Working the Borderlands: working-class students constructing hybrid identities and asserting their place in higher education

Abstract

Through the case-study experiences of 24 White and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) working-class students from three very different universities, we aim to illuminate the often hidden struggle for recognition and respect for classed, ‘raced’ and gendered ways of being in the university. We discuss how the students perceive their identities in relation to their universities and their peers, and whether they feel the need to adapt and change their classed/’racialised’ identities in order to survive and progress or whether they resist any pressures and expectations to do so. We explore the tension between ‘assimilation and belonging’ and ‘betrayal and exclusion’ for White and BAME working-class students and consider the intersectional implications. We draw on the concept of hybridity to show the fluidity and fusions of transitioning and developing identities. The article also seeks to contribute further to the illumination of habitus as generative, through a process of hybridity.     

Directions for research and development: alternative methods of assessing scientific literacy

Educators' current enthusiasm for alternative assessment has roots in political and intellectual concerns. American science students do not do well on international comparisons or on tests of science literacy. Blame for these shortcomings is laid on multiple-choice tests and their focus on isolated facts. But if alternative assessment is to fulfill its promise, research and development need to be done in a coordinated way. This article lays out an agenda for developing assessment tools and researching their effectiveness. A series of design tasks is proposed, followed by related research questions for each task. Needed theoretical research includes studies of the effects of alternative assessment on policy and practice as well as the development of new psychometric techniques. Influences of new assessment forms on learning and motivation theory are also discussed.     

IMPROVING CLASSROOM ENGAGEMENT AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR: EVALUATION OF THE CLASS PASS INTERVENTION

Off‐task and disruptive classroom behaviors have a negative impact on the learning environment and present a unique challenge for teachers to address. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Class Pass Intervention (CPI) as a behavior management strategy for secondary students with disruptive classroom behavior. The CPI consists of providing students with passes that they can either (1) use to appropriately request a break to engage in a preferred activity for a preset amount of time or (2) keep and later exchange for a preferred item or activity. Using an ABAB withdrawal design with replication through a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design, the CPI was shown to increase academic engagement, which is incompatible with disruptive behavior, in 4 students who engaged in high levels of disruptive behavior throughout the baseline condition. Results also demonstrated partial support for the durability of intervention effects over time and indicated that both teachers and students perceived the intervention to be socially feasible. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.     

The development of metacognitive skills: evidence from observational analysis of young children’s behavior during problem-solving

This study aimed to better understand how metacognitive skills develop in young children aged 5 to 7?years. In particular, we addressed whether developmental changes reflect quantitative or qualitative improvements, and how metacognitive skills change with age and task-specific ability. Previous research into the development of metacognitive skills has been somewhat limited by methodology??often there is an over-reliance on language skills and it is assumed that children are fully conscious of the skills they use. In this study, a new observational method was developed which aimed to better represent young children??s (n?=?66) metacognitive skills by coding their verbalizations and non-verbal behavior during a problem-solving task. This method proved to be developmentally sensitive and illustrated both a quantitative increase in metacognitive skills, and qualitative changes in the types of monitoring and planning used throughout early development. Further, the results indicated that monitoring processes improve with age, control processes improve with both age and task-specific ability, and ??failures of metacognitive skills?? are primarily affected by task-specific ability rather than age.     

VCR use in Hong Kong 1

The VCR has long been viewed as a potential threat to conventional broadcast television and movie attendance, but research findings on this issue are somewhat mixed, A growing body of research suggests that a “complementarity principle” is at work—that is to say, the VCR is an extension and a reflection of older audio‐visual media—and this study seeks to explore that role in Southeast Asia.

Hong Kong was considered an appropriate site for the study because Hong Kong is typical of many small, developing nations with a rapidly growing middle class and a new‐found prosperity. Its differences from Western nations notwithstanding, Hong Kong bears many similarities to the West, especially in terms of economic and social indicators. Research from the West is thus used as a starting point for the formulation of hypotheses in this study.

Data were collected as part of Hong Kong's 1990 Indicators of Social Development study. This study confirms research in Western nations indicating that he VCR does not compete with cinema‐going and TV viewing, but complements these activities. In other words, the “complementarity principle” was sustained. On the other hand, some interesting deviations from Western patterns of VCR use also are noted.     

An Investigation of Counselor Educators' Attitudes Toward Evidence‐Based Practices

Evidence‐based practices (EBPs) receive little attention in counselor education curricula despite the ethical obligation for counselor educators to teach EBPs to counseling students. This study investigates counselor educators’ attitudes toward EBPs along with perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula.