The global classroom: advancing cultural awareness in special schools through collaborative work using ICT

This paper reports research on cross‐national collaboration through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of 10 special schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Working in north–south paired classes, the pupils carried out joint tasks using asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing. The full spectrum of learning difficulty and disability was represented amongst the participating pupils. Interviews were conducted to elicit the views and experiences of the teachers in the 2002/03 cohort. The main aims were to discover whether cultural awareness developed through joint tasks using the two technologies, if computer conferencing improved literacy and ICT skills, and if videoconferencing enhanced oral communication. The results showed that cultural awareness developed as far as cognition allowed, when pupils in partner schools became aware of similarities as well as differences. Those with sufficient keyboard ability benefited from computer conferencing and ICT competence improved, but the much preferred medium for collaborative, inter‐school work was videoconferencing. All but the most dependent pupils could participate, and valuable, transferable social and communication skills were acquired.     

Between ‘Bastard’ and ‘Wicked’ leadership? School leadership and the emerging policies of the UK Coalition Government

Barker argues that in England under New Labour, school leaders and teachers have been ‘bastardised’ and suggests that the situation in 2010, with a general election afforded an opportunity in education policy for the ‘pendulum to swing’. In this article, the key points about ‘bastard Leadership’ are briefly summarised. The article then develops a view of schools as sites of complexity and ‘wickedity’ as an alternative to the linear reductionist approaches of managerialists. These two perspectives present the extremes of a spectrum against which the trajectory of school leadership can be viewed as it emerges from the New Labour years and is now being developed by the Coalition Government. Evidence from ministerial speeches and the Coalition Government's flagship White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, are used to examine key issues of freedom and trust, reducing bureaucracy and increasing autonomy for schools as ways of exploring the extent to which the new government's policies on school leadership are, or are not, moving away from those of their New Labour predecessors.     

An analysis of associations between residential and school mobility and educational outcomes in South African urban children: The Birth to Twenty cohort

Using data from Birth to Twenty, a cohort of South African urban children, the current paper investigates the relationships between residential and school mobility and a set of educational outcomes. The findings provide some evidence of a positive association between changes in residence and numeracy and literacy scores, and school mobility was found to be associated with grade repetition, however, no relationship was observed between changes in school and competency in numeracy and literacy. The South African study provides a counter example to trends observed in higher-income countries, while highlighting that associations are likely to be context specific.     

Evolution and revolution: gauging the impact of technological and technical innovation on Olympic performance

A number of studies have pointed to a plateauing of athletic performance, with the suggestion that further improvements will need to be driven by revolutions in technology or technique. In the present study, we examine post-war men's Olympic performance in jumping events (pole vault, long jump, high jump, triple jump) to determine whether performance has indeed plateaued and to present techniques, derived from models of human growth, for assessing the impact of technological and technical innovation over time (logistic and double logistic models of growth). Significantly, two of the events involve well-documented changes in technology (pole material in pole vault) or technique (the Fosbury Flop in high jump), while the other two do not. We find that in all four cases, performance appears to have plateaued and that no further "general" improvement should be expected. In the case of high jump, the double logistic model provides a convenient method for modelling and quantifying a performance intervention (in this case the Fosbury Flop). However, some shortcomings are revealed for pole vault, where evolutionary post-war improvements and innovation (fibre glass poles) were concurrent, preventing their separate identification in the model. In all four events, it is argued that further general growth in performance will indeed need to rely predominantly on technological or technical innovation.     

Child and Parent Relationships with Teachers in Schools Responsible for the Education of Children with Serious Medical Conditions

Claire Norris, former research associate at Moray House Institute of Education, and Alison Closs, a lecturer in special education at the Institute, describe a small research project which examined the interpersonal relationships between children with chronic and/or deteriorating conditions and their parents and teachers. The research was one aspect of a wider study (Closs & Norris, 1997) which sought ways of enabling the mainstream education of such children in Scotland.     

A comparison of learning and motivation among high school students

The academic performance of minority high school students, particularly in urban inner-city settings, is of great interest to educators and individuals concerned with the academic development of these students. It is widely recognized that in order to positively influence academic achievement related factors such as learning and study behavior, motivation, attitudes, self-concept, and other pertinent psychosocial characteristics should also be targeted for positive change. The present study compared 20 sophomore students who participated in a special program and 128 of their nonprogram peers on achievement and related measures. The program at a target high school was structured to positively impact achievement, as well as related student behavior and attributes. Significant differences were found on achievement, attendance, learning and study behavior and skills, self-concept, and other pertinent psychosocial attributes.     

Curating and Controlling Zuni Photographic Images

This article explores the history of photography in Zuni and provides a context for the forthcoming request from Zuni religious leaders that they be allowed to exercise some control over sensitive images held by museums. This request is part of the debate over whether Native Americans should exercise some degree of control over historic photographs of their religious ceremonies. Some Zuni community members always considered photography of religious ceremonies to be inappropriate. How it happened sheds light on how Zunis incorporated the then-new technology into their traditional beliefs and social organization. Similarly, existing museum policy toward sensitive images is a result of the way photography has been incorporated into European and American legal and ethical thinking. In addition to lending weight to the contention that forthcoming requests from Native Americans are based on long-held beliefs rather than simply contemporary political expediency, history also suggests the parameters for an equitable solution to this issue.     

The effects of plyometric exercise on unilateral balance performance

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of plyometric exercise on unilateral balance performance. Nine healthy adults performed baseline measurements on the dominant limb that consisted of: a 20-s unilateral stability test on a tilt balance board, where a higher stability index represented deterioration in balance performance; isokinetic plantar flexion torque at 0.52 and 3.14 rad s(-1); muscle soreness in the calf region; and resting plantar flexion angle. Plyometric exercise consisted of 200 counter-movement jumps designed to elicit symptoms of muscle damage, after which baseline measurements were repeated at 30 min, 24, 48, and 72 h. Perceived muscle soreness of the calf region increased significantly following the plyometric exercise protocol (F(4,32) = 17.24, P < 0.01). Peak torque was significantly reduced after the plyometric exercise protocol (F(4,32) = 7.49, P < 0.05), with greater loss of force at the lower angular velocity (F(4,32) = 3.46, P < 0.05), while resting plantar flexion angle was not significantly altered compared with baseline values (P > 0.05). The stability index was significantly increased (F(4,32) = 3.10, P < 0.05) above baseline (mean 2.3, s = 0.3) at 24 h (3.3, s = 0.4), after which values recovered. These results indicate that there is a latent impairment of balance performance following a bout of plyometric exercise, which has implications for both the use of skill-based activities and for increased injury risk following high-intensity plyometric training.