From 'Special Needs' to 'Quality Education for All': a participatory,problem-centred approach to policy development in South Africa     

Nithi Muthukrishna  Marie Schoeman 《International Journal of Inclusive Education》2013,17(4):315-335

This paper provides insight into the unique process of education policy development in South Africa, in particular the work of the National Commission on Special Needs in Education (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS). The process has been characterized by a fully democratic, participatory approach ensuring maximum involvement of all stakeholders at all levels of society. In addition, the process has been problem-centred—focusing on meeting the complex challenges within a developing context. The most significant aspect of the Report of the NCSNET and NCESS is that it provides conceptualizations that reflect a break away from traditional models of special needs education. The shift in thinking from ‘special needs education’ to ‘barriers to learning and development’ has broadened the concern from a small group of learners who are vulnerable to exclusion from education to all learners who are subject to exclusionary pressures within school and community. Finally, the delays in finalizing the policy process since the release of the Report of the NCSNET and NCESS are analysed and interpreted in the light of complexities in the transformation process in South Africa.  相似文献   

Discipline‐based academic development through a tripartite partnership     

Kate Morss  Marie E Donaghy 《International Journal for Academic Development》2013,18(2):136-145

Abstract

This paper describes a discipline‐based academic development project based upon a tripartite relationship between departmental staff, work‐based practitioners and the central academic development unit which took place over one academic year within the Department of Physiotherapy, Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh. The purpose of the project was to discuss and debate the concept of the ‘reflective practitioner’, to develop strategies for enabling undergraduate students to be reflective, and to devise a framework for assessment of reflective practice in clinical work‐based learning. The outcomes of the project, most important of which was a change in the learning experience for students, demonstrate that academic development can be valuable and productive when undertaken as a partnership and placed in a disciplinary context. The authors identify key elements important to the success of the academic development process which should be applicable in similar situations and which could serve as guidelines for the planning and delivery of staff development through similar kinds of partnerships.  相似文献   

Using learning principles as a theoretical framework for instructional consultations     

Michele DiPietro  Marie Norman 《International Journal for Academic Development》2013,18(4):281-292

Learning theory provides a powerful framework for analyzing instructional consultations and increasing their effectiveness. In this paper, the authors review the main tenets of learning theory, apply them to consultation scenarios, and present a complex case study to show how they can guide analysis and problem solving around challenging consultations.  相似文献   

Supporting new school leaders: findings from a university‐based leadership coaching program for new administrators     

Michael Silver  Chad R. Lochmiller  Michael A. Copland  Ann Marie Tripps 《Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning》2013,21(3):215-232

Administrators need intense support in their early years in their jobs to master the demands of the position and to emerge as effective leaders for their schools. This article reports on a leadership coaching program offered by a university to support graduates as they transition to new school leadership roles. First year research results of the Program for New Principals indicate that all of the program participants felt that the coaching program was a positive addition to the induction experience for new administrators. New principals viewed coaching positively and emphasized that it is both a valuable and unique form of professional development. Both coaches and new principals cited personalized support as one of the coaching model's most significant assets. The results should inform the development of a model of leadership coaching for new administrators.  相似文献   

Chasing joint work: administrators’ efforts to structure teacher collaboration     

Marie Lockton 《School Leadership & Management》2013,33(5):496-518

ABSTRACT

Although the benefits of teacher collaboration have been touted, school administrators often struggle to foster productive collaboration at their sites. This study takes a deep dive into teachers’ interactions to understand how administrators’ efforts to engineer collaboration play out in teachers’ relationships. Analysis of qualitative interview and observation data with a social network lens provides a nuanced understanding of teachers’ formal and informal interactions at two schools. Findings make clear why leaders are unlikely to build effective collaborative cultures without noticing and building off of the relationships teachers have built within their existing contexts. Overly regulated meetings impacted both formal and informal relationships between teachers, and productive collaboration during formal meeting time could not be sustained in teachers’ informal networks when other structural obstacles intervened. Few teachers were able to overcome either of these constraints to engage in meaningful collaboration, although the efforts of some provide insight for promoting collaborative cultures. This study provides insights for how leaders might notice and capitalise on existing relationships as well as on sometimes unintended structures to support teachers’ join work.  相似文献   

DNA as a Work of Art: Processes of Semiosis between Contemporary Art and Biology     

Marie Fulková  Teresa M. Tipton 《The International Journal of Art & Design Education》2013,32(1):83-96

When A Genomic Portrait – Sir John Sulston by Mark Quinn appeared in the London National Portrait Gallery's exhibition in 2001/2, the ensuing public controversy over its portrayal raised a number of questions about the representation of a publicly known figure. Because the portrait was the Gallery's first contemporary commission using specialised, scientific procedures in its creation, a number of issues arose surrounding its authenticity. How questions of authenticity are answered depends upon how the viewer reads aspects of scientific coding as it functions within the artistic domain. This is a form of visual literacy that depends on the viewer's ability to lift the veil that operates between coding systems and the context of their use. Literacy in this case is built upon the relationship between visual interpretation and ascribed systems of meaning within the context of their recontextualisations. By playing with the intersections between artistic and scientific discourses, the authors investigate how the representation of identity functions as a polysemy across different semiotic domains. Using visual semiotics to examine the intersections between sign systems across these domains, some of the communication aspects of how new modes of art function in present‐day communities are provoked. By illustrating the complexity of this process as a part of transforming expert knowing into pedagogical practice, support is given for improving teacher education in the arts and cultural domain.  相似文献   

Orthography and the development of metalinguistic reflection in Portuguese primary school pupils / Ortografía y desarrollo de la reflexión metalingüística en alumnos portugueses en primaria     

Otília C. Sousa  José-António Costa  Marie Nadeau 《Cultura y Educación》2013,25(4):868-878

Abstract

Linguistic awareness is crucial in learning literacy. This project has a two-fold aim: to develop the students’ ability to think about language in order to write with accuracy and to lead teachers to promote students’ discussions about their writing difficulties. The study is part of a two-year action-research project developed in primary schools from the Lisbon area, with experimental and control groups. The starting point of the project was the analysis of the problems students of third and fourth grades showed in their writing. The scope of the project includes dictation tasks within an interactionist approach, favouring grammatical discussions leading to the observation and manipulation of linguistic data.  相似文献   

LINKING AND LEVERAGING FOR POWERFUL IMPACT: AN INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION TO ADDRESS NATIONAL WORKFORCE NEEDS     

Marie Dalton 《Community College Journal of Research & Practice》2013,37(1):43-44

Learning assistance is in increasing demand in postsecondary institutions. This study investigates the students accessing the services offered by the Learning Skills Center (LSC) in a Canadian community college. Students are compared with the general student body. Results indicate that students requesting assistance tend to be predominantly female and in their first year of study. Mature students appear to use the Center more readily than younger students. The increasing number of students who speak English as a second language may place special demand on the instructional techniques used by LSC staff. Suggestions are provided for increasing the student demand from underrepresented groups.  相似文献   

Spelling,Reading Abilities and Speech Perception in Deaf Children with a Cochlear Implant     

Marie Simon  Lauren A. Fromont  Marie-Thérèse Le Normand 《Scientific Studies of Reading》2013,17(6):494-508

ABSTRACT

This study aims to compare word spelling outcomes for French-speaking deaf children with a cochlear implant (CI) with hearing children who matched for age, level of education and gender. A picture written naming task controlling for word frequency, word length, and phoneme-to-grapheme predictability was designed to analyze spelling productions. A generalized linear mixed model on the percentage of correct spelling revealed an effect of participant’s reading abilities, but no effect of hearing status. Word frequency and word length, but not phoneme-to-grapheme predictability, contributed to explaining the spelling variance. Deaf children with a CI made significantly less phonologically plausible errors and more phonologically unacceptable errors when compared to their hearing peers. Age at implantation and speech perception scores were related to deaf children’s errors. A good word spelling level can be achieved by deaf children with a CI, who nonetheless use less efficiently the phoneme-to-grapheme strategy than do hearing children.  相似文献   

The ecology of interactive learning environments: situating traditional theory     

Genevieve Marie Johnson 《Interactive Learning Environments》2013,21(3):298-308

In educational discourse on human learning (i.e. the result of experience) and development (i.e. the result of maturation), there are three fundamental theoretical frameworks, – behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, each of which have been applied, with varying degrees of success, in online environments. An ecological framework of human learning and development in interactive learning environments is proposed. Such an inclusive paradigm organizes the fundamental theoretical assumptions of behaviourism (i.e. automated learning), cognitivism (i.e. recall, understanding, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, creativity, problem solving) and constructivism (i.e. private and shared meaning). Based on review of the literature, behaviourism is best conceptualized as a learning theory; constructivist theoretical assumptions are best applied to cognitive development including private online experience (cognitive constructivism) and shared online experience (social constructivism). Cognitivism is a particularly relevant theoretical orientation in understanding both human learning and development in interactive learning environments.  相似文献