Labour market mismatch among UK graduates: An analysis using REFLEX data

There is much disagreement in the literature over the extent to which graduates are mismatched in the labour market and the reasons for this. In this paper we utilise the Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society (REFLEX) data set to cast light on these issues, based on data for UK graduates. We find substantial pay penalties for overeducation for both sexes and for overskilling in the case of men only. When both education and skill mismatch variables are included together in the model only overskilling reduces job satisfaction consistently for both sexes. Using job attributes data it appears that the lower wages of the overqualified may in part simply represent a compensating wage differential for positive job attributes, while for men at least there are real costs to being overskilled.     

A Comparative Demographic Study of Student Teachers from the North and South of Ireland

90.4% of the 1977 entrants to concurrent general Teacher Education courses in Ireland North and South responded to a demographic questionnaire. The results are analysed and the two regions contrasted with respect to personal, professional and geographical variables. These indicate that some interesting differences exist but that there are many overall similarities.     

Queensland's Itinerant Teacher Service, 1901–1930

Moving from homestead to homestead, in a horse and cart, to bring schooling to isolated children in Queensland's outback was the role of itinerant teachers at the turn of the century. Later, the horse and cart was replaced by motor cars and motor bikes, but the harsh conditions of the ‘bush’ were never really conquered. The Itinerant Teacher Service was no longer in existence by the Thirties, being replaced by the Primary Correspondence School which offered a service itinerant teachers could not. The travelling teachers, however, were significant in bringing a degree of literacy and numeracy to ‘bush’ children and in preparing the way for the smooth inception of the Primary Correspondence School.     

Are athletes on the right track? The effect of availability of an all-weather athletics track on athletics performance

In February of 2011, an earthquake destroyed the only all-weather athletics facility in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The all-weather track has yet to be replaced, and so since the loss of the track, local Christchurch athletes have only had a grass track for training and preparation for championship events. The present study considers what effect the loss of the training facility has had on the performance of athletes from Christchurch at national championship events. Not surprisingly, the study finds that there has been a deterioration in the performance in events that are heavily dependent upon the all-weather surface. However, somewhat more surprisingly, the loss of the track appears to have caused a significant improvement in the performance of Christchurch athletes in events that, while on the standard athletics programme, are not heavily dependent on track surface.     

Learning Styles Among Mature‐Age Students: Some Comments on the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI‐S)

The short form of Entwistle's (1981) Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI‐S) was administered to 503 mature‐aged students, most of whom identified themselves as disadvantaged and were returning to study after many years absence. Analysis of the 503 responses showed that internal consistency estimates for the seven subscales of the ASI‐S were generally low, but that confirmatory factor analysis could recover two major dimensions corresponding to deep and surface orientations to learning. To examine the predictive validity of the ASI‐S with this population, results for a mathematics unit which they were studying were regressed on factor scores. Results of the structural analysis indicated that the deep orientation was unrelated to academic progression in mathematics but that high scores on the surface orientation were associated with poor academic performance ( = 0.092). These findings indicate that broad learning orientations are fundamental and can be identified in a group of students returning to study after a long absence. The study also emphasises the importance of examining the particular study context when evaluating the effect of learning orientations. The effect of deep and surface orientations may be positive or negative depending on the subject area and the learning context.     

Foreword

Director of the National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales. He has conducted extensive studies on provision for pupils with special needs in ordinary schools and has published widely on the topic. He edits theEuropean journal of special needs education and Educational research. He has conducted numerous consultancies for national governments and for intergovernmental agencies, including UNESCO.     

Enhancing preschool children's vocabulary: Effects of teacher talk before,during and after shared reading

This observational study analyzed patterns of teacher extratextual talk as it occurs before, during, and after reading books to children, and the frequency and duration of teacher questioning by type (label, define, associate) on preschoolers’ receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge. Over the course of 18 weeks, 13 teachers and 100 children participated in ninety 20-min small-group sessions of teacher-guided shared reading instruction. Teachers’ reading instruction was examined through videotaped observations using the Multi-Option Observation System for Experimental Studies (MOOSES™; Tapp, Wehby, & Ellis, 1995). Two findings, in particular, yielded relevant educational and theoretical implications. First, time spent after reading was significantly related to expressive vocabulary. However, question timing did not seem to matter in terms of receptive vocabulary outcomes. Second, duration of teacher association questioning was significantly related to receptive vocabulary outcomes while both frequency and duration of teacher vocabulary-related association-level questioning were related to expressive vocabulary. For receptive vocabulary, both vocabulary- and comprehension-related association-level questioning mattered. These findings complement the body of work demonstrating that engaging children in interactive shared reading that elicits their active participation is related to meaningful gains in children's language and literacy growth. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.