Aspects of Educational Delivery within Sino-Foreign Educational Alliances: Is This the Real Key to Success?

The topic of educational alliances undertaken between Sino-foreign universities remains a contentious and much debated matter. This is an area of considerable and often very busy activity with a high rate of failure and frustration—yet, also one of reward, mutual satisfaction, and achievement. This paper evaluates a key aspect of these alliances often overlooked in research: educational delivery activities and projects that form the heart and core of alliances. The paper notes that the development and delivery of a range of programs beyond just degree or part degree courses but of research, seminar, and ancillary activities, lies at the very core of a successful alliances, particularly if these activities can be undertaken in a manner that melds two very different cultural and educational worlds, and in a way that can contribute to the Chinese students' sense of well-being and ability to take part in the globalization of the emerging Chinese market economy.     

Economic independence among former students with special educational needs: changes and continuities from their late twenties to their mid-thirties

Abundant research exists on the transition from school to work of youth with disabilities. However, few studies investigate their subsequent long-term participation in working life. This study, drawing on a life course approach, aimed to examine how former students with special educational needs succeeded in finding full-time employment with sufficient pay to make them economically independent. The extent of economic independence was investigated in their late twenties and their mid-thirties. The sample (N?=?216) originates from a Norwegian longitudinal research project that commenced in the mid-1990s when the study participants just had started upper secondary school. Their special needs provision and their physical, psychological and/or social difficulties were recorded at the same time. After their teens, they were interviewed every fifth year. At both age phases close to 50% of the study participants were economically independent, men to a much greater degree than women. By logistic regression analyses, it was revealed that the independent variables influenced economic independence differently among men and women, for example, that educational attainment was important for women, but not for men. However, possession of a driving licence was crucial for men, but was relatively unimportant for women, at least in the first age phase. There was also a differential impact of parenthood. Having children increased the likelihood of being economically independent for men, whereas the impact was opposite for women, especially when they were approaching their mid-thirties. Processes of cumulative advantages and disadvantages were also observed, indicating that previous negative life course experiences dramatically reduce the chances of obtaining economic independence.     

Student science teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development: an empirical study of three postgraduate training cohorts

Conceptions of sustainable development were elicited using a questionnaire completed by three cohorts of postgraduate students starting a secondary science teacher‐training course (N = 123). Qualitative responses were analysed in three ways: (i) development of categories to capture features of sustainable development; (ii) scrutiny of individual responses for the presence or absence of key features; and (iii) in contrast to these grounded approaches, examination of the responses in light of a framework proposed by the UK Panel for Education for Sustainable Development. Notable findings were: substantial numbers recognised the centrality of environmental (72%), economic (53%) and social (31%) factors—but just 15% highlighted all three; when compared with the pre‐specified framework, the aspects of sustainable development largely missing were to do with citizenship, with preservation of diversity, and with uncertainty and precaution in action. The findings are related to contemporary literature in the field and some implications for trainees’ learning are considered.     

Science Lives: School choices and ‘natural tendencies’

An analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with university-based scientists and non-scientists illustrates their life journeys towards, or away from, science and the strengths and impact of life occurrences leading them to choose science or non-science professions. We have adopted narrative approaches and used Mezirow's transformative learning theory framework. The areas of discussion from the result have stressed on three main categories that include ‘smooth transition’, ‘incremental wavering transition' and ‘transformative transition’. The article concludes by discussing the key influences that shaped initial attitudes and direction in these people through natural inclination, environmental inspirations and perceptions of science.     

Science education and affect

Thought experiments are tools often used by physicists. Learning authentic physics then also means that students need to develop a familiarity with the reasoning processes of thought experiments. This study examines the nature of learning processes that involve communication about image‐based micro‐worlds in optics. The results of this study show that students’ investigations often have the structure of thought experiments. Thought experiments that use computer‐based microworlds are powerful because they capitalize on the human capability for imagery that allow learners to ‘see’ the physical processes and construct qualitative understandings. In this study, the structure of students’ activities as thought experiments arose from their collective efforts which started with the construction of an optics simulation. In the course of the activities, students’ understanding evolved from fragmented views of optical situations to system views that included multiple components. Collaborative thought experiments are therefore emergent phenomena, triggered by the events as a whole rather than being pre‐designed. In the course of the activities, students who participated in collective problem solving gradually adopted shared graphical representations and meanings.     

Student Teachers' Views of Pupil Misbehaviour in Classrooms: A Norwegian and an English setting compared

This paper examines how student teachers in Norway and England perceive pupil misbehaviour. The data are based on an opportunistic questionnaire survey of 86 student teachers in Kristiansand and 100 student teachers in York. Student teachers' perceptions of the seriousness of infractions were significantly different with regard to 7 of the items, with the students in Norway being relatively more tolerant. There were a few differences linked to sex and age. A principal components analysis identified 6 factors that were labelled: aggression towards other pupils, delinquent behaviour, oppositional behaviour, passive deviance, anti‐social behaviour, and off‐task behaviour. With few exceptions, student teachers in Norway and England regarded serious aggressive, delinquent and anti‐social behaviour as totally unacceptable. This suggests that it is appropriate to encourage student teachers (and their school mentors) to consistently censure these kinds of pupil misbehaviour.     

Student teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development: the starting-points of geographers and scientists

Postgraduate student teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development were elicited using a questionnaire completed by the entire cohort of geography (N = 21) and science (N = 40) students starting the University of Oxford Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary course. Responses were analysed in three ways: (i) development of categories to capture features of sustainable development; (ii) scrutiny of individual responses for the presence or absence of key features (specifically environmental, economic and social factors); and (iii) in contrast to these grounded approaches, examination of the responses in light of a pre-specified framework. Notable findings were: (i) the large numbers recognizing the centrality of environmental (87%), economic (69%) and social (49%) factors—about a third highlighted all three factors (the geographers significantly more so than the scientists), while a further third mentioned two of them; (ii) when compared with the pre-specified framework, the aspects of sustainable development largely missing were to do with preservation of diversity, and with uncertainty and precaution in action; (iii) only one response contained an aesthetic element; and (iv) when comparing education for sustainable development with environmental education, the most frequent view identified the former as broader. The findings are related to contemporary literature in the field and some implications for PGCE learning are considered.     

The long‐term effectiveness of anti‐bullying work in primary schools

The DFE Sheffield Anti‐Bullying Project showed that schools can reduce the problem of bullying through the use of whole‐school anti‐bullying policies, curriculum exercises, environmental improvements and individual work with bullies and victims. However, the length of time necessary to plan these interventions meant that, in many cases, the work was not completed when the project evaluations ended. This study investigates the continuing progress made in primary schools in the year after the end of the project. Eleven heads took part in interviews; all schools had made some progress with policy development, and all used some curriculum resources. Most had continued with environmental improvements, but few had used the methods for dealing with bullies and victims. Four schools then administered the Olweus bullying questionnaire to all pupils between ages seven and eleven, 657 children taking part. Two schools had a consistent decline in reported bullying, one experienced a consistent rise and the other an initial fall and subsequent rise. Important factors influencing success appeared to be the extent of the consultation exercise and the date of implementation of the anti‐bullying policy. All four schools had reduced bullying among boys, but three experienced a rise in bullying among girls. Anti‐bullying work may have been influenced by a male stereotype of bullying behaviour: efforts are necessary to raise awareness and promote honesty among girls. No school had raised the proportion of victims who had told staff about being bullied.