Beyond the MLS: Reflections on the role of professional and continued education for academic library liaisons

This research article is based on a national survey, conducted in 2016, concerning the value of an advanced subject degree in addition to a master's degree in library science (MLS/MLIS) for liaison librarians. In the article we discuss perceptions academic librarians have about their own professional education, the potential merit (or lack thereof) of an additional graduate degree, and the relationship and interdependence between both degrees as perceived by those who have obtained them. Two groups of academic librarians are evaluated: those with both an MLS/MLIS and an advanced subject degree, and those with solely an MLS/MLIS degree. This study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the current population related to our research. The overarching goal of this study is to ask questions and stimulate conversation about the value of an advanced degree and how academic library liaisons can acquire and develop skills required to successfully serve as liaison and subject librarians.     

Out of the classroom,into the courts: The legalization of Australian education and its implications for educational research

This paper argues, on the basis of comparative research and a study of recent Federal and State statute law and court decisions, that Australian education is becoming legalized. That is, new rights in education are being elaborated. New procedural protections enforced. The rule of law is developing in Australian education, where custom law used to prevail. This, the writers suggest, calls for new items on the educational research agenda.     

A phenomenological study: teachers’ experiences of using digital storytelling in early childhood education

This study investigates how early childhood education (ECE) teachers incorporated digital storytelling in their classrooms and the challenges and successes that they faced in the process. After the teachers attended a digital storytelling workshop, in-depth phenomenological interview, observation and focus group interviews were used to collect data. Phenomenal data were collected from 5 kindergarten classrooms, each of which contained approximately 20 students and a teacher. The study presented examples that illustrated how ECE teachers had used digital storytelling to enhance learning. The results showed that an emphasis on specific points may assist teachers, parents, educational researchers and education policy-makers in using technological tools in young children’s learning environments.     

Preschool twin study of the relation between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and prereading skills

Numerous studies have examined the etiology of the association between reading difficulties and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school-age children, but little is known about the relation between prereading skills and ADHD behaviors prior to the beginning of formal reading instruction. A population-based sample of 809 pairs of preschool twins completed an extensive battery of prereading measures, and the parent of each twin completed an ADHD rating scale. Phenotypic analyses revealed small but significant correlations between DSM-IV inattention ratings and six prereading composite measures, whereas hyperactivity–impulsivity symptoms were not independently associated with any of the prereading scores. Multivariate twin analyses indicated that virtually all of the phenotypic correlation between inattention and prereading performance is attributable to common genetic influences, consistent with results obtained in studies of older twins. Although additional research is needed to test alternative causal models in children younger than five years old, these results are most consistent with the hypothesis that reading difficulties and inattention symptoms are attributable to common genetic influences.     

Fraction interventions for struggling elementary math learners: A review of the literature

Understanding fractions has been a pervasively difficult skill for struggling math learners, yet it is essential for success in secondary level mathematics skills. The present systematic review examined the evidence base of fraction interventions for elementary level students identified as struggling math learners. Twelve studies met inclusion criteria and were reviewed for (a) instructional focus (b) instructional components, and (c) effectiveness of the intervention on fraction performance. The majority of studies had a primary instructional focus on conceptual knowledge of fraction learning. Results of the study also indicated that all interventions included multiple evidence‐based instructional components (e.g., concrete and visual representations, range and sequence of examples, etc.). These multicomponent interventions improved performance on a variety of proximal fraction outcome measures. Intervention effects were mixed for generalized outcome measures and minimal for distal outcome measures. Limitations, implications for practice, and future research directions are discussed.     

Quality Review in Distance Learning: Policy and Practice in Five Countries

This paper is a contribution to knowledge sharing in the field of distance learning. It presents and discusses the findings of a study on the quality review of distance learning in a sample of five countries. The study was commissioned by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s (CHEA) International Commission in order to understand better the nature of existing arrangements and their potential impact in the context of growth in electronically supported learning and the import and export of education world-wide.     

Cohesion and coherence in theory and reading research

What is the relationship between cohesion and coherence? Researchers in the field of Applied Linguistics have traditionally attempted to list and define the cohesive devices in English which provide the basis for coherent text. Schema theoreticians, on the other hand, have argued that coherence is primary, that readers look for coherence given their existing schemata and extra-linguistic knowledge of the world and only then do they recognise cohesion. This paper looks at these two approaches in the light of the conflict which has grown up around the relationship between the concepts of cohesion and coherence and suggests that the positions taken are the result of a theoretically different starting point. If the researcher is primarily interested in linguistic analysis then she will begin with cohesion whereas, if human psychology in the reading process is the main focus then it will be more natural to look at coherence. However, it seems to be at least intuitively obvious that both the text itself and the reader have a part to play in the reading process, that reading is simultaneously data-driven and concept-driven. It is suggested that these two approaches would benefit from being a part of a larger theory of the reading process. In this context the work of Ruqaiya Hasan is reviewed as the most thorough attempt to provide a theory of text which accounts for both cohesion and coherence. Secondly, data are presented which suggest that a theory which integrates cohesion and coherence is necessary. Two studies are reported: an informal classroom experiment on the influence of pronominal reference on comprehension and an analysis of the results of a test designed to examine the relationships between theoretical constructs hypothesised to constitute (at least part of) the superordinate term “reading comprehension”.