The becoming place: A study of educational change in a small college

One of the more astonishing characteristics of educational research is the relative lack of social organizational analyses of higher educational institutions. There is even a greater gap in the literature with regard to thechange process associated with a given university or college. The present study is an examination of one college's attempt to change from a traditional white female finishing college to a larger biracial and coeducational college committed to experimental and innovative educational programs. Two ideal types of educational social organizations are utilized as explicit aids for the specification of the educational change process observed for the Becoming Place during the time period 1969 to 1975. The major findings, which are based on several data sources, can be summarized as follows. (1) Even when a proposed educational change is characterized by ideals of maximum involvement in the decision making process for all members of a college community, resistance to the change can be very substantial. (2) Ironically, little or no involvement by the faculty, students, and alumni in the initial decision to innovate was a major factor for the resistance to educational social change. The research is concluded with a consideration of the findings in terms of possible implications for the future of small colleges.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Knoxville, TN, April 1980.     

The Effect of Functional Flow Diagrams on Apprentice Aircraft Mechanics' Technical System Understanding

Cognitive theory suggests that a key to expert performance lies in the internal organization of the expert's knowledge. The authors contend that the type of technical illustration used during instruction influences knowledge organization and greatly impacts students' understanding of the content. This paper describes an experimental study that tested the impact of one type of conceptual illustration on students' understanding of the structure, function, and behavior of complex technical systems. The results show that supplementing traditional technical instruction with functional flow diagrams can improve overall system understanding. The functional flow diagrams were also found to be an effective instructional aid for enhancing students' conceptual understanding of the causal behavior of systems. In addition, the use of the functional flow diagram was found to significantly improve the subjects' ability to construct conceptual models that were similar to those of an expert. The implications of using conceptual diagrams for technical instruction are discussed and recommendations for future research in this area are provided.     

A test of anxiety/uncertainty management theory: The intercultural adaptation context

Anxiety/Uncertainty Management theory, as formulated by Gudykunst and Hammer (1987a), proposes that intercultural adaptation outcomes are based on the two mediating dimensions of uncertainty reduction and anxiety reduction and sixteen secondary variables that systematically influence uncertainty and anxiety reduction. In this paper, the sixteen variables originally identified are categorized into four “fundamental factors”; (interpersonal saliencies, intergroup saliencies, communication message exchange, and host contact conditions). The present study examines this revised Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (AUM) theory of intercultural adaptation. A total of 291 international students at two universities in the United States participated in the study. The study found overall fit of the revised AUM theory vis‐a‐vis the two mediating factors of uncertainty and anxiety reduction, the importance of interpersonal saliencies for uncertainty reduction, and the importance of host contact conditions for facilitating feelings of comfort and reducing anxiety. Intergroup saliencies were significantly related to uncertainty reduction but not, contrary to expectation, to anxiety reduction. Communication message exchange (which consists of information gathering strategies and second language proficiency) was, again contrary to expectation, not significantly related to either uncertainty or anxiety reduction. Finally, cultural identity showed a small though significant negative relationship to intergroup saliencies, suggesting a stronger, ingroup identity was associated with increased uncertainty. The paper concludes by proffering explanations for the findings and suggestions for future research.     

Weaving Curriculum Connections in International Baccalaureate (IB) Schools

In this article we discuss how school leaders address challenges when implementing innovative international education curricula, namely International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. Specifically, we frame challenges in curriculum implementation of and transition between IB programs from a “disconnection” perspective. We have often noticed when innovative programs are parceled together without preparation and thrust at great speed at schools, they become disconnected. The hasty implementation of multiple IB programs simultaneously at a school also causes disconnection. Drawing on extensive interview data from principals, mid-level leaders, and teachers in five IB schools adopting multiple IB programs in Asia, we detail curriculum disconnection facing IB schools and how school leaders, including teacher leaders, address such challenges by weaving various disconnected points, namely instrumental, intellectual, cultural, professional, and communicative disconnections. Based on findings from the multisite case study, we argue that school leaders in the case of IB schools adopt a range of leadership strategies to weave disconnection points. We reframe the leadership strategies as two aspects of distributed leadership: distributed instructional leadership and teacher leadership. In conclusion, we suggest that a central facet for successful leadership of IB schools that adopt multiple IB programs is about finding, focusing, and facilitating ways to address disconnections in curriculum implementation of and transition between different IB programs.     

Success by Degrees: Addressing Teacher Shortages through a School-Community College-University Partnership

Using a teacher recruitment and preparation model, a unique partnership between PK–12 schools, a community college, and a university is examined. The focus is on the training and credentialing of future educators, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds, in an efficient and quality manner to assist in meeting the current PK–12 teacher shortage. Data indicate that the partnership is progressing towards, or has met, its targets in addressing said shortage.     

Choice of Reading Comprehension Test Influences the Outcomes of Genetic Analyses

Vowel representations are particularly difficult for children to learn because most vowel phonemes can be spelled in several different ways. Children in Grades 1, 2, and 3 spelled nonwords with an ambiguous vowel and reported their spelling strategies. Analysis of the children's spellings and strategy reports revealed a shift in relying solely on phonological information to considering orthographic information for making vowel letter choices. Implications for vowel spelling development are discussed.     

Learning Introductory Quantum Physics: Sensori‐motor experiences and mental models

This paper reports a cross‐sectional study of Taiwanese physics students’ understanding of subatomic phenomena that are explained by quantum mechanics. The study uses students’ explanations of their answers to items in a questionnaire as a proxy for students’ thinking. The variation in students’ explanations is discussed as is the development in the way in which students link different concepts. A discussion of the source of students’ ideas turns to the way schema contain mental models that derive from sensori‐experiences. The principal recommendation for teaching is the need to include practical activities on a range of precursor phenomena so as to extend the students repertoires of mental models. This advice is different from that given in previous studies.     

Research Experience as a Component of Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation

Journal of Science Teacher Education -