Systemic rejection: political pressures seen from the science system

The emphasis on competitiveness and the knowledge-based economy in European policymaking has resulted in a heightened focus on monitoring and steering the science system, particularly through metric-based instruments. Policymakers’ general aims of fostering excellent research and breakthroughs are shared by researchers as well; however, below the surface is a paradox that is rarely discussed. The political system and the science system understand and pursue these concepts and objectives differently. Through two case studies on high-performing university-based research environments in Denmark and Sweden, this article uncovers the ways in which highly successful researchers often behave in ways that run counter to policy steering attempts. They do this by shielding themselves and their research group from steering pressures originating in the political system. Using Luhmann’s systems theory, the cases demonstrate why the relationship between the science system and the political system needs to be understood as a horizontal rather than a vertical relationship, and using concepts from organizational theory, provides a model and terminology for identifying and analyzing the types of mechanisms and strategic responses that the science system uses to shield itself from political steering pressures.     

A Research Review of Nurse Teachers’ Competencies

The conceptions of what constitutes nursing competence and how such competence is taught and learned are changing, due to rapid changes in in the health sector. Nurse teachers’ competencies for providing high-quality, up-to-date nursing education, are developing accordingly. This paper reviews the existing research on nurse teachers’ competencies and addresses how this research identifies, describes, and conceptualizes these competencies. A rigorous search, retrieval and appraisal process identified 25 relevant studies for inclusion in the review. A thematic synthesis was applied to the findings of the studies and subsequent themes were synthesized. The thematic synthesis of the empirical evidence resulted in the five broad themes: academic, nursing, and pedagogical competencies; attitudes; management and digital technology. However, these separate elements appeared to be highly integrated. Hence, this paper indicates that nurse teachers’ competencies may be assessed using a holistic approach, which could bring together the disparate attributes required for successful professional performance in specific situations.     

Managing mergers — governancing institutional integration

Despite striking similarities, the adoption and implementation of policy shifts regarding higher education governance vary considerably across the globe, suggesting a mixed picture of diversification and isomorphism both within and across national higher education systems. By unpacking one particular structural reform process, this paper focuses on mergers as both a governance tool and a governance result in higher education. The paper analyzes the strategic decisions taken by Norwegian higher education institutions during 2014 in the light of a proposed national reform to merge institutions in order to enhance quality in higher education. The empirical basis of the paper consists of analyses of the commissioned self-evaluations of the higher education institutions, and the strategic choices and dilemmas they expressed. The process can be seen as organizational engineering in the sense that it emerges from the self-evaluation process, but is also subject to governancing on the part of the ministry.     

How Specific are Specific Comprehension Difficulties? An Investigation of Poor Reading Comprehension in Nine-Year-Olds

This study explores the incidence of poor comprehenders, that is, children identified as having reading comprehension difficulties, despite age-appropriate word reading skills. It supports the findings that some children do show poor reading comprehension, despite age-appropriate word reading, as measured with a phonological coding test. However, the proportion of poor comprehenders was smaller than the frequently reported 10–15%, and smaller yet, when average sight word recognition, measured with an orthographic coding test, was also set as a criterion for word reading skill. Compared to average comprehenders, the poor comprehenders’ orthographic coding and daily reading of literary texts were significantly below those of average readers. This study indicates that a lack of reading experience, and likewise, a lack of fluent word reading, may be important factors in understanding 9-year-old poor comprehenders’ difficulties.     

Applying social production function theory to benefits of schooling: the concept of values of education

Abstract

Many approaches to explaining educational inequalities relate explicitly and implicitly to benefits of education, and rational choice theories in particular consider monetary benefits. We specify a concept of the value of education that allows for an empirical analysis of educational benefits, considering both monetary and non-monetary dimensions (instrumental goals) outlined in social production function theory. Our objectives include introducing a sound theoretical framework, the validation of an empirical measurement instrument and an analysis of the differences between certain dimensions of educational values structured by social origin, gender and immigrant background. Analyses are based on a two-wave panel study (SASAL-School Alienation in Switzerland and Luxembourg) carried out in secondary schools in Luxembourg and Switzerland. We distinguish four dimensions within the concept of values of education: stimulation, comfort/status, behavioural confirmation and affection. The different dimensions of the value of education are influenced by gender and immigrant backgrounds in both national settings.     

Infant Proneness-to-Distress Temperament, Maternal Personality, and Mother-Infant Attachment: Associations and Goodness of Fit

66 mother-infant pairs were examined when the infants were 9 and 13 months. The purpose of this report was to examine relations between infant proneness-to-distress temperament, maternal personality characteristics, and mother-infant attachment. There were no main-effect relations between infant proneness-to-distress temperament as assessed at 9 months and infant attachment classification at 13 months. This was true whether security of attachment (A and C vs. B) or proposed temperament (A1-B2 vs. B3-C2) groupings of attachment classifications were examined. Infant proneness-to-distress temperament, however, was associated with maternal behavior and personality. Furthermore, security of attachment could be predicted by an interaction between maternal personality and infant proneness-to-distress. The importance of considering goodness-of-fit relations in predicting attachment security is discussed.     

Translation and its discontents II: a German perspective

International cooperation in history teaching and related teacher education requires clarification of terminology as well as of underlying concepts and theoretical foundations, since these levels are fundamentally intertwining. If these levels are addressed, both comparison and translation do not only make cooperation possible, but promise valuable contributions to the clarification of such concepts on either side. Being the German counterpart to the viewpoint of Peter Seixas, this article both corroborates and adds to his reflections. Three complexes of theory and terminology are addressed: ‘Geschichtsbewusstsein’ (‘historical consciousness’) with special regard to the concept of ‘Sinnbildung’ in Jörn Rüsen’s theory, the German focus on the concepts of source (‘Quelle’) compared to the Anglosaxon concept of ‘evidence’ and the challenges posed by translating Jörn Rüsen’s concept of ‘Triftigkeiten’ (plausibility) as a criterion for assessing the quality of historical statements.     

Understanding and describing mathematical knowledge for teaching: knowledge about proof for engaging students in the activity of proving

This article is situated in the research domain that investigates what mathematical knowledge is useful for, and usable in, mathematics teaching. Specifically, the article contributes to the issue of understanding and describing what knowledge about proof is likely to be important for teachers to have as they engage students in the activity of proving. We explain that existing research informs the knowledge about the logico-linguistic aspects of proof that teachers might need, and we argue that this knowledge should be complemented by what we call knowledge of situations for proving. This form of knowledge is essential as teachers mobilize proving opportunities for their students in mathematics classrooms. We identify two sub-components of the knowledge of situations for proving: knowledge of different kinds of proving tasks and knowledge of the relationship between proving tasks and proving activity. In order to promote understanding of the former type of knowledge, we develop and illustrate a classification of proving tasks based on two mathematical criteria: (1) the number of cases involved in a task (a single case, multiple but finitely many cases, or infinitely many cases), and (2) the purpose of the task (to verify or to refute statements). In order to promote understanding of the latter type of knowledge, we develop a framework for the relationship between different proving tasks and anticipated proving activity when these tasks are implemented in classrooms, and we exemplify the components of the framework using data from third grade. We also discuss possible directions for future research into teachers’ knowledge about proof.

Making Explicit the Analysis of Students’ Mathematical Discourses – Revisiting a Newly Developed Methodological Framework

Sfard and Kieran [Kieran, C., Educational Studies in Mathematics 46, 2001, 187–228; Sfard, A., Educational Studies in Mathematics 46, 2001, 13–57; Sfard, A. and Kieran, C., Mind, Culture, and Activity 8, 2001, 42–76] have developed a methodological framework, which aims at characterizing the students’ mathematical discourses while they are working in groups. In this study, I focus on an important aspect of this methodological framework, namely the interactive flowcharts. The aim of this study is to suggest two complementary analyses for the construction of the interactive flowcharts: an additional analysis by means of the analytical construct of contextualization as well as an analysis of types of mathematical discourses. Based on data from a study of how four groups of Swedish engineering students collaboratively construct concept maps in linear algebra. I show that the two complementary analyses make the construction of the interactive flowcharts more coherent and transparent, and hence, more reliable. Furthermore, the two complementary analyses dramatically changed the picture as to whether the studied discourses were to be seen as mathematically productive or not. In the end of the article, I discuss the possibilities of performing the suggested additional analyses within the original methodological framework.