Information,capital, well-being

Don Lamberton asked many questions about the nature and role of information, without expecting to be able to provide tidy or neat answers. The issues he raised have not gone away or been resolved. Some have re-appeared in modified or new form. This paper first focuses on the analysis of information at the macro-level, starting with the ill-fated ‘information sector’ studies and leading on to current attempts to use neoclassical economics to measure macro-level capital stocks in the context of the debate about sustainable development, also known as ‘wealth accounting’. Wealth accounting has no place for information-as-capital that goes beyond very primitive proxy measures for intangible capital other than human capital. Often, information-as-capital is neglected completely by denoting such capital stocks as ‘enabling assets’ that are assumed to be reflected in what turn out to be unmeasurable shadow prices. Next, an issue mostly neglected by Don Lamberton is discussed – the normative assessment of information and innovation. It is argued that neither mainstream economics nor evolutionary economics, information studies, innovation studies and so on currently has an appropriate normative theory of innovation. Increased output, innovation counts, productivity, competitiveness and consumption-related utility (what economists call ‘welfare’) are poor indicators of what really should be measured, which is the objective and subjective impacts of innovation on people’s well-being.     

A mixed-methods approach to developing an understanding of teachers’ attitudes and their enactment of inclusive education

This research sought to develop an understanding of teachers’ attitudes, sense of self-efficacy and approach to enacting inclusive education in their classrooms in two diverse countries. A mixed-methods research design guided the data collection and analysis. This article focuses on how quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used sequentially and how the findings were finally merged to provide more comprehensive insight into different aspects of teachers’ sometimes contradictory attitudes and approaches to implementing inclusive education. The meta-inferences presented here indicate that merging measurements and meanings can shed light on how teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy within the implementation of inclusive education are multi-faceted, non-linear and connected to their cultural–historical contexts.     

An analysis of English teachers’ self-efficacy in relation to SEN and disability and its implications in a changing SEN policy context

Policy and practice in relation to meeting the diverse needs of all children, including those with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, is in a state of change in the UK. As a result, there is growing interest in and understanding of the need to focus on factors which impact on teachers’ levels of self-efficacy in meeting the needs of learners with SEN, and the implications of this for further development and training. The research reported in this paper gathered data from teachers at a unique time in the transition of policy and practice in England. Through a quantitative analysis of a questionnaire completed by 213 teachers from a variety of teaching settings, data relating to the self-efficacy and confidence levels of teachers immediately prior to the statutory changes in SEN policy has been captured. The findings identify that the Key Stage that the teacher works in is directly related to self-efficacy, that self-efficacy in collaboration is generally lower than self-efficacy in instruction and behaviour management, and that knowledge of laws and policies pertaining to SEN and Disability and experience in teaching children with disabilities had a strong positive relationship on overall self-efficacy. Implications for the ongoing development of practice within the profession, including the development of appropriate initial and continuing professional development models to support teachers throughout their career, and avenues for further research are presented.     

Conceptual and procedural approaches to mathematics in the engineering curriculum: views of qualified engineers*

The research interest underpinning this paper concerns the type of mathematical knowledge engineering students may acquire during their specialised education in terms of the conceptual and procedural dimensions of doing and using mathematics. This study draws on interviews with 25 qualified engineers from South Africa and Sweden regarding their views on the role of mathematics in engineering education, with special focus on the conceptual and procedural aspects of mathematical knowledge. A thematic analysis of the interview data led to the identification of two main themes. According to the conceptual view a predominantly conceptual approach is needed and valued more than procedural skills, while the balanced view emphasises a balance of conceptual understanding and procedural fluency as well as links between them. It is suggested that the mathematical education of engineers would need to be more conceptually oriented to prepare for the demands at the workplace.     

The idealism of education policies and the realities in schools: the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa

Inclusive education as a global movement emerged over the past 30 years to ensure quality mainstream education for all learners. Since 1994 the newly democratic South Africa also had expectations as well as the political will to change education by adjusting legislation and policies. However, the vision of a truly inclusive education system in South Africa has been difficult to achieve and results regarding the implementation of inclusive education remain questionable. There has been a growing realisation that the advent of democracy was not in itself a sufficient condition for the elimination of historical and structural inequalities in education with as recurring theme the dissonance between the government's socio-political imperative for change and economic realities. This article focuses on the development of policy and guidelines on inclusive education in dynamic interaction with the complexity of realities in South African schools with a special focus on the policy recommendations regarding the development of full-service schools. The constant comparative analysis of the two phased case study of a full-service school in a rural town revealed interesting results illustrating the complexities regarding the implementation of inclusive education and the challenges and opportunities in bridging the gap between the idealism of policies and the realities in schools.     

ICT Research,the New Economy,and the Evolving Discipline of Economics: Back to the Future?

Economics-related ICT research has moved from the fringes of the discipline to penetrate all of its branches. It is, therefore, not a separate economics subdiscipline. It is also unlikely to become part of an “ICT or Internet research” proto-discipline. Instead, it should be seen as only one part of a bigger agenda toward a proper “information and knowledge economics” and possibly a future proto-discipline of a “unified theory of information and knowledge” or a meta-discipline of information sciences.     

The impact of university incorporation on college lecturers

In South Africa, recent government plans tochange the institutional landscape of highereducation have resulted in mergers of collegesinto universities or technikons. The researchreported in this article focuses solely on theimpact of a ``college-into-university'incorporation as manifested in the personal,emotional and career experiences of thesecollege staff members. It traces the changes intheir perceptions and emotions during and afterthe incorporation process. It also identifiesrecurring themes and issues evident in thepersonal lives of those affected by thisincorporation.A unique research methodology was engaged: TheCollege staff who had been appointed to theuniversity after the merger, identified sevencritical themes and then designed and conducted30 semi-structured interviews among themselves.This article thus documents the impact ofincorporation into a university on theindividual and collective lives of theresearchers themselves.The data suggest that the emotional impact ofincorporation was intense and that theuncertainty, especially, led to considerabletrauma. The most important concern emanatingfrom this joint research project is that whilea certain degree of distress is unavoidable inany institutional merger, inattention to themanagement of human resources, emotions andaspirations could linger on, possibly having anegative effect on the ambitions for thetransformation of the new entity.     

Undergraduate Students’ Conceptions of Mathematics: An International Study

In this paper, we report on an international study of undergraduate mathematics students’ conceptions of mathematics. Almost 1,200 students in five countries completed a short survey including three open-ended questions asking about their views of mathematics and its role in their future studies and planned professions. Responses were analysed starting from a previously-developed phenomenographic framework (Reid et al., 2003) which required only minor modification. Students’ conceptions of mathematics ranged from the narrowest view as a focus on calculations with numbers, through a notion of mathematics as a focus on models or abstract structures, to the broadest view of mathematics as an approach to life and a way of thinking. Broader conceptions of mathematics were more likely to be found in later-year students (p<0.001) and there were significant differences between universities (p<0.001). The information obtained from the study not only confirms previous research, but also provides a basis for future development of a monitoring questionnaire.     

Including Learners with Intellectual Disabilities: stressful for teachers?

Since 1994 the demand to educate learners with special needs within mainstream classrooms in South Africa has continued to grow and the implementation of inclusive education is in the final process of legislation. The result has been that an increasing number of learners with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, are being included in mainstream classrooms. International research indicates that it is especially the acceptance of learners with intellectual disabilities that seems to raise the most sensitive issues for teachers within inclusive classrooms. This research study was designed to investigate the stressors related to the specific situation of including a learner with an intellectual disability in mainstream classrooms and the subsequent stress levels of teachers in the Gauteng and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. The design and methodology of this study was a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Fifty-five teachers were purposefully selected to complete a questionnaire focusing on the effect of potential stressors on teachers when including a learner with an intellectual disability. In-depth structured interviews were conducted with 10 of these teachers. This project is highly significant as policies of inclusion rely on teachers' acceptance of them, belief in their worth, and ability to cope. An understanding of the conditions that are likely to cause teachers most stress during inclusion will allow for more appropriate teacher training and for more focused support to teachers in inclusive classrooms.