'There's no way this kid's retarded': teachers' optimistic constructions of students' ability

Historical research in the field of autism has suggested that judgements regarding the ability of students with autism should be made carefully, taking into consideration the person with autism's difficulty with communication, movement and performance in general. Although the historical literature has urged professionals to proceed with caution regarding judgements about ability, a haphazard understanding of people with autism as retarded prevails. This qualitative study analyses the experiences of four teachers who, within the context of the inclusive classroom, resist interpreting non-verbal students with autism as mentally retarded and seek to form a new understanding of ability. The following themes will be discussed: (1) finding situations where students demonstrate competence, (2) rethinking performance and understanding, and (3) expecting struggles.     

‘Go over there and look at the pictures in the book’: an investigation of educational marginalisation,social interactions and achievement motivation in an alternative middle school setting

The middle years of school represent a time of educational turbulence, serving to marginalise some students from educational opportunities. Much research has focussed on individual cognitive factors influencing educational engagement, with less attention directed towards social interactions. Theoretically positioned within an expectancy–value model of achievement motivation, this study draws on the lived experience of a 12-year-old student within an alternative school in South Australia, Australia, to explore how social encounters may contribute to educational marginalisation. Findings from a narrative case study employing a semi-structured interview suggested that connections exist between social influences, such as interactions with teachers and peers, and subsequent achievement motivation. This study suggests that social interactions are critical determinants to an individual's educational engagement, affecting educational ability, expectancy and value beliefs.     

Effects of the WhyTry social skills program on students with emotional and/or behavioral problems in an alternative school

Social skills training (SST) is an evidence-based intervention to help increase social competence for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), but there is limited research that addresses SST for students identified as experiencing EBD at alternative campuses. A mixed methods design was utilized to examine SST at an alternative campus for students identified as experiencing EBD. Pre-intervention data were collected for students' attendance, grades, office disciplinary referrals, and behavioral rating scales, after which the WhyTry SST program (Moore 2008 Moore, C. 2008. The WhyTry Program, Salt Lake City, UT: WhyTry.  [Google Scholar], WhyTry, Salt Lake City, UT, USA) was implemented. Following the intervention, the same data were collected. Non-parametric statistics guided the quantitative analysis, because of the small population being studied. Differences from pre- to post-intervention were examined. Students exhibited significant differences from pre- to post-intervention in the number of office disciplinary referrals and several areas on the behavioral rating scales. Triangulation methods drove the qualitative data collection through observations, student interviews, and teacher interviews. Insight into motivation and perceptions was gained through the qualitative analysis.     

Editorial

This study reports data on the challenges and needs of girls engaged in delinquent behaviour and the effectiveness of services provided by a girls' home. Implications and suggestions for the planning and implementation of effective programmes and services in alternative educational settings are included. It concludes that alternative education is not just a change of educational environment for youths in trouble, an understanding of the unique needs of girls and female offenders must be translated into practice as educators continue to find solutions for helping girls who are engaging in risky or delinquent behaviours.     

Allowing Idiosyncratic Learners to Thrive

Abstract

School-within-a-school programs are an alternative school choice that can provide differentiated learning opportunities for academically gifted students, but they are often politically contentious. In a recent study, we interviewed 530 students and teachers in gifted and regular streams in three publicly funded secondary schools with different approaches to high-ability school-within-a-school programs: gifted, International Baccalaureate, and science-focused. Although teachers and students across conditions expressed strong satisfaction with the academic challenges provided by the special programs, they also expressed serious concerns about the relationship between these programs and the larger schools within which they are housed. Taking into consideration concerns about gifted education usurping resources from more urgent educational and societal goals, we discuss policy implications of our findings, considering ways to “allow idiosyncratic learners to thrive” (in the words of a teacher interviewed in this study), while minimizing misconceptions, prejudices, and perceptions of elitism.     

Teach For/Teach First candidates: what conclusions do they draw from their time in teaching?

Teach For and Teach First programs now constitute a significant pathway into teaching in a number of countries. One criterion for selection into these programs is leadership capacity, and evidence indicates that many candidates do move into leadership roles in education, business, and policy in the years following their time as a Teach For/Teach First candidate. Given their capacity to influence policy directions and school practice, and to speak with the authority of at least some experience in challenging schools, it is important to understand the types of conclusions they draw from their time in teaching, and the solutions they propose to the problems of educational inequality. This study set out to explore the types of attributions made by 76 Teach For candidates for the low achievement of disadvantaged students, and what they consider to be potential means of effectively addressing the achievement gap. Participants gave most importance to the types of people attracted to and retained in teaching, and placed relatively little importance on improving school resourcing or addressing systemic and structural contributions to educational disadvantage. Implications for those training and working with Teach For candidates are discussed.     

From mainstream school to pupil referral unit: a change in teachers’ self-understanding

As teachers are at the heart of education, a substantial number of studies have researched the perception that mainstream school teachers have of themselves in relation to their work. This investigation extends this field of inquiry by examining how teachers’ self-understanding is altered when they transfer from mainstream to special school education. This study adopts the methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine in detail how three female teachers in inner London experienced the transition from mainstream secondary schools to teaching in alternative provision for excluded students referred to as a pupil referral unit (PRU). Central to IPA is how an individual experiences a substantial change in life and the influence this may have on his or her world views. The research approach adopted is, therefore, idiographic and reliant on the experiences of a small number of participants. The findings from this investigation indicate that the participants chose to leave mainstream school education when they came to the self-realisation that they wanted to engage in more creative and personally engaging professional practice with a stronger moral purpose. When they started to teach at a PRU, the more persistent and personal relationships with their students brought about a substantial change in self-understanding.     

论文艺复兴时期欧洲高等教育发展的文化选择

高等教育发展与文化选择具有内在的必然联系。在欧洲文艺复兴的特定历史时期,以经院哲学为主要特征的宗教文化越来越阻碍高等教育的发展,人文主义文化成为欧洲高等教育发展文化选择主要内容。贬抑神性,高扬人性的人文主义文化逐渐渗透到了欧洲各大学并促进了欧洲高等教育的进一步发展。在文艺复兴时期,选择人文主义文化作为发展的主导文化模式是欧洲高等教育发展进程中的必然。     

基于SWOT-QSPM模型的科技成果转化竞争战略研究

[目的/意义]本文运用SWOT-QSPM模型,探讨了重庆科技成果转化竞争战略及其实施对策,促进重庆科技成果转化更好发展,也为我国科技成果转化研究工作提供了可供参考的方法模型与实践数据。[方法/过程]本文全面梳理了重庆市科技成果转化发展现状的优势、劣势、机遇和威胁四项影响因素,以SWOT模型为基础,深入分析了重庆科技成果转化所处的发展环境与脉络,运用QSPM确定了SO战略四项备选方案的优先顺序,并据此制定了实施对策。[结果/结论]重庆科技成果转化当前最适宜的竞争战略是由优势(S)与机遇(O)组合构成的SO进取型战略,四项备选方案的优先顺序依次为政策先行、需求引领、强强联手和服务护航。     

Creating a web of support: an important leadership strategy for advancing campus diversity

Research demonstrates that leadership, particularly among presidents, is important for moving a diversity agenda forward and make appreciable progress on it. The research questions pursued here are: What is the role of the college president in advancing a diversity agenda? What strategies do presidents identify as important to facilitating a diversity agenda? There were three main findings: (1) strategies are deployed in a non-linear way best represented through a web metaphor, (2) six sets of actors that serve as key nodes on the web and specific strategies were crucial to enhancing and deepening the web-developing an internal network, hiring, mentoring, partnering with faculty on the curriculum, supporting student affairs staff, working directly with and learning from students, and establishing external networks; and, (3) strategies within the human resource frame are noted by presidents as particularly important to moving a diversity agenda forward.