Searching Down the Fisheries Information Web: An Initial Reflection

The complex web of information ranges from pure science to applied techniques to management policies. All are important, yet have varying levels of accessibility and authority. Often the apex of the peer-reviewed journal article is considered the most important level discouraging scientists and managers, especially those in developing countries, from populating the other layers of the web that may be considered grey. We are particularly interested in how information produced in developing countries fits into this information web. To do so, we focused on one topic, mangroves, using it as a means to exemplify the complexity of the web of information and reveal publication patterns. Using search tools, we identified 2000–2005 mangrove-related publications regarding Africa and India, analyzed them by author’s location and affiliation, publication format, and availability. Our preliminary analysis suggests that grey literature remains difficult to discover, the peer-reviewed journal is the most popular means of scientific communication, and open archives are just starting to have an impact on scholarly communication. The web of information would be strengthened by improving the discovery of the grey literature through greater visibility and accessibility.     

Can the Arts Get Under the Skin? Arts and Cortisol for Economically Disadvantaged Children

This within‐subjects experimental study investigated the influence of the arts on cortisol for economically disadvantaged children. Participants were 310 children, ages 3–5 years, who attended a Head Start preschool and were randomly assigned to participate in different schedules of arts and homeroom classes on different days of the week. Cortisol was sampled at morning baseline and after arts and homeroom classes on two different days at start, middle, and end of the year. For music, dance, and visual arts, grouped and separately, results of piecewise hierarchical linear modeling with time‐varying predictors suggested cortisol was lower after an arts versus homeroom class at middle and end of the year but not start of the year. Implications concern the impact of arts on cortisol for children facing poverty risks.     

Perceptions of support for secondary school learners with dyslexia in France and in Wales: case study analyses

The lack of consensus over the origins of dyslexia, assessment practices and the impact on learners across languages has led to different approaches to support being adopted across Europe. This study uses a case study design and aims at gaining an understanding of learners with dyslexic tendencies’ experiences and perceptions of Welsh and French support systems. The cross‐cultural dimension of the study makes the analysis pivot around some cultural differences which provide new insights.     

Improving the learning of newly qualified teachers in the induction year

Newly qualified teachers of mathematics and science are a precious resource and it important that they are provided with appropriate support and challenge during their first year in post. This study examines the developing thinking and practice of a group of such teachers in England and the influence of their mentors within the workplace context of the school. We argue that thinking and practice is restricted by the concern to ‘fit in’, by the belief that behaviour management should be addressed before teaching can be developed and by a lack of attention to the development of pedagogical thinking. We conclude that there is a need to change the beliefs and practices of induction mentors and develop their skills in discussing pedagogical ideas. This is most likely to be achieved within a school‐wide culture of continuing professional learning.     

An international online survey of the practices and perceptions of higher education professors with respect to the assessment of learning in the classroom

In a context where public action must demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency, and where the links between teaching and the quality of learning are regularly highlighted, it seems relevant to identify the trends and logic that govern university professors’ decisions with respect to the modes of learning assessment favoured within the framework of their delivery of teaching services. Moreover, given that university teaching practices are changing rapidly due to the introduction of different views of the learning process, one might conclude that the same holds for assessment practices. Through our research work, we led to the development of a trilingual (English, French and Spanish) online survey devoted to an international investigation into the classroom assessment practices of higher education teachers. This survey proposes an online platform that will allow institutions of higher learning to document some of their current practices and to compare observed trends with what is happening elsewhere, in accordance with differing missions and traditions. These research notes are thus intended to describe the survey itself and to show how the questionnaire and individual items were structured, in addition to providing an overview of treatments within and between institutions that followed the testing.