Writing texts with Radical Change characteristics

Research has revealed how students draw upon other texts when writing their own texts. This article explores how the writing of Alyssa, a 10‐year‐old Grade 5 student, was influenced by her engagement with literature with Radical Change characteristics, as well as by her knowledge of and experience with other texts. Dresang's Radical Change taxonomy is used as a framework for analysing the storybook created by Alyssa. The article concludes with discussions of the intertextual nature of the literature used in the study, and the social nature of intertextuality in the research classroom.     

Making sense of a teaching programme for university academics: Exploring the longer-term effects

To professionalise teaching in universities, certificated teaching programmes for academics are increasingly widespread and often mandatory for new lecturers. Evaluations of impact have escalated in the past decade. Existing studies show mixed results but few consider the differential effects on individuals over the longer term. This study examines narratives of course participants a number of years following completion to understand how lecturers made sense of formal teaching development. Powerful outcomes materialise for some individuals, highly focused by personal reference frames and career experiences. Findings are related to wider studies of teacher growth and individual orientations to teaching professional development.     

Toward a Communication Model for the Socialization of Voluntary Members

Because most socialization/assimilation research focuses on employment as the primary membership role in groups and organizations, the accompanying models have failed to consider the unique characteristics of voluntary membership. In addition, those models have been criticized for being too linear and based on concepts of organizations as containers. Using principles of the bona fide group perspective and a case study, this paper develops a model that emphasizes the unique characteristics of the socialization of voluntary members. The multilevel model also examines how membership in various other groups, such as work and family, influence and interact with individuals’ voluntary memberships. With a focus on communication, the model emphasizes the fluid process of voluntary associations in organizations with ambiguous boundaries.     

Changing boards: investigating the effects of centres changing their specifications for English GCSE

The awarding bodies and their regulator carry out research to maintain the equivalence of examination standards. However, some criticisms remain, suggesting that examination boards may be lowering standards in specifications (syllabuses) in order to attract more centres (schools or colleges). This article reports our investigations on whether centres that decide to change their specifications do so to a specification with a higher percentage of candidates achieving grade C and above, based on the argument that such specification is easier. Using GCSE English data for the years 2000–2003, we show that there is insufficient evidence for this assumption; instead, alternative explanations may be more plausible. We then consider whether centres that changed their specifications improve their mean level of performance more than centres that did not change. There was not enough evidence for this second assumption either.     

美国生涯辅导行业协会研究——以美国辅导协会及其分支协会为例

生涯辅导行业协会主要指为了促进个体的生涯发展提供各类服务而自愿组织起来的各类组织或专业团体。本文研究了以美国辅导协会及其分支协会为主的生涯辅导行业协会的基本情况、运作特点和协会在促进生涯辅导行业发展中的重要作用。     

Career choice status among undergraduates and the influence of career management competencies and perceived employability

This study examines the influence of career management competencies and perceived employability on career choice status (CCS) among undergraduates. Making informed and appropriate career choices is positively linked with well-being, work performance and academic and career success. Early career decision-making is now critical if students wish to succeed in highly competitive graduate labour markets. This study gathered quantitative data from 370 Business undergraduates in an Australian and UK university. Findings suggest that students have largely made career decisions and are reasonably satisfied with their choices. CCS varied with age, stage of study, perceived employability and student capabilities in career self-management. Findings highlight the need for universities to not only equip students with the necessary skills to enter their chosen career but also – in collaboration with industry – develop strategies to engage students in the different aspects of career self-management earlier on in their studies.     

The occupational commitment and intention to quit of practicing and pre-service teachers: Influence of self-efficacy, job stress, and teaching context

The purpose of the present study was to explore the occupational commitment and quitting intention of practicing and pre-service teachers. We used a cross-sectional survey design to examine the impact of teachers’ self-efficacy, job stress, and contextual factors on occupational commitment and quitting intention of 434 practicing teachers and 379 pre-service teachers. Results revealed that similar factors—self-efficacy, job stress, and teaching context—influence the occupational commitment and quitting intention of practicing and pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers displayed higher levels of commitment and less overall stress than practicing teachers. We conclude the article with implications for theory and practice, and suggest avenues to extend this line of career stage research.     

The role of International Non-Governmental Organisations in promoting adult education for social change: A research agenda

This paper explores the role of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) in adult education as one instrument of global civil society to effect social change. Postcolonial theory is utilized to explore the complex relationships between the concepts of ‘globalisation’, ‘global civil, society’, and ‘adult education for social change’. In seeking change for social justice postcolonial theory examines the construction of cultural discourse within the epistemologies of (neo-) colonial and decolonising contexts, as well as how such discourse helps to shape and change social realities and identities. We propose a postcolonial research agenda for studying the adult education role of INGOs.     

Investigating pre-service teacher motivation across cultures using the Teachers’ Ten Statements Test

Motivations for choosing teaching as a career were investigated in 200 pre-service teachers from Canada and Oman. We used a novel structured qualitative approach and two theoretical models to analyze how pre-service teacher career-choice motivation varied according to cultural context. The results of the study showed that Canadian participants made more self-references, and expressed higher levels of individual-focused motivation and social utility value as career motivators than did Omani participants. Participants from Oman expressed greater endorsement of teaching as a fallback career and higher levels of socio-cultural influences than Canadian participants. Results extend teacher motivation “teacher motivation theory” by investigating socio-cultural influences.