Impact of a Technology-Mediated Reading Intervention on Adolescents' Reading Comprehension

In this experimental study we examined the effects of a technology-mediated, multicomponent reading comprehension intervention, Comprehension Circuit Training (CCT), for middle school students, the majority of whom were struggling readers. The study was conducted in three schools, involving three teachers and 228 students. Using a within-teacher design, middle school teachers' reading classes were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 9) or business as usual (n = 7) conditions. In the CCT condition, students received, on average, 39 lessons of video-modeled instruction in word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction during reading intervention classes. Results of multilevel structural equation models indicated statistically significant effects favoring the CCT condition on three measures: reading comprehension latent variable (ES = 0.14), proximal vocabulary (ES = 0.43), and silent reading efficiency (ES = 0.28). Subgroup analyses indicated that students with lower entry-level reading comprehension tended to benefit more from the CCT intervention in reading comprehension, silent reading efficiency, and state test scores.     

Higher Education Trust, Rank and Race: A Conceptual and Empirical Analysis

This study involved an analysis of faculty trust in a large southwestern institution. After reviewing the literature, we identified a valid and reliable instrument, the Higher Education Faculty Trust Inventory, to measure higher education faculty trust in administrators, colleagues, and students. We then used this instrument to gauge various aspects of faculty trust, and we found significant trust differences among professors of varying academic ranks (i.e., adjunct, assistant, associate, and full professor). We found, however, no significant trust differences in regard to race. Finally, we discuss the findings within a context of implications for future research and practice in higher education. Page A. Smith received his B.S. in Education from Wright State University, M.S. in Educational Administration from the University of Dayton, M.A. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Leadership from The Ohio State University. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research pursuits include organizational climate and health, institutional trust, workplace aggression and bullying, and leadership development. Alan R. Shoho received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from California State University at Fullerton, M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and his Ed.D. in Secondary Education from Arizona State University. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research interests include aspiring principals, high school reform, and organizational trust.     

Skills‐Based Occupational Representations: Implications for Career Counseling

The authors used measures of workplace skills to construct graphical representations of occupations. Interpretable groupings of occupations based on similar skills emerged, as did an occupational map with salient skill dimensions. Implications for the use of skills information in a career counseling context are discussed with respect to (a) selection of courses, (b) consideration of alternative careers, (c) honest appraisal of the nature of particular occupations, and (d) planning curricula.     

Choosing competency-based,humanistic and self-directed programs: The contribution of personality and reasoning

Fifty-five college women enrolled in competency-based, humanistic or self-directed education programs completed their California Personality Inventory and listed five reasons for selecting their program. CPI results indicated that self-directed students scored lower than other students on the Femininity Scale (p.001). Using Chickering's seven vectors of change as a framework, the study found competency-based students identifying purpose and competence, humanistic students identifying inter-personal relationships and integrity, and self-directed student identifying autonomy and purpose as reasons for enrolling in their nontraditional programs. The study used these results to question the mythology that adherents to different programs are of different personality types and to argue that differences in perceptions of purpose in education distinguish students in the three programs.     

Teaching for democracy in the absence of transitional justice: the case of Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT

In many cases, political circumstances do not allow formal for transitional justice processes to occur in countries undergoing a transition from a violent past. In this paper, we ask if education can become a default front line of transitional justice work in the absence of explicit action by the state to address past injustices. Drawing from interviews with educators and using a new citizenship education programme in Northern Ireland as our case study, we argue that several factors, including organisational constraints within the education system, limit the potential of the programme for supporting transitional justice goals. While the effectiveness in this particular case is limited, Northern Ireland provides an example of a citizenship education programme that has moved away from an emphasis on national identity and embraced human rights. Other divided societies might find this model to be an effective conduit in which to promote transitional justice.     

Index of concern: An instrument for use in treatment of cases of physical abuse of children

In recent years attempts to improve the management of cases of child abuse have concentrated on structural procedures for achieving better coordination between agencies, at the expense of attention to less tangible factors which may impede treatment. This paper, based on a small study which analysed retrospectively cases which had resulted in the serious injury or death of a child, identifies some of these factors. The evidence suggests that the manifest level of concern for the safety of the child changes markedly in treatment, but does not correspond with the objective reality portrayed in the case material. Some underlying factors influencing this lack of congruence are: (1) formulation of the presenting problem creates a bias which becomes more pronounced through time; (2) focus on strengths and progress conceals areas of malfunctioning in the family; (3) attention to an individual masks risk to siblings; (4) concentration of attention on one adult as possible aggressor obscures contribution of others; (5) influence of any changes in family composition is not sufficiently considered. The paper discusses these findings and suggests the hypothesis that the use of a properly constructed “Index of Concern” could provide a means of counterbalancing such factors.     

Ethos,Habitus and Situation for Learning: An ecology

It is argued that the concept of ethos connects with Bourdieu's 'habitus' and the notion of situated learning. It can be argued that ethos can be defined as an organisation's habitus. An ecological perspective suggests that habituses external to the school provide dispositions that continuously construct and re-construct school ethos, and the evolving ethos itself provides developing dispositions and contexts for situated co-learning and participation in communities of practice; for example, shared learning about how to learn. Some implications for school improvement and leadership in schools are discussed.     

Collaborative and Competitive Video Games for Teaching Computing in Higher Education

This study measures the success of using a collaborative and competitive video game, named Space Race, to teach computing to first year engineering students. Space Race is played by teams of four, each with their own tablet, collaborating to compete against the other teams in the class. The impact of the game on student learning was studied through measurements using 485 students, over one term. Surveys were used to gauge student reception of the game. Pre and post-tests, and in-course examinations were used to quantify student performance. The game was well received with at least 82% of the students that played it recommending it to others. In some cases, game participants outperformed non-participants on course exams. On the final course exam, all of the statistically significant (p<0.05) comparisons (42% of the relevant questions) showed a performance improvement of game participants on the questions, with a maximum grade improvement of 41%. The findings also suggest that some students retain the knowledge obtained from Space Race for at least 7 weeks. The results of this study provide strong evidence that a collaborative and competitive video game can be an effective tool for teaching computing in post-secondary education.