Interview with Princess Dusdi of Thailand

Abstract

This article focuses on the possibilities that information technology and mass media offer to learning environments of children and grown‐ups, and in what way they are different from the reality a decade ago, inside and outside school. It takes into consideration the norms valid in learning in schools, including the teachers’ role, and looks into how they coincide with or contradict the modern technological possibilities. In the rapid changes of society and values, the school should serve many ages, children and adults, which would require a greater variety of jobs than at present. Understanding the value of one's own language and culture does not come through isolation; it comes through learning about different societies and cultures, through considering, comparing and categorizing. The article discusses several practical examples from the recent experiences of Iceland.     

Physical Activity and School Engagement in Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits in youth; however, these benefits could extend further than health, into education. Our aim was to systematically review and combine in meta-analyses evidence concerning the association between physical activity and the dimensions of school engagement, including behavior (e.g., time-on-task), emotions (e.g., lesson enjoyment), and cognition (e.g., self-regulated learning). We conducted meta-analyses using structural equation modeling on results from 38 studies. Overall, physical activity had a small, positive association with school engagement (d = .28, I² = .86), 95% confidence interval [.12, .46]. This association was moderated by study design, with significant associations shown in randomized controlled trials but not in studies employing other designs. Risk of bias was also a significant effect moderator, as studies with a low risk of bias showed significant associations but not high risk of bias studies. Altogether, these results suggest that physical activity could improve school engagement.     

The development of a small-scale survey instrument of UK teachers to study professional use (and non-use) of and attitudes to social media

This paper documents the creation, implementation and analysis of a survey instrument designed to reveal patterns of use and attitudes towards the value of social media by UK teachers. The study was motivated to discover which teachers use social media professionally, how they use it (both personally and professionally) and attitudes to social media as a professional tool (for their students' and their own professional use). The instrument was created from verbal data from two focus group discussions regarding the use of social media in education. Attitude statements were included verbatim when practical. This instrument was placed online and practising teachers invited to complete it (n?=?216). Exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical clustering identified 9 factors from 54 attitude statements and 5 distinct teacher groups. The rich data allowed each group to be carefully defined, providing potentially invaluable information to school leaders when developing social media projects to recognize and accommodate the full range of teacher concerns and experience. The paper also addresses methodological concerns regarding instrument creation, dealing with missing data and the impact of missing data on subsequent analysis.     

Working on educational research methods with masters students in an international online learning community

In this paper we discuss the background to this study in the development of the international MSc e‐Learning Multimedia and Consultancy. The aims of the study focus on the conditions for achieving communication, interaction and collaboration in open and flexible e‐learning environments. We present our theoretical framework that has informed the design of programme as a whole which is based on a socio‐constructivist perspective on learning. Our research is placed within an action research framework and we outline our position within the critical or emancipatory tradition and also our standpoint on the use of ICT in education. We discuss the design of the programme and also our pedagogical approach and describe in detail the particular context for this study. We report on the student experience of being learners on this module, their perceptions of what they have gained most from learning from and with each other and their responses to the various ways in which ‘scaffolding’ has been designed and implemented by the tutors. Finally we offer some reflections on the conditions for achieving well‐orchestrated interdependence in open and flexible e‐learning environments.     

Relationship-Focused Child Care Practices: Quality of Care and Child Outcomes for Children in Poverty

Research Findings: Child care delivery practices promoting continuous, primary caregiver-child relationships (relationship-focused child care) were evaluated for 223 preschool-age children (45% African American, 55% Latino) attending child care centers serving low-income children. Both relationship-focused and non-relationship-focused centers were accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Children in relationship-focused programs received more sensitive, involved, and affectionate caregiving and were more engaged with their caregivers than children in comparison centers, but some differences were greater for African American children. Outcomes associated with relationship-focused care included greater parent-reported child compliance and closer parent-caregiver relations, but no consistent benefits for cognitive school readiness, receptive language, or child behavior problems were found. Follow-up assessments were completed 1 year later for 119 children who remained in their programs. Social and cognitive outcomes improved over time, but some changes were moderated by child race/ethnicity and center type. Over time, parents reported greater child compliance and caregivers reported better parent-caregiver relationships in relationship-focused programs. Practice or Policy: Some social benefits of continuous, primary caregivers were found, but children's cognitive competencies improved with sustained attendance at these accredited programs regardless of the relationship-focused practices.     

ICT for education: a conceptual framework for the sustainable adoption of technology-enhanced learning environments in schools

The paper presents an evaluation of student and tutor experiences in the introductory module of a European Masters programme in e‐Learning, Multimedia and Consultancy. The aims and outline of the Masters programme are described, together with the pedagogical approach adopted in the introductory module which explores open and flexible learning environments with students and tutors from four European countries. The second part of the paper evaluates the success of the teaching and learning that occurred in this unit, from the perspective of both the students and tutors. Data collected include student and tutor written evaluations, reflections on the authors’ own roles in the programme, and analysis of the products contained in the environment. The paper concludes by detailing future developments in the Masters programme that have been influenced by this cycle of evaluation.     

Speech and language therapy and the Knowles Edge Standards Fund Project: an evaluation of the service provided to a cluster of primary schools

In 2000, 25 speech and language therapy projects were established in schools in England, funded through the Standards Fund. An evaluation commissioned by the Government reported positive results and gave an overview of all the projects at a point approximately six months after their inception. Although there were common themes, it was quite clear that the projects differed widely in their structure and interpretation of the original brief.
In this article, Sue Roulstone, Professor of Speech and Language Therapy at the University of the West of England, and Rosalind Owen and Lucy French, both specialist speech and language therapists working for the United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust, provide an in-depth report of one of the projects and its evaluation after 18 months.
The project, based on a systems analysis approach, targeted its interventions at the individual child, the parents, the teachers and therapists, the classrooms and schools, and more strategic levels in the health and education services. The article gives details of the 'interventions' for each component. An independent evaluation gathered qualitative and quantitative data that suggest that the new service had a positive impact on all aspects of the system. Children made gains in their speech and language; parents were informed and involved; therapists and teachers were more satisfied about their knowledge base; and systems changed within the schools to reflect and support the collaboration. The outcomes of the project led to a rolling out of the model to two more cluster groups of schools. A number of organisational structures were identified which support the ongoing collaboration. Details given in this article will enable others to identify whether or not this model might suit their local circumstances and be replicable in their context.     

The future for licensing: an academic publisher’s viewpoint

Considers the factors affecting licensing policy, both for translations and for English–language reprints, and the copyright implications, in various countries.     

Maternal employment in a family context: effects on infant-mother and infant-father attachments

The relation between resumption of full-time employment by mothers of infants under 6 months of age, and subsequent infant-mother and infant-father attachments, was examined in this study. Attachment classifications and ratings of reunion behavior with mother and with father in Ainsworth's Strange Situation at 12 months were obtained for 57 nonemployed-mother families and 40 employed-mother families. No relation emerged between maternal work status and the quality of infants' attachments to their mothers, indicating that early resumption of employment may not impede the development of secure infant-mother attachment. A significantly higher proportion of insecure attachments to fathers in employed-mother families was found for sons but not for daughters. Joint examination of the infants' attachments to both parents revealed a trend suggesting that in employed-mother families, boys were more likely to be insecurely attached to both parents than were girls in employed-mother families or infants of either sex in nonemployed-mother families. These patterns are discussed in light of differences in maternal and paternal sex-typing behavior and of evidence suggesting boys' vulnerability to psychosocial stress.