Taking charge and letting go: exploring the ways a Transition to Adulthood project for teenagers with Duchenne muscular dystrophy has supported parents to prepare for the future

The new Special Educational Needs and Disability legislation in the Children and Families Act 2014 intends to raise the aspirations of young people with special educational needs and their families, and improve their life outcomes. But what do raised aspirations and better outcomes look like for young people who have a life‐limiting impairment? This article draws on data from a parent evaluation of a lottery‐funded Transition to Adulthood project for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), called ‘Takin’ Charge’, focusing in particular on whether or not the project helped parents of boys with DMD prepare for the future. Key themes that emerged were the importance and novelty of older role models with DMD in the project who were able to share their journeys into adulthood, the support between families that the project enabled, the meaning of family resilience and aspirations for a normal life. The use of solution‐focused questioning with families affected by a life‐limiting impairment is also explored.     

‘Extended Schools’: an exploration of the feelings,beliefs and intentions of parents and teachers

This research is designed to provide information for participants, facilitators and policy makers in the area of Extended Schools. Its salient purpose is to investigate and examine the feelings, beliefs and attitudes of teachers and parents involved in the development of the Extended Schools project in Northern Ireland. The Extended Schools project was formally launched by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State on 7 March 2006, and aims to provide a wide range of services and activities in school with the intention of helping to meet the needs of children, their families and the wider community. The qualitative approach was deemed the most appropriate methodology for gathering data.     

School context and instructional capacity: A comparative study of professional learning communities in rural and urban schools in China

This study examines the teaching gap between rural and urban schools in China from the perspective of teacher professional learning communities (PLCs). Drawing on in-depth interviews with 36 primary school teachers, the study finds striking disparities between rural and urban schools in the working of Teaching and Research Groups (TRGs). These disparities in TRGs result in divergent patterns of instructional capacity building in rural and urban schools. The evidence shows that teaching and teachers are strongly shaped by the school organizational context. It suggests that strengthening school-wide PLCs is an important way of narrowing the rural-urban teaching and learning gaps.     

A review of parent–professional partnerships and some new obligations and concerns arising from the introduction of the SEND Code of Practice 2015

This article contributes a current thematic review of literature about the challenges of productive parent–professional partnership working relating to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It also reports on an empirical project which explored early experiences of professionals working under the newly statutory SEND Code of Practice 2015 and asks what new challenges have emerged for SEND parent‐partnerships. Particular consideration is given to the language of choice and preference in the Code, the new focus on outcomes in the place of specified provision, and the problematic construction of compliant partners.     

Aiming for autonomy: formative peer assessment in a final-year undergraduate course

This article takes a dual focus on the theme of student formative peer assessment. On the one hand it offers a thorough literature review in this field, while on the other it unpacks a case study of curriculum design where peer assessment has been adopted. The practical example draws on recent changes made to a third- and final-year undergraduate research dissertation course in a UK architectural school. Although peer assessment worked quite well in this small setting, similar findings might be uncovered when scaled up to larger cohorts, as well as other disciplines and year groups. The research findings are certainly relevant for other contexts. Qualitative research from a focus group with six students on the course informs the empirical body of the paper. Through engaging with students’ reflections, as well as the relevant literature, and reflexively looking at the curriculum changes, this paper discusses some of the benefits and drawbacks that can arise from peer assessment in this context. Peer assessment is not without its challenges and hiccups, but, despite these, the benefit to autonomous critical thinking cannot be understated. And arguably peer assessment is especially germane for final-year undergraduates as they embark on employment or more advanced studies.     

硼酸盐发光材料的研究进展

近年来,硼酸盐发光材料研究是一个比较活跃的领域,学者们在此方面进行了大量的研究。本文对国内外硼酸盐发光材料的总体研究状况进行了简述,并着重从无水硼酸盐及水合硼酸盐两大体系介绍了纳米硼酸盐发光材料的研究现状,同时对硼酸盐发光材料研究的发展方向提出了展望。     

形成性评价在英语教学中的应用研究综述

在回顾和总结迄今为止国内形成性评价在英语教学中应用研究的基础上,笔者简要勾勒了这一领域的基本发展趋势,从研究方法和多项研究内容等方面分析了其研究现状和存在的主要问题,并为该领域今后的发展方向提出一些建议。     

English in Education: the first fifty years

On the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of English in Education, this article reviews the journal's contribution to research and practice in the teaching of English. A thematic analysis based on close study of a sample of volumes is arranged chronologically (to show the development of ideas and practices) and thematically in terms of language mode (speaking; writing; reading, including new technologies). The article argues that the journal archive can shed light on the educational past in ways that can effectively inform the educational present and help to set agenda for the future.     

Preparing the Next Generation of Educational Measurement Specialists: A Call for Programs With an Integrated Scope and Sequence

The field of educational measurement has evolved considerably since the first doctoral programs were established. In response, programs have typically tacked on courses that address newly developed theories, methods, tools, and techniques. As our review of current programs evidences, this approach produces artificial distinctions among topics and techniques that are in fact a tightly coupled whole. This position paper advocates a redesign of the scope and sequence for doctoral programs focused on the preparation of the next generations of educational measurement specialists; a redesign that reflects the full life‐cycle of instrument development and use.