Cultivating imaginative thinking: teacher strategies used in high-performing arts education classrooms

This article reports on recent case-study research that examined teacher- and student-level processes in nine Australian arts classrooms. The selected classrooms, based on the results of a connected longitudinal study, demonstrated strong positive links between arts participation and academic motivation, engagement and achievement. The focus here is on how teachers supported their students to conceive, shape and present imaginative work. Although different approaches were apparent in the dance, drama, film, music and visual arts classrooms, patterns were detected in the processes used to transform imaginative ideas into a creative work. The research indicated that important skills were being developed as the students encountered the ambiguity of the creative process. Furthermore, insights were gained into how work drawing on the imagination can be initiated and sustained through the highs and lows of development to become both a work of art and a learning experience that will augment future creative work.     

Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Motheread/Fatheread Early Literacy Intervention: Evidence of Impact in a Rural Community

Research Findings. A randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of Motheread/Fatheread Colorado (MFC), an early childhood literacy intervention, on parent reading behaviors and their preschool-aged children’s literacy skills. Parents in the experimental condition participated in MFC; control parents did not. Dependent variables included measures of parental behavior supportive of reading in the home, and parent- and teacher-reported child literacy outcomes. Parents in the intervention group reported spending significantly more time reading with their children and a significantly greater use of interactive reading skills than parents in the control condition. Children in the intervention group scored significantly higher than children in the control group on parent-reported language and reading skills immediately following the intervention. There was no significant difference in immediate post-intervention teacher reports of child literacy skills. However, up to 15-months after program completion, children in the intervention condition had greater gains in teacher-reported language skills than children in the control condition. Results suggest that MFC is a promising intervention for changing the home literacy environment and children’s literacy outcomes. Practice/Policy. Motheread/Fatheread may be a good fit for organizations interested in implementing interventions aimed at improving home literacy for preschool-aged children.     

Student Participation in Shared Governance: A Means of Advancing Democratic Values?

Student participation in shared governance of higher education institutions is considered in the context of a civic role for higher education in a democracy. Statutory provisions for the governance of Irish higher education institutions are reviewed by reference to models of shared governance. Findings from a survey of actual levels of student participation within higher institutions in the Republic of Ireland are discussed and compared with patterns in Europe. The rationale for student participation in governance is critically examined with particular attention to the consequences of the client/customer paradigm. The case is made that participation in shared governance is a necessary but insufficient condition for the realisation of the democratic ideal. The relationship between academic democracy and political democracy is explored, highlighting the key role which academics have to play in creating the conditions for the nurturing of democratic values.     

The I files,the truth is out there: science teachers’ constructs of inquiry

This article is concerned with the personal constructs of science teachers about inquiry in selected schools in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. While there is a large volume of existing literature which advocates the use of inquiry in the science classroom to enhance students' engagement with, and learning of science, relatively few of these studies represent teachers' voice. Therefore, we believe that it is important and distinctive to report teachers' constructs of inquiry and related concerns regarding its use in the science classroom. We identify the key constructs from 10 participating teachers and discuss these amongst a backdrop of policy implications for inquiry approaches in English secondary school science classrooms. Personal Construct Theory was used to underpin the study and frame data collection and analysis. Key findings show that the teachers identify an inquiry approach as being effective in stimulating students' independent learning and interest in science but issues such as time and confidence inhibit their deployment of inquiry approaches.     

Linking student evaluations to institutional goals: a change story

For the past 30?years, beginning with the seminal work of Herbert Marsh in Australia and New Zealand, institutions of higher education have developed internal practices and procedures to collect and analyse student evaluations of teaching and learning. However, the question remains: has this development resulted in the achievement of institutional goals that maximise learning across all teaching contexts? As is the case in many other countries, a recent review of Australian national student evaluation data failed to conclude that student evaluations have improved overall teaching. However, these data have made student perceptions of teaching and learning more salient in the minds of tertiary educators. Certainly, teaching staff are aware of the impacts of student evaluations on informed decision-making, such as the continuation or discontinuation of courses, and on their promotion processes. This paper will review student evaluation practices according to criteria used in change theories, such as the transtheoretical change model (TTM). TTM construes organisational change as a process involving progress through a series of five stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. This paper will focus on organisational and behavioural outcomes that can be linked to the use of student data. It will recommend strategies for better aligning evaluation results to the stages of change.     

Poly-victimization among juvenile justice-involved youths

Objectives

This study replicates and extends the research literature on poly-victimization with a vulnerable and under-served population, juvenile justice-involved youths.

Methods

N = 1959, 10–16 year old youths (76% male; 74% youth of color) consecutively newly admitted to juvenile detention facilities completed psychometric measures of trauma history, posttraumatic stress, affect regulation, alcohol/drug use, suicide risk, and somatic complaints.

Results

Using latent class analysis derived from 19 types of adversity, three unique classes best fit the data. A poly-victim class (49% female, 51% youth of color) accounted for 5% of the sample and reported a mean of 11.4 (SD = 1.1) types. A relatively moderate adversity class (31% female, 70% youth of color) accounted for 36% of the sample and reported a mean of 8.9 (SD = 0.3) types of adversity and 2.65 (SD = 1.1) types of traumatic adversity. A low adversity class (59% of the sample; 17% female, 78% youth of color) reported a mean of 7.4 (SD = 0.4) adversity types but only 0.3 (SD = 0.45) types of traumatic adversity. The relatively moderate adversity class was comparable to poly-victims in endorsing extensive non-victimization traumatic adversity (e.g., accidental and loss trauma), but poly-victims were distinct from both moderate and low adversity class members in the likelihood of reporting all but one type of traumatic victimization, multiple types of traumatic victimization, and severe emotional and behavioral problems. Girls were at particularly high risk of poly-victimization, and African American and White youths also were at risk for poly-victimization.

Conclusions

Although youth involved in the juvenile justice system typically have experienced substantial victimization, a poly-victimized sub-group, especially (but not exclusively) girls, warrants particular scientific, clinical, and rehabilitative attention in order to address the most severe behavioral and mental health problems and risks faced by this vulnerable population.     

Better Movers and Thinkers: An evaluation of how a novel approach to teaching physical education can impact children's physical activity,coordination and cognition

This study aimed to identify what impact a novel approach to teaching physical education (PE) had on children's physical activity (PA), coordination and cognition compared to current provision. One hundred and fifty children were recruited from six primary schools in Scotland. Outcome measures were the Cognitive Assessment System, the Physical Activity Habits Questionnaire for Children and fundamental locomotor skills (crawling, creeping, marching and skipping). Pre-, post- and 6-month follow-up testing was conducted and data analysed comparing a control and an intervention group. Each group received 2 hours of PE each week during the 16-week intervention. Current provision in PE was delivered in the control group and a Better Movers and Thinkers approach to PE delivered in the intervention group. Significant effects of intervention relative to the control group were identified in cognition (p ≤ 0.001, d = 0.76) and coordination (p ≤ 0.001, d = 0.97). No significant effects of intervention were identified for PA (p ≤ 0.200, d = 0.24). The improvement in the outcome measures remained at the 6-month follow-up testing. The present study has identified cognitive and coordination improvements as a result of a novel PE intervention with benefits maintained 6 months later. This supports the need for modification in current PE provision to optimise the potential for learning across the curriculum.