Gender and Leadership in South African Educational Administration

Between 1994 and 1999, new discourses of social justice and gender equity enabled the entry of significant numbers of women into the previously all-male domains of the educational bureaucracy. At the same time, women in one bureaucracy were leaving as fast as they were entering. This article probes this phenomenon of the simultaneous transformation of the educational administration and the apparent consolidation of earlier patriarchal forms of control, albeit on a non-racial basis. On the basis of 16 in-depth interviews conducted in the Gauteng Department of Education with key decision-makers, the article argues that these developments can be explained by the particular constructs and practices of leadership in educational administration that associate leadership and competence with masculinity, rationality and whiteness. This is evident in how interviewees framed their experience of authority and leadership, visibility and recognition and balance between public and private life. The experience overall was such as to lever women out of their positions. All interviewees drew on a range of personal and social resources to deal with the stresses and strains of working in educational administration. Black women drew strength from a belief in the collective strength and capability of women rooted in maternal feminism.     

Advancing communication as a science: Research opportunities from the federal sector

The centrality of communication in health promotion is described in Healthy People 2010: Objectives for Improving Health, which noted that "health communication can contribute to all aspects of disease prevention and health promotion." In this paper we build on this argument by suggesting that communication science can be advanced by pursuing a "big-science" strategy where important and challenging questions about the role of communication in modern life are studied through rigorous research designs and research findings are applied to addressing significant social issues and problems. A significant dimension of a "big-science" strategy is the pursuit of programs of research using longitudinal designs and large samples with adequate controls. Given that such large-scale studies necessarily involve funding, we review some major funding initiatives and programs in different agencies of the federal governmental.     

Funds of Knowledge: An investigation of coherence within the literature

Two decades ago academics based at the University of Arizona brought the anthropological concept of Funds of Knowledge into the educational realm, providing a new conceptual framework to counter deficit theorizing of Latino students and their families. The growing body of literature evidences the belief and hope of academics in the potential of Funds of Knowledge to advance social justice and facilitate long-awaited breakthroughs in multicultural education practice.This paper provides an overview and analysis of Funds of Knowledge literature, addressing two key questions: What is the current scope of settings for Funds of Knowledge research? What do writers mean when they talk about Funds of Knowledge? Findings of differences in definitions indicate their contested nature. The review recommends clear articulation by researchers of the definition employed. Key questions arising from studies are presented and implications for multicultural education practice and teacher education are discussed.     

Executive impairment determines ADHD medication response: implications for academic achievement

Methylphenidate (MPH) often ameliorates attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behavioral dysfunction according to indirect informant reports and rating scales. The standard of care behavioral MPH titration approach seldom includes direct neuropsychological or academic assessment data to determine treatment efficacy. Documenting "cool" executive-working memory (EWM) and "hot" self-regulation (SR) neuropsychological impairments could aid in differential diagnosis of ADHD subtypes and determining cognitive and academic MPH response. In this study, children aged 6 to 16 with ADHD inattentive type (IT; n = 19) and combined type (n = 33)/hyperactive-impulsive type (n = 4) (CT) participated in double-blind placebo-controlled MPH trials with baseline and randomized placebo, low MPH dose, and high MPH dose conditions. EWM/ SR measures and behavior ratings/classroom observations were rank ordered separately across conditions, with nonparametric randomization tests conducted to determine individual MPH response. Participants were subsequently grouped according to their level of cool EWM and hot SR circuit dysfunction. Robust cognitive and behavioral MPH response was achieved for children with significant baseline EWM/SR impairment, yet response was poor for those with adequate EWM/ SR baseline performance. Even for strong MPH responders, the best dose for neuropsychological functioning was typically lower than the best dose for behavior. Findings offer one possible explanation for why long-term academic MPH treatment gains in ADHD have not been realized. Implications for academic achievement and medication titration practices for children with behaviorally diagnosed ADHD will be discussed.     

Making instruction and assessment responsive to diverse students' progress: group-administered dynamic assessment in teaching mathematics

This study entailed a 3 (instructional intervention) × 2 (assessment-type) between-subjects experimental design employing a pretest-intervention-posttest methodology. The instructional interventions were administered between subjects in three conditions: (a) dynamic instruction, (b) triarchic or theory of successful intelligence-control instruction, and (c) standard-control instruction. The assessment-type consisted between subjects of either (a) a group-administered dynamic posttest or (b) the same group-administered posttest interspersed with a control filler activity. Performance in different mathematics content areas taught in fourth grade was investigated. In total, 1,332 students and 63 classroom teachers in 24 schools across six school districts participated in the study. The results indicate the advantages of using dynamic instruction and assessment in regular classrooms while teaching mathematics, especially when the student body is highly ethnically diverse.