Functional Competence in Mathematics

Cognitive and educational researchers are paying increasing attention to the impact of instruction in the college classroom. Recent research has demonstrated that students' manipulated perceptions of control and success can impede or enhance the benefits of one effective teaching behavior, namely, instructor expressiveness. In this study, students' actual perceptions of control and success were assessed, rather than manipulated. In a simulated college classroom, students were classified into perceived control (low, high) and perceived success (low, high) categories based on their perceptions of control and success over their prelecture test performance. Students were presented with either unexpressive or expressive instruction; then they completed a postlecture achievement test and postachievement questionnaire. Under both instruction conditions, high-control/high-success students demonstrated the best achievement results, whereas, inconsistent with the hypotheses, students with low perceptions of control and high perceptions of success demonstrated the poorest academic performance and unique affects. These results are discussed in relation to the significance of individual differences across teaching conditions.     

The Relation of Career Indecision and Parental Attachment among Iranian Undergraduate Students

Career indecision particularly among college and undergraduate students is a concern of counselors and psychologists. This concern has led to numerous research studies related to career indecision and factors that influence it, such as family relationships. In this regard, several studies have reported a significant relationship between career indecision and parental attachment. However, little research has been undertaken on the influence of this factor in regard to career indecision for Iranian students. For this purpose, 158 Iranian freshmen and sophomores who had completed the ‘Career Decision Scale’ (Osipow et al., Journal of Vocational Behavior 9:233–243, 1976) and had been identified as career-undecided, completed the ‘Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment-Revised’ (Armsden & Greenberg, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 16:427–453, 1987). The results revealed that a significant negative relationship was found between career indecision and attachment to mother, whilst the relationship between career indecision and attachment to father was not significant. However, regression analysis showed parental attachment did not significantly predict career indecision of students. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.     

The acquisition of integrated science process skills in a web‐based learning environment

Web‐based learning is becoming prevalent in science learning. Some use specially designed programs, while others use materials available on the Internet. This qualitative case study examined the process of acquisition of integrated science process skills, particularly the skill of controlling variables, in a web‐based learning environment among grade 5 children. Data were gathered primarily from children’s conversations and teacher–student conversations. Analysis of the data revealed that the children acquired the skill in three phases: from the phase of recognition to the phase of familiarization and finally to the phase of automation. Nevertheless, the acquisition of the skill only involved the acquisition of certain subskills of the skill of controlling variables. This progression could be influenced by the web‐based instructional material that provided declarative knowledge, concrete visualization and opportunities for practise.     

Economic rationalism and the politics of education in Australia

Until the mid‐1970s, the politics of urban school desegregation concentrated almost exclusively on the attainment of some form of racial balance. The racial balance paradigm became the focal point for desegregation planners and for local, state and national dispute about ‘forced bussing’. However, in its 1977 Milliken II ruling, the Supreme Court added critical new elements to the urban school desegregation paradigm. By affirming a desegregation plan which included remedial education components in all‐minority schools, and which required state participation in financing these components, Milliken II heralded a new era of urban school desegregation. Resource issues and school effectiveness issues joined racial balance issues in the crucible of desegregation politics. In this chapter, the post‐Milliken politics of urban school desegregation are highlighted through examination of the St Louis and Kansas City cases. New goals, new issues, new alignments of interests and new political strategies are apparent, presenting new challenges to students of urban education policy and politics.     

Using Syllabi to Determine the Core Journal and Monographic Literature in Doctoral Finance Programs

Using course syllabi from 66 active Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited doctoral programs, the investigators determined a core journal and monographic collection in doctoral finance programs. The results are compared to previous studies, such as that of Corrado and Ferris (1997), and implications for collection development and liaison librarians are considered.     

New books

PUBLIC SPEAKING: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. By Giles Wilkeson Gray and Waldo W. Braden. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1951; pp. xiv + 581. $4.00.

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEAKING. By Wilbur E. Gilman, Bower Aly, and Loren D. Reid. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1951; pp. vx + 608. $4.00.

BASIC EXPERIENCES IN SPEECH. By Seth A. Fessenden and Wayne N. Thompson. New York: Prentice‐Hall, Inc., 1951; pp. xii + 427. $3.75.

ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE: TECHNIQUES OF A FREE SOCIETY. By James H. McBurney, James M. O'Neill, and Glen E. Mills. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1951; pp. vii + 336. $3.50.

GROUP LEADERSHIP AND DEMOCRATIC ACTION. By Franklyn S. Haiman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1951; pp. vii + 309. $2.50.

DISCUSSION AND DEBATE. By Henry Lee Ewbank and J. Jeffry Auer. Second Edition. New York: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, 1951; pp. x + 492. $3.50.

DISCUSSION METHODS: By J. V. Garland. Third Edition Revised. New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1951; pp. 376. $3.00.

CREATIVE BROADCASTING With Twelve Scripts for Broadcast. By H. J. Skornia, Robert H. Lee, and Fred Brewer. New York: Prentice‐Hall, Inc., 1950; pp.x + 407. $4.50.

TEACHING SPEECH IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL. By Karl F. Robinson. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1951; pp. vii + 438. $4.00.

GERRIT J. DIEKEMA, ORATOR. By William Schrier. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950; pp. xix + 269. $3.50.

A TREASURY OF THE THEATRE: From Agamemnon to A Month in the County. Edited by John Gassner. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1951; pp. xvii + 718. $4.50.     

PROFESSORS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION: CHANGES IN THEORETICAL AND PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATIONS

More than 80% of professors associated with the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges responded to a survey by the authors in 1980. The questionnaire was based on and the findings were compared with a 1972 study by Campbell and Newell. Trends in demographic data, career patterns, and professional orientations are documented and analyzed. University professors of community college education were 7.7 years older as a group in 1980 than they were in 1972; many other changes appear related to this trend. Fewer than 3% of faculty in this field remain at the level of assistant professor, while 61% have already achieved the rank of professor. As a whole, the group is more productive and somewhat more conservative. Some gains have been made in the representation of women (from 0 to 14%) and minorities (from 3 to 6%). With the maturing of this professional group has come related developments in professional orientations. Time invested in research and writing nearly doubled, and professors would like to do still more. Although they still wish to be remembered for having trained outstanding administrators, their desire to be remembered for writing a significant book has increased significantly. As the academic field of community education matures, its professorial members have turned increasingly to scholarly values.     

Beyond Compliance: Using Organizational Theory to Unleash the Potential of Assessment

This article illustrates how organizational theory can be used to support the development of authentic assessment practice among community college faculty, as well as guide research on implementation of assessment efforts. While many factors make implementing assessment difficult, the link between accreditation and assessment is a key element in distancing the practice from faculty. This dynamic arises not from the actions of accreditation agencies per se, but from the accountability narrative that has come to dominate both assessment and accreditation, the corresponding perception that assessment is “done to” faculty rather than by them, and a reliance among institutional leaders to echo this message in an effort to get assessment started. The result is implementation of assessment for compliance rather than meaningful program improvement. Understanding assessment as an innovation, and using organizational theory to guide implementation, may help community college leaders transcend this challenge and develop assessment practice that is more faculty-owned and meaningful. However, the current literature says little about how to use organizational theory to implement such assessment efforts. This article integrates Bolman and Deal’s (2008) framework on leadership and organizational change with actual examples of practice to illustrate how their model might be used to recapture the potential of assessment as well as guide research on effective implementation.     

ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES: A MODEL APPROACH

We surveyed Arkansas community and technical colleges to determine the extent to which these institutions had been affected, during the past 3 years, by tight budgets, volatile enrollments, unstable state support, and other unfavorable forces. In addition, we requested information concerning methods used by these institutions to address such problems. The survey instrument collected data pertaining to institutional demographics, budgetary trends, tuition trends, faculty issues, expenditure control methods used, institutional advancement activities, projections as to future financial directions, and staff development needs. The findings indicate that enrollments at most Arkansas community and technical colleges are increasing and budgets are growing, but often in amounts inadequate to compensate for rising costs. Arkansas 2‐year institutions are responding to this challenge by raising tuition, increasing the use of part‐time faculty, and seeking new sources of revenue. Staff development needs were identified for those functional areas in which additional training and development will enhance staff members’ ability to respond to changing economic conditions. This survey can be replicated in other community college systems, thus serving as a model for assessing the financial and institutional concerns of community and technical colleges nationwide.