Notes on Contributors

Abstract

This article reports on research analysing how primary initial teacher educators define and participate in research activities. A representative sample of teacher educators in one institution in the UK were interviewed in depth to identify individuals' perceptions of the place of research in their work. All the interviewees saw their most important role as teaching and supporting students. In all cases, research was seen as a low priority. Engagement in research was seen as moving away from the practical, school and student centred world of primary initial teacher education towards a more conventionally ‘academic’ world. The established researchers within the teacher education community were seen as a privileged elite.

Two clusters of factors which influence these perceptions are defined as: firstly, the effects of the changing nature of the institution and internal structures it has generated in response to national changes; and secondly, the ways in which the interviewees define their work its conditions and its underlying values. These factors and the tensions they cause are explored in relation to the pressures placed on the teacher education communities by the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise and the development of increased partnerships with schools.     

The Transition Lynchpin: The Voices of Individuals with Disabilities Who Attended a Community College Transition Program

Nearly 60% of students with disabilities who attend postsecondary institutions attend community colleges. Individuals with disabilities paralleling their peers without disabilities need the postsecondary education opportunity to develop vocational skills, the time to mature, and the experience of living with others. A transition program, a K–12 and community college partnership, was developed to support students in this mission. A narrative inquiry methodology was utilized to understand the community college experience of students with disabilities in a transition program. Findings indicate that the program benefited the individuals. It did this by supporting completion of a vocational program leading to gainful employment and as a transition into adult roles and status. The program also provided opportunities that enhanced the individuals' self-esteem, and it facilitated the individuals becoming more independent and responsible.     

SPECIAL-EDUCATION DELIVERY MODELS IN A GENERAL-EDUCATION TEACHINGPROGRAM: A COMMUNITY COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE

ABSTRACT

This article describes the process of integrating special-education content into 2 delivery models used in 2 different general-education teacher-preparation programs for elementary-education majors at the University of Wyoming and Casper (Community) College. One program was the traditional 4- year undergraduate elementary-teacher preparation program; the other was a creative and resourceful way of offering the same program at one of the state's community colleges. The models were based on theoretical and practical applications of current teaching practices. These included the integration of special-education students into the general-education classroom. Students' reactions to what they were learning and implications for practice are included.     

Sporting reunions,contemporary collections and collective biographies: a case study of Harry Batt’s 1971 England team

ABSTRACT

This article centres on a reunion held at the National Football Museum in 2018 of women football players active before 1993, particularly the England team for the unofficial Women's World Cup in 1971. After outlining the organisation of the tournament, the experience of the three youngest England players is articulated using oral history case studies. Finally the argument suggests that social strategies, such as reunions, enable a degree of reminiscence therapy and provide museum and archives with potential material, currently in the private domain, to build contemporary collections, provided that players are willing to gift or loan their items.     

There’s a creepy guy on the other end at Google!: engaging middle school students in a drawing activity to elicit their mental models of Google

Although youth are increasingly going online to fulfill their needs for information, many youth struggle with information and digital literacy skills, such as the abilities to conduct a search and assess the credibility of online information. Ideally, these skills encompass an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the ways in which a system, such as a Web search engine, functions. In order to investigate youths’ conceptions of the Google search engine, a drawing activity was conducted with 26 HackHealth after-school program participants to elicit their mental models of Google. The findings revealed that many participants personified Google and emphasized anthropomorphic elements, computing equipment, and/or connections (such as cables, satellites and antennas) in their drawings. Far fewer participants focused their drawings on the actual Google interface or on computer code. Overall, their drawings suggest a limited understanding of Google and the ways in which it actually works. However, an understanding of youths’ conceptions of Google can enable educators to better tailor their digital literacy instruction efforts and can inform search engine developers and search engine interface designers in making the inner workings of the engine more transparent and their output more trustworthy to young users. With a better understanding of how Google works, young users will be better able to construct effective queries, assess search results, and ultimately find relevant and trustworthy information that will be of use to them.