Dancing with the Monster: Teachers Discuss Racism,Power, and White Privilege in Education

The Urban Review - Teachers do not often have opportunities to openly examine and discuss issues of racism, power, and white privilege. In fact, as Lisa Delpit and other educators have pointed out,...     

骨干教师培训评估体系的概念框架与标准

美国杜肯大学教育学院围绕国家教师教育资格认证委员会(NCATE)制定的教师培养概念框架构造要素:机构、组织设想和使命;组织的运作哲学、目的及目标;知识基础,包括理论,研究,实践策略以及教育政策;学员业务能力与相应的专业标准、国家标准以及机构标准相吻合;学员表现定期测评系统,提出杜肯大学骨干教师培训项目(LTP)中评估系统的设计与专业标准、国家标准衔接过程中遵循的九项标准:哲学和心理学基础;领域和主题;学员业务能力与职业标准、国家标准的衔接;对技术的承诺;对多样性的承诺;教师作为领导者、职业素质;发展学校职业合作伙伴;评估体系。     

Construction and validation of a survey instrument to determine the gender-related challenges faced by pre-service male primary teachers

The gender-related challenges facing males entering the primary-school teaching profession have been well documented in the academic literature over recent decades. The majority of these data have come about through qualitative reports. Whilst qualitative methods provide important perspectives into these issues, the use of valid and reliable quantitative survey tools has received less attention. This paper discusses the construction, piloting, and subsequent tests for reliability and validity involved in developing a robust survey tool to measure the gender-related challenges faced by pre-service male primary teachers during their university study and professional experience in schools. Utilizing Senocak's four stages of survey development and Rasch modelling techniques, data analysis showed high levels of validity and reliability for the survey tool.     

The Role of the Community College in Providing Language,Speech, and Hearing Services

Abstract

A survey of community college personnel in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey was conducted to determine (1) the extent and type of services in speech, hearing, or language screening, remediation, and improvement, (2) the extent and type of instruction in speech and language improvement, and (3) the extent and type of bilingual services in speech, hearing or language presently offered to students and community members within the community college setting. In addition, the existence of plans to offer these services in the future was ascertained. Responses indicated the existence of some services but a general unavailability of comprehensive screening, evaluation, and rehabilitation programs despite the widespread needs of the growing community college constituency. The results of the survey can assist community college personnel in needs assessment and planning within their own institutions by offering a context for consideration of the priority for providing language, speech, and hearing services within the community college setting.     

Learning about research: exploring the learning and teaching/research relationship amongst educational practitioners studying in higher education

The paper examines aspects of the relationship between teaching and research in higher education in social science research methods, with particular reference to the subject area of Education. There are three main themes: reflections on how social science research methods should be (or are) taught; a review of current debates about the relationship between teaching and research, both in higher education and for school teachers; and finally, reporting how a group of educational practitioners (mainly school teachers) studying at Masters level experience learned about research methods. The paper is illustrated by qualitative data from a case study of student experiences of research methods teaching on a Masters degree in Education in a research-intensive UK university. It is suggested that studying the journey embarked upon by taught postgraduate students inexperienced in research is helpful in understanding how learning about research methods takes place, which in turn can assist future research methods teaching.     

A Testing Issue: Key skills assessment in Australia

Maintenance of academic standards, assessment and monitoring are key tasks for tertiary education, as the system attempts to meet government targets for universal participation. Tertiary education therefore demands more attention to the measurement of outcomes. However, the use of a graduate skills assessment test, we contend--particularly in the form this currently takes in Australia--implies a limited sense of the value added by a university education. We question the validity of national testing both on grounds of its suitability to assess the skills cultivated by university study and on grounds of equity and cultural inclusiveness.     

Research planning and management in non‐traditional research discipline areas

Abstract

In its drive for higher efficiency and effectiveness in higher education, the Australian Commonwealth Government released its policy on higher education, Higher Education: A Policy Statement during the late 1980s which contributed to the introduction of performance indicators to manage and assess the performance of the higher education system. The research component of annual Commonwealth funding to universities, called the Research Quantum, is now distributed by a set of performance indicators: external research income, publications count and higher degree research completions. This paper analysed the impact of these indicators on the research activities of Australian university academics based on Leibenstein's model of X‐efficiency. Although the impact of performance indicators on university academics was found to follow the pressure‐effort relationship, for some respondents, the increase in effort as a result of heightened pressure had involved strategic behaviour. Two conditions that are identified for the minimisation of an institution's X‐inefficiency despite high staff effort are a high ratio of maximising to non‐maximising decisions for both the staff and institution, and for all the institution's essential objectives/activities, and not just those which are measured by the performance indicators. The implications of these findings for the development and application of performance indicators are discussed.     

Community Education and the Ethos of the School

In 1998, the Labour Government instituted the School Standards and Framework Act which abolished Grant Maintained (GM) schools and introduced three new categories of school: community, voluntary and foundation. The latter two were to have much of the autonomy of GM schools, particularly with respect to admissions. This article reports on the findings of a study which gathered the perceptions of heads, governors and senior staff about admissions issues in 11 foundation schools after their first full term in their new status.