Cultural and human capital,information and higher education choices

This study examines ways in which economic and sociological explanations of higher education (HE) choices may intersect through student’s use of information. We find substantial positive associations between intention to go to university in England and each of: (i) parents’ education; (ii) cultural capital; and (iii) expectations of the size of the graduate premium. We also find an association between beliefs about the size of the graduate premium and cultural capital. These results support an integrated model of participation in HE in which social and economic factors are treated as complementary rather than competing explanations. The results run counter to previous research which has found that associations between participation in HE and socio-economic status (SES) largely disappear once students’ attainment is taken into account. One policy implication of this research is that some indicators of SES (notably household income, eligibility for free school meals or parental occupation) are sub-optimal for interventions to widen participation in HE.     

Documenting support needs and adjustment gaps for students with disabilities: teacher practices in Australian classrooms and on national tests

Accommodations or adjustments for students with disabilities (SWDs) who need them are required in Australian education law and policy for classroom instruction and assessment, and external educational accountability tests. Drawing upon the structure of the Assessment Accommodations Checklist and more than a decade of accessibility research, the Checklist of Learning and Assessment Adjustments for Students (CLAAS) was developed to help teachers select and document adjustments that support SWDs and students with additional needs in classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests. The CLAAS was trialled with 21 primary school teachers documenting adjustments for 89 students with diverse needs. Teachers indicated that the CLAAS provided a comprehensive list of adjustments, was useful for recording adjustments across classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests, and provided guidance about potential adjustments for SWDs or with additional learning needs. The documented adjustments also indicated some considerable gaps between supports provided in classrooms compared with the Australian educational accountability tests. Findings also provided initial evidence for the reliability and validity of use of the CLAAS for its intended purposes. The CLAAS is a promising tool for helping both researchers and teachers systematically document and provide equitable and inclusive adjustments for SWDs and additional learning needs given their needs for classroom learning, assessment and external testing and examination requirements.     

Equitable science education in urban middle schools: Do reform efforts make a difference?*

A central commitment of current reforms in science education is that all students, regardless of culture, gender, race, and/ or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. The study “Bridging the Gap: Equity in Systemic Reform” assessed equity in systemic reform using a nested research design that drew on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. As part of the study, case studies were conducted in two urban middle schools in large Ohio cities. The purpose of the case studies was to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. Data were analyzed using Kahle's (1998) equity metric. That model allowed us to assess progress toward equity using a range of research‐based indicators grouped into three categories critical for equitable education: access to, retention in, and achievement in quality science education. In addition, a fourth category was defined for systemic indicators of equity. Analyses indicated that the culture and climate of the case study schools differentially affected their progress toward equitable reform in science education. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 1130–1144, 2001     

Change in Self‐esteem Between Year 2 and Year 6: a longitudinal study

All Year 2 children in six randomly selected primary schools within one Local Education Authority (LEA) comprised the sample to which the Lawseq self‐esteem questionnaire was administered. Four years later, when they were Year 6, they completed the Lawseq again. A two‐way analysis of variance with Sex and Occasions was carried out on the 12 individual items of the instrument and the total. There were no significant differences between occasions or sexes on the overall score, but there were significant differences between occasions on seven of the 12 items and between sexes on two items. On only one item was there a significant interaction between sexes and occasions. The mean for the total fell over the 4 years. The means for both occasions were considerably below the mean of 19.00 obtained when Lawrence standardised the test in 1981. Discussion centred on possible reasons for this, such as appropriacy of the instrument for the age‐groups under study, stability of administration and changes within society and school.     

A Lesson on Sex Roles

This paper analyses a lesson on sex roles which took place in a seventh‐grade classroom (12–13 year olds) as part of a humanities course in an Australian coeducational secondary school. It shows how routine instructional practices can combine with conventional knowledge and theorising to confirm notions of inequality rather than challenge them. The use of sex role theory, with its embedded biological assumptions, and the initiation‐reply‐evaluation format which ensures that the teacher is in control of the lesson topic and procedure, combine to produce a lesson in which what the pupils hear is a confirmation of the fact that women and men are not equal. The teacher's intention to teach a lesson about equality is thus undermined by his own theorising and his teaching technology. The analysis is undertaken to show the ways in which unwary teachers can sustain inequitable gender relations even when this is contrary to their intentions.     

“Cheap” and “expensive” credit points: a case study of their causes and utility at a high course-load university

Tertiary Education and Management - Failures to standardize the work required to receive equal credit points from different courses make credit points unfit for their official purposes. Moreover,...     

Possibilities and Limits for Democratisation in Education

This paper aims to consolidate the major themes which emerge from the contributions to this special issue on democracy and education. It traces links between democracy in education and wider social formations, and charts possible directions for the processes of democratisation. It asks whether such moves are just a 'democratic face' to mask economic neo-liberalism, or represent real shifts towards social justice and equality. The paper looks first at the connections between democratisation of schooling and three dimensions of the social structure in a country: the political system and governance; wealth and poverty; and gender relations. It draws the obvious conclusion at this point that education is necessary but not sufficient to achieve radical change in these areas. Secondly, the paper synthesises nine of the emergent processes and avenues for democratisation in education: definitions of democracy; legislation and policy for democracy; decentralisation of education; teacher education; teacher unions and networks; governing bodies and parental participation; student associations and networks; partnerships with outside agencies; and research. The conclusion raises another set of questions about strategy within education, with so much clearly depending on the history of democracy (or its absence) in a country, and on what sorts of definitions, networks and allegiances are possible. Internationalisation and 'cosmopolitan democracy' will certainly become increasingly important in establishing the values involved, and comparative education has a significant role to play here.     

Perceptions of Educational Studies

This paper is based on a recently completed three‐year research project undertaken with staff and students at one department of education studies in a university in England. We explored the reasons given by students for enrolling in a degree‐level programme in Educational Studies, reviewed their experiences and perceptions during their studies and made comments about career destinations. Only some of the findings that emerged from the project are reported here. Through a process of data collection undertaken in depth at one institution, and analysis in the context of literature and publicly available reports about similar work in other institutions, we illuminate some issues concerning the nature of degree programmes in Educational Studies.     

Does audio-visual binding as an integrative function of working memory influence the early stages of learning to write?

Reading and Writing - Working memory has been proposed to account for the differential rates in progress young children make in writing. One crucial aspect of learning to write is the encoding...