Reading Strategies in Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment caused by Periventricular Leukomalacia

Four children with cerebral visual impairment caused by periventricular leukomalacia were followed in an ethnographic clinical case study for two years during their process of learning to read in mainstream classes. When compared to children with ocular visual impairment, children with cerebral visual impairment often exhibit an uneven cognitive profile with visuo-spatial deficits but good verbal capacities. One main problem for children with deficits due to periventricular leukomalacia is decreased visual acuity with crowding, that is, an inability to identify symbols in a line, while single symbols of the same size may be identified. A question addressed in the study is what kind of strategies does the child with "crowding" problems develop in reading long words in print. Could Braille, as a sequential reading medium, be an alternative for the child with simultaneous visual problems? Two children were offered both Braille and print reading as reading media, one of whom preferred Braille after two years of training. The other two children read ordinary print without any special teaching. After two years, considerable differences in reading acquisition and reading strategies could be detected among the four children. No single factor seemed to account for the differences. Individual factors as well as teaching methods could be reasons for the differences.     

Transformation and contextualisation: conceptualising students’ conceptual understandings of threshold concepts in calculus

Research on student learning in higher education suggests that threshold concepts within various disciplines have the capacity to transform students’ understanding. The present study explores students’ understanding in relation to particular threshold concepts in mathematics—integral and limit—and tries to clarify in what sense developing an understanding of those threshold concepts involves a transformation of understanding in relation to ways of thinking in mathematics. Drawing on data collected in interviews with students taking a basic course on calculus the analysis offers an initial characterisation of students’ understandings as algorithmic. It then proceeds to construct a more fine-grained theoretical account for how these understandings develop in the course of the interview, suggesting that the transformative aspects of threshold concepts may be conceptualised in terms of shifts in students’ contextualisations allowing the development of conceptions at different levels of abstraction simultaneously interacting to shape students’ awareness of the ways of thinking and practising in the subject.     

Intercultural learning in English as foreign language instruction: The importance of teachers’ intercultural experience and the usefulness of precise instructional directives

The development of intercultural competence, especially in foreign language instruction, is considered a key goal of teaching in German schools. The present article sheds light on the teaching of intercultural topics in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL). It presents the results of an analysis of data from a larger study (DESI study – Assessment of Student Achievements in German and English as a Foreign Language) bringing the intercultural experience of teachers and observable aspects of instruction into focus. Videotapes of EFL-classroom instruction of 9th and 10th grade students are analyzed in order to assess characteristic of the implementation of intercultural topics. The study reveals the impact of teachers’ intercultural experience on the quality of their intercultural instruction. Furthermore, the results indicate that precise external directives for particular lessons can help teachers put intercultural topics into practice.     

Acculturative stress in Latino Immigrants: The impact of social, socio-psychological and migration-related factors

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that predict acculturative stress in a nationally representative sample of Latino migrants. The participants in this study were 2059 Latinos. Among them were 868 Mexicans, 577 Cubans and 614 other Latinos. The subcategory other Latinos consisted of immigrants and refugees from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Nicaragua. The participants took part in face-to-face interviews, which were conducted with computer-assisted interviewing software in Spanish and English. Findings revealed that acculturative stress decreases with an increase in the English proficiency index, the context of migration exit index, and the social network index. Furthermore, acculturative stress was lower for US citizens versus non-citizens; immigrants who wanted to migrate to the US versus refugees who had to leave their country of origin; and later generation immigrants. Acculturative stress increases with a higher native language proficiency index and a higher discrimination index.     

Perimeters of,and challenges to,the jurisdiction of Swedish special educators: an exploration of free text responses

Special needs educators (SNEs) have important roles in many education systems. However, their roles are often poorly defined, and differ greatly both between and within education systems. Studies show that SNEs have diverse tasks, have problems defining their jurisdiction, and approach special support with different perspectives than other professions. Here, the aim is to explore what Swedish SNEs express regarding their occupational role and jurisdiction, utilising 676 free text responses to an open question in a total population survey. The results illustrate that SNEs often have to take on tasks they do not view as appropriate and that they often experience misunderstanding from head teachers and colleagues about their roles and tasks, and that they risk being replaced by other professions. Some explanations can be found in vague legal definitions of their jurisdiction and the necessity of adaption to the local school context. The results are interpreted using Abbott’s theory of jurisdiction and Evetts’ distinctions of professionalisation and professionalism. The study confirms results from prior research to a high degree but adds further nuance and dimensions to them with formulations from active professionals.     

Quality criteria for conceptual technology integration models in education: bridging research and practice

Educational technology research and development - In order to effectively use technology in education, appropriate conceptual understandings are needed to guide the integration process. Today,...     

Foreign research and development in Swedish multinationals

In 1987, Sweden's 20 largest multinationals together operated some 170 foreign R&D units, employing 8100 people, 23% of their total R&D personnel. About 60% of the units were added after 1980, the majority through acquisitions of foreign companies.Four major motives for the operation of foreign R&D units are identified: (1) support to local production (5% of foreign R&D employment); (2) ‘market proximity’, i.e. adaptation of centrally developed products (and processes) to local market conditions (32%); (3) exploitation of foreign R&D results and resources (8%); (4) ‘political factors’, i.e. environmental factors more or less directly influenced by government action (34%). The remaining 20% of employment seemed to be motivated by a combination of factors.The primary aim of the first three types of foreign R&D units is to enhance a company's competitive position in ways not possible from a domestic location. Hence, they should be little cause of concern for Swedish policy makers.     

Qualitative sampling in research on international student mobility: insights from the field in Germany1

ABSTRACT

Although over the past decades the numbers of studies investigating international student mobility and migration (ISM) increased, methodological challenges in empirical research on the topic have remained mainly unaddressed. This is particularly the case for sampling, which is a crucial but often less considered part of qualitative research designs. In this article, we identify three main challenges in qualitative sampling for research into ISM: time, space and international students’ heterogeneities. In addressing those challenges, we theoretically discuss their implications and give empirical examples drawing on our research experiences. We argue for a more reflexive research procedure in studying educational mobility.