Family-School Strategies for Responding to the Needs of Children Experiencing Chronic Stress

Children experience chronic stress in ways that can impair their brain functioning and overall development. This article articulates the unique needs of children experiencing chronic stress and discusses strategies that families and schools can use to support and strengthen children’s development across the social, emotional, and cognitive domains.     

Impact of an educational development programme on teaching practice of academics at a research‐intensive university

Evidence of the impact of educational development (ED) programmes on faculty is often not gathered beyond ascertaining the immediate reactions of participants. This paper reports the results of a study to determine what level of impact an ED programme at a university has had on academics' teaching practice over time. Kirkpatrick's framework provided a useful approach to conceptualise how to examine critically the impact of ED efforts. A series of semi‐structured interviews with 14 programme participants and a subsequent questionnaire survey of 248 participants were undertaken. The programme resulted in high‐level impact when rated according to Kirkpatrick's framework, including changes to individual behaviour and organisational practice, benefits to academics and perceived benefits to their students. Change was reported up to seven years after participation. These results emphasise the role that a well‐designed ED programme can play in enhancing the quality of teaching and assessment practice at a research‐intensive university.

Bepaling van die impak van onderrigontwikkelingsprogramme op dosente word dikwels beperk tot die verkryging van die onmiddellike reaksies van deelnemers eerder as meer omvangryke bewyse. Hierdie artikel rapporteer die resultate van 'n studie wat dit ten doel gehad het om die vlak van impak van 'n onderrigontwikkelingsprogram by 'n universiteit op die onderrigpraktyke van akademici, oor 'n tyd heen, vas te stel. Kirkpatrick se raamwerk het 'n nuttige benadering verskaf vir die konseptualisering van 'n kritiese ondersoek na die impak van onderrigontwikkelingsaksies. 'n Reeks semi‐gestruktureerde onderhoude met 14 programdeelnemers en 'n daaropvolgende vraelysopname van 248 deelnemers is onderneem. Gemeet teen Kirkpatrick se raamwerk, het die program tot hoëvlak impak aanleiding gegee, insluitend veranderinge in individuele optrede, organisatoriese praktyk, voordele vir akademici en oënskynlike voordele vir hulle studente. Veranderinge is tot sewe jaar na deelname gerapporteer. Hierdie resultate beklemtoon die rol wat 'n weldeurdagte onderrigontwikkelingsprogram in die bevordering van onderrig‐ en assesseringspraktyk by 'n navorsingsintensiewe universiteit, kan speel.     

Ethnic composition of the class and educational performance in primary education in The Netherlands

This article examines the effect of the ethnic composition in the school class on school performance in primary education, using COOL 2008 data for The Netherlands. We make an important distinction between the proportion of migrant children and the diversity with regard to the different ethnic groups in a school class. Due to the strong correlation between these 2 variables, we employ a residualized score of diversity on the proportion of migrants. The diversity indicator, which indicates the level of diversity given a particular share of migrant children, is negatively related to reading comprehension in Grade 8. For other grade years, we find little support for negative effects of diversity net of the share of migrants in a class.     

The management of diversity in schools — A balancing act

The authors contend that diversity and its counter-pole universality as such cannot be managed in the normal sense of the word. What can be managed though is the balance between these two poles. Over-emphasis of the one to the detriment of the other will in the long run somehow be penalized. A conceptual-theoretical framework is provided in which the delicate ontic balances that have to be maintained is explained (pedagogically managed). The results of three focus group discussions in which the participants express their opinions about these balances and the possibility of managing diversity are reported and interpreted.     

Financing of university education in Sri Lanka

This paper deals with the financing ofuniversity education in Sri Lanka, which hasadopted pro-market policy reforms over the last22 years. The assessment is based on five maincriteria: adequacy, efficiency, unit costs,systems and procedures of resource allocationand alternative funding sources. The findingsreveal that the universities are faced with anacute shortage of funds and that existingfinancial systems and procedures are controloriented rather than promoting efficiency andquality enhancement. Moreover, the heavilystate dependent university system, particularlyin the area of financing, has failed to keeppace with pro-market policy reforms at nationallevel and, hence, continues to operate within acontrol oriented regulatory framework. In thepresent era of globalization, universities needto be more market oriented in terms ofmanagement, delivery of services and revenuegeneration.     

Brock-Utne,Birgit. 2000. Whose Education for All? The Recolonization of the African Mind

International Review of Education -