The Role of Parents and Community in the Education of the Japanese Child

In Japan, there has been an increased concern about family and community participation in the childs education. Traditionally, the role of parents and community in Japan has been one of support and less one of active involvement in school learning. Since the government commenced education reforms in the last quarter of the 20th century, a more active role for parents and the community in education has been encouraged. These reforms have been inspired by the need to tackle various problems that had arisen, such as the perceived harmful elements of societys preoccupation with academic achievement and the problematic behavior of young people. In this paper, the following issues are examined: (1) education policy and reform measures with regard to parent and community involvement in the childs education; (2) the state of parent and community involvement at the eve of the 20th century.     

Student,home, and school socio-demographic factors: links to school,home, and community arts participation

This study explored the role of student (e.g., age, language background, gender), home (e.g., parent/caregiver education), and school (e.g., school type, size) socio-demographic factors in students’ school (e.g., in-school arts tuition, arts engagement), home (e.g., parent/caregiver–child arts interaction), and community (e.g., arts attendance, arts tuition) arts participation. The sample comprised 1172 elementary and secondary school students from 15 schools. Findings revealed that student and home socio-demographic factors were the most salient in predicting arts participation across school, home, and community contexts. Age, gender, and prior achievement were the key student socio-demographic factors, while parent/caregiver education and occupation were also associated with students’ arts participation. Implications for practice and intervention pertinent to young people’s arts participation are discussed.     

Three dimensional couette flow and heat transfer through a porous medium with variable permeability

This paper reports research on the effects of variations in injection velocity and permeability on the heat transfer and flow through a highly porous medium between two horizontal parallel plates situated at constant distance with constant suction by the upper plate. Due to this type of variation in injection velocity and in permeability the flow becomes three dimensional. The governing equations are solved by adopting complex variable notations to obtain the expressions for the velocity and temperature field. The skin-friction along the main flow direction and rate of heat transfer are discussed with the help of graphs.     

The unintended consequences of school inspection: the prevalence of inspection side-effects in Austria,the Czech Republic,England, Ireland,the Netherlands,Sweden, and Switzerland

It has been widely documented that accountability systems, including school inspections, bring with them unintended side effects. These unintended effects are often negative and have the potential to undo the intended positive effects. However the empirical evidence is limited. Through a European comparative study we have had the rare opportunity to collect empirical evidence and study the effects (both intended and unintended) of school inspections (a key system of accountability) in a systematic way, across seven countries. We present the findings of the unintended effects in this paper. Survey self-report responses from school principals in each country, with differing school inspection systems, are analysed to measure the prevalence of these unintended effects and to investigate the part played by pressure to do well in inspections. A key finding is that increasing pressure in school inspection systems is associated with the undesired effect of the narrowing and refocusing of the curriculum and instructional strategies. We also show that a proportion of school principals admit to misrepresenting the school in data sent to the inspectorate and show evidence for formalisation/proceduralisation (excessive focus on records) and ossification (fear of experimentation in teaching), although these factors are less related to changes in pressure.     

History Run Wild: The Alternate World of Joan Aiken’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</Emphasis> Series

This article examines the historical fantasy world created by Joan Aiken in the eleven volumes of her Wolves of Willoughby Chase series. In particular it looks at her subversion of historical reality by the creation of an alternative yet recognisable representation of our own world, using a wide range of events, and the remoulding of aspects of language and geography. It also discusses her reasons for writing in this form and explores the character of Dido Twite as heroine and major raison dtre of the series.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the article title.     

Individual differences in mathematical competence modulate brain responses to arithmetic errors: An fMRI study

Data from both neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have implicated the left inferior parietal cortex in calculation. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the neural responses associated with the commission of calculation errors and how the processing of arithmetic errors is modulated by individual differences in mathematical competence. Do more competent individuals exhibit a different brain response to errors than less mathematically able individuals? These outstanding questions were addressed in the present functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study through an investigation of which brain regions respond more to erroneously versus correctly solved arithmetic problems while a group of 24 adult participants with varying levels of mathematical competence solved problems of all four arithmetic operations. Despite high levels of accuracy, a robust main effect of accuracy (incorrect vs. correct) was observed in both medial and lateral regions of the prefrontal cortex. These regions have frequently been associated with both the detection of errors and the deployment of cognitive control following an error. Furthermore, mathematical competence was found to modulate the activation of an area in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Specifically, individuals with relatively higher mathematical competence (n = 12) were found to activate this region more for incorrectly solved trials than their less mathematically competent peers (n = 12). Taken together, these findings suggest that the commission of arithmetic errors modulates responses of prefrontal regions and, moreover, that activation of the right lateral prefrontal cortex during arithmetic errors is affected by individual differences in mathematical competence. In view of the evidence associating the lateral prefrontal cortex with the implementation of cognitive control, we suggest that individuals with relatively high mathematical competence may exhibit greater awareness of calculation mistakes and implement greater control following the commission of errors.