The National Literacy Strategy and setting: an investigation in one school

This article investigates the policy of setting that is commonly being seen as an organizational tool for effective delivery of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). It is suggested that teachers are finding the increased amount of whole-class teaching to a diverse range of abilities, as prescribed by the NLS, problematic. This case-study researches both teachers' and children's perspectives on the Literacy Hour as taught in mixed-ability classes and in sets. Reflective commentaries and pupil questionnaires were used to collect data over two years. The results indicate a complex range of issues, both pedagogical and organizational, which need be considered before setting can be promoted as a strategy for literacy delivery. I conclude that there is a need for urgent research into the effectiveness of setting as a means of teaching the Literacy Hour.     

Laptop Computers in the Elementary Classroom: Authentic instruction with at‐risk students

This case study investigated the integration of laptop computers into an elementary classroom in a low socioeconomic status (SES) school. Specifically, the research examined classroom management techniques and aspects of authentic learning relative to the student projects and activities. A mixed methods approach included classroom observations, interviews with the teacher, interviews with the students, and analysis of student projects. The results provide insight regarding the benefits and challenges of integrating wireless technology in an elementary classroom with at‐risk students. In addition, the project resulted in a web site with sample lesson plans (including objectives, required materials, NETS competencies and extension activities), teacher reflections and training tips.

Les ordinateurs portables dans la classe élémentaire: un enseignement authentique avec des élèves ‘à risque’

La présente étude de cas porte sur l'intégration des ordinateurs portables dans une classe élémentaire d'une école pour enfants de milieux peu favorisés. La recherche a porté plus particulièrement sur les techniques de gestion de la classe et sur les aspects de l'apprentissage authentique qui sont liés aux projets et aux activités des élèves. L'approche mixte qui a été utilisée a comporté des observations de classes, des entretiens avec le professeur, des entretiens avec les élèves et l'analyse des projets de ces élèves. Les résultats fournissent un éclairage sur les avantages et les défis de l'intégration d'une technologie «sans fil» dans une classe élémentaire avec des élèves «à risque». Le projet a également abouti à un site Web comportant des plans de leçons (comprenant les objectifs,les matériaux requis,les compétences Réseau et les activités d'extension), les réflexions des professeurs et des «tuyaux» sur la formation.

Laptopcomputer im Grundschulunterricht: Authentische Anweisung für die Arbeit mit belasteten Schülern

Diese Fallstudie untersuchte die Integration von Laptopcomputern in den Grundschulunterricht einer Schule mit einem niedrigen sozioökonomischen Status (SES‐Schule). Insbesondere prüften die Wissenschaftler Unterrichtsmanagementtechniken und Aspekte authentischen Lernens in Bezug auf die Schülerprojekte und Aktivitäten. Ein Ansatz mit unterschiedlichen Methoden enthielt Beobachtungen im Klassenunterricht, Interviews mit dem Lehrer, Interviews mit den Schülern und Analysen von Schülerprojekten. Die Ergebnisse gewähren Einblicke in Nutzen und Chancen, drahtlose Techniken im Grundschulunterricht mit belasteten Schülern (‘at‐risk students') zu integrieren. Außerdem führte das Projekt zu einer Web‐Site mit beispielhaften Stundenplanungen (mit Angabe der Unterrichtsziele und der erforderlichen Materialien, NETS‐Kompetenzen und weiterführenden Aktivitäten), Reflexionen der Lehrer und Ratschlägen für Übungen.

Los ordenadores portatiles en aulas de primaria: una educación auténtica con alumnos de riesgo

Este estudio de caso se basa en una investigación sobre la integración de los ordenadores portátiles en una clase básica dentro de una escuela de bajo nivel socioeconómico. Más específicamente los investigadores examinarón las técnicas de administración del aula y los aspectos de aprendizaje auténtico relacionados con los proyectos y actividades de los alumnos. Con el enfoque sobre una metodología mixta, se pudo incluir observaciones de aulas, entrevistas con el maestro, entrevistas con los alumnos y un análisis de los proyectos de los alumnos. Los resultados ofrecen una comprensión de las ventajas y de los desafíos de la integración de una tecnología inalámbrica dentro de aulas de primaria con alumnos de riesgo. Otro resultado del proyecto fué la creación de un sitio web con ejemplos de planes de lecciones (incluyendo objetivos, materiales requeridos, competencias en redes y actividades de extensión) algunas reflecciones de profesores y informaciones sobre la formación.     

The Gendered Shaping of University Leadership in Australia,South Africa and the United Kingdom

This article analyses career trajectories into university management in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK), skills required to operate effectively and the power of vice‐chancellors (VCs) and their impact on the gendered shaping of university leadership. It is based on qualitative research with 56 male and female senior managers. The research found that the typical career path was modelled on male academic careers. Not surprisingly, in South Africa and the UK the perception of the top university leader was of a man but in Australia, where more women have been VCs, there was no such assumption. Characteristics valued in university leaders in Australia and South Africa were ‘soft’ leadership traits, but in the UK ‘hard’ aggressive and competitive leadership prevailed. VCs are enormously powerful and can shape the gender balance in management teams and thereby potentially broadening leadership styles beyond the predominant transactional model to include transformational leadership.     

Connecting with the Well-Elderly Through Reminiscence: Analysis of Lived Experience

Reminiscing is a therapeutic nursing intervention for older adults. Nursing students and elders who participated in reminiscing interviews were excited by this activity. Researchers across disciplines collaborated in this qualitative research project to clarify the meaning and experience of reminiscing for the student and the diverse elder. Following the student-elder interview, researchers conducted unstructured interviews with a purposive sample of students and elder participants. Four patterns emerged: discovery of the value of intergenerational interaction and relationships; rejection of stereotypes; a willingness to overcome painful aspects of reminiscence; and gerotranscendence wisdom and peace. These findings have implications for nursing education, nursing practice, and further research.     

Education with(out) distinction: beyond graduate attributes for Chinese international students

The recent explosion of Chinese students in Australian universities presents serious challenges for staff in higher education as we try to meet the conflicting demands of our positions. On one hand, we must offer diverse international students opportunity to compete equitably with their Australian counterparts and to receive an appropriate ‘Western’ education; on the other, we must work within the university's education policies which, ironically, have become increasingly homogenising. We here suggest that Confucian philosophy can offer us two-fold insight: first, into the ‘educability’ of international students and, second, into our roles as education providers. In this paper we present the philosophy, curriculum and outcomes of a 3rd-year Asian Studies course targeted exclusively to speakers of Chinese, in order to evaluate the importance of providing these students with fair and rigorous opportunities that are directly relevant to their educational aspirations. This course was specifically designed to meet the university's mandated ‘graduate attributes’ by developing students' command of written critique following ‘Western’ conventions of logical argument and without plagiarism. It is based on a theoretically transcultural ‘pedagogy of connection’ and, significantly, it is conducted bilingually in English and Chinese. Through a qualitative, constructivist analysis of this course, we argue the importance of dismantling the dominant, invisible, monolingual framing of Australian higher education in the strategic practice of course design, delivery and assessment so that prescribed Anglo-Celtic institutional goals can be realised equitably for international students.     

The Tensions of Urban School Renewal in an Era of Reform

The faculty and administration of a school of education in the mid-Atlantic region formally adopted a standards-based, conceptual framework that reflects the values articulated by the faculty and the outcomes for students as they prepare for and develop in their professions. Faculty and administrators agreed to use the framework as the basis for examining professional programs, academic courses, and professional experiences, as well as for governing interactions with one another as colleagues. This article describes the conceptual framework, its goals, research used to evaluate the framework, and the outcomes attained.     

Embedded yet separate: tensions in voluntary sector working to support mental health in state‐run schools

The policy agenda of the UK government has repositioned the voluntary sector as a key player in the delivery of locally responsive, ‘bottom up’ services to address the complex problems of social exclusion, reaching out to sectors of the community which are beyond the grasp of traditional state or market providers. This has drawn many voluntary sector organizations into new forms of partnership with statutory bodies. This article draws from a Scottish study to explore the role of voluntary sector organizations working in schools to support the mental well‐being of children and young people. A framework to interrogate the data from case studies is provided by the Scottish Executive, who rehearse four main advantages of such partnerships between state and the voluntary sector. The article concludes that whilst voluntary sector organizations can and do deliver support to children and young people in innovative ways on the margins of school life, the power differential within the school structure makes their position too vulnerable to bring about quick or substantial change.     

‘It wasn't too easy,which is good if you want to learn’: an exploration of pupil participation and Learning to Learn

This article explores the process of Learning to Learnb from the pupils’ perspective. The Learning to Learn in Schools Project started in 2003 and includes teachers and pupils from primary and secondary age phases in four local authorities. Key to the project has been a focus on the collaborative exploration of metacognition in practice. With the increased prominence of pupil participation and learner voice in the rhetoric of education during this time, the inclusion of learner perspectives in the project was perhaps inevitable. However, there appears to be something beneficial about the definition of Learning to Learn (L2L) used by the project that supports the development of such participation. As the project progressed, and the incidence of pupil participation increased, evidence from the contexts needed to support learning-based dialogues also developed as well as, crucially, understanding of how the interplay between L2L and pupil participation operates. This article therefore explores the link between the rhetoric of the pupil participation agenda and an understanding of L2L from the pupils’ perspective.     

Senior female academics in the UK academy: theoretical perspectives for understanding the impact of education and familial influences on career success

This paper examines the theoretical perspectives I utilised in my doctoral research to uncover the role of class and gender in my respondents’ stories and experiences of their career success. I argue that adopting an economic model for conceptualising the influence of social class and gender in the respondents’ stories and experiences of their career success is inadequate because it has historically neglected to take account of women’s position in the labour market. Drawing on an example from my data examining the influence of the respondents’ familial attitudes and dispositions towards education, the paper contends that Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is an invaluable tool for theorising senior female academics’ pathways to career success by bringing together a cultural, social and economic understanding of social class and gender.