Naming trouble in online internationalized education

This paper offers an analysis of cultural politics that emerged around naming practices in an ethnographic study of the interactions within an online MBA unit, offered by an Australian university to both ‘local’ Australian students and international students enrolled through a Malaysian partner institution. It became evident that names were doing important identity, textual and pedagogical work in these interactions and considerable interactive trouble arose over the social practices surrounding names. The analysis uses sociolinguistic concepts to analyse selected slices of the online texts and participants' interview accounts. The analysis shows how ethnocentric default settings in the courseware served to heighten and exacerbate cultural difference as a pedagogical problem. These events are related to the larger problematic of theorising the context of culture in times of globalisation and increasingly entangled educational routes, with implications for the enterprise of online internationalised education

Building and assessing subject knowledge in mathematics for pre-service students

In planning and teaching curriculum courses for pre-service primary teachers, both within a one-year Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) programme, and in a four-year undergraduate degree leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), we have always been aware that mathematics presents particular problems because of the experiences and attitudes students bring to the subject. We have always tried to balance students’ learning about how children learn mathematics in school, with reflection on their own experiences as learners, and with understanding of the mathematical content of the curriculum. In the past, mathematical content has generally been approached indirectly through discussion of activities and materials appropriate for the primary classroom. However the recent introduction in the U.K. of a National Curriculum for Primary Mathematics in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) which places considerable emphasis on students’ subject knowledge, has meant that we have had to rethink the balance within courses, and to place much more overt emphasis on developing students’ mathematical knowledge. In this paper we describe the way in which we have approached building and assessing mathematical knowledge during the pilot phase of the ITT National Curriculum, examine some of the students’ responses to our approach, and discuss the issues this has raised

Improved Care for Teens in Trouble With Drugs, Alcohol, and Crime

Outlines how drug treatment providers developed RWJF's Reclaiming Futures model for collaborating with others and integrating evidence-based practices to sustain improvement in the juvenile justice system's treatment programs. Includes recommendations

Taking boys seriously: a longitudinal study of adolescent male school-life experiences in Northern Ireland

This report presents the findings of a five year longitudinal study (2006-2011) carried out by The Centre for Young Men’s Studies at the University of Ulster and funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Justice. The research was initiated in response to concerns about boys’ educational underachievement and wider concerns about boys’ health and well-being. The study annually tracked the same 378 adolescent boys aged 11-16 across nine post-primary schools in Northern Ireland

Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections and Community Conduct (2010 UPDATE)

Understanding how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others are key considerations in assessing overall well being of youth. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents/guardians were asked a series of questions assessing behaviour within social networks as well as conduct within the community. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulties getting along with friends or how often youth were easily annoyed by others. At 12-18 months post discharge, youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their friendship networks, social activities, and what they liked to do for fun. We also sought to describe the nature and frequency of youth misconduct within the community such as vandalism or theft. Both parents/guardians and youth were asked about behaviour that led to involvement with the legal system

Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections and Community Conduct (2010 UPDATE)

Understanding how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others are key considerations in assessing overall well being of youth. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data were gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge, 12 to 18 months after leaving the program (Time 1 Follow Up), and 36 to 48 months post discharge (Time 2 Follow Up). Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Admission and discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents/guardians were asked a series of questions assessing behaviour within social networks as well as conduct within the community. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulties getting along with friends or how often youth were easily annoyed by others. At 12-18 months post discharge, youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their friendship networks, social activities, and what they liked to do for fun. We also sought to describe the nature and frequency of youth misconduct within the community such as vandalism or theft. Both parents/guardians and youth were asked about behaviour that led to involvement with the legal system

Identification of threshold concepts involved in early electronics: Some new methods and results

This manuscript reports the threshold concepts identified over a two-year study in early circuits and electronics courses. Some novel methods have been used to improve confidence in the identification process. We also identify some concepts, potentially threshold, that ought to have been mastered in high-school physics courses but that are often absent from student repertoires. Weak understanding of these underlying concepts may be a confusing factor for researchers in their search for threshold concepts as well as an additional source of trouble for students of electronics

Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections and Community Conduct

Integral to formulating a picture of youth overall well being is to understand how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). Data was collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to residential treatment. Data was gathered about youth functioning at program entry, discharge and 12 to 18 months after leaving the program. Parent-reported measures were used to assess youth functioning prior to service involvement and at follow up. Discharge information was gathered from program records. Both youth and parents/guardians were asked a series of questions assessing behaviour within social networks as well as conduct within the community. For example, parents/guardians indicated how often youth experienced difficulty getting along with friends or were easily annoyed by others. Youth in our study had the opportunity to speak freely about their friendship networks, social activities, and what they liked to do for fun. We also sought to describe the nature and frequency of youth misconduct within the community such as vandalism or theft. Both parents/guardians and youth were asked about behaviour that led to involvement with the legal system