An analytical quality framework for learning cities and regions

There is broad agreement that innovation, knowledge and learning have become the main source of wealth, employment and economic development of cities, regions and nations. Over the past two decades, the number of European cities and regions which label themselves as “learning city” or “learning region” has constantly grown. However, there are also pitfalls and constraints which not only hinder them in unlocking their full potential, but also significantly narrow their effects and their wider impact on society. Most prominently, learning cities and regions manifest serious difficulties in rendering transparent the surplus value they generate, which is vital for attracting investment into lifelong learning. While evaluation and quality management are still perceived as being a bureaucratic necessity rather than a lesson one could learn from or an investment in the future, it is also true that without evaluation and quality assurance local networks do not have the means to examine their strengths and weaknesses. In order to design strategies to maximise the strengths and effectively address the weaknesses it is necessary to understand the factors that contribute to success and those that pose challenges. This article proposes an analytical quality framework which is generic and can be used to promote a culture of quality in learning cities and regions. The proposed framework builds on the findings and results of the R3L+ project, part-funded by the European Commission under the Grundtvig (adult education) strand of the Lifelong Learning programme 2007–2013.     

Die neuen europ?ischen Bildungsprogramme

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Television

Erik Barnouw's The Sponsor: Notes on a Modern Potentate (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978—$10.00)

Bert Randolph Sugar's “The Thrill of Victory”: The Inside Story of ABC Sports (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1978—$12.00)

David L. Wolper and Quincy Troupe's The Inside Story of TV's “Roots” (New York: Warner Books, 1978—$2.25, paper)

James Robert Parish and Mark Trost's Actors' Television Credits, Supplement 1 (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1978—$16.00)

Jerry Mender's Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (New York: Wm. Morrow, 1978—$11.95/4.95)

Mary Lewis Coakley's Rated X: The Moral Case Against TV (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, l978—$9.95)

TV and Elections: Proceedings of the Meeting (Prix Italia Secretariat, c/o RAI, Radiotelevisione Italiana, Viale Mazzini, 14, Rome—price not provided, paper)

FTC Staff Report on Television Advertising to Children (Federal Trade Commission, Washington D.C. 20580—free on request, paper)

The CoEvolution Quarterly (Winter 1977/78, Issue 16 available from Box 428, Sausalito, Calif. 94965—$3.50, paper)     

A comparison of the methodological quality of articles in computer science education journals and conference proceedings

In this study we empirically investigate the claim that articles published in computer science education journals are more methodologically sound than articles published in computer science education conference proceedings. A random sample of 352 articles was selected from those articles published in major computer science education forums between 2000 and 2005. Each article was then coded in terms of five indicators of methodological quality. It was found that there were no practically or statistically significant differences between the articles published in journals and those published in conference proceedings on any of the indicators of methodological quality. One implication of this finding is that those who evaluate the academic output of computer science education researchers should be wary of arbitrarily prescribing more academic merit to journal publications than conference publications.     

Enhancing Web‐based Courses through a Mutual Aid Framework

Students taking a class together belong to a group where members typically develop a sense of connection to each other by engaging in mutual support and assistance through shared experiences and knowledge. Some have argued that the lack of face‐to‐face interaction precludes such processes and prevents the effective teaching of social work in an online environment. When online students were asked what they liked most and least about their classes, one‐third of the responses referred to ideas that reflected interactions among students and with faculty. These comments were evaluated in the context of Shulman's (1999 Shulman, L. 1999. The skills of helping individuals, families, groups and communities, Itasca, IL: Peacock.  [Google Scholar]) processes of mutual aid. This exploratory study suggests that despite a lack of face‐to‐face contact, mutual aid is relevant to online students and could be used to strategically enhance the delivery of course content in an online environment and facilitate a sense of connection among students.     

Riding on the back of a giant: adding Malta to the 5 Cultures study by Robin Alexander

This paper focuses on the methodology adopted for Malta+5, which builds on Robin Alexander’s work by comparing the five pedagogical cultures he studied to the one in Malta. It reflects critically on the research process adopted in this study, and shows how, despite the very limited experience and resources, applying the methodology, frameworks and learning from Culture and Pedagogy to the Maltese context, enriched this study, by giving it a comparative and international dimension that it would otherwise be lacking. It also analyses the compromises that had to be made, the challenges encountered and, the pitfalls the author attempted to avoid while conducting the study. An exposition of the data gathered shows that the methodology adopted enabled the researcher, an insider, to better understand the pedagogical culture in which he is immersed. It is predominantly teacher-based, solidly underpinned by segmented-collectivism and encourages uniformity.     

Creative and playful learning on technology-enriched playgrounds: an international investigation

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the degree that creative and playful learning (CPL) in a technology-enriched playground influences academic achievement of students and what factors are responsible for successes. The participants were 276 students from 12 elementary classrooms in the Netherlands and Finland. The research used a pretest–posttest, without control design. The dependent variable was academic achievement on teacher-created tests; the independent variable was participation in the intervention; and the control variables were pretest scores, gender, academic subjects previously studied, age, satisfaction with schooling, country of the school, and classroom within the school. The results showed that there were significant gains in academic achievement and that the pretest was the only significant predictor of posttest achievement. Other variables, including gender, academic subjects studied, age, satisfaction with schooling, country of school, and classroom, were not statistically significant predictors of posttest scores. While students’ academic achievements are only one measure of progress in the current debate about learning in the education system, this article provides insight on education through analyses of the relationships among the integration of curriculum-based learning, CPL practices, and outdoor playgrounds.     

Interpreting and shaping geopolitics in Chinese media: the discourse of the ‘New style of great power relations’

Chinese leaders have attempted to alleviate international anxiety about its rise to global prominence describing its development as a ‘peaceful rise’ or ‘peaceful development’. Most recently, Chinese leaders have begun deploying a new term, the ‘New Style of Great Power Relations’ (新型大国关系). The purpose of this study is to examine the treatment of the ‘New Style of Great Power Relations’ as a political slogan within the Chinese media as a means to shape a geopolitical worldview among Chinese citizens and international actors. Researchers identified 541 articles from 25 different Chinese media sources selected to represent varying levels of government influence and editorial perspectives. This study found the concept primarily intended to engage the United States by stressing cooperative aspects of U.S.–China relations, but also challenges specific U.S. actions. Those U.S. policies challenged within the Chinese media are portrayed as inconsistent with the ‘new style’ concept’s principles. This forms a ‘rhetorical trap’, as it were for the United States, in that the framing of the discourse implicates U.S. intentions and policies as disingenuous unless the United States changes its policy stances. The essay examines the implications of the discourse for understanding Chinese political communication.     

Contrast and value: Beyond the work ethic effect. A reply to Zentall (2008)

Zentall (2008) challenges Arantes and Grace’s (2008) failure to replicate Clement, Feltus, Kaiser, and Zentall (2000) by suggesting that our results may have been due to insufficient training or to subjects’ experimental histories, and that our results are actually consistent with those of Clement et al. when examined closely. On the contrary, our pigeons received more training than Clement et al.’s did, and when an overall measure of preference on test trials was calculated, independent of the effect of initiating event that we reported, there was no evidence of preference for the stimulus preceded by the greater response requirement in our data. Although there have now been two unsuccessful attempts to replicate Clement et al.’s work ethic effect, there is evidence that in some situations, the value of a stimulus, as assessed by transfer tests, varies inversely with the context of reinforcement. It is important to look for convergent results using other procedures and transfer tests, such as resistance to change, to identify the principles that determine when contrast manipulations affect value and when they do not.