Voluntary organizations and the contribution to social justice in schools: learning from a case study

Partnerships are seen as vital to the functioning of many social institutions and the contribution that the private and voluntary not‐for‐profit sector organizations can make to the provision of statutory services is particularly valued. The Church of England Children’s Society Genesis project worked for nearly 5 years in one urban, secondary school with a remit to promote inclusion. Despite much recorded good work, Genesis was not continued after its contract ended. The school had a series of head teachers and was in special measures for part of the period, but key problems centred around the extent of the project’s contribution to the school’s core business and the absence of a positive management of the multi‐professional project by the school. The evaluation examines ways of proceeding which are of relevance to more complex projects. The paper also reviews the place of voluntary and non‐profit making organizations in meeting current challenges to collaborative, multi‐agency working and proposes a more robust, directive, and managerialist approach to make the most efficient and effective use of the resources and expertise of voluntary and statutory agencies (Inter‐agency Czar and Stalinist environment!). Genesis has gone on to work more successfully in six further schools having absorbed the messages of the evaluation of this first enterprise.     

Educating Teachers for the Information Era

Abstract

This paper seeks to summarize efforts made by the Faculty of Education of the University of Macau to inculcate computer literacy in teachers in Macau in preparation for the information era. Based on one programme of study proposed by the National Research Center for Computers in Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, the paper summarizes the course objectives, as well as the concepts and skills required to ensure sustainable development of information technology in China. To educate teachers throughinformation technology, it is envisaged that two kinds of activities are required: (1) construction of web‐based learning environments, (2) multimedia courseware authoring.     

Exploring the Characteristics and Diverse Sources of Students’ Mental Models of Acids and Bases

This study was part of a 6‐year integrated project designed to build a databank of students’ science conceptions in Taiwan. The main purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of students’ mental models regarding acids/bases, understand their changes in mental models, and explore sources that might influence students in constructing models. The study involved 38 ninth‐grade students, focusing on three high‐achieving students as well as three low‐achieving students who were interviewed thoroughly. The results show that students mainly adhered to the Phenomenon Model, the Character‐Symbol Model, the Inference Model, and the Scientific Model. Also, it is possible to draw a parallel between the characteristics of some models and various models of acidity in the history of science. The results also show differences in mental models and the weights of sources influencing high‐achieving and low‐achieving students. Evidence for the weight of sources is not consistent with the findings reported in other studies. We also discuss the implications for teaching and curriculum design.