Using data for decision-making: perspectives from 16 principals in Michigan, USA

In response to the vast amounts of data associated with the accountability movement and the rhetoric of data-informed decision-making, we interviewed 16 principals to find out what streams of data they used and what decisions they made by using the data. We found that: (a) student achievement data are predominantly used to the extent of neglecting other streams of data such as student and community background data and school process data; (b) student achievement data are used more for accountability purposes—for assessing “of” rather than “for” the learning; (c) different streams of data are rarely used together to derive rich meaning for decision-making; and (d) school districts differ in the extent to which their principals use data to improve curriculum and instruction. The study pointed both to the challenges and to the opportunities of making data-informed decisions to improve our schools.     

‘The art of democracy’: Young people's democratic learning in gallery contexts

In this article the authors report on research which aimed to explore the opportunities for democratic action and learning in a number of artist‐led gallery education projects in the south‐west of England. The research takes an approach to citizenship learning and democracy that is less focused on citizenship as a specific subject in the formal school curriculum and the achievement of specific citizenship outcomes that can follow from it. Rather, it is more focused upon understanding how democratic practices that are embedded in the day‐to‐day lives of young people contribute to their democratic learning and participation as citizens. Drawing upon conceptual categories and concepts that illuminate the process, the authors demonstrate the nature and character of young people's democratic learning. An implication arising from this is the need for practice‐orientated research in other contexts (e.g. work, leisure and home) to fully understand the nature of democratic learning.     

Teacher investment in learner identity

From a sociocultural perspective, teacher identity is constructed in relation to others, including other teachers and students. Drawing on positioning theory and the concept of investment, this study analyzed the case of a secondary English teacher who negotiated his teacher identity in relation to English language learners (ELLs). Findings indicated that the teacher made an investment in ELLs' identity by positioning them as like any other student. The desired return on the teacher's investment was a strengthened self-positioning as a natural and highly competent teacher. The implications of teacher investment in learner identity for teacher practice, learner identity construction, and teacher education are discussed.     

Learning from MOOCs: a qualitative case study from the learners’ perspectives

This study describes the massive open online course (MOOC) experiences of three educational technology scholars assuming the roles of learners. Adapting Carroll’s model of school learning as a theoretical framework, the study employed an autoethnography method to collect empirical data in three different MOOCs. Data analysis from regularly recorded journals revealed commonalities and differences in learner experiences. Based on the results, a refined version of Carroll’s model was produced to provide a foundation for future research and development into MOOCs.     

Negative video as structure: Emotion,attention, capacity,and memory

This paper uses a limited capacity information processing theory of television viewing to investigate the effects of graphic negative video at four levels of processing (attention, capacity, encoding, and retrieval) and on two dimensions of emotional experience (arousal and valence). Results indicate that the presence of negative video in news stories increases attention, increases the amount of capacity required to process the message, increases the ability to retrieve the story, facilitates recognition of information presented during the negative video and inhibits recognition for information presented before the negative video. Results also indicate that the introduction of negative video increases the self‐reported negative emotional impact of the story — making it more arousing and more negative.     

The safe,cheap and known: A content analysis of the first (1974) PBS program cooperative

With continued austerity in programming (and all other) budget categories, something has to give in the world of national public television programs—and here the authors support their contention that innovative, controversial, minority interest, and just plain esoteric programs are not chosen when placed up against what Natan Katzman terms “the safe, cheap and the known” programs. Expense is the excuse—but not always the reason for such choices. Mr. Reeves is a masters candidate in meteorology and mass communication (and a weatherman for WTVT television, St. Petersburg) while Dr. Hoffer is chairman of the department of mass communication, both of Florida State University.     

A Study of the Transferable Elements in Interviews with Parents

The authors used correlational and confirmatory factor analytic techniques to examine the relationship between measures of the constructs of mathematics anxiety and test anxiety. The correlations found between measures of the 2 constructs were nearly as high as those found within measures of the 2 constructs, bringing into question the separateness of the constructs. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis provided some support for a distinction between the constructs; the correlation between the 2 factors, however, was relatively high. Those findings suggest that mathematics anxiety and test anxiety may be separate phenomena; the conceptual uniqueness of mathematics anxiety, however, needs to be further delineated and its measurement improved.