The effects of individual and group contingencies on reading performance of special education students

The effects of individual and group contingencies on the reading performance of 10 special education students were examined in a counterbalanced multiple-baseline design with experimental manipulations introduced at random. During the Baseline condition no consequences for accuracy in programmed reading were in effect. With the Group Contingency, pupils earned points based on accuracy and exchanged them for activity backup reinforcers based on the average performance of the group. During the Individual Contingency arrangement, the same point totals were awarded by yoking pupils to the group behavioral criteria. The results indicated superior accuracy (from 2 to 25%) with the Group Contingency by all 10 pupils. Student preferences as to the two contingency arrangements indicated a slight preference for the Group Contingency phase. A lack of negative peer comments was noted over the duration of the experiment. Results were also discussed in terms of ease of implementation of the group contingencies within an ongoing token economy in a classroom setting. Tentative reasons for the differing results of the present study and others were presented.     

‘It is the research of self experience’: feeling the value in action research

This article tells the story of an attempt to bring about major educational reform of the curriculum and educational values in Kazakhstan, using action research as part of that process. The article begins with a brief and selective review of the literature on aspects of emotion and moves to an account of the context and history of the reforms, before focusing on the ‘self experience’ of the participants and the authors. Emotion, its centrality and the interrelationship of three areas – the nature of teaching and teacher learning, the process of change and the experience of research – are explored in relation to reform and action research. The paper concludes with a reflection on the implications for the use of action research as a strategy for reform.     

Investigating trait emotional intelligence among school leaders: demonstrating a useful self-assessment approach

An exploratory study of two grammar schools in the South East of England is used to justify and demonstrate a self-assessed approach that investigates trait emotional intelligence (EI) among school leaders. First, the theoretical underpinnings of ability and trait EI approaches are critically compared based on recent relevant literature. Then the results from TEIQue-SF, a self-evaluation questionnaire, are presented and discussed. Finally, notwithstanding limitations of the study and the approach taken, we suggest that with further empirical research, a refined and usable self-assessed approach could be a useful way for practitioners to evaluate trait EI among school leaders in the future.