The impact of task-based professional development on teachers’ practices and beliefs: a design research study

The paper describes a design research study with experienced mathematics teachers of post-16 low-attaining students. The study explored the use of generic collaborative mathematics tasks in promoting professional development. I describe the theoretical basis for the design of the tasks, the tasks themselves and a professional development programme in which they were used by teachers drawn from 44 colleges. Teachers that used many of the tasks reported profound changes to their practices and this was confirmed student reports and classroom observation. Teachers’ beliefs about mathematics, teaching and learning both constrained the ways the tasks were implemented and were challenged by the affective and cognitive outcomes. The variation in these outcomes are examined and explained from the evidence.     

Leading for Change: School Leader Advocacy for Undocumented Immigrant Students

School leaders can ally with other educational stakeholders to encourage undocumented student persistence in Pk-12 schools. We explore (1) how school leaders create systems of support for undocumented and newly arrived immigrant students, and (2) how school leaders interpret and implement policies or school structures that affect student educational access. Border crossing theory guides our examination of how school leaders traverse and transgress borders that can impede students' education. This embedded case study included interviews with nine administrators working on the US-México border. The study finds that leaders expected to make a difference in students' lives by focusing on relationships and programming, committing to equity, and resisting deficit thinking about students and their families.     

Exclusions and alternative provision: piecing together the picture

This article makes the case for clearer reporting of alternative provision. The main body of this paper consists of an analysis of available data on permanent exclusions and attendance at alternative provision. Findings show a greater number of young people attending alternative provision compared to those permanently excluded and concerning patterns of over representation among children in care and those with a special educational need or disability. This raises issues of children’s rights, particularly equality of educational experience and of fair access to the schooling system. It is argued that annual reporting on exclusions should be developed to include a section of in depth reporting on alternative provision.     

Moral deliberation and environmental awareness: reviewing Deweyan-informed possibilities for contemporary outdoor learning

The recent surge in interest in progressive education ideas has often been accompanied by an increased advocacy for learning outdoors, with experiential and holistic learning approaches considered the most beneficial method for cultivating personal and social development and raising awareness of contemporary environmental concerns. However, theoretical and practical unease exists about how increased opportunities to learn outdoors can help young people to reflect on their experiences and make sound decisions. The paper reviews the contribution of John Dewey to debates about experiential education and the development of moral deliberation; as for Dewey there are strong connections between cognition, character and actions. This leads, in conclusion, to analysis of outdoor learning prospects and the extent to which these can benefit personal responsibility and social interaction, and provides learners with the capacity to make dependable voluntary decisions that display stable states of character.     

Investigation of angiogenesis genes with anterior cruciate ligament rupture risk in a South African population

The angiogenesis-signalling pathway is a physiological response after mechanical loading to promote matrix remodelling and thereby maintain tissue homeostasis. Studies have shown increased expression of angiogenic molecules in response to loading and in ruptured ligaments. Recently, polymorphisms within the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and kinase insert-domain receptor (KDR) genes were associated with risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures and Achilles tendinopathy in Caucasian study groups. A case-control genetic association study was conducted on 100 controls and 98 participants with surgically-diagnosed ACL ruptures; of which 51 participants reported non-contact mechanism of injury (NON). All participants were genotyped for five functional polymorphisms: VEGFA (rs699947, rs1570360, rs2010963) and KDR (rs2071559, rs1870377). Haplotypes were inferred. In the male participants, the KDR rs2071559 AG genotype was significantly over-represented (P = 0.048, OR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.00–3.59) in the controls. Furthermore, the GG genotype was significantly under-represented in the male controls compared to the male ACL group (P = 0.018, OR: 2.77, 95% CI: 1.17–6.55) and the male NON subgroup (P = 0.013, OR: 3.26, 95% CI: 1.24–8.58). Haplotype analysis implicated the KDR gene in all participants and in male participants separately. Collectively, these results implicate the angiogenesis-signalling pathway as a potentially key biological pathway contributing to ACL injury susceptibility.     

The not-so-free agent: Non-performance factors that contribute to free agent compensation premiums

In this study, the authors examine Major League Baseball free agency to identify whether certain factors beyond a player’s on-field performance contribute to contract premiums. These premiums are considered to be the difference between the compensation a player receives in free agency and the marginal revenue product (MRP_t-1) in their contract year. Using 345 free agent transactions over a four-year period (2012–2015), the authors examine the relationships between potential free agent contract premiums and the attributes of a player’s previous team, as well as how contract premiums may be influenced by the level of interest from other teams and certain facets of the acquiring teams. Results suggest that free agents tend to receive compensation premiums when they played for a successful team during their contract year. Playing for a large-market team during their contract year also influenced contract premiums. In addition, free agents tended to realize compensations premiums when multiple teams were bidding for their services, the acquiring teams were in playoff contention the prior year, and the acquiring teams possessed relatively more financial resources. Findings shed additional light on how factors peripheral to a player’s on-field performance may influence the free agency market. Recommendations include that effective control mechanisms are necessary to ensure free agent compensation is commensurate with the value of the player.     

Research on “fortuitous” communication: A review

Summary In these two articles we have proposed a schematic theoretical model for the study of communication, one which subsumes both face-to-face and mass communication but is intended as an orientation to a general theory of mass communication. In addition we have used the model as a framework for a review of a part of the literature of mass communication and have attempted a brief assessment of the present state of our knowledge of the field. This paper presents one application of the authors’ conceptual model of the communication process published in the last issue of AVCR. Here they are attempting to order the existing research findings on “fortuitous” communication in relationship to their model. Malcolm S. MacLean, Jr., and Bruce H. Westley are assistant professors of Journalism, The University of Wisconsin.     

Free electronic refereed journals: getting past the arc of enthusiasm

Do free electronic refereed journals represent one viable alternative to overpriced commercial journals? This informal study looked at 104 titles listed in the 1995 Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and Academic Discussion Lists (published by the Association of Research Libraries) as being free, journals, and refereed. Taking five years of continuing publication as an initial sign of reasonable longevity (later raised to six years), the record shows reasonable promise. While quite a few early journals succumbed to the ‘arc of enthusiasm’, more than half are still publishing.