The Seeds of Time: Why Classroom Dialogue Needs a Temporal Analysis

The process of teaching and learning in school has a natural long-term trajectory and cannot be understood only as a series of discrete educational events. Classroom talk plays an important role in mediating this long-term process, and in this article I argue that more attention should be given to the temporal dimension of classroom dialogue, both empirically and theoretically, if we are to appreciate how children gain an education from their classroom experience. I explore this topic using data from recent applied, interventional research in United Kingdom primary schools and examine how classroom talk is used to represent past shared experience, carry ideas forward from one occasion to another, approach future activities, and achieve learning outcomes. The article ends with a discussion of the theoretical, methodological, and educational implications of making this kind of temporal analysis.     

Self‐management Strategies for Headteachers

The first article in this series dealt with personnel management for headteachers and other school managers. This paper considers an equally important matter: self‐management. Based on interviews and observations of a range of effective executives, a number of strategies are presented as guides for tackling school management in a manner that is more effective, better informed and more balanced. Suggestions are provided for apportioning limited time, examining school problems and opportunities, pursuing administrative development and benefiting from failures. The paper identifies and advocates reliance on sources of advice and support that are frequently overlooked. Attention is also given to balancing managerial and personal demands.     

The role of formal and informal theory in the training of student teachers

In the mid‐1990s, primary teacher education is searching for an accepted theoretical underpinning of its activity and rubric for the preparation of the next generation of teachers. This paper cites four such theoretical foundations. The first three arise from formal theory and political considerations and are labelled ideological neutrality, modern progressivism and a fusion between symbolic interactionism and social constructivism. The fourth however represents a paradigm shift. This model seeks to validate informal theory generated during the practical teaching experiences of serving teachers and in particular the interaction between student teachers and teacher mentors. It proposes an adaptation of Rowland's (1987) model of teacher‐pupil interaction to the context of student teacher professional development.     

The online or e‐survey: a research approach for the ICT age

Over the last two decades or so, organisations everywhere have been subjected to considerable restructuring and reform. Schools have been no exception to this trend. Devolution has been prominent amongst the managerial reforms which have affected primarily the work practices of managers (James, 2003). In the context of schooling, devolution or school based management has increased the decision‐making powers of schools and their communities. It has also brought with it the requirement that schools meet a wider range of accountability measures (Whitty et al., 1998). In such a climate, school leaders are likely to find themselves juggling a ‘multitude of competing obligations and interests’ (Cooper, 1998, p. 244). This complex operational milieu requires school leaders to confront and resolve conflicting interests as they endeavour to balance a variety of values and expectations in their decision‐making. Not surprisingly, the result is often ethical dilemmas for leaders.

In this paper we argue that an understanding of ethics and ethical dilemmas is crucial for educational leaders due to the value‐laden nature of their work. We put forward a tentative generic model that endeavours to assist our understanding of the forces impacting upon and processes characterising the decision‐making dynamics emerging from an ethical dilemma. A scenario is posed and tested against the model.     

Other Books on Broadcasting

Howard Poteet's Published Radio a Television, and Film Scripts:A BibLioqraphy (Troy, N.Y.: Whiston Publishing Co., 1975—$15.00)

Richard Adler (ed.) Television as a Cultural Force (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1976—$15.00/4.95, with single pbk copies available from the Aspen Communications program office in Palo Alto (see order form enclosed))

Jethro K. Lieberman and Neil S. Rhodes' The Complete CB_Handbook (New York: Avon Books 29553, 1976—$1.75, paper)

Fredric Stuart's The Effects of Television on the Motion Picture and Radio Industries (New York: Arno Press, 1976—$23.00)

Ben Armstrong and LaVay Sheldon (eds.) Directory of Religious Broadcasting : 1976 (National Religious Broadcasters, Box 2254R, Morristown, N.J. 07960—$15.00, paper)

MARC Newsletter (Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center, 191 West Huntington Drive, Monrovia, Calif. 91016)

Spectrum (Billy Graham Program in Communications, Graduate School, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill. 60187)

WACC Journal (Eckart-Verlag, D-4800 Bielefeld 1, Postfach 2520, Federal Republic of Germany)

Action (World Association for Christian Communication, 7 St. James St., London SW 1, England)

Interfilm Reports (Bulletin of Interfilm, the International Interchurch Film Centre, P.O. Box 515, Hilversum, Netherlands)

Pastor A.W. Allworthy's Petition Lansman-Milam Petition (Christ the Light Works, Box 19641, Dallas, Texas 75219– $8.45, paper, including postage)     

World Communication

GLOBAL INFORMATION AND WORLD COMMUNICATION: NEW FRONTIERS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS by Hamid Mowlana (New York.: Longman, 1986—price not given)

IBM VS. JAPAN: THE STRUGGLE FOR THE FUTURE by Robert Sobel (Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein & Day, 1986—$18.95)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS—ASIA, AMERICAS, PACIFIC: PTC '86 PROCEEDINGS edited by Dan J. Uedemeyer (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986—$45.00, paper)

JAPANESE-U.S. SPACE POLICY ISSUES: COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE AND LAUNCH VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY by Neil W. Davis (Information Resources Policy Program, Harvard University, 200 Aiken, Cambridge, MA 01238—price not given, paper)

FROM TELECOMMUNICATIONS TO ELECTRONIC SERVICES: A GLOBAL SPECTRUM OF DEFINITIONS, BOUNDARY LINES AND STRUCTURES by Robert Bruce, et al (for information contact International Institute of Communications, Tavistock House South, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LF)     

Addressing the Extreme Assumptions of Presumed Linkings

The interpretability of score comparisons depends on the design and execution of a sound data collection plan and the establishment of linkings between these scores. When comparisons are made between scores from two or more assessments that are built to different specifications and are administered to different populations under different conditions, the validity of the comparisons hinges on untestable assumptions. For example, tests administered across different disability groups or tests administered to different language groups produce scores for which implicit linkings are presumed to hold. Presumed linking makes use of extreme assumptions to produce links between scores on tests in the absence of common test material or equivalent groups of test takers. These presumed linkings lead to dubious interpretations. This article suggests an approach that indirectly assesses the validity of these presumed linkings among scores on assessments that contain neither equivalent groups nor common anchor material.