A fair deal for minority ethnic groups in Scotland?

Scotland is a small country with a dominant white majority and relatively small, varied and dispersed minority ethnic groups. This paper draws on a review of educational research relating to minority ethnic groups at all stages of education in Scotland, conducted in 1998. The review aimed to evaluate research conducted in the areas of: access to educational opportunities, learning and teaching, attainment and staff. We found that existing educational research relevant to minority groups in Scotland is scarce, fragmented and on too small a scale to contribute significantly to policy. In this paper, we put forward various arguments to explain the lack of policy and consequent practice likely to enhance the education of minority groups and draw attention to significant developments in Scotland since 1998 that are likely to affect educational research concerning minority ethnic groups. How can small countries where minority groups comprise a tiny proportion of the overall population ensure that the interests, educational needs and aspirations of these groups are addressed?     

Predictors of susceptibility to peer influence regarding substance use in adolescence

The extent to which peer influences on substance use in adolescence systematically vary in strength based on qualities of the adolescent and his or her close friend was assessed in a study of 157 adolescents (age: M = 13.35, SD = 0.64), their close friends, and their parents assessed longitudinally with a combination of observational, analogue, sociometric, and self-report measures from early to mid adolescence. The degree to which adolescents changed their levels of substance use in accord with their peers' baseline levels of use was predicted by a range of theoretically salient factors including: observed teen lack of autonomy and social support in prior interactions with mothers, low teen refusal skills, and the level of social acceptance of their close friend. Findings suggest the importance of both internal factors (e.g., autonomy and relatedness struggles) and external factors (e.g., social status of friends) in explaining why vulnerability to peer influence processes may be much greater for some adolescents than others.     

Disciplinary Categories, Majors, and Undergraduate Academic Experiences: Rethinking Bok’s “Underachieving Colleges” Thesis

Using data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, we show that study time and academic conscientiousness were lower among students in humanities and social science majors than among students in science and engineering majors. Analytical and critical thinking experiences were no more evident among humanities and social sciences majors than among science and engineering majors. All three academically beneficial experiences were, however, strongly related to participation in class and interaction with instructors, and participation was more common among humanities and social sciences students than among science and engineering students. Bok’s (Our underachieving colleges: A candid look at how much students learn and why they should be learning more. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2006) influential discussion of “underachievement’ in undergraduate education focused on institutional performance. Our findings indicate that future discussions should take into account differences among disciplinary categories and majors as well.     

Teachers and Consultation: Applying research and development in organisations (RADIO)

In this article we describe how the RADIO process enabled EPiTs to negotiate research with an EPS around its desire to evaluate and develop its consultation work with schools. Findings of the evaluation and their implications for the Service are described and the potential of RADIO as a tool for providing external research support from HEIs for EPS or LA development, is discussed. Further discussion identifies the benefits of the application of RADIO in the research training of EPiTs in HEIs.     

Just add hours? An assessment of pre-service teachers’ perception of the value of professional experience in attaining teacher competencies

This study compared pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their professional competencies at two campuses of a large regional teacher education university, where one campus provided students 22% more hours of professional placement in schools and related educational settings. Students who had experienced more hours in schools and such settings were more positive about their, ability to apply their knowledge of students and how they learn, classroom management, professional knowledge and practice, and community engagement; however, when students felt well supported during professional experience, such differences diminished. Additional hours were not associated with pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their ability to apply subject content and teaching; plan, assess and report; and effective student communication. Researchers argued that this pointed to the crucial role of good classroom mentors in teacher professional experience but also the value of students’ tertiary teacher education in preparing them for classroom teaching.     

Greater fear of re-injury and increased tibial translation in patients who later sustain an ACL graft rupture or a contralateral ACL rupture: a pilot study

The aim was to compare fear of re-injury, patient reported function, static and dynamic tibial translation and muscle strength assessed before and 5 weeks after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction between individuals who sustained a subsequent ACL graft rupture or a contralateral ACL injury within 5 years after the reconstruction, and individuals with no subsequent injury. Nineteen patients were investigated before, and 5 weeks after an ACL reconstruction with a quadruple hamstring tendon graft. At 5 years follow up, 3 patients had sustained an ACL graft rupture and 2 patients had sustained a contralateral ACL rupture. Fear of re-injury, confidence with the knee, patient reported function, activity level, static and dynamic tibial translation and muscle strength were assessed. The re-injured group reported greater fear of re-injury and had greater static tibial translation in both knees before the ACL reconstruction compared to those who did not sustain another ACL injury. There were no other differences between groups. In conclusion, fear of re-injury and static tibial translation before the index ACL reconstruction were greater in patients who later on suffered an ACL graft rupture or a contralateral ACL rupture. These factors may predict a subsequent ACL injury.     

Mathematics learning and practice in and out of school: A framework for connecting these experiences

A variety of researchers in the last fifteen years have described how people learn and use mathematics in out-of-school situations. These researchers have found that mathematics learning and practice in and out of school differ in a number of ways. In this paper we examine and discuss these differences while maintaining the position that while some differences may be inherent, many differences can be narrowed so that mathematics learning and practice in school and out of school can build on each other and be connected. Before discussing a framework that we think sheds some light on connecting these experiences, we present some research from several of our studies that illustrates some of the differences between in-school and out-of-school mathematics practice and lays the groundwork for the discussion of the framework.We then discuss Saxe's (1991) research framework for gaining insight into the interplay between sociocultural and cognitive development processes through the analysis of practice participation (p. 13). Although Saxe's framework is a method for studying the interplay between sociocultural and cognitive development processes, we propose that it may be helpful in working towards connecting in-school and out-of-school mathematics learning and practice. Thus, we discuss the framework with illustrations from our own research, and then elaborate on ways to make this interplay between in-school and out-of-school contexts more deliberate.     

Creating a woman friendly culture in institutes of higher engineering education

This article describes the results of a workshop that was held in Valencia during the annual conference of SEFI in 2004. The authors give remarks on the results supported by relevant and recent research. In the workshop, where about 35 participants were present, the following questions were discussed and answered:

Which factors indicate that an institute of higher engineering education is woman friendly? How can we rank these factors and what is the weight of the factors? What initiatives did your institute or other institutions of your country make to increase the percentage of female academic staff and to attract and retain more female students?