Arts education partnerships: sources of harmony and dissonance with cultural institutions’ collaborative efforts

ABSTRACT

Due to budget constraints, schools in the United States have increasingly turned to community arts organizations for support. School-community arts partnership stakeholders collaborate because of shared missions to provide students with valuable arts learning experiences. Investigations of these initiatives indicate that these partnerships improve arts learning opportunities and increase public support and resources for arts education. However, not much is known about the experiences and perspectives of the arts organizations that participate in these partnerships. Coordinating collective efforts with a multitude of institutions and interests poses challenges. In this study, we examine survey data collected from arts organization administrators who participated in a large-scale school-community arts partnership initiative. We find that these organizations are generally positive about their impacts on students’ educational outcomes, but there is substantial variation in these views. We also find that organizations differ in their levels of support for these collective efforts. Sources of this variation appear to be attributable to organizations’ preexisting resources and extent to which they are established. While this difference in levels of support is potentially inevitable, we find evidence that the operations handled by the “backbone” organization, i.e. the initiative’s facilitators and overseers, can significantly influence organizations’ levels of support for these efforts. Organizations are more likely to support these collaborative efforts when they believe the backbone organization ensures transparency with initiative operations, provides regular, effective communication, and effectively resolves competing priorities.     

Arts councils,policy-making and “the local”

ABSTRACT

In the British Isles, national policies for the arts are primarily viewed as the responsibility of arts councils with statutory duties to distribute state funding that meet the requirements of both “arms-length” principles and national strategic frameworks. This paper explores the tensions between policy making for the nation-state and for “the local” through comparative research on the arts councils (and equivalent bodies) in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with senior representatives from these organisations, it explores their notions of, responsibilities to and affiliations with “the local”. Findings suggest that despite their different models and relationships to the nation-state, and the disparities in the scale of investment, these national policy bodies commonly rely on networked governance to facilitate their relationship to “the local” which risks reproducing national interests, limiting the localised agency of place-based approaches and contributing to a culture of competition within cultural policy.     

Assessing Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use of Institutional Repositories by Lecturers in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Institutional repositories (IRs) present platform to disseminate research findings to complement the traditional scholarly communication model. The use of IRs is beneficial to authors, host institutions, libraries and society at large. Despite the numerous benefits of IRs, there is low deposit of scholarly works by lecturers and the investment on IRs seems to be a waste. This study examined determinants of perceived ease of use (PEOU) of IRs by lecturers in Nigerian universities. A survey of lecturers received 857 respondents. Awareness, anchor and adjustment factors were found to be determinants of PEOU of Institutional repositories by lecturers in Nigerian Universities.     

On Affective Communication-From Perspective of Cultural Context

Nowadays, cross-cultural study is turning to pragmatic fields concerning communication, such as business negotiation, overseas life and language teaching, etc. This paper reviews previous studies of cu...     

后方法时代大学英语教师个体构建

作为"上传下达"的中介,"传道解惑"的主体,高校英语教师更应该了解各项教学方法的优缺点,根据不同的"教"与"学"环境特点,运用及变换不同的教学方法,建构"复式、开放、流变性"教者个体,以实现教学效用最大化。     

Special educational needs and inclusion,moving forward but standing still? A critical reframing of some key issues

This article draws together my thinking in relation to special educational needs and inclusion that have dominated my practice. The article, through the concept of embodiment, revisits, reviews and reframes the key issues of the construction of special educational needs, inclusion and the ideology that binds them together. Through this exploration, I argue we often seem to move forward with policy while in reality standing still in ensuring the ‘success’ of all of our pupils. By critiquing and reframing taken‐for‐granted assumptions and the sacred words ‘success’ and ‘achievement’, this article maps out the future directions of inclusive education. It concludes with a reflection on my first days as a ‘teacher of special educational needs’ and my work to support Kenny, a student with cerebral palsy. This personal reflection maps out a different form of educational success that perhaps could provide a forward momentum to develop more successful inclusive education policy and practice.     

大学语文课中的性别意识教育——以小说《伤逝》的教学为例

性别意识作为人文精神的一个重要因素，直接影响到大学生的自我角色定位．并关涉其恋爱观、人生观和价值观等多个方面。当代大学生受传统观念的影响，在性别意识问题上存在误区。大学语文课作为高校人文素质教育的基础课程，应改变传统无性别教育状态，从多个角度切人性别意识教育。以《伤逝》的教学为例，通过探讨小说中的性别文化内涵及其对大学生性别意识教育的启示．说明大学语文课渗透性别意识教育的可行性和必要性。     

Change management and the SENCo role: developing key performance indicators in the strategic development of inclusivity

This article follows an earlier publication highlighting the changing role of special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCos) in England. SENCos are now required to manage change strategically and deliver inclusive school cultures. School‐based action research undertaken by a teacher studying for the postgraduate National Award for SEN Co‐ordination (NASENCO) is featured in the article; a strategic review of resource allocation increased the availability and quality of interventions for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The commentary which frames the study acknowledges that many SENCos are not yet members of a senior school management team (SMT) despite their mandated strategic whole‐school remit. Featuring the process through which one SENCo has strived to enhance SEND provision and develop context‐specific key performance indicators brings official guidance on the SENCo's role in strategic change management into sharp focus, raising questions that should concern both SMTs and non‐SMT SENCos.     

大学生个性教育初探

在市场经济和竞争的新形势下,个性对事业和个人发展越来越显示其重要性。大学阶段是个性培养和发展的重要阶段,这个阶段可分为3个递进的层次:朦胧个性——意识个性——和谐个性。个性教育就是了解和掌握人的个性心理变化的规律性,针对不同的人的心理状态,采取适当的方法,按一定的规范把每个人的个性的方向和积极性调动起来,更重要的是进行教育、培养、引导和实践的结果。学生思想政治工作者除了了解大学生个性重要性及基本知识外,还要从各种渠道积极主动为个性充分地尽最大可能发展提供良好的环境、培养的措施和正确的引导。