Time for curriculum reform: the case of mathematics

Mathematics education is rarely out of the policy spotlight in England. Over the last 10 years, considerable attention has been given to improving 14–19 mathematics curriculum pathways. In this paper we consider some of the challenges of enacting curriculum change by drawing upon evidence from our evaluation of the Mathematics Pathways Project (MPP). From 2004 to 2010 this project, which was directed by England's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, aimed to improve the engagement, attainment and participation rates of 14- to 19-year-old learners of mathematics. Our particular focus is upon the temporal problems of piloting new curriculum and assessment and we draw on Lemke's discussion of timescales, heterochrony and the adiabatic principle to consider the interlocking and interference of various change processes.     

DEVELOPING CURRICULA FOR GRANDPARENTS IN JAPAN

The purpose of this study was to determine how three generations view the contribution and needs of grandparents in Japan. A sample consisting of 239 grandparents, 266 parents, and 274 grandchildren from, urban and rural areas completed the Grandparent Strengths and Needs Inventory (Strom & Strom, 1993). Grandparents reported more satisfaction, success, and involvement in teaching than was observed by parents or grandchildren. Grandparents experienced greater difficulty as well as frustration and saw themselves as less informed about their role than was reported by younger people. Significant main effects were generation, grandchild gender, grandchild age, generations living together, frequency of grandchild care by the grandparent, and amount of time the generations spent together. Implications for building curricula and guidelines for program development are identified.     

Move over Rover! An essay/assay of the field of educational management in the UK

UK educational administration scholars have undertaken a survey to redefine the field of knowledge in educational management and/or administration. In responding to the resulting corpus of work, I argue that that this is an exercise in ‘turf talk’. I draw on theorizations of the socio-spatialities of fields of knowledge to consider educational management and/or administration and its border scuffles with policy sociology and the exclusion of debates about knowledge and truth claims that characterize the ‘new humanities’. I suggest that the lack of regard accorded the situated empirical and practical knowledges of practitioners, and the invisibility in the analyses of the active role of head teacher professional associations in the current context, places the academy in an adversarial position vis-á-vis practitioners. As government moves to make research ‘more useful’, and positions academics as training providers and management consultants for head teachers, I propose that educational management and/or administration scholars must move over to share ground and dialogue with the emerging head teacher profession.     

Beyond situational ambiguity in peer conflict: unique and combined effects of cues from an antagonist and a best friend

In accord with increasing recognition of the situation specificity of childhood social behaviors, individual and contextual differences in children's responses to potential peer conflict were examined (hostile attribution, behavioral strategies, and affective reactions; N = 367, 9-12 years, 197 girls). Situational cues from 2 sources, the antagonist and a witnessing best friend, were designed to suggest the antagonist's intentions. Multilevel modeling indicated that children's responses generally varied more according to cues from the antagonist than friend, but the latter also affected responses, especially when conflicting with other situational information. Cognitive and affective responses were also influenced by gender, social goals, friendship quality, and self-efficacy for peer interaction. Findings provide theoretical insight on the context of peer conflict.     

The role of social identification as university student in learning: relationships between students’ social identity,approaches to learning,and academic achievement

This article describes research exploring the relationship between students’ self-perceptions in the context of university learning (i.e. student social identity), their approaches to learning, and academic achievement. The exploration of these inter-related aspects requires a mix of theoretical approaches, that is, in this research both social identity perspective from social psychology and the student learning research framework are used to explore student identity and learning in the context of higher education. Two structural equation models drawing on both these theoretical frameworks were tested. In the first of these models, deep approaches to learning are positively associated with students’ social identification as university student and positively predict academic achievement. In the second model, surface approaches to learning are negatively associated with students’ social identification and negatively predict academic achievement. The mediational roles of deep and surface approaches to learning in the relationship between student social identity and academic achievement are also explored.     

Impact of a universal school-based violence prevention program on violent delinquency: distinctive benefits for youth with maltreatment histories

Objective

Child maltreatment constitutes a strong risk factor for violent delinquency in adolescence, with cumulative experiences of maltreatment creating increasingly greater risk. Our previous work demonstrated that a universal school-based violence prevention program could provide a protective impact for youth at risk for violent delinquency due to child maltreatment history. In this study we conducted a follow-up to determine if participation in a school-based violence prevention program in grade 9 continued to provide a buffering effect on engaging in acts of violent delinquency for maltreated youth, 2 years post-intervention.

Methods

Secondary analyses were conducted using data from a cluster randomized controlled trial of a comprehensive school-based violence prevention program. Students (N = 1,722; 52.8% female) from 20 schools participated in 21 75-min lessons in grade 9 health classes. Individual data (i.e., gender, child maltreatment experiences, and violent delinquency in grade 9) and school-level data (i.e., student perception of safety averaged across students in each school) were entered in a multilevel model to predict violent delinquency at the end of grade 11.

Results

Individual- and school-level factors predicting violent delinquency in grade 11 replicated previous findings from grade 9: being male, experiencing child maltreatment, being violent in grade 9, and attending a school with a lower perceived sense of safety among the entire student body increased violent delinquency. The cross-level interaction of individual maltreatment history and school-level intervention was also replicated: in non-intervention schools, youth with more maltreatment in their background were increasingly likely to engage in violent delinquency. The strength of this relationship was significantly attenuated in intervention schools.

Conclusions

Follow-up findings are consistent with the buffering effect of the prevention program previously found post-intervention for the subsample of youth with maltreatment histories.

Practice implications

A relative inexpensive school-based violence prevention program that has been shown to reduce dating violence among the whole student body also creates a protective effect for maltreated youth with respect to lowering their likelihood of engaging in violent delinquency.     

Family environments, adrenarche, and sexual maturation: a longitudinal test of a life history model

Life history theorists have proposed that humans have evolved to be sensitive to specific features of early childhood environments and that exposure to different environments biases children toward development of different reproductive strategies, including differential pubertal timing. The current research provides a longitudinal test of this theory. Assessments of family environments, based on interviews with mothers and fathers, were conducted in preschool, and children were then followed prospectively through middle childhood. Adrenal hormones were assayed in a selected subsample of 120 children (73 girls) at age 7, and parent and child reports of secondary sexual characteristics were collected in the full female sample of 180 girls at age 11. Higher quality parental investment (from both mothers and fathers) and less father-reported Marital Conflict/Depression forecast later adrenarche. Older age at menarche in mothers, higher socioeconomic status, greater mother-based Parental Supportiveness, and lower third-grade body mass index each uniquely and significantly predicted later sexual development in daughters. Consistent with a life history perspective, quality of parental investment emerged as a central feature of the proximal family environment in relation to pubertal timing.     

Peer group status as a moderator of group influence on children's deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior

Group status was examined as a moderator of peer group socialization of deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior. In the fall and 3 months later, preadolescents and early adolescents provided self-reported scores for deviant behavior and group membership, and peer nominations for overt and relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference. Using the social cognitive map, 116 groups were identified involving 526 children (282 girls; M age=12.05). Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that high group centrality (visibility) magnified group socialization of relational aggression, deviant behavior, and prosocial behavior, and low group acceptance magnified socialization of deviant behavior. Results suggest group influence on behavior is not uniform but depends on group status, especially group visibility within the larger peer context.