Relations between maternal input and theory of mind understanding in deaf children

This study investigates the relationship between theory of mind (ToM) skills in deaf children and input from their hearing mothers. Twenty-two hearing mothers and their deaf children (ages 4-10 years) participated in tasks designed to elicit talk about the mind. The mothers' mental state talk was compared with that of 26 mothers with hearing children (ages 4-6 years). The frequency of mothers' mental talk was correlated with deaf children's performance on ToM tasks, after controlling for effects of child language and age. Maternal sign proficiency was correlated with child language, false belief, and mothers' talk about the mind. Findings are discussed in relation to experiential accounts of ToM development and roles of maternal talk in children's social understanding.     

Getting to the heart of it: understanding mentoring relationship quality from the perspective of program supervisors

ABSTRACT

Mentoring relationship quality has frequently been associated with improved effectiveness of mentoring interventions for youth. As youth mentoring research has largely been undertaken in community-based, one-to-one mentoring programs in the United States, there have been recent calls to investigate mentoring relationships in specific contexts. Accordingly, this research examines relationship quality within nine mentor-mentee dyads involved in a New Zealand school-based mentoring program that combines one-to-one and group mentoring. This research identifies key features of and perceived influences on mentoring relationship quality using qualitative interviews with program staff and mentor portfolios. The results indicate that high quality relationships were formed during the program, and were primarily facilitated by mentors who demonstrated attunement, critical self-reflection, self-efficacy, and a holistic view of their mentee. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Equal Opportunities in School‐based ITE: A view from one secondary PGCE course

Evidence suggests that equal opportunities issues are neglected in schools and in HEI based initial teacher education courses. It would, therefore, seem reasonable to assume that they will continue to be neglected in school based ITE.

This paper reports the findings of a small scale investigation into what input on equal opportunities students on a one year, school based, secondary PGCE course were receiving. In essence, the findings were that although the majority of students expressed the belief that active, conscious attention to equal opportunities issues is essential for good practice, they were not given the information or guidance they felt was necessary for them to achieve this. Although some students expressed discontent with the treatment equal opportunities were given in the HEI based component of the course, schools received the bulk of the criticism for neglecting this area or for only paying it lip service.

Mentors need to give more attention to equal opportunities if future generations of school students are not to be further disadvantaged.     

‘RE teachers do get drunk you know’: becoming a religious education teacher in the twenty-first century

In terms of the attention that they have attracted from researchers, and in comparison with teachers of other subjects, religious education specialists would seem to be a neglected and marginalized group. This paper looks at some of the reasons why this might be and also describes a study that is using a life history approach to explore what it is like to be a religious education teacher at the turn of the millennium.     

Assessing Reading Comprehension: The Effects of Text-Based Interest,Gender, and Ability

Previous research has established that interest in a text is related to better comprehension and recall, but the impact of interest on comprehension in testing situations has not been widely investigated. This study used Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) to examine the relationship between students' interest in reading passages and their performance on reading comprehension test items over those passages. The study involved 19,735 students in Grades 4 through 8. Stimuli consisted of 98 different reading passages. A small but significant relationship between interest and test performance was found, which was stronger for girls and for students of higher ability levels. A second HLM analysis was employed to explore whether certain passage characteristics were associated with higher or lower interest. The implications for test construction are discussed.     

The Sorcery of Apprenticeships and New/Old Brooms: Thinking about theory,practice, the practicum and change

Attempts to reform teacher education, and in particular the practicum, often fail to produce the desired results. I apply Bourdieu's notion of field to teacher education, to show how a theory/practice binary maps onto the hierarchically ordered cultural and symbolic capitals of university-school relationships. Reform of teacher education cannot be achieved simply by adding more practice to university courses, nor by inverting the dyad to produce theory-less school-based teaching apprenticeships. Following Bourdieu, I suggest that those arguing for change-in teacher education, schools and leadership-must look at their own investments in the game, as well as working with/against it, in order to produce new forms of partnerships and a new approach to the practicum.     

Not quite university people? Academics teaching on foundation studies programmes in New Zealand universities

ABSTRACT

In the current neoliberal environment in higher education, universities are viewed as a valuable source of income. To generate this income, universities need to attract students, and in order to do so, they need to perform well in global ranking tables. These tables are influenced to a large extent by staff research and postgraduate teaching. Foundation studies programmes (FS) do not usually have a great deal to offer in these categories and this places staff teaching on these programmes in a difficult position. This article explores the perceptions of staff teaching on FS programmes in New Zealand universities, drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with 22 lecturers from four universities. Although lip service is paid in higher education circles to the importance of widening access to university education for traditionally marginalised groups, it appears that staff teaching on FS programmes do not, on the whole, receive acknowledgement, support or reward for the work that they do. Despite their marginalised status, these lecturers are committed to helping second chance learners. However, their ability to make a positive impact on these students’ lives is limited by their lowly status in the university sector. This article discusses the insights of FS staff and considers the implications of their positioning in the university sector. It offers some suggestions as to how, in a small way, universities could address the difficulties these academics face in their attempts to widen university access.