On Establishing Norms in a Large City System

This article reports a study using the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) and grade point average as predictors of performance in a performance-based teacher education course. While the results of the study established statistical significance for the use of the developed regression model, practical significance is limited. These results are consistent with other research and lead to suggestions for using a different technique in predicting performance of candidates.     

The “1984” Macintosh Ad: Cinematic Icons and Constitutive Rhetoric in the Launch of a New Machine

The “1984” Macintosh ad was broadcast only once in 1984 to launch a personal computer that could easily be used by non‐expert consumers, but the ad has remained in the public eye via numerous television and advertising award ceremonies. Applying a theory of constitutive rhetoric with analysis of the ideological codes and cinematic narratives that construct the ad, this essay explores the integral role ads play in the cultural discourse of new technologies. Ultimately, the ad's rhetoric of freedom and revolution is used to constitute consumers, not rebels, leaving intact capitalism's ideological investment in the technological realization of social progress.     

Tertiary teachers and student evaluations: never the twain shall meet?

Internationally, centralised systems of student evaluation have become normative practice in higher education institutions, providing data for monitoring teaching quality and for teacher professional development. While extensive research has been done on student evaluations, there is less research-based evidence about teachers’ perceptions of and engagement with student evaluations, the focus of the research reported in this paper. An interpretive approach framed the study in which data were gathered through questionnaire and interview responses from teaching staff at three New Zealand tertiary institutions. Results highlighted the general acceptance of the notion of student evaluations, recurring ideas about the limitations of evaluations and significant gaps in the way academics engage with student evaluation feedback. Recommendations for enhancing teacher engagement with student evaluation are made to optimise the potential for student evaluations to inform teaching development and to improve students’ learning experiences.     

Estonian preschool teachers’ views on supporting children’s school readiness

ABSTRACT

Transition from early childhood education to primary school is a complex phenomenon. This situation, moving from one educational system to another, is exciting, but can also be stressful for the child, her family and preschool teachers. Smooth transition to primary school helps children feel secure, relaxed and comfortable in their new environments. The current study, highlighting how Estonian preschool teachers comprehend their pedagogical activities in supporting children’s school readiness, was conducted using semi-structured interviews. There were 15 participants, preschool teachers, who at the moment of research taught in groups where children were between the ages of 6 and 7. As a result of completing the above procedure, research findings highlight that there is a lack of collaboration between preschools, schools and local neighbourhoods, but teachers try different methods individually when introducing school environment to children.     

Educating Gerontologists for Cultural Proficiency in End-of-life Care Practice

An educational program was developed to train practitioners to provide care for patients and families that are responsive to cultural concerns. The aim was to increase knowledge and improve attitudes toward providing culturally proficient and culturally sensitive care for patients and families facing life-threatening illnesses. The program consisted of six half-day sessions on key areas in end-of-life care practice. The modules integrated and infused content related to ethnically and culturally diverse populations in a comprehensive training format. Evaluation results suggested that the program was successful in increasing participant knowledge and attitudes towards cross-cultural interdisciplinary practice of end-of-life care.     

七月

微风摇曳,吹过淡淡的荷香,这是初夏的味道。七月流水,整个学校却又都充斥着离别的味道。七月,我们一起走过……     

National exceptionalism in the ‘EduCanada’ brand: unpacking the ethics of internationalization marketing in Canada

Canada’s recently revamped international education brand, EduCanada, offers a rich example of developments at the intersections of higher education internationalization and marketization. In this paper, I examine the EduCanada website to consider how national exceptionalist and ‘othering’ narratives are reproduced in the recruitment of international students. From these findings I ask how internationalization relates to the overlapping and ongoing legacies of Indigenous colonization, and racialized regimes of personhood, citizenship, and immigration in Canada. Finally, I argue that the international marketization of higher education risks foreclosing critical examinations of the entanglements of empire within which we are all unevenly embedded.     

Increased reliability of an objective personality measure for children

The Missouri Children's Picture Series (MCPS) is explored as an assessment tool for boys in residential treatment. Extreme ease of administration is an attractive feature of the test. Boys in treatment usually have shown low test-retest reliability, in contrast to other populations. Higher, significant reliability was obtained in the present study by a split-deck procedure. It is suggested that the test is better administered to disturbed boys in two sittings, to offset their distractibility and short attention span. Under these conditions, the test can be applied to future work with this type of subject population.