Mapping Educational Opportunity Zones: A Geospatial Analysis of Neighborhood Block Groups

The author uses geospatial analysis to examine the “educational opportunity spaces” of two adjacent urban neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Organizing insights are gathered from Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological perspectives on human development, which posit that students are significantly impacted by multiple environmental systems—including their immediate family and school surroundings and several other mutually affective layers of systems. The author suggests that while school and district-based reform initiatives targeting “within school factors” clearly have direct and significant relevance on student performance, neighborhood and community factors are also worthy of consideration. Based on analyses of multiple block-level data, several recommendations are made toward the further integration of school and community-based practice.     

Incorporating English Language Teaching Through Science for K-2 Teachers

English learners are faced with the dual challenge of acquiring English while learning academic content through the medium of the new language (Lee et al. in J Res Sci Teach 45(6):726?C747, 2008; Stoddart et al. in J Res Sci Teach 39(8):664?C687, 2002) and therefore need specific accommodations to achieve in both English and the content areas. Teachers require higher quality and new forms of professional development to learn and meet the needs of their students. This study examines the impact of one professional development model that explicitly embedded language learning strategies into science inquiry lessons. It also demonstrates how teachers involved in the PD program improve their self-efficacy about language instruction embedded in content and how they interpret and implement the methodology.     

Responding to students' needs in special schools in Ireland and England: findings from two schools

As more students with special educational needs attend mainstream schools, it is critical that the role and operation of special schools be examined. This article reports on two case studies, one special school in England and one in Ireland, which formed part of a national review of the role of special schools and special classes in Ireland. Two students, in each case study school, were shadowed and observed during two‐day visits by the research team. These students, and everyone belonging to them, were interviewed and relevant documents were analysed. Findings are discussed in terms of responding to students' needs through: organization of teaching and learning, curriculum, leadership, specialist staff, collaboration and links outside the special school. The implications are considered with reference to research, policy and practice and the authors conclude that the evidence provides support for maintaining the special school as an integral part of the continuum of educational provision for students with special educational needs.     

Charles Dickens and his audience

The speaker‐audience relationship was of interest to Dickens throughout his life. This paper discusses his observations of other speakers and suggests reasons for his own remarkable rapport with his audiences.     

Studies on the use of fear appeals: A summary and analysis

While a number of studies have been concerned with the effects of varying intensities of fear appeals on audience response, interpretation of the findings poses a number of problems. The author summarizes some of the major research thus far conducted, analyzes several of the problems involved in interpreting the findings of these studies, and provides some tentative suggestions for fruitful approaches to the study of the effects of fear‐arousing appeals.     

What next? Three knowledge objectives for communication researchers

This essay identifies as knowledge objectives the need to (1) understand the interrelatedness of communicative contexts, (2) pinpoint more precisely the serial nature of communication, and (3) establish the relationship between laboratory and naturalist investigations