and hyperactivity were at greatest risk of being bullied. There was no significant effect of age. The data support previous research findings that gender influences the prevalence of bullying but not that younger children are more vulnerable. This study provides new evidence that teachers recognise social behaviour and interactions that can significantly affect whether primary school children are bullied.     

Teachers’ perspectives of lower secondary school students in streamed classes – A Western Australian case study

Streaming in secondary schools is not beneficial for improving student outcomes of education with vast amounts of educational research indicating that it does not improve academic results and increases inequity. Yet teachers often prefer working in streamed classes, and research shows that teachers mediate the effects of streaming on students. This study sought to add to the understanding of teachers’ role in student learning by investigating how teachers conceptualise the students in streamed classes. A qualitative case study approach was used, where 18 teachers were interviewed in-depth to create narrative examples, three of which are presented here. These narratives summarise the research findings that teachers saw students in high and low streams as having homogenous characteristics according to five dichotomous categories: approach to learning, attitude to learning, learning style, autonomy and background. Students in mixed-ability classes were viewed along these same continua, but as more heterogeneous groups. Furthermore, these views of students had direct implications for how teachers planned for learning and the expectations that they held of their students. The discussion links streaming research with teacher expectation research, suggesting that teachers of streamed classes in this secondary school hold specific whole-class ideas that affect student learning. The article concludes with recommendations for further inquiry that links these two important fields of educational research.     

Vaille Dawson,Grady Venville,Jennifer Donovan (eds): The Art of Teaching Science: a Comprehensive Guide to the Teaching of Secondary School Science, 3rd Edition

Research in Science Education -