Oral English language proficiency of ITAs: Policy,implementation, and contributing factors

Student complaints to legislators led to 20 states mandating higher educational institutions develop policy on oral English language proficiency of instructors. These mandates directed public institutions to certify oral English language proficiency of international teaching assistants. Universities responded to these mandates by developing policy requiring formal evaluation of international teaching assistants and provision for remediation of those whose skills were deficient. Demographic factors which led to these mandates are number of non-resident aliens and number of students in higher education institutions in the state. Institutional factors leading to policy were graduate enrollment and degree granting status of institutions.Clayton F. Thomas obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He is a Professor of Educational Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University and is affiliated with the Center for Higher Education. Patricia K. Monoson obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. She is an Associate Professor of Speech Pathology at Illinois State University and is affiliated with the Center for Higher Education.     

Manipulating Models and Grasping the Ideas They Represent

This article notes the convergence of recent thinking in neuroscience and grounded cognition regarding the way we understand mental representation and recollection: ideas are dynamic and multi-modal, actively created at the point of recall. Also, neurophysiologically, re-entrant signalling among cortical circuits allows non-conscious processing to support our deliberative thoughts and actions. The qualitative research we describe examines the exchanges occurring during semi-structured interviews with 360 children age 3–13, including 294 from New Zealand (158 boys, 136 girls) and 66 from China (34 boys, 32 girls) concerning their understanding of the shape and motion of the Earth, Sun and Moon (ESM). We look closely at the relationships between what is revealed as children manipulate their own play-dough models and their apparent understandings of ESM concepts. In particular, we focus on the switching taking place between what is said, what is drawn and what is modelled. The evidence is supportive of Edelman’s view that memory is non-representational and that concepts are the outcome of perceptual mappings, a view which is also in accord with Barsalou’s notion that concepts are simulators or skills which operate consistently across several modalities. Quantitative data indicate that the dynamic structure of memory/concept creation is similar in both genders and common to the cultures/ethnicities compared (New Zealand European and Māori; Chinese Han) and that repeated interviews in this longitudinal research lead to more advanced modelling skills and/or more advanced shape and motion concepts, the results supporting hypotheses (Kolmogorov–Smirnov alpha levels .05; r _s : p < .001).     

The sign language skills classroom observation: a process for describing sign language proficiency in classroom settings

In collaboration with teachers and students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), the Sign Language Skills Classroom Observation (SLSCO) was designed to provide feedback to teachers on their sign language communication skills in the classroom. In the present article, the impetus and rationale for development of the SLSCO is discussed. Previous studies related to classroom signing and observation methodology are reviewed. The procedure for developing the SLSCO is then described. This procedure included (a) interviews with faculty and students at NTID, (b) identification of linguistic features of sign language important for conveying content to deaf students, (c) development of forms for recording observations of classroom signing, (d) analysis of use of the forms, (e) development of a protocol for conducting the SLSCO, and (f) piloting of the SLSCO in classrooms. The results of use of the SLSCO with NTID faculty during a trial year are summarized.     

Gender Composition of Editors and Editorial Boards in Seven Top Criminal Justice and Criminology Journals from 1985 to 2017

This paper examines the gender composition of editors and editorial board members of seven top criminal justice and criminology (CCJ) journals from 1985 through 2017. The findings indicate that women have historically been, and continue to be, underrepresented in these positions. From 1985 through 2017, women comprised 14% of all Editors-in-Chief, 27% of all Associate Editors, and 22% of all Editorial Board members. While there was a period during the early 2000s when Justice Quarterly and Criminology achieved gender parity in representation across all of the editorial roles, this equality was short lived. The other journals have never achieved gender parity, and, on average, women have comprised 3.8% to 35.2% of the editorial positions at each of the journals. The implications of this imbalance for women’s scholarship and professional success are discussed, and recommendations for changes to CCJ journal policies and practices to ensure more equity are provided.     

‘Gender and race—what’s that to do with football studies?’ Contested ‘knowledges’ in sport and leisure curricula in HE

This paper explores the implications and affects of a level two compulsory module concerned with ‘gender, difference and leisure’ on a predominantly male student group studying for sports‐related degrees. Participant observation was undertaken by a male and female lecturer who were delivering the module. A cohort of male football students were interviewed as a group, and individual interviews were undertaken with female students. The opinions and expressions of the students are also located in the significant subculture of the collegiate footballer researched by one of the authors. The paper draws attention to the ways in which young male students negotiate their male identities collectively and the implications this has for theirs and other’s learning in HE. The findings show that many of the male football students, in particular, attempted to resist knowledge that challenged dominant male behaviours and threatened the project of patriarchy as a whole, such as the hegemonic patterning of the collegiate football subculture. While this resistance was beset with tensions, evidencing some opposition to gender ideologies at an individual level, at least, social identities constructed around gender and ‘race’, especially, were clearly disruptive in the development of critical awareness to such issues. The data presented here highlights a number of pedagogical problems that arise from these complex sets of interrelated identity issues, not least the need for lecturers to develop greater critical awareness of masculine and racial identities and to reflect upon their methods of delivery of contested knowledge.     

School Psychologists as Systems-Level Consultants: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Since its inception, large-scale school reform has been an integral part of the U.S. educational system. Although school reform is commonplace, educators continue to grapple with how to bring about effective systems-level change. School-based consultants (e.g., school psychologists) are in an ideal position to help facilitate the implementation and evaluation of systems-level reform to ensure substantive change (see Illback, 2014 Illback, R. J. (2014). Organizational development and change facilitation in school settings: Theoretical and empirical foundations. In W. P. Erchul & S. N. Sheridan (Eds.), Handbook of research in school consultation (2nd ed., pp. 276–303). New York, NY: Routledge. [Google Scholar]). However, there is a paucity of research on how school psychologists can serve as systems-level consultants to actualize reform. Therefore, the purpose of this double issue is to identify high-quality research that demonstrates the implementation of school-based, systems-level reform in which school psychologists were instrumental in working with other professionals. The articles represent a wide range of school reforms that are occurring across diverse school contexts and collectively address implications for future research, training, and practice.     

The Business of Digital Disability

The paradox of disability and inclusive information technology is considered. If we are now possessed of greater knowledge about disability and design, why is accessible and inclusive technology so difficult to bring about? Is it because inclusive technology is not profitable, and so unattractive for businesses and unsustainable as an industry? Or is the answer more education and awareness? This paper seeks to reframe dominant approaches to disability, information technology, and policy, by offering a thesis centred upon the power relations of disability and the crucial role played by disability's cultural and social constitution. In explaining and testing the theory, we look at case studies from telecommunications, mobile phones, and the Internet.     

Education for citizenship: The role of progressive education and interdisciplinary studies

Critiques of education from both the left and right conclude that educational institutions hold the key for involving more citizens in the political process. While neither progressive nor interdisciplinary education is sufficient by itself to prepare students for what we identify as the chief requirements for citizenship in the 21st century-civic literacy, critical thinking, social conscience, tolerance and respect for diversity, global citizenship, and political action-a combination of the two can meet all six requirements. We propose an action agenda for high education that includes promoting student involvement in off-campus political projects and on-campus governance, modifying mission statements and promotion/tenure criteria, and offering interdisciplinary general education courses at the beginning and end of college that are progressively taught, and registering students to vote.Newell was the founding president of the Association for Integrative Studies, author ofInterdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs and several articles on interdisciplinary higher education, and a veteran of 19 years of interdisciplinary teaching.Dr. Davis has administered progressively taught institutions for college students, high school students, and the elderly. He is currently Executive Director of the United Way of Franklin County, Massachusetts, applying the same principles to community service agencies.     

New perspectives in gaze sensitivity research

Attending to where others are looking is thought to be of great adaptive benefit for animals when avoiding predators and interacting with group members. Many animals have been reported to respond to the gaze of others, by co-orienting their gaze with group members (gaze following) and/or responding fearfully to the gaze of predators or competitors (i.e., gaze aversion). Much of the literature has focused on the cognitive underpinnings of gaze sensitivity, namely whether animals have an understanding of the attention and visual perspectives in others. Yet there remain several unanswered questions regarding how animals learn to follow or avoid gaze and how experience may influence their behavioral responses. Many studies on the ontogeny of gaze sensitivity have shed light on how and when gaze abilities emerge and change across development, indicating the necessity to explore gaze sensitivity when animals are exposed to additional information from their environment as adults. Gaze aversion may be dependent upon experience and proximity to different predator types, other cues of predation risk, and the salience of gaze cues. Gaze following in the context of information transfer within social groups may also be dependent upon experience with group-members; therefore we propose novel means to explore the degree to which animals respond to gaze in a flexible manner, namely by inhibiting or enhancing gaze following responses. We hope this review will stimulate gaze sensitivity research to expand beyond the narrow scope of investigating underlying cognitive mechanisms, and to explore how gaze cues may function to communicate information other than attention.