An investigation into the assessment of progression in composing in music at key stage 3

At a time when continuity and progression are considered vital in education in schools it was brought to the writer's attention that teachers are encountering problems in assessing the progression of pupils' work in composing in music. The relevant literature and documentation of the twentieth century suggests that training and guidance for music teachers in teaching composing has been lacking and there could well be difficulties in teaching and assessing this area of the curriculum. The investigation took place through interviewing a sample of secondary music teachers of different levels of experience. Their perceptions as to the nature of composing and progression were particularly focused upon. The results of the investigation show that there is little agreement amongst teachers as to the nature of composing and progression. This was largely due to their diverse perceptions as to the role of composing. Many of the informants lacked experience in this field. Also, there was a mismatch of expectations between SCAA (D.F.E. 1996), the National Curriculum (D.F.E. 1995), teachers and pupils as to what should be achieved in composing at Key Stage 3.Areas where achievement and progression could be measured were, however, identified in the results. These have been focused upon by the writer in designing part of a curriculum for music at Key Stage 3 in which progression can be measured accompanied by a suitable scheme of assessment

An Examination of the Home Visit Process Within the Context of Agricultural Education

The agricultural education profession has historically provided unique opportunities for agriculture teachers to gain a deeper connection with students through participation in FFA (formerly known as Future Farmers of America), supervision of supervised agricultural education (SAE) projects, and interactions in the classroom and laboratory. These three components are integrated to form a three-component model of agricultural education. They overlap through a strong relationship between agriculture teachers and students, which often develops through visits to students’ homes. A qualitative investigation presenting a historical and ethnographic account of the practice of home visits in agricultural education provided information from experts in the field about their definition of home visits, the value of home visits to the agricultural education profession, and the factors contributing to their changing focus in our profession. This investigation also described historical events, which affected and influenced teachers’ visits to the homes of students. Home visits are perceived to have high value, but a coherent definition of a home visit did not exist. Conversations with experts revealed reasons for the decline in teachers conducting home visits such as larger class sizes, the loss of extended contracts, and competition for diverse program goals. Second, a quantitative investigation and descriptive study presented the status of the practice of conducting home visits among California agriculture teachers. I used an online questionnaire to evaluate the perceived benefits of and barriers to conducting home visits as well as the prevailing definition of a home visit as compared to a SAE visit. The target population comprised 750 California agriculture teachers, and 34.93% (n = 262) responded. This study revealed that 55.3% of respondents defined a home visit as separate from a SAE visit whereas 31.1% stated that an SAE visit is a home visit. The most highly ranked barrier category was support for the practice. The most highly ranked beneficial impact category was benefit to the student. The final study used a descriptive phenomenological methodology to identify the motivation, structure, and outcomes of home visits made by agriculture teachers. Twenty-one California agriculture teachers were interviewed. Themes emerging from this qualitative study included: (1) motivations for conducting home visits, (2) structure and format of visits, (3) data collection and materials disseminated, (4) challenges and barriers, (5) values and impacts, and (6) shared experiences. Primary motivations included visiting SAE projects, developing relationships, increasing student involvement, and professional development experiences. Impacts discussed were strong connections with students and their families, improved classroom management, and increased student success. Recommendations included creating instructional guides focused on home visits, promoting workshops statewide, and initiating a special recognition program for teachers who conduct home visits. Based upon findings, it is recommended that the agricultural education profession adopt two new definitions of home visits: the Relational Home Visit and SAE Home Visit. Continued research on the use of home visits in today’s agricultural education is recommended which includes further research into the value of home visits and the state of the practice across a larger sample of other states

JOURNAL OF CRITICAL ISSUES IN EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE VOL. 12

It is our great privilege to be the editors of this journal. The opportunity to review the scholarly work of others and provide a forum for dissemination is important work. Three original pieces of research are included in this volume of the journal. Selected for originality and timeliness, it is our hope that some part of your educational practice might be informed. It is our goal to feature voices that might be considered outside of the expected or usual. What is your philosophy of education? One might ask if this is ever a serious question or rather just an academic exercise? Do you really want my philosophy or are you just looking to make sure my philosophy matches a certain litmus test? If the words diversity, inclusion and equity are central to the statement, will the test be passed? In her article, Dr. Tiffany Bates, raises the important issue of how a philosophy might inform practice. Can a philosophy be integral to our professional work? The implications for teacher training programs, as well as public schools, are included as part of this research. Rightly considered, discipline is something that you have rather than something that you do. The procedures that are used to establish and maintain discipline in a school or a classroom are critical to establishing a learning environment that is fair to the diverse populations that we serve. Can discipline be fair if the differences in our students are not important variables in how we structure our daily interactions? Dr. Jaime Welborn uses the lens of cultural proficiency to examine this issue. To what extent do norms and expectations match student groups and how does what we know about diversity drive our decision-making? It is a time-honored tradition in many classrooms to begin the day with what is called a morning meeting. This teacher-led meeting reviews the events of the day and might be topical about a current event or something the teacher considers important. If nothing else, students are reminded of the day of the week, date and year, and the weather forecast. Whether this is time well spent might deserve some attention. Dr. Christine Uliassi provides a case study that demonstrates how this meeting time can be a more meaningful exercise in social and emotional learning and one that might expand critical literacy skills. Should you be so inclined, please consider sharing any personal reflection or critical review of the journal’s content. We would like to consider a review feature in future editions of the journal. Best wishes for 2023

Teachers and information literacy: Understandings and perceptions of the concept

Building on our 2017 article focussing on school library staff perceptions of teachers’ information literacy, this article reports on the information literacy (IL) understandings and skills of teachers in post-primary schools (the age range for pupils in post-primary schools is 11–18) throughout Northern Ireland. Results of a comprehensive online teacher survey (n=426) indicated that, despite misplaced confidence in their own skills, teachers’ IL understandings and skills were underdeveloped. The majority of respondents had neither received IL training nor included IL instruction in their teaching. The significance of these findings for theory, practice and policy relating to the teaching of IL skills, which are intended to equip young people to become active citizens and members of a skilled workforce, is discussed

Genetic differences in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and CYP1A2 affect sensitivity to developmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure in mice: relevance to studies of human neurological disorders

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that remain a human health concern with newly discovered sources of contamination and ongoing bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Children exposed during early brain development are at highest risk of neurological deficits, but highly exposed adults reportedly have an increased risk of Parkinson\u27s disease. Our previous studies found allelic differences in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) affect sensitivity to developmental PCB exposure, resulting in cognitive deficits and motor dysfunction. High-affinity Ahr b Cyp1a2(-/-) mice were most sensitive compared with poor-affinity Ahr d Cyp1a2(-/-) and wild-type Ahr b Cyp1a2(+/+) mice. Our follow-up studies assessed biochemical, histological, and gene expression changes to identify the brain regions and pathways affected. We also measured PCB and metabolite levels in tissues to determine if genotype altered toxicokinetics. We found evidence of AHR-mediated toxicity with reduced thymus and spleen weights and significantly reduced thyroxine at P14 in PCB-exposed pups. In the brain, the greatest changes were seen in the cerebellum where a foliation defect was over-represented in Cyp1a2(-/-) mice. In contrast, we found no difference in tyrosine hydroxylase immunostaining in the striatum. Gene expression patterns varied across the three genotypes, but there was clear evidence of AHR activation. Distribution of parent PCB congeners also varied by genotype with strikingly high levels of PCB 77 in poor-affinity Ahr d Cyp1a2(-/-) while Ahr b Cyp1a2(+/+) mice effectively sequestered coplanar PCBs in the liver. Together, our data suggest that the AHR pathway plays a role in developmental PCB neurotoxicity, but we found little evidence that developmental exposure is a risk factor for Parkinson\u27s disease