Self-enhancement strategies, self-view and school environment as building blocks for college teachers’ expertise

Teachers are a critical mass of professionals whose growth within the teaching profession is of great consequence to the effective imparting of knowledge and skills to students. While previous studies maintain that superior subject matter mastery, the ability to relate well to students, and innovative teaching strategies are qualities inherent in the teacher that qualify them to be adjudged as expert teachers, the present qualitative study argues that teachers’ life in the academe, their choice of Self-enhancement schemes, their self-view and their conception of the schoolwork environment are contributory building blocks in defining and maintaining their expertise.     

Reading development and dyslexia in a transparent orthography: a survey of Spanish children

Spanish-speaking children learn to read words printed in a relatively transparent orthography. Variation in orthographic transparency may shape the architecture of the reading system and also the manifestation of reading difficulties. We tested normally developing children and children diagnosed with reading difficulties. Reading accuracy was high across experimental conditions. However, dyslexic children read more slowly than chronological age (CA)-matched controls, although, importantly, their reading times did not differ from those for ability-matched controls. Reading times were significantly affected by frequency, orthographic neighbourhood size and word length. We also found a number of significant interaction effects. The effect of length was significantly modulated by reading ability, frequency and neighbourhood. Our findings suggest that the reading development of dyslexic children in Spanish is delayed rather than deviant. From an early age, the salient characteristic of reading development is reading speed, and the latter is influenced by specific knowledge about words.     

Researching online mathematics education: opening a space for virtual learner identities

This paper is drawn from a doctoral thesis (Rosa, 2008) that examines the relations established between the construction of online identities and the teaching and learning of the definite integral concept in an online learning course. The role-playing game (RPG) is played out through chat and calls for the creation of characters (online identities) by each player. In the research process on online learning in mathematics education, Rosa (2008) discusses the role of the construction of online identities. We characterise how this process, in a general way, draws on qualitative research processes and, in a specific way, is linked to the construction of mathematical knowledge in cyberspace. We discuss who the research subjects are in mathematics education research. The results suggest that: (a) cyberspace is a natural environment in an online RPG context; (b) the playful process in online learning in mathematics education brings important new aspects to our understanding of mathematical knowledge as a social construction; (c) the investigation becomes a game; (d) research subjects are who they want to be while they are in flow, that is, there is intentionality; (e) the challenge of research methodology inside cyberspace must be faced by researchers; and (f) the researcher needs to consider those different identities as integral to the research process.     

How to Move from Power-based to Dialogic Relations? Lessons from Roma Women

In its growth strategy for the coming decade, the EU recognises the Roma as one of several groups especially affected by poverty and social vulnerability. So far, many efforts to reverse this social exclusion have failed; imposed solutions based on power relations have ignored Roma voices and suggestions from the community. As a result, the EU now emphasises the urgency of identifying measures that can effectively help their situation. This article draws on data from a qualitative longitudinal case study of predominantly Roma schools in Spain. It shows how the move from power-based relations with Roma families to more dialogic ones has helped overcome both social and educational exclusion. Two dimensions are identified that facilitate this transition: demonopolisation of the expert knowledge and recognition of the Roma culture. By introducing dialogic relations, these schools have encouraged more Roma women to participate in different domains; they have also increased their academic expectations, moved beyond society's prejudice towards the Roma, and helped new role models to emerge.     

Using Dialogic Research to Overcome Poverty: from principles to action

In the EU commitment to alleviating the high rates of poverty in Europe there is widespread agreement among policy-makers that it is crucial to include the voices of those who are living in poverty in order to fight exclusion most effectively. Similarly, those studying ways to address poverty and inequality are increasingly required to seek dialogue with those who are the focus of their research. These policy-makers and researchers need procedures that will allow them to move from the principle of including the voices of the most vulnerable social groups to specific ways of undertaking such a dialogue. Research using the critical communicative methodology (CCM) sheds some light on this. By examining aspects of the Integrated Project INCLUD-ED, the largest research on school education in the Framework Programme, this article argues that three elements of the CCM — egalitarian dialogue, successful actions’ approach and informing effective policies — facilitate the engagement between researchers, end-users, and all the other involved stakeholders and therefore the move from principles to action in the process of overcoming poverty in Europe. As this article and the special issue demonstrate, through those elements, INCLUD-ED has already provided scientific knowledge that is instrumental to shorten the distance between the present situation and the horizon of a Europe which is free from poverty.     

The importance and degree of implementation of the European standards and guidelines for internal quality assurance in universities: the views of Portuguese academics

Tertiary Education and Management - This research seeks to explore academics’ perceptions of the importance and degree of implementation of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance...