Analysing the Role of the Subject Head of Department in Secondary Schools in England and Wales: Towards a theoretical framework

This paper argues that contingency theory offers a useful basis on which to consider the work of subject heads of department (HoDs) in secondary schools, particularly if they are pro-active in attempting to influence the quality of teaching and learning in their curriculum area. We have developed a provisional model which may shed more light on how HoDs actually work with other departmental staff.     

Beyond the ‘good teacher’: guiding pre-service teacher reflections on culturally diverse students

This article explores how reflective practice may be facilitated among pre-service teachers preparing to teach in culturally diverse classrooms. The significance of the mentor teacher’s ability to reveal her/himself as a reflective practitioner in order to promote student reflection is well documented. The article specifically addresses one teacher educator’s approach to offering mentor support with a focus on reflective practices related to cultural diversity. She explores how her ethnographic doctoral study on the classroom participation of adult South Sudanese students in different Australian learning environments has informed her own practice as a teacher, and ways in which her teaching philosophy and values were influenced by the sustained reflection needed to complete the study. By making explicit an aspect of her reflective practice, she aims to add to the growing body of literature on how to engage pre-service teachers meaningfully in reflection on their own classroom practice, especially in relation to teaching to diversity.     

Analyzing Cataloging Job Descriptions: Are Cataloging Jobs Disappearing,Changing, or Merging?

Abstract

To determine the state of the cataloging job market, this study compares job advertisements from August 2016-August 2018 advertising for jobs with cataloging in the title, metadata in the title, and cataloging and metadata in the title. Given ongoing concerns about the impact of metadata jobs on the cataloging job market, this study asks the questions: Are cataloging jobs in fact “disappearing” and becoming metadata jobs? Are entry-level jobs disappearing, perhaps contributing to the idea that there is a lack of qualified catalogers? Is there a difference in position level between cataloging and metadata job advertisements that can account for a lack or perceived lack of available cataloging jobs? Are there more entry-level or mid/supervisory positions advertised? Are cataloging and metadata jobs really separate, or should they be considered one position called cataloging and metadata?     

Center Stage: Performing a Needs Assessment of Campus Research Centers and Institutes

Outreach to research centers and institutes is often overlooked in academic libraries. This article discusses a needs assessment conducted by the Liaison Services Department at the University of Houston Libraries that reviewed library services to centers and institutes at the University of Houston's main campus. The assessment was conducted for two purposes: to build collaborations with centers and to determine how the libraries might create new services and/or market existing services to meet the centers and institutes' growing research needs.     

LATIN ‐‐AN INTEGRATED LEARNING PROJECT

Television has an increasing role as an aid to learning. In the past, because of the expense of the equipment needed, it has been regarded as a tool for teaching. Only recently has it been installed in libraries and resource centres together with video recorders and headsets, to permit students to learn from video sources of information. In many of these applications, however, despite the fact that other media is available in the same location, the connection between other items and television material is no more than tenuous. In the Latin Learning Project used by Surrey schools, as described in this article, efforts have been made to get beyond this limitation.     

“Circle of Friends”—An Exploration of Impact Over Time

This study investigated the impact of different aspects of the circle of friends (CoF) intervention. A naturalistic sample of 14 primary‐aged children with a range of special educational needs were involved, seven of whom were followed‐up a term later, to assess medium‐term impact. The whole‐class meeting was found to be effective in increasing the social inclusion of the focus children. However, with the exception of one child with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), the weekly CoF meetings produced no measurable further improvements. Possible explanations for the pattern of findings and implications for educational psychology practice are discussed.     

Measuring Self-Regulation: A Focus on Activity

Ainley and Patrick describe an assessment process designed to “identify self- regulation in action.” In the spirit of this goal, the author offers three suggestions for providing a more holistic and contextual view of self-regulation. These suggestions include (a) expanding the definition of self-regulation used in their studies; (b) measuring self-regulation as a dynamic process rather than as a linear one; and (c) including measures of the context, such as task, interpersonal contacts, and community norms.     

Linguistic awareness skills in grade one children in a French immersion setting

This study examined the ability of children in French immersion and English programs to analyze the internal structure of spoken words in relation to their early reading and spelling abilities in English. Thirty-two children in the first grade were given a modified version of the Auditory Analysis Test, and reading and spelling tasks that included both real words and non-words. Results indicated that French immersion children were more proficient than their English program peers at explicitly analyzing spoken words and that the groups did not differ when reading and spelling orthographically regular real words and non-words. The English program children performed better than their French program peers only when reading orthographically irregular English words. These results demonstrate that second language learning enhances metalinguistic awareness and help to explain why children in immersion programs do not experience long-term difficulty in acquiring English written language skills.