Making sense of the development of inclusive practices

Schools in England are currently being asked to pay greater attention to the issue of educational inclusion. This paper reports some of the findings of a collaborative action research Network that was set up to address the implications of this trend. The Network involves teams of university researchers in working with practitioners in order to encourage the development of inclusive practices. As a result of this work, it is argued that the development of such practices is not about adopting ‘recipes’ of the sort described in much of the existing literature. Rather, it involves social learning processes that occur within a given workplace. The paper attempts to provide deeper understandings of what these processes involve. To assist in this analysis use is made of the idea of ‘communities of practice’, as developed by Etienne Wenger, focusing specifically on the way he sees learning as a characteristic of practice. It is argued that the development of inclusive practices involves collaborative working arrangements; that they can be encouraged by engagement with various forms of evidence that interrupt ways of thinking; and that the space that is created through such interruptions can enable those involved to recognize overlooked or, indeed, new possibilities for moving practice forward.     

Analyzing e-government research: Perspectives,philosophies, theories,methods, and practice

In recent years, there has been rapid growth in the volume of research output on the topic of e-government. To understand this research better, we used content analysis of eighty-four papers in e-government-specific research outlets (two journals and one conference series). Our analytical focus took in five main aspects: perspectives on the impacts of e-government, research philosophy, use of theory, methodology and method, and practical recommendations. Normative evaluation identified some positive features, such as recognition of contextual factors beyond technology, and a diversity of referent domains and ideas. Alongside this, though, research draws mainly from a weak or confused positivism and is dominated by over-optimistic, a-theoretical work that has done little to accumulate either knowledge or practical guidance for e-government. Worse, there is a lack of clarity and lack of rigor about research methods alongside poor treatment of generalization. We suggest ways of strengthening e-government research but also draw out some deeper issues, such as the role of research philosophy and theory, and the institutional factors – particularly pressures of competition and time – that may constrain development of e-government as a research field.     

The telecommunications content of state public utility commission Web sites: Remaining relevant in a changing marketplace

The role and continued relevance of state telecommunications regulators have been challenged by the development of competition, the introduction of new technologies, and the increasing dominance of federal authority. An important role that state utility commissions can play in the current telecommunications environment is to provide consumer education and information about consumer protection, competition, and universal service. Commissions can use their Web sites as effective tools in educating and informing consumers. This study analyzes the consumer-related telecommunications information included on the Web sites of the commissions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine whether, and how well, state commissions are using their Web sites to educate and inform.     

Attention Deficit Disorder as a factor in the origin of behavioural disturbance in schools

The education of children with behavioural difficulties is under scrutiny from various quarters. The provision of specialised school environments isbeing questioned and, at the same time, there is pressure to minimise the exclusion of disruptive pupils. The study reported in this article lookedat a group of children whose behaviour had prompted placement in a school for emotionally and behaviourally disordered (EBD) pupils. The results showed the overall rate of psychiatric disturbance in the group was 86% and, in particular, that the rate of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was 70%. These findings suggest that a significant minority of disruptive pupils may have their difficulties compounded by the presence of ADHD, and raises the question of whether specific screening processes should be established for such pupils.     

Enhancing students’ mathematical reasoning in the classroom: teacher actions facilitating generalization and justification

A proof is a connected sequence of assertions that includes a set of accepted statements, forms of reasoning and modes of representing arguments. Assuming reasoning to be central to proving and aiming to develop knowledge about how teacher actions may promote students’ mathematical reasoning, we conduct design research where whole-class mathematical discussions triggered by exploratory tasks play a key role. We take mathematical reasoning as making justified inferences and we consider generalizing and justifying central reasoning processes. Regarding teacher actions, we consider inviting, informing/suggesting, supporting/guiding and challenging actions can be identified in whole-class discussions. This paper presents design principles for an intervention geared to tackle such reasoning processes and focuses on a whole-class discussion on a grade 7 lesson about linear equations and functions. Data analysis concerns teacher actions in relation to design principles and to the sought mathematical reasoning processes. The conclusions highlight teacher actions that lead students to generalize and justify. Generalizations may arise from a central challenging action or from several guiding actions. Regarding justifications, a main challenging action seems to be essential, while follow-up guiding actions may promote a further development of this reasoning process. Thus, this paper provides a set of design principles and a characterization of teacher actions which enhance students’ mathematical reasoning processes such as generalization and justification.     

The dynamics of connecting universities,non-governmental organizations and community members by means of academic projects directed at people in need

In this article we discuss an action research experience that took place from 2002 to 2015. We analyze the inception and progress of several project-based learning-centered academic courses that were aimed at developing the project management skills of graduate and undergraduate students. The experience involved approximately 1800 students from two universities and 40 community partners. The students developed real-life projects on behalf of institutions and non-governmental organizations located in the area that help people in need; we refer to these agencies as ‘community partners.’ We analyze the development of the course from a systemic perspective, making use of causal loop diagrams in order to understand the main driving dynamics. We discuss the results achieved by these projects and the benefits brought to the community partners. We also present testimony from the community partners themselves. We conclude by presenting the lessons we learned over the years we have been running this course.     

The 2001 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science presented to Rob Van der Voo

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded the 2001 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science to Rob Van der Voo for his outstanding contributions to the field of paleomagnetism and his reconstruction of ancient continental positions that have lead to a better understanding of plate tectonic processes for the past billion years of Earth history.