SCHOOL RACIAL CLIMATE AND THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

This investigation utilized an integrative model of development for ethnic minority children and a process model of engagement to explore whether three dimensions of school engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) mediated relationships between school racial climate, academic performance, and educational aspirations. A total of 139 African American students were recruited from a high school in the southeastern United States. Findings revealed an indirect association between perceptions of racial fairness and academic achievement indicators through behavioral and cognitive engagement. Behavioral and cognitive engagement also mediated relationships between youths’ perceived peer discrimination and academic achievement indicators. No significant indirect associations between teacher discrimination and academic achievement through school engagement dimensions were found. Study limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.     

Read the Book,See the Movie,Part Three

Connellys’ Classroom Cutaway

Read the Book, See the Movie, Part Three     

The Way They See It: An Evaluation of the Arts Across the Curriculum Project

This article reports on an evaluation to interrogate the efficacy of a Scottish Government sponsored initiative to introduce an arts‐infused education model to primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools called Arts Across the Curriculum. Between April 2005 and December 2007 the evaluation team gathered data about this three‐year pilot project, using a variety of instruments including surveys, structured observations, interviews and video diaries. This article presents some of the findings from the evaluation and in particular it focuses on the artists' views of the efficacy of the project; in short we wanted to know how they ‘saw it’. It should be noted that the research team that evaluated the initiative had no say in the design of the project.     

Are academic outcomes of higher education provision relevant to and deliverable in the workplace setting?

Current developments in higher education strongly indicate that the way ahead in many disciplines is much closer co-operation between academia and industry. There is growing demand that recognition should be given to learning, irrespective of the environment in which it occurs.This article reflects on what are deemed to be essential components of a degree, and considers how they might be transformed into forms suitable for demonstration in the work environment. The discussion is supported by findings of a survey carried out in conjunction with a development - Structured Industrial Practice Studies - which integrates academic learning and learning in the work environment for full-time students. The findings, however, are of relevance beyond the particular model of learning and mode of attendance. There appears to be potential for achieving in the workplace aspects of courses which, in recent times, have been the prerogative of higher education establishments. However, such potential is variable between working environments and is dependent on higher education providers adapting to different structures in delivery.     

The ‘Learning in Regular Classrooms’ initiative for inclusive education in China

The purpose of this article is to understand the Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC) initiative for inclusive education in China. First, the paper reviews the policy, legislation, and practice in relation to the LRC. It then goes on to explore the specific social–political context of the LRC, and compares the Chinese LRC with the Western approaches to inclusion and integration. The authors then discuss the challenges posed by the attempt to further promote the LRC or inclusive education in the collectivist culture and socialist political context of modern China.     

Response time variations in an online search system.

The response time characteristics of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) ELHILL bibliographic search system are examined in this article. Transactions for a five-week period are analyzed and average response times are calculated for typical search commands, by time of day, and by file being searched. Overall, the response time of the system was found to be 2.1 seconds, a very low value. Based on statistical tests of significance applied to the data, it was concluded that response time differences can be explained in terms of the number of users on the system and not the command issued by the user nor the file the user searched.     

Bandpass sorting of heterogeneous cells using a single surface acoustic wave transducer pair

Separation and sorting of biological entities (viruses, bacteria, and cells) is a critical step in any microfluidic lab-on-a-chip device. Acoustofluidics platforms have demonstrated their ability to use physical characteristics of cells to perform label-free separation. Bandpass-type sorting methods of medium-sized entities from a mixture have been presented using acoustic techniques; however, they require multiple transducers, lack support for various target populations, can be sensitive to flow variations, or have not been verified for continuous flow sorting of biological cells. To our knowledge, this paper presents the first acoustic bandpass method that overcomes all these limitations and presents an inherently reconfigurable technique with a single transducer pair for stable continuous flow sorting of blood cells. The sorting method is first demonstrated for polystyrene particles of sizes 6, 10, and 14.5 μm in diameter with measured purity and efficiency coefficients above 75 ± 6% and 85 ± 9%, respectively. The sorting strategy was further validated in the separation of red blood cells from white blood cells and 1 μm polystyrene particles with 78 ± 8% efficiency and 74 ± 6% purity, respectively, at a flow rate of at least 1 μl/min, enabling to process finger prick blood samples within minutes.     

The mathematics problem: the construction of a market-led education discourse in the Republic of Ireland

Educational change in the neoliberal state is permeated by the effects of forces from outside the field of education itself. The process of governmentality welcomes, indeed demands, the participation of those non-state actors valorised by neoliberalism as well as government agencies dedicated to the advancement of such groups. Inevitably, the concerns of such organisations become central to how the state sees education. This article traces the assembly of national and international agents from industry, business and special interest groups around the concept of ‘knowledge economy’. It treats this assemblage as an apparatus (dispositif), examining how the construction of an economic problem is brought to bear on the demand for educational change, and how this construction of the problem is used to shape public opinion in order to prepare the public for a radical change of direction. Confining itself to the reform of mathematics education introduced in the Republic of Ireland in 2010, this article traces the emergence of a mathematics discourse focused on market-led education. It interrogates the construction of ‘the mathematics problem’ or ‘crisis in maths’ and argues that the discourse of the present construction is economic in nature, centring as it does on human capital production and market-led reform.     

School choice as ‘motherwork’: valuing African‐American women’s educational advocacy and resistance

This study draws on in‐depth interview data to discuss the school choices and educational advocacy roles of 14 African‐American mothers. The narratives of the study’s participants, who have low‐income or working‐class status, show how race, class and gender factors influence their school choice‐making and their value of education. The author asserts that the mothers’ school choice‐making constitutes an important act of cultural resistance and empowerment called motherwork. Analysis of the study’s findings challenges conventional notions of parent involvement and counters prevalent stereotypes that portray African‐American mothers as uncaring. Attention is given to the inequities that the mothers face in the educational marketplace and how they seek agency. Educators are urged to consider how the mothers perceive themselves and construct their educational involvement roles in order to engage parents in empowering and meaningful ways.