Pupil and parent attitudes towards bullying in primary schools

This paper describes an investigation of pupil and parent attitudes towards bullying, comparing attitudes with bullying behaviour. 747 parents and 326 children aged 6 to 11 from four primary schools completed the Parental Attitudes to Bullying Scale and the Children’s Attitudes to Bullying Scale. Most were found to be largely sympathetic towards victims, supportive of intervention, but less understanding towards bullies. There was little association between parental and children’s attitudes, nor did parent attitudes predict children’s behaviour, although there was a link between the children’s attitudes and their behaviour. Mothers were more sympathetic than fathers, but there were no sex differences among children. Children with more siblings were more likely to bully others.     

A study of cross-national collaborative research: reflecting on experience in Pakistan

This paper seeks to offer insights into the complexities involved in cross-national collaborative research. It identifies and provides an account of the various issues running through the research process, whilst at the same time derives principles upon which such work should be based. Key narratives were identified by highlighting a number of critical incidents. These narratives were related to issues of ownership, trust, and power, whilst in the course of theorising the research process itself, the metaphors of voice and crossing borders were found to be profoundly empowering and transformative. The complexities of working cross-nationally in the research group, understanding roles, clarifying professional frames and ethical values, at the same time as creating and maintaining a context for effective partnership and participation, made managing and sustaining the research process challenging.     

Time on task in intensive modes of delivery

This paper reports on an investigation into how staff teaching in compressed courses can encourage student engagement and enhance student use of learning time, despite significant restraints of time as well as distance. Typically these courses (described here as units) are expected to have comparable learning outcomes to their full-semester counterparts and provide an opportunity for students to either retake failed units or to acquire credit for their chosen degrees in accelerated time. Organising teaching and learning through intensive modes of delivery may require different approaches to curriculum development and pedagogy compared to traditional unit planning and delivery, especially when the intensive delivery utilises online technologies. This paper explores strategies employed by successful intensive mode teachers in the development and delivery units for maximised student engagement. It concludes that many of these strategies are equally applicable in online and distance education regardless of the unit being intensive or otherwise.