The Appraisal of Educational Psychologists: A very private affair

This paper presents the results of a survey into the use of appraisal in educational psychology services within Local Education Authorities in England and Wales. Based on the findings of the study, the current range of appraisal schemes in use within the educational psychology service are described. The way in which such schemes link with appraisal in the wider local authority context is considered, and an attempt is made to identify whether appraisal schemes used with educational psychologists have distinctive features and, if so, what those features are.     

Critical intercultural conversations: using activity systems analysis as a tool for educational ethnography

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the tensions that exist between the recognition of the importance of ethnicity and culture for individual and group identities without essentilisation, by reframing conceptualisations of multi- and interculturalism. Drawing from our ongoing ethnography conducted with a research community of Alaska Native PhD candidates involved in participatory action research, we examine how situated and multiple positionalities enacted through participation in Engeström’s concept of an ‘activity system’ can: (a) contribute to the ‘doing’ of ethnography and provide an analytic framework for ethnographic research; and, (b) contribute to understandings of multi- and intercultural education that promote the questioning of hierarchical power structures through dialogue aimed toward equity and social justice.     

Amnesia induced by hypothermia as a function of treatment-test interval and recooling in rats

In Experiment I, a repeated tests procedure was employed to assess hypothermia-induced amnesia of a footshock experience. Rats tested 4 h after training treatment showed no memory loss, but amnesia was present at 24 h. Although recovery of memory was obtained when the same animals were cooled 2 h prior to a 50-h test, repeated testing also tended to attenuate amnesia. In Experiment II, independent groups were tested at 6 or 50 h after training treatment. Again, memory of the footshock was present at the short, but not at the long, interval. Recooling shortly prior to the 50-h test eliminated amnesia. Experiment III indicated that the return of memory produced by recooling did not persist if testing was delayed. These findings suggested that hypothermia may function as an important contextual cue for memory retrieval.     

How evidence-based teaching practices are challenged by a Deweyan approach to education

The claim is made in this paper that the discourse of education offers a challenge to evidence-based practices because this latter approach is embedded in the discourse of management. Although claiming the status of being ‘scientific’, this latter development is drawn upon problematically by policy makers to provide the warrant for stipulating rules and procedures for ‘best practices’ to which educators are being held accountable. This paper shall draw mostly upon Dewey and is structured into three sections. The first section will attempt to explain the flaw in this evidence-based approach by providing a comparison between empiricism and science. Second, a review of Dewey's recommendation for educators to become more scientific in attitude will then follow, leading to the final section, in which the case will be made that educational practice needs to become as scientific, philosophical and democratic as possible in order for educators to resist being de-professionalised.     

This car seems to be alive – perspectives on the documentary, Plan F

Ed Marko redefines what it means to be not only an auto mechanic but also a person who is blind. At the age of 20 years, he lost his sight from a degenerative disease called infantile glaucoma. However, he has surpassed what we traditionally think of as the capabilities of blind people. Now in his late 60s, he was once a rehabilitation counsellor, but he also enjoyed working on cars. Then he decided to open his own shop, Community Car Care, in Columbus, Ohio. Plan F , a 27-minute documentary awarded the 2007 Oxford International Film Festival Award in cinematography and nominated for best short documentary at the Southern Winds Film Festival, takes us through a day in Ed's life as we watch him work on cars and interact with his partner Brad and his cat. Ed teaches us that one does not need to see to work on cars as he uses his fingers and tongue to manipulate bolts, nuts and bearings. The ways Ed navigates the auto shop demonstrate how he approaches life. If Plan A does not work, he moves on to Plan B. Flexibility and a sense of humour allow him to switch to a new plan when the first one does not work out. In this review of Plan F , we begin with summaries of the nine major scenes of the documentary, followed by reviews by a blind and a sighted person. The piece concludes with comments from the director.     

Undergraduates’ learning experience and learning process: quantitative evidence from the East

This article examines the construct validity of the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) in Hong Kong and investigates the similarities and differences in the process of learning among students in different disciplinary studies. It is based on a survey of 1,563 undergraduate students in two disciplines, humanities and sciences, and of principally Chinese ethnicity. Findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support the scale structure of the four subscales of a modified version of the CEQ (good teaching, clear goals and standards, appropriate work, and appropriate assessment) in a non-Western context and could provide a basis for cross cultural research and international benchmarking. While there was variation across subgroups, there was a genuine pattern of relationships between the perceptions of learning environment and learning strategies shown by structural modeling. This information could be used to inform the design of discipline-specific programs in the new curriculum.     

Transition, induction and goal achievement: first-year experiences of Hong Kong undergraduates

Educators worldwide are faced with challenges of understanding how undergraduates are making their school-to-university transition and becoming inducted into their academic discipline. A recent study investigated Hong Kong first-year Chinese students?? experiences of transition from school to university and induction into their discipline in relation to perceived course experiences, approaches to study and achievement of goals. Analysis of the survey data of this study indicates that although students reported transition difficulties, these were unrelated to perceptions of the course, approaches to study or achievement of goals. Students who reported good understanding of their discipline were those who achieved their goals, had a good course experience and adopted deeper study approaches. These findings suggested that rather than focusing mainly on tackling students?? transition difficulties, efforts of promoting a positive first-year experience for Chinese university students and facilitating their goals achievement should be oriented towards constructing a facilitative learning environment.     

Journalism

George E. Stevens and John B. Webster's Law and the Student Press (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1973---price not given, paper)

Jerome L. Nelson's Libel. A Basic Program for Beginning Journalists (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1973---price not given, paper)

Art of the Printed Book: 1455-1955 (New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1973---$20.00/11.00)

Bruce Buschel, Albert Robbins, William Vitta, and Rod Nordland's The Watergate File (New York: Quick Fox Inc., 33 West 60th St., 1973---$3.95, paper)