First contact: Initial responses to cultural disequilibrium in a short term teaching exchange program

This paper examines early aspects of intercultural learning among pre-service teachers from Japan and the United States during a short-term international exchange program. Using insights from Taylor's (1994) theory of intercultural development, the research uses qualitative methodology to describe experiences of cultural disequilibrium and various responses to disequilibrium by participants in the exchange. Findings suggest a range of related sources of cultural disequilibrium across culture groups. Eight strategic responses to disequilibrium are identified, and implications for early engagements with cultural difference for beginning teachers are discussed. The research seeks to clarify the role that short term immersion experiences can play in the understanding and development of early intercultural competence and to identify connections between such experiences and teacher education.     

Uniting sport and heritage: An evaluation of the Our Sporting Life exhibition programme

The year 2012 provided an opportunity to celebrate sporting history during the year when London staged that most historical of international sporting events, the Olympic Games. However, the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) made no reference to sporting history within official documentation, and there was no mention of sport in the Cultural Olympiad programme. This paper aims to understand the role of the Sports Heritage Network in exploring England's sporting heritage, despite being excluded from the official planning of the London 2012 Olympic Games. This affiliation of museums and archives with an interest in England's sporting past recognised the potential of the 2012 Olympic Games and established a community exhibition programme, Our Sporting Life, which aligned with LOCOG's aims and objectives. This paper evaluates the outputs and outcomes of Our Sporting Life and aims to understand why it was not supported financially or integrated into the official Cultural Olympiad programme. The data collection for Our Sporting Life is analysed and critiqued, and the impact of the programme is considered using the Generic Learning Outcomes and the Generic Social Outcomes frameworks. Our Sporting Life delivered over a hundred exhibitions and reached over one million people, with outcomes that included increasing knowledge and understanding, and strengthening public life. It provides an off-the-shelf methodology for future major sporting events and, as such, its omission from the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad can be regarded a lost opportunity.     

An exploration of the validity and potential of adult ego development for enhancing understandings of school leadership

An adult ego development (AED) perspective accepts that the way adults interpret and interact in the social world can change during their life-span. This article seeks to analyse the validity and potential of AED for enhancing understandings of educational leadership practice and development. We analysed the AED literature and interviewed 16 individuals in senior leadership positions in the English school system. The interviews enabled them to explore the notion of AED and to reflect on their own sense-making capability and their experience of school leaders they considered to be in the different stages of AED. Educational leaders judged to be in the different AED stages were encountered by respondents to varying extents and were experienced and valued differently. Those considered to be in the later AED stages appeared to be more highly valued and their sense-making capabilities may have substantial value in the complex working environment of schools. The analyses showed that: AED has a considerable role in educational leadership practice; can inform the analysis of educational leadership practice and development; and has valuable explanatory power.     

Faculty as Mentors in Undergraduate Research,Scholarship, and Creative Work: Motivating and Inhibiting Factors

In this study, we sought to contribute to research about the high-impact practice of undergraduate research from the understudied faculty perspective. We relied on focus group data from faculty members (N = 41) across five institutions to better understand the supporting and inhibiting factors that contribute to faculty members’ engagement in mentoring undergraduate research. We offer implications for research and practice.     

Antenatal education as perceived by health professionals

This article aims to identify the learning needs of expectant and new parents for antenatal education as perceived by health professionals. In Australia, antenatal education programs are predominantly designed by health professionals, and recent research has challenged the efficacy of this approach. The data collected from 73 health professionals, reported here, demonstrates that their perceptions of the concerns and interests of expectant and new parents were divided into three interrelated categories: "need to know...what's happening," "they won't listen," and "balanced information." The health professional ideas for improving antenatal education were limited and identified a reluctance to change practice.     

Implementing the democratic principles and practices of student-centred curriculum integration in primary schools

Student-centred curriculum integration (CI) is a concept underpinned by democratic education. It places students at the centre of learning, involving them in classroom decisions and curriculum planning. Most research on this approach has been situated in the middle years, but this study focuses on primary schooling.

This project examined what happened when three teachers, located in three New Zealand schools, explored the democratic principles and practices inherent in student-centred curriculum integration. The project utilised participatory action research (PAR) methodology supported by multiple data sources. The findings indicated that this form of curriculum design provides relevant, engaging and equitable learning environments. The teachers found that by slowly increasing the level of student inclusion they gained the confidence and competence to collaboratively co-construct curriculum with students.