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.     

Contact,culture and context: evidence from mixed faith schools in Northern Ireland and Israel

This paper compares the concept of mixed faith/cultural education in Northern Ireland and Israel. It is primarily concerned with the processes that these ‘integrated’ schools adopt in their quest to improve relations between divided ethnic groups. Drawing on qualitative data collected in two mixed religion primary schools in each jurisdiction the paper shows that the schools' existing cultural norms act as important mediating influences on the way that inter‐group relationships are constructed. The paper concludes that attention needs to be paid to both the policy context and the culture if contact initiatives are to be successful.     

Teachers’ experiences of a single‐sex initiative in a co‐education school

Argued to ‘raise boys’ grades’ and ‘boost boys’ academic achievement’, single‐sex classes in coeducation schools is one strategy among a plethora aimed at raising standards. This paper explores the experiences of teachers in one coeducation post‐primary school that sought to raise academic performance, particularly among boys, and to improve classroom behaviour by introducing single‐sex classes. Funded by a local Education and Library Board the evaluation took place almost four years after the strategy was introduced and in a climate of increasing teacher concern with the effectiveness of the strategy. The methods involved a questionnaire survey to all teachers in the school and one‐to‐one and small group interviews with teachers responsible for teaching single‐sex classes. Contrary to its stated aims, the majority of teachers believe that, since the introduction of single‐sex classes, academic performance and classroom behaviour have deteriorated. Findings are discussed in terms of teachers’ perceptions of the strategy and the importance organizational and contextual factors have on shaping teachers’ attitudes to new initiatives.     

The Efficacy of the LearningRx Cognitive Training Program: Modality and Transfer Effects

This article describes two studies testing the efficacy of a commercial one-on-one cognitive training program (LearningRx) and its computer-based version (Brainskills) in laboratory and school settings. Study 1 tested Brainskills in a laboratory setting with 322 middle school students. Paired t-tests revealed significant gains on all cognitive measures and math performance after 3 weeks of training. Study 2, a randomized control study, included 225 high school students randomly assigned to one of three conditions: LearningRx, Brainskills, or study hall (control) in a school setting for a 15-week training period. Univariate ANCOVAs revealed significantly higher scores for the treatment groups compared with controls on working memory, logic and reasoning, and three of four math attitude measures but not for math performance. Implications for school-based interventions are discussed.     

Geographies of elite higher education participation: An urban ‘escalator’ effect

Based on analysis of an administrative dataset, which includes granular detail on 800,000 English students over a 10-year period, this article identifies an urban ‘escalator’ effect in entry to elite universities, with disadvantaged youth in the urban centres of England having higher rates of entry than similarly disadvantaged youth located rurally. Using multilevel modelling, as well as Geographic Information System (GIS) methods, the analyses show that while place in itself is not a major contributory factor in entry to elite universities overall, there is a distinct urban–rural patterning to progression. When raw progression rates by area alone are observed, rural areas typically have higher progression rates to elite universities. However, when the full range of individual differences are accounted for, including attainment, socio-economic status, ethnicity and accessibility to elite universities, the converse is true—localities within and surrounding major urban centres are those with the highest progression rates. A ‘vortex of influences’ is likely to favour urban disadvantaged youth, including the geography of social class and ethnic identities, a legacy of concerted policy interventions within urban areas, as well as the proliferation of widening participation activity in urban centres.     

Young Children’s Prosocial Behavior Protects Against Academic Risk in Neighborhoods With Low Socioeconomic Status

Children raised in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status (SES) are at risk for low academic achievement. Identifying factors that help children from disadvantaged neighborhoods thrive is critical for reducing inequalities. We investigated whether children’s prosocial behavior buffers concurrent and subsequent academic risk in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Bradford, UK. Diverse children (N = 1,175) were followed until age seven, with measurements taken at four times. We used governmental indices of neighborhood-level SES, teacher observations of prosocial behaviors, and direct assessments of academic achievement. Neighborhood SES was positively associated with academic achievement among children with low levels of prosocial behavior, but not among children with high levels of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior may mitigate academic risk across early childhood.     

STEM Is Not Enough: Education for Success in the Post-Scientific Society

Journal of Science Education and Technology - In this paper, I briefly review the concept of the Post-Scientific Society and then present some of the confirming evidence for the aptness of the...     

Good teaching as a messy narrative of change within a policy ensemble of networks,superstructures and flows

This paper examines ‘good teaching’ within a policy ensemble where teachers’ subjectification and practices are underpinned by new modes of evaluation and enforcement. Although the paper is written with specific concern for teachers in the Republic of Ireland, the literature demonstrates that concerns raised resonate internationally. Theoretical frameworks are drawn from Bernstein’s pedagogic device and ‘rules of evaluation’ (2000, p. 34) and the tyranny of number, networks and superstructures found in policy research. The study includes a limited analysis of the policy ensemble in ‘Austerity Ireland’ and contextual understandings and perspectives of a purposive sample of experienced teachers (n = 54). Critical analysis generated three themes: multiple perspectives about ‘good teaching’, a strongly perceived pedagogy of oppression and low ethical trust in reported interactions at some schools and with the state inspectorate. Conclusions position ‘good teaching’ within the super-complexity of a messy narrative of change and flows enacted with a diversity of inquirers and institutions. The study questions the role of state inspectors as arbiters of ‘good teaching’ and challenges the academy of teacher education in assuring productive discursive gaps for education as a social responsibility for public-interest values.