Disrupting deficit: the power of ‘the pause’ in resisting the dominance of deficit knowledges in education

Deficit ways of speaking about educationally displaced young people are a dominant feature in the language educators draw on to make sense of particular young people. This language can have debilitating effects on the lives of those young people it is applied to. Despite well over 20 years of critique, deficit truths have remained dominant. However, in one Australian organisation, this dominance is being resisted. The resistance makes its appearance through an active silence I have termed ‘the pause’. The notion of ‘the pause’ came from teacher interviews in an ethnographic study of four alternative schools in one Australian organisation working with young people experiencing the extremes of disadvantage. I use the Foucaultian notion of silence to explore the suggestion that ‘the pause’ is one tactic deployed by this organisation, working to both resist and disrupt the dominance of deficit knowledges. I argue that these educators’ deployment of ‘the pause’ demonstrates their formation of a space where new language about these young people is engaged.     

Summary

In this article, workplace communications and training consultant Ginny Barnes highlights the workplace tensions as Generation Y young adults replace their baby‐Boomer parents on the job. The author points out that Gen Y staff bring different expectations to the workplace. These young people are, for example, cynical about current leadership and want to be able to trust their workplace leaders; they need parent‐style coaches to help them face the intractable problems that always show up in the workplace; and they are more expert at electronic than interpersonal communication. Barnes says that Gen Y'ers can become good workers but only with some innovative management efforts to help make them so.     

Learning Communities' Impact on Student Success in Developmental English

Recent efforts to improve developmental education have included references to learning communities as examples of effective practices in basic skills education. The study “Basic skills as a foundation for student success in California community colleges” (2007 Basic skills as a foundation for student success in California community colleges . ( 2007 ). Sacramento , CA : The Center for Student Success, Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges.  [Google Scholar]) cited research from Tinto that suggested that learning communities and collaborative learning activities were effective in improving academic performance and persistence of developmental students. The improvement is because “students encounter learning as a shared experience rather than isolated experience,” and that learning communities “emphasizing collaborative learning have a positive impact on student attitudes toward learning” (Tinto, 1997b, cited in “Basic skills as a foundation for student success in California community colleges,” 2007 Basic skills as a foundation for student success in California community colleges . ( 2007 ). Sacramento , CA : The Center for Student Success, Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges.  [Google Scholar], p. 58). The problem under investigation in this study was whether learning communities were effective in improving student success in community college developmental English courses, and whether there were differences in learning community outcomes among gender and racial/ethnic groups. Student success was defined, for the purpose of this study, as successful course completion. This study of the impact of a learning community on success in developmental English in an urban community college demonstrated that learning communities are effective in assisting students to succeed in higher level developmental English courses. This level of success was not demonstrated in the lowest level developmental English courses, however.     

The role of footwear in minimizing lower limb injury

The shoe can be thought of as a powerful tool for controlling human movement. A well‐designed shoe can assist in reducing the number of lower limb injuries arising from sport and training activities. The purpose of this paper is to present a summary of the main thrusts of research in this field by means of a digest of current thinking and practice.

The paper initially presents a survey of work in the biomechanical field with particular reference to the design of footwear. A review of the types of injury acquired by sportsmen in both training and playing is then followed by a discussion of aspects of footwear design and their role in both contributing to and preventing lower limb injury. Finally, the paper considers support and shock absorption techniques in the context of footwear design.

It is concluded that research has been wide‐ranging and thorough. However, the complexity of the biomechanical system being studied has prevented definitive recommendations for the prevention of injury being made in every case. Nonetheless, it is clear that a number of guiding principles have been established which should be the basis for future developments in footwear design to minimize the chance of lower limb injury.     

Assessment360: A Promising Assessment Technique for Preservice Teacher Education

The call for preservice teachers to exercise reflective practices has echoed through U.S. education policy and research for a number of years and is evident in U.S. preservice teaching standards. As a result, educator preparation programs are challenged to design learning experiences and assessments that foster reflection skills. This study describes a promising assessment technique, named Assessment360, which can be implemented during coursework to prepare future teachers to be reflective practitioners. Assessment360 is a formative assessment technique in which students reflect on the content of a quiz individually and collaboratively in order to develop a deeper and more integrated understanding of the material. Thirty-one preservice education students enrolled in an undergraduate educational psychology course participated in this research. Results of the questionnaire suggested participation in Assessment360 potentially (a) fostered reflection, (b) encouraged peer interaction and learning (i.e., collaboration), and (c) promoted timely and frequent feedback. Implications and significance are discussed.     

A Person-Centered Approach to Understanding Teachers' Classroom Practices and Perceived School Goal Structures

ABSTRACT

We examined 179 teachers' perceptions of their own classroom practices and their school's motivational climate to illuminate the ways these perceptions work in concert. Using teachers' responses to two scales of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Survey, a cluster analysis revealed three profiles of teachers described as cluster 1: Aligned: Performance Moderate, Mastery High: We agree with everything!; cluster 2: Aligned: Performance Low, Mastery High: Yea to Mastery! Nay to Performance!; and cluster 3: Unaligned: Classroom Mastery with School Performance: We're Mastery Structured in a Performance School. Cluster analyses revealed significant differences suggesting these teacher groups had distinct profiles. This study adds to the literature on goal theory aimed at understanding and advancing teachers' motivationally supportive practices and can be used in teacher education and development to help teachers identify, reflect on, and understand their classroom goal structures and how they relate to structures operating at the school level.     

Supporting mathematics vocabulary instruction through mathematics curricula

Abstract

This study examines four of the most commonly-used core mathematics curricula in the USA for evidence of support for research-based instructional strategies for mathematics vocabulary in first and second grade. Content analyses of the teachers’ editions of two units for each grade level were analyzed per curriculum (n?=?16). Statistically significant differences among curricula were found for number of target words (range 6–51 per unit), level of difficulty of terms (basic to technical), and number of support strategies per word. Multiple means of representation varied in terms of verbal and non-verbal strategies for target terms. These differences indicate children are experiencing substantially different mathematics vocabulary learning opportunities, which may impact later mathematics achievement. Implications for practice, curriculum development, and future research are addressed.     

Developing latent mathematics abilities in economically disadvantaged students

This Javits grant evaluation study sought to develop latent abilities in economically disadvantaged students by providing opportunities for mathematics development and acceleration. This study examined the effects of Kumon instruction, a supplementary, highly sequential, individualized method of developing mathematics skills. Whole classes of Title I elementary school students from grades two through five were divided into two groups, those with Kumon instruction and those without. All students continued with traditional textbook mathematics. Pre‐and posttests were administered to all participants to assess progress, compare standardized test results, and examine levels of acceleration. Results showed that Kumon group students improved their mathematics skill levels more than non‐Kumon group students, and they scored significantly higher than non‐Kumon group students two years after their Kumon instruction ended.