Ability emotional intelligence,trait emotional intelligence,and academic success in British secondary schools: A 5 year longitudinal study

This study examines the long-term effects of ability- and trait EI on academic performance for British adolescents. The sample comprised 413 students from three secondary schools in the North-West of England. Students completed tests of ability EI, trait EI, personality, and cognitive ability in Year 7 (mean age = 11 years 2 months). Performance data at the end of Year 11 (mean age = 15 years 10 months) were collected. Structural Equation Modelling examined the longitudinal relationships between latent variables of these constructs. Results show that the importance of ability EI resides in the fact that it moderates the effect of cognitive ability on performance in Year 11. Trait EI has a direct effect on Year 11 performance for boys only. This suggests that initiatives that help to develop ability EI and increase trait EI offer educators opportunities to improve educational achievement.     

Learning presence: Additional research on a new conceptual element within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework

This paper presents an empirical study grounded in the Community of Inquiry framework (Garrison, Anderson Archer, 2000) and employs quantitative content analysis of student discourse and other artifacts of learning in online courses in an effort to enhance and improve the framework and offer practical implications for online education. As a theoretical framework the purpose of the widely referenced CoI model is to describe, explain, and predict learning in online environments. The current study grows out of an ongoing research agenda to understand student and faculty experiences in emerging technology-mediated education systems and to make recommendations for theory and practice. The major question addressed here is whether the CoI model adequately explains effective learner behavior in fully online courses and to articulate a new conceptual element — learning presence. Results indicate that learning presence is evident in more complex learning activities that promote collaboration and is correlated with course grades.     

The nature and development of middle school mathematics teachers’ knowledge

In this article, we report on the use of a teacher profiling instrument with 62 middle school teachers at the start of a 3-year professional learning programme. The instrument was designed to assess the aspects of teachers’ knowledge identified by Shulman (1987) refined by Ball et al. (2008) and extended to include teachers’ confidence to use and teach various topics in the middle school mathematics curriculum and their beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning. Based on a hierarchical coding of items, the application of the partial credit Rasch model revealed that the profile items were measuring a single underlying construct and suggested that the various facets of teacher knowledge develop together. We describe the characteristics of four levels of the hierarchical construct measuring teacher knowledge and understanding for teaching mathematics in the middle years of schooling, and discuss the unique affordances of a holistic view of teacher knowledge in contrast to considerations of multiple knowledge categories.     

Preparing Ed.D. Students to Conduct Group Dissertations

In this article we present an overview of a recently launched cohort-based Ed.D. program that prepares participants to conduct group dissertations. The program, a hybrid model of online learning activities and monthly face-to-face class sessions, is delivered through a partnership between a university’s college of education and the administrative office of a statewide system of community and technical colleges. Discussion begins with a review of the pedagogical rationale that informed program design and instructional practices, followed by a presentation of key program elements tracing the development of the cohort through an innovative, collaborative dissertation process still in progress.     

The rise and fall of the MTL: an example of European policy borrowing

The success of Finland in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) highlights the quality of Finnish teacher education underpinning its consistently high performance in the survey. In 2010 the UK government initiated a masters in teaching and learning (MTL) in order to raise the education level of teachers, following Finland’s teacher education model. Educationists both past and present, however, warn against ‘quick fix’ political solutions and of the consequences of ‘uncritical policy transfer’. For an educational policy to be effectively borrowed, it must travel through different stages. In this article we argue that the MTL has been implemented in the hope of quick solutions to long-term difficulties; we also maintain that the MTL has applied distinctly English factors into the Finnish model and was achieving informed policy transfer. Nevertheless, the rapid introduction and withdrawal of the programme has not allowed for the MTL to reach complete policy borrowing.     

The development of young children of immigrants in australia, Canada, the United kingdom, and the United States

In spite of important differences in some of the resources immigrant parents have to invest in their children, and in immigrant selection rules and settlement policies, there are significant similarities in the relative positions of 4- and 5-year-old children of immigrants in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Children of immigrants underperform their counterparts with native-born parents in vocabulary tests, particularly if a language other than the official language is spoken at home, but are not generally disadvantaged in nonverbal cognitive domains, nor are there notable behavioral differences. These findings suggest that the cross-country differences in cognitive outcomes during the teen years documented in the existing literature are much less evident during the early years.     

A Multidimensional Assessment of Children in Conflictual Contexts: The Case of Kenya

Children in Kenya’s Kisumu District Primary Schools (N?=?430) completed three measures of trauma. Respondents completed the My Worst Experience Scale (MWES; Hyman and Snook 2002) and its supplement, the School Alienation and Trauma Survey (SATS; Hyman and Snook 2002), sharing their worst experiences overall and specifically in schools. Participants also completed the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS; Pearlman 2003), addressing their experiences of violence. The study examined children’s perceptions about themselves and others in the aftermath of violent experiences and the relationship between children’s trauma symptoms from experiencing violence and their social and academic functioning. Differences in the presence, frequency, and severity of symptoms emerged, with a large percentage attaining statistical and clinical significance. Research and practice implications are provided.     

Revisiting an Abandoned Practice: The Death and Resurrection of Collection Development Policies

Academic libraries have a long tradition of endorsing and creating written collection development policies to communicate, both internally and externally, their dynamic collection practices. As revealed by a literature search, academic libraries, over time, appear to have abandoned this practice. This article documents how Texas A&M University Libraries embraced the ambitious task of resurrecting written collection development policies and, as part of this process, assessed the current state of collection development, systematically planned for future collection growth, and identified emerging fields of research requiring additional collection support. This process also undertook the integration of collection development into the organizational culture of the libraries. Reflecting on this process, the authors present the case for creating and maintaining written collection development policies in academic libraries.     

Action learning and constructivist grounded theory: powerfully overlapping fields of practice

This paper considers the shared characteristics between action learning (AL) and the research methodology constructivist grounded theory (CGT). Mirroring Edmonstone's [2011. “Action Learning and Organisation Development: Overlapping Fields of Practice.” Action Learning: Research and Practice 8 (2): 93–102] article, which explored the relationship(s) between AL and organisation development, a case is made that AL and CGT are powerfully overlapping fields of practice. An account of practice is included to provide a contextual explanation of the ‘overlap’, and a new methodological praxeology is proposed to the field of practice/practitioner-focused research.     

Academic Libraries as Digital Gateways: Linking Students to the Burgeoning Wealth of Open Online Collections

ABSTRACT

Digital collections of full-text e-books are proliferating on the Web and provide a wealth of open content for students. To examine whether academic libraries are providing a digital gateway to these resources, ten e-book titles from open digital collections were searched in the online catalogs and Web pages of ten academic libraries serving distance learners. Only three of the digital collection e-books were available from any of the library catalogs, and none were found on library Web pages. Availability of the ten e-book titles through Google and other digital discovery tools also had mixed results. Continued projects for improved delivery of open online content are necessary. In order to fulfill their role as digital gateways for their academic communities, libraries must pursue metadata standards to support cross-searching, collaborative projects, and development of e-resource search software, which integrates with the library catalog.