Defining and Assessing Quality in Early Intervention Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families: Challenges and Unresolved Issues

Historically, child care quality research has focused primarily on typically developing children cared for in center-based programs. Findings from this research suggests that variations in quality of care have an effect on children's well-being and developmental outcomes. In this paper, we draw on child care quality research to inform our understanding of quality in early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Conceptual issues in defining quality and methodological challenges for assessing quality of early intervention services are presented. In the final sections of this paper, we discuss our efforts to design a measure of quality for early intervention programs and present some of the unresolved issues related to the assessment of quality in early intervention programs.     

Resistance to the Reform of Teacher Training in Kosovo

This paper outlines a project to transform part of the shattered education system of Kosovo. By way of case study, it presents some of the factors that were impediments to the formation of a reformed system for training new teachers. This was part of an attempt by international agencies to assist Kosovo in modernizing its education system. Although internationally funded projects were generous and well- meaning, responses by stakeholder groups were not always positive. Transformative change was a threat to some vested interests and opposition and resistance had to be factored into attempts to re-build and reform institutions. This paper focuses on the planned reform of teacher education institutions and programs for new teachers, one of many educational reform projects underway in Kosovo in the post-war period of 2000-2006. It outlines resistance encountered by this project which was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The unit that worked with local authorities was called the Kosovo Educator Development Project (KEDP).     

The “thriving quotient”: A new vision for student success

Instead of focusing on what students lack, higher education should build on what they do well. Laurie Schreiner introduces an assessment tool that measures the complex factors that affect student success and makes practical suggestions for improving students' college experience.     

“How to Strike the Right Balance Between Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Perceptions of Individual Lecturers”: A comparison of UK and Dutch higher education institutions

Tertiary Education and Management - This paper focuses on the way lecturers observe, feel restrained by and cope with quality management systems that have been implemented in the higher education...     

The relative roles of IQ and cognitive processes in reading disability

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relative roles of IQ and cognitive processes in reading performance. A sample of 443 Spanish children (264 male, 179 female) ranging in age from 7 to 13 years were classified into four groups according to IQ scores (<80, 80–90, 90–110, >110) and reading disabled (RD) and normally achieving readers (NR) were compared. The findings indicate that IQ scores were not related to the differences between children with RD and NR. We found that reading‐related cognitive deficits do differentiate between RD and NR children. Therefore, IQ scores do not make a significant contribution to our understanding of reading disability.     

Analysis of the Dynamics among Tutors in an After-School Tutoring Program in a Homeless Shelter for Families

Researchers of after-school tutoring primarily focus on educational outcomes with little attention to the social dynamics of such programs. In our qualitative case study, we examined the nature of interactions among tutors in a tutoring program at a homeless shelter for families. Employing Bourdieu’s concepts of social capital and field, we found that the dynamics between tutors were complex, with tutors jockeying for position amid contestations over the rules and organization of the tutoring sessions. The implications include the significant impact that the dynamics among tutors can have on the overall program.     

Quality Matters: New Roles for Librarians Using Standards for Online Course Design

Quality Matters? (QM) is a nationally recognized organization that certifies online courses for effective design, using an evidenced-based set of standards and a structured peer review process. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how academic librarians involved with online courses can adopt Quality Matters to build capacity for designing online courses, as well as using this expertise to evaluate newly developed online courses throughout the university, thus building new networks and relationships with campus teaching faculty and other personnel interested in quality online learning.     

Coach learning to help teachers learn to enact conceptually rich,student-focused mathematics lessons

The past decade has witnessed a strong, standards-based call for improving what mathematics is taught and how it is taught. In the USA, districts have hired instructional coaches to help teachers shift their teaching from algorithm-based instruction to instruction that is more student-centered and conceptually focused. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the field’s understanding of (a) the specific coaching practices that help teachers enact more conceptual-based forms of instruction; and (b) how coaches learn to enact those practices. Using a design-based implementation research approach, we trained coaches using a particular model for one-on-one coaching (Content-Focused Coaching); the coaches then worked with teachers to plan lessons aligned with the coaching model. Data consisted of videotapes of pre-lesson conferences that were transcribed and coded according to the model. Analyses of 32 coaches’ practice over a 2-year period suggest that each of the three components of our coaching model (attention to student thinking, pedagogy, and mathematics) demonstrated statistically significant improvement over time. An illustrative analysis of five coaching sessions of one coach revealed a progression over five sessions from planning discussions that stayed at the level of general strategies to more specific conversations about teaching a particular task and then to deeper discussions that integrate attention to mathematical concepts, student thinking, and pedagogical moves. We view this delineation of coach learning as an important first step in laying the groundwork for the design of future coach training.

     

日落当前,工作靠边

我认为下午五点就该放下工作了。在一个严格奉行新教工作道德的国家,这种信念可算是太激进。每周只工作四十小时?我已经看不到有多少人还会在五点钟就打卡下班了。这种事情看起来完全是古旧怪异,与过时的怀表和鞋油无异。我的父亲曾试图教育我勤奋工作、多花时间以及献身事业的重要性。但后来,他却在无意中教会我一些道理,例如在他最后一次下班回家爬上楼梯的时候。