Primary teachers' perception of policy for curriculum reform in Cyprus with special reference to mathematics

This paper reports and analyses findings from an investigation into Cypriot teachers' perceptions of national policy for curriculum reform in primary schools, with special reference to teaching and assessment in Mathematics. Questionnaires were sent to a 10% sample of Cypriot teachers randomly selected from the total population (n=257). A response rate 0170% was obtained and statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS-X. There were four main findings. First, in respect of curricular purposes, pupils' abilities to resolve investigations and to gain mathematical knowledge were considered to have equal importance while ability to talk about Mathematics was judged to be the least important. Second, formative purposes of assessment were accorded most importance, and summative purposes least importance. Third, teachers approved of active pedagogy. Fourth,they conceptualised assessment as a natural part of teaching but paradoxically favoured formally structured techniques of assessment. Implications for the implementation of curriculum policy are discussed.peer-reviewe

Stillness as a Form of Imaginative Labour

This essay connects the practice of stillness to David Graeber's concepts of imaginative labour and immanent imagination. It makes the proposition that stillness should not be evaluated as lack of activity or movement, but rather attended to in its pragmatic and productive dimensions. The essay thus explores stillness as a potential mode of production of imagination and means of political transformation: in order for it to be meaningful, we need to reconfigure our relationship to stillness as one of imagination, resistance, thinking, and writing

The anti-racist state: an investigation into the relationship between representations of 'racism', anti-racist typification and the state : a 'Scottish' case study

This study constitutes the first socio-historical reconstruction of Scotland-based anti-racist formation, spanning the post-WW” period to the present day. Historical in that a chronological map of anti-racist mobilisation is reconstructed; sociological in that anti-racist formation is analytically founded with the purpose of subjecting conceptualisations of ‘racism as a social problem’ to historical scrutiny by tracing its increasing public profile across time. This thesis is concerned with the making of the meaning of ‘racism as a social problem’, an understanding of which is framed by the interplay between anti-racist formation and the policy agenda of the British state. This interplay is contextualised and scrutinised specifically in Scotland, such that the state’s role in defining racism as a social problem is subject to critique. Focus is on the perceived role of ‘race’ and migration as social conflict variables, and state institutions as agents of legitimation, incorporation and regulation. Scotland provides a robust geo-political framework for analysis in that there is explicit recognition that the problem of racism in Scotland has been neglected historically. We have moved from a social policy context in which racism was not given sufficient attention by the Scottish arm of the British state, to a newly devolved institutional set-up which has allowed a significant place to the social problem of racism as specifically a ‘Scottish problem’. The newly devolved Scottish polity’s commissioned anti-racist media campaign – One Scotland, Many Cultures – provides an explicit statement of what the state means when it declares itself-anti-racist, how its agenda informs the signification of ‘racism’, and consequently how ‘racism’ is typified as a social problem requiring state intervention. This study explores ‘problem definition’ with the use of multiple methods of enquiry, including: archival recovery; elite interview; policy analysis; event analysis; media analysis; visual analysis; and audio analysis. Media analysis incorporates representations of anti-racist claimsmaking, which takes a specifically Scottish focus in the Scottish press and is systematised over a particular period ranging from 1994 to 2004. This is supplemented by interviews with anti-racist activists and policy officials, with a specific focus on those who played a key role at an institutional level pre-devolution and those with a close involvement in the development of One Scotland, Many Cultures. This triangulation is grounded via a historical approach which seeks, through archival recovery, to unravel the contextual construction of ‘racism as a Scottish problem’ from 1968 to 2004. This thesis concludes that the devolved polity’s problem typification draws on historical currents specific to representations of ‘racism’ as influenced by Scotland-based anti-racist formation, but adds a new dimension, such that the definition of ‘racism’ is ‘therapised’

A Study of the Super Market Industry

Part of this thesis is an attempt to explain briefly the circumstances which gave rise to the concept of self-service, and accelerated its development to the point of revolutionizing the entire field of distribution in the short period of a quarter-century. Food super markets are the most important segment in the American economy; thus, the writer focused his research mainly in this field. Self-service is still the heart of the super market, and, therefore, the reader should note that most of the principles applied here should also apply in non-food self-service stores

New Processes for the Preparation of Butadiene-1,3 Hydrocarbons. Ii. Pyrogenetic Decomposition of Hydroxy-Compounds.

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The Dynamic Integrated Approach to teacher professional development: rationale and main characteristics

This paper refers to the Dynamic Integrated Approach towards teacher professional development which attempts to merge research findings on teacher effectiveness and teacher professional development. The theoretical framework and the major features of the DIA are presented. It is argued that the DIA can be effectively implemented through five steps: Establishing clarity and consensus about aims and objectives, identifying needs and priorities for improvement through empirical investigation, provision of improvement guidelines, reflection opportunities and coaching on effective teaching by the advisory and research team, establishing a formative evaluation mechanism and finally establishing a summative evaluation system. Results of empirical studies providing support to the basic elements and the overall effectiveness of the DIA are also presented. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for further research, particularly in exploring the conditions under which the DIA could have a long lasting effect on teacher effectiveness, are finally drawn.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2015.107955