Assessment in special schools: national early assessment procedures and pupils attending special schools in England

An implicit assumption that fostering inclusion means having shared systems encompassing the needs of all children is evident in many aspects of policy development over the past decade. Reflecting this, the implementation of ‘baseline assessment’ schemes (i.e. testing at around age 5 years) is a statutory requirement on all state-maintained special and mainstream schools in England since 1998. Our argument is that the enthusiasm for commonality has obscured the need to question the value and validity of baseline assessment schemes for children with special educational needs (and possibly some others such as children having English as an additional language). We illustrate this position with reference to data from our recent study on baseline assessment in England. The study encompassed survey data from a national sample of 982 schools, of which 107 were special schools. Between them, these special schools used 42 different baseline assessment schemes. Comparisons between our mainstream and special school respondents indicated that there were similarities in the nature and perceived value of the schemes used. However, special schools were less satisfied with their schemes. We suggest that a reappraisal of the nature and purpose of baseline assessment for pupils with special educational needs warrants greater critical debate. Without this, there is a danger that a stress on commonality, veiling an inclusion orthodoxy, will ultimately be counterproductive.     

A qualitative critique of teacher labor market studies

Qualitative studies of the teacher labor market suggest that problems and remedies generated by quantitative research fail to capture the most dynamic variables which are affecting the supply and demand of public school teachers. For example, quantitative research has not accounted for (1) the continual exiting and reentering of urban teachers, (2) the considerable bifurcation between urban and rural teacher labor markets as reflected in teacher mobility and cultural economic opportunities, (3) local definitions of labor market needs and teacher quality, and (4) the demanding and stressful working conditions of teaching, which are having a systemic and adverse effect on the occupation.     

Community School Leadership Development in Papua New Guinea: perspectives for change

Community school personnel in Papua New Guinea are expected to undertake an increasingly complex leadership role in making education more relevant to the needs of the community, yet current administrative training does not acknowledge this leadership perspective. In the light of this changing role, the current model for the in‐service development of community school leaders in Papua New Guinea appears limited theoretically. This is because existing programmes are inadequate epistemologically and do not fully equip community school leaders with the knowledge required to cope with educational change. Existing programmes are based on a technical rationality which serves bureaucratic purposes rather than contributing to teacher empowerment and organisational reward. A new approach is required which recognises the increasing complexities of community school leadership and which links leadership training with the process of professional development.     

WIDENING AND INCREASING POST-16 MATHEMATICS PARTICIPATION: PATHWAYS, PEDAGOGIES AND POLITICS

This paper explores the potential impact of a national pilot initiative in England aimed at increasing and widening participation in advanced mathematical study through the creation of a new qualification for 16- to 18-year-olds. This proposed qualification pathway—Use of Mathematics—sits in parallel with long-established, traditional advanced level qualifications, what we call ‘traditional Mathematics’ herein. Traditional Mathematics is typically required for entry to mathematically demanding undergraduate programmes. The structure, pedagogy and assessment of Use of Mathematics is designed to better prepare students in the application of mathematics, and its development has surfaced some of the tensions between academic/pure and vocational/applied mathematics. Here, we explore what Use of Mathematics offers, but we also consider some of the objections to its introduction in order to explore aspects of the knowledge politics of mathematics education. Our evaluation of this curriculum innovation raises important issues for the mathematics education community as countries seek to increase the numbers of people that are well prepared to apply mathematics in science and technology-based higher education courses and work places.     

Reflections on some contemporary educational slogans

Five fashionable ideas in educational theory are here identified as essentially amounting to slogans in which mere rhetoric supplants rational discussion. First, the back-to-basics movement, trading on a preference for what is essential and useful, blurs the point that there is serious dispute about what actually is essential in education. Second, progressive educators favour discovery learning, but ignore the fact that discoveries can grow out of teaching situations. Third, the notion of values clarification is attractive to all who reject authoritarianism in moral education, but it cannot be enough merely to clarify our moral views. We need to ask how far they are defensible. Fourth, the idea of the hidden curriculum is used to denounce subtle indoctrination, but it is too readily assumed that a hidden curriculum is both inevitable and undesirable. Finally, modern educators have succumbed to the apparent security offered by behavioural objectives without noticing that many educational outcomes, including dispositions, cannot be specified with the precision demanded. Slogans offer simplistic solutions, and serve to curtail serious criticism.

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Zusammenfassung Fünf gängige Begriffe aus der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Theorie, die wesentlich zur Schlagwortbildung beitragen, werden hier identifiziert, bei denen das rein Rhetorische die rationale Diskussion ersetzt. Erstens, die Back to Basics (Zurück zu den Grundfertigkeiten)-Bewegung, die mit Vorliebe übernimmt, was daran wesentlich und nützlich ist, jedoch die Tatsache verwischt, daß eine ernsthafte Auseinandersetzung darüber geführt wird, was eigentlich in der Erziehung wesentlich ist. Zweitens, fortschrittliche Erzieher bevorzugen entdeckendes Lernen, übersehen aber die Tatsache, daß Entdeckungen aus Lehrsituationen heraus erwachsen können. Drittens, der Begriff der Werteabklärung ist für alle verlockend, die das Autoritäre in der Moralerziehung ablehnen, aber es ist nicht ausreichend, nur unsere moralischen Standpunkte zu klären. Es muß die Frage gestellt werden, inwieweit sie zu verteidigen sind. Viertens, der Gedanke des verborgenen Curriculums wird angewandt, um die subtile Indoktrination zu entlarven, aber es wäre voreilig anzunehmen, daß das verborgene Curriculum gleichermaßen unvermeidlich und unerwünscht ist. Schließlich glauben moderne Erzieher durch die sich anbietenden Verhaltensweisen eine Garantie zu haben, ohne zu bemerken, daß vielfach Folgen der Erziehung einschließlich der Charakteranlagen, nicht im einzelnen mit der erforderlichen Präzision angegeben werden können. Schlagworte bieten vereinfachende Lösungen und dienen dazu, ernsthafte Kritik einzuschränken.

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Résumé Les cinq idées en vogue dans le domaine de la théorie éducative sont identifiées ici essentiellement en tant que slogans dans lesquels la rhétorique supplante le débat rationnel. Tout d'abord, le mouvement pour un retour aux éléments d'apprentissage essentiels de base, en tirant profit d'une préférence pour ce qui est fondamental et utile en éducation, cache la controverse sérieuse qui est soulevée lorsqu'il s'agit de savoir ce qui est vraiment essentiel en éducation. Deuxièmement, les éducateurs progressistes favorisent l'apprentissage par la découverte, mais ignorent le fait que ces découvertes peuvent provenir des situations d'apprentissage. Troisièmement, la notion de clarification des valeurs est attirante pour tous ceux qui rejettent l'autoritarisme dans l'éducation morale, mais il est insuffisant de clarifier nos vues morales. Nous devons nous demander jusqu'à quel point elles sont justifiables. Quatrièment, l'idée du curriculum dissimulé est utilisée pour dénoncer une indoctrinement raffinée, mais on affirme trop facilement qu'un curriculum dissimulé est inévitable et peu désirable à la fois. Enfin, les éducateurs modernes ont cédé à l'apparente sécurité offerte par les objectifs relatifs au comportement sans remarquer que de nombreux résultats éducatifs, y compris les dispositions, ne peuvent être spécifiés avec la précision demandée. Les slogans offrent des solutions simplistes et servent à amputer la critique sérieuse.

     

A knock to the system: A new sociotechnical systems approach to sport-related concussion

Broader contextual factors that influence concussion management have tended to be overlooked. To address this, the present study used a sociotechnical systems approach to identify perceived responsibilities and applied strategies for three domains of concussion management (i.e., prevention, identification and treatment). Participants were 118 members of the community rugby union system in Australia (69.2% male). Participants from throughout the rugby system (e.g., players, parents, coaches, club management) were asked open-ended questions about their perceived responsibilities and the strategies they use for concussion management. It was found that (a) proper training, technique correction and education were recurrent prevention themes; (b) the majority of key stakeholders felt that they could consistently identify concussion; however, medical aids (medics) were the only system actors who stated a responsibility to use standardised concussion assessment measures and (c) less than one third of the respondents indicated their involvement in treating concussion. This study identifies specific junctures in the system that prevents effective concussion management strategies. A sociotechnical systems approach improves the understanding of concussion prevention, and management beliefs and behaviours.