Understanding the 9/11 Commission archive: control, access, and the politics of manipulation

This article examines a range of issues surrounding the archive developed by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known and the ??9/11 Commission.?? We provide a partial biography of the 9/11 Commission??s archival record as it was being assembled. This contemporaneous analysis of the politics surrounding this archive during its formative stage lends insights into the political and power dynamics shaping this archive. We review how the public record and public knowledge of 9/11 were shaped by the processes surrounding the accretion of this archive by charting records access and control controversies before, during, and years after the Commission submitted its final report. Despite claims from all sides that what was needed was an unfiltered, non-partisan and accurate review of what went wrong and how it went wrong, the story we outline underscores that the composition, accumulation, access to, and control of the archival record surrounding 9/11 was shaped as much by political concerns over blame and responsibility (and evading it) as it was by good faith efforts to get to the heart of the matter. In the charged atmospherics of modern US politics, custodial power over the record and access to it was used to prevent political embarrassment and to submerge??as opposed to surface??basic facts. Those with powers over access were not willing to risk having the documentary record either accessed or analyzed in a truly independent manner. This does not bode well, and in fact represents a deeper structural reality that will confound similar future governmental investigations that require access from those it is investigating. There is no reason to doubt that, absent a seismic shift in how the record is maintained and controlled, the archive will continue to be used as a means to shape and interfere with legitimate inquiries.     

When you’re smiling: exploring how teachers motivate and engage learners in the further education sector

This paper is based on a one-year research project in the UK designed to investigate teachers’ strategies for motivating learners and managing non-compliant behaviour in the further education sector. Carried out in collaboration with 203 teachers in three colleges of further education, the inquiry set out to identify, through the use of observations and focus groups, the learner behaviours most commonly identified by teachers as ‘challenging’, and the methods teachers employ to successfully address these. It also sought to capture teachers’ theories about the possible causes of non-engagement, with a view to incorporating findings about both theorising and practice into sessions for initial teacher training and continuing professional development. Drawing on these data, this paper suggests that lack of motivation in the 14–19 age group is a common phenomenon across this range of colleges, manifesting in behaviours such as lack of punctuality, failure to submit coursework and refusal to remain on task; and that experienced teachers are no more effective in managing such behaviours than teachers new to the profession. The implications in terms of teacher education and development are discussed in the final section, which points to evidence that, although positive teacher–learner interaction is found to be productive in addressing the immediate symptoms of disengagement, participants in the study consider the root causes to lie beyond their control.     

Early Childhood Preservice Teachers' Use of Verbal and Non-Verbal Guidance Strategies Across Classroom Contexts

Observations of preservice teachers often lack information about specific strategies they use when guiding children's behavior. This study investigated how preservice teachers used verbal and non-verbal behavior modification techniques within structured and transition classroom contexts. Using an on-the-mark 20-second observe and 10-second record method, eleven preservice teachers were observed in classrooms for two morning hours. A repeated measures MANOVA revealed two significant two-way interactions, which included types of modification techniques and types of contexts (Wilks's λ = .38, F(2, 9) = 7.37, p .05, Cohen's f = .88) and types of communication skills and types of contexts (Wilks's λ = .64, F(1, 10) = 5.53, p .05, Cohen's f = .74). Implications for future research and practice include more focused observations of preservice teachers and children's responses to various verbal and non-verbal strategies along with more education about how to use positive guidance strategies in real-life classroom situations.     

What we don't understand about teaching for understanding: Questions from science education

Recent changes in education in the UK seem to be contributing to an increasing prevalence of setting in comprehensive schooling. This paper charts the micropolitical history of ability grouping in the science department of a London comprehensive secondary school to show that issues of good pedagogic practice are at risk of becoming marginalized in the developing market culture if they appear to stand against market imperatives represented by the perceived requirements of 'valued' parents.     

Identity in science learning: exploring the attention given to agency and structure in studies of identity

This paper explores the ways in which the concept of identity has been conceptualised and studied within science education. The Personality and Social Structure Perspective is used to examine the attention paid by researchers to three levels of identity analysis: personality, interaction and social structure. Tracing the development of science identity studies and the resulting body of literature reveals that most authors have focused their attention on aspects of identity related to individual agency to the exclusion of issues of social structure. This paper argues that this attention is related to the position of communities of practice as the dominant theoretical framework for identity studies and argues that researchers need to consider broader frameworks that encourage the integration of ideas at all three levels of analysis. Broadened methodological approaches, including mixed methods, are also advocated as a way to increase consideration of the level of social structure.     

Programming-languages as a conceptual framework for teaching mathematics

Formal mathematical methods remain, for most high school students, mysterious, artificial and not a part of their regular intuitive thinking. The authors develop some themes that could lead to a radically new approach. According to this thesis, the teaching of programming languages as a regular part of academic progress can contribute effectively to reduce formal barriers. This education can also be used to enable pupils to access an accurate understanding of some key mathematical concepts. In the field of heuristic knowledge for technical problem solving, experience of programming is no less valuable: it lends itself to promote a discussion of relations between formal procedures and the comprehension of intuitive problem solving and provides examples for the development of heuristic precepts (formulating a plan, subdividing the complexities, etc.). The knowledge gained in programming can also be used for the discussion of concepts and problems of classical mathematics. Finally, it can also facilitate the expansion of mathematical culture to topics in biological and physical sciences, linguistics, etc. The authors describe a programming language called ‘Logo’ adapted to objectify an enduring framework of mathematical experimentation.     

Executing the mentally ill: The criminal justice system and the case of Alvin Ford and the death penalty and racial bias: Overturning supreme court assumptions

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the benefits and detriments of student internships in criminal justice programs that grant a baccalaureate degree. The authors reviewed contemporary literature and studies of internships for liberal arts majors in general and for criminal justice students in particular. Subjects addressed include selection criteria for students' eligibility, orientation of students before the internship, agency selection, the standard of care expected of faculty supervising students, techniques of maintaining the standard of care, benefits to academic departments, students and agencies, and legal liabilities of internships.     

Staff Development Needs of Public Community College Department/Division Chairpersons

Abstract

No administrative position appears to be more pivotal in facilitating grassroots change in the community college than that of the department or division chairperson. However, no one, until the present effort, has systematically assessed two-year college chairpersons to determine what they perceive their staff development needs to be. The results of the present study indicate that preservice and inservice training received by chairpersons was generally nominal, and that self-improvement activity appears weak. Further, the respondents reported extensive and serious needs related to knowledge of the community college, managerial skills, personnel matters, administrative matters, curriculum and instruction, student personnel services, and some 18 other possible training needs ranging from the law and higher education to the effective use of a secretary. Chairpersons were also asked to indicate what they consider to be the most convenient times and conditions for inservice training. They suggest that they would seek out substantially more training than they do if better funding, time, and site configurations were made available. Finally, concrete recommendations are made to increase the availability of training of two-year college chairpersons.     

CREDENTIALS NEEDED FOR TEACHING BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Biology and chemistry instructors at 50 institutions within th North Carolina Community College System were surveyed concerning the types of courses they teach, the diversity of students in their courses, their own academic preparation, how they would have altered their academic preparation for their current position, their preceived value of secondary school teaching in their current position, and additional comments about preparation for teaching in the community college. Personel officers at these institutions were surveyed on degrees they require for hiring biology and chemistry instructors, additional qualifications they seek in instructors, and whether they believe secondary school teaching experience to be of benefit for someone considering a community college teaching position.

Major concerns in hiring an instructor are a stong academic preparation in the teaching field and a second major or minor in a related science field. An additional concern is the ability to address the special needs of the diverse student population found in the community college setting. The instructors suggest that programs in science education can help teachers improve their instructional techniques, and 7 6% of the instructors who have taught in secondary schools indicate that this experience had been beneficial in their community college teaching.