In the Midst of Doubled Imaginaries: The Pacific Community as Diversity and as Difference

How shall we understand the signified "community" as in a Pacific Community? Conventional understanding of "community" privileges community understood as diversity, a collective of multiple identifiers of cultures and nations (as in multiculturalism or multinationalism). Postcolonialists, like Stuart Hall and Homi Bhabha, claim that such imaginary is inscribed in "democractic liberalism," suppressing, concealing, and containing the imaginary of "community as difference." In this article, the author calls upon readers to move boldly into the interspace midst these two imaginaries, and claims that though it is a site of ambiguity, ambivalence, and uncertainty, it may be a site of generative possibilities and hope for newness, a site of becoming in struggle.     

Students’ Perceptions of Coursework in the GCSE: the effects of gender and levels of attainment

Summary Coursework is an integral part of the GCSE framework, valued for its motivational qualities and its curricular validity. It is a common perception, widely reported in the national press and educational media, that coursework can be held at least partly accountable for differential performances at GCSE; coursework, it is argued, advantages girls. This article reports on an analysis of data arising from a project which offered an opportunity to study current and post-GCSE students’ perceptions of coursework. The outcomes indicate that, when categorised by their relative levels of attainment, girls’ and boys’ perceptions show limited evidence of homogeneity. In other words, to suggest that girls’ and boys’ perceptions of coursework are a function of gender is a gross over-simplification. Other factors are at play and further, more specific and tailored research is essential if we are to understand how best to optimise the benefits that are claimed for coursework.     

Educating students with FASD: linking policy,research and practice

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD ) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disability with significant implications for learning and behaviour. International research suggests that the prevalence of FASD in school‐aged children is 2.3–6.3%. In this paper, we address the questions: (1) what is FASD ; (2) what is the prevalence of FASD in schools; (3) what is the impact of FASD ; and (4) why develop special FASD education strategies and programmes? We summarise the 18‐year history of W innipeg S chool D ivision's development of its FASD P rogramme of services, describe the specialised FASD classrooms and then present the results from a consensus‐generating workshop comprised of 36 FASD education professionals, with over 209 years of collective FASD education programme experience, who were asked to identify and reach consensus on best strategies and lessons learned in FASD education programmes. We then suggest that effectively educating children with FASD is critical to get right if positive educational outcomes are to be realised.     

An Investigation of the Effectiveness of an Evaluation Instrument Designed for Use with Modular Masters Courses in a Range of International Contexts

In a previous paper the construction of an instrument designed to be of use in the evaluation of modular Masters courses for teachers and administrators in international schools was described. Initial impressions of the efficacy of the instrument were encouraging, and its use was extended in a number of ways within the scheme of continuing professional development organised through the Centre for the study of Education in an International Context at the University of Bath. In particular, the evaluation model was extended to three different modules taught in an increased number of Study Centre locations, by different tutors, to groups of different sizes and composition. Under such a range of conditions the question arises of parity of quality in the delivery of the modules, and the usefulness of the evaluation instrument in contributing to an assessment of the quality of teaching and learning was explored. This paper describes the results of an investigation undertaken to test the robustness of the instrument with respect to both the increased range of dimensions involved and the level of detail possible. The outcomes confirm initial impressions of the overall value of the instrument in assessing general levels of satisfaction expressed by participants with respect to a variety of course features, but also indicate the ways in which it could be employed as a tool to evaluate the relative contributions to overall success made by a set of components concerned with the content of the modules, the teaching arrangements, support for participants and the relevance of the modules to the educational work of those taking part.     

An evaluation of outcomes following the replacement of traditional histology laboratories with self‐study modules

Changes in medical school curricula often require educators to develop teaching strategies that decrease contact hours while maintaining effective pedagogical methods. When faced with this challenge, faculty at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine converted the majority of in‐person histology laboratory sessions to self‐study modules that utilize multiple audiovisual modalities and a virtual microscope platform. Outcomes related to this shift were investigated through performance on in‐house examinations, results of the United States Medical Licensing Examination^® (USMLE^®) Step 1 Examination, and student feedback. Medical School College Admissions Test^® (MCAT^®) scores were used as a covariate when comparing in‐house examinations. Results revealed no significant change in performance on in‐house examinations when the content being assessed was controlled (F(2, 506) = 0.676, P = 0.51). A significant improvement in overall practical examination grade averages was associated with the self‐study modules (F(6, 1164) = 10.213, P < 0.01), but gradual changes in examination content may explain this finding. The histology and cell biology portion of USMLE Step 1 Examination remained consistent throughout the time period that was investigated. Student feedback regarding the self‐study modules was positive and suggested that features such as instructor narrated videos were an important component of the self‐study modules because they helped recreate the experience of in‐person laboratory sessions. Positive outcomes from the student perspective and no drop in examination performance suggests that utilizing self‐study modules for histology laboratory content may be an option for educators faced with the challenge of reducing contact hours without eliminating content. Anat Sci Educ 10: 276–285. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

Research on technology and teacher education: Current status and future directions

Within the context of a brief history of information technology in teacher education (ITTE), current research on ITTE is reviewed. It is argued that ITTE research can be categorized into three paradigms: empirical, critical, and interpretive. The need for a clear, multi-paradigmatic approach for future work is emphasized. Examples of exemplary work are cited. Conclusions suggest needs for more sharing of information of “islands of excellence” in work on technology in teacher education, more case studies on diffusion of innovation, more emphasis on bias-related findings from critical theory, and more development and dissemination of resources and tools for using technology effectively in teacher education. Recommendations for further work in the area also include emphasizing instructional design (ID) work to create innovations and recognizing the need for grounded, reflective papers on innovative approaches that have been implemented and studied over several years.     

Deviant Peer Factors During Early Adolescence: Cause or Consequence of Physical Aggression?

This study investigated reciprocal relations between adolescents' physical aggression and their perceptions of peers' deviant behaviors and attitudes. Analyses were conducted on four waves of data from 2,290 adolescents (ages 10–16) from three urban middle schools. Autoregression models revealed reciprocal relations between peer factors (i.e., friends' problem behavior, peer pressure for fighting, friends' support for fighting) and adolescents' reporting of their aggressive behavior. Bidirectional relations were also found between peer pressure for fighting and adolescents' frequency of physical aggression based on teacher ratings. Findings were consistent across sex, grade, and time. Findings suggest that multiple dimensions of peers' behaviors uniquely play a role in the development of adolescents' aggression and have important implications for interventions to reduce problem behaviors.