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.     

Benefits of the Comprehensive Child Development Program as a function of AFDC receipt and SES

The benefits for children at the Pittsburgh site of the federal Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) were examined as a function of family welfare status (Aid to Families with Dependent Children; AFDC) and SES. The CCDP was the largest attempt by the federal government to provide two-generation, case-managed, comprehensive services to low-income families. Participating families could set their own goals and choose services to achieve them, but relatively few services were directed specifically at children. Results showed that more Pittsburgh families in the CCDP treatment group (N = 120) left AFDC than in the control group (N = 120), consistent with results from a national evaluation of the CCDP. Children whose families were on AFDC regardless of treatment group had lower mental test scores, even after controlling for family SES, a result suggesting that AFDC receipt over and above income level was associated with poorer child mental performance. The CCDP was associated with higher children's mental scores plus improvements over time in achievement scores only for children in families who were not on AFDC, even after controlling for SES. Such parents were more likely to choose parenting and child goals and services, which in turn were associated with higher child mental scores. In contrast, parents who were on AFDC tended to choose adult-centered goals and services, which did not benefit children. Therefore, in contrast to the national evaluation, which found no benefits of the CCDP for children, these analyses showed that the CCDP did produce benefits for children whose parents were not on AFDC, who tended to choose parenting and child services.     

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.

     

Preschool-Aged Siblings of Adjudicated Youths: Multiple Risk Factors for Conduct Problems

Younger siblings of adolescents with histories of antisocial behavior are at high risk for developing conduct problems. Information about risk exposure in youths at familial risk for conduct problems is critical to the design of informed preventive interventions. The prevalence of well-validated risk factors for conduct problems was examined in a sample of 92 preschool-aged siblings of adjudicated youths. As expected, preschoolers at familial risk for conduct problems were exposed to a range of sociocultural, biological, and parenting risks. Risk exposure was associated with concurrent conduct problems and social competence in the preschool period. Only a minority of preschoolers was reported by parents to have clinically significant conduct problems, and this subgroup had more risks than children with conduct problems in the normal range. Findings are discussed in the context of preventive interventions for high-risk children and families.