South Africa’s readiness to integrate ICT into mathematics and science pedagogy in secondary schools

One of South Africa’s identified priorities is the implementation of ICT in education. To this end a phased implementation plan was initiated in 2004 for ICT to be implemented into schools across the country over eight years. During this time South Africa also participated in three international studies undertaken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) focusing on ICT in Education. Each of these permitted the country to benchmark its progress in terms of other countries and their implementation of ICT in education. The latest study, SITES 2006 provides a useful set of indicators against which South Africa can evaluate its progress with regard to its implementation of ICT. This paper seeks to evaluate South Africa’s readiness to integrate ICT into mathematics and science classrooms. This was done using a number of indicators of “sustainable change” derived from SITES 2006 and then comparing these to countries such as Chile, Thailand and Norway, the former two with similar context and conditions and the latter with contrasting conditions. The findings reveal that whilst South Africa has made some progress since 1998 in terms of the implementation of ICT in education, that the majority of schools are still in their infancy regarding the acquisition of ICT and most of those who have access are still in the process of trying to integrate the ICT into their teaching and learning. It would appear that more fundamental needs in South Africa’s education system have dominated its priorities.     

Nostalgia,homesickness and emotional formation on the eighteenth-century Grand Tour

Nostalgia and homesickness were well-known eighteenth-century ailments. Undertaking protracted travels, Grand Tourists were potential sufferers, yet these emotional afflictions are absent from the Tour's lengthy lists of hazards. Querying this and applying history of emotions approaches to the histories of the Tour, masculinity and the family, this article examines how Tourists and tutors navigated nostalgia and homesickness as emotions that sat uneasily with the Tour's wider aims of masculine formation. Such investigations offer a means of unpicking the complex, contradictory demands placed on young gentlemen during their emotional formation. Through this, it contributes to wider reconsiderations of eighteenth-century masculinity.     

Action learning drives the Emerald Academy

This account examines the action learning process adopted by Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., embedded in the organization through the in-company Emerald Academy. In case study format, the paper emphasizes that in order to align learning with organizational objectives joined up thinking and practice is needed beyond the learning and development function, with ownership taken of the process at all levels. To date the Emerald action learning corporate academy process is in its sixth year. It builds upon a tradition of management development through action learning which goes back to the early days of the company. Organizations seeking to develop a similar process would need to consider organizational commitment and readiness.     

Gender and Management in HEIs: Changing organisational and management structures

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi-country study examining cross cultural perspectives of gender and management in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It examines the broader labour market context and legislative frameworks for higher education in each country and then analyses the literature on women in university management. The paper presents the findings of research with male and female senior managers about their perceptions of women as HEI managers within changing organisational and management structures. It concludes that although HEI’s are now largely aware of barriers to women getting into and on in senior management, they have not addressed the organisational structures and cultures that perpetuate this inequity.

     

Pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward education for sustainability and its relevance to their learning: implications for pedagogical practice

The education for sustainability (EfS) literature espouses participatory, praxis-orientated, place-based and holistic approaches to teaching and learning. The introduction of a first-year EfS unit for pre-service teachers at James Cook University provided an opportunity to explore their attitudes toward EfS and their perceptions of the relevant aspects of the unit to their learning. In this mixed-methods study, pre-service teachers (N = 100) completed a Likert-style survey at the beginning and end of the unit that examined their attitudes toward EfS. Three pre-service teachers were also interviewed to explore further their perceptions and experiences, one semester after completing the unit. Significant improvements were found in pre-service teachers’ EfS self-efficacy, and familiarity with and interest in sustainability issues. Participants also perceived EfS to be relevant to their learning, particularly the praxis-orientated pedagogies in which they engaged, as they believed it developed their knowledge, skills and confidence to teach sustainability in schools. For one pre-service teacher, her experiences of EfS during her practicum enhanced its relevance, as she was able to link theory and practice. The implications of these findings for both teacher education and pedagogical practice for EfS in higher education are also discussed.     

Predicting Suicide Risks Among Outpatient Adolescents Using the Family Environment Scale: Implications for Practice and Research

This study was designed to identify characteristics of family functioning that relate to suicide potential in an outpatient adolescent population. Participants included 51 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 who were involved in outpatient counselling. The Family Environment Scale and the Suicide Probability Scale were used to assess adolescents’ perception of family social climate and degree of suicide risk respectively. Results revealed significant correlations between suicide risk and family systems characterized by heightened conflict and lower levels of cohesion, independence, and organization. A stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that organization (related to clarity and structure in family activities and responsibilities) was the strongest predictor of suicide risk. Implications for research and practice are considered.     

Literacies across sponsorscapes: mobilising notions of literacy sponsorship

Building from the concept ‘sponsors of literacy', the authors revisit three empirical studies to argue for mobilising notions of sponsorship beyond fixed conceptions of individual sponsors and literacy to lifewide perspectives that take into account sponsoring relations across the broader learning lives of youth. The authors take up the theoretical heuristic ‘sponsorscapes' as a lens for attending to the dynamically networked, reciprocal and human‐material dimensions of literacy practices. With cases drawn from across settings and research foci, including middle school students in a classroom setting, high school‐aged youth across contexts and a participant‐researcher's interactions with a college student, the authors argue that attending to sponsorscapes can contribute critical insight into the emergent, diverse and valued literacies and sponsorship thriving across lifewide learning pathways, while recognising learners' agentive roles in investing, resisting and sponsoring literacies.     

Balance in Positive Emotional Expressivity Across School Contexts Relates to Kindergartners’ Adjustment

Positive emotional expressivity has been associated with increased social competence and decreased maladjustment in childhood. However, a few researchers have found null or even positive associations between positive emotional expressivity and maladjustment, which suggests that there may be nuanced associations of positive expressivity, perhaps as a function of the social context in which it is expressed. We examined whether observed positive emotional expressivity balance across peer-oriented/recreational and learning contexts predicted kindergarten children’s adjustment (N = 301). Research Findings: Higher positive expressivity during lunch/recess compared to positive expressivity in the classroom was associated with lower teacher–student conflict, externalizing behaviors, and depressive symptoms. In addition, overall positive emotional expressivity predicted lower externalizing behaviors as well as lower depressive and anxiety symptoms. Practice or Policy: The results suggest the importance of assessing observed positive emotional expressivity in context as a potential indicator of children’s maladjustment risk and the need for children to adapt their emotions to different contexts. Implications for assessing and supporting positive emotional expression balance and training emotional regulation in school are discussed.     

Public accountability and the project-grant mechanism

The project-grant mechanism is a major determinant of research styles and the direction and degree of scientific progress. Insofar as such research increasingly serves as the source of technology, and thus of economic, social and political change, the mechanism also influences, if only indirectly, the societal condition. In its current form the mechanism permits the support of significant amounts of research to be determined on the basis of scientific merit. The result has been the substitution of scientific progress for the achievement of tangible technical ends as the measure of public accountability. Given the increased appearance of undesirable social consequences based, in part, on scientific accomplishments this substitution is now seriously questioned. It has given rise to several attempts to make academic research more responsive to public needs while attempting to preserve the essentials of academic freedom.     

Defining the Difference: Comparing Integrated and Traditional Single-Subject Lessons

Early childhood curricula should be authentic and child-centered, however, many teachers still rely on direct instruction lessons. To better define how an integrated curriculum meets the needs of students, this study examined teacher talk and actions during instructional activities with first and second graders under two conditions: (1) subject-integrated social studies lessons of an integrated curriculum unit (experimental condition); and (2) single subject-focused mathematics lessons of a traditional separate subject curriculum (control condition). The mixed-methods study sought to define and compare characteristics of both curriculum approaches. Fourteen hours of observations were collected in each setting. In the integrated curriculum setting, the teacher was a facilitator of teamwork, offering choices, and giving praise; students made choices, decisions, and worked collaboratively. In the traditional setting, the teacher delivered direct instruction and controlled behavior; students followed directions, recalled knowledge, and worked individually. Less teacher energy was expended for behavior management in the integrated curriculum setting, indicating intrinsic motivation of students. Implementation of integrated curricula is recommended because of the student-centered focus that results in greater motivation, ownership, and teamwork, along with deeper knowledge connections. Because many factors hinder implementation, teachers need support when first teaching with this approach.