Gentrification,Charter Schools,and Enrollment Patterns in Washington,DC: Shared Growth or New Forms of Educational Inequality?

ABSTRACT

Cities in the United States and across the world have experienced gentrification at the same time as school choice policies have become more popular. This research examines the relationship between gentrification and charter schooling, seeking to understand how together they affect demographic composition of schools across Washington, DC. This study uses geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and statistical techniques to show that gentrified neighborhoods are more likely to have charter schools. Additionally, the demographic compositions of charter schools and traditional public schools differ depending on the gentrification classification of the census tract in which the schools are located. While a handful of diverse charter schools exist in gentrified neighborhoods and some diverse public schools exist in traditionally affluent neighborhoods, schools in Washington, DC remain racially and economically isolated overall.     

International work in early childhood education: a UNESCO perspective

After defining UNESCO's place in the United Nations system, the author outlines the new situation that has arisen in recent years for the world's children. Although infant mortality rates continue to give concern, the major problem that international organisations have now to face is not the question of children's survival but their development. Research shows that the vital age for developmental inputs is early childhood, without which the chances of later learning achievement are severely diminished. The proposed ECD Programming Model attempts to take into account present research on early child development as well as the socio‐economic context of developing countries, where governments are increasingly unable to provide basic services.     

Factors associated with student plagiarism in a post‐1992 university

A model intended to explain the incidence of plagiarism among undergraduates in the Business Studies department of a post‐1992 university was constructed and tested on a sample of 249 students completing Business Studies units at a post‐1992 university in Greater London. It was hypothesised that the occurrence of plagiarism could be predicted via three attitudinal considerations (individual perceptions of the ethicality of the practice, fear of penalties if caught and fear of failing a degree); two personal traits (goal orientation and academic integration), and three situational factors (financial, current grades achieved, and how strictly lecturing staff enforced anti‐plagiarism rules). Proposals concerning possible inter‐relations and interactions among these variables were also formulated and assessed.     

SITUATIONS D'INITIATION AU RAISONNEMENT DÉDUCTIF

We examine classroom situations which allow the learning of rules of mathematical reasoning. Drawing on an epistemological analysis and G. Brousseau's theory of situations, we define a priori theoretical characteristics which such situations must possess. We then use this analysis, and hypotheses about the cognitive functioning of pupils of this age, to establish learning situations for the rule of the excluded middle, and for the use of the figure in geometry. We report the results of experimentation with two of thses situations and show that, through the study of a mathematical problem, debate about these rules can be generated amongst students aged twelve to thirteen. We explain why, in our opinion, for epistemological reasons linked to the two particular rules concerned, it is necessary for the teacher to conclude the debate, and we examine our cognitive hypotheses against the actual results of experimentation.     

Teaching in inclusive classrooms: efficacy and beliefs of Canadian preservice teachers

This study provides a Canada-wide snapshot of the self-efficacy and beliefs of 1490 preservice teachers in relation to inclusive teaching using the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice and the Beliefs about Learning and Teaching Questionnaire. At the time of data collection, these preservice teachers were in the final stages of their teacher education programmes. Based on the results of surveys in 11 Faculties of Education, men have higher self-efficacy than women for managing behaviour in the classroom, elementary preservice teachers have higher self-efficacy in collaboration than those teaching in secondary schools, those enrolled in the 1-year post-degree programme show lower self-efficacy than those enrolled in programmes of other durations, and those who have experience with people with special education needs show higher self-efficacy than those who do not. Differences illustrated that women were more inclusive than men, 1-year post-degree preservice teachers were less inclusive than others, and those who have experience with people with special education needs are more inclusive than those who do not. Recommendations for teacher education and limitations surrounding the practical significance of the findings are discussed.     

Phenomenal permanence and the development of predictive tracking in infancy

The perceived spatiotemporal continuity of objects depends on the way they appear and disappear as they move in the spatial layout. This study investigated whether infants' predictive tracking of a briefly occluded object is sensitive to the manner by which the object disappears and reappears. Five-, 7-, and 9-month-old infants were shown a ball rolling across a visual scene and briefly disappearing via kinetic occlusion, instantaneous disappearance, implosion, or virtual occlusion. Three different measures converged to show that predictive tracking increased with age and that infants were most likely to anticipate the reappearance of the ball following kinetic occlusion. These results suggest that infants' knowledge of the permanence and nonpermanence of objects is embodied in their predictive tracking.