Teaching writing in grades 4–6 in urban schools in the Greater China Region

A random sample of 1102 grade 4–6 Chinese language arts teachers in Beijing, Macao, and Taipei City were surveyed about their instructional writing practices. Seventy-eight percent (n = 857) of the teachers completed the survey. Teachers were generally positive about the usefulness of their college teacher preparation program. They slightly agreed that they liked to write, teach writing, and were effective writing teachers. Their beliefs about writing were related to the instructional practices they reportedly applied, and textbooks along with school guidelines played a prominent role in shaping their overall writing program. Teachers’ programs emphasized product-based instruction, but also placed considerable emphasis on writing process and content. They further indicated an average writing class lasted 69 min, but almost 80 % of teachers indicated they taught writing only once every 2–4 weeks, raising a concern about amount and timing of writing instruction. Consistent with social/cultural theory, Chinese writing teachers in these three urban locations evidenced differences on almost every variable studied. We expected such differences as macro-level features involving government and educational policy varied across locations. The observed differences were mostly a matter of degree (i.e., teachers applied certain practices more or less frequently) versus a more general difference in how writing was taught.     

Toward a research-based assessment of dyslexia: using cognitive measures to identify reading disabilities

One hundred five participants from a random sample of elementary and middle school children completed measures of reading achievement and cognitive abilities presumed, based on a synthesis of current dyslexia research, to underlie reading. Factor analyses of these cognitive variables (including auditory processing, phonological awareness, short-term auditory memory, visual memory, rapid automatized naming, and visual processing speed) produced three empirically and theoretically derived factors (auditory processing, visual processing/speed, and memory), each of which contributed to the prediction of reading and spelling skills. Factor scores from the three factors combined predicted 85% of the variance associated with letter/sight word naming, 70% of the variance associated with reading comprehension, 73% for spelling, and 61% for phonetic decoding. The auditory processing factor was the strongest predictor, accounting for 27% to 43% of the variance across the different achievement areas. The results provide practitioner and researcher with theoretical and empirical support for the inclusion of measures of the three factors, in addition to specific measures of reading achievement, in a standardized assessment of dyslexia. Guidelines for a thorough, research-based assessment are provided.     

A comprehensive survey of IS undergraduate degree courses in the UK

There is little conclusive evidence about the state of the IS curriculum in the UK. This paper presents the results of a detailed survey about the provision of Information Systems (IS) undergraduate degree courses in the UK using the newly developed IS 2010 curriculum guidelines as its basis. IS 2010 identifies three main categories of knowledge that underpin the essence of IS as an academic subject: IS Specific Knowledge and Skills, Domain Fundamentals and Foundational Knowledge and Skills. Our desire to offer a holistic and conclusive representation of the curriculum is supported by the development of an IS curriculum survey framework that caters for the mapping of every subject that populates the IS curricula of undergraduate degrees in the UK, including subjects that are generic or are derived from other hierarchical disciplines.     

The effects of school board consolidation and financing on student performance

Over the last 20 years, states and provinces have become increasingly involved in the financing and administration of elementary and secondary education. Local school boards, however, still retain control over key aspects of the provision of education. Historically, these boards were organized at the community level so as to meet the wants of the local community. Today, states and provinces have become more interested in consolidating school boards and moving to a more centralized funding scheme. Do these changes result in improved student achievement? This paper attempts to answer these questions by examining the school board consolidation and funding changes instituted by the province of Ontario. We differentiate the effects of the policy changes based on observed differences in the school boards prior to consolidation. We show that students in previously high wealth school boards perform worse after the policy change compared to students in previously low wealth school boards.     

Developing online problem‐based resources for the professional development of teachers of children with visual impairment

This article presents a summary of the results from phase 1 of a two‐phase research project. Drawing on the principles of problem‐based learning (PBL), the aims of phase 1 were to design, develop and evaluate a set of flexible online teaching resources for use within a virtual learning environment. Participants in the project (n = 10) were volunteers from students registered on a two‐year distance education programme of study for specialist teachers of children with visual impairment. Two case scenarios were developed for the project, each of which was based around a fictitious support service for teachers of children with visual impairment. Following a campus‐based study day, the participants were assigned to one of two ‘PBL Activity Groups’ and completed a series of tasks within each case scenario. Participation in the project was supported by members of the Project Team over a period of one semester, following which participants were asked to provide feedback through an online questionnaire. A summary of the feedback is presented, and key findings discussed. The results suggest that, with appropriate resources, adequate preparatory training and effective tutor support, online PBL can be an effective method for supplementing the continuing professional development of specialist teachers studying through distance education.     

The White British‐Black Caribbean achievement gap: Tests,tiers and teacher expectations

A recent analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) indicates a White British–Black Caribbean achievement gap at age 14 which cannot be accounted for by socio‐economic variables or a wide range of contextual factors. This article uses the LSYPE to analyse patterns of entry to the different tiers of national mathematics and science tests at age 14. Each tier gives access to a limited range of outcomes with the highest test outcomes achievable only if students are entered by their teachers to the higher tiers. The results indicate that Black Caribbean students are systematically under‐represented in entry to the higher tiers relative to their White British peers. This gap persists after controls for prior attainment, socio‐economic variables and a wide range of pupil, family, school and neighbourhood factors. Differential entry to test tiers provides a window on teacher expectation effects which may contribute to the achievement gap.     

Skills‐Based Training and Counseling Self‐Efficacy

The authors studied the effectiveness of the skilled counselor training model (SCTM). Counseling students who completed the SCTM demonstrated greater gains in skills acquisition and counseling self‐efficacy than counseling students who did not receive the training. At pretest, the counseling students in both groups, doing self‐appraisals, rated their performance of counseling skills significantly higher than trained raters assessed the students' performance of counseling skills. At posttest, members of the control group continued to overestimate their skills levels when compared with the ratings given by the trained raters, whereas, in comparison, students who received SCTM training underestimated their performance.     

From old soccer to new football? Expert accounts of transformations on the world game in Australia post-Crawford Report

This article investigated and evaluated the changes which have occurred in Australian football since the publication of the Crawford Report in 2003. Prior to this report, it was widely perceived that football was the ‘sleeping giant’ of Australian professional sport despite its popularity at youth participant level. The Crawford Report made a range of recommendations and a new era was heralded when Football Federation Australia was established which set upon the task of adopting a number of Crawford’s recommendations. To investigate the impact of the Crawford Report on the current status of Australian football, a qualitative methodology was adopted. Purposive sampling was adopted to give voice to senior football figures who were involved in the sport in both the pre- and post-Crawford Report periods and a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted. A number of significant themes emerged from the research. All participants agreed that Australian football’s appeal has been broadened. However, the interviews also reported that the perception of football as a minor code and always relegated to the ethnic margins was a ‘myth’. Also, the participants raised the issue of whether the Crawford Report was implemented to its fullest degree. They were passionate about the idea that if all recommendations were implemented, the sport might currently be in a much stronger position.     

Having the balls,having it all? Sport and constructions of undergraduate laddishness

This article investigates the role of sport in framing and communicating hegemonic masculinity among male undergraduates within one British university. The data were collected through questionnaires and one‐to‐one interviews with 24 male students who were asked to consider their relationship with laddish masculinities. The evidence indicates that sport was important in framing hegemonic masculinities within this milieu. While participants recognised the importance of sport in constructing masculinity, they were also critical of sportsmen’s ‘laddish’ practices and attempted to distance themselves from these behaviours. Nevertheless, they remained complicit to the more general attributes of hegemonic masculinity – particularly notions of strength and independence. The article discusses the implications of this finding for how researchers might conceptualise hegemonic masculinity, and offers a suggestion on how they might harness these attributes to challenge the more negative practices associated with manhood.     

A trajectory of teacher development in early and mid-career

Scholars in recent years have studied the professional development of teachers, identifying stages or phases that teachers characteristically experience during their careers. Little research, however, has focused specifically on the professional development of teachers during early and mid-career (years 1–10), which is the aim of the present study. An understanding of such development is important for school administrators and teacher educators if they are to respond effectively to teachers’ professional needs and help them achieve their full potential as practitioners. Our study is based on interviews we conducted with 53 teachers who had graduated from a particular 5-year teacher education programme in western United States over a 10-year period. They taught students ages 5 through 13. Through analysis of the interviews, we identified six themes that, we argue, reveal a trajectory of professional development teachers experience as they become increasingly able practitioners. We explain how the themes are related to the concepts of teacher identity and teacher agency, and we suggest ways that administrators, inservice teacher educators, and policymakers can better support teachers during their early and mid-careers. The study adds a new dimension—that of a multifaceted trajectory—to current theory on teacher development.