Impact of school inspections on improvement of schools—describing assumptions on causal mechanisms in six European countries

School inspection is used by most European education systems as a major instrument for controlling and promoting the quality of schools. Surprisingly, there is little research knowledge about how school inspections drive the improvement of schools and which types of approaches are most effective and cause the least unintended consequences. The study presented in this paper uses interviews with inspection officials and a document analysis to reconstruct the “program theories” (i.e. the assumptions on causal mechanisms, linking school inspections to their intended outcomes of improved teaching and learning) of Inspectorates of Education in six European countries. The results section of the paper starts with a summary of the commonalities and differences of these six national inspection models with respect to standards and thresholds used, to types of feedback and reporting, and to the sanctions, rewards and interventions applied to motivate schools to improve. Next, the intermediate processes through which these inspection models are expected to promote good education (e.g. through actions of stakeholders) are explained. In the concluding section, these assumptions are critically discussed in the light of research knowledge.     

Promoting preventive behaviors against influenza: Comparison between developing and developed countries

Applying the health belief model, this study examined young adults' intention to adopt preventive behaviors against influenza infection in developing countries (Thailand and Cambodia) and developed countries (the USA and Singapore). Self-efficacy was the only variable significantly related to behavioral intention in the developing countries. In contrast, perceived threat, expected benefits, and media attention were significant predictors in the developed countries. Trust in information sources also had a consistent impact across the two samples. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Print Media

Bernard M. Fry and Herbert S. White's Publishers and Libraries: A Study of Scholarly and Research Journals (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books/D.C. Heath, 1976—price not given, but about $15.00)

Karl I.R. Arndt and May E. Olsen's The German Language Press of the Americas, Volume I: History and Bibliography 1732-1968, United States of America (Munich: Verlag Dokumentation [New York: Unipub] , 1976—DM 148, or $52.00)

The Reader's Advisor: A Layman's Guide to Literature, 12th Edition (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1977—three volumes for $69.95 per set, or $25.00 per volume if purchased separately)

Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan (eds.) Popular Writing in America: The Interaction of Style and Audience, Shorter, Alternate Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977—$5.00, paper)     

Surface plasmon resonance analysis to evaluate the importance of heparin sulfate groups' binding with human aFGF and bFGF

Human acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors (aFGF and bFGF) are classic and well characterized members of the heparin-binding growth factor family. Heparin is generally thought to play an extremely important role in regulating aFGF and bFGF bioactivities through its strong binding with them. In order to unravel the mechanism of the interactions between heparin and FGFs, and evaluate the importance of heparin sulfate groups' binding with FGFs, surface plasmon resonance analyses were performed using IAsys Cuvettes System. Heparin and its regioselectively desulfated derivatives were immobilized on the cuvettes. aFGF and bFGF solutions with different concentrations were pipetted into the cuvettes and the progress of the interaction was monitored in real-time by Windows-based software, yielding kinetic and equilibrium constants for these interactions. In addition, in order to reduce the delicate difference among the cuvettes, inhibition analyses of mixtures of FGFs and immobilized native heparin by modified heparins were also done. The data from these two methods were similar, indicating that all sulfate groups at 2-O, 6-O and N- in heparin were required for the binding to aFGF; and that their contribution to the binding was in the order 2-O, N- and 6-O-sulfate group. In contrast, definite contribution of the 6-O-sulfate group to the binding with bFGF was most apparent, while the other two sulfate groups appeared to be necessary in the order 2-O and N-sulfate group. These methods established here can be used for analysing the effect of sulfate groups in heparin on the binding with other human FGF members or other heparin-binding proteins. The project supported by the Scientific Research Foundation for Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry of China and Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (301306)     

Choosing a Model. Reflecting on the Development Process of Te Whariki: National Early Childhood Curriculum Guidelines in New Zealand∗

This paper reflects on the process of developing national curriculum guidelines for early childhood from the experience in New Zealand. Developing national curriculum guidelines in New Zealand during 1992 involved accessing current knowledge of child development, of learning, and of international early childhood practice. The development also involved complex interconnections between the nature of early childhood in New Zealand and its history (the setting), the opinions, ideas, and practice of current practitioners (the consultation), and decisions about which framework should be constructed (the model). The latter three aspects of the curriculum development process are the subject of this paper. Four possible models are briefly outlined, and then the New Zealand model is described.

     

Teaching and Learning in a University Classroom: A Norwegian Case Study on Students' Perspectives

This article focuses on student activity and how students experience learning. A teaching programme was both led and researched by the one teacher. The article describes a master's level teaching programme and presents the data collection strategies used by the teacher‐researcher and presents learning viewed from the students' perspective. The teaching and researching processes are carried out in the framework of socio‐cultural theory. In Vygotsky's and Bakhtin's theories, as part of the socio‐cultural tradition, language and dialogue are viewed as decisive factors in learning and understanding, and hence in the researched teaching programme.