Enhancing Intercultural Communication among Business Communication Students

The issue of international students in the tertiary classroom is of broad significance across disciplines as evidenced, for example, in the work of Ladyshewsky (1996), Pe‐Pua (1995), and Romm, Paterson and Hill (1994). The need for university instructors to employ teaching strategies that are student‐centred and interactive has also been gaining attention in recent literature, for example, in the work of Biggs (1992, 1997), Chalmers and Volet (1997), and McKay and Kember (1997). This article presents some practical teaching strategies employed in an undergraduate Business Communication class that, in our experience, provide a context that encourages student interaction and participation to the mutual benefit of both local and international students. Data collection procedures included an open‐ended questionnaire, observation of students, informal and unstructured discussions and reflective journals of students and tutor. The conclusions drawn here suggest that these strategies not only enhance classroom participation by international students but also allow international and local students to interact more productively with each other.     

Community Child Care Inclusion: the development of two children

The development of two children with severe disabilities who were fully included in a community child care centre that implemented a developmentally appropriate play‐based curriculum is chronicled in this paper. The children's development was monitored over the course of a 9‐month school year using the traditional measure of a standardised assessment instrument, as well as monthly observations of the children in various play activities. The data are presented in a case study format and provide evidence that the children in this study made progress in all areas of development. The findings are important in that they show the children with severe disabilities progressed without intensive intervention, indicating that a play‐based curriculum utilising developmentally appropriate practice may provide an effective structure for the instruction of young children with disabilities.     

Intervening in severe physical child abuse cases: mental health, legal, and social services.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the child protection process in cases of severe physical abuse, to compare characteristics of the families with risk factors previously reported in the published literature, and to develop recommendations about the use of mental health professionals in such cases. METHOD: Reviewers examined 30 case records of severely physically abused children under age 5, nominated by child protection workers and mental health providers. The reviewers recorded demographic, clinical, and case process information such as mental health and other referrals, reunification status, and frequency of criminal prosecution. A case study was described. RESULTS: The parents displayed a range of psychological characteristics (e.g., depression, anxiety, personality disorders) and life problems (e.g., domestic violence, substance abuse, abused as child). The majority of parents denied the abuse. The children were very young (more than half under 6 months old) and many had difficult births or medical problems prior to the abuse. The most common services offered were individual psychotherapy and parenting classes. More than half of the children reunified with at least one parent within I year. Forty percent of the cases involved criminal prosecution. CONCLUSIONS: Reunification occurred more quickly and more often than expected based on the severity of the injuries. The system often relies on psychotherapy to correct the abusive behavior, even when the perpetrator remains unknown and specific risks such as substance abuse or domestic violence are present. The authors advise utilizing multidisciplinary teams for recommendations regarding reunification.     

Discipline‐related Marking Behaviour Using Percentages: a potential cause of inequity in assessment

This study set out to ascertain whether percentage mark distributions show evidence of discipline‐related marking behaviour and, if so, to consider the implications of this for equity in assessment outcomes. Performance data were obtained for 10 subjects at seven English universities for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96. The data showed that mark distributions at universities using percentages may be categorised into three Types (A,B and C). Type A distributions (English and History) are characterised by a steep‐sided negatively skewed distribution with a narrow spread. Pronounced microscale variation in the frequency is evident only in the vicinity of the mode between 55‐65%. Type B distributions (Biology, Business Studies, Fine Art, French, Law and Sociology) have a slightly broader spread and display microscale variation in frequency across a wider range of percentiles [40‐70%]. Type C distributions (Computer Studies and Mathematics) are characterised by a subdued, slightly negatively skewed distribution with a considerably wider spread. Type C distributions show conspicuous microscale variation in frequency across most of the percentile range. The types of distributions appear to reflect the relative confidence of assessors in different disciplines in awarding marks. The extremities of the percentage scale are perceived as insecure territory for the assessors of qualitative subject matter. Type A distributions are characteristic of disciplines in which the assessment is qualitative. Type B distributions may reflect the assessment of combined qualitative‐quantitative subject matter. Type C distributions are typical of disciplines in which more quantitative matter is assessed. The existence of discipline‐related patterns of distribution is a potential cause of inequity of outcomes for students on joint or multidisciplinary programmes. Data derived from institutions using grading scales show that discipline‐related patterns are less evident.     

Prisoners’ academic motivation,viewed from the perspective of self-determination theory: Evidence from a population of Norwegian prisoners

International Review of Education - The study presented in this article explores prisoners’ academic motivation structure from the theoretical perspective of self-determination theory, using...     

Ethics-in-practice in fragile contexts: Research in education for displaced persons,refugees and asylum seekers

The rising numbers of forcibly displaced peoples on the move globally, and the challenges with providing access to education, reflect the shifting and complex times that we live in. Even though there has been a proliferation in educational research in the context of forced migration, in line with the increasing number of forced migrants, there has not been a commensurate focus on unpicking the increasingly complex ethical conditions within which researchers and participants operate. To examine this issue, the article provides three narrated accounts by researchers in this field and explores the interaction of researcher and author-researcher voice to critically appraise their research experience and identify critical reflections of understanding of ethics-in-practice in fragile contexts. These narratives are framed by the CERD (consequential, ecological, relational and deontological) ethical appraisal framework, which explores ethical thinking through four ethical lenses. The article contributes to a deeper understanding of ethics-in-practice as a central dimension in educational research. The implications of this work show how a one-size-fits-all approach to ethical appraisal is inappropriate for socially just educational research. This work also illustrates the importance of attending to relationships and voice of the forcibly displaced, both of which are often lacking in educational research in fragile contexts.     

Infantile Amnesia: Through a Glass Darkly

Memory for former preschool classmates was examined in 9-and 10-year-old children using measures of both explicit and implicit memory. Yes-no recognition of faces was at low levels but was significantly above chance. Skin conductance data showed similarly low but above-chance differentiation between classmates and controls. A median split of children based on their recognition memory scores showed that children with little evidence of explicit memory for classmates were as likely to show differential skin conductance responding to faces of former classmates as were children with higher recognition scores. Infantile amnesia, like the clinical syndrome for which it is named, may not always involve complete loss of encoded information.     

Trajectories of Infants’ Biobehavioral Development: Timing and Rate of A‐Not‐B Performance Gains and EEG Maturation

This study examined how timing (i.e., relative maturity) and rate (i.e., how quickly infants attain proficiency) of A‐not‐B performance were related to changes in brain activity from age 6 to 12 months. A‐not‐B performance and resting EEG (electroencephalography) were measured monthly from age 6 to 12 months in 28 infants and were modeled using logistic and linear growth curve models. Infants with faster performance rates reached performance milestones earlier. Infants with faster rates of increase in A‐not‐B performance had lower occipital power at 6 months and greater linear increases in occipital power. The results underscore the importance of considering nonlinear change processes for studying infants’ cognitive development as well as how these changes are related to trajectories of EEG power.     

Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Their Emotional State,Relationships with Parents,Challenges, and Opportunities During the Early Stage of the Pandemic

Early Childhood Education Journal - This article presents a study about the impact of COVID-19 on childcare center educators in Quebec (Canada). Regulated childcare services were closed...