Policy rhetoric and the renovation of English schooling: the case of Creative Partnerships

My critical evaluation of the government's White Paper, Learning to Succeed: a new framework for post-16 learning, which was published in the Journal of Educational Policy (2000, 15(2), 237-246) has provoked a critique by Pat Ainley, which is the main purpose of this section of the journal on Documents and Debates. He claims that my article suffers from two sins of omission: first, I am apparently unaware that the new legislation excludes higher education; and second, I have apparently failed to see that the Learning and Skills Council may become a new Leviathan rather than a new enlightenment. Both criticisms are, in my opinion, wide of the mark for the reasons given below, and this response ends with some comments on Pat Ainley's contribution.     

Child‐rearing and Parental ‘Intentions' in Postmodernity

This paper aims at revealing the various meanings of schools as more than built physical environments from a geographical‐phenomenological (or ‘geo‐phenomenological’) perspective. This paper consists of five sections: the first explicates the meaning of ‘geo‐phenomenology’; the second reveals the meaning of ‘environment’ and a dialectics of strangeness and intimacy through geo‐phenomenological analysis; the third examines the meanings of environment as ‘space’ and ‘place’ and the act of naming as the process of constructing meaning between humans and environment; the fourth section attempts to explore the meaning of conceiving school as a particular environment; and the final is the conclusion.     

Inter‐firm Migration of Tacit Knowledge: Law and Policy1

Abstract

Much knowledge is diffused by the exchange of property rights in intangibles. But tacit knowledge, not being subject to property rights, is instead diffused by migration of knowledgeable individuals between firms. The law impacts significantly on this diffusion mechanism, in particular those rules that determine the use individuals may make of their tacit knowledge after migration to a different firm. The general principle underlying the relevant law is that individuals are free to migrate with all their tacit knowledge. Nonetheless there are some narrow exceptions to this principle. That these exceptions remain narrow and carefully policed by the courts is important because imposing too many restraints on use of tacit knowledge post‐term would have a negative impact on real innovation.     

Judgment‐Based Scoring by Teachers as Professional Development: Distinguishing Promises from Proof

The engagement of teachers as raters to score constructed response items on assessments of student learning is widely claimed to be a valuable vehicle for professional development. This paper examines the evidence behind those claims from several sources, including research and reports over the past two decades, information from a dozen state educational agencies regarding past and ongoing involvement of teachers in scoring‐related activities as of 2001, and interviews with educators who served a decade or more ago for one state's innovative performance assessment program. That evidence reveals that the impact of scoring experience on teachers is more provisional and nuanced than has been suggested. The author identifies possible issues and implications associated with attempts to distill meaningful skills and knowledge from hand‐scoring training and practice, along with other forms of teacher involvement in assessment development and implementation. The paper concludes with a series of research questions that—based on current and proposed practice for the coming decade—seem to the author to require the most immediate attention.     

对我国中小学体育教学模式的理论思考

着重对我国中小学体育教学模式进行理论探讨。提出了多视角、多样化、全方位的体育教学模式新格局,认为提高我国中小学体育教学整体水平的关键在于更新教育观念,建立一定的学说,确定“发展”的体育教学模式。     

"三个代表"的跨文化思考

先进思想化是全人类的共同财富。“三个代表”论是跨越时空等界限的科学结晶,是中国特色的先进思想化,既是民族的,又是国际的;“三个代表”论揭示了人类发展的普遍规律,其跨化影响是广泛而深远的。随着经济全球化进程的加速,先进思想化的跨化趋势更为明显。“三个代表”是对马克思主义的宝贵贡献,也是对人类明的杰出贡献。     

体育运动技术课程改革的哲学理念问题

从现实问题入手,分析了体育运动技术课程改革的机制性障碍,指出教师的哲理理念影响了教学改革的效率.对多年以来影响术科教师认识运动项目和运动技术课程规律的牛顿机械论世界观进行了深入细致的分析,对后现代系统整体论世界观用于指导运动技术学科课程改革的可能性进行了探讨,介绍了"涌现"原理对于体育运动技术课程改革的指导意义.     

电火花线切割3B代码编程方法

3B代码程序是国产数控电火花线切割机床最常采用的格式之一,通过例举典型模具零件的加工,重点介绍直线和圆弧的3B代码编程方法。     

Informing in the Information Age: How to Communicate Measurement Concepts to Education Policy Makers

Current educational policies rely on educational assessments. However, the technical aspects of assessments are often unknown to policy makers, which is dangerous because sound assessment policy requires knowledge of the strengths and limitations of educational tests. In this article, we discuss the importance of informing policy makers of important psychometric issues that should be considered whenever tests are proposed for specific purposes. We discuss the types of information that are important to communicate to policy makers, how to best convey this information in a manner in which it can be understood, and how to be seen as a valuable source of information to education policy makers. We end with some specific steps organizations such as NCME can take to inform policy makers and advocate for valid educational assessment policies.     

Self‐determination of young children with intellectual disability: understanding parents' perspectives

Self‐determination is considered to be a basic human right which, to develop, demands contextual opportunities as well as individual competencies. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the family is the natural support environment in the task of increasing control over their own lives. There is little, however, that has been published in Spain on the needs and strengths of families in this regard. This article presents a study carried out in Spain on the knowledge, attitudes and strategies that a sample group of parents (N = 201) have regarding self‐determination. An analysis of the data gathered highlights the need for intervention proposals to prepare parents to further their children's self‐determination, through collaborative partnerships and through cognitive restructuring.