A linguistic and neuropsychological approach to remediation in a german case of developmental dysgraphia

There have been relatively few single case studies concerned with the remediation of spelling deficits among developmental impairments. Among these there have been a small number that targeted specific components of the spelling process and used linguistic theories as theoretical underpinning for the development of remediation procedures. This single case study examines remediation of writing skills and aims at evaluating two different lexically based intervention methods, one of which used Optimality Theory as its basis. We applied a rule-based remediation and an intervention method using whole-word forms to a child with selective impairments in the lexical-graphemic components. The investigation was done with words in which phoneme-grapheme-correspondences in word final position change due to voicing neutralization. The individual exhibited a method- and item-specific effect with respect to the rule-based method. In addition, a transfer effect to untreated items and a generalization effect to untrained but related tasks was observed. The absence of a method-specific and a generalization effect for the whole-word form intervention and the success of the rule-based method is determined by the specific cognitive component(s)s that constitute the source of the deficit and the appropriateness of Optimality Theory to address this particular deficit.     

Majority and minority faculty perceptions in academe

This paper examines majority (white) and minority faculty perceptions in academe. It focuses on two general areas of institutional activity: employment and workplace issues, and minority affairs. The data examined in this paper are from a study of faculty at the University of Colorado (CU) system. The faculty sample in this study consisted of 73 minority faculty and 122 majority faculty. The findings reported in this paper show that minority faculty are dissatisfied with certain contexts within the post-secondary education institution, and minority faculty feel excluded from others. Discussion in this paper examines the interaction of status (majority vs. minority) and gender with perceptions of the postsecondary education institution.     

Vocation-Oriented Professional Education: Between Cultivating a Talent and Hearing the Call

ABSTRACT

In European higher education, talent-oriented or strength-based education is emerging as a new discourse surrounding the practice of educating for the professional workplace. This approach stresses the role of the personal in the professional, and consequently that personal development and personal flourishing are integral to the professional development of students. In this article, we consider how this orientation resonates with, and even can be a part of, Christian-inspired approaches to higher professional education. Therefore, we first consider this rather recent discourse on talent-oriented education as a part of longstanding pedagogical traditions of professional formation in general; these traditions have stressed the importance of interactions between the “inner” and the “outer” world. Subsequently, we consider the talent-oriented approaches in light of the vocational theories of John Dewey and Eduard Spranger to highlight the focus on the individual development implied in the talent approach. Finally, we examine the relation of the talent approach and vocational theories vis-à-vis Christian notions of professional formation and, specifically, the Christian concept of calling. In the conclusion, we consider the potential and implications of the underlying assumptions and conceptual fundaments of a talent-oriented education for the practice of Christian higher education for professionals.     

What is (good) practitioner research?

This special issue recognizes EAPRIL as being a platform for practitioner and practice-based research and by organizing the 10th annual conference for practitioner research on improving learning in education and professional practice. Papers in this conference and in this special issue are rooted in practice-based research or practitioner research. They reflect the popularity of practitioner research in vocational teacher education and in universities of applied sciences. Reason enough for the authors of the current paper to reflect on the question: “What is practitioner research?” And, more importantly what makes good practitioner research? Reviews show that people use broad interpretations of the concept, which requires that to clarify the epistemological basis of the relation between research and practice the reflections goes back to Aristotle philosophy. The latter, aiming at discovering what kind of knowledge is obtained, what purpose it serve, and how it differs. This yields a theoretical, and two practical kinds of knowledge. Although all three are relevant, the so called ‘practitioner knowledge’ (the prhonesis and the techne), need more attention in judging the ‘goodness’ of practitioner research. Five principles of validation are mentioned, e.g. the process of meaning making and negotiation, differing from the correspondence between knowledge and the outside world, e.g. validity. These principles provide a possible angle and sometimes researcher follow them implicitly and unconsciously. The articles in this special issue reflects the realisation of many of these principles within the individual studies. The current paper does not intent to give final answers, but rather to trigger a further conversation on the fundamental question of: What is good practitioner research?     

Video Feedback in Education and Training: Putting Learning in the Picture

This meta-analysis demonstrates that the video feedback method has a statistically significant effect on the interaction skills of professionals in a range of contact professions. The aggregate effect, calculated on the basis of 217 experimental comparisons from 33 experimental studies involving a total of 1,058 people, was 0.40 standard deviation (SE = 0.07). The effects of training were greater for programs working with a standard observation form of target skills that were central to the program. Results were more positive for outcome measures that measured positive skills rather than negative ones. In addition, molar outcome measures, which were obtained by means of an assessment scale, showed larger effects than micromeasures, which were scored using event sampling. Finally, recommendations are made for video feedback design and for future research.     

NARST: a lived history

In this Forum, we construct a history of the National Association for Research in Science Education (NARST) through the analysis of documents and through the personal perspectives of individuals. The history of NARST is inseparable from the biography of the individuals through whose lives it was produced and reproduced. The history of NARST is a living history that both shapes and was shaped by the biographies of its members.

Francisco Maestas et al. v. George H. Shone et al.: Mexican American Resistance to School Segregation in the Hispano Homeland, 1912–1914

The authors in this article argue that the Francisco Maestas et al vs. George H. Shone et al (1914) case is one of the earliest Mexican American challenges to school segregation in the United States. Unidentified for over a century, the lawsuit took place in southern Colorado, a region of the nation where Mexican Americans have deep historical roots. This case was unique because the racial background and linguistic needs of Mexican American children were contested. First, plaintiffs (Mexican Americans) argued their children were racially distinct as Mexicans and used the Colorado Constitution to challenge segregation because the state prohibited public schools from classifying and distinguishing children based on color and race. Defendants (school board members and the superintendent) countered that Mexican American children were Caucasian and claimed they were no different from other White children in the school district. Second, school district officials maintained that non-English speaking Mexican American children were placed in a separate school in order to serve their linguistic needs. The district court judge discovered that school officials had created a policy that sent all Mexican American children to the separate school. To the extent that many Mexican American children were English speaking, the district court judge ruled in favor of Francisco Maestas on the grounds that school officials could not prevent English-speaking Mexican American children from attending schools of their choice in general and schools that were closer to their homes in particular.     

Effects of early childhood education training and video interaction guidance on teachers’ interactive skills

ABSTRACT

Research has demonstrated that teachers working in early childhood education and care (ECEC) are proficient in offering emotional support to young children, but markedly weaker when it comes to instructional support. We conducted a controlled experimental study in the Netherlands, to investigate the effects of targeted in-service training on improving teachers’ instructional support. Teachers (N = 72) were randomly assigned to four conditions: an intensive early childhood education (ECE) training (N = 17), video interaction guidance (VIG) (N = 16), a combination of both training programs (N = 18), or a control condition with no training (N = 21). Teachers’ interactive skills were measured pre- and postintervention, according the scales of the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP). The ECE training improved the proficiency of teachers’ verbal communication and offering developmental stimulation. VIG proved to be effective in teachers’ fostering positive peer interactions between children. Intensive and targeted training can successfully improve the quality of teachers’ instructional support in ECEC settings, although more research on effective elements of professional development of ECEC teachers is needed.     

School‐based ICT policy plans in primary education: Elements,typologies and underlying processes

Schools are more and more encouraged to write a school‐based information and communication technology (ICT) policy plan. In such a plan, a school describes its expectations, goals, content and actions related to the future role of ICT in teaching and learning. Although this is encouraged by researchers and policy makers, the literature on ICT policy plans and ICT policy planning is rather general and underdeveloped. In this study, the content of school‐based ICT policy plans and underlying policy processes is explored. Data were gathered in 31 primary schools in Flanders: the schools' ICT policy plan was submitted to a content analysis, and a semi‐structured interview was administered to the school leader or the ICT coordinator. Using a framework of ICT leadership practices to guide the analysis (setting direction, developing people and making the organization work), we identified three types of ICT policy plans: (1) an ICT policy plan as a vision blueprint, (2) a technical inventory and (3) a comprehensive ICT policy plan. Although the last type takes into account all ICT leadership practices, we found a variety of different approaches in the processes used to create and execute such plans, such as the support of ICT training activities, data‐driven decision‐making processes and monitoring activities.     

A Comparative Exploration of the Pedagogical Quality of Parent-Led Child Care Centers and Regular Child Care in The Netherlands

Research Findings: This small-scale study features the 1st comparative exploration of the pedagogical quality of parent-led child care and regular child care in The Netherlands. The quality of the interaction skills and the affective relationships between adults and children was evaluated and compared with those of regular child care centers. On average parents in parent-led child care had interactions with adequate to good sensitive responsiveness, respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting, and verbal communication. Developmental stimulation and fostering positive peer interactions proved to be weaker areas. Parents’ perceptions of the affective relationship with children in the group were characterized by a high level of closeness and a low level of dependency and conflict. Parents experienced a greater degree of closeness but also more conflict and in particular greater dependency with their own children than with the other children. A comparison between parent-led centers and regular urban child care centers revealed some small but significant differences in pedagogical quality. Practice or Policy: Parents can play a more active role in both the design and implementation of child care. It seems interesting to pilot new child care formats in which parents and professional staff collaborate more closely.