The experiences of lesbian,gay and bisexual students and staff at a Further Education college in South East England

Research exploring the educational experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) students and staff members has traditionally been characterised by homophobia, hostility, victimisation and marginalisation. Recent research has evidenced a shift in the experiences of LGB young people, to somewhat more accepting and positive narratives, including within post‐compulsory schooling. Yet, there is limited research exploring the lived experiences of LGB staff members in the Further Education context. Utilising inclusive masculinity as a sociological paradigm, this research explores the qualitative data from the narratives of 26 LGB staff and students at one Further Education college in the south of England. The results find a distinct lack of homophobia within this college, a nuanced understanding of homosexually themed language, and an organisational culture of inclusivity and widespread symbolic visibility of the LGB community. Overall, our research aligns with broader social patterns that the experiences for LGB persons is improving.     

Children’s Drawing,Self Expression,Identity and the Imagination

Directions, Volume 18 Number 1 [1] suggests that postmodern theory is beginning to have a significant effect upon educational practice. Atkinson [2] has directed attention towards the effects of both the construction of the subject and the real within art teaching. Much postmodern theory challenges the unitary, pre–existing subject. This paper will argue that the persistence of an ideology of self–expression which asserts that all representation is in connection with (should be read in relation to) a singular, pure, pre–existing self acts to limit our understandings of the complexity of children’s representations and is in conflict with many contemporary positions. Research has centred on the development of ‘out of school’ sketchbooks. Large sketchbooks were given out to nursery and reception children paired with older siblings in primary education. Possible drawing activities and interests were discussed and children were left to develop the sketchbooks at home. Two weeks later (including a half term holiday) the children were interviewed in relation to the drawings developed. The drawings have been considered in relation to contemporary approaches to self and identity. The conclusions of this paper revolve around the possibilities of reading children’s drawing in relation to self and identity through the interaction of social context, discursive practice and agency in a manner which is suggested by Ricouer’s formulation of the social imaginary. Additionally, the substitution of tenacious notions of expression with concepts of agency and contingency grounded in the characteristics of ‘citationality’, articulation and narrative are suggested as a basis for developing the educational potential of drawing.     

Positive mood and math performance

Two studies are reported that assessed the impact of positive moods on students' feelings of self-efficacy and math performance. In the first study, 32 black and Hispanic girls and boys in the third to fifth grades, who had been identified by teachers as at risk for school failure, and a control sample of normally achieving classmates served as subjects. In the second study, 15 males and 3 females in junior high and high school attending a private school for students with learning disabilities served as subjects. In both studies, students were randomly assigned to a positive-mood induction condition or a no-treatment control condition. Following this, they completed a measure of self-efficacy for math and were then given 5 minutes to do 50 math problems. In both studies, analyses of covariance using standardized math scores as the adjustor variable found that children in the positive-mood condition completed significantly more problems accurately than children in the no-treatment control condition. In addition, in the junior high and high school sample, students in the positive-mood induction condition expressed greater self-efficacy for math than students in the control condition. The results of these two studies raise many questions about the role of affect, positive and negative, in the learning and performance of students with learning disabilities that researchers and teachers might explore.     

ETHICS AND EDUCATION FORTY YEARS LATER

A bstract .  R.S. Peters's 1966 book Ethics and Education is one of the most significant works in twentieth-century philosophy of education. At least in the United States, however, it is now rarely read or discussed. In this essay, Bryan Warnick looks at the virtues and vices of Ethics and Education , examining some major criticisms of the book in light of key developments in philosophy and educational theory that have occurred since it was first published. He finds that some of the criticisms seem unjustified and overstated, while others can be met with a reading of the text that places its language analysis within a framework of communitarian ethics, a move made possible by rejecting Peters's fact/value dichotomy. This way of reading Ethics and Education reveals an interesting conception of what philosophy of education can be: namely, a sort of normative analytic anthropology. It also shows the value of engaging more with the recent history of philosophy of education.     

Breaking the Line: New Literacies,Postmodernism and the Teaching of Printed Texts

In many contemporary texts boundaries are broken down. Words and image convey multiple meanings, lending themselves to postmodern readings, in the sense that they encourage readings that reject a single interpretation and instead hold in suspense the possibility of multiple readings co‐existing. This article explores how these texts allow the consumer/reader the opportunity to actively engage, and in a sense therefore to produce, the cultural event rather than being merely the passive receiver of it. It raises implications for the way that such texts are considered in schools.     

Using computer-delivered natural speech to assist in the teaching of reading

The findings of a pilot study designed to evaluate a computer system developed to assist in the teaching of reading to beginners are presented. The system uses digitised speech and the content is based upon a reading scheme already in use in the schools. Twenty children, ten in the intervention group and ten in the control group, in two schools were involved over a four-week period. Subjects were tested on a standardised reading test, a list of the 30 most frequently occurring words in written English, and on words from the published scheme. The experimental group improved their scores significantly more than the control group only on the standardised reading test. The results suggest the system can be helpful and that its effect goes beyond the words being practised.