Assessing and Predicting Small-Group Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood Classrooms

Research Findings: The present study assessed the extent to which early childhood educators utilized small-group literacy instruction and explored factors potentially associated with the use of this evidence-based practice. The classroom activities of 83 early childhood educators were observed in the fall and spring, and videos were coded to calculate time spent in small-group literacy instruction. Educators completed questionnaires indicating classroom adult:child ratios, literacy beliefs, and feelings of self-efficacy. Classroom Assessment Scoring System scores for classroom organization and instructional support measured the quality of classroom management and instructional interactions, respectively. On average, educators provided 11.4 min (SD = 10.6) of small-group literacy instruction a day. It is notable that many educators provided little or no small-group literacy instruction. Negative binomial regression analyses indicated that educators with better classroom management, higher quality instructional interactions, and lower adult:child ratios were more likely to use small-group literacy instruction. Educators’ beliefs and feelings of self-efficacy were not associated with the use of small-group literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Educators may be better able to provide small-group literacy instruction in contexts affording low adult:child ratios and high levels of classroom management and instructional support, all of which are malleable factors that can be changed via policy or professional development.     

The effect of instruction on early nonword reading strategies

This paper reports the results of a study examining the role of early reading instruction on the nonword reading strategies employed by beginning readers. Three groups of children given different styles of reading instruction were asked to read a list of nonwords presented (a) in isolation and (b) using the clue word technique (Goswami, 1986, 1988). The three groups of children were following either (i) the Early Reading Research project (small units instruction), (ii) the National Literacy Project (instruction emphasising onset‐rime and rhyme awareness), or (iii) usual classroom practice (combined large and small units instruction). Children given small units instruction (Early Reading Research) were found to make significant use of grapheme‐phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and were more accurate than the other two groups of children at reading the nonword items. The National Literacy Project children demonstrated a preference for a rime‐based strategy, once familiarity with the analogous words was controlled, and made significantly more use of this strategy than the Early Reading Research children. The results suggest that early reading instruction does have a significant impact on early reading strategies and should be taken into account in future studies of this type.     

Unsettling equity frames in Australian universities to embrace people seeking asylum

ABSTRACT

Transnational migration, especially the growth of forced migration is unsettling the literature on widening access to university education. Equity definitions and understandings that frame social inclusion have presumed stable domestic populations within nations and targeted redressing historic internal social inequalities. Refugees and people seeking asylum have high aspirations to access to university education to gain recognition or update qualifications. University access for refugees and people seeking asylum is hampered by restricted funding entitlements that privilege citizens and admissions criteria that position them in the international student market and favour language and cultural requirements that reflect the dominant national culture. A qualitative narrative-based case-study of the admissions practices in one university in Australia explored the opportunities and blockages experienced by those seeking access and the dilemmas recognised by the admissions’ gatekeepers. Employing organisational theory and Scott’s three pillars of a neo-institutional framework, the regulative, the normative and the cultural-cognitive pillars, the article argues that homogenised institutional policies and practices to assess applications construct norms of access and equity, which create new exclusions for forced migrants. In revealing how some gatekeepers sought to ‘workaround’ these practices of exclusion, the article provides hope that informal learning within organisations can lead to organisational change.     

Travels in extreme social mobility: how first-in-family students find their way into and through medical education

ABSTRACT

Higher education is understood as essential to enabling social mobility. Research and policy have centred on access to university, but recently attention has turned to the journey of social mobility itself – and its costs. Long-distance or ‘extreme’ social mobility journeys particularly require analysis. This paper examines journeys of first-in-family university students in the especially high-status degree of medicine, through interviews with 21 students at an Australian medical school. Three themes are discussed: (1) the roots of participants’ social mobility journeys; (2) how sociocultural difference is experienced and negotiated within medical school; and (3) how participants think about their professional identities and futures. Students described getting to medical school ‘the hard way’, and emphasised the different backgrounds and attitudes of themselves and their wealthier peers. Many felt like ‘imposters’, using self-deprecating language to highlight their lack of ‘fit’ in the privileged world of medicine. However, such language also reflected resistance to middle-class norms and served to create solidarity with community of origin, and, importantly, patients. Rather than narratives of loss, students’ stories reflect a tactical refinement of self and incorporation of certain middle-class attributes, alongside an appreciation of the worth their ‘difference’ brings to their new destination, the medical profession.     

The effects of rime‐ and phoneme‐based teaching delivered by Learning Support Assistants

This paper evaluates three word‐level teaching programmes delivered by trained Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) for Year 1 children ‘at risk’ of reading difficulties. Rime‐based, phoneme‐based, and ‘mixed’ (rime and phoneme‐based) interventions were contrasted with controls receiving only the National Literacy Strategy. Phonological onset‐rime and phoneme manipulation, spelling, and word and non‐word reading were measured before and after the nine‐week intervention. High rime neighbourhood (HRn) non‐words (e.g. ‘dat’– with many real word rime neighbours) and low rime neighbourhood (LRn) non‐words (e.g. ‘tav’ with few real word neighbours) were used to evaluate onset‐rime‐ or grapheme‐phoneme‐based decoding strategies. Results showed greater phonological onset‐rime skills, letter‐sound knowledge and non‐word reading skills in all LSA‐taught intervention groups. There was no difference between the HRn and LRn non‐words. The only reliable difference between the intervention groups was an advantage in phoneme blending for the rime‐taught group. It was concluded that LSAs can enhance literacy development for 6‐year‐old poor readers. There appears to be no simple association between rime‐ or phoneme‐based teaching intervention and changes in the size of unit used by children following interventions.     

Minority students vs. majority faculty and administrators in teacher education: Perspectives on the clash of cultures

This paper strongly suggests that the views of minority students must be included in any meaningful assessment of teacher preparation programs' efforts to address racial diversity. The project was initiated during the 1990–91 academic year by interviewing minority juniors and seniors (total of 24), selected faculty, and administrators (deans, associate deans, department chairs) at two colleges of education as well as extensive document reviews. Intermittent follow-up interviews and document reviews continued through the 1993–94 academic year. These minority students did not feel that their teacher preparation programs had adequately prepared them to teach in racially diverse settings. Faculty and administrators agreed with the contention of the students but also pointed to a few tangible efforts that had been initiated to rectify this problem.     

The Discourse of Research Degrees Supervision: a case study of supervisor training

This article is designed to add to the literature dealing with the supervision of research degrees. It examines the discourse of supervision in the context of accredited research supervisor training at one British university. The data is based on naturalistic observation of course participants and in‐depth interviews with a range of stake‐holders. It explores the metaphors employed by supervisors to describe their roles within the research award process. This is the first stage of a larger project that is looking in more depth at supervisory discourse and using the analysis of that discourse as a heuristic device to encourage reflection in professional education.