Credible or Tentative? A Model of Open University Students with ‘Low’ Educational Qualifications

Changes in higher education have meant that institutions are attracting increasing numbers of mature students, who have diverse social and educational backgrounds and may lack conventional A Level (higher secondary school) qualifications. The present study by Dr. Shelley McAlister, an Open University Social Science Associate Lecturer, concerns a group of mature students at the Open University who entered Level 1 Foundation courses in Technology and Social Science without having A Level qualifications. Although they were all categorised as having ‘low’ educational qualifications, they had a range of educational skills and experiences which meant that they perceived their experience of university study in very different ways. Using a social cognitive framework Dr. McAlister has developed a model of Credible and Tentative students which does not predict drop out, but which focuses on the complex interplay between psychological, social and institutional issues which affected their study.     

Grade one peer and teacher feedback on student writing

This article examines a grade one teacher's support for her students’ writing development through formal peer and teacher feedback. The teacher modelled and provided examples of effective feedback and good writing in whole-class and small-group lessons and in her own one-on-one verbal feedback on student writing. She allocated time for the students to participate in formal peer-feedback sessions, in turn giving feedback to the students on the suggestions to one another during these sessions. Students gave more content-oriented than conventions-oriented feedback to each other. They revised the content and writing conventions of their writing in response to 90% of the feedback they received from their peers and teacher.     

Social Justice in Teacher Education: A Qualitative Content Analysis of NCATE Conceptual Frameworks

A review of theoretical or conceptual writing on teacher education reveals numerous examples of the term “social justice” in discussions of preservice preparation. Despite this widespread use, little research documents if and how teacher education programs utilize the concept in their programs. This study examines how institutions that included “social justice” within their NCATE accreditation documents used the term in their articulation of program practices, goals, and values. Based on an extensive qualitative content analysis of NCATE conceptual frameworks, the authors assert that the social justice reform agenda is only weakly represented in accreditation artifacts and that there is little consensus on the enactment of social justice in teacher education, even among those programs that invoke the terminology.     

Using LISREL to Fit Nonlinear Latent Curve Models

Latent curve models offer a flexible approach to the study of longitudinal data when the form of change in a response is nonlinear. This article considers such models that are conditionally linear with regard to the random coefficients at the 2nd level. This framework allows fixed parameters to enter a model linearly or nonlinearly, and random coefficients at the 2nd level may only enter linearly. Beginning with LISREL 8.80 for Windows, such models can be fitted, giving users greater flexibility in model specification. An example with LISREL syntax is provided.     

Sensitivity Analysis of Multiple Informant Models When Data Are Not Missing at Random

Missing data are common in studies that rely on multiple informant data to evaluate relationships among variables for distinguishable individuals clustered within groups. Estimation of structural equation models using raw data allows for incomplete data, and so all groups can be retained for analysis even if only 1 member of a group contributes data. Statistical inference is based on the assumption that data are missing completely at random or missing at random. Importantly, whether or not data are missing is assumed to be independent of the missing data. A saturated correlates model that incorporates correlates of the missingness or the missing data into an analysis and multiple imputation that might also use such correlates offer advantages over the standard implementation of SEM when data are not missing at random because these approaches could result in a data analysis problem for which the missingness is ignorable. This article considers these approaches in an analysis of family data to assess the sensitivity of parameter estimates and statistical inferences to assumptions about missing data, a strategy that could be easily implemented using SEM software.     

Hurricane Katrina's Impact on Students and Staff Members in the Schools of Mississippi

Following Hurricane Katrina, a team of researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi's Department of Educational Leadership and Research surveyed school administrators regarding the impact of Hurricane Katrina upon students and school staff members in Mississippi public schools. Respondents disclosed concerns over displacement and psychological stressors experienced by both students and staff. Additional concerns were expressed regarding support systems for students, destruction of student and personnel records, student achievement and school accountability, and the employment status of teachers. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Critical literacy: an approach to child rights education in Uganda and Canada

For children to know how to fully participate in and most effectively lead the world they will inherit, they must learn how to critically engage with it and be knowledgeable about foundational rights and instruments that support such engagement. Together, critical literacy, which encourages the examination and interrogation of the underlying assumptions of dominant narratives and ‘legitimate’ knowledge, and children's rights education, which involves children in learning how to express their ideas and fully participate in society (as appropriate to their age and ability), offer a powerful approach—theoretical and pedagogical—to engage children in active engagement of the world, especially with respect to the promotion of social justice. However, the layers of complexity and risks associated with deep consideration of challenging topics require expert guidance and compassionate role modelling from teachers of young children. Our paper considers the intersections between critical literacy and global child rights with reference to a study conducted with young school children in Canada and Uganda to discuss how teachers can support meaningful learning experiences in the classroom that can promote children's agency and social justice commitments.     

Maternal Reminiscing Style During Early Childhood Predicts the Age of Adolescents' Earliest Memories

Individual differences in parental reminiscing style are hypothesized to have long-lasting effects on children's autobiographical memory development, including the age of their earliest memories. This study represents the first prospective test of this hypothesis. Conversations about past events between 17 mother–child dyads were recorded on multiple occasions between the children's 2nd and 4th birthdays. When these children were aged 12–13 years, they were interviewed about their early memories. Adolescents whose mothers used a greater ratio of elaborations to repetitions during the early childhood conversations had earlier memories than adolescents whose mothers used a smaller ratio of elaborations to repetitions. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that past-event conversations during early childhood have long-lasting effects on autobiographical memory.     

Struggles and Successes in Constructivist Jewish Early Childhood Classrooms

This study examined the experiences of teachers in a Jewish early childhood center implementing constructivist theory and pedagogy through a Reggio Emilia-inspired model. Constructivist practices were described through interviews, surveys, classroom documentation, and observations. The data indicated that areas that were initially deemed as successes were hard to maintain and seemingly overshadowed by challenges. These areas included understanding constructivist theory, using open-ended materials, and relying on open-ended questions to facilitate knowledge. Furthermore, teachers struggled when comparing information gained by children from classes using a more traditional educational approach. Insights in each area are provided to support Jewish and general studies constructivist teachers.     

Children’s rough and tumble play: perspectives of teachers in northern Canadian Indigenous communities

Ten teachers in kindergarten and grade one classrooms in remote northern Canadian Ojibway communities, and two consultants from a First Nations Student Success Program participated in focus group discussions about the place of rough and tumble and superhero play, and teachers’ roles in preventing relational and physically aggressive play in school. This paper reports on issues related to sociocultural influences on perceptions of play involving objects to which Indigenous children assign implicit roles as guns, and teachers’ concerns about external perceptions of teachers’ roles vis-à-vis rough and tumble play in school. Implications for teacher practice and for teacher education include establishing boundaries and negotiating rules and consequences with students, and teaching problem-solving approaches. Teachers’ expressed need for exposure to research on rough and tumble play in teacher education and professional development initiatives is consistent with the findings of previous research. This study provides perspectives from teachers in a non-mainstream teaching context on a controversial topic with mixed views coming from researchers and media reports.