Choosing schools,choosing selves: exploring the influence of parental identity and biography on the school choice process in Delhi,India

Drawing on qualitative interview data from a group of lower income parents in Delhi, India, this paper focuses on the dynamic relationship between parental choice of a particular school and parents’ own identity construction. The data indicate that choice of school is for some parents a symbolic expression of identity, influenced by family dynamics and parents’ educational biographies. The paper outlines the concept of ‘forging solidarities’ and proposes it as an alternative way of understanding school enrolment decisions that recognises the social significance of such choices for the wider family unit. More generally, as school choice mechanisms in various forms become an increasingly important part of the educational landscape in many countries, the findings draw attention to the sociocultural nature of choice in real-world market settings and the contribution of schooling choices to processes of social and educational segregation.     

Physiotherapy Student Clinical Education: the influence of subjective judgements on observational assessment

The process of assessing students on clinical placements has to date been under‐researched. In particular, while the involvement of subjective judgements in assessing students has been discussed in the literature, there has been no attempt to look for systematic evidence. This paper comprises the first attempt to relate judgement theory to the assessment of vocational education. Preliminary results demonstrate that physiotherapy assessors made subjective judgements of their students, that these contributed to the determination of assessment grades, and that in certain cases these judgements were erroneous. The relationship of these subjective judgements to the awarding of grades via a supposedly objective assessment instrument is not yet known. Given the widespread use of such assessment instruments across different professions, the question raised is whether all observational assessment systems suffer from similar problems. If students are being judged on criteria not included on assessment instruments, perhaps the other criteria being used need to be made more explicit.     

Educational inequality in Tasmania: evidence and explanations

In this article, we map the extent of educational inequality within Tasmania, and between Tasmania and the rest of Australia, using National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and senior secondary attainment data. This analysis yields some surprising findings, showing the success of Tasmanian primary and high schools and that Tasmanian educational inequality is most strongly expressed at the senior secondary level. We conclude that using such publicly available data to identify differential achievement within and between jurisdictions would strengthen public policy and practitioner interventions aimed at achieving more equal educational outcomes for students in all schools. Our findings also have implications for research directions in this field, suggesting that by analysis of NAPLAN and My School data across individual schools and jurisdictions academic researchers could assist practitioners gain a deeper understanding of inequalities reproduced by the systems they are working within, while finding examples of schools and systems which show a greater level of success in ameliorating disadvantage.     

Qualitätssicherung im österreichischen Hochschulsystem

Die ?sterreichischen Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen sind gesetzlich dazu aufgefordert, interne Qualit?tssicherungsprozesse und -systeme zu entwickeln. Der Grundsatz der Erstverantwortlichkeit der Hochschulen für die Sicherung von Qualit?t in Lehre, Forschung und Organisation tr?gt der Hochschulautonomie Rechnung, und er kommt durch die im Zuge des Bologna-Prozesses vereinbarten Europ?ischen Standards der Qualit?tssicherung zum Ausdruck. Als Qualit?tssicherungsagentur für den gesamten Hochschulbereich in ?sterreich bietet die AQA Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen externe Begleitung, vermittelt unabh?ngige Expertise und führt Evaluierungen durch. Die AQA hat ihre Leistungen und Verfahren auf Grundlage europ?ischer Standards der externen Qualit?tssicherung für Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen entwickelt. Die Verfahren der AQA stellen die hochschulinterne Qualit?tskultur in den Mittelpunkt: Basierend auf den Erfahrungen mit externen Evaluierungsverfahren und des Hochschulvergleichen, welche die AQA seit 2004 durchgeführt hat, implementiert die Agentur nun ein Verfahren, welches das hochschulinterne Qualit?tsmanagement st?rken soll und den Hochschulen l?ngerfristig eine Zertifizierung ihres Qualit?tsmanagements bietet. Die AQA stellt hierfür die Expertise internationaler Expertinnen und Experten zu Themen des Hochschulmanagements bereit und nutzt Kooperationen mit anderen Qualit?tssicherungsagenturen. Auf l?ngere Sicht k?nnte ein prozessorientiertes "Quality Audit"-Verfahren eine Referenz der externen Qualit?tssicherung für den gesamten ?sterreichischen Hochschulbereich darstellen.     

Relation between reading problems and internalizing behavior in school for preadolescent children from economically disadvantaged families

This longitudinal study of 105 economically disadvantaged children examined the relation between reading problems and internalizing behavior in 3rd- and 5th-grade assessments (8- to 12-year olds). The variable-centered results showed that reading problems predicted change in internalizing behavior in the context of child and family predictors. The person-centered results showed that children with reading problems in both grades had higher internalizing scores in 5th grade but not in 3rd grade than children with reading problems in 3rd grade or no problems. Child-reported negative emotion experiences varied similarly across grade. The results tie reading problems to emotional distress in school and support conclusions about the direction of effects and the internalization of academic difficulty for disadvantaged children.     

Factors underlying students' decisions to use mobile devices in clinical settings

University policies prohibiting use of mobile devices by medical students during clinical placements are contradicted by regular use by physicians. Consequently, many students use their mobile devices, which can be beneficial for learning but may put patient privacy at risk. This study explores the reasons underlying students' decisions about using mobile devices in clinical settings. We used a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design involving a questionnaire and focus groups. Qualitative data from the questionnaire and focus groups was analysed through thematic analysis. We found students were aware of the risks mobile devices posed to professionalism and medical practice. Despite prohibitions, many made individual decisions to use mobile devices because the benefits outweighed the risks. These students were influenced by an organised, strategic approach to learning and a motivation to comply with the beliefs and behaviours of their medical teams and conform to physicians' directives in order to participate in their community of practice. Many students appear to be transferring everyday use of mobile devices to clinical settings. There is a need to understand and promote aspects of learning that are enhanced by mobile devices in clinical settings, while articulating clear guidelines and boundaries compatible with the professional behaviour expected of students.     

The Intersection of Race and Gender Among Black American Adolescents

This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design to examine the intersection of race and gender among Black American adolescents, aged 11–19. The quantitative component (n = 344) used survey data to examine gender differences in peer-perpetrated and adult-perpetrated racial discrimination experiences, and no gender differences were evident. Qualitative data (n = 42) probed how males and females interpret discrimination experiences given the intersection of race and gender. Although the majority of participants believed that Black males and females have similar experiences, some believed that Black males face more racial discrimination. However, analyses revealed social disadvantages for Black females given that they report inappropriate comments and unwelcome hair touching and limited opportunities for interracial dating compared with Black males.     

Exploring Views about LARCs Among Parenting Rural Latinx Teenagers,Their Mothers,and Providers: Implications for Sexuality Education and Care

While long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) reduces risk of repeat-births, use remains low among rural Latinx adolescent mothers. This qualitative study identified perspectives about factors that influence LARC use among this population. Participants were dyads of parenting Latinx adolescent daughters and their mothers (n?=?9 dyads) and nurses (n?=?17). Findings revealed themes specific to this vulnerable population including (a) distinct ways LARC characteristics fit into parenting teenagers’ lives, (b) supportive health care climate toward LARCs, and (c) factors that inhibit LARC uptake. The study has implications for sexuality education that seeks to reduce repeat-births among this population.