Teacher learning communities and educational change in Scotland: The Highland experience

This article discusses the issue of the sustainability of educational change in the light of findings from research undertaken in tandem with a development project initiated by a Scottish Education Authority, The Highland Council. The paper reviews some of the key themes that have emerged from recent literature on educational change, before drawing on the project data to address two key issues: the factors that have helped to promote and sustain changes within the schools; and the barriers to innovation experienced in these schools. We conclude the article by identifying a range of considerations that should be taken into account by those seeking to innovate and we suggest that, while the Highland model for change has enjoyed a degree of success in inculcating change, more needs to be done to address systemic issues, such as the pervasive influence of a narrow attainment agenda in shaping classroom practice.     

Transnational higher education: offshore campuses in the Middle East

This paper maps the landscape of transnational higher education in the Middle East, focusing in particular on the recent expansion of satellite, branch, and offshore educational institutions and programs that foreign institutions have set up in the region. Of the estimated 100 branch campuses currently operating worldwide, over one-third are in the Arab region and the majority have opened within the last decade; two dozen additional transnational programs and universities exist in the region as well. Very little research has been conducted on these new institutions, however, raising many questions for scholars in education. This paper traces reasons for the rapid growth of the transnational higher education model in the Arab states and discusses the explanatory power for this phenomenon of the two major prevailing theories in comparative and international education. We argue that neither neoinstitutional theories about global norm diffusion nor culturalist theories about the local politics of educational borrowing and transfer sufficiently explain this phenomenon, and call instead for a regional approach. We also raise questions for further inquiry.     

Observed Emotional and Behavioral Indicators of Motivation Predict School Readiness in Head Start Graduates

Emotions and behaviors observed during challenging tasks are hypothesized to be valuable indicators of young children's motivation, the assessment of which may be particularly important for children at risk for school failure. The current study demonstrated reliability and concurrent validity of a new observational assessment of motivation in young children. Head Start graduates completed challenging puzzle and trivia tasks during their kindergarten year. Children's emotion expression and task engagement were assessed based on their observed facial and verbal expressions and behavioral cues. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that observed persistence and shame predicted teacher ratings of children's academic achievement, whereas interest, anxiety, pride, shame, and persistence predicted children's social skills and learning-related behaviors. Children's emotional and behavioral responses to challenge thus appeared to be important indicators of school success. Observation of such responses may be a useful and valid alternative to self-report measures of motivation at this age.     

Bedouin special-education teachers as agents of social change

This study probes the career motives of minority special-education teachers in the Bedouin Arab society of southern Israel. The results, obtained via in-depth interviews of teachers, show that the teachers aspire to become agents of social change in three spheres: In the external sphere, they aim for professional autonomy and independence within the Israeli Arab education system. The internal sphere includes a moral-awareness aspect of their society’s view of special education. The personal sphere includes a practical aspect, in which the teachers wish to upgrade their professional qualifications in order to cope better with challenges that they face in the field.     

Learning to Love Reading: A Self-Study on Fostering Students' Reading Motivation in Small Groups

This study explores the relationship between small, differentiated reading groups and fourth-grade students' reading motivation. Using self-study methodology, the author examined her own process of implementing these reading groups through two cycles of action research. Data were analyzed from two different administrations of the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire, as well as from the author's narrative journal entries, written student reflections, small-group and individual interviews, and a critical friend's observations. Findings indicated that small, differentiated reading groups that emphasized social interaction and student choice led to a class culture of reading and promoted students' reading motivation. Students linked their learning in these groups to their written assignments and tended to devalue the group discussions. In addition, implementing the reading groups minimized the author's own performance gap and contributed to greater satisfaction in her own practice. These findings have implications for the design and implementation of differentiated reading groups, as well as for those who support novice teachers.     

Building National Capacity for Research Mentor Training: An Evidence-Based Approach to Training the Trainers

Research mentor training (RMT), based on the published Entering Mentoring curricula series, has been shown to improve the knowledge and skills of research mentors across career stages, as self-reported by both the mentors engaged in training and their mentees. To promote widespread dissemination and empower others to implement this evidence-based training at their home institutions, we developed an extensive, interactive, multifaceted train-the-trainer workshop. The specific goals of these workshops are to 1) increase facilitator knowledge of an RMT curriculum, 2) increase facilitator confidence in implementing the curriculum, 3) provide a safe environment to practice facilitation of curricular activities, and 4) review implementation strategies and evaluation tools. Data indicate that our approach results in high satisfaction and significant confidence gains among attendees. Of the 195 diverse attendees trained in our workshops since Fall 2010, 44% report implementation at 39 different institutions, collectively training more than 500 mentors. Further, mentors who participated in the RMT sessions led by our trained facilitators report high facilitator effectiveness in guiding discussion. Implications and challenges to building the national capacity needed for improved research mentoring relationships are discussed.     

Innovative University Programs for Teaching about Domestic Violence

Universities and colleges across the country offer courses on domestic violence. A few programs have developed such academic opportunities even further, offering specializations, graduate certificates, and degrees concentrated on domestic violence. This paper introduces two innovative academic programs: the undergraduate Domestic Violence Prevention and Services Concentration and Minor at the University of Delaware and the graduate Program on Domestic Violence at the University of Colorado Denver. The authors review the structure, content, benefits, and challenges of these programs with a view to informing and inspiring others who might be interested in establishing similar curricula at their own institutions.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY GOVERNANCE LEADERS: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY

Faculty governance units are widely used in community colleges to provide a sounding board for policy formation and decision making. Typically based on a representative democracy, these units must be both responsive to peer faculty members as well as the college's central administration. As a result of being structurally in the middle of the decision-making process, effective communication is paramount to faculty governance unit leader success. This study profiles individuals in the faculty governance leadership position, including their written and oral communication apprehension levels, and the relationship of this apprehension to job-related stressors.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY INVOLVEMENT IN INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE

The current study provided an investigation of 110 faculty who were very involved, moderately involved, and not involved in governance activities in community colleges. No differences were found between the three groups on characteristics of an ideal governance process or the roles faculty have in shared governance. Differences were found in responses to general perceptions toward faculty involvement in governance.