The emerging fourth tier in K-12 education finance in British Columbia,Canada: increasing privatisation and implications for social justice

This paper examines increasing privatisation of education in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Conceptually, the paper is informed by theories of privatisation and social justice; and methodologically, it uses policy analysis to examine documents and financial records obtained from government departments. The paper critically analyses education policy that has enabled the emergence of private sources of revenue (tuition fees and for-profit revenue) and the establishment of school and programme choice. Analysis of levels of international student tuition generated by school districts in the province reveals differential capacity to produce such revenue. The authors argue that this differential capacity is leading to the development of a fourth tier within a pre-existing three-tier K-12 education system in British Columbia. The article concludes with a discussion of implications related to social justice in education.     

Need for approval and antisocial behavior moderate the effect of socioemotional cues on adolescent girls’ cognitive control

To examine whether need for approval (NFA) and antisocial behavior (ASB) moderate the effects of socioemotional stimuli on cognitive control, 88 girls (M_age = 16.31 years; SD = 0.84; 65.9% White) completed a socioemotional Go/No-go and questionnaires. At high approach NFA, girls responded more slowly during appetitive than control (b = −8.80, p < .01) and aversive (b = −5.58, p = .01) trials. At high ASB, girls responded more slowly (b = −6.12, p = .02) and less accurately (OR = 1.11, p = .03) during appetitive than aversive trials; at low ASB, girls responded more slowly during aversive than control trials (b = −4.42, p = .04). Thus, both context and individual differences influence adolescents' cognitive control.     

The emergence of a market-driven funding mechanism in K-12 education in British Columbia: creeping privatization and the eclipse of equity

Since 2002, British Columbia’s education system has undergone extensive change following amendments to the BC School Act (Bill 34). This article presents a critical analysis of policy changes to the K-12 education finance system, particularly the expansion of the legal capacity of school districts to create ‘school district business companies,’ a phenomenon that is unique within Canada. These companies enable public school districts to establish for-profit companies that operate at arm’s length from the school board, yet generate revenue from private sources to supplement government operational grants. This shift occurred in parallel with fiscal restraint measures that centralized control over the level of government funding while downloading inflationary and new costs to school boards. The result has been structural funding shortfalls for school districts across the province. Structural funding shortfalls, coupled with a push toward market-driven revenue generation, signaled to school districts that they needed to become more financially self-reliant. The authors argue that efficiency and adequacy (defined in financial terms) have eclipsed equity as priority values in BC education, and that ‘creeping privatization’ is undermining public support of public education. For the most part, these substantive changes have failed to stimulate a mass public outcry, and organized resistance comes from public sector unions.     

Teaching about queer families: surveillance,censorship, and the schooling of sexualities

In this paper, we investigate primary school teachers’ reflections on addressing the topic of same-sex families and relationships in their classrooms. Informed by queer theoretical and Foucauldian analytic approaches, we examine teachers’ potential use of texts, such as picture storybooks, which introduce representations of same-sex relationships and desire. By employing a case-study approach, our aim is to provide insights into the pedagogical decisions and the heteronormative conditions under which three teachers in the Australian context attempt to deal with the topic of same-sex families/relationships. Attention is drawn to the regulatory surveillance of the parental gaze and the silencing and marginalization of sexual identity issues in order to illuminate the ways in which the micro politics of teaching about queer families and relationships are inextricably linked to broader macro processes governing the institutionalizing influences of heteronormativity, heterosexism and homonegativity. Implications for teacher education are outlined.     

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You Call It-Heads or Tails？
When,fllippling a coin ,what is the probability of getting two talls and two heads in succession？     

Can markers detect contract cheating? Results from a pilot study

Contract cheating is the purchasing of custom-made university assignments with the intention of submitting them. Websites providing contract cheating services often claim this form of cheating is undetectable, and no published research has examined this claim. This paper documents a pilot study where markers were paid to mark a mixture of real student work and contract cheating assignments, to establish their accuracy at detecting contract cheating. Seven experienced markers individually blind marked the same bundle of 20 second-year psychology assignments, which included 6 that were purchased from contract cheating websites. Sensitivity analyses showed markers detected contract cheating 62% of the time. Specificity analyses showed markers correctly identified real student work 96% of the time. Our results contrast with contract cheating sites’ claims that contract cheating is undetectable. However, they should be taken with caution as they are from one course unit in one discipline.     

Effects of whey protein in carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks on post-exercise rehydration

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different amounts of whey protein in carbohydrate–electrolyte (CE) drinks on post-exercise rehydration. Ten males completed 5 trials in a randomised cross-over design. A 4-h recovery was applied after a 60-min run at 65% VO_2peak in each trial. During recovery, the participants ingested a high-carbohydrate CE drink (CE-H), a low-carbohydrate CE drink (CE-L), a high-whey-protein (33?g·L^?1) CE drink (CW-H), a medium-whey-protein (22?g·L^?1) CE drink (CW-M) or a low-whey-protein (15?g·L^?1) CE drink (CW-L) in a volume equivalent to 150% of their body mass (BM) loss. The drinks were provided in six equal boluses and consumed by the participants within 150?min in each trial. After exercise, a BM loss of 2.15%?±?0.05% was achieved. Urine production was less in the CW-M and CW-H trials during recovery, which induced a greater fluid retention in the CW-M (51.0%?±?5.7%) and CW-H (55.4%?±?3.8%) trials than in any other trial (p?p?p?p??1 in the current study.     

Social Inclusion of Children with Persistent Challenging Behaviors

Early Childhood Education Journal - Children in early childhood classrooms (i.e., preschool through early elementary) who engage in persistent challenging behaviors often show social-emotional...