Leadership training in science,technology, engineering and mathematics education in Bulgaria

This synthesis paper explores current leadership training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Bulgaria. The analysis begins with discussion of global factors influencing the implementation of leadership training in STEM education in general and then presents information about the current status of leadership training in Bulgaria with emphases on the country's economics, politics and geographical location as specific factors influencing leadership education. A short background of Bulgaria is presented with regard to population, gross domestic product, educational system, engineering force and possible need for leaders in industry in Bulgaria and the European Union. The paper provides an overall view about the current status of leadership training in all Bulgarian universities offering STEM education and concentrates specifically on two major universities by examining their currently offered programmes. As part of the discussion, similar training elements in other European countries and the USA are presented.     

Supported playgroups in schools: bonding and bridging family knowledge about transition to formal schooling

Supported Playgroups in Schools (SPinS) are a new initiative in the Australian early childhood education landscape. SPinS are playgroups hosted by a playgroup coordinator co-located on a local school site. Research has identified positive benefits of playgroup participation for children and families. However, little is known about the potential for SPinS to contribute to families’ knowledge about transition to formal schooling. This paper uses the social capital concepts of ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ to examine caregivers’ perspectives on their participation in a SPinS with potential to build parental knowledge about their child’s transition to formal schooling. Three main elements of caregivers’ participation in SPinS with such potential are identified, and these elements are mapped into a continuum of low-to-high bonding and bridging relationships to illustrate the potential for SPinS to contribute to the development of increased knowledge about transition to formal schooling by families of young children.     

On the interaction between humans and Knowledge Management Systems: a framework of knowledge sharing catalysts

Knowledge Management Research & Practice - Admitting that knowledge workers and Knowledge Management Systems (KMSs) are valuable organizational assets whose interaction should be augmented,...     

Real vs virtual physics experiments: comparison of learning outcomes among fifth grade primary school students. A case on the concept of frictional force

This paper compares students’ conceptual understanding of a standard physics law, i.e. frictional force, following the execution of real vs virtual experiments. The research sample was made up of 110 fifth grade students attending a primary school in the city of Ioannina, Northwestern Greece who were randomly assigned to either the control group (55 students) or the experimental group (55 students). The control group carried out experiments with real world objects, while the experimental group used Interactive Physics simulation software. Data was collected by administering to both groups identical pre and post tests, before and after the experiments respectively and which contained six questions each. The SOLO taxonomy model was used to evaluate student answers and the findings reveal that both experimentation methods are equally effective in the conceptual understanding of frictional force.     

The Birth to School Study: evidence on the effectiveness of PEEP,an early intervention for children at risk of educational under‐achievement

This article presents the findings of the Birth to School Study (BTSS) a longitudinal evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP); a family‐focused intervention aimed at promoting early literacy, numeracy and self‐esteem in a community at risk of educational underachievement. The main aim of the study was to investigate the effects of PEEP on the children and families from the community it served. Embedded within this aim were dual objectives: to determine if the intervention had an effect within the community as a whole, and simultaneously to determine whether it had an effect on the sub‐group of families who participated in the PEEP weekly sessions. Outcomes in favour of the intervention were found for parents and for children's progress in language and early literacy skills, both at community and sub‐group level. The study is located within a discussion of social exclusion, the potentially mediating influence of education and the accessibility of literacy skills to intervention and change.     

Teachers’ Inclusive Strategies to Accommodate 5th Grade Pupils’ Crossing of Cultural Borders in Two Greek Multicultural Science Classrooms

The demographic changes in Greek schools underline the need for reconsidering the way in which migrant pupils move from their everyday culture into the culture of school science (a process known as “cultural border crossing”). Migrant pupils might face difficulties when they attempt to transcend cultural borders and this may influence their progress in science as well as the construction of suitable academic identities as a means of promoting scientific literacy. In the research we present in this paper, adopting the socioculturally driven thesis that learning can be viewed and studied as a meaning-making, collaborative inquiry process, we implemented an action research program (school year 2008–2009) in cooperation with two teachers, in a primary school of Athens with 85% migrant pupils. We examined whether the two teachers, who became gradually acquainted with cross-cultural pedagogy during the project, act towards accommodating the crossing of cultural borders by implementing a variety of inclusive strategies in science teaching. Our findings reveal that both teachers utilized suitable cross-border strategies (strategies concerning the establishment of a collaborative inquiry learning environment, and strategies that were in accordance with a cross-border pedagogy) to help students cross smoothly from their “world” to the “world of science”. A crucial key to the teachers’ expertise was their previous participation in collaborative action research (school years 2004–2006), in which they analyzed their own discourse practices during science lessons in order to establish more collaborative inquiry environments.     

Relationships between families’ use of Sure Start Children’s Centres,changes in home learning environments,and preschool behavioural disorders

UK Sure Start Children’s Centres (SSCCs) aim to lessen behavioural disorders yet we lack evidence concerning how this is achieved. This study evaluates one possible mechanism: improved home learning environments (HLEs). Data come from a longitudinal study of 2568 families and children recruited at a mean age of 14 months from 117 SSCCs in England in 2012. Behavioural disorders were measured at 38 months via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. HLEs were measured at 14 and 38 months via parental interview. Families’ use of SSCCs was measured via parental interview at 14, 22, and 38 months. This study suggests that the use of SSCCs is associated with fewer preschool behavioural disorders via intermediate changes to the quality of HLE’s. Implications are discussed for social policies and for early years’ professionals.     

Inclusive Classroom Profile: a pilot study of its use as a professional development tool

Research has highlighted that children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) might be at risk of receiving less-than-outstanding experiences in settings typically rated as outstanding. There are still significant barriers to the implementation of high-quality inclusive practices in early years settings: inadequate preparation of early educators for implementing inclusive classroom practices, and a lack of reliable and valid measures for assessing the quality of inclusive practice. The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) was designed to measure the quality of inclusive classroom practices that can support the developmental needs of children with SEN in early childhood programmes. This paper describes the first study that explored the feasibility and usefulness of the ICP measure for quality improvement. The usability of the ICP was explored in the context of a partnership between a team of early years inclusion advisors and inclusive settings in one local authority in south England. Early years advisors received training for using the ICP and performed follow-up feedback visits to settings. Advisors achieved reliability proficiency and rated the ICP measure and training programme positively. Future research needs to investigate how the ICP might support quality improvement through designing and piloting the effectiveness of a multi-component professional development programme.     

School playgroups: Which features of provision matter?

This paper identifies the shared features of provision in exemplar school playgroups defined using the social capital concepts of bonding and bridging relationships. Relationships promote capabilities amongst people, with play a known capability for advancing children's developmental and educational outcomes. By attending to the bonding and bridging relationships in each school playgroup, exemplar groups were identified and studied to reveal their shared features of provision. Six main features of provision were identified, including materials, facilitator, space, location, scheduling and health and safety. Awareness of these features may benefit school leaders and/or governance seeking to implement a school playgroup within their own community. Findings from this project suggest high-performing school playgroups can operate in areas of lower and higher socioeconomic status and/or parental education, and in regional and rural areas.