Factors affecting the career progress of academic accountants in Australia: Cross-institutional and gender perspectives

Since the late 1980s, Australian highereducation has undergone significant reforms andpolicy changes based on economic rationalismand modernisation of management. This paperexamines the outcomes of the reform processesbased on the career attributes, status andperceptions of work environment of academicaccountants in Australian universities.Similarities and differences between academicaccountants are explored fromcross-institutional and gender perspectives.The data provide insight into a number ofsystemic inequalities between the older andmore established universities and the neweruniversities. In specific, across-institutional analysis based on fouruniversity types: Sandstones/Redbricks,Gumtrees, Unitechs and New (Marginson 1999)indicates that academic accountants in Newuniversities employ a much lower proportion ofstaff with PhD qualification, a weakerpublication profile, and perceive greaterbarriers for conducting research in terms of ashortage of research mentors, colleagues withresearch experience, and post-graduatestudents. Further, the commitment to flexiblelearning and delivery strategies iscomparatively stronger in Unitechs, and posesadditional demands on accounting academics'overall workload. Perceptions of gender-baseddiscrimination by female academic accountantsare generally stronger than their malecounterparts, particularly, in Newuniversities. These results raise severalissues for academic accountants at both theinstitutional and individual level in terms ofequal employment opportunities, management ofresearch programmes, development of teachingstrategies and individual time management.     

Biopower,disciplinary power,and the production of the 'good Latino/a teacher'

This inquiry explores who is the ‘good teacher of color’. Through Michel Foucault's notion of biopower and disciplinary power, the analysis attempts to problematize the subject-position of ‘teacher of color’ by exploring how a Latino intern and a Latina intern negotiated their subjectivity in a large diverse school district. Participants' construction of subjectivity was found to be located within the nexus of the school district, the university, and the Latino counter-discourse through which biopower and disciplinary power operated.     

Teachers' self‐assessment of the effects of formative and summative electronic portfolios on professional development

This study compared the effects of four electronic portfolio curricula on pre‐service and beginning teachers' self‐ratings of their professional development (n = 207), using a 34 item electronic Portfolio Assessment Scale (ePAS). Three formative portfolios, A, C and D, had teacher development as a primary objective and used participants' narrative reflections on students over a 2–3 month period. One summative portfolio, B, assessed teacher accountability through participants' analyses of professional teaching standards concerning students during 1–2 week teaching units. Factor analyses of the ePAS assessments for each portfolio and all four combined yielded the same five factors concerning professional outcomes: overall teacher development, including reflective skill (F1), an understanding of assessment roles (F2), an understanding of backwards planning (F3), the benefit of analyzing student work (F4) and the benefit of teacher peer collaboration (F5). For F1, F3 and F5 the means of the formative portfolios A, C and D were significantly higher than those of portfolio B. No differences were found among the portfolios concerning the benefits of analyzing student work (F4). The researchers concluded that formative portfolios that focused on teacher development better supported professional outcomes than did the summative accountability portfolio. It was concluded that portfolios should not be used for the summative accountability of teachers.

Dans cette étude nous avons comparé les effets de quatre programmes scolaires à portefeuille électronique sur les autocritiques que des enseignants débutants ont faites de leur développement professionnel (n = 207). Nous nous sommes servis d'une échelle d'évaluation à portefeuille électronique de 34 points (ePAS). L'objectif principal des trois portefeuilles formatifs A, B et D était le développement de l'enseignant. Pour y parvenir nous avons employé des réflexions narratives sur les élèves pendant une période de deux à trois mois. A travers un portefeuille sommaire, B, nous avons évalué la responsabilité des enseignants au moyen des analyses que les participants ont faites des normes de l'enseignement professionnel des unités d'apprentissage d'une à deux semaines. Nous avons conclu que les portefeuilles formatifs qui se concentraient sur le développement des enseignants ont mieux soutenu le rendement professionnel des jeunes enseignants.

Este estudio compara los efectos de cuatro portafolios electrónicos curriculares sobre las auto evaluaciones de profesores antes de que comiencen a ejercitar la enseñanza y de profesores que inician su desarrollo profesional (n = 207), utilizando 34 ítemes de la escala de Portfolio Assessment (Valorización de Portafolios) (ePAS). Tres portafolios formativos, A, C y D, tienen como objetivo principal el desarrollo de la enseñanza usando las reflexiones por escrito de los participantes sobre estudiantes en un período de dos a tres meses. En un portafolio de síntesis, B, se valora la responsabilidad de los profesores. Durante una unidad educacional de una a dos semanas, los participantes evalúan métodos de enseñanza y, a través de este análisis, valoran la responsabilidad de los profesores. Se concluye que los portafolios formativos que se enfocan en el desarrollo de la enseñanza facilitan de mejor manera el resultado del desarrollo de los profesionales jóvenes.

Diese Arbeit vergleicht die Wirkungen von vier Lehrplänen im Bereich elektronischer Portfeuilles auf die beruflichen Selbstbewertungen von werdenden und neueingetretenen Lehrkräften. Verwendet wird ein elektronisches Portfeuillewertungssystem (ePAWS) von 34 Punkten. Die Entwicklung der Lehrer ist die primäre Absicht von drei formativen Portfeuilles, A, C und D, in denen die Teilnehmer ihre Selbstbeobachtungen über zwei bis drei Wochen aufgeschrieben haben. Die Verantwortlichkeit von Lehren wird in einem zusammenfassenden Portfeuille B eingesschätzt, durch eine Beurteilung von lehrberuflichen Maßstaben der Teilnehmer in Bezug auf Studenten im Verlauf einer ein‐ bis zweiwöchigen Lehreinheit. Bewiesen wurde, daß die formativen Portefeuilles, die sich auf Lehrentwicklung konzentrierten, die Weiterentfaltung von neueingestiegenen Lehrkräften besser fördern.     

Changes in Sensory Dominance During Childhood: Converging Evidence From the Colavita Effect and the Sound‐Induced Flash Illusion

In human adults, visual dominance emerges in several multisensory tasks. In children, auditory dominance has been reported up to 4 years of age. To establish when sensory dominance changes during development, 41 children (6–7, 9–10, and 11–12 years) were tested on the Colavita task (Experiment 1) and 32 children (6–7, 9–10, and 11–12 years) were tested on the sound‐induced flash illusion (Experiment 2). In both experiments, an auditory dominance emerged in 6‐ to 7‐year‐old children compared to older children. Adult‐like visual dominance started to emerge from 9 to 10 years of age, and consolidated in 11‐ to 12‐year‐old children. These findings show that auditory dominance persists up to 6 years, but switches to visual dominance during the first school years.     

Absolute value inequalities: high school students’ solutions and misconceptions

Inequalities are one of the foundational subjects in high school math curricula, but there is a lack of academic research into how students learn certain types of inequalities. This article fills part of the research gap by presenting the findings of a study that examined high school students’ methods of approaching absolute value inequalities, their common mistakes, misconceptions, and the possible sources of these mistakes and misconceptions. The research study used two tools—a questionnaire and personal interviews. The questionnaire was given to 481 students in the 10th and 11th grades in Israel who studied mathematics at intermediate and advanced levels. It was administered after the students had studied inequalities. Thirty-two students were interviewed in order to find their ways of thinking and the sources of their errors. The main types of mistakes that students consistently made when solving absolute value inequalities were found. Based on the study’s findings, teachers can understand students’ thought processes and use this understanding to conduct remediation and enhance mathematics instruction.     

Neurodevelopmental Effects of a Mindfulness and Kindness Curriculum on Executive Functions in Preschool Children—A Randomized,Active-Controlled Study

This study aimed to explore the effect of a mindfulness-based curriculum designed especially for preschoolers on facets of executive functions. Fifty-one preschoolers were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness and kindness curriculum (MC) or an active control dialogic reading program (DR). A battery of behavioral and neurophysiological tests was used to tap into facets of executive control (inhibition, shifting). Electroencephalography data were acquired during the attentional network task (ANT). Relative to DR, children in the MC group exhibited a reduced difference in the N200 Event related potentials (ERP) amplitudes for the congruent versus incongruent conditions during the ANT paradigm representing inhibition and shifting abilities. On the behavioral tasks, both groups improved on executive functions (EF) but on different facets; MC group showed increased inhibition and the DR group demonstrated significantly greater shifting abilities. The results highlight the sensitivity of electrophysiological data to detect subtle cognitive changes. The understanding of how mindfulness-based interventions in preschoolers affect facets of executive functions can enable further refinement and maximization of the benefits of these interventions for this age group.