Quality of Learning in Nigeria's Universal Primary Education Scheme—1976–1986

The paper critically examines the quality of education in Nigeria's Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme from 1976 to 1986. The author argues that the positive impact of the UPE scheme was that more people went to school, and many of them can now read and write their names and seem to be better informed. But the standard of Seaming fell far below what it was before the introduction of the UPE scheme in Nigeria. Those who planned the scheme apparently forgot to consider the importance of the availability of qualified teachers, adequate learning environments, equipment and textbooks, classroom management and supervision, and the content of the curriculum. Since availability of the above facilities is integral to effective teaching and classroom performance, the inevitable outcome was the erosion of standards in Nigeria's primary education. The author advises other developing countries to act cautiously when embarking on prestige educational projects, such as the UPE scheme, as a means to combat ignorance and illiteracy. It is also hoped that the Nigerian experience will lead to a further understanding of the postulation by educational analysts of school facilities as major factors in effective teaching and determining the quality of learning in the developing countries.     

Changes in primary science over the past decade: Implications for the research community

During the early 1980s in Australia there was a new wave of expectancy about primary science as new curricula were being considered or introduced and research findings were beginning to identify new directions for both teaching and research. In an expression of this, six authors were invited to present papers to a symposium on primary science held in 1984 to address the question: “What do you believe should be the state of primary science (in Australia) in 1995 and what are the steps which need to be taken to achieve the desired state?” This study set out to identify what had been said at that time, to compare that with actual developments, and to identify possible future directions for research. Relevant publications includingResearch in Science Education were analysed as a means of comparing what had happened since 1984 with the hopes of those authors. It was only in the latter half of the decade that some of the scenarios painted by the authors in 1984 began to emerge. A key implication for the research community drawn from the analysis shows that science education researchers have tended to neglect working in collaboration with education departments and authorities for the improvement of primary science education.     

RESEARCHING RESISTANCE: CAMPAIGNS AGAINST ACADEMIES IN ENGLAND

ABSTRACT:  This article uses social movement theory to analyse campaigns against a new type of government-sponsored school – the Academy – in four areas of England. It seeks to identify the social composition of anti-Academy campaigns, to track their encounters with proponents of the new schools and to describe the characteristic forms of their campaigning strategies. In doing so, the article aims to help place research into educational opposition and contestation closer to the centre of researchers' agendas.     

The effect of intra- versus post-interview feedback during simulated practice interviews about child abuse

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the effectiveness of two types of instructor feedback (relative to no feedback) on investigative interviewers' ability to adhere to open-ended questions in simulated practice interviews about child abuse. METHOD: In one condition, feedback was provided at the end of each practice interview. In the other, the instructor stopped the interviewer at various stages during the practice interviews to provide feedback. The relative effect of these conditions was examined by measuring interviewers' performance in a standardized mock interview paradigm immediately prior to, immediately after, and 12 weeks after the practice and feedback sessions. RESULTS: Prior to and 12 weeks after the practice sessions were administered, there was no significant difference in participants' adherence to open-ended questions irrespective of the nature of the feedback, or whether feedback was received. At the immediate post-practice assessment interval, however, the participants who received feedback during the practice interviews performed better (M proportion of open-ended questions=.85, SD=.13) than the other participants (post-interview feedback M=.67, SD=.18, p<.001; no feedback M=.56, SD=.16, p<.001). This heightened use of open-ended questions was associated with a greater tendency among the interviewees to provide abuse-related details in response to open-ended questions (M=.91, SD=.11) compared to the other participants (post-interview feedback M=.77, SD=.15, p<.05; no feedback M=.69, SD=.16, p=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Different types of feedback can be differentially effective in training child abuse investigators to adhere to open-ended questions. The benefits of any training program, however, are likely to be short-lived without ongoing practice. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: A single study compared the relative effectiveness of two types of instructor feedback (relative to no feedback) on investigative interviewers' ability to adhere to open-ended questions in simulated practice interviews about child abuse. This research is relevant to trainers of investigative interviewers because there is currently large variability in the type of feedback employed in training programs. This study is one of the first to empirically demonstrate that different types of feedback may be differentially effective in improving the performance of investigative interviewers.     

Describing individual incidents of sexual abuse: a review of research on the effects of multiple sources of information on children's reports

OBJECTIVE: For successful prosecution of child sexual abuse, children are often required to provide reports about individual, alleged incidents. Although verbally or mentally rehearsing memory of an incident can strengthen memories, children's report of individual incidents can also be contaminated when they experience other events related to the individual incidents (e.g., informal interviews, dreams of the incident) and/or when they have similar, repeated experiences of an incident, as in cases of multiple abuse. METHOD: Research is reviewed on the positive and negative effects of these related experiences on the length, accuracy, and structure of children's reports of a particular incident. RESULTS: Children's memories of a particular incident can be strengthened when exposed to information that does not contradict what they have experienced, thus promoting accurate recall and resistance to false, suggestive influences. When the encountered information differs from children's experiences of the target incident, however, children can become confused between their experiences-they may remember the content but not the source of their experiences. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the implications of this research for interviewing children in sexual abuse investigations and provide a set of research-based recommendations for investigative interviewers.     

Arm-waving Mathematics: Sound,if Not Rigorous

This article suggestes some teachniques, herein referred to as ‘arm-waving’, which utilise analogies, graphs and examples to illustrate the contribution of mathematisc to statistical concepts without a rigorous treatment of the mathematics used.     

Perspectives on the standards agenda: exploring the agenda's impact on primary teachers' professional identities

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate teachers' perspectives on the practical implementation of the standards agenda and its impact on their professional identities. Q-methodology was used alongside semi-structured interviews with UK primary school teachers. The study explored the views of 25 teachers in six schools, selected through purposive sampling to give a range of individual and institutional demographics. Teachers in this research commented on the impact the standards agenda has had on parental and societal judgements that affect their identity as professionals. Teachers held differing positions on whether they experienced constraint or flexibility when implementing standards objectives. These differing positions were mainly influenced by whether they taught above or below Year 3. Teachers who found flexibility in the agenda's objectives had less occupational stress and increased ownership of their own actions and the standards agenda. Teachers' positions were complex and changed according to situational influences at a classroom level.