The Effect of a National Initiative on Exam Results

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the examination results of TVEI and non TVEI pupils in the database established at the University of Newcastle in 1985‐87. The pupils took national exams in the summer of 1987, when they were about 16 years old. Their average grades (Exam Means) and their accumulated grades (Exam Totals) were considered separately.

The Exam Mean and Exam Total scores were generally worse for TVEI than non TVEI pupils, even when pupils with the same ability test scores and aspirational scores were compared. However, it is possible that non TVEI factors caused the discrepancy in results and it is these factors which are the subjects of this paper.

The paper considers firstly whether the differences are an artefact of regression analysis. Secondly, the data are considered using various multilevel models. Both analyses suggest that there was no TVEI effect on the Exam Mean score and a negative TVEI effect on the Exam Total. Various explanations for these findings, concerning internal school allocational and curriculum policies, are considered and discussed.     

Media Education in Primary Schools in Austria: Teaching Materials

Abstract

This article describes the questionnaire by which the Austrian Ministry of Education investigated the state of media education in primary schools, and briefly summarizes the results. It then describes the teaching materials that have been and are being produced.     

Higher Education and Problems of Citizenship Formation

The purpose of the university should be grounded in the concept of citizenship rather than the promise of increased future earnings and research consultancy work. However, this conception of citizenship should be republican rather than liberal. British higher education institutions have suffered at the hands of mechanisms intended to promote accountability. The concept of accountability has undermined the legitimate authority of the university. As pressures from student fee increases, fiscal austerity and accountability mechanisms further undermine the ethic of scholarship, the idea of the university needs to recover its central purpose to ward off civic privatism.     

Technology's impact: symbiotic or asymbiotic impact on differing cultures?

Over the past three years or more, the authors have been examining the impact of technology interventions on students and teachers – from cultures where English is a second language. It is their hypothesis that students and teachers from non‐English speaking nations suffer severe disadvantages when technological interventions are superimposed on existing traditional pedagogical models. This paper is the latest in a series that examines extent pedagogies, primarily in Asia, and the pressures of having to re‐conceptualize what has been a tradition for centuries. It traces significant educational origins to their cultural roots and examines contemporary initiatives that, if implemented, may well disrupt. It offers possible solutions that, if approached with reconciliation as its focus, might offset catastrophic results and, in fact, achieve pedagogical symbiosis.L'impact de la technologie: symbiotique ou asymbiotique selon des cultures différentes. Durant les 3 dernières années ou plus, des auteurs ont examiné les interventions sur les étudiants et les enseignants appartenant à des cultures où l'anglais est une seconde langue. C'est une hypothèse que les étudiants et enseignants de pays non anglophones souffrent de plusieurs d´esavantages quand les interventions technologiques sont imposées sur les modèles pédagogiques traditionnels. Cet article est le plus récent d'une série qui examine plusieurs pédagogies, particulièrement en Asie, et les pressions de revoir la conceptualisation qui a été la tradition pendant des siècles. Il met les origines éducatives significatives depuis leurs racines culturelles et examine les initiatives contemporaires qui, si elles sont en oeuvre, peuvent aboutir à des ruptures. L'article offre des solutions possibles qui, si elles sont approchées dans un esprit de conciliation comme point de mire, permettent d'éviter des résultats catastrophiques et, en fait, aboutir à une symbiose pédagogique.Die Wirkung der Technik: Symbiotische oder Asymbiotic Wirkung auf unterschiedliche Kulturen? Über die letzten drei Jahre oder mehr haben die Autoren die Wirkung von Technikeingriffen auf Studenten und Lehrer aus Kulturen geprüft, in denen Englisch eine zweite Sprache ist. Es ist ihre Hypothese, daß Studenten und Lehrer aus nicht englisch sprechenden Nationen schwerwiegende Nachteile erleiden, wenn mit technologischen Eingriffen vorhandene traditionelle pädagogische Modelle überlagert werden. Dieses Papier ist das letzte einer Serie, die umfangreiche pädagogische Gebiete untersucht, in erster Linie in Asien, und den Zwang prüft, das wieder konzeptualisieren zu müssen, was Jahrhunderte eine Tradition gewesen ist. Es verfolgt signifikante Bildungsursprünge hin zu ihren kulturellen Wurzeln und prüft zeitgenössische Initiativen, die, wenn durchgeführt, das gut unterbrechen können. Es bietet mögliche Lösungen an, die, mit dem Ziel der Aussöhnung, katastrophale Ergebnisse ausgleichen und in der Tat eine pädagogische Symbiose erreichen könnten.     

Dissolving boundaries: cross-national co-operation through technology in education

This article reports research on cross-national co-operation through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the views and experiences of teachers in partner schools in the north and south of Ireland were sought on the capacity and potential of asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing to generate collaborative work in a cross-border setting, to promote cultural awareness among primary and post-primary pupils, and to improve teacher and pupil competence in ICT. The results showed a significant improvement in ICT competence, and also revealed that technical training, enthusiasm and commitment were the key factors for success, and that not only did the pupils develop an awareness of the cultural identity of distant peers, but their sense of responsibility, self-esteem and motivation grew. This particularly helped less able and quieter pupils. There was unexpected rôle reversal when children helped their teachers within an ICT context, a situation not found elsewhere in the curriculum. Additionally, there were beneficial effects on literacy, group work and independent learning, and the skills acquired were transferable. The commitment of the teachers to continue this cross-national work with limited support is a measure of its potential sustainability.     

An evaluation of two cognitive learning methods in adults on pre-qualification schemes: Logo and logical reasoning workshops (ARL)

Two groups of adults on AFPA pre-qualification training schemes were each exposed to a different programme, explicitly aimed at improving their cognitive skills: Ateliers de Raisonnement Logique/Logical Reasoning Workshops and Logo exercises. They were compared with a control group receiving special treatment, members being informed that they were participating in an experiment. This latter group was exposed, for an essentially similar period, to training in the use of office-work software and computer-assisted education. The three groups were tested, at the beginning and end of the scheme, on a number of cognitive dimensions. The level of self-esteem of participants, their attitude to computers and the internality of their attributions were also evaluated. Results showed: 1) a modest increase in cognitive efficiency in each group at the end of training and ambiguous variations in conative variables; 2) no superiority of the Logo group over the control group; 3) superiority of the ARL group for two cognitive variables of the ten studied (combinatory analysis and perceptive field independence). The extent of the difference was invariably less that one standard-deviation of the distribution of scores. These results, and in particular the absence of transfer of acquisitions, seem insufficient to justify the conclusion of any specific efficacy of this last method.     

Light-induced cracking and abrasion of inkjet prints: Damage and mitigation

This study is part of a larger research project at the Image Permanence Institute dedicated to digital print preservation issues – the Digital Print Preservation Portal (DP3). Previous DP3 studies determined that certain digital print types are prone to cracking and/or abrasion, and that factors such as low relative humidity, pollutants, and light increase the brittleness of the ink-receiving layer of some inkjet papers. The purpose of this investigation was to explore if light also increases the propensity of inkjet prints to abrade, and to examine the potential of framing glazings to mitigate light-induced physical damage (cracking and abrasion) by attenuating some portion of the UV spectrum. Inkjet papers and prints were subjected to xenon lighting (to simulate daylight through window glass) without glazing, or in sealed framing packages with plain framing glass (soda-lime) or UV filtering glass. Before and after light exposure, brittleness, and abrasion resistance were evaluated independently using two tests: ISO 18907 (Imaging materials – Photographic films and papers – Wedge test for brittleness) and a rub test utilizing a Sutherland® Rub Tester. In this study, exposure to light increased the cracking and/or abrasion tendency of some specimens. The use of UV filtering glass reduced this light-induced propensity in all cases. Plain glass protected all samples from at least one of these two types of surface damage, but was less effective than UV glass. Light-induced brittleness and sensitivity to abrasion were mostly, though not exclusively, caused by UV radiation. It was also seen that some prints may become brittle and/or prone to abrasion in the absence of image fade. Budgeting the amount of light these objects can be exposed to, protecting them from UV radiation, and handling prints with caution especially after exhibition, is essential in order to limit physical damage.