Perspectives on academic staff involvement in the acquisition and implementation of educational technologies

This article presents the results of a study using both quantitative and qualitative data to uncover the extent and nature of the involvement of academic staff in the processes of acquisition and implementation of educational technologies. Actor-network theory (ANT) is used to inform the design of the study and the analysis of the data. Three main areas of investigation are (1) issues of institutional policy and overall purpose of technology, (2) issues of staff involvement in various activities related to acquisition and use of technology and (3) issues related to the existence of arenas for dialogue and discussions of technological needs and requirements across organisational boundaries. The analysis focuses on the diffuseness of the role of academic staff in processes of development of institutional policies and technology acquisition. The article concludes with suggestions for organisational policy in higher education contexts, and possible directions for new research.     

The dimensional structure of reading assessment tasks in the IEA reading literacy study 1991 and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2001

The study investigates measurement properties of the reading assessment tasks used in the IEA 1991 Reading Literacy (RL) study and the Progress in International Readings Study (PIRLS) 2001 study. The analysis is based on data from the Swedish PIRLS study, comprising 16,676 students in grades 3 and 4. As an extension to the basic design, not only the PIRLS tasks were administered, but each student also completed 1 of the 2 booklets from the 1991 study. Using missing-data modeling techniques, confirmatory factor analysis models were estimated and tested for the complete set of reading tasks. Results show that both sets of tasks measure comprehension of reading continuous text, but that each of them also represents unique sources of variance. In the RL instrument, reading speed is one such component, and performance on tasks from the documents domain is another. The PIRLS tasks are influenced by the requirement to produce constructed responses. It is also demonstrated that the shared context among items referring to a particular text is a source of systematic variance.     

Outdoor education in Scotland

Abstract

Although Scotland is part of the United Kingdom it has a distinct cultural identity and a separate education and legal system. These factors, which have influenced the development of outdoor education, are likely to have an even greater impact in the future following the re-establishment (after a break of almost 300 years since 1707) of a Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Scotland was one of the first countries in the world to formalise outdoor education. This was the result of a combination of factors:

• ? Geophysical and climatic factors together with landholding and land-use practices established in the 18th Century have ensured that much of Highland Scotland is depopulated and devoid of forests; leading to the perception that the area is a “wilderness” and therefore attractive for outdoor recreation.

• ? Exploration for political, economic and scientific reasons in the second half of the millennium, which both led to and developed from Britain's empire, stimulated a national taste for adventure as expressed in seafaring, mountaineering and polar exploration.

• ? Growth in wealth, mobility and leisure-time in the late 19th and 20th Centuries provided the means by which many more people could engage in their own, more modest adventures, leading to the development of stylised forms of outdoor activities in the UK.

Consequently the landscape and surrounding seas of Scotland have long presented challenges for outdoor recreation, and post-war development of outdoor education fitted quite naturally into this physical and social landscape.

In the 1960s and 1970s outdoor education (often formalised as physical outdoor activities and based on a residential experience) was extensively developed in Scotland and was of international significance. In recent years, primarily as a result of political effects, provision has been in some decline; a trend markedly at odds with the concurrent rapid growth in outdoor recreation. A shift away from public provision through the education service seems to be countered by growth in “charitable” and “private sector” provision, especially in the case of residential outdoor education centres.

Some concerns are raised about possible future trends, and the argument made that educational theory should be taken into account in the design of programmes which focus on personal and social education; or which capitalise on the learning potential of the landscape to encourage cultural awareness and principles of sustainability, which are seen as having both local and global significance.     

Opportunity Knocks? Professionalism and excellence in university teaching

Abstract

This paper proposes that excellence in teaching resides in a reflective, self‐critical, theoretically informed approach. A training programme for new teachers is used as an example of how the approach advocated can be put into practice. Evidence is presented which indicates that academic teachers pursuing such an approach develop conceptions of teaching which can contribute to improved practice; and which may also contribute to changing thinking about teaching and learning in departments. It is argued that encouraging reflective pedagogy has the potential of engaging academics in making the cultural changes necessary to professionalise and enhance the status of teaching. Finally, it is suggested that, although the methodology used by the inspection teams of the Teaching Quality Assessment (TQA) is problematic, the impetus provided can be used as an opportunity to explore and establish creative and worthwhile ways of improving the quality of teaching.     

Press Rankings in Criminology/Criminal Justice: A Preliminary Assessment of Book Publisher Quality

This research examined press rankings in criminology and criminal justice (C/CJ). Based on a large sample of respondents (N = 812) from the American Society of Criminology and the American Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the authors solicited quality and familiarity rankings on 81 presses that publish in the area of C/CJ. The research revealed that university presses such as Oxford, Cambridge, University of Chicago, and Harvard University dominated the quality rankings. On the other hand, commercial academic presses such as McGraw‐Hill, Sage, and Prentice‐Hall dominated the familiarity rankings. Commercial academic presses including Prentice‐Hall and Sage were the presses most desired by scholars for future book publishing plans. The authors also discuss the significance of the findings for faculty in C/CJ.     

The “Wicked Problem” of Neutral Description: Toward a Documentation Approach to Metadata Standards

Increasingly, metadata standards have been recognized as constructed rather than neutral. In this article, we argue for the importance of a documentation approach to metadata standards creation as a codification of this growing recognition. By making design decisions explicit, the documentation approach dispels presumptions of neutrality and, drawing on the “wicked problems” theoretical framework, acknowledges the constructed nature of standards as “clumsy solutions.”     

From research to reality: Australian evidence-based practice in autism education

Many teachers are sporadic in using evidence-based practice (EBP) concerning students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Numerous reasons have been posited for this. However, no single study has worked to understand the relative importance of identified criteria in the EBP decision-making processes of teachers. Through the development of a new survey tool, the Evidence-Based Practice Innovation Survey (EBPIAS), an exploration of the decision-making process of Australian teachers in their adoption and cessation of EBP was undertaken. Teachers rated the perception that an EBP would meet the needs of their students as the most important criteria in determining their use of EBP. Conversely, the judgement that an EBP did not meet the needs of their student was the most important criteria in their decision to cease use. In comparing the relevant importance of identified criteria, teachers rated the perception of training as the second-lowest consideration in their decision to adopt and cease using EBP. Consequently, there may need to be greater promotion of, or information concerning, the training required by teachers for effective implementation supporting a more balanced and holistic approach in assessing criteria impacting the adoption of EBP by teachers in the first instance, potentially lowering cessation rates.     

Individual participant data meta-analysis of the impact of educational interventions on pupils eligible for Free School Meals

Meta-analysis is the synthesis of findings from research projects, which enables an estimate of the average or pooled effect across various studies. This study presents findings from the intention to treat analysis for a series of educational evaluations in England using a two-stage meta-analysis with standardised outcome data and individual participant data meta-analyses. The research estimates the overall impact of educational trials on pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and the attainment gap in literacy and mathematics performance between FSM and non-FSM pupils based on analysis of 88 trials and data from over half a million pupils. For the meta-analyses, frequentist and Bayesian multilevel models were used to estimate the individual and pooled effect size across categories of explanatory variables such as age groups (key stages in England) and aspects of the type of interventions (one-to-one, small group, whole class). Results indicated that the overall impact of interventions on the literacy outcomes of FSM pupils was positive, with a pooled effect size of 0.06 (0.03, 0.08). However, for mathematics, no overall effect on FSM pupils was observed. Analysis of the attainment gap indicated that literacy outcomes for FSM pupils were improved by interventions marginally more than for non-FSM pupils (pooled attainment gap 0.01 (−0.01, 0.04)). The risk of bias assessment showed that estimates were consistent across different methodological approaches. Overall, evidence from this study can be used to identify, test and scale educational interventions in schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.