Learning to teach history writing: discovering what works 1

Statistics indicated under achievement by 18-year-old Advanced (A) level History students in a mixed comprehensive school, by comparison with their results in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) at 16. Further investigation highlighted a weakness in essay writing. A teaching strategy was developed to improve essay writing by (a) clarifying the purpose of essay writing; (b) enhancing essay structuring; (c) ensuring students obtained a firm understanding of the topics studied; and (d) providing students with appropriate study skills to enable them to work effectively. An action plan, which drew heavily on the ideas of phenomenography (Hounsell, 1984, 1987), was devised to tackle these areas. The results of students who were taught in this way and who took their examinations in 1998 showed a dramatic improvement over the three previous years.     

HIV knowledge and risk among Zambian adolescent and younger adolescent girls: challenges and solutions

In sub-Saharan Africa, young women are at the highest risk of HIV infection. Comprehensive sexuality education and open parent–child communication about sex have been shown to mitigate risky sexual practices associated with HIV. This study aimed to identify sources of HIV prevention knowledge among young women aged 10–14 years and community-based strategies to enhance HIV prevention in Zambia. Focus group discussions were conducted with 114 young women in Zambian provinces with the highest rates (~20%) of HIV. Discussions were recorded, transcribed and coded, and addressed perceived HIV risk, knowledge and access to information. Participants reported that limited school-based sexuality education reduced opportunities to gain HIV prevention knowledge, and that cultural and traditional practices promoted negative attitudes regarding condom use. Parent–child communication about sex was perceived to be limited; parents were described as feeling it improper to discuss sex with their children. Initiatives to increase comprehensive sexuality education and stimulate parental communication about sexual behaviour were suggested by participants. Culturally tailored programmes to increase parent–child communication appear warranted. Community-based strategies aimed at enhancing protective sexual behaviour among those most at risk are essential.     

School Counseling Site Supervisor Training: An Exploratory Study

This study explored the supervision training needs of site supervisors of master's program school counseling interns via the construct of self‐efficacy. Using the Site Supervisor Self‐Efficacy Survey developed for this study, the authors surveyed school counseling site supervisors in the states of Oregon and Washington (N = 147) regarding their hours of supervision training and their supervisor self‐efficacy. Results indicated that 54% of school counseling site supervisors had little or no counseling supervision training. Supervisor self‐efficacy appeared to be relatively strong, consistently so for school counseling site supervisors with over 40 hours of supervision training. A partial correlation indicated a slightly positive relationship between the hours of supervision training received and perceived self‐efficacy regarding supervision. Implications regarding school counseling site supervisor training and future research are offered.     

‘Experiencing the Theory': Constructivism in a pre-service teacher preparation program

In two Bachelor of Education courses, students experienced social constructivist principles for teaching Elementary Language Arts. In the first course, they were introduced to the theory upon which curricula, methods, and strategies are based. Implications for instruction were explored through discussion of readings and participation in child-centered activities, later examined from the points of view of the learner and of the theory. In the second course, the seminar group pursued advanced questions about social constructivist theories, methods, and strategies. Students kept informal written responses to readings; shared reactions, ideas, and questions; suggested readings and approaches; and summarized their understanding in final papers. Students evaluated both experiences as being exceptionally useful to their own understanding of instruction. Four pedagogical points are worth consideration. First, despite differences in their undergraduate disciplines, all students demonstrated that they could contribute to their peers' construction of knowledge or meaning making of the concepts and theories examined. Second, the sequence of the two courses seemed to be important for establishing a base of understanding and inquiry for the seminar group. Third, students used metacognitive analysis of their experiences in order to examine their own learning, to investigate learning in general, and to inquire into the use of this understanding in their teaching. Fourth, students' excitement, as expressed in their evaluations, suggests that they began to construct a notion of what a teacher can be, of the obligation that a teacher has to continuous professional development, and of the need to inquire about their own practice.     

The risky business of choosing a high school

Drawing on literature about risk and individualization, as well as previous studies of quasi‐markets in education, our study focuses on two questions: first, how do middle–class parents and their children respond to the risks associated with choosing a high school? And second, how do they construct their identities through the choice process? Interview findings suggest that pressures on parents and students to individualize risk tend to reinforce socially structured inequalities and encourage the commodification of social relations. Although students and parents resist the individualizing discourse of risk to varying degrees, the dominant tendency is for choosers to attempt to colonize the future by drawing on their social and cultural capital. If more equitable choice processes and outcomes are desired therefore, attempts must be made to collectivize risk.     

What is distinctive about museum pedagogy and how can museums best support learning in schools? An action research inquiry into the practice of three regional museums

It seems uncontroversial to claim that museums are unique places of interest with the potential to inspire learners, yet what this means and how it is managed are complex questions. Museum educators’ work is currently shaped by accountability requirements typically expressed as visitor targets. Centralised teaching and learning initiatives are presented as ‘good practice’. In opposition to these factors, the action research inquiry discussed here set out to enable the participants to research and reflect upon the challenges of their individual contexts, and to develop ideas for practice that were ‘bespoke’. Deliberation on particular predicaments raised important issues, such as the relationship between schools and museums; the educational value of museums to schools; and the distinctive nature of museum pedagogy. A group of museum educators began with the question: ‘How can we support teachers in integrating learning in a museum, with the school curriculum, to help raise pupil attainment’? The paper tells the story of the project and includes reflections on the use of action research as a method of personal professional development and organisational problem-solving.     

Professional development for teachers: a world of change

As the industrialised world shifted to an interdependent and global society, formal schooling was quickly recognised as a major factor in achieving a knowledge society of lifelong learners capable of transforming and revitalising organisations. Teachers were encouraged to engage in learning together to improve teaching and, by extension, improve learning for the children in their care. This article identifies three emerging trends intended to broaden teachers' learning and enhance their practices through continuous professional development: glocalisation, mentoring, and re‐thinking teacher evaluation. The body of the article indicates how these three trends are unfolding in Australia, England, Latvia, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Taiwan, and the USA.

However, teachers cannot bring about necessary changes without organisational and systemic change; namely, collaboration with governmental agencies and other institutions. The authors suggest that transforming schooling in the twenty‐first century depends on education policies being supported by expanded teacher participation in education policy‐making, more coherent governmental policies across agencies, and collaborative, differentiated models for career‐long continuing professional development.