Exploring cultural diversity: A network analysis of the communicative correlates of shyness within the black culture

This Investigation was designed to explore the experience of shyness within the black culture. Specifically, this is the second study In a three‐phase research program designed to assess the relationship between social network attributes and shyness. In order to achieve this purpose, this study compared the communication networks of high, moderate, and low‐shy black communicators with expectations about the communicative behavior of shy individuals drawn from existing research on shyness. The results suggest that shyness may be experienced differently within culturally‐diverse populations; thus, there is a need for In‐depth intracultural investigations of shyness before an understanding of this phenomenon in intercultural contexts can be achieved.     

Organizational newcomers: Temporary and regular employees,same‐sex and mixed‐sex superior‐subordinate dyads,supervisor influence techniques,subordinates communication satisfaction,and leader‐member exchange

This study examined the relationship between newly hired employees’ characteristics (i.e., temporary vs. regular employee, superior‐subordinate gender‐dyad combinations), supervisors initial tactics of influence, subordinate communication satisfaction, and quality of leader‐member exchange. Results from 148 (71 temporary) new hires indicated (a) employee characteristics were not significantly related to the leader‐member exchange, (b) supervisors initial use of prosocial influence tactics were significantly and positively related to the quality of leader‐member exchange, and (c) subordinates’ satisfaction with communication was significantly and positively related to the quality of leader‐member exchange.     

Active and inclusive citizenship for women: democratic considerations for fostering lifelong education

In this paper a critical feminist theoretical framework is used to explore the challenges of creating democratic learning spaces that will foster active and inclusive citizenship for women. Three democratic considerations are addressed to assess how adult educators can create more inclusive opportunities for lifelong education for women. The first consideration is the need for a careful examination of structural inequalities that create disadvantages for women in pursuing lifelong education. The second consideration is the need to create a broader and more gender inclusive understanding of the scope of lifelong learning possibilities, so that women’s learning experiences are not devalued. The third consideration explores how to take up gender as a complex variable within the broader discourse of inclusion. This paper is informed by preliminary results from a current SSHRC (Social Science and Humanities Research Council) study on lifelong learning trajectories for women in Canada and a CCL (Canadian Council on Learning) study on active citizenship for women in Nova Scotia.     

Assessment in French primary schools

ABSTRACT

Despite its current high regard in parts of the English educational community, education in France has been as much the subject of public and political concern in recent years as it has in many other countries. One manifestation of this concern was the Loi Jospin of 1989, the aim of which was to continue to encourage the growth of diversity among schools as a response to local needs. Associated with this goal was that of making teachers more willing and able to respond to the increasingly diverse needs of their pupils. By so doing, it was hoped to raise the overall level of student success within the system. This paper looks at one aspect of teachers’ practice and the impact of current reforms on it–that of assessment. Having briefly described the provisions of the Jospin Law, it discusses how these are affecting teachers’ attitudes and practice, using data from the ESRC‐funded ‘Systems, Teachers and Educational Policy’ (STEP) project (ESRC Award No.: R 000 23 4673). Some tentative conclusions about the scale of change and the significance of French primary teachers’ attitudes to assessment are offered.     

Effect of Item Arrangement,Knowledge of Arrangement,and Test Anxiety on Two Scoring Methods

Number right (NR) and elimination (EL) scores were analyzed on 48-item college level mathematics exam that was assembled from pretest data in three forms by varying the item orderings: easy-hard, uniform, random. One-half of the forms contained information explaining the item arrangement and suggesting strategies for taking the test. Several anxiety measures were administered in a balanced order along with the experimental forms to 97 undergraduates. Multivariate ANOVA revealed no significant effects of the independent variables (order, knowledge, anxiety condition) on either cognitive dependent measure (NR or EL) (a = .05). Multivariate ANCOVA, using measures of anxiety as multiple covariates, also failed to show any significant influence (a = .05) on the cognitive dependent measures or a set of perceptional dependent measures. Results suggest that neither test scores nor attitudes are influenced by item order, knowledge thereof, or anxiety level, although factors contributing to the non-significance may have been inherent in the research design because of inadequate power and/or student performance motivation.     

How young children view mathematical representations: a study using eye-tracking technology

This paper reports on a study which investigated the support needs of pupils in mainstream school with a chronic illness or physical disability. The research was carried out in three local education authorities covering both rural and urban areas. In-depth, qualitative data were collected from 33 pupils in secondary school; 58 parents of primary and secondary school pupils; and 34 primary and secondary school teachers. Overall, the data from young people suggest variability in the support offered to pupils by teachers, even by teachers within the same school, and highlights the importance of teachers' awareness and understanding of special health needs. A number of areas where young people need support from teachers were identified, including: dealing with school absence; taking part in school activities; peer relationships; explaining the condition to other pupils; and having someone to talk to about health-related worries. Data from teachers and parents indicate that school staff need assistance with obtaining health-related information; ensuring health-related information is passed between and within schools; providing emotional support; the provision of medical care; and coordinating support for this group of pupils. The implications of the findings for teachers, schools and educational policy are discussed.     

THE PLOWDEN REPORT'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IDENTIFYING CHILDREN IN NEED OF EXTRA HELP

The inadequacies of an area or school‐based approach to the problem of identifying children who are in need of extra help at school are illustrated with data collected from the infant reception classes of 12 schools. These sample schools were each nominated for one of three categories according to the characteristics of the areas which they served. The two local education authorities involved each nominated an advantaged school, a settled working‐class school, and four deprived schools. The socio‐economic and developmental characteristics of the infant reception class intakes of these categories of school type were examined. The findings were that categories of school type are not as socio‐economically disparate as may often be assumed; and that there appears to be a sizeable relationship between school type and the school entrants’ developmental characteristics, but there are too many exceptions to this general trend to justify the use of school characteristics for identifying ‘children at risk’.     

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Revising Promotion and Tenure Standards According to Boyer

If one acknowledges that scholarship comes in many shapes and forms, and if one agrees with Boyer's argument that it is time to reconsider scholarship in light of the role of faculty members within departments, colleges, and universities, the next logical step then is to see if Boyer's principles can be effectively applied in a university setting. At the 1995 NAPEHE conference, Boyer acknowledged that the next step, as indicated by the title of the Carnegie Foundation's forthcoming sequel Scholarship Assessed, is to identify ways to fairly and equitably evaluate faculty scholarship within the context of the professoriate in general, and in higher education institutions in particular. The authors argue the case for differential application of standards within and among universities, based upon the diversity of missions and goals. Following that, examples are given for how Boyer's classifications have been applied to promotion and tenure standards at one comprehensive land grant university in the midwest. Administrator and faculty (new and old) commentary provide sup port for the new standards.     

Book reviews

Streznewski, M. K. (1999). Gifted grownups: The mixed blessings of extraordinary potential . New York: John Wiley & Sons (292 pp., $24.95 hb, ISBN‐0–471–29580–9).

Johnson, N.G., Roberts, M.C., & Worell, J., Eds.(1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (464 pp., ISBN‐1–55798–582–0).

Smutny, J.F. (1998). The young gifted child: Potential and promise, an anthology . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc. (582 pp. $35.00, paperback, ISBN 1–57273–108–7).

Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Frey, K. S., Green‐berg, M. T., Haynes, N. M., Kessler, R., Schwab‐Stone, M. E., & Shriver, T. P. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning . Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (164 pp., $22.95 pb, ISBN‐0–87120–288–3).

Friedman, R. C., & Rogers, K. B. (Eds.). (1998). Talent in context: Historical and social perspectives on giftedness . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (218 pp., $29.95 Hardback, ISBN 1–55798–493).