Silence or the sound of limpid water: disability,power, and the educationalisation of silence

Abstract

In this article the history of silence is looked at from an educational perspective. By closely examining the way three nineteenth-century authors – who all based their educational theories on concrete experiences with persons with disabilities – have related themselves to silence, it will be argued that silence has been educationalised. Silence has been increasingly integrated in the teacher’s official tool box in order to make sure a new kind of discipline can be encountered in the classroom. The educationalisation of silence that can be found in the works of Jean-Marc Itard, Edouard Seguin and Maria Montessori seems to have been paralleled by a transformation in the way power was wielded over pupils in schools. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, silence seems to have lost its ability to symbolise critique and increasingly to have been used to steer the behaviour of children in a subtle way. In other words, by closely looking at the work of Itard, Séguin and Montessori one can see how silence became an integral part of a new educational landscape that tried to seduce children to do particular things and act in a particular way. In nineteenth-century schools the sound of docility would indeed gradually be replaced by the seduction of silence.     

An evaluation of spelling pronunciations as a means of improving spelling of orthographic markers

In 4 studies we tested the efficacy of artificial, letter based pronunciations to support poor spellers in building up stable orthographic representations. In all 4 studies children’s spelling skills improved during training. However, the experimental group who was trained to articulate a spelling pronunciation before spelling the word did not show a larger benefit than a well matched control group receiving the same type of training, but without spelling pronunciations. Thus, in a series of well-controlled studies using different sets of training words and slightly different training methods spelling pronunciations turned out not to be of specific help to acquire word spellings. On the contrary, knowledge of spelling pronunciations seems to be a by-product of acquiring the correct spelling.     

Effects of Training in the Use of Social and Cognitive Strategies: An Intervention Study in Secondary Mathematics in Co‐Operative Groups

ABSTRACT

This article reports on an intervention study into the effects of a training in the use of social and cognitive strategies on the learning outcomes of students in secondary mathematics education. Special attention is given to differential effects for high‐ and low‐achieving students. The focus on differential effects is derived from studies into learning in small co‐operative groups, and from the results of meta‐analyses into the effects of training in learning strategies. From these studies it can be concluded that in general such programs contribute to learning. However, it seems that low‐achieving students are unable to benefit from interventions of the kind investigated (i.e., co‐operative learning and training in learning strategies). The main question is whether it is possible to design an instructional program from which all students benefit, and from which the low‐achieving students profit more than their counterparts in the control‐program. In the present study three instructional programs for co‐operative learning were compared: (i) an experimental program with special instruction in the use of social strategies; (ii) an experimental program with special instruction in the use of cognitive strategies; and (iii) a control program without training in either cognitive or social strategies. The programs were identical with respect to mathematical content and general instructional settings (a combination of whole‐class instruction, working in co‐operative groups and individual work). The experiment addressed the following research question: what are the general and differential effects of a training in the use of social and cognitive strategies on the results of learning in secondary mathematics? The research was conducted in two schools for secondary education in a total of 21 classes, involving a total of 511 students. The design was a pretest‐posttest control group design, using two experimental groups and one control group. The data were analysed from a multi‐level perspective. The outcomes of the investigation clearly show the effects of the intervention. Teaching cognitive and social strategies has the expected, positive effects. In addition to this main effect, a compensatory effect for the low‐achieving students was found. The low‐achieving students in the experimental conditions outperformed their counterparts in the control group.

     

Networks as Policy Instruments for Innovation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to compare the effectiveness of facilitated networks to other policy instruments for agricultural innovation.

Design/ methodology/ approach: In an exploratory study of the Dutch agricultural policy context, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten experts on networks and innovation. Policy alternatives to networks included research funding, innovation experiments, knowledge vouchers for entrepreneurs, practice networks, competitions for awards/ prizes, innovation subsidies for individual entrepreneurs, legal exceptions, legislation and fiscalisation.

Findings: In early phases of the innovation process, facilitated networks were seen as more effective and cost-efficient than the other instruments. This was especially the case for system transformation. However, other instruments can have comparable performance for innovation when they result in sufficient network formation, for instance when they require that target groups build coalitions and other forms of networks. Networks were also seen as effective for system optimisation, but not more cost-efficient than other effective instruments.

Practical implications: Past policy experiences with networks enable moving beyond the generic term of ‘(facilitated) network’ to develop more advanced instruments for specific types and phases of innovation. Furthermore, the results suggest that facilitated networks may be a cost-effective alternative to the national extension services of old.

Originality/value: Many studies have shown the importance of networks for agricultural innovation. Furthermore, networks offer governments new opportunities to stimulate agricultural innovation. However, less is known about the effectiveness of networks as a policy instrument.     

Happiness disabled: sensory disabilities,happiness and the rise of educational expertise in the nineteenth century

To date, the historical entanglement of disability and happiness has not been considered an object worth of historical inquiry. Nor has the intersection of disability and emotions been used as a lens to examine the history of disability. Our paper aims at filling this academic void by analysing a wide range of philosophical, anthropological, pedagogical, popular and poetic texts dealing with the following question: “Who is unhappiest, the blind or the deaf?” On the basis of a comparative study of Belgian, Dutch, German, Swiss, Austrian, British and American primary source material, we argue that the transformation of western concepts of happiness during the nineteenth century was reflected in attitudes towards people with sensory disabilities. If at the turn of the eighteenth century happiness was considered a sensory experience, it very soon became dependent on the intervention of an educational expert. On the basis of our source material we draw the conclusion that happiness has been an overlooked factor in the construction and problematisation of disability in western societies. Analysis of the ways in which nineteenth-century authors have dealt with this question also shows how happiness became connected to new ways of wielding power, and in particular to the rise of the educational expert.     

Using a Diagnostic Test of Pupils’ Alternative Conceptions to Plan a Teaching Strategy on Electric Circuits

This paper describes a project on electricity education, aiming at the construction of a teaching strategy which takes into account pupils’ alternative conceptions on electric circuits. With this project we want to provide teachers with feasible diagnostic tools and teaching materials in order to promote conceptual change among pupils. The research findings indicate the effectiveness of a teaching strategy in one of the higher forms of secondary education in which an explicit confrontation takes place between the pupils’ own alternative conceptions and some physics concepts in the domain of electricity.     

Three dimensional musculoskeletal modelling of the abdominal crunch resistance training exercise

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits and limitations of using three dimensional (3D) musculoskeletal modelling (LifeModeler^TM) in assessing the safety and efficacy of exercising on an abdominal crunch resistance training machine. Three anthropometric cases were studied, representing a 5^th percentile female, and 50^th percentile and 95^th percentile male. Results indicated that the LifeModeler^TM default model was capable of solving the forward dynamics simulations without adjustments. The modelling was able to indicate high risk for back injury when performing the abdominal crunch exercise as a result of the unacceptable intervertebral joint loading that occurs during the exercise. Individuals with small anthropometric dimensions such as some females and children cannot be accommodated suitably on the abdominal crunch machine which negatively impacts exercise posture and technique. Hip flexor muscle contribution in the execution of the exercise for the 5^th percentile female was substantial thus reducing the efficacy of the exercise in isolating the abdominal muscles.     

What is the better predictor of students’ personal values: Parents’ values or students’ personality?

This study examines the relationship between young adults’ values, multicultural personality traits and their parents’ values. A total of 102 students and their matched parents filled in the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire and the Portrait Value Questionnaire. The influence of one's personality and one's parents’ values on personal values was tested by hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modelling. The analyses revealed a greater contribution of multicultural personality to the variance in stimulation, self-direction, universalism, and achievement values in comparison to the impact of parents’ values, whereas an opposite pattern was found for power, benevolence, and conformity. Tradition, hedonism, and security were found to be linked to multicultural personality and parents’ values to a similar extent. Furthermore, overall trait-like parents’ values were better predictors of the offspring's trait-like values, and the same effect held for parental societal values: they predicted better the offspring's societal values. The authors discuss the need for differentiation between trait-like and societally oriented values and the application of content-tailored personality measures, in line with previous studies.     

Learning basic addition facts from choosing between alternative answers

The acquisition of addition facts was investigated in a practice study. Participants were 103 Grade 1 children who practiced simple addition problems with three different methods: (a) writing down the answer, (b) choosing between two alternative answers, and (c) filling in the second missing addend. On a test with simple addition problems, children who practiced with the Choice method showed positive transfer: choosing between two answers was about as effective for learning addition facts as the conventional method of writing down the answer. There was no transfer effect for children who practiced with the Missing-Addend method. The results are in accordance with network theories on arithmetic fact learning and specifically the Identical Elements (IE) model of arithmetic fact representation.     

Incumbent performance in the face of a radical innovation: Towards a framework for incumbent challenger dynamics

When radical innovations impact an industry, established incumbents are sometimes displaced by new challengers, yet at other times, survive and prosper. What are the factors that influence these possible outcomes? Extensive as the studies are in providing insights into incumbent-challenger dynamics (ICD), the fragmented nature of the literature and the isolated treatment of various constructs at a particular level of analysis, merit a review and analysis. We (1) identify, collate and analyse several constructs from three categories; the industry, the firm and the challenge, (2) discuss the interactions among these constructs and (3) show that incumbent failure or success can be better understood when these constructs are concurrently analysed. We derive several propositions for stimulating research and develop a holistic multi-level framework for understanding incumbent-challenger dynamics. We pull together strategic management theories at the industry level with those at the organizational and inter-organizational levels in the context of disruptive innovations. We contribute by bringing in the challenge dimension across these levels to inform whether an innovation is disruptive in its effects, not just ex post but also ex ante. For illustrative purposes and to concretize our arguments, we draw on both primary data from the Dutch television industry and archival data from four episodes of disruptive innovations.