Bully/Victim Problems Among Preschool Children: a Review of Current Research Evidence

Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short- and long-term effects on children’s psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999; Ttofi and Farrington, Aggressive Behav 34(4):352–368, 2008). Entering kindergarten is a crucial developmental step in many children’s lives mainly because it is within this context where they participate, for the first time, as members in a stable peer group and well-organized team activities. Consequently, preschool may be the first context beyond the home environment where children’s difficulties in social interactions with peers can be primarily detected and assessed by adults and professionals. This paper reviews recent empirical evidence over the nature and different aspects of bullying among preschool children. Recent findings concerning the development of preschool bullying and its prevalence, family and genetic factors, gender and age differences, participant and peripheral roles, school context, methodological issues, and prevention policies are reviewed while directions for future research are addressed.     

Person-centred reviews and transition: an exploration of the views of students and their parents/carers

The person-centred review (PCR) is a model for the review of a student’s special educational needs (SEN) which places the young person and their family at the centre of the process. This mixed-methods, exploratory study investigated the views of 16 students with SEN aged between 10–11 years (Year 6) and 13–14 years (Year 9), and their parents/carers on their PCRs (which were mostly held at transition). Attention was paid to potential changes in the young people’s locus of control and feelings towards school. Findings indicated that the PCR is a collaborative, constructive and reassuring process for families where a wealth of information is shared openly and honestly within a relaxed, yet structured, meeting. The young people were generally positive about the process, although many felt daunted beforehand. Some parents felt the meeting was too long and not entirely accessible to children. The study did not conclude that the young people’s locus of control or feelings towards their education changed following the PCR. Implications for good practice are discussed, particularly for educational psychologists and in the context of the SEN and Disability Code of Practice.     

Students’ Views Regarding their Participation in University Governance: Implications for Distributed Leadership in Higher Education

The paper examines the views of students regarding the extent of their participation in the management of their university and their satisfaction with the degree of this participation. After an examination of the literature on student participation in university governance, the author presents the results of a survey based on data collected from 135 students of the University of Cyprus in 2002. According to the findings, respondents believed that their involvement in the management of their institution was very limited. This applied to both high and low levels of decision making, even though respondents recognised that their input was greater in less important decisions. The perceived limited involvement resulted in feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction among students, with the majority of respondents demanding a higher level of participation for all three decision making situations considered in the study. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for the practice of distributed leadership at contemporary universities, with emphasis on the need to abandon outdated leadership models. Specifically, it proposes measures for increasing student participation in university governance in the framework of a distributed leadership approach designed to empower the key stakeholders of higher education.     

School experience,relational justice and legitimation of institutional

This study analysis the relationship between perceptions of the justice of teacher’ behaviour and (a) the legitimation of school authority and (b) the legitimation of institutional authorities outside school. 448 adolescent students participated in the study. In questionnaire participants were asked about (a) perceptions of the justice of teachers’ behaviour; (b) evaluation of the school experience; and (c) evaluation of institutional authorities. Results show that the evaluation of the justice of teacher behaviour, in particular relational and procedural justice, have an impact on the legitimation of the authority of teachers and on the evaluation of institutional authorities outside school. Results also show that the legitimacy granted to teachers is a mediator variable between perceptions of justice in school and evaluation of authorities outside school. These results are discussed in the context of the studies on the relationship between school experience and adolescents attitudes towards authorities, and in the framework of the “Relational Model of Authority” and of the “Group Value Model”.     

Comparing Crosscutting Practices in STEM Disciplines

Science & Education - In the literature, there are multiple definitions of integrated STEM education, resulting in ambiguity and uncertainty of application. A firm conception of integrated STEM...     

Digital archives in the cloud: Collective memory,institutional histories and the politics of information

The archive is a cultural institution that creates a framework for the social and collective memory and as such is one of the collection of knowledge institutions that not only preserves and classifies “texts” but uses them to re-create collective memory and sometimes to invent cultural histories. Like all knowledge institutions, the archive is also a construction deeply implicated in knowledge politics or what Foucault calls power/knowledge. In the past the archive has functioned as a central metaphor for the construction of human knowledge in all it is different institutional forms and like the encyclopedia and the camera, the archive produces highly coded representations that make implicit validity claims to the truth and justice of the past. Politically speaking, those who control the archive control the past. In the digital world, the archive is used to describe a machine-readable location as a store for “data” and “information.” Digital technologies radically alter our existing institutions, making access to their embedded knowledge widely available and enable learning and research anytime, anywhere. Data analytics algorithmically can manipulate electorates and entire democracies in new ways, while destabilising the free press. This article asks what digitizing an archive means for collective memory, for the history of institutions and for politics in the Cloud.     

一生的朋友

天下无不散之筵席,校园生活的终点就是各奔前程。那曾经拥有的万般思绪,是飞扬还是在沉默中淡忘?本刊从第8期开始征集校园生活的原创作品,中英文皆可,篇幅在500-1000字。