Balancing Disruptive Students' Rights with Campus Safety

Disruptive students potentially pose significant problems for campus administrators as they strive to maintain a safe campus environment conducive to learning while not violating the legal rights of the students. Maintaining a safe campus is important because increasing numbers of students with mental and cognitive disorders are enrolling in college and university classes. This article examines selected court cases involving disruptive students who alleged violations of their First Amendment right of free speech, due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and violations of the rights afforded them under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. The rulings in these cases were used to develop campus guidelines and procedures to address the actions of disruptive students.     

Does School Admission by Zoning Affect Educational Inequality? A Study of Family Background Effect in Estonia,Finland, and Sweden

We indicate the size of family background effects in Sweden, Finland, and Estonia – countries that differ in both the rhetoric and extensiveness of the system-level school choice policies. Family background effect is defined as the dependence of student achievement on family background characteristics, such as parental education, income, and social status. The number of books at home is used as a proxy when operationalising family background, and its effect is measured as a percentage of individual-level PISA scores. Fixed-effect regression results reveal that family background remains a powerful determinant in the educational results of 15-year-old students in all three cases, being largest in Sweden. Furthermore, we show how the family background effect is moderated by school-level choice policy, that is, how students and schools are matched. The analysis reveals that zoning policies have statistically significant negative effects on the impact of the family background effect, independent of country-level policies.     

Global channels of evidence for learning and assessment in complex game environments

In this paper, we take a designer's look at how the activities and data of learning and assessment can be structured in immersive virtual game environments called Massively Multi‐Player Online Games (MMOG). In doing so, we examine the channels of evidence through which learning and assessment activities are derived in MMOGs, offering examples of how multiple evidence channels in operation through game‐based activities can be utilised to construct rich data trails for assessment.     

Words with Pictures: The Role of Visual Literacy in Writing and its Implication for Schooling

This paper reports on two studies undertaken independently by the authors, both of which provide indicative evidence that the system of target setting in writing is exerting an influence on children’s perception of what is involved in authoring meaningful texts. In particular, the current emphasis on technical accuracy and neatness in handwriting has worked to limit the role of drawing in children’s construction of text. The authors suggest that this tendency has adverse consequences for the development of pupil confidence as the authors of their own meanings, particularly marked in boys. They argue that teachers and educators need to be more understanding of differences in the modes in which pupils choose to make sense of their social and cultural contexts.     

The career development of black and white South African university students

This study investigates the possible influence of gender and culture on the career maturity and study and work role salience of South African students. Responses to the Life Role Inventory and Career Development Questionnaire of 260 first-year university students (137 white, 123 black) were analyzed. Culture was found to have a significant effect on both career maturity and study and work role salience while gender had no significant effect. Results are related to previous findings from international and South African literature. Implications for counselling are discussed.Paper presented at the International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling Conference, held at the University of Oporto, Oporto, Portugal, 2–5 April 1991.     

The reconstruction of Palestinian education: between history,policy politics andpolicy making

This paper reflects on the key actors in education policy making in Zimbabwe. It looks at the contextual complexities that characterized policy-making in this country to make sense of the contestations that the state had to confront and accommodate. The policy network approach is employed as an analytical framework to clarify how, in particular non-state actors, have had an impact (or not) on educational governance through influences on policy. Policy documents, research reports and the reactions of non-state actors to these aspects are examined to explore the impact of the latter on policy making. The significant roles of the various policy networks are also given attention to establish how they have affected the reconfiguration of the state. The argument developed is that in spite of the ostensibly strong state, education policy formulation has been a product of compromise between policy networks and the predilections of those in office. As a political and contested enterprise it had to accommodate both local and international concerns.     

Isokinetic hamstrings-to-quadriceps peak torque ratio: the influence of sport modality, gender, and angular velocity

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in hamstrings-to-quadriceps (H/Q) peak torque ratios evaluated at different angular velocities between men and women who participate in judo, handball or soccer. A total of 166 athletes, including 58 judokas (26 females and 32 males), 39 handball players (22 females and 17 males), and 69 soccer players (17 females and 52 males), were evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer. The H/Q isokinetic peak torque ratios were calculated at angular velocities of 1.05 rad · s?1 and 5.23 rad · s?1. In the analysis by gender, female soccer players produced lower H/Q peak torque ratios at 1.05 rad · s?1 than males involved in the same sport. However, when H/Q peak torque ratio was assessed at 5.23 rad · s?1, there were no significant differences between the sexes. In the analysis by sport, there were no differences among females at 1.05 rad · s?1. In contrast, male soccer players had significantly higher H/Q peak torque ratios than judokas (66 ± 12% vs. 57 ± 14%, respectively). Female handball players produced significantly lower peak torque ratios at 5.23 rad · s?1 than judokas or soccer players, whereas males presented no ratio differences among sports At 5.23 rad · s?1. In the analysis by velocity, women's muscular ratios assessed at 1.05 rad · s?1 were significantly lower than at 5.23 rad · s?1 for all sports; among men, only judokas presented lower ratios at 1.05 rad · s?1 than at 5.23 rad · s?1. The present results suggest that sport modality and angular velocity influence the isokinetic strength profiles of men and women.     

Course of depression and anxiety symptoms during the transition to parenthood for female adolescents with histories of victimization

The aim of the current study was to increase understanding of how victimization history impacts the longitudinal course of depression and anxiety in a sample of 55 adolescents emerging into parenthood. Adolescents were interviewed about their victimization experiences during their second trimester of pregnancy, and interviews were subsequently classified according the Maltreatment Classification Scale (Barnett, Manly, & Cicchetti, 1993). Adolescents reported on their symptoms of depression and anxiety prenatally and 6 and 12 months postpartum. Growth curve modeling revealed that, on average, there was a steady linear decline in depression and anxiety symptoms across the transition to parenthood, with a rate of change of 25% and 20%, respectively, from the prenatal assessment to 12 months postpartum. Sexual abuse history attenuated the likelihood of a decrease in depressive symptoms over time. Neglect history was associated with higher prenatal levels of anxiety, as well as a steeper decline in anxiety symptoms over time. Future research is needed to determine the role of poly-victimization in predicting the onset and change of depression and anxiety symptoms. Findings from the current study have the potential to aid in the design of preventative and intervention efforts to reduce risks of mental health difficulties in adolescent parents.