The influence of student experiences on post-graduation surveys

This study attempts to establish the extent to which in-class teaching quality instruments can be used to predict post-graduation survey results. It examines the responses for the Good Teaching Scale of the Course Experience Questionnaire administered to 10,433 students who completed their studies at a major Australian tertiary institution from 2003 to 2005 using a unique data-set that matched student records and measures of class characteristics to the individual survey responses. The findings indicate that the overall degree experiences of particular students can be predicted by measures of class differences as measured by teaching quality instruments and the grade distributions of the classes they completed. These factors are in addition to the effects of students’ own performance as measured by their grades, their field of study and their post-graduation experience. It was found that in-class administered teaching quality instruments have an asymmetric influence on post-graduation survey results. Higher than expected scores appear to have little impact, and lower than expected results were found to have a significant negative impact on post-graduation recollections. The grade distribution in classes taken was also found to be an important factor in explaining variation in degree satisfaction.     

The transformation of an online learning community from an organised facility to an organic fraternity

An online community of learning within a distance doctoral programme was explored to determine if and how the community evolved and transformed over time. This part-time doctoral programme gathers students into cohorts and runs a structured community with students and faculty for 18 months before students confirm candidatures and begin individual work with their own supervisors for the remaining 4–5 years of study. In particular, this study sought to determine if and how the community of learning continued and developed after the 18 months of shared structured learning had been completed. This research was initiated and conducted by the students, giving insights into the community from the students’ perspective. Findings are that the community has survived and will continue in the short-term at least, but with fewer members and operating in a different manner. There has been an ongoing transformation of the community, largely driven by choice and necessity.     

The Influence of Education and Family Background on Women's Earnings in Midlife: evidence from a British national birth cohort study

Studies which have investigated the influence of education on adult earnings are almost exclusively concerned with men and take little account of family influences on either education or later earnings. Those studies which have information on women's earnings focus on gender differentials rather than differences between women in opportunities and outcomes. This paper which examines the influence of education and family background on the midlife earnings of a national cohort of British women born immediately after the Second World War is an attempt to redress this situation. It shows that the few women who were able to take full advantage of the expansion in educational opportunities and achieve high educational qualifications earned significantly more in adult life than less educated females. Family background played an important role, both through its effect on early educational achievement and attitude to school work, which in turn influenced the type of secondary school attended and the achievement of educational qualifications, and also by well‐educated mothers raising their daughter's career expectations or providing successful role models. In adult life, employment characteristics which indicated a long‐term commitment to full‐time work and the decision not to have children, or to delay childbearing, were also important predictors of later economic success in this cohort, but did not explain the prior effects of education and family background. Advanced educational qualifications were the key to economic success for women bom in the early post‐war period.     

Reinvigorating adolescent sexuality education through alternate reality games: the case of The Source

This paper presents findings from a focus group study conducted to evaluate The Source, an alternate reality game (ARG). ARGs are a relatively new genre of interactive digital games that use a variety of media to engage game players. We developed modules on sexual health, sexual orientation, and homophobia in a game that was delivered to 133 predominantly African-American and Latino US youth. Ten focus groups were conducted with 43 young people aged 13–18 who played The Source to understand feasibility and acceptability issues and the impact of the game on young people’s attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours. Data were transcribed and analysed for common themes by two independent coders. Four primary themes were identified: (1) the feasibility and acceptability of using an ARG for sexual education; (2) the acceptability of The Source’s specific sexual health content; (3) the game’s influence on sexual health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours; and (4) the impact of the game on young people’s thoughts and responses to sexual orientation and homophobia. Study findings indicate that an ARG is an exciting and interactive way to educate young people on sensitive topics in sexuality education, but that attention to narrative authenticity and effective messaging are important issues to address.     

Education and nationalism in Scotland: governing a ‘learning nation’

Abstract

Nationalism is a key resource for the political work of governing Scotland, and education offers the Scottish National Party (SNP) government a policy space in which political nationalism (self determination) along with social and cultural forms of civic nationalism can be formed and propagated, through referencing ‘inwards’ to established myths and traditions that stress the ‘public’ nature of schooling/education/universities and their role in construction of ‘community’; and referencing ‘outwards’, especially to selected Nordic comparators, but also to major transnational actors such as OECD, to education’s role in economic recovery and progress. The SNP government has been very active in the education policy field, and a significant element of its activity lies in promoting a discourse of collective learning in which a ‘learning government’ is enabled to lead a ‘learning nation’ towards the goal of independence. This paper draws on recent research to explore recent and current developments in SNP government education policy, drawing on discourse analysis to highlight the political work that such policy developments seek to do, against the backdrop of continuing constitutional tensions across the UK.     

Delivering Sure Start in rural communities

This paper explores and questions some of the evidence used to support early childhood interventions in the UK, and reports on discussions with three rural Mini Sure Start project leaders in Devon. Sure Start funding in the UK has been repeatedly increased to provide more centres for 0–3‐year‐olds and their parents. It is increasingly linked to welfare to work policies designed to encourage a culture of ‘hardworking families’ in areas of traditional deprivation. This finds resistance among parents to the idea of combining work and childcare for the under‐3s. It also uncovers the complexity for key workers of trying to implement government directives in areas of rural deprivation.     

Algebraic Problem Solving for Middle School Students with Autism and Intellectual Disability

Problem solving is an important yet neglected mathematical skill for students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability (ASD/ID). In addition, the terminology and vocabulary used in mathematical tasks may be unfamiliar to students with ASD/ID. The current study evaluated the effects of modified schema-based instruction (SBI) on the algebra problem solving skills of three middle school students with ASD/ID. Mathematics vocabulary terms were taught using constant time delay. Participants were then taught how to use an iPad that displayed a task analysis with embedded prompts to complete each step of solving the word problems. This study also examined participant’s ability to generalize skills when supports were faded. Results of the multiple probe across participants design showed a functional relation between modified SBI and mathematical problem solving as well as constant time delay and acquisition of mathematics vocabulary terms. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Alleviating or exacerbating disadvantage: does school attended mediate the association between family background and educational attainment?

ABSTRACT

Opportunities for social mobility are generated by education systems designed to alleviate the effects of social origin by providing equality of opportunities and resources. The persistence of the strong association between socioeconomic status (SES) and child’s educational achievement and attainment suggests that social origin continues to play an integral role in the educational outcomes of successive generations of Australians. Sociologists draw on a range of theoretical perspectives to explain this association including Bourdieu’s cultural and social capital theories. Using data collected by the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth 2009 (LSAY09) project, I examine the associations between student SES, school SES and two outcome variables: Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) score and university enrolment. The results indicate that low SES students attending high SES schools perform better on PISA tests than low SES students attending low SES schools. After controlling for PISA score, low SES students were less likely than their high SES peers to enrol at university. Furthermore, students attending low SES schools were less likely than their peers attending high SES schools to enrol at university, net of their individual SES and their PISA scores.     

Residential school placements and disabled children: the contrasting views of local education authorities and of parents

Despite government commitment to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools, significant numbers of disabled children are placed in residential special schools. In the face of a distinct lack of information about the numbers or needs of these children, or about their experiences of living away from home at residential schools, the authors carried out research to examine why disabled children went to residential school, and their experiences of being there. This article focuses on the circumstances leading to a residential school placement, and the decision-making process from the point of view of local education authorities, and of parents. The paper reveals wide variations in the use of residential schools by local authorities, and conflicting views between and within authorities on the suitability of such placements. Parents' experiences are characterised by a lack of support in making very difficult decisions about the best place for their child to be, and a decision-making process dominated by delays, lack of information and conflict.     

New Zealand Māori-medium teacher education: an examination of students’ academic confidence and preparedness

Little research has been concerned with gauging Māori–medium teacher education students’ academic confidence in bilingual settings making the development of appropriate curricula and broad policy a difficult task. Drawing on a convenience sample of 84 primary teacher education students on a three-year B.Ed Māori-medium program, this study uses self-reported measures to assess students’ academic confidence and preparedness in English and Māori. Results suggest that the students are less academically confident in Māori than in English, and that this discrepancy is most pronounced in academic speaking and reading. Consequently, it is proposed that curriculum developers place emphasis on the development of both Māori academic speaking and reading throughout the course of Māori-medium teacher education programs. Finally, it is argued that standardised assessments that track both confidence and preparedness, and the productive and receptive abilities of Māori-medium teacher education students throughout university would bolster the regeneration of Māori-medium education in New Zealand.