Inside Systemic Elementary School Reform: Teacher Effects and Teacher Mobility

In the 1995–96 and 1996–97 school years, 37 elementary schools in Memphis, TN began implementation of 1 of 8 comprehensive school reform designs. The effectiveness and mobility of teachers at these schools were examined longitudinally relative to teachers at 63 nonrestructuring schools. Analyses of teacher effectiveness scores, derived from student “value-added” achievement scores, indicate that the 1995 reform cohort only showed significantly greater gains in effectiveness relative to the nonrestructuring group. This pattern was most strongly pronounced for highly experienced teachers. Teacher mobility was found to increase minimally as a function of restructuring, largely due to district policy changes.     

Man & machine: Adaptive tools for the contemporary performance analyst

ABSTRACT

Sport, like many industries, is experiencing growth in resources, professionalism and data generation. An understanding of how humans can effectively and efficiently interact with technology, computers and other machines to improve sports performance is still being developed. As a consequence, the landscape in which the performance analyst now finds themselves has fundamentally changed. New, improved and different skill sets are now required in order to be impactful and experience sustained success. However, this growth also presents new opportunities to address difficult problems, including many that were previously considered intractable. This article lists ten essential adaptive tools for the contemporary performance analyst, many of which are useful in both research and applied sporting environments. A rationale for each is proposed, with an emphasis on ensuring that the performance analyst will be equipped to thrive in both current and future sport environments     

Revisiting primary school dropout in rural Cambodia

Previous studies on school dropout in Cambodia often used data from subjects after they already dropped out or statistics from education-related institutions. Using data from children in two rural provinces before they dropped out, this study examines four main factors in order to identify their influence on primary school dropout in Cambodia. Results from logistic regression analysis revealed that some predictors on individual, family, and school factors were found to be statistically significant to predict the odds of dropout in both grades 1 and 5, whereas poverty and child labor could not be detected, though they have been frequently cited as major predictors in the literature of school dropout in Cambodia as well as developing countries.     

A policy sociology reflection on school reform in England: from the ‘Third Way’ to the ‘Big Society’

This article presents a policy sociology reflection on Bernard Barker's book, The Pendulum Swings: Transforming School Reform. The book represents Barker's attempt to intervene in education policy during the lead-up to the 2010 UK general election and is framed by what he imagined might be possible under a new Conservative government. Barker draws inspiration from the Red Tory communitarian position articulated by Phillip Blond. In hindsight, we are less sanguine about these possibilities in the context of the Coalition government and its ongoing response to the ongoing financial crises. Indeed, what has emerged is a rearticulated neo-liberalism in the guise of ‘Big Society’ rhetoric. We agree with Barker's critical deconstruction of the five illusions underpinning New Labour schooling policy, but argue for a broader agenda of redistribution, both in social policy and with respect to schools. Policy needs to recognise and support teachers and good pedagogies, and we also see a pressing need to rethink richer forms of educational accountability. All of this must be located within a politics that pursues a new social imaginary. Nonetheless, we commend Barker's contribution towards post neo-liberal thinking in respect of school policy, specifically in England, but with relevance to other locations and systems.     

Party Identifiers

As Digital Media develops into a mature market, the proper referencing of digital content is increasingly critical. The Identification of Parties who contributes to content is key to ensure efficient discovery services and royalty tracking. Far from being simple numbers, Party Identifiers such as International Standard Name Identifiers (ISNI) are built on rigorous structures meeting the requirements of diverse media such as books, music or films. Designed to accurately identify Natural Persons and Legal Entities alike, Party Identifiers must also support language variances, cultural diversity and stringent data privacy regulations.     

Comparison of social media use for the U.S. and the Korean governments

Social media allows for the creation of bottom-up online communities that encourage the government to utilize a two-way participatory media model, rather than a traditional broadcast media model. The purpose of this study is to examine the current status of social media usage in both Korean and U.S. governments, present several issues and suggest future directions.     

A study of Australian and Singaporean perceptions of source credibility

This study investigated the difference between Singaporean and Australian perceptions of source credibility. The data suggested that whereas the Australians employed the main factors of expertise and trust, the Singaporeans employed one factor to cover these two dimensions that seemed to be a combination of expertise and trust.     

From Doing to Learning: Changed focus during a pre-school learning study project on organic decomposition

We explored the use of the learning study (LS) model in developing Swedish pre-school science learning. This was done by analysing a 3-cycle LS project implemented to help a group of pre-school teachers (n?=?5) understand their science educational practice, by collaboratively and systematically challenging it. Data consisted of video recordings of 1 screening (n?=?7), 1 initial planning meeting, 3 analysis meetings, 3 interventions, and 78 individual test interviews with the children (n?=?26). The study demonstrated that the teachers were initially uncomfortable with using scientific concepts and with maintaining the children's focus on the object of learning without framing it with play. During the project, we noted a shift in focus towards the object of learning and how to get the children to discern it. As teachers’ awareness changed, enhanced learning was noted among the children. The study suggests that the LS model can promote pre-school science learning as follows: by building on, re-evaluating, and expanding children's experiences; and by helping the teachers focus on and contrast critical aspects of an object of learning, and to reflect on the use of play, imagination, and concepts and on directing the children's focus when doing so. Our research showed that the LS model holds promise to advance pre-school science learning by offering a theoretical tool useable to shift the focus from doing to learning while teaching science using learning activities.     

The Relationship of Competition and Financial Commitment Revisited: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis in European Newspaper Markets

The Cincinnati Post published its last edition on New Year's Eve 2007, leaving the Cincinnati Enquirer as the only daily newspaper in the market. The next year, fewer candidates ran for municipal office in the Kentucky suburbs most reliant on the Post, incumbents became more likely to win reelection, and voter turnout and campaign spending fell. These changes happened even though the Enquirer at least temporarily increased its coverage of the Post's former strongholds. Voter turnout remained depressed through 2010, nearly three years after the Post closed, but the other effects diminished with time. The authors exploited a difference-in-differences strategy and the fact that the Post's closing date was fixed 30 years in advance to rule out some noncausal explanations for their results. Although their findings are statistically imprecise, they suggest that newspapers—even underdogs such as the Post, which had a circulation of just 27,000 when it closed—can have a substantial and measurable impact on public life.