A Content Analysis of Peer Feedback in Triadic Supervision

There is limited research on the types of peer feedback exchanged during triadic supervision. Through a content analysis, the authors found that students provided feedback about counseling performance and cognitive counseling skills most often in supervision sessions. However, there were differences in the types of feedback exchanged across three experience levels.     

Meeting in the circle: examining identity,attitudes, and pedagogy in the context of an early childhood teacher education program in the United States

As a team of teacher educators at a university in the United States, we engage in participatory action research to reflect on how reflective tools which we design engage teacher candidates (TCs) in their reflecting on teaching. In this paper, we describe how we invite TCs to write in-class reflections, respond to self-assessment probes, and practice problem-solving processes. We critically analyze our approaches and identify further intentional approaches to promote university students’ understandings of (1) links between the self and working with children and families and (2) connections between attitudes and pedagogy towards social justice and inclusion. We conclude that we must continue to explore how the teaching practices we use affect students’ understandings of social justice in education. Doing so demands our focus on examining attitudes through self-reflection among and between faculty and university students so that identity, relationships, attitudes, inclusion, and social justice are prioritized as pillars of curriculum in early childhood education at all levels of schooling.     

Does correction for guessing reduce students’ performance on multiple‐choice examinations? Yes? No? Sometimes?

Multiple‐choice (MC) examinations are becoming increasingly popular in higher education because they can be used effectively to assess breadth of knowledge in large cohorts of students. This present research investigated psychology students’ performance on, and experiences of, MC examinations with and without correction for guessing. In Study 1, data were collected from two cohorts of students across three psychology MC examinations. The results revealed that students scored higher, and left fewer questions unanswered, when there was no correction for guessing. Furthermore, when the correction for guessing was removed from the theory MC examination, students who were told there was no correction for guessing did better than those told there was a correction. In addition, there was limited evidence of gender differences, with female students performing significantly better on one MC examination than males. In Study 2, a further set of first‐year psychology students reported their experiences of correction for guessing on open‐book and closed‐book MC examinations. Students reported feeling less anxious and more confident on the open‐book MC examination. The findings of both of these studies have implications for instructors deciding whether or not correction for guessing is appropriate, and for the advice to be given to students preparing for MC examinations.     

Research at Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, distributing public money from government and the National Lottery. The rationale for research at Arts Council England is explained, including the drivers behind a commitment to an increased research capacity. It is summarized how research takes place in the organization, the context in which work is undertaken and the key reporting requirements. Arts Council England works across a broad spectrum of artforms—from literature and the publishing sector, through dance and opera, to visual and multimedia arts. The research addresses all of these artforms as well as cross-cutting agendas such as employment, education and economic impact. Five broad areas are considered: evaluating the impact of Arts Council England's spending; audiences and participation in the arts; cultural employment and the arts economy; tools for the sector; and disseminating findings and informing policy. Details are given of some of the main research projects under each of these areas, and what is known now and where there are gaps in knowledge and challenges for the future are highlighted.     

Parental attitudes about teenage pregnancy: impact on sexual risk behaviour of African-American youth

African-American youth suffer disproportionately from sexual risk consequences including unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Parents educating young people about sex may be one approach to reduce sexual risk behaviour among this population. The purpose of this study was to determine young people's perceptions of parents' attitudes about sex and assess whether these perceptions affect sexual risk. Data were collected from 560 African-Americans, aged 9–19 years. Most (73.4%) thought their parents would be unhappy if they got someone pregnant/got pregnant, with more girls feeling this way than boys (p = 0.013). Sexually active boys who thought their parents would be unhappy if they got someone pregnant reported fewer sexual partners within the past year (p < 0.01) and fewer sexual encounters in the past 3 months (p = 0.01) compared to those whose parents would think otherwise. Our research illustrates that parents' explicit and unstated attitudes are apparent to their offspring, and young people's perceptions can impact their risk behaviour. As such, early and often sex education communication between parents and young people should be encouraged. Sexual health interventions encouraging parents to educate about sex and its consequences could enhance the health of young African-Americans.     

Discovering the More: Reading Wright's,Colette's,and Cather's Texts as Philosophy of Education

Rather than using literary texts to evidence an analytic argument, within this piece we read Julia McNair Wright's (US, 1840–1902), Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette's (France, 1873–1954), and Willa Cather's (US, 1873–1947) texts through theoretical lenses that expose their educational meaning and value and that create conversation among them concerning girls’ and women's educations. While we do not claim that one can generalize these women's works and lessons to every life, we contend that these women and the literary products they created offer girls and women powerful lessons about resistance, subversion, and nurturing one's intellect, lessons that in some ways transcend class and race in particular. First, we define and explain Bruner's concept of the more using Rosenblatt, Gallagher, and Gardner's theories and findings to illuminate his concept. Next, we identify and examine three themes that emerge across these authors’ texts—subverting through the everyday, becoming one's own steward, and moving from survival to self-actualization. Establishing these themes first in Wright's texts, we then use them to frame Colette's and Cather's fiction and support these themes by focusing on one lesson that emerges from each author's work(s). Finally, we ask what one might learn about educating girls and women from these texts and others whose educative meaning and value remain hidden.