Factor Structure and Construct Validity of the Counselor Skills Personal Development Rating Form

The authors completed an exploratory factor analysis of the scores of 248 counselors‐in‐training on the Counselor Skills Personal Development Rating Form (CSPD‐RF; M. B. Wilbur, 1991). Participants' counseling program was accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs at a midsize western university. The authors of the CSPD‐RF hypothesized that the CSPD‐RF measured 2 factors: (a) personal development and (b) skills development. Factor analysis yielded 4 factors (Emotional Sensitivity, Basic Listening Skills, Multicultural Skills, and Influencing Skills), accounting for 58.4% of the total variance, thus providing some support for the construct validity of the CSPD‐RF.     

I,Teacher: re‐territorialization of teachers’ multi‐faceted agency in globalized education

Analysis of teachers’ agency as multifarious change, embedded in educational reform in the global era, stands largely unexamined in educational policy. Although the concept of teachers as agents has political implications, beyond this, examining teachers’ agency offers ways of describing and reviewing changes to teachers’ work and relations within evolving education systems. Local systems draw from globally orientated education policies, which continue to influence to the way that local systems redesign education. In the global context, education systems are complex interactions between structure and agency, evidenced as ‘multiplicity undergoing change’. In other words, there is dynamic and dialectic interplay between structure and agency. Teachers’ agency, germane to dynamic interplay, means that teachers are not only engaging in the reproduction of structural change aligning globalization‐driven reforms to their work and practice, but also, in adapting and reacting to new structural conditions, they are transformed through their actions. In this paper, the focus becomes teachers’ agency as a framework for understanding how teachers are redesigned and reassembled to do things differently within restructured education systems. Finally, the discussion considers the possible consequences of teachers work and practice, given teachers’ agency relative to the macro policy of superfigures and the transitional national/global structures.     

The effects of group composition on achievement,interaction, and learning efficiency during computer-based cooperative instruction

This study investigated the effects of cooperative group composition, student ability, and learning accountability on achievement, interaction, and instructional efficiency during computer-based instruction. A total of 125 sixth- and seventh-grade students were randomly assigned to heterogeneous or homogeneous dyads. Groups were designated as having either group or individual account-ability for mastery of lesson content. Cooperative dyads completed a tutorial on a novel symbolic mathematics topic, featuring basic symbol learning and application of the symbols. Indicators of ongoing cooperation were collected during instruction. Five days later, students completed a posttest. Low-ability students interacted more and completed the instruction more efficiently in heterogeneous than in homogeneous groups. High-ability students completed the instruction more efficiently in homogeneous than in heterogeneous groups. Cooperation was significantly related to achievement for heterogeneous ability groups, but not for either homogeneous high- or low-ability students.     

Constructivism and science education: Some epistemological problems

The paper outlines the significant influence of constructivism in contemporary science and mathematics education and emphasizes the central role that epistemology plays in constructivist theory and practice. It is claimed that constructivism is basically a variant of old-style empiricist epistemology, which had its origins in Aristotle's individualist and sense-based theory of knowledge. There are well-known problems with empiricism from which constructivism appears unable to dissociate itself.     

Education research and the natural sciences: What can be learned from chaos theory?

This article explores some aspects of the relationship between education research and the natural sciences. It begins by pointing out that empirical or positivist science of the Modern era has had a powerful influence on the method and on the products of education research. From there the article moves to discuss the post modern sciences of the current era and speculative examples are given of the way they too may influence the method and the products of education research. In conclusion it is argued that this can and will occur as both education research and post modern science inhabit the same cultural and epistemological field.     

The Role of Visual Indicators in Dual Sensory Mode Instruction

Advances in our knowledge of the structure of working memory suggest that under some circumstances, effectively more processing capacity is available to learners if instructional materials use multiple information modes (e.g. auditory and visual) instead of equivalent single mode formats. This paper examined this modality effect from a cognitive load perspective in three experiments using geometry instruction. In accordance with cognitive load theory, it was predicted that the additional processing capacity provided in an audio/visual format would only enhance learning if mental resources were not devoted to extensive visual based search in order to coordinate auditory and visual information. Using two different areas of geometry, Experiments 1 and 2 found that if visual search was clearly high, then audio‐visual instruction was only beneficial if visual indicators in the form of electronic flashing were incorporated into the instructional format. Under high search conditions, a standard audio/visual format without the aid of flashing proved no better than visual only instruction. Experiment 3 attempted to clarify earlier results by using instructional materials trivially low in visual search. Data indicated that a standard, audio‐visual format resulted in superior learning to a visual only format. There was no beneficial effect of electronic flashing in Experiment 3, suggesting that visual indicators were not necessary in areas of low visual search. It was concluded that cognitive load as determined by visual search established the effectiveness of visual indicators.     

Support provision for students with Special Educational Needs in Irish Primary Schools

The provision of support for students with special educational needs in schools is seen as a critical factor in the development of inclusive education. The means through which support is provided, continues to be based upon assumptions that individualized learning approaches may remediate learning difficulties. This paper reports findings from a longitudinal study of provision for students with special educational needs conducted in The Republic of Ireland. The authors identify in‐class and withdrawal approaches to support and consider the impact and efficacy of these. It is suggested that the withdrawal of students from class continues to be a dominant model, and that this approach has limitations and may not be conducive to the promotion of inclusive practice. Drawing upon data obtained through interviews with service users (students and parents/carers), and service providers (teachers, paraprofessionals, principals), and those gained from a national survey, the authors present the authentic voices of individuals to illustrate the experiences and opinions of those directly involved in special education in schools.