Distance education: A particular context for teaching and learning. Introduction to this special issue

This editorial introduction positions distance education in the larger context of educational research and theory construction. Next to a definition of key concepts, the authors elaborate three major issues that are dealt with in distance education research in relation to educational materials. The first issue centres on curriculum and values. The second topic concentrates on the creation of appropriate learning environments. The third issue focuses on the evaluation of effects of materials in use. In discussing the three issues the authors stress the particularities of the distance education context.     

Spatial concepts and young children

This presentation looks at how young children learn basic geometrical concepts. Piaget's developmental levels will be examined to determine how they fit into the current research project. These will be compared with materials from the Soviet States that have recently become available from the NCTP in the USA.

The research project was constructed in a number of early childhood centres in a variety of socio‐economic areas. All of these centres had an early intervention program in operation so that special needs or ‘exceptional’ children could be observed along with mainstream children.

The researcher is investigating children's learning styles to determine the children's preferred learning styles when exploring spatial concepts. The question of whether exceptional children progress through the same stages and in the same order as the mainstream children is also being considered.

Spatial concepts in early childhood is an area that seems to have been neglected by researchers in favour of the development of number concepts. This research project aims to add to our knowledge of how young children learn spatial concepts.

     

The Development and Inter‐relationship of Metacognitive Components among Primary School Children

Much interest has been expressed in the construct metacognition, the individual's knowledge and control of his own cognitive processes. Recent educational proposals have suggested the training of general metacognitive principles in schools. The exact nature of the construct has, however, remained vague. The aim of the present study was to provide some clarity. In a study of the metacognitive responses of 144 primary school children (aged 7‐11 years) four measures commonly used to assess metacognitive function were examined. First, the content of each measure was examined. Secondly, in an attempt to identify a metacognitive factor, commonality among the measures, both of developmental patterns and statistical relationship, was sought. Whilst a common pattern of development in the children's responses to the four measures was identified, factor analysis failed to provide evidence for a common metacognitive factor and unified construct.     

Teaching children with autism through task variation in physical education.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether the technique of task variation (with maintenance tasks interspersed) (TV) is more effective in the acquisition of gross motor skills for students with autism than a constant task (CT) condition in a physical education setting. Subjects were 12 male students with autism, ages 11 to 15 years. The study included pretest-posttest administration of the I CAN assessment of Gross Motor Skills to assess skills such as overhand throw, kick, and vertical jump. After a 6-week treatment period, the TV condition was significantly more effective than the CT condition, at the .05 level.     

Addressing the Needs of the Homeless: A San José Library Partnership Approach

Describes an urban joint-use library's approaches to library programs for homeless children, teens, and adults as well as agencies the library could partner with. Proposes that libraries put more effort into reaching out to the homeless community instead of assuming the normal expectation that people will come to the library.     

Student attitudes towards and use of ICT in course study,work and social activity: A technology acceptance model approach

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has been explored largely in relation to student experience of coursework and university life. Students' lives and experience beyond the university have been largely unexplored. Research into student experience of ICT used a validated model—the technology acceptance model—to explore the influence of work and social/leisure contexts as well as course study, on attitudes towards and take up of technology. The results suggest that usefulness and ease of use are key dimensions of students' attitudes towards technology in all three contexts but that ICT is perceived most positively in the context of work and technology use at work is an important driver for technology use in other areas.     

The quality agenda: governance and regulation of preschool teachers’ work

The increased regulation of teachers’ work is a global phenomenon across education sectors. In Australia the governance of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) embeds international priorities for quality improvement in educational programmes. The implementation of a National Quality Framework (NQF) for the assessment of ECEC services has mobilised the production of a suite of regulatory texts. The regulation of teachers’ work is legitimised through the discourse of quality embedded in policy guidelines. Drawing on interview data from preschool teachers, this paper employs institutional ethnography (IE) to investigate teachers’ accounts of producing a Quality Improvement Plan. As teachers operationalise the expectations of quality assurance in the NQF, their work is oriented to gathering evidence of an approved quality of practice. The findings indicate a shift in professional focus to increased documentation of ‘quality of practice’, goal setting and evidence of the collaborative construction of Quality Improvement Plans.