Examples of Good Practice when Dealing with Bullying in a Further/Higher Education College

This qualitative study, conducted via interviews, focuses on the strategies used by tutors and support staff in dealing with bullying in an FE/HE college. This area is under researched and yet studies have shown that 10 per cent of students in FE experience bullying (McDougall, 1999). It was found that bullying was being dealt with effectively using a range of approaches. The examples of good practice found in this study correspond with the more extensive work into primary and secondary schools by Byrne (1994), Tattum and Herbert (1993) and Sharp and Smith (1993). All respondents treated the issue seriously and relationships built up between tutors/support staff and the students were the crucial factor.     

Balancing Cultural Diversity and Social Cohesion in Education: The Potential of Shared Education in Divided Contexts

This article considers how the education systems of divided societies have been shaped in response to the experience of ethnic and religious conflict. The analysis identifies two competing priorities in such contexts – the development of social cohesion and the protection of cultural, ethnic and religious identities – and explores how these may be reconciled through a model of ‘shared education’. Drawing on research evidence and recent experience of shared education in Northern Ireland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Cyprus, we reflect on the advantages and challenges of this model in areas experiencing conflict and division.     

Rodents,evolution, and prehistory

The rodents, especially voles, evolved very rapidly during the Quaternary era. Their remains, particularly the teeth, were fossilised by the thousand in prehistoric deposits. The sites can be dated from the degree of evolution attained by the teeth. Since rodents are closely adapted to their biotopes and live under well defined climatic conditions, they are extremely valuable for reconstructing the landscapes and climates of prehistory. In many cases, a single rodent tooth can be used to assess the age of a human skull or a prehistoric settlement, and throw light on the environment and climate of the time.     

Bond graphs for thermal energy transport and entropy flow

The transport of thermal energy in thermodynamics is described as the product of entropy flow and of the absolute temperature, in analogy to the volume flow and pressure in oil hydraulics and to electric charge flow (= current) and voltage in electronics. Bond graphs are shown to be especially suitable to describe the splitting of applied thermal energy into internal energy and external mechanical work. Transformers and the 0- and 1-junctions of Paynter can illustrate various entropy flow processes, including Carnot engines and heat exchangers. Entropy flow in heat conduction is distinguished from entropy convection, or transport by moving mass, where the entropy/temperature characteristic or equation of state is important. Irreversibilities are represented by impedance transformers reducing temperature and increasing entropy flow but conserving power.     

Longitudinal Effects of Teacher and Student Perceptions of Teacher-Student Relationship Qualities on Academic Adjustment

The shared and unique effects of teacher and student reports of teacher student relationship quality (TSRQ) in second and third grade on academic self views, behavioral engagement, and achievement the following year were investigated in a sample of 714 academically at-risk students. Teacher and student reports of teacher-student support and conflict showed low correspondence. As a block, teacher and student reports of TSRQ predicted all outcomes, above prior performance on that outcome and background variables. Student reports uniquely predicted school belonging, perceived academic competence, and math achievement. Teacher reports uniquely predicted behavioral engagement and child perceived academic competence. Teacher and student reports of the teacher-student relationship assess largely different constructs that predict different outcomes. Implications of findings for practice and research are discussed.     

The influence of competences and support on school performance feedback use

Information‐rich environments are created to promote data use in schools for the purpose of self‐evaluation and quality assurance. However, providing feedback does not guarantee that schools will actually put it to use. One of the main stumbling blocks relates to the interpretation and diagnosis of the information. This study examines the relationship between data literacy competences, support given in interpreting the information, actual use of the feedback and potential school improvement effect. A randomised field experiment with 188 school principals from primary education was set up and a post‐test was used to investigate the effects of a support initiative. The results revealed that a minority of schools invested significantly in the interpretation and diagnosis of the school performance feedback (SPF), despite the fact that most of the respondents showed an interest in the SPF report. In addition, data competence support and the subsequent use of feedback were found to be limited.