PRESIDENTS’ VIEWS ON CURRENT AND FUTURE ISSUES FACING THE COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGE

This study provides a foundation for discussion of major issues facing community colleges in America. The purpose of the study was to ascertain how many community college presidents rank order issues facing their institutions, now and five years hence. Additionally, the study sought to more comprehensively examine recent literature about issues facing community colleges for purposes of comparison with the findings of the study, and for explication of issues identified. The data for analysis were collected from a population survey of all public and private community college presidents listed in the Education Directory of Colleges and Universities, 1981‐1982. Issues used in the survey were identified a priori, from a review of the literature, and were validated using a panel of community college presidents. The major findings were that both public and private community college presidents agree that the top issues facing their institutions five years hence are: financial support for institution, achieving institutional mission, and maintaining enrollments. Other major current issues include faculty and staff relations, planning and administering the budget, governing board relations, administrative team relations, state relations, public and community relations, and program development and evaluation. Additionally, questions were raised in the study regarding “presidential priority rankings of issues,” based upon directions suggested in the literature review about what issues seem most pressing in the decade of the 1980s.     

Strengthening the Preparation of Early Childhood Teacher Candidates Through Performance-Based Assessments

Performance-based assessments require teacher candidates to demonstrate proficiency on specific teaching tasks and apply knowledge in authentic settings. This article describes the development and use of performance-based assessments (PBAs) for advancing the learning and evaluation of teacher candidates in an early childhood special education teacher preparation program. Teacher candidates completed PBAs under supervision during culminating practica experiences at three age levels (infant/toddler, preschool, and primary practicum). Methods for determining proficiency on national (Council for Exceptional Children) and state (Colorado teacher licensure) standards are described, along with the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of PBAs. Performance-based assessment data over a 5-year period indicate teacher candidate performance meeting and exceeding national standards and state licensure requirements.     

Teaching and learning across disciplines: student and staff experiences in a newly modularised system

Within modular degrees it is sometimes possible for students to broaden their education by taking modules from outside their main programme of study. This is one significant aspect of modular degrees which has not been studied. In an effort to better understand this issue, the research reported in this paper explored the experiences: (1) of students taking modules from outside their programme of study and; (2) of staff teaching modules with significant numbers of students from other programmes. In total, 820 undergraduate students responded to an on-line survey; 12 academic staff members participated in interviews. The survey focused on students’ reasons for choosing the module, their experiences of assessment and their perceptions of workload. Interviews with academic staff focused on the influence of non-programme students on teaching and assessment practices. The discussion addresses the implications of student choice and classroom diversity for teaching and assessment in modular systems.     

具有连带产品属性的高等教育

高等教育区别于其他多数产品和服务的一个重要特征是 :它是一种“连带产品”。当学生选择本科学院时 ,首先考虑的不仅是大学的教授、课程和设备 ,而且还同时考虑学校里其他同学的学术能力和社会经济背景。大学里的教授和管理者在选择工作机构时同样考虑他们同事的学术水平和社会背景。这种情形在著名大学表现得尤其突出。高等教育的这一特征对高等教育的分层、竞争、非营利属性、院校规模以及偏好的同质性等现象都有一定的解释力。显然 ,未来的高等教育系统将具有双重性 :在底层 ,竞争相对单一 ;在顶层 ,分层相对突出     

Unveiling the Mary Macha Archives

ABSTRACT

Perth-based art dealer Mary Macha was engaged with Indigenous art for almost fifty years. She played a critical role in the development of Aboriginal art in Western Australia firstly in the government sector and subsequently as a private dealer. Her clients included Alistair McAlpine (Lord McAlpine) and Robert Holmes a Court. She was the key player in the development of what became known as the East Kimberley School of art and formed a close relationship with the key artists, Paddy Jamanji and Rover Thomas. After her death in 2017, her archive was sorted and collated by her executors with assistance from the University of Melbourne and vested with the Battye Library in Perth.     

The Emerging Informationist Specialty: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Purpose:

A systematic literature review was conducted to synthesize what is known about informationists, highlight program models, and suggest areas for future research.

Methods:

Articles retrieved through database searching were reviewed for relevance. Informationist case reports were identified and coded according to an attributes checklist. Data from other retained publications were synthesized under broad themes. The few research studies found were reviewed for level of evidence.

Results:

Of 113 papers reviewed, the study identified 7 classic and 8 emerging informationist programs. Two major models are apparent, clinical and research, with priorities differing according to program maturity. The literature synthesis also brought together current thinking about informationist qualifications; practice roles; setting characteristics; education and training; organizational, programmatic, and service provider success factors; and challenges and barriers. Program outcomes to date are reported, and future research topics suggested. Specific findings will assist informationist program planners.

Conclusions:

While the informationist concept remains in the early adopter stage, it appears that domain knowledge, continuous learning, and embedding (working in context) are essential to success. The need for librarians to transition to greater specialization and libraries to emphasize customized service was underscored. A research agenda focused on information management, dissemination, behaviors, and economics is proposed.

Highlights

• After years of emphasizing the generalist librarian, health sciences librarians must become more specialized, paralleling the health care environment in which they work.
• An embedded informationist is more likely to achieve credibility, acceptance, and sustainability than an impersonal information service provided at a distance.
• Subject expertise is essential for the informationist.
• Model informationist programs with the greatest stability are library funded.
• Because informationist programs are inherently targeted to small groups, multisite studies are necessary to achieve robust evaluation.

Implications

• A library starting an informationist program should review existing models, identify local needs, set program objectives, and then select the most appropriate approaches for its users.
• Programmatic emphasis should be placed on both technical and service excellence.
• Organizational commitment is needed for knowledge integration into practice and for the informationists'' lifelong learning.

     

Gendered positionality among Irish male primary teachers: the staff room as a site of performative masculinity

The concept of masculinities has traditionally been defined in terms of crises associated with boys’ underachievement, the violence of homophobia, the under-representation of males in caring occupations, the rituals and discourses of laddism, and perceptions of disaffected and unrealised talent. Whereas the topic of masculinities has long been associated with warrants for distinctive and diverse male identities, it has a comparatively more recent history in the research on male Irish primary teachers as a particular social category. Two key findings are discussed in relation to performative masculinities – a form of strategic manoeuvring designed to exploit gender discourses, practices for control, power and privilege. First, the findings show the staffroom as a bellwether or highly developed locus for teacher socialisation through gendered discourses, events and actions. Second, the findings show nonsynchronous performative masculinities not only between male and female teachers but also with male colleagues. Therefore, it is argued that this frequently forgotten and neglected seam in the grand narrative of schools and schooling in Ireland needs to be more fully understood as a variable of quality, social justice and democratic practices across the full scope and sequence of the teacher continuum and as a prerequisite component in all teacher leadership programmes.