Linking School Effectiveness Knowledge and School Improvement Practice: Towards a Synergy

A survey is undertaken of the ‘paradigms’ of the academic communities of school effectiveness and school improvement researchers, practitioners and scholars. It is argued that the two ‘paradigms’ are very different, and that this has hindered the improvement of educational practice. Examples are given of programmes which are a ‘blend’ of the two different approaches, and detail is given as to how the school effectiveness and school improvement communities can meet the knowledge needs necessary for improving the quality of schooling.     

Teaching Scientists to Communicate: Evidence-based assessment for undergraduate science education

Communication skills are one of five nationally recognised learning outcomes for an Australian Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Previous evidence indicates that communication skills taught in Australian undergraduate science degrees are not developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the modern-day workplace—a problem faced in the UK and USA also. Curriculum development in this area, however, hinges on first evaluating how communication skills are taught currently as a base from which to make effective changes. This study aimed to quantify the current standard of communication education within BSc degrees at Australian research-intensive universities. A detailed evidential baseline for not only what but also how communication skills are being taught was established. We quantified which communication skills were taught and assessed explicitly, implicitly, or were absent in a range of undergraduate science assessment tasks (n?=?35) from four research-intensive Australian universities. Results indicate that 10 of the 12 core science communication skills used for evaluation were absent from more than 50% of assessment tasks and 77.14% of all assessment tasks taught less than 5 core communication skills explicitly. The design of assessment tasks significantly affected whether communication skills were taught explicitly. Prominent trends were that communication skills in tasks aimed at non-scientific audiences were taught more explicitly than in tasks aimed at scientific audiences, and the majority of group and multimedia tasks taught communication elements more explicitly than individual, or written and oral tasks. Implications for science communication in the BSc and further research are discussed.     

Engaging with commonality and difference: Theoretical tensions in the analysis of working-class women's educational discourses

In this article the authors contribute to ongoing theoretical debates concerning the conceptualisation of multiple social identities and oppressions. The article begins by briefly tracing the path towards current critical/feminist/sociological positions 'between modernism and postmodernism', in which identities ('race', class, gender, etc.) are conceptualised as socially constructed, fluid, shifting and yet grounded in 'real' inequalities and oppressions. The article then builds upon, and contributes to, current theoretical dialogue by highlighting ongoing tensions and unresolved problematics within the theoretical approach, drawing out the particular implications of these for educational research. Issues are discussed with specific reference to recent work by Brah (1999) and illustrations are provided using examples from the authors' research with inner city, working-class women.     

Staying on track: behavioral engagement of at-risk and non-at-risk students in post-secondary vocational education

Behavioral disengagement from school is a proximal predictor of dropout. Therefore, the enhancement of behavioral engagement is a useful point of entry for dropout prevention. In this study, we examine the behavioral engagement of at-risk and non-at-risk students in Dutch senior vocational education (SVE), a sector confronted with high dropout rates. Using multilevel regression analyses, we assess the role of students’ background characteristics and perceived fit with the school environment in their behavioral engagement. Findings indicate that students in highly urbanized areas are significantly less engaged in school. The perceived proportion of autonomous work is most prominently correlated to students’ behavioral engagement. Whereas in general SVE students are more engaged if their program requires little autonomous work from students, engineering students appear to favor autonomous work forms.     

An exploration of primary to secondary school transition planning for children with Down’s syndrome

This study explores factors that influence decisions about transition and what works for children with Down’s syndrome transferring from primary to secondary school. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews to gain the views of support staff and parents of two children with Down’s syndrome. One parent had chosen mainstream secondary school and was negotiating the transition, whilst the other was making decisions around future placement. The Voice of the Child (VoC) was elicited using rating scales. Thematic analysis revealed practical and ideological insights into transition, highlighting the need for parental involvement, planned transition and recognition of the individual needs of the child. The educational and social implications of these findings are considered along with directions for future research.     

Critical friendship as a contribution to master’s‐level work in an international programme of study

This article reports on an action research project in which the value of critical friendship for students doing research and writing their dissertations within an international master’s course has been explored. This course is run jointly by Roehampton University (London, UK), Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic) together with Fontys OSO (Tilburg, the Netherlands). It describes the process and the results of working with the concept of critical friendship in this master’s course since its start in 2005. Data were collected by means of various qualitative instruments and data sources: evaluation forms after tutorial sessions, reflective logs and focus interviews. The results show that the process of engaging with the research they did was enhanced and supported by the development of critical friendship groups. A number of recommendations have been formulated, such as the importance of discussing the concept of critical friend and its philosophy with the participants and of defining roles and tasks as clearly as possible.     

Active engagement,emotional impact and changes in practice arising from a residential field trip

This study focused on the learning experiences of 50 undergraduate students undertaking a residential field trip (RFT) to Sweden as part of their Early Childhood Studies degree. Three dimensions were examined: the physical and emotional value afforded to the students from the active learning context; how this was interpreted and reflected in their knowledge, understanding and personal practice once they had left university; and the influence of factors such as age, and professional status on students' practice. The methodology was interpretive, and both deductive and inductive approaches were employed to analyse qualitative, narrative data sets derived from semi-structured questionnaires, interviews and written essays. The findings suggested that the physiological effects of hands on engagement influenced both the students' perceptions of the learning experience and their confidence to become agents of change. Subsequent changes directly attributed to the RFT experience, involved the re-evaluation of both the stereotypical pedagogic role and the way in which they related to children; students re-conceptualised their practices to reflect a more child-centred approach and increased their use of outdoor play and sustainable resources. The RFT was a catalyst that promoted empowerment, and informed both personal and professional transformations.