The power of the ‘object’ to influence teacher induction outcomes

In this paper we explore newly qualified New Zealand secondary teachers’ varied accounts of induction. We claim that multiple interpretations of objectives for induction programs are a significant source of this variation. With reference to an activity system framework, we identify four primary objects of induction that were represented in the induction accounts as follows: ‘orientation to learning about the context’, ‘fitting into the school’, ‘completing registration requirements’, and ‘becoming a professional inquirer’. Whilst teachers would be expected to experience all of these objects within their induction experiences, the balance and emphases of these objects within programs varied considerably.     

Action research and reflective practice: towards a holistic view

Two concepts that have captured the imagination of the educational community in the last 60 years have been those of ‘reflective practice’ and ‘action research’. Both, in their various forms, are considered to be critical dimensions of the professional development of teachers. However, whilst both were receiving academic attention during the 1930s and 1940s (Lewin, 1934, cited in Adelman, 1993; Lewin, 1946; Dewey, 1933), it was not until Stenhouse's (1975) notion of the teacher-as-researcher that the two came most compellingly into relationship and educational action research as a process, which held at its centre different kinds of reflection, began to be reformulated in Britain (Carr, 1993). This article considers the important part played in teachers' development by different kinds of action research. Its central thesis is that, although action research has a critical role to play not least as a means of building the capacity of teachers as researchers of their own practice, there has been insufficient attention given to both the nature of reflection in the action research process, and its relationship to the purposes, processes and outcomes. The article challenges the rational, cognitive models of reflection that are implicit in much of the action research literature. It suggests that more attention needs to be given to the importance of the role of emotion in understanding and developing the capacities for reflection which facilitates personal, professional and ultimately system change     

‘He's just enthusiastic. Is that such a bad thing?’ Experiences of parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Parenting a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a challenging experience. The hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention of a child with ADHD often put parenting skills to the test. The present study thus aimed to explore the experiences of parents of children with ADHD in Ireland. Eighteen parents of 7–12-year-old boys with a diagnosis of ADHD took part in open-ended interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out on the interview content. Six major themes were identified: (1) getting your head around ADHD; (2) the child takes over; (3) emotional impact; (4) inconsistency of structural supports; (5) ignorance and discrimination; and (6) it's not all bad. Results are discussed in terms of the need to implement family-centred supports for ADHD. The importance of educating the population at large about ADHD is also discussed. Finally, the need to take a more positive, strengths-based approach to ADHD is highlighted.     

Age and Socialization Effects on the Development of Social Comparison Motives and Normative Ability Assessment in Kibbutz and Urban Children

We hypothesized that tendencies to explain interest in peers' work in terms of mastery-promotion or of relative ability assessment is related both to the development of the normative conception of ability and to educational emphases on cooperative or competitive learning goals. Study 1 tapped acquisition of the normative conception, normative self-assessment, and reasons for looking at others' work among 208 kibbutz and urban Israeli subjects at ages 4–8. Results confirmed that acquisition of normative understandings was associated with a shift from mastery to ability explanations in urban, but not kibbutz, children. Study 2 revealed similar differences in the frequency of mastery versus ability assessment reasons among 48 kibbutz and urban third-grade children asked to explain the videotaped glances of an unfamiliar child. Thus, cooperative learning settings seem to maintain interest in using peers to promote mastery, even after acquisition of the normative conception.     

Cross-cultural Perspectives of Successful Aging: Young Turks and Europeans

Successful aging (SA) has been conceptualized in a number of ways. Despite increasing research into how laypersons define SA, few studies capturing lay perspectives of SA in younger cohorts and in non-English speaking countries have been undertaken. The current study examines cross-cultural perspectives of SA in young (aged 18–35), lay adults from a variety of continental European countries and Turkey. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling from social network sites and invited to participate in an online survey. Persons between 18–35 years from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, or Turkey were included. Respondents (total: 390; Belgian: 32; Estonian: 96; German: 76; Romanian: 47; Swiss: 39; Dutch: 30; Turkish: 70), were primarily women (56.4%) and students (66.2%), with an average age of 24.1 years (SD 3.7). Personal resources, social and active engagement all emerged as dominant themes across countries, but were articulated in subtly different ways in the participant countries. Positive perspectives, desirable attributes and satisfaction themes were intertwined within themes of acceptance and engagement. The current study provides a first step in the inclusion of geographic and cultural diversity into the SA literature. These results suggest that layperson conceptualizations of SA have broad-sweeping similarities, but further research is required to articulate the nuance of cultural influences on SA.     

High school boys’ and girls’ writing conceptions and writing self-efficacy beliefs: what is their role in writing performance?

This study investigated the conceptions about writing and writing self-efficacy beliefs held by high school students in relation to the students’ gender as well as their associations with writing achievement. The results show that female students have more sophisticated writing conceptions than their male counterparts but no gender differences were found in writing self-efficacy beliefs. In addition, results reveal that writing self-efficacy beliefs and gender play an important role in predicting writing performance and that writing performance is moderated by students’ writing conceptions. Educational implications and further research are discussed.     

Primary teachers’ understanding of the interactive whiteboard as a tool for children’s collaborative learning and knowledge‐building

This paper reports on the second phase of a joint teacher/researcher project that explored teachers’ understandings of the potential of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) as a tool for primary school children’s collaborative group work. By examining teachers’ written analyses and discussions of work carried out in their own classrooms, the paper seeks to contribute to the debate about the ways in which the use of IWBs can contribute to changes in pedagogy. It highlights the interrelationships between collaborative learning and factors identified as important in the research carried out by teachers, amongst them the children’s technical skills and confidence, the mediating role of the teacher, the IWB affordances for knowledge‐building and the teachers’ own knowledge, attitudes and professional development. The paper also provides an account of how participation by the teachers in a course with Faculty staff, focused on the collaborative co‐construction of knowledge related to learning and to classroom research grounded in the values and principles of socio‐cultural theory, supported changes in pedagogic practice.     

Nursing Shortage Generates Innovative Program Expansion

Responding to an impending health crisis due to a national nursing shortage, Montgomery County Community College increased nursing admissions by 50% and graduates by 51% through implementing a Continuous Nursing Program (CNP). Through implementing three 14-week semesters per year, the CNP uses an accelerated timeframe while maintaining a nonaccelerated program design.     

Social justice and school linkages in teacher education programmes

This paper investigates current research into the role of education in combating social injustice, assembles this research to indicate key features of a teacher education programme that would assist education for social justice, and links these features to one innovative university teacher education programme to ascertain some of the practical difficulties in establishing such a programme. The research indicated key approaches that would enhance the probability that graduates from teacher education programmes will be able to pursue social justice initiatives.