Bien Educado: Measuring the social behaviors of Mexican American children

Young children's expected social behaviors develop within particular cultural contexts and contribute to their academic experience in large part through their relationships with their teachers. Commonly used measures focus on children's problem behaviors, developed from psychopathology traditions, and rarely situate normative and positive behaviors in context. Building from the literature on parenting goals and socialization expectations in Latino families and a preliminary ethnographic study (Proyecto Educando Niños), we constructed a survey in English and Spanish that measures the expected social behaviors of Mexican-heritage children, ages 3–6 years, using parent and teacher reports. Use of the BEAR Assessment System facilitated the refinement of this instrument to assess the socialization of young, Mexican American children. We report on the psychometric properties of the Mexican American Socialization (MAS) Scale, utilizing item-response theory. Analyses indicate the MAS Scale is reliable and an ecologically valid indicator of multiple constructs of the expected social behaviors of young Mexican American children. In particular, the 41-item Bien Educado subscale showed good reliability and is consistent with socialization constructs described in the literature. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Widening access to educational opportunities through teaching children how to reason together

This paper reports on a project to explore the impact of promoting exploratory talk as the medium of teaching across the curriculum for 6‐ and 7‐year‐old pupils in three primary schools in the UK. We found that this focus on teaching through exploratory talk (which we call the Thinking Together approach) enabled the children to work together more inclusively and more effectively, improving their social skills and, at the same time, their use of language for reasoning and learning.     

Examining the use of theory within educational technology and media research

Academic research in the areas of educational technology and media is often portrayed to be limited in terms of its use of theory. This short paper reports on data collected from a survey of 462 ‘research active’ academic researchers working in the broad area of educational technology and educational media. The paper explores their use (and non-use) of theory.     

Refocusing Reference Services Outside the Library Building: One Library's Experience

In response to changing user needs, the library sought ways to meet new challenges and engage users outside of the building. Librarians were removed from the service desk in order to offer support at locations around campus. The service desk in the library was staffed primarily by paraprofessionals with librarians providing support as needed. Targeted staff training was offered, and different scheduling models were used over a period of time. Restructuring the service desk was a complicated endeavor but provided a number of benefits including expansion of services. Along the way, challenges were met and recognized as learning opportunities.     

Faculty Grading of Quantitative Problems: A Mismatch between Values and Practice

Grading practices can send a powerful message to students about course expectations. A study by Henderson et al. (American Journal of Physics 72:164–169, 2004) in physics education has identified a misalignment between what college instructors say they value and their actual scoring of quantitative student solutions. This work identified three values that guide grading decisions: (1) a desire to see students’ reasoning, (2) a readiness to deduct points from solutions with obvious errors and a reluctance to deduct points from solutions that might be correct, and (3) a tendency to assume correct reasoning when solutions are ambiguous. These authors propose that when values are in conflict, the conflict is resolved by placing the burden of proof on either the instructor or the student. Here, we extend the results of the physics study to earth science (n?=?7) and chemistry (n?=?10) instructors in a think-aloud interview study. Our results suggest that both the previously identified three values and the misalignment between values and grading practices exist among science faculty more generally. Furthermore, we identified a fourth value not previously recognized. Although all of the faculty across both studies stated that they valued seeing student reasoning, the combined effect suggests that only 49% of faculty across the three disciplines graded work in such a way that would actually encourage students to show their reasoning, and 34% of instructors could be viewed as penalizing students for showing their work. This research may contribute toward a better alignment between values and practice in faculty development.     

Plugging a gap? Soft skills courses and learning for work

Governments across Europe have been encouraged by the European Union (EU) to take measures to upskill their workforce to ensure growth and social inclusion. Low-skilled workers are particular targets and learning providers and employers are expected to provide learning opportunities for them. However, research shows that those with low skills often lack confidence and require support to engage in learning. This paper examines an European Structural Funds (ESF)-funded course aimed at developing soft skills in low-skilled employees through a course developed by a Scottish college. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with learners from two cohorts of the course to examine their experiences and gains from the course. Learners’ accounts demonstrate benefits from the course but workplace culture impacted on the level of gains. The paper questions the ability of one-off courses to deliver the aims of policy and suggests more coordinated and sustained effort is required.     

Stepping out of our comfort zones: pre-service teachers' responses to a critical analysis of gender/power relations in sexuality education

This paper discusses pre-service teachers' responses to a critical analysis of gender/power relations using examples from a final assessment for an intensive elective unit called Teaching Sexuality in the Middle Years. This unit critically examines gender/ power relations, the production of difference, heteronormativity and pleasure and desire, employing a feminist post-structural framework. Despite the focus on critical thinking, reflection and interrogating structural inequalities in this unit some students were resistant or unable to engage with this approach in their assessments, although appearing to do so in workshops. We consider the broad range of sexuality education discourses mobilised by this unit to try to make sense of what looks like resistance but may be something more complex and difficult to negotiate. The paper ends with a consideration of some of the implications of this approach for practice.