Peer interaction in a structured communication task: comparisons of normal and hyperactive boys and of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and placebo effects.

Peer communication patterns were assessed as school-aged boys participated in a dyadic referential communication task. The responses of comparison boys were compared to those of hyperactive boys on methylphenidate (Ritalin) and on placebo in a double-blind crossover design. 2 separate systems for assessing communication were developed, a qualitative system designed to capture the "flavor" of interaction and a quantitative system focused on specific types of communicative content. Task products and completion times were also scored. The results suggest that hyperactive children, regardless of medication status, are less likely than comparison peers to (a) modulate ongoing or habitual behavior patterns in response to externally imposed shifts in role-appropriate behaviors; (b) maintain consistent, uninterrupted goal orientation; and (c) respond to subtle social learning opportunities. In this situation, methylphenidate appeared to have a greater impact on behavioral style than on competence, decreasing perceived intensity without influencing efficiency. A mild medication-induced dysphoria was also documented. Directions for future research and the need for caution in clinical interpretation are discussed.     

Diversity in New Zealand early childhood education: challenges and opportunities

The early childhood education (ECE) sector in New Zealand has long been recognised for the diversity of service types and range of organisations involved in delivering ECE. However, less attention has been paid to diversity within individual ECE services. This article draws on a national survey carried out as part of a larger project, The Diversity of Diversity in Early Childhood Education, focusing on teachers’ perceptions of challenges and successes encountered when working with children from diverse family backgrounds. Educators’ attitudes towards diversity clearly influence whether they perceive working with diverse children and families positively or as a challenge. We argue that possessing positive dispositions and attitudes that enable educators to truly welcome, acknowledge and embrace diversity, together with access to professional knowledge and support services, are critical. The implications of this for policy and practice are then considered.     

The ongoing development of an effective model of action learning for use by the busy GP veterinary surgeon

I passionately believe that reflective practice is an essential competency for the busy GP veterinary surgeon to develop throughout their career. Action learning sets would appear to offer a way of promoting this while at the same time helping the GP veterinary surgeon find a way forward with professional issues. In this article I reflect on my own action learning journey to date and how it relates to the ongoing development of an action learning set model that is inspired by the following personal reflections: reflective practice is an essential competency required by the professional so as to ‘get the most out’ of their career; action learning sets are an effective way for the busy professional to use their work-based learning to get on a developing lifelong ladder of postgraduate qualifications for the GP veterinary surgeon; action learning dialogue, inspired by personal and shared issues from within the consulting and operating room, provides effective and ongoing personal learning and professional development opportunities for the GP veterinary surgeon; action learning set membership promotes, encourages and facilitates the understanding by the individual of the importance of making time available on a regular basis to proactively develop their professional competencies throughout their career; issues are very similar within most veterinary practices and that being a member of an action learning set can help the individual to move their issue onwards towards a ‘win-win’ solution.     

Mentoring preservice teachers: identifying tensions and possible resolutions

Tensions can occur in the mentor–mentee relationship during school-based professional experiences that require problem solving. What are the tensions for mentor teachers in preservice teacher education and how might these tensions be resolved? This qualitative study collected data from 31 high school mentor teachers about tensions experienced with preservice teachers during professional experience programmes. Three themes emerged around the causes of tensions (low- to high-level conflicts) within the mentor–mentee relationship, namely: (1) personal issues (i.e. incompatibility, personality differences, language); (2) pedagogical issues (i.e. lack of pedagogical and content knowledge, differences in teaching styles); and (3) professional issues. Strategies to resolve these tensions include: maintaining a positive professional relationship, regular feedback as a way to address issues, sharing responsibility and empowerment, and using empathy for specific situations. As a theoretical contribution, this study provides a model around low- and high-level conflict associated with personal, pedagogical and professional (3Ps) issues. The study focused on mentors only and further research is required about the tensions preservice teachers experience with their mentors and ways in which these tensions can be resolved.     

What troubles early childhood educators in New Zealand: a 20-year cross-sectional study of ethical difficulties in early childhood practice

For more than 20 years, the New Zealand early childhood (EC) sector has had guidance about how to deal with situations of ethical difficulty in daily practice through the ECE Code of Ethics. This paper reports on three surveys undertaken at 10-year intervals that sought to understand EC educators’ experiences of such situations, and how they addressed them within their EC settings. An analysis of educators’ stories of ethically troubling situations from the three data-sets traced shifts and similarities in the content reported, and in how educators responded to these challenges over the two-decade period. We situate this analysis alongside changes in the New Zealand ECE policy context during the same time frame. We argue that a connection exists between the reported situations and teachers’ responses to them, and changes within the policy and professional context of daily EC practice.     

The Implementation of Progress Files in Higher Education: Reflection as National Policy

Progress files, involving personal development planning (PDP), are becoming a feature of many higher education systems internationally. In the UK they will become mandatory for all undergraduate students from 2005. This presents a major implementation challenge, because while reflection has been a cornerstone of practice in some areas of higher education for a considerable time, its generalisation as national policy changes its discursive location. The paper presents findings from a case study of the implementation of PF in one UK Higher Education Institution (HEI). It reports on how staff in one institution understand PF in the context of national policy, and on how they interpret the challenges they face in facilitating reflection for all students. The paper argues that pedagogical innovations take on a different meaning when applied to the system as a whole.     

Practical Considerations When Using Benchmarking for Accountability in Higher Education

The qualitative study on which this article is based examined key individuals’ perceptions, both within a research university community and beyond in its external governing board, of how to improve benchmarking as an accountability method in higher education. Differing understanding of benchmarking revealed practical implications for using it as an accountability tool. A change model is presented for enhancing the effectiveness of benchmarking in higher education communities.Sue D. Achtemeier received the B.A. in mathematics and computer science with High Honors and the M.S. in mathematics from Florida State University and the Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Georgia. She has held teaching positions in Illinois and Georgia and is now Assistant Director for Institutional Effectiveness for the University of Georgia with particular interest in accreditation and accountability. Ronald D. Simpson is Professor Emeritus of Higher Education and Science Education and Director Emeritus of the Office of Instructional Support and Development at the University of Georgia. He holds degrees in the biological sciences and in science education from the University of Tennessee and the University of Georgia and continues to teach and advise doctoral students in UGA’s Institute of Higher Education.