Attention and salience in associative blocking

The associative learning effect called blocking has previously been found in many cue-competition paradigms where all cues are of equal salience. Previous research by Hall, Mackintosh, Goodall, and dal Martello (1977) found that, in animals, salient cues were less likely to be blocked. Crucially, they also found that when the to-be-blocked cue was highly salient, the blocking cue would lose some control over responding. The present article extends these findings to humans and suggests that shifts in attention can explain the apparent loss of control by the previously learned cue. A connectionist model that implements attentional learning is shown to fit the main trends in the data. Model comparisons suggest that mere forgetting, implemented as weight decay, cannot explain the results.     

Young people,education and hope: bringing VET in from the margins

Vocational Education and Training (VET) plays an important role in the reshaping of upper secondary school curriculum. Retention to the end of secondary education in Australia went from 35% in 1980 to 72% in 2000. This increase caused major problems for the senior school curriculum which historically prepared students for university entrance but now has to serve multiple purposes. While the purposes of VET suit different groups, our interest is those students alienated from, reluctant to complete, or attempting re-entry into senior secondary education. Our objective is to understand policy reforms in this area, in order to assist stopping the spiral of disadvantage in which these young people are caught. We shall argue that VET has the potential to re-engage young people with education. With the labour market becoming more knowledge-based, such re-engagement becomes increasingly important. We ask to what extent is the post-compulsory curriculum serving student and family ambitions for employment in a way that is equitable and inclusive?     

Relationships Between Teaching and Research

Abstract

This paper reports a study conducted amongst heads of department at a British university into their perspectives of teaching and research. It explores the reasons why research is given higher status, even though academics believe that, in principle, both aspects of the lecturer's role are equally valuable and mutually supportive. The links between teaching and research are investigated, and the categories of ‘teaching’ and ‘research’ are found to be somewhat inadequate concepts for distinguishing between different aspects of the academic role. The article concludes that closer relationships between the two can provide the basis for a programme to improve the quality of university teaching. Such an approach is underpinned by the view that students’ understandings should be taken seriously. They can make a significant contribution to the lecturer's research, as well as to student learning.     

Bridging the Gap Between Degree Programme Curricula and Employability Through Implementation of Work-related Learning

This article investigates the gap between employers' requirements of graduates and the skills which graduates are furnished with through degree programmes in the higher education (HE) sector in the UK. A survey of 88 subject review reports prepared by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for environmentally related units in the UK showed little emphasis on employability issues. Surveys of first destination statistics of a cohort of graduates from two biological degrees and from national data showed that a significant proportion of graduates were in non-science-based activities. The non-knowledge-based learning outcomes from one degree were investigated, and showed that employability aspects were partially covered in the programme, but were not always associated with secure assessments. The concept of work-related learning is defined and a conceptual framework for HE practitioners is presented that could be used when designing curricula to better map programme learning outcomes onto graduate employment.     

The Headteacher as Manager: A Personal View

This article contributes to the growing debate around how we understand and develop multi-agency leadership in children and young people's services. Bringing together a range of inter-disciplinary research, it presents a framework for multi-agency leadership development, which, it argues, is well theorised, multi-level and versed in key field skills that educational leaders need in complex environments. The framework comprises six elements: complexity and culture (underlying concepts); multi-professional groups and inter-organisational partnerships (operating levels); and organisational consultancy and professional supervision (field skills). These elements are discussed, the practical implications of incorporating them into professional development provision for educational leaders are examined and some provisional conclusions are reached.     

Peer relations and emotion regulation of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties with and without a developmental disorder

Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) and those who also have developmental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), can experience the same adverse consequences in their peer interactions and relationships. This present study compared the emotion regulation and peer relationships of children aged 8–12 years (M = 9.86 years, SD = 1.49) with EBD (N = 33) and children with EBD plus a diagnosed developmental disorder (N = 28). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with Bonferroni adjusted alpha levels revealed no significant main effect for emotion regulation according to EBD status. There was, however, a multivariate main effect for sex, with females presenting with higher levels of negative emotional intensity (e.g., frustration, anger, aggression) than males. A second MANOVA revealed no significant main effect for peer relationships according to EBD status and sex. Significant correlations revealed that the EBD-only group experienced greater adverse peer interactions than the EBD-plus-developmental disorder group. These findings are important for educators and researchers involved in the development and evaluation of prevention and intervention programms for children with EBD.     

Early intervention in behaviour

Abstract

FAST-Track is a support programme for pupils with social and emotional behaviour difficulties. It is designed to integrate the school curriculum, social skills training, reading development, parenting skills and home-school liaison. A 3 year longitudinal study is reported in which schools implementing the full FAST-Track programme were compared with those implementing only the curriculum component. Changes in behaviour were monitored using an amended version of the Rutter Behaviour Rating Scale. Results did not show any clear difference between the two groups of schools but did show substantial differences between individual schools, highlighting the difficulty of demonstrating the effectiveness of intervention programmes given the multiplicity of other factors which determine behaviour change. The implications of these findings for the methodology and practice of intervention programmes in this area are explored.