Stereotyping and Intergroup Perceptions of Disabled and Nondisabled Children: A New Perspective

This research seeks to establish relationships between the stereotypes, self‐ratings and peer‐ratings of students in an experimental secondary school attended by both disabled and nondisabled young people. To study the influence that contact with disabled classmates has upon intergroup perceptions, responses of these students were compared with those of students attending a secondary school that does not practise mainstreaming.Results vary, depending upon whether subjects were asked to attribute adjectives from a list to classmates, some of whom were disabled, or to the disabled persons in general. This research highlights the need to adopt a new approach to intergroup relations.     

Taking stock of science in the schoolhouse: four ideas to foster effective instruction

In the opening discussion of this special issue, I take stock of science and schooling for students with learning disabilities (LD) before probing four ideas to foster effective instruction in contemporary schools: (a) Turn to science as the best trick we know for solving educational problems; (b) specify clearly what we hope to achieve in our instructional decisions for students with LD; (c) rely on instruction as the best tool we have for improving student performance; and (d) cultivate-and keep-competent and caring personnel. I invite commentary, from the perspectives of researchers, practitioners, and those who prepare teachers and administrators, to assess the status of science in the schoolhouse and to offer practical strategies for how the scientific orientation of schools might be enhanced.     

Case study: use of problem-based learning to develop students' technical and professional skills

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogy that has attracted attention for many biomedical engineering curricula. The aim of the current study was to address the research question, ‘Does PBL enable students to develop desirable professional engineering skills?’ The desirable skills identified were communication, teamwork, problem solving and self-directed learning. Forty-seven students enrolled in a biomedical materials course participated in the case study. Students worked in teams to complete a series of problems throughout the semester. The results showed that students made significant improvements in their problem-solving skills, written communication and self-directed learning. Students also demonstrated an ability to work in teams and communicate orally. In conclusion, this case study provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of PBL on student learning. We discuss findings from our study and provide observations of student performance and perceptions that could be useful for faculty and researchers interested in PBL for biomedical engineering education.     

Effects of signaled reward in instrumental conditioning: Enhanced learning on DRL and DRH schedules of reinforcement

The effects of signaled reward were examined using DRL and DRH schedules of reinforcement. In each case, one group of rats received a brief cue between the reinforced response and the reward, and a second group received brief cues at random times. With the DRL schedule (Experiment 1), signaled reward decreased response rate, increased response efficiency (number of responses per reinforcer), and increased resistence to satiation relative to the control group. With the DRH schedule (Experiment 2), signaled reward increased response rate, efficiency, and resistance to satiation. These results refute an overshadowing explanation of the effects of signaled reward and suggest that food-correlated cues enhance learning of the reinforcement contingencies.     

The stimulus-response overshadowing phenomenon with VI versus FI schedules of reinforcement

Previous research has shown that response rates on a variable interval (VI) schedule of reinforcement decrease if a brief response-produced signal is given prior to reward. One explanation is that the signal overshadows the response because it is a better predictor of reinforcement. The S-R overshadowing effect does not occur with variable ratio (VR) schedules, however. Tarpy, Lea, and Midgley (1983) explained this fact by suggesting that the signal functions to enhance the salience of the temporal interval offset on the VI schedule (a characteristic not possessed by VR schedules), which then overshadows the response. In this experiment, the salience of the temporal interval was enhanced in another way: signaled or unsignaled reward was provided to rats responding on either a VI or fixed interval (FI) reward schedule. As predicted, rates were lowest for animals receiving signaled reinforcement on an FI schedule and highest for those receiving unsignaled reinforcement on a VI schedule.     

The role of law in protecting the child: A critique of the English system

We have undertaken a critical appraisal of the current English system of law regulating: (1) Provision of services designed to prevent children coming into care of local authorities, which are the authorised agencies for dealing with children who are abused or neglected. (2) Ways of receiving children into care and also ways of terminating care orders. We question whether, and under what circumstances, care orders are really necessary. (3) Periodic reviews of children in care. We are critical of the English system and look to models in the USA as guides towards the possible reform of English law. We take the same perspective when considering termination of parental rights. In our opinion good laws do not of themselves provide the care and love which a child requires, but they make the caring possible by loved and loving adults. We argue that the law must provide the best possible framework to allow adequate caring by members of the non-legal professions, such as social workers and foster parents. At the same time the law must ensure that the rights of parents and children are protected.     

Some empirical issues in research on academic departments: Homogeneity,aggregation, and level of analysis

This study investigated the appropriateness of the academic departmental level of analysis. Homogeneity of faculty members' responses to measures of organizational structure, environmental uncertainty, and task routineness was examined to determine the legitimacy of aggregating those responses to create departmental level variables. Analysis of variance suggested that the structure and environmental uncertainty subscales were measuring departmental level phenomena, but that the task routineness scales were not. Results demonstrate the importance of empirically testing, rather than assuming, levels of analysis in studies of academic departments.     

Academic offences and e-learning: individual propensities in cheating

It has been argued that the use of Information and Communications Technologies has made academic dishonesty easier but this does not necessarily mean that it is more prevalent. The study presented here investigated the attitudes to, and extent of, self‐reported involvement in Internet supported dishonest academic practices. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that Internet experience, acceptability of cheating and assessment of risk predicted an individual student's acceptance of acts such as plagiarism as a legitimate way to achieve academic goals. There was a complex interrelationship among gender, frequency of Internet usage, and maturity of students. Academic offences tended to be more acceptable to males, but also to active Internet users, who were often female: that is females who joined the Internet culture were more prone to plagiarise than their non‐active peers. New undergraduates were more likely to err than students in later years of their degree. These results show that there are a number of interrelated factors impacting on individuals’ willingness to commit academic offences. The final discussion of this paper both recognises that Internet supported academic offences occur and briefly outlines some technical and non‐technical responses that should be considered by faculty to ameliorate this problem.     

Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Urban Schools

This study investigates pre-service teachers’ perceptions of urban schools. We asked 41 pre-service teachers, mostly white and female, to report their perceptions of four aspects of urban schools (appearance and atmosphere, resources, students, and teachers) and identify the sources of their perceptions. We analyze the data qualitatively to understand how they perceive urban schools and quantitatively to determine group trends in their perceptions. Findings reveal that their perceptions of urban schools are complex, with negative and positive impressions of selected aspects of urban schools. Implications of these findings for teacher education, in particular, urban field placements and curriculum, are explored.