Investigating teachers’ explanations for aggressive classroom discipline strategies in China and Australia

Student misbehaviour can provoke aggressive teacher management (e.g. yelling in anger), adversely effecting students’ learning and attitudes toward school. To investigate this phenomenon, data were obtained from 75 Chinese (typically Eastern) and 192 Victorian (typically Western) secondary teachers who self-reported aggressive management. Results: 49% of Chinese and 59% of Australian teachers adopt aggressive behaviours rarely to sometimes; and, 9% of Chinese and 13% of Australian teachers sometimes or more frequently. The teachers were assessed for levels of support for Attribution, Attachment or Efficacy theory as explanations. The only significant differences were found for Attachment theory with Chinese teachers reporting significantly more support. National setting explained 29% of the variance independent of gender, levels of aggression and years of experience.     

Disproportionate over-representation of Indigenous students in New South Wales government special schools

A significant gap exists in the Australian research literature on the disproportionate over-representation of minority groups in special education. The aim of this paper is to make a contribution to the research evidence-base by sketching an outline of the issue as it presents in Australia’s largest education system in the state of New South Wales. Findings from this research show that Indigenous students are equally represented in special schools enrolling students with autism, physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities, but significantly over-represented in special schools enrolling students under the categories of emotional disturbance, behaviour disorder and juvenile detention. Factors that might influence the disproportionate over-representation of Indigenous children and young people are discussed, and based on these observations, some practical implications for policy and practice are provided.     

Viewing restorative approaches to addressing challenging behaviour of minority ethnic students through a community of practice lens

The disproportionately high rates of school exclusion and lower levels of academic achievement of students from particular minority ethnic groups have been a focus of investigation in educational research across the world for some time. This articles uses a communities of practice framework to examine how restorative practice can draw on family and community values to support students whose behaviour is unacceptable in schools to recognize their own agency in behaving for good or ill and reintegrate them into the school community. At the same time, it acknowledges hurt that may be done to victims of wrong-doing and emphasizes putting things right between all those affected. The examples here are from Aotearoa New Zealand. They relate to practices influenced by traditional Māori cultural values. However, the principles and process associated with restorative practices that aim to restore harmony between the individual, the victim and the collective rather than to punish and exclude may be relevant within other student groups where high rates of exclusion from school are problematic.     

领悟“教与学”关系 打造高质量课程

随着义务教育的日渐普及,人们上学的机会得到保障,但＂教育质量＂问题却逐渐凸显出来,追求有质量的教育的呼声高涨。从微观角度分析,追求有质量的教育应从课堂质量入手,转化教师和学生在课堂中的行为角色,领悟教与学的新关系,倡导＂以学定教、先学后教、少教多学、教学做合一＂的教育模式,从而促进课堂质量的提升,为打造高质量的教育做贡献。     

CFRP加固混凝土构件轴压性能试验分析

采用CFRP(carbon fiber reinforced polymer,碳纤维增强复合材料)环绕包裹混凝土棱柱体进行轴压强度试验。该试验研究包裹方式、层数以及原混凝土强度对构件轴压强度的影响,并在此基础上,通过统计分析的方法得到了轴压强度随各影响因素变化的定量计算公式。试验结果表明,CFRP环绕包裹混凝土对轴压强度有一定的提高作用;在保证施工材料和工艺质量的前提下,可以考虑采用仅在最外层搭接的包裹方法,既可有效提高混凝土构件的轴压强度,也能在一定程度上减少CFRP用量。专题试验表明,该定量计算公式有一定的可靠性,可用于定量计算CFRP包裹对混凝土轴压强度的提高作用。     

斯威齐模型下排污权交易买方垄断理论分析

依据排污权交易的内涵和特点,归纳排污权交易买方市场的寡头垄断特征,进而分析了交易量和交易价格的特点,得出排污权交易价格具有价格刚性、排污权交易数量(排污时间长短)将保持稳定的结论,最后提出相应的政策性建议。     

An exploratory study investigating the viability of a communication and feedback intervention for school children at risk of exclusion: analysis of staff perspectives

Every day nearly 900 children will be excluded from UK schools for disruptive behaviour and almost one-third of this population has a diagnosed mental health disorder. Exclusion from school is the endpoint of most schools’ sanction-based behaviour management policies. This exploratory study investigated staff opinions for using a communication and feedback intervention for children at risk of exclusion from school. Workshops to demonstrate the model were facilitated for staff participants followed by group interviews. The interview data were analysed using Template Analysis. Staff considered the intervention as viable both for themselves and for children at risk of exclusion. The analysis highlighted two broad categories: Communication Skills Training; weighing the potential, and Adapting to the Population. Sub-categories encompassed a range of factors related to the viability of the model and potential outcomes for both staff groups and young people. Due to ethical considerations, children were not recruited at this exploratory stage, but further investigation is warranted with child participants to ascertain their views. Psychologists working within schools are in a good position to utilise the model for both staff training and interventions.     

Investigation of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of fouled ballast

In this study, a fouled ballast taken from the site of Sénissiat, France, was investigated. For the hydraulic behaviour, a large-scale cell was developed allowing drainage and evaporation tests to be carried out with monitoring of both suction and volumetric water content at various positions of the sample. It was observed that the hydraulic conductivity of fouled ballast is decreasing with suction increase, as for common unsaturated soils. The effect of fines content was found to be negligible. For the mechanical behaviour, both monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests were carried out using a large-scale triaxial cell. Various water contents were considered. The results were interpreted in terms of shear strength and permanent axial strain. It appeared that the water content is an important factor to be accounted for since any increase of water content or degree of saturation significantly decreases the shear strength and increases the permanent strain. Constitutive modelling has been attempted based on the experimental results. The model in its current state is capable of describing the effects of stress level, cycle number and water content.     

Responses to conditions of decline: The case of Kenya's public universities

Abstract

This paper examines the responses of Kenya's public universities to resource dependence difficulties arising mainly from public finance challenges. The study shows how Kenya's public universities have attempted to hedge against declines in state funding by actively, and purposively exploiting the opportunities in their institutional environments. The universities have not only managed to creatively circumvent a rather restrictive policy environment to pursue economic self-determination, but have also assumed an entrepreneurial institutional behaviour characterized in the main by some form of revenue diversification and market-like behaviour. Through this entrepreneurial behaviour, Kenya's public universities have managed to shift the locus of their resource dependence to the market, to various extents.