Evaluating the strategic plans of public libraries: An inspection-based approach

For public libraries, as with most organizations, effective strategic planning is critical to longevity, facilitating cohesive and coordinated responses to ever present and ever changing political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) forces which shape and influence direction. Strategic planning is widely recognized as a challenging activity, however, which can be both time consuming and unproductive, and there exists limited guidance regarding how to evaluate documented and disseminated strategic plans, particularly within the not-for-profit sector. In response, this research proposes and tests an inspection-based approach to the evaluation of strategic plans, based upon a rubric specifying the key attributes of each of the core components of a plan, combined with an appropriate assessment scale. The rubric provides a method to identify and assess completeness of strategic plan, extending to qualitative assessment of communication aspects such as specification and terminology, and synergistic aspects such as cohesion and integration. In the most comprehensive study of its kind to date, the method is successfully trialed across the devolved Scottish public library sector, with the strategic plans of 28 of the 32 regional networks evaluated. Of the 28 plans, 17, or 61%, were found to be incomplete and/or to contain contradictory or uncoordinated components. It is recommended that Scottish public libraries improve not only completeness of plans, but also their precision, specificity, explicitness, coordination, and consistency, and overall mapping to library services. Recommendations are made for further widespread application of the rubric.     

Science Education and Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are increasingly expected to master content in the general education curriculum, making the need for effective instructional supports more important than ever before. Science is a part of the curriculum that can be particularly challenging to students with LD because of the diverse demands it places on cognitive performance. In this summary we review a number of strategies that have been validated for learners with LD. The strategies include supports for (a) verbal learning of declarative information, (b) processing information in texts, (c) activities‐based instruction/experiential learning, (d) scientific thinking and reasoning, and (e) differentiated instruction. We also summarize the research regarding the impact of teacher behavior on achievement for students with LD in science education. The strategies reviewed yield tangible and positive effect sizes that suggest that their application to the target domain will substantially improve outcomes for students with LD in science education.     

A phenomenological study highlighting the voices of students with mental health difficulties concerning barriers to classroom learning

Despite the Mental Health Foundation (2012 Mental Health Foundation. 2012. Mental Health Statistics. http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk. [Google Scholar]) stating that each year, one in four people in the United Kingdom (UK) will have some kind of mental health difficulty, students from this group are underrepresented in further education (FE) colleges. In light of this, the purpose of this exploratory research, which was rooted in the phenomenological paradigm, was to investigate the barriers to classroom learning that existed among adult students who had severe and enduring mental health difficulties, as well as how they perceived that these could be overcome. With the aim of foregrounding the learners’ voices, five students from a cookery course, set up specifically for this target group, were studied using a case-study approach. The results revealed that there were many fears connected with the learning process, particularly in relation to failure and relapse, as well as how the teacher would treat them. The actual process of affording these vulnerable students a unique opportunity to be heard raised both ethical and methodological dilemmas, which have implications for future work among this group of students. However, the results also revealed that once the barriers were overcome, their learning had a significant impact not just on their cookery skills, but on their lives as a whole. This study concludes by suggesting that colleges need to purposely educate and support teachers in how best to work with such students and that more research be carried out among this group of vulnerable students.     

Effective International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) and Local Non-Governmental Organisation (LNGO) partnerships in education programmes: a case study of an Irish INGO and its partner LNGOs in Ethiopia

A review of donors’ most recent policies highlights that the term ‘partnership’ is firmly embedded in the lexicon of international development. Most donors now only fund INGO programmes if they are partnering LNGOs. This article considers key questions in relation to such programmes: What is meant by an education partnership? Are there features common to all education partnerships? What are the features of an effective education partnership between an INGO and an LNGO? How do these features enable an effective partnership? Based on a review of international developments, research in the field, and case study data of the experience of a programme implemented in Ethiopia, the appropriateness of a planning, implementation and evaluation tool for education partnerships between INGOs and LNGOs, and the strengths and weaknesses of current programmes is explored.     

Every school a school of choice: school choice in Ireland as viewed through American eyes

‘Choice’ and ‘freedom’ as measured by the ability of parents to select their children's schools are deeply embedded in the national ethos of the United States of America. Wealthy American parents have always exercised school choice but minority and lowincome students are often trapped in failing schools. This paper is based on research conducted in a purposive sample of Irish primary schools into the nature of school choice. The authors examine five aspects of the Irish national primary school system that could provide models for American educators, whose vision often stops at the boundaries of the United States: education law, school choice for all, a national curriculum framework, the role of assessment, and the role of parents and educators in the creation of new schools. While arguably the five relate directly to school choice of different degrees, they collectively weave a web whereby school systems in the Republic of Ireland and the USA may productively be compared to the benefit of both.     

Promoting Success in High School World History: Peer Tutoring Versus Guided Notes

The purpose of this investigation was to compare qualitative and quantitative outcomes associated with peer tutoring versus teacher–directed guided notes in world history for secondary–level students with mild disabilities. Sixteen students with mild disabilities (15 of whom had learning disabilities) participated in a nine–week quarter of one of the two instructional conditions. The same special education teachers taught students during world history classes. Measures included pre– and posttests of reading fluency, comprehension strategies, and content tests, including end–of–chapter tests, cumulative–delayed–recall tests, and a delayed–recall end–of–year final exam covering the entire academic year. In addition, qualitative procedures were employed, including interviews of teachers and students regarding their instructional preferences. Findings indicated that students who participated in peer tutoring significantly outperformed those who participated in the guided–notes condition on content–area tests. No significant differences were obtained on oral–reading–fluency measures, but students in the tutoring condition performed significantly better at using a reading comprehension summarization strategy independently, and at remembering the strategy steps. Results of student interviews suggested that students responded positively overall to tutoring and guided notes, and provided specific relevant insights on each procedure. Students in the tutoring condition indicated that the time spent tutoring felt like one of the shortest academic quarters for them. Findings are discussed with respect to both benefits and challenges associated with implementing peer tutoring in high school special education content–area classes.     

The Feldenkrais Method: a dynamic approach to changing motor behavior.

This tutorial describes the Feldenkrais Method and points to parallels with a dynamic systems theory (DST) approach to motor behavior Feldenkrais is an educational system designed to use movement and perception to foster individualized improvement in function. Moshe Feldenkrais, its originator, believed his method enhanced people's ability to discover flexible and adaptable behavior and that behaviors are self-organized. Similarly, DST explains that a human-environment system is continually adapting to changing conditions and assembling behaviors accordingly. Despite little research, Feldenkrais is being used with people of widely ranging ages and abilities in varied settings. We propose that DSTprovides an integrated foundation for research on the Feldenkrais Method, suggest research questions, and encourage researchers to test the fundamental tenets of Feldenkrais.     

Curriculum Mapping in Academic Libraries

Librarians at four different academic institutions concurrently completed curriculum mapping projects using varying methods to analyze their information literacy instruction. Curriculum mapping is a process for systematically evaluating components of an instructional program for cohesiveness, proper sequencing, and goal achievement. There is a dearth of documentation of how this process has applied to an information literacy curriculum; however, the benefits of an organized examination of course progression is clear. The librarians explored curriculum mapping using different methodologies and approaches in order to formulate a more strategic approach to teaching students information literacy skills.