We Got Soul: Exploring Contemporary Black Women Educators’ Praxis of Politicized Care

In this critical case study, I draw on endarkened feminist epistemology and a legacy of politicized womanist care to explore how three contemporary black women educators in New York City public schools enact a spiritual and politicized care rooted in their understandings of the sociopolitical contexts where their students live and learn. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed to reveal a praxis of politicized care characterized by three main components: (1) Soulful and politicized purpose driving high expectations; (2) Building relationships through vulnerability, encouragement, communication, and recognition; and (3) Redefining success and envisioning paths for the future. Examining such praxis provides insight into approaches educators can take to create connections with students that are responsive to their material lives and helps them feel grounded in their educational and professional pursuits.     

Strategic leadership for large‐scale reform: the case of England's national literacy and numeracy strategy

Both ‘strategic’ and ‘distributed’ forms of leadership are considered promising responses to the demands placed on school systems by large‐scale reform initiatives. Using observation, interview and survey data collected as part of a larger evaluation of England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, this study inquired about sources of leadership, the distribution of leadership functions across roles and how such distribution could also provide the strategic coordination necessary for successful implementation of such an ambitious reform agenda     

Discourses of ‘indiscipline’: a Foucauldian response

Abstract

A recent editorial in the Scottish Educational Journal, the publication of the teacher trade union the Educational Institute of Scotland, headed 'More action, not words needed on discipline', condemned the level of indiscipline, violence and aggression in Scottish schools - in particular that directed against teachers - and criticized the government for its lack of action in tackling the problem. This article examines the way arguments such as this position the individual as 'deviant’ within educational systems. It discusses the importance of metaphor in organizing our perceptions and suggests that an analysis of power relations in schools could give rise to alternative metaphorical concepts that may help to promote the inclusion of children whose behaviour is deemed to be unacceptable.     

One Hundred Strong: A Colloquium on Transforming Natural History Museums in the Twenty‐first Century

In February 2012, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) convened 100 colleagues from 43 organizations to initiate a collaborative learning research agenda focused on examining important areas for innovation to better serve twenty‐first‐century audiences. The conference organizers anticipated that scientists, educators, exhibit professionals, and other members of the natural history community would identify and prioritize research questions about what, how, why, when, and where people learn about natural history. We prepared to engage in a conversation about how natural history museums could change what they do. The participants' overwhelming passion for their work, and for natural history museums and their transformative potential for society, quickly turned the conversation toward how natural history museums should change what they are. The result was an emergent learning research agenda situated within a broader vision for natural history museums.     

LibQUAL Revisited: Further Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Survey Results at the University of Mississippi

This paper updates an earlier 2010 longitudinal study of LibQUAL qualitative and quantitative data from the University of Mississippi libraries with an additional year of LibQUAL data, collated with other library-collected data such as gate-count numbers. In doing so, it identifies several results that are not satisfactorily analyzed by LibQUAL, and it concludes that a more specialized local survey may be helpful to supplement or supplant LibQUAL.     

ERM on a Shoestring—Workshop Summary Report

Commercial electronic resource management systems are complex and expensive. Alternative solutions to e-resource management were discussed by Dalene Hawthorne and Jennifer Watson in their presentation entitled “ERM on a Shoestring,” at the Seventh Annual E-resource Workshop held at Mississippi State University on July 20, 2007. University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) uses a combination of Blackboard, Filemaker and MySQL databases to keep track of their licenses and invoices for electronic resources. Emporia State University (ESU) uses their ILS to manage license agreements. The presentation covers the benefits of each option and practical information for setting up an electronic resource management system.     

ERM on a Shoestring: Betting on an Alternative Solution

Some libraries are not ready, willing, or able to make a big commitment to an expensive electronic resources management system. But, with a bit of creativity and flexibility, librarians can come up with alternatives that will effectively manage the information they need at little or no additional cost. Although makeshift solutions may not be ideal, presenters Jennifer Watson and Dalene Hawthorne stress the importance of getting started with the task of gathering information about one's electronic resources in some workable way and using whatever tools are available.     

Taking the Mountain to Mohammed: The Effect of Librarian Visits to Faculty Members on Their use of the Library

Much has been written on liaison programs and faculty perceptions thereof, but little has been written on the effectiveness of specific liaison activities. This article contains the results of a survey that asked faculty to indicate whether meeting individually with a librarian changed their use of library services and resources. Although it was sent to only a small number of faculty (30), 40% of those who were contacted responded to the survey. Of those who responded, 92% indicated that meeting with a librarian had increased their use of at least one library resource or service.