Static to Dynamic: Professional Identity as Inventory,Invention, and Performance in Classrooms and Workplaces

Although self-assessment is an important genre in both the academy and the workplace, it is often static. The resulting fixed identities are problematic in a creative economy that requires fluidity. Drawing on the work of Carruthers and Goffman, among others, we argue that memory and meditation, encompassing inventory and invention and coupled with rhetorical performance, constitute dynamic self-assessment.     

How do people read the passages during a reading comprehension test? The effect of reading purpose on text processing behavior

In this study, we investigate the effect of reading purpose on students’ processing behavior during a reading comprehension test. In a repeated measures design, sixty undergraduates answered multiple-choice (MC) reading comprehension questions in a condition with no overarching goal for reading and in an alternate condition where the same students were first provided with the goal of summarizing the text before answering MC questions. Results from eye tracking analysis showed that when students read and answered questions without an overarching goal, they spent much less time reading the passages before answering the questions, more time re-reading the texts while answering the questions, and more time on parts of the text that were not necessary to answer the questions. We conclude that providing examinees without an explicit goal for reading may inadvertently encourage a “search for the answer” reading process, rather than on building a coherent mental model of text content.     

Education and poverty in Western Europe

Conclusions Educationists in Europe have an established tradition of exploring educational disadvantage from a socio-cultural perspective, as indicated by the focus on social justice in education. Their concerns have been with relatively small-scale phenomena: the context in which particular disadvantaged groups are educated, leading to specific recommendations for local areas. Policy-makers, in contrast, are concerned with combating social exclusion at the national or Europe-wide level, primarily as a means of reducing unemployment and social unrest. The initiatives they set in motion necessarily take a wider perspective and pay little heed to diverse needs, aspirations and goals among the socially excluded. There is a need for European educationalists to increase their own awareness of the European context—not simply the national context—in which they work. They need also to develop perspectives on major European initiatives to combat social exclusion, the effects of which will remain otherwise unexplored by a community of educationalists with a history of interest in and commitment to challenging educational disadvantage. Original language: English Joanna McPake (United Kingdom) At present, Deputy Director of the Scottish Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, University of Stirling. Formerly, Senior Researcher and Programme Manager, Scottish Council for Research in Education. Her principal research focus is on aspects of teaching and learning in school. Since 1996 she has been (with Ghazala Bhatti) co-ordinator of the Social Justice and Intercultural Education Network of the European Educational Research Association. Recent publications include: ‘A mirror to ourselves? The educational experiences of Japanese children at school in the UK’ (with J. Powney, 1998); andEducation of minority ethnic groups in Scotland (with J. Powney, S. Hall and L. Lyall, 1998). Ghazala Bhatti (United Kingdom) Ph.D. Director, Modular Master's Degree on ‘Equity and change in the public services’, University of Reading. Formerly, a primary and secondary school teacher. Her current professional interests in the field of education concern ethnicity, gender and social justice. She is the joint convenor (with Joanna McPake) of the Social Justice and Intercultural Education Network of EERA. Recent publications include:Asian children at home and at school: an ethnographic study (1999) andA journey into the unknown: an ethnographic study of Asian children (1995). This article consists of reflections on recent research presented at the European Conference on Educational Research by the joint co-ordinators of the Social Justice and Intercultural Education network of the European Educational Research Association.     

Social justice and school linkages in teacher education programmes

This paper investigates current research into the role of education in combating social injustice, assembles this research to indicate key features of a teacher education programme that would assist education for social justice, and links these features to one innovative university teacher education programme to ascertain some of the practical difficulties in establishing such a programme. The research indicated key approaches that would enhance the probability that graduates from teacher education programmes will be able to pursue social justice initiatives.     

Teaching learning disabled adolescents to think critically using a problem‐solving schema

Abstract

In this study we describe and examine the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to teach learning disabled adolescents to make better personal decisions. We presented problems in short narratives based on the types of problems these students must solve in their own lives. The program, conducted as part of the students' regular resource room curriculum, incorporated schema‐general questions for problem solving coupled with practice in generating problem‐specific questions to reach an appropriate decision. Participants were 70 resource room students in two large, urban high schools. We employed a pretest‐posttest comparison group design. On the posttest, instructed students performed significantly better on (1) identifying a general schema for making a personal decision and (2) applying the schema to reach appropriate decisions concerning novel problem narratives. The results support the view that application of a general schema to specific problems can be an effective instructional method to improve critical thinking and decision making.     

Medical diagnostic consultation concerning mental retardation: An analogue study of school psychologists' attitudes

Recent research of relevance to school psychologists suggests that the cause, or etiology, of mental retardation can be established by medical diagnosticians in approximately one‐half of cases. In the current study, 109 practicing school psychologists considered a hypothetical case of an elementary student with mental retardation and indicated their attitudes toward the use of medical consultation. School psychologists were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions defined by the amount of information about medical diagnostic consultations they received: (a) no information, (b) guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) calling for medical consultation in cases of developmental delay, or (c) AAN guidelines plus a concise summary of research on etiology, prevention, and mental retardation. School psychologists with more than 10 years of experience evidenced a more favorable attitude toward medical diagnostic consultation when provided more information, whereas their less experienced colleagues demonstrated no such pattern. This finding, together with others derived from participants' responses, is discussed regarding school psychologists' practice and training. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An investigation into breast support and sports bra use in female runners of the 2012 London Marathon

Abstract

Although it is acknowledged that appropriate breast support during exercise is important, no published literature has assessed breast support usage in a cohort of female marathon runners. This study aimed to identify sport bra use and perceived importance of sports bra use in female marathon runners. Bra satisfaction, incidence of bra related issues and factors that influence the appropriateness of sports bras were also investigated. A 4-part, 30-question survey was administered to 1397 female runners at the 2012 London marathon registration and via an online survey. In total 1285 surveys were completed. Sports bra use and its perceived importance was high, however was lower in moderate compared to vigorous activity, and lower in participants with smaller breasts. Seventy-five per cent of participants reported bra fit issues. The most common issues were chaffing and shoulder straps digging in, with a higher incidence of issues reported by participants with larger breasts. Use of professional bra fitting was low, and perceived knowledge of breast health was poor. Engagement with sports bra use is high although sports bra design could be improved to alleviate bra fit issues experienced by female runners. Educational initiatives are needed to ensure females are informed regarding the importance of breast support and appropriate bra fit during activity.     

Intercultural PhD supervision: exploring the hidden curriculum in a social science faculty doctoral programme

International knowledge markets rely heavily on a ready supply of highly mobile doctoral students, many of whom are from the global South, to bring in revenue. The supervision of these PhD students, however, can reproduce neo-colonial knowledge relations, often in subtle ways. In settler nations, international PhD students may find that they are assigned subaltern status in their university departments and this can have a significant impact on their learning. This paper explores the experiences of a group of international PhD students in a social science faculty in a New Zealand university during the first two years of their doctoral studies. It examines how they responded to the displacement of their cultural values and priorities, the way they navigated intercultural engagements with supervisors, and their ensuing relationships with indigenous and ethnic allies in the faculty. Despite considerable pressure to conform to the dominant modes of academic knowledge production that characterise universities in settler nations, it is concluded that international students find ways of speaking out, often in highly coded forms, that complicate their subaltern academic status.