A Review of the Disability Access Route to Education in UCD 2010-2013

This article offers a review of the DARE as it operated in University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland from 2010 to 2013. This DARE scheme allows applicants to provide details of their disability and its impact on their education, with a view to competing for specially allocated places on their programme of choice, should they not receive an offer of a place based on the merit of their Leaving Certificate Second Level examination results. This article provides an overview of the DARE scheme and a detailed analysis of the profile of students who applied and were eligible for the DARE scheme, and accepted a place in UCD, between 2010 and 2013. It details how these students have progressed and how their educational outcomes compare to that of the general student body as well as making recommendations for the improvement of the scheme.     

A phenomenological exploration of children’s school life and well-being

Learning Environments Research - This phenomenological study explored children’s school life as it relates to their subjective well-being in the United States (N?=?22). It was...     

Relevant and timely learning for busy leaders

Lord Leitch was commissioned by the Chancellor in 2004 with a remit to ‘identify the UK's optimal skills mix in 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice and to consider the policy implications of achieving the level of change required.’ In the 2006 Budget, the Chancellor asked Lord Leitch to consider how to better integrate employment and skills services at a local level. In his final report ‘Prosperity for all in the global economy – world class skills’ Leitch states the need to further improve management and leadership skills in the UK recommending that the UK should aim to be a world leader on skills by 2020. One of the key ways to maximize economic growth is through leadership of small and medium enterprise. In response to this Leitch report and in conjunction with the Sector Skills Councils, an action learning opportunity was made available for leaders in the retail and leisure sectors in Merseyside. Alongside the government also highlighted a need for skill development in ‘inspirational’ leadership in particular. To make learning and development ‘relevant and timely’ for busy leaders, action learning is often a preferred option. This paper looks at three particular aspects of using action learning with leaders in the retail and leisure sectors. Firstly, how commitment to engage with the process was created and fostered, in light of work pressures and long working hours. Secondly, the factors that encouraged each member to feel, and act upon, a sense of responsibility for each others' learning and development, rather than just their own, and, thirdly, a frank look at some of the difficulties which arose which could have threatened the effectiveness of the learning.     

‘GetReel’: engaging Year 6 students in planning,scripting, actualising and evaluating media text

The notion of ‘multiliteracies’ and the development and creation of multimodal texts within classrooms is of pedagogic interest in this age of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). The case study reported herein provides an analysis of how one teacher engaged her class of primary school students as they responded to the challenge of creating and filming a 30‐second television commercial on a social justice issue. The media texts were constructed in a 10‐week period. The paper describes the process as the teacher and these students planned, wrote, filmed and edited their commercials. It offers an example of how the changing nature of literacy and, specifically, text, is enacted in the classroom.     

Communication Between College Counselors and Academic Faculty When Supervising Graduate Student Trainees

College counseling centers play an important role in the training and supervision of counselor trainees. This article addresses the importance of communication between college counselors and academic counseling program faculty when college counselors supervise graduate students from academic counseling programs. As the authors discuss, effective communication contributes to positive and productive training experiences for graduate student trainees. Suggestions are offered for successful communication between counseling center staff and program faculty.     

Creating the Mark Twain Project Online

The Mark Twain Project Online (MTPO) was launched in October 2007 and, in this first phase, digitally published several thousand of Twain's letters, almost 100 facsimiles of original documents, and over 28,000 records of other correspondence. The partners involved in the building of MTPO – the Mark Twain Papers, the California Digital Library, and University of California Press – created the site on the premise that Web‐accessible versions of this content, enhanced by innovative design and site architecture and a suite of research tools, would greatly improve scholars' ability to discover and work with this unique material. Anecdotal feedback supports this premise. Early data analysis confirms the usefulness of facsimiles and browsing functionality. Users tend to prefer simple keyword over complex searches; however, those conducting advanced searches are using the tool flexibly, as we had hoped. Further analysis is expected to improve our understanding of how researchers use these tools in combination.     

Impact of aerobic exercise trials with varied intensity patterns on perceptions of effort: an evaluation of predicted, in-task, and session exertion

Perceptions of effort provide a sense of momentary exertion during exercise, but may have value when considered prior to and after exercise. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between perceived exertion assessed before, during, and after trials of aerobic exercise fixed for total work but varied on intensity patterns. Twenty participants completed five trials of treadmill exercise that included planned intensity variations every 10 minutes to result in the same total work. Perceived exertion was taken before, during, and after exercise. Analyses confirmed each trial was similar in terms of average speed and heart rate (P > 0.05). Predicted and session exertion results indicated that the steady exercise bout was perceived as easier than many trials of varied speed (P < 0.05). Trials including an intense segment in the middle or end of the session were perceived as more difficult than sessions that varied intensity otherwise or remained constant. Similarly, trials that remained constant during the 30-minute period were perceived as less aversive than most other trials. These findings suggest that exercise sessions involving a steady intensity throughout are viewed as less taxing than sessions with variable intensity, especially when compared to sessions that conclude with a higher intensity finish.     

Examining the stability of achievement goal orientation

We examined stability and change in students’ achievement goal orientations over varying tasks. Two naturalistic longitudinal studies were conducted in undergraduate courses. Students completed self-reports designed to measure their achievement goals. Achievement goals were measured four times: prior to two assignments and two exams. Four complementary analytic techniques were used to examine goal stability: differential continuity, mean-level change, individual-level change, and profile consistency. Results across both studies provide evidence for stability and change across tasks in achievement goal orientation, and comparisons made between similar and different tasks resulted in similar levels of change. Implications for theory and research in achievement goal orientation are discussed.     

Janusian Leadership: Two Profiles of Power in a Community of Practice

This article investigates how informal positions of power emerge within a community of practice and how positions of power influence communication and understanding about key issues. Findings from a study of one community of practice reveal Janusian leadership within the group and the effects of emergent, informal power roles on group goals, adding to theoretical knowledge about small groups, academic peer groups, and communities of practice.     

Preschoolers’ use of count information to judge relative quantity

We examined preschool children's use of count information in making quantity judgments. Study 1 involved 35 children 3–5 years old using a balance-scale task to judge relative quantity with or without count information provided. Study 2 replicated and extended the exploration as 54 children 3–4 years old judged relative quantity in multiple counting contexts. Children who were given count information successfully used count information in quantity evaluation when visual cues were not useful. Limited experience of counting skills, strategy choice, and limited processing capacity are each discussed as potential explanations. Implications for early childhood practice and teacher education, as well as directions for future research are explored.