Excluding Primary School Children – The Outcomes Six Years On

This article reports and discusses a study which followed up, through case records, 726 children excluded permanently, indefinitely or for fixed–term periods in 1993/4 in 10 LEAs. The outcomes at secondary level in 1998/9 were found to be moderately poor with the problems intensifying for half the sample. Forty six per cent had further primary school exclusions and 36 per cent received exclusions in their secondary education. Looked–after children and those with special educational needs fared worse and achieved less. Case studies showed the kinds of commitment and support that can work even with very difficult cases.     

Dependence or independence in education? two cases from post-colonial South-East Asia

This paper seeks to question how far the dependency theory is universally valid and whether it can be applied to all sections of the education system. The first part examines some of the arguments in favour of continuing dependency and points out weaknesses in the theory especially in relation to educational dependency. It argues that the complex interrelationships of education and society often far outweigh any lasting vestiges of colonial involvement from outside. The second part of the paper seeks to test the validity of educational dependency. By examining one country that avoided any formal colonial control, Thailand, and another that was colonised by the British for over 170 years, Malaysia, it shows that the internal political framework of a society can far outweigh any attempts at external control; and that where external involvement is sought it is often done willingly and not necessarily on terms of subservience. Educational borrowing can be as much on the terms of the recipient as it is of the donor. The surprising thing is not the levels of dependence, but the levels of independence in both societies.     

Policy learning and innovation theory: an interactive and co-evolving process

This paper explores links between the development of innovation theory since the late 1970s, and the evolution of innovation policy ideas, primarily in the 1990s. The argument is that there is a close connection between theory and policy, so that theory and policy learning can be seen as an integrated, co-evolving and interactive process. We analyse the theory-policy learning link in terms of two phases. We suggest that the complex economic crisis of the 1970s created an opening for rival analyses of events. During the 1980s, the development of evolutionary theories (pioneered by Nelson and Winter) and of empirically-based theories of the innovation process (pioneered by Nathan Rosenberg) created a framework in which policy agencies could consider heterodox ideas concerning objectives and instruments of public policy. By the early 1990s policy-makers, particularly in Europe, came to see RTD and innovation policies not just as important arenas of action in themselves, but as instruments towards more wide ranging policy objectives. The policy agencies involved, though hierarchical, were characterised by relatively open structures that permitted a degree of intellectual diversity: so organisations like the OECD and the European Commission played a central role, whereas the World Bank, for example, did not. Increasing policy interest stimulated a second phase of research in the 1990s, sponsored both nationally and by various EU programmes, in which expanding the innovation-oriented knowledge base became a significant objective for policy-makers. The paper argues that the theory-policy link has been central to the intellectual development of this field, which would have been impossible within the constraints of existing disciplinary structures and university funding systems. At the same time the analytical achievements have permitted a wide expansion in the conceptualization of policy targets and in the design of instruments available to policy-makers. In a sense, this is itself an evolutionary story: of a crisis and a conjunctural niche that permitted the creation and (so far) survival of a set of diverse and certainly non-conventional ideas.     

Why and how mathematicians read proofs: an exploratory study

In this paper, we report a study in which nine research mathematicians were interviewed with regard to the goals guiding their reading of published proofs and the type of reasoning they use to reach these goals. Using the data from this study as well as data from a separate study (Weber, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 39:431–459, 2008) and the philosophical literature on mathematical proof, we identify three general strategies that mathematicians employ when reading proofs: appealing to the authority of other mathematicians who read the proof, line-by-line reading, and modular reading. We argue that non-deductive reasoning plays an important role in each of these three strategies.     

Implementation integrity in peer tutoring of mathematics

A two-year randomised controlled trial of peer tutoring in mathematics using the Duolog Math technique was operated in 80 schools. The aim was to achieve adequate implementation quality with modest pre-intervention training for teachers, who received brief didactic training and no process feedback (but they were to train pupils using modelling, practice and feedback). Implementation integrity was observed in Year 1 in 29 randomly selected schools; in Year 2 in 30 randomly selected schools. In both years some observed variables of class-wide context and individual technique were high; however, some were lower. There were deficits in: teachers introducing the problem, suggesting ways to concretise the problem and holding plenary sessions. Crucially, there was very little summarising or generalising. Thus, implementation was partial in both years, but better in Year 2. The implications for future intensity of training are explored.     

The effect of context on student engagement in engineering

The self-belief, motivation, tendency to procrastinate and learning styles of engineering students are discussed. It is proposed that engineering has developed an idiom and a learning approach that favours the dominant client, i.e. men, while simultaneously undermining the self-efficacy and motivation of women. Thematic coherence and teaching within a context that is familiar to students have been shown previously to be effective approaches for engaging students and are extended here to utilise the common experiences of all students to initiate the learning cycle. These approaches are combined with a template for teaching that uses the 5Es (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate) in order to render the fundamentals of engineering more accessible to all students. This methodology can be introduced by individual instructors, who will be rewarded by students who are more engaged, more motivated and more likely to give a higher rating to the instructor and the course.