Theorising on-site teacher education: Philosophical Project Knowledge (PPK) 1

Working within the general framework of Habermas and Shulman, the research reported here probes new directions of teacher education and school–university partnerships. The paper presents preliminary evidence of the theorising of teaching practice by pre-service teachers and university staff as they work together with the praxis inquiry protocol and preliminary data regarding the generation of Philosophical Project Knowledge. The project attempts to open up the question of epistemological equity for lower socio-economic children in particular by describing and theorising practice involving pre-service teachers so that communities of practice are established in all classrooms. The research stance is one of democratic practitioner research so that generalised ideas emerge from professional practice and are embedded in the reality of classroom problems and experience. In adopting a general research methodology of autoethnography, the authors critically reflect on, analyse and change their own practice without being judgemental of others. Reported examples of practice are paraphrased and de-identified with protocols regarding privacy and confidentiality followed. Ongoing discussion of ethical conduct is a central aspect of self-critical professional practice.     

Creativity in Artistic Education: Introducing Artists into Primary Schools

Despite a more prominent role of arts education in the school curriculum, artistic creativity does not occur to a great extent in primary school practice. More opportunities for teachers to strengthen their know‐how in the field of artistic creativity can therefore be considered important. Arts education projects focus on pupils' development of creativity by means of introducing artists with their divergent working methods into primary schools. Beside fostering pupils' creative openness and skills, arts education organisations aim to transfer artistic enthusiasm to teachers in each project. Collaboration with artists can encourage teachers' artistic creative work. New working methods, techniques or ways of experimenting are more likely to be adopted in daily teaching practice when the project duration consists of several years. However, most projects are short‐lived and the means for a long‐term project policy are limited. Consequently, results in the area of sustainable outcomes concerning artistic creative work with teachers are limited. To create a long‐term view, the availability of financial resources is an important condition in order to realise a mentality change towards artistic creativity in education. Finally, continuing debate with several participants about making artistic creative work sustainable remains necessary.     

New ways of building,showcasing, and measuring scholarly reputation

The article reports on a study of the views and actions of nearly a hundred scholars – mostly academic researchers from four European countries and four disciplines – in regard to scholarly reputation in the Science 2.0 age. It specifically looks at the role that 'emerging reputational mechanisms and platforms are playing in building, maintaining, and showcasing scholarly reputation in the digital age. Popular examples of such platforms are ResearchGate and Academia.edu . Data were obtained through one‐to‐one interviews and focus groups, supported by desk research. The main findings were: (a) it is early days and uptake is light and patchy with platforms largely used for non‐reputational purposes, such as sharing documents; (b) most users were passive and did not fully engage with the social aspects of the platforms; (c) the reputational focus was very much on just one scholarly activity (research), on just two outputs of that activity (publications and conferences) and one measurement of that activity (citations), but there are the stirrings of change; (d) young researchers are set to profit most from the emerging platforms.     

Eco‐Webbing: A Teaching Strategy to Facilitate Critical Consciousness and Agency

Eco‐webbing is a teaching strategy that can be used to help counselor educators integrate a social justice focus into their courses. Preliminary data indicated increased critical consciousness and social justice agency as a result of using eco‐webbing with counseling students (N = 17). The authors provide implications for counselor educators and future research.     

A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players

ABSTRACT

Subjective and objective assessments may be used congruently when making decisions regarding player recruitment in soccer, yet there have been few attempts to examine the level of agreement between these methods. Therefore, we compare levels of agreement between subjective and objective assessments of physical qualities associated with youth soccer performance. In total, 80 male youth soccer players (13.2 ± 1.9 years), and 12 professional coaches volunteered to participate. Players were objectively assessed using five fitness measures: Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1; Countermovement vertical jump; Functional Movement Screen?; 5/20 m sprint; alongside anthropometric measures. Additionally, coaches subjectively rated each player on the same five physical qualities using 5-point Likert scales. Inter-rater agreement between ratings from lead and assistant coaches was established for each age group. Moreover, Bayesian regression models were fitted to determine how well coach ratings were able to predict fitness test performance. Although inter-rater agreement between lead and assistant coaches was moderate-to-substantial (ω = 0.48–0.68), relationships between coaches subjective rating’s and corresponding fitness test performance were only highly related for the highest and lowest performing players. We suggest that while ratings derived from objective and subjective assessment methods may be related when attempting to differentiate between distinct populations, concerns exist when evaluating homogeneous samples using these methods. Our data highlight the benefits of using both types of measures in the talent identification process.     

Supporting Refugee Distance Education: A Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT

The sudden influx of refugees into countries around the world has caused a complicated, multi-faceted, international refugee crisis. Refugees, whether in camps or urban areas, face a myriad of problems and obstacles, yet one of the most critical issues young refugees face is the lack of educational opportunities and/or resources. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund warns that this lack of education could potentially create a “lost generation” which may lead to serious implications, not only for these young refugees but also to surrounding, nearby societies. This paper seeks to understand if and how Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) have been reported in the literature as being used in different contexts to connect young refugees with high quality educational opportunities, and whether the urban or camp contexts impact these opportunities. The results of this review of the literature indicate that a number of different ICTs have successfully been used in a variety of different educational settings and for a variety of purposes. Additionally, where a refugee lives could impact the accessibility and nature of the ICT tools available to provide an education.     

Assessment and Feedback: Institutional Experiences of Student Feedback, 1996 to 2007

Attention has recently focused on sectoral concern with assessment and feedback as a result of the National Student Survey. Government, the higher education agencies and the NUS have called for urgent action to address this concern. Existing data from institutional student feedback surveys, using the Student Satisfaction Approach, some dating back well over a decade, shows that the issue is not a new one. Indeed, several institutions have been addressing student concerns and as a result, have seen student satisfaction increase.
This paper explores the existing student feedback data in order to identify not only how students' perceptions of assessment and feedback have changed over time but also the main concerns of students and institutions and what action has been taken by institutions to increase satisfaction.
Several main concerns emerge from the data. Students value feedback as it is re-assuring as an indication of their progress and that it should be timely. Institutions that have used the Student Satisfaction Approach are concerned to clarify their processes to students, to increase their own efficiency in returning work, to monitor and review their assessment and feedback régimes and to share good practice, both internally and externally. Action taken as a result of listening to the student voice results in increased satisfaction but this can take several years.     

Predicting resilience in sexually abused adolescents

This research examined factors that predicted resilience in sexually abused adolescents. Using Bronfenbrenner's Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) ecological model, this study considered the proximal and distal factors that would contribute to adolescents' reactions to sexual victimization. This correlational study used hierarchical regression analysis (n=237) with cross-sectional data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being Wave I (NSCAW, Dowd et al., 2002). This study found that school engagement, caregiver social support, hope and expectancy, caregiver education and SES predicted resilience. In line with the PPCT model, findings suggest that placing a greater emphasis on the contextual environment could improve support for adolescent resilience. Augmenting interventions that focus on individual change with those that address environmental factors may increase the benefits to adolescents affected by sexual abuse.