Health and wellbeing: a policy context for physical education in Scotland

The ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ (CfE) guidelines and associated learning experiences and outcomes have been developed following a national debate on the purposes of education in Scotland. The recent development shifts physical education's (PE) role in Scottish education, changing from contributing to the ‘Expressive Arts’ area of the curriculum, to one central to the newly created curriculum area of ‘Health and wellbeing’ in the CfE. This paper provides an analysis of the broader policy context at national and global levels examining the policy developments for PE in Scotland situating them within a globalised discourse emphasising concerns about ill-health and obesity within society. Drawing on the work of Bowe et al., the paper examines the context of production and the context of influence that has contributed to the recent development of ‘Health and wellbeing’ within the CfE. It is argued that the role for PE and the focus on schools promoting daily physical activity within the CfE masks the complexity of addressing the issues of health and well-being. In conclusion it is highlighted that in the interpretation and implementation of policy there will be further issues for PE and as yet unknown consequences for the context of practice and pupils' experiences of PE in Scotland.     

Assessing Multimedia Influences on Student Responses Using a Personal Response System

To date, research to date on personal response systems (clickers) has focused on external issues pertaining to the implementation of this technology or broadly measured student learning gains rather than investigating differences in the responses themselves. Multimedia learning makes use of both words and pictures, and research from cognitive psychology suggests that using both words and illustrations improves student learning. This study analyzed student response data from 561 students taking an introductory earth science course to determine whether including an illustration in a clicker question resulted in a higher percentage of correct responses than questions that did not include a corresponding illustration. Questions on topics pertaining to the solid earth were categorized as illustrated questions if they contained a picture, or graph and text-only if the question only contained text. For each type of question, we calculated the percentage of correct responses for each student and compared the results to student ACT-reading, math, and science scores. A within-groups, repeated measures analysis of covariance with instructor as the covariate yielded no significant differences between the percentage of correct responses to either the text-only or the illustrated questions. Similar non-significant differences were obtained when students were grouped into quartiles according to their ACT-reading, -math, and -science scores. These results suggest that the way in which a conceptest question is written does not affect student responses and supports the claim that conceptest questions are a valid formative assessment tool.     

Teaching science to transgress: Portraits of feminist praxis

Drawing from intersectional feminist scholarship, we communicate how Salina and Marelis, both women of color, teach science for social justice in the face of significant institutional challenges. Theorizing from their experiences and practices, we articulate a feminist praxis for school science, which includes (1) building community and collectivist orientations, (2) cultivating joy from/within the margins, (3) naming and dismantling inequities, and (4) repositioning students—practices that have profound implications for improving the school science experiences of underrepresented students in science, including girls of color and other marginalized students. Finally, we highlight the ways in which women of color negotiate, repurpose, and transform institutional and disciplinary barriers to reimagine the world(s) of school science.     

Teaching root cause analysis in healthcare management with Grey's Anatomy

Over the past 20 years, root cause analysis (RCA) has become one of the most widely used retrospective methods for detecting safety hazards in medicine and healthcare. Despite its wide use in management practice and growing popularity in academic research, there is currently a dearth of coverage of RCA in popular healthcare management textbooks and pedagogical publications. This paper addresses this gap by presenting innovative instructional materials and recommendations for teaching RCA in healthcare management. Using an episode of Grey's Anatomy TV show, this experiential learning exercise takes students through the steps of RCA and makes use of a range of RCA tools, including high-level flowchart, fishbone diagram, “five whys”, corrective action plan, and others. The exercise, which was classroom tested and received positive student feedback, can be adapted to a range of healthcare management classes. Because RCA can have widespread, lifesaving consequences, healthcare management courses can significantly benefit from integrating this exercise into classroom pedagogies.     

A Bit of a Curate's Egg? Three Decades of Official Thinking About the Quality of Schools

For more than three decades judgements of schools' quality have been dominated by the frameworks, developed by members of Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI). This article reviews the approaches employed in the national survey conducted for the Plowden Committee, subsequent surveys undertaken by HMI during the seventies and eighties and the changes brought about by the advent of the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) in the early nineties. The frameworks employed appear to have changed from one decade to the next, sometimes subtly, at other times more radically. Overall, such changes have been sufficiently major for it to be difficult, if not impossible, to make anything other than the broadest statements about changes in the state and quality of the nation's schooling over time.     

Training and the early years professional: understanding visual impairment

Despite a significant increase in the incidence of visual impairment (VI) in early years children, research has afforded the subject scant attention. Perhaps as a result of underfunding, research into VI typically adopts a single case study approach, with the training needs of early years professionals largely ignored. This paper seeks to inform the debate by presenting empirical evidence from a questionnaire designed to gather data on the incidence of VI in early years settings and the nature and extent of awareness training available. Data from the questionnaire survey and the qualitative dimensions of the study indicate an increase in the incidence of VI and, despite high levels of interest, a paucity of training on issues related to VI. Concern was expressed with delays in diagnosis, the lack of screening available and the extent to which the differing terms used militate against interagency collaboration.     

Coping with difficult teachers

Conclusion In conclusion, this article has briefly reviewed the findings of the media management survey and has examined coping strategies. While it is true that the major obstacle to your fulfillment and feeling of well-being and excitement at work may or may not be difficult teachers, work is an evolving interaction between yourself and others. It is probably one of the most important roles in your life. An analysis of your management style and personality traits, along with a caring, understanding attitude toward staff and teachers, can go a long way in facilitating teamwork and an effective school media services program.     

Instrument Development and Validation of the Infant and Toddler Assessment for Quality Improvement

Research Findings: There is a growing need for accurate and efficient measures of classroom quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Observational measures are costly, as their administration generally takes 3–5 hr per classroom. This article outlines the process of development and preliminary concurrent validity testing of the Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI), a new measure of global quality. The AQI is a classroom-level measure of structural and process quality. It consists of 24 items on a 5-point scale designed for use in ECEC infant and toddler classrooms. At between 60 and 90 min per room, the AQI is a relatively efficient measure. Item response theory modeling was used to ensure logical and coherent ordering of subitems. Exploratory factor analysis supported the use of the AQI total score and the Interactions section as a stand-alone measure. Correlations between the Infant and Toddler versions of the AQI and the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised were moderate, providing preliminary support for the concurrent validity of both versions. Practice or Policy: Our results suggest that the AQI is a promising, efficient measure of global quality in infant and toddler ECEC environments. This may be especially relevant for Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, for which the observational component is a major cost driver.     

Conceptions and Expectations of Mentoring Relationships in a Teacher Education Reform Context

Researchers indicate that prior experience and beliefs about learning and teaching held by practicing and pre-service teachers contribute significantly in shaping their mentoring relationships and, more broadly, their career outlook and aspirations. While mentoring is commonly seen as a form of support for pre-service teachers, mentoring can be pivotal in the creation of enabling environments in which collaborative, professional dialogs are undertaken. Yet, there lies a tension between enculturation into the norms of schools and promoting self-belief, participation, and collaboration. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, in this study we focused on the conceptions and expectations of classroom mentoring within the context of a teacher reform initiative in Scotland. Findings indicated that participants in the study held a mixture of beliefs regarding mentoring practices. Implications for partnership arrangements in initial teacher education and teachers’ career development were discussed.