Planting Poetry: Sowing Seeds of Creativity in a Year 5 Class

This article offers a case study account of a garden-themed poetry writing project run by a creative writing organisation in partnership with a class of 9–10-year-old children from a London primary school. I explore the concept of creativity which framed the five-week project and analyse the different ways in which the creative practitioner worked collaboratively with the class teacher to develop children’s writing, not least by adopting an open, inclusive pedagogy. Despite the obvious successes of this project, I raise questions about the role of creative practitioners working in schools and the ways in which special projects locate creativity on the margins of the mainstream curriculum.     

The Roles of Engagement at The Ohio State University Libraries: Thoughts from an Early Adopter

Changes in information and technology continue to test how librarians interact with and support patrons. Now, engaged librarians have the opportunity to immerse themselves in their user’s workflows and become partners in the research enterprise. Engagement represents a model of librarianship in which librarians are challenged to move from the traditional collection-centered model to an engaged-focused one. It requires new roles and tasks, as well as a deeper understanding of the academic setting. This article discusses working in a large research institution and articulates the engagement model.     

Enhancing the pedagogical value of multimedia products in higher education

Abstract

In higher education settings two aims of multimedia development and use are: to enhance student learning by changing the nature of the curriculum experience, and to improve the teaching environment. This paper proceeds from the premise that the involvement of academic developers in the production of multimedia projects has the potential to enhance the pedagogical value of the final product. The evaluation of multimedia projects is considered in relation to five issues: conceptual need, students, medium, integration, and relation to existing products. Also presented are associated questions which can be used to explore each issue, and corresponding techniques which can be used to answer those questions. Suggestions are made for ways in which academic developers might create opportunities to work on multimedia development, and specific journals are suggested to assist developers in becoming familiar with the field.     

Broadening Impact for Library Exhibitions and Speakers

Libraries curate exhibitions and host speakers to promote collections and engage communities. Traditional library exhibit spaces present information gaps for visitors. To bridge these gaps, the University of Florida (UF) created and deployed innovative technologies, the Community Engagement Engine (CEE) for iPads (handheld and kiosks). The CEE facilitates visitor's registration as well as questions and comments sent directly to curators with automated email responses with relevant materials. The CEE allows libraries to aggregate visitor information for targeted outreach and assessment. This article discusses the CEE for innovative community engagement, including considerations for other institutions interested in engaged exhibitions programs.     

Exposure to Media Violence and Young Children with and Without Disabilities: Powerful Opportunities for Family-Professional Partnerships

There is growing concern regarding the amount and type of violence that young children are exposed to on a daily basis. Through media, popular toys and video games violent images are consistently present in children’s lives starting at a very young age. This paper discusses (a) the growing presence of young children’s exposure to media violence, (b) the influence of media violence on early childhood development and well-being, (c) the impact of media violence on young children with disabilities, and (d) recommendations for addressing this national dilemma within the context of family-professional partnerships. A list of related web resources is also included.     

Research-practice partnerships “On the Ground”: Exploring partnership work in urban schools under pressure to improve

Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are intended to engage researchers and practitioners as equal partners to address urgent problems of practice. While this goal is clear, more remains to be learned about RPP efforts “on the ground.” This paper is written from our vantage point as qualitative researchers on a project that involved a multi-year partnership between university researchers and four urban schools under pressure to improve student achievement. We examine the contextual factors shaping RPP work in these schools, as well as the role of qualitative research in supporting the partnership. Findings indicate that strong accountability pressures mediated how teachers viewed improvement efforts, causing them to be initially wary of data-focused RPP activities. Navigating multiple concurrent reform efforts as well as persistent teacher turnover also impacted the RPP. Importantly, qualitative research methods helped to strengthen RPP work over time and served as a main vehicle by which teachers engaged as active participants in the partnership. Implications from this study are presented to inform future development of meaningful and reciprocal partnerships.     

Explaining the persistence of “decentralisation” of education in Egypt

This study examines how and why decentralisation remained central to education reform in Egypt over the period 1990–2016 despite the mixed outcome at both the national and international levels. Three decentralisation models were examined: community schools, public-private partnerships and school-based management. Network analysis was combined with a process-tracing approach to identify the key actors and mechanisms causing policy persistence. Analysis revealed international agencies used coercion through funding and persuasion by framing the models to match political sponsors’ interests. There was also bounded-rational learning by national actors from foreign experts and experiences and several complementary mechanisms with minor influence.     

基于AHP-DEMATEL的PPP项目关键成功因素相互关系研究

在文献回顾和问卷调查基础上,识别影响PPP项目成功实施的3大影响因素和18个可测量指标。采用AHP和DEMATEL相结合的方法对PPP项目成功实施影响因素间的相互关系进行分析。其中,AHP方法用于获取各因素权重值,DEMATEL方法用于计算各因素之间相互影响程度,两者进行加权计算各因素在系统中的综合影响度并进行排序。研究结果表明,国家法律法规体系的健全、产品/服务质量、市场需求稳定性是PPP项目关键成功因素。一个PPP项目能否顺利实施,最重要的影响因素是项目所在地的经济基础及其所决定的上层建筑。     

University–School Partnerships in English Pre-service Teacher Education: A Dialogic Inquiry into a Co-teaching Initiative

Evidence has been accumulating for some time about the impact of standards-based education reforms on schools and schooling, but there has been little research investigating the influence of these reforms on university-based initial teacher education (ITE). This article critically inquiries into the effects of these reforms on an ITE co-teaching project where a secondary English teacher in a school was seconded to work for a year as a teacher educator in an Australian university in a praxis-based partnership. Using Cavarero’s framing of ‘who’ and ‘what’ narratives, and Bakhtinian discourse theory, the authors present three autobiographical narratives exploring different perspectives on their experiences in the co-teaching partnership. The article affirms the value of school–university praxis partnerships for speaking back to standards-based reforms, but acknowledges that this speaking back involves complex relational and dialogic work in grappling with institutional and system-wide policies and practices.