Consumers and Education Professionals in the Organisation and Administration of Schools: partnership or conflict?

Using data drawn from a 4 year multisite case study of 10 governing bodies in two English local education authorities (LEAs), the paper examines the extent to which recent changes in the responsibilities of governors, and social factors including ethnicity, gender and social class, have affected the possibility of governing bodies and education professionals working together in harmonious ways. It is argued that the move to site‐based management may have enhanced the tendency for governing bodies to be loosely coupled to their schools, and exacerbated micropolitical differences within individual governing bodies. It is suggested that both heads and governors seek power and the capacity to determine the actions of the other. Although this does not mean that conflict is always present, it becomes more likely when there are extensive cultural differences between the governing body and education professionals. It is these differences, together with the legislation on local management and grant maintained status, which may be seen to be largely responsible for the increasing degree of conflict experienced in some governing bodies.     

Talking of students: Tensions and contradictions for the manager-academic and the university in contemporary higher education

The paper examines data on references tostudents made by manager-academics in 16 UKuniversities whilst giving accounts of theircareers and practices, and reflecting onaspects of the current roles and priorities ofhigher education institutions. The issuesraised are of wider interest than the UK, sincethe contradictory pressures of teaching andresearch and learning versus seeking newsources of funding are common to highereducation in many countries. The focus andmethodology of the Economic and Social ResearchCouncil funded project on which the paper isbased are outlined, before discussing how thetheoretical interests of the project relate tothe student, the ways in which the student is asignificant aspect of current higher educationpolicies, and the contested status and identityof the student in higher education discourseand research. The changing nature of thestudent population, the relationship betweenmanager-academics' concerns with the studentand their institutional context, their majorpreoccupations in their roles, and how thesepreoccupations relate to level of seniority inmanagement are also considered. We concludethat whilst current UK higher education policyemphasises the student, responses atinstitutional and individual levels focus onorganisational, resource and time implicationsof the student body, rather than the studenthim/herself. Furthermore, it is noted thatsenior manager-academics roles tend to removetheir incumbents from contact with students. It is suggested that manager-academics needboth more contact with students and moreunderstanding of their situation andconcerns.     

Moral Reasoning about Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The purpose of this research was to investigate moral reasoning related to sexual behavior that could lead to the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using hypothetical dilemmas about situations in which STDs can be transmitted, respondents were asked to explain why they believed the characters should or should not engage in risky behaviors. 40 college freshmen ( M = 18.3 years) and 32 college seniors ( M = 22.3 years) participated. Using Kohlberg's moral stage theory and Gilligan's moral orientation model, the interviews were scored for moral stage and moral orientation. Results indicated that the older age group had a significantly higher stage of moral reasoning than the younger age group when responding to dilemmas about STDs. There was a significant difference in moral stage between dilemmas, reflecting the possible effect of dilemma content on moral reasoning. The overall pattern of results shows nonsignificant gender differences in stage of moral reasoning and moral orientation. Clinical and theoretical implications of these findings for understanding the role of moral reasoning in sexual risky behavior are discussed.     

Characterizing teacher attention to student thinking: A role for epistemological messages

Although research and policy suggest science and mathematics teachers should attend to their student's thinking during instruction, our field has inadequately defined what that means in relation to our ultimate goals for the practice. Here I present a theoretical argument that, in making their definitions, researchers should leverage the ways students understand such attention by characterizing teacher attention based on the epistemological messages it sends students about the nature of knowledge and learning in the classroom. Using data collected from high school science and mathematics teachers with a new video‐capture methodology, I present an analysis of variability in epistemological messages of teacher attention to illustrate work could unfold if we as researchers took up the theoretical claims made in this work. In doing so, I endeavor to draw the construct of epistemological messages into our collective conversations about teacher attention, and provide a starting point for our field to begin debating the most productive ways to study and unpack the epistemological messages we value in that teacher attention. I conclude by demonstrating the feasibility of using these messages to distinguish the types of teacher attention our field wants to develop and encourage in teacher education. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 55: 94–120, 2018     

Creating the golden triangle of evidence-informed education technology with EDUCATE

EDUCATE is a London-based programme that supports the development of research-informed educational technology (EdTech), allowing entrepreneurs and start-ups to create their products and services, and simultaneously grow their companies in a more evidence-informed manner. The programme partners businesses with researchers who mentor, guide and support this research journey, a key aspect of which is the evaluation of the company’s EdTech product or service. However, conducting impact evaluations of technology in education is challenging, particularly for early stage technologies, as rapid cycles of innovation and change are part of their essence. Here, we present the pragmatic approach to evidence-informed education technology design and impact evaluation, as developed and adopted by the EDUCATE programme. The research process is shaped by the core principles of evidence-informed decision making detailed in the paper. The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, it defines and details an academia-industry-education collaboration model centred on a research training programme. Second, it presents emerging impact results of the programme. Third, it provides clear reflections on the challenges encountered during the implementation of the model in the EdTech ecosystem of London, which should be addressed if we are to move towards evidence-informed EdTech globally.     

The good, the bad and the ugly: teachers' perception of quality in fiction for adolescent readers

Recent years have seen a great development in fiction written for the adolescent market‐teenage fiction. This article seeks to explore the notion of quality in teenage fiction building on earlier research by Whitehead (1977), Hall and Coles (1999), and Benton (1995a) and using findings from interviews with teachers in secondary schools in the South West of England in 2003 and 2004, the first phase in a study into perceptions of quality in teenage fiction. Questions are raised about whether English teachers have sufficient knowledge of this genre of literature to support pleasure and progress in reading for adolescents and also whether teenage fiction should be more directly addressed in the curriculum perhaps through a school canon, which may apply educational criteria to define a body of literature that begins where the child is, but allows for clear progression in reading.     

Student perspectives towards school responses to cyber-risk and safety: the presumption of the prudent digital citizen

ABSTRACT

While previous research identifies skepticism and some animosity among students towards school-based cyber-safety programs, drawing from focus group discussions with Canadian teens, this paper contributes to unpacking reasons for both support for ‘what works’ and antagonism for what is perceived to be lacking. Our findings reveal support for repeated messages, including those eliciting fear, especially for younger students. Criticisms most often centered on the questionable relatability of the messages, and the need for more practical information (e.g., privacy management). Criticisms are largely concentrated among female teens. Among our participants, the concentration of cyber-safety messages is being received in junior high school, with less emphasis by the time students reach high school. We argue that by high school students are expected to have successfully internalized the directives for online safety received in earlier grades, and have acquired, to a greater or lesser extent, a sense of prudentialism and self-control.     

VCE chemistry as a curriculum innovation

Conclusion The difficulty of sharing meaning of curriculum intentions between different groups is highlighted in this study. The acceptance of the novel features of the Chemistry Study Design is mixed. The longitudinal nature of the study helped to identify the difficulty teachers had in understanding the meaning of these novel features although the experiences of teaching units in the VCE chemistry course have enabled some teachers to shift in their construction of the meaning of the words and messages around them. Specializations: chemistry and science education, technology and industry links with sicence in schools. Specializations: science and technology curriculum, environmental education, educational disadvantage. Specializations: curriculum change, science career paths. Specializations: science education, computers in schools.