Colonial legacies and neo‐colonial practices in Papua New Guinean higher education

This paper explores the Westernization of academic quality within the Papua New Guinea higher education system and the hybridity of the university sector where different actors force knowledge to be created for the needs of a small, formal economy, rather than for the development needs of the country. The country has yet to find a system that best responds to its educational needs; several models have been put into practice but without significant results. The approach that the PNG higher education institutes have taken, continuing the colonial tradition, builds on and is reinforced by the new international trends in higher education that follow the market needs, giving a false guarantee that HE is contributing to the economic growth of the country. Colonial legacies and neo‐colonial practices provide the conceptual framework.     

A cultural assets model for school effectiveness

This paper offers a cultural assets model for supporting school effectiveness that moves beyond the deficit and difference approaches of the twentieth century. The model incorporates the capacity to identify contemporary cultural assets, and support cultural continuity, cultural diversity and cultural resilience during change. Undertaking concept-centric analysis, the reconceptualised understanding of contemporary cultural assets informs the construction of schools as cultural hubs, and reveals seven benefits that enhance asset-based approaches to school effectiveness. The model incorporates multigenerational flows of influence, community cultural activities, a communication conduit, and glocalised interactions. An empirical analysis of evidence advances the model’s sociocultural view of effective schools; provides opportunities to extend research beyond minority studies; and establishes the importance of cultural assets in secure base leadership for developing schools as dynamic organisations.     

Reading improvement with tinted lenses: a report of two cases

There have been numerous anecdotal reports of an improvement in reading in dyslexic children fitted with tinted spectacle lenses. Few of these cases have been subjected to any sort of scientific scrutiny. We report the findings in two dyslexic brothers each of whom showed a marked improvement in reading facility when reading print material either through a semi-transparent tinted plastic sheet (overlay) or through tinted spectacle lenses. Other observed effects of the tinted overlays and/or tinted lenses were improved visual acuity, improved figure/ground perception and reduction in apparent distortions and fragmentation of print. Such improvements were noted in either one or both of the boys. A speculative explanation for this effect is that the lenses act by altering the transmission of impulses along the primary visual pathway.     

Talking up learning at work: Cautionary tales in co‐opting everyday learning

Learning in workplaces is always mediated through talk. It is tempting for management to seek to utilise everyday talk as part of learning and therefore enhance productivity. This paper examines the responses of workers to interventions that aim to formalise informal conversations at work as part of an explicit workplace learning strategy. It draws on interviews with managers and workers in a public sector organisation to examine their experience of these practices. The paper raises questions about whether interventions in the name of fostering informal learning may well be hindering what they seek to promote.     

The dynamics of elite paddling on a kayak simulator

During kayak paddling, athletes attempt to maximize kayak velocity with the generation of optimal paddle forces. The aim of the current study was to examine ten elite kayakers and identify a number of key biomechanical performance variables during maximal paddling on a custom kayak simulator. These included analysing the effect of side (left and right) and period (beginning, middle, and end of the kayak simulation) on paddle force, paddle angle, mechanical efficiency, and stroke timing data. Paddle kinetics and kinematics were measured with strain gauge force transducers attached to either end of the ergometer paddle and using a 3D motion analysis system respectively. Results indicated a significantly greater mechanical efficiency during the right paddle stroke compared with the left (P < 0.025). In addition, analysing the effect of period, peak paddle force demonstrated a significant reduction when comparing the beginning to the middle and end of the simulated race respectively (P < 0.025). Examination of individual force profiles revealed considerable individuality, with significant variation in the time course of force application. Analysis of the profiles presented may provide meaningful feedback for kayakers and their coaches.     

Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective

With the increasing challenges facing professional engineers working in more complex, global and interdisciplinary contexts, different approaches to understanding how engineers practice and learn are necessary. This paper draws on recent research in the social sciences from the field of workplace learning, to suggest that a practice-theory perspective on engineers' professional learning is fruitful. It shifts the focus from the attributes of the individual learner (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to the attributes of the practice (interactions, materiality, opportunities and challenges). Learning is thus more than the technical acquisition and transfer of knowledge, but a complex bundle of activities, that is, social, material, embodied and emerging. The paper is illustrated with examples from a research study of the learning of experienced engineers in the construction industry to demonstrate common practices – site walks and design review meetings – in which learning takes place.     

Knowledge appreciates your generosity: exploring a meeting point between knowledge and wisdom

I pay tribute to Don Lamberton in this paper by exploring the importance of generosity in knowledge systems. The purpose of this paper is to show that a range of important dynamics in knowledge systems are enhanced by generosity. I also argue that generosity is one of the meeting points between knowledge and wisdom, and that it should become an important consideration in the knowledge policy development process. It is important that we move knowledge systems closer to wisdom if we are to respond in the best ways to such major global challenges as climate change, a fragile global financial system, the emergence of new technologies, poverty, endemic military and paramilitary conflict, and global food and water security.     

A discussion of the developing role of educational psychologists within Children’s Services

This paper reflects upon the developing role of educational psychologists (EPs) within the local authority Children’s Services, from the starting point that the EP role has, through numerous reviews, been clearly conceptualised. Detailing the philosophy and framework for the inception of Children’s Services in England, the authors propose two specific directions for EP work within this context. With an illustrative case study of one local authority EP service, it is argued that, whilst the core EP functions remain constant, it is the range and derivation of EP work which is being, and will continue to be, transformed. Reinforcing Stobie’s emphasis from 2002 upon EPs’ ability to respond flexibly to the changing socio‐political context, and the associated challenges for initial professional training, the authors highlight the significance of issues of role specialisation, commissioning of educational psychology services, and evaluation of the outcomes of EP work. A strategy for future EP role reviews is proposed.