Secondary school leavers and the labour market in SwazilandLes jeunes gens en fin de scolarite et le marche de l'emploi au Swazilandes y el mercado de trabajo en Swaziland

Secondary education in Swaziland has rapidly expanded in the decade or so since independence. Alongside this achievement has been a growing apprehension that the modern sector's capacity to generate employment is not commensurate with the rising number of educated young people leaving secondary school. The emergence of a ‘school leaver problem’ as disenchanted educated youngsters remained unemployed was therefore seen as a real possibility towards the end of the 1970s. Such considerations formed the backcloth to tracer surveys conducted in 1979 which investigated the post-school experience of secondary school leavers who left school in the period 1973–1977.Some aspects of these surveys are discussed in this article which covers the experience of school leavers in finding out about jobs and training, waiting time for jobs, and estimates of unemployment. The occupations entered by school leavers are then assessed in relation to demand projections for educated manpower.These observations reveal that institutional arrangements for transferring school leavers from school to work are embryonic and for a large minority of leavers family and other influentiaal contacts are more important than qualifications in securing a job. For Form 3 Junior Secondary School leavers some credence may be given to the popular impression that unemployment is worsening but Form 5 High School leavers are experiencing little difficulty as yet in finding work. More tentatively it would appear that the marginal additions to the skilled labour force stemming from school leavers are not modifying the occupational structure in line with recent manpower projections.     

The Training of Modern Language Teachers in the Netherlands

The article provides a factual account of the present organisation and structure of teacher training in the Netherlands and outlines the content of training for intending teachers of modern languages. Plans for innovation are also discussed.     

Students’ assessment preferences, perceptions of assessment and their relationships to study results

The purposes of this study are to gain more insight into students’ actual preferences and perceptions of assessment, into the effects of these on their performances when different assessment formats are used, and into the different cognitive process levels assessed. Data were obtained from two sources. The first was the scores on the assessment of learning outcomes, consisting of open ended and multiple choice questions measuring the students’ abilities to recall information, to understand concepts and principles, and to apply knowledge in new situations. The second was the adapted Assessment Preferences Inventory (API) which measured students’ preferences as a pre-test and perceptions as a post-test. Results show that, when participating in a New Learning Environment (NLE), students prefer traditional written assessment and questions which are as closed as possible, assessing a mix of cognitive processes. Some relationships, but not all the expected ones, were found between students’ preferences and their assessment scores. No relationships were found between students’ perceptions of assessment and their assessment scores. Additionally, only forty percent of the students had perceptions of the levels of the cognitive processes assessed that matched those measured by the assessments. Several explanations are discussed.     

Triadic Supervision and its Impact on the Role of the Supervisor: A Qualitative Examination of Supervisors' Perspectives

Although triadic supervision has been the subject of little empirical research, perspectives of supervisors in this form of supervision have received even less attention. This qualitative study examined 6 doctoral student supervisors' experiences of triadic supervision and the demands it placed on them in their role as supervisors. Data collection involved use of in‐depth, open‐ended interviews, and a whole‐text analysis resulted in 2 major categories. These categories address various ways in which triadic supervision increases or decreases the demands placed on the supervisor. Implications of the findings for supervisory practices and future research are also addressed.     

Analysing probem solving behaviour of successful and unsuccessful statistics students

The present study investigated problem-solving behaviour in statistics by documenting differences between successful and unsuccessful students. Two methodological approaches were used. The first, based on studies by Chi, Glaser and Rees (1982), required students to identify key structural features of common problems. The second, based on further work by Chi, Bassok, Lewis, Reimann & Glaser (1989), used verbal protocol procedures to examine the processes employed when Good and Poor statistics students solve an ANOVA problem. It was expected that findings obtained by these earlier researchers in the domain of Physics would also apply in Statistics. Two groups of students in an undergraduate Psychology course were selected for the study. The first group (N=8) had performed well in a statistics unit, the second group (N=6) had failed that unit. In the first part of the study, no differences were found between groups on the task of identifying key structural features of common problems. In the second part of the study, protocol analyses showed that the Good students engaged in more concept-oriented solution behaviour, displayed more monitoring/judging behaviour, and asked more questions about the problem itself. These findings are similar to those obtained in other abstract knowledge domains such as Physics and Mathematics and indicate quite fundamental differences in the way in which competent and incompetent Statisics students solve Statistics problems.     

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.     

Angle-specific hamstring-to-quadriceps ratio: A comparison of football players and recreationally active males

It is currently unclear how football participation affects knee-joint muscle balance, which is widely considered a risk factor for hamstrings injury. This study compared the angle-specific functional hamstring-to-quadriceps (H:Q) ratio (hamstrings eccentric torque as a ratio of quadriceps concentric torque at the same knee-joint angle) of football players with recreationally active controls. Ten male footballers and 14 controls performed maximal voluntary isometric and isovelocity concentric and eccentric contractions (60, 240 and 400° s^?1) of the knee extensors and flexors. Gaussian fitting to the raw torque values was used to interpolate torque values for knee-joint angles of 100–160° (60° s^?1), 105–160° (240° s^?1) and 115–145° (400° s^?1). The angle-specific functional H:Q ratio was calculated from the knee flexors eccentric and knee extensors concentric torque at the same velocity and angle. No differences were found for the angle-specific functional H:Q ratio between groups, at any velocity. Quadriceps and hamstrings strength relative to body mass of footballers and controls was similar for all velocities, except concentric knee flexor strength at 400° s^?1 (footballers +40%; P < 0.01). In previously uninjured football players, there was no intrinsic muscle imbalance and therefore the high rate of hamstring injuries seen in this sport may be due to other risk factors and/or simply regular exposure to a high-risk activity.     

On the functions of a system of vocational qualifications

While acknowledging that a system of vocational qualifications might be perceived as having any number of possible purposes, this paper identifies three primary functions that any vocational qualification must fulfil by dint of being a vocational qualification. It is argued that current arrangements are unable to fulfil these essential functions due to certain intrinsic and irremediable conceptual difficulties with the National and Scottish Vocational Qualification (N/SVQ) system. The practical implications of this are illustrated through an account of little documented events in the 1990s when many of the UK’s major companies found it necessary to abandon the UK’s system of N/SVQs in favour of an alternative system precisely because of concerns that the N/SVQ did not fulfil the functions required of a vocational qualification. Of particular significance is an apparent inconsistency between the N/SVQ system and health and safety law: the so-called ‘competence’ assessment procedures of the N/SVQ being seen to be methodological at odds with the legal requirements for competence.     

Supporting Teachers to Customize Curriculum for Self-Directed Learning

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Guiding teachers to customize curriculum has shown to improve science instruction when guided effectively. We explore how teachers use student data to...