Developing a ‘leading identity’: the relationship between students’ mathematical identities and their career and higher education aspirations

The construct of identity has been used widely in mathematics education in order to understand how students (and teachers) relate to and engage with the subject (Kaasila, 2007; Sfard & Prusak, 2005; Boaler, 2002). Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), this paper adopts Leont’ev’s notion of leading activity in order to explore the key ‘significant’ activities that are implicated in the development of students’ reflexive understanding of self and how this may offer differing relations with mathematics. According to Leont’ev (1981), leading activities are those which are significant to the development of the individual’s psyche through the emergence of new motives for engagement. We suggest that alongside new motives for engagement comes a new understanding of self—a leading identity—which reflects a hierarchy of our motives. Narrative analysis of interviews with two students (aged 16–17 years old) in post-compulsory education, Mary and Lee, are presented. Mary holds a stable ‘vocational’ leading identity throughout her narrative and, thus, her motive for studying mathematics is defined by its ‘use value’ in terms of pursuing this vocation. In contrast, Lee develops a leading identity which is focused on the activity of studying and becoming a university student. As such, his motive for study is framed in terms of the exchange value of the qualifications he hopes to obtain. We argue that this empirical grounding of leading activity and leading identity offers new insights into students’ identity development.     

The Hopkins gasolene-engine dynamometer and speedometer

It is not ordinarily a simple operation to determine the power continuously delivered by an internal combustion engine. The apparatus here described is designed to reduce the operation to the simplicity of reading the horsepower from a dial and esentially consists of a current meter whose readings are proportional to the product of the speed of rotation and the temperature of the gases within the cylinder.     

Education for children with severe and profound general learning disabilities in Ireland: factors influencing teachers’ decisions about teaching these pupils

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived high turnover of teachers working with pupils with severe and profound general learning disabilities in Ireland. Questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the situations in which teachers worked and their reasons for leaving or staying in teaching this group of pupils. The study found that while teachers were positive about working with this group, their working conditions and the level of support that they received were crucial factors in determining whether they remained in post. These factors and the implications for practice are discussed.     

High reliability of performance of well-trained rowers on a rowing ergometer.

High retest reliability is desirable in tests used to monitor athletic performance, but the reliability of many popular tests has not been established. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of performance of a 2000-m time-trial lasting approximately 7 min performed on a Concept II rowing ergometer. Eight well-trained rowers (peak oxygen uptake 61+/-5 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1); mean +/- standard deviation) performed the time-trials on three occasions at 3-day intervals. Mean power (313+/-38 W in trial 1) improved by 2.3% (95% confidence interval 0.1 to 4.5%) in trial 2 and by a further 0.9% (-1.4 to 3.3%) in trial 3. The variability of performance for individual rowers expressed as a coefficient of variation for mean power was 2.0% (1.3 to 3.1%), and the retest correlation was 0.96 (0.87 to 0.99). Variability and changes in performance expressed as time to complete the test were approximately one-third those of mean power, apparently because simulated velocity is proportional to the cube root of power on this ergometer. Such high reliability makes this combination of ergometer, athlete and test protocol very suitable for monitoring rowing performance and for investigating factors that affect performance in short, high-intensity endurance events.     

Motivation to Learn: The pedagogical nexus in the Russian school: Some implications for transnational research and policy borrowing

Earlier research had shown that in some Russian schools, pupils were significantly more highly motivated to learn in school than in some American and English schools. Further inquiry was conducted to ascertain to what extent such high motivation might be attributed to schooling-related factors. It is suggested that Russian schools exhibit a 'pedagogical nexus' - a set of linked, interactive and mutually reinforcing influences on pupils' motivation to learn within and because of the schooling process- in which continuity of school, class and teacher - inter-generational continuity; closeness of home-school relations; readiness and preparation for schooling; the articulation of a national curriculum in school texts and in a critical pedagogics; the extent and character of inter-relation between lesson, textbook, homework and assessment; and the role of memorisation in learning - play highly inter-related and mutually attuned roles. It is argued that the terms of explanation of an unfamiliar education system cannot be reliably used for the identification of isolable practices for transnational export to other systems. Explanations of unfamiliar systems can, however, raise powerful and pointed evaluative questions of general interest.