IDENTITY AND SCHOOL HISTORY: THE PERSPECTIVE OF YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE NETHERLANDS AND ENGLAND

ABSTRACT:  The article presents the findings from a survey of over 400 young people in metropolitan areas in the Netherlands and England concerning their views on identity and school history. The research explored pupils' ideas about which facets of history were of interest to them, what history they believed should be taught in schools, and their views on the purposes of school history and history in general. The coding of the data made it possible to delineate between those from different ethnic minority backgrounds, boys and girls, age and level of education and first or second generation of migration. The study revealed significant differences between young people's ideas about history and identity, and those advanced by politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands, England and elsewhere. The concluding section of the paper considers the implications of the findings for policy makers in the field of history education in schools.     

School Improvement in a neo‐liberal world

This paper uses the concept of paradigm to examine the current state of School Improvement and its relationship to quantitative School Effectiveness studies. It argues that a significant and explicit paradigm change occurred in the early 1990s, resulting in a managerialist approach; a reductionist use of the concept culture; and an inadequate response to the challenges of poverty and under‐achievement. Some arguments are presented to show how this paradigm relates to a broader neo‐liberal context, and an alternative paradigm is outlined.     

The role of school psychologists in the assessment,prevention, and intervention of cyberbullying

Many school‐aged children have experienced the cruelty of bullying. The impact and effects of bullying have been described extensively in scholarly literature. Unfortunately, the impact of bullying has also made contemporary headlines with the recent rash of school shootings and other forms of school‐based violence. The current body of students brings an additional threat to bullying. Due to their sophisticated use of technology, today's students are using contemporary delivery systems to taunt, tease, and threaten their classmates. Cyberbullying is the newest form of bullying, and it brings additional challenges for school personnel. Because of the unique aspects of cyberbullying, school psychologists need strategies to guide school communities faced with this threatening behavior. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The relationship of time orientation with perceived academic performance and preparation for assessment in adolescents

The purpose of this study was to operationalise a model of time orientation and investigate the variability of its factors based on preparation for assessment and perceived academic performance. Responses from 113 male adolescents (mean age = 16.46 years) and 115 female adolescents (mean age = 16.42 years) to items operationalising an expanded model of the contextual approach to adolescent orientation to the future were analysed using principal component analysis. The results rendered five factors including a past orientation, three present orientation factors (task focus, positive social support, and negative social support), and a future orientation. A series of two‐way ANOVAs showed an association of present and future time orientation with academic achievement. Results also showed that students’ approaches to learning varied mainly as a function of present positive social support and task focus. Students who prepared well for assessment had the highest future time orientation. This research highlights the importance of an elevated present and future time orientation to academic achievement and appropriate preparation for assessment tasks.     

Theorising the academic viva in higher education: the argument for a qualitative approach

The argument made in this essay is that it is necessary to theorize a form of assessment—the academic viva in higher education. It is threatened with extinction because of its high cost compared with written exams, multiple choice and other forms of assessment. However, little empirical research, both in Norway and internationally, has been undertaken to reveal what is actually going on in the viva. This has partly been because it has been difficult to gain access to systematically observe the viva examination as it takes place. In the qualitative research presented by the author, on the higher education viva in Norway, permission was obtained to film a number of master’s in education vivas where candidates defended 50,000‐word dissertations. Three research questions were asked: how was the viva talked into being, what kinds of judgements were made by examiners, and, lastly, what would a validity argument look like for the viva? Answering these research questions moves some way to proposing a theory of the viva and hence providing a foundation for determining whether its continued existence is legitimate, at least from a theoretical and qualitatively researched point of view.     

Assessment matters: In search of the wizard of assessment

At first, the shift in measurement of educational success from bodies in seats to learning outcomes sent student affairs educators at California State University, Northridge, into a panic. Persistence, support, and a clear framework for understanding learning led to the discovery that there was a little bit of assessment wizard in all of them.     

Relaxation and guided imagery as an intervention for children with asthma: A replication

Asthma is a pervasive inflammatory disorder of the bronchial airways that causes the normal functioning of the airways to become overreactive. This disorder affects approximately 8 million children in schools per year and accounts for a significant amount of absences. Researchers have speculated that pharmacological interventions are alone insufficient or overaggressive in treating asthma, and numerous studies have demonstrated a connection between emotions and asthma. It has therefore been suggested that psychological interventions may be appropriate for this population. One such intervention, relaxation and guided imagery (RGI), that incorporates mental representations as well as the senses in a process of relaxing all the parts of the body has been shown to be effective with children with asthma. The current study served as a replication and extension of this previous research. The purpose of the investigation was to examine the effectiveness of RGI with an elementary school sample as well as determine the overall improvement in happiness, anxiety, and quality of life of the participants. Results demonstrated that RGI significantly improved the lung functioning of 3 out of 4 participants in the study. Furthermore, overall happiness improved for 1 participant in the study, state anxiety decreased for 2 of the 4 participants, and trait anxiety decreased for all 4 participants. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 707–720, 2005.