Effects of mediated intervention on cognitive functions: A pilot study with Grade 5 learners at a remedial school

The present study explored the effects of a mediated intervention programme on a sample of Grade 5 learners, in a remedial school. The participants (n = 20) were systematically sampled and they constituted two groups; namely, Individual Mediation (n = 10) and Group Mediation (n = 10). It was hypothesised that participants exposed to this programme would yield a significant improvement in cognitive functioning as measured by the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. It was further proposed that participants within the Individual Mediation group would perform significantly better than those within Group Mediation. Set Variations B-8 to B-12 from Feuerstein's Learning Potential Assessment Device served as a vehicle for mediating cognitive deficiencies. Results revealed a significant improvement in scores only within the Individual Mediation group. Despite the statistically significant improvement yielded within the Individual Mediation group, no statistically significant difference was found between the Individual Mediation and the Group Mediation sample. These findings are discussed in light of existing literature and future recommendations are suggested.     

Assessment of the effects of a cooperative play programme for children aged 10–11 years on social adaptation and on the perception that parents,teachers and peers have of children's prosocial behaviours

Abstract

The objective of this research was to design a cooperative play programme in order to assess its effects on social adaptation and on the perception that parents, teachers and peers have of children's prosocial behaviours. The study used an experimental pre-posttest design with control group. The sample included 86 participants aged 10 to 11 years, 54 in the experimental group and 32 controls. Before and after administering the programme, three evaluation instruments were applied. The intervention consisted of a weekly two-hour play session throughout the school year. The programme's activities stimulate communication and prosocial behaviour. Results of the analysis of variance suggest positive impact of the intervention, as the experimental participants significantly increased their behaviours of self-control and leadership, as well as their prosocial behaviour; moreover, an increase was observed in the number of classmates considered prosocial. Highest levels of improvement were found in the experimental participants who, at pretest, had few behaviours of consideration for others, self-control and leadership and low prosocial behaviour, but many withdrawal behaviours. Some effects of the programme were found to be influenced by gender, as the girls showed more decrease in their withdrawal behaviours and a greater increase in the number of classmates perceived as prosocial.     

Improving academic outcomes in poor urban schools through nature-based learning

This paper presents results from the evaluation of the Nurture thru Nature (NtN) programme, a natural science and environmental education intervention designed to help elementary school children from disadvantaged backgrounds increase their knowledge of science and strengthen overall academic performance. Using an experimental design the pilot NtN programme in New Brunswick, NJ was assessed in one elementary school for a period of four years. The evaluation revealed that NtN students (n = 18) consistently outperformed a group of controls (n = 34) in mathematics and science with the differences in science reaching statistical significance. The paper discusses the active learning philosophy that motivates NtN teaching, the programme components that operationalise this philosophy, and a natural history paradigm from which this philosophy derives.     

Little changes,big results: the impact of simple changes to early years learning environments

The Strengthening Foundations of Learning (SFL) project is an early years CPD intervention and part of the wider Preparing for Life (PFL) Initiative in an area of urban disadvantage in Dublin, Ireland. Working within the context of the Aistear curriculum framework, and building on research evidence on the importance of practitioners to quality Early Childhood Education (ECE), the primary aim of the project is to improve the quality of early years practice. The two-year project provides a complex training and mentoring programme to educators in order to deliver ‘the best outcomes for children’. This paper presents findings from the evaluation of the ‘learning environment’ strand. The findings indicate that the embedded nature of CPD used in the SFL project has resulted in positive changes in early years practice and pedagogical language. Mid-term results suggest that participants are providing improved early learning environments and responding to learning opportunities in a more focused and informed way.     

The influence of situational emotions on the intention for sustainable consumer behaviour in a student-centred intervention

Within the curriculum guidelines for Bavaria, we designed a hands-on educational programme for teaching sustainability with regard to agriculture, food and consumerism, partly implemented on a farm as an out-of-school learning setting. The participants were fifth graders (N?=?176). The research followed a quasi-experimental design and used the subscale consumerism of the General Ecological Behaviour Scale and situational emotions (interest, well-being, boredom) to focus data collection activities. The study monitored the students’ knowledge increase and their Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS) scores as possible influencing factors on environmental behaviour. After participation in the programme, while we found that the students intended to consume in more environmentally friendlier ways, this intention did not persistent over a seven-week time span, nor did it relate to the INS or knowledge scores. There was, however, a high correlation with positive situational emotions like interest (r?=?.46, p???.001) and well-being (r?=?.39, p???.001), and a negative correlation with boredom (r?=??.42, p???.001). We conclude that the ‘effect’ of the programme immediately measured after the intervention was strongly linked to situational (short-term) emotions, and should be considered in educational planning as well as the evaluation of sustainability teaching and learning.     

Evaluating the efficacy of a small-group oral narrative intervention programme for pre-primary children with narrative difficulties in a mainstream school setting

This study designed and evaluated the efficacy of a manualised programme for children in mainstream school with delays in narrative discourse. Efficacy was evaluated using a Phase 1 non-randomised single-subject across multiple-baselines design. The programme was delivered by a speech pathologist with 11 mainstream children aged 5;0–5;11 years, in small groups, three times a week for 6 weeks. Intervention focused on explicit teaching of narrative macrostructure using icons, graphic organisers and repeated story retellings. Microstructure (morphosyntax and vocabulary) was targeted using implicit language facilitation procedures including modelling, recasting, expansion and vertical structuring. Participation in the programme resulted in significant changes with moderate to large effect sizes for most participants in the number of macrostructure elements, and conjunctions and adverbs. Analysis of pre-post standardised narrative data revealed clinically significant improvements for 9 of the 11 participants. The findings add to the research supporting the effectiveness of small-group oral narrative intervention.     

Evidence,Evaluation and the ‘Tyranny of Effect Size’: a proposal to more accurately measure programme impacts in adult and family literacy

As literacy grows in importance, policymakers’ demands for programme quality grow, too. Evidence on the effectiveness of adult and family literacy programmes is limited at best: research gaps abound, and programme evaluations are more often than not based on flawed theories of programme impact. In the absence of robust evidence on the full range of short- and long-term programme impacts, it is difficult to accurately measure intervention effectiveness. Too frequently, researchers and policymakers focus only on short-term, easily measured outcomes, creating a ‘tyranny of effect size’ that may systematically underestimate impact while simultaneously distorting practice. However, the answer does not lie in turning away from quantitative research. Doing so will consign adult and family literacy to the margins of public policy, when they should be in the mainstream. Longitudinal research from Turkey and the US suggests a need for revised, more subtle theories of how adult literacy and family literacy programmes work, and the diverse ways they benefit participants. By working together more closely and intelligently, researchers, policymakers and practitioners can develop evaluation strategies that more accurately measure programme effects. The key is combining methodological rigour with fully fleshed out theories of literacy development and programme impact.     

Effects of emotional intelligence and supportive text messages on academic outcomes in first-year undergraduates

An increase in the number of students entering higher education has intensified the need for targeted strategies to support a wider range of student requirements. Current research suggests that emotional intelligence (EI) may be associated with academic success, progression and retention in university students but the use of EI screening as a prospective measure of success requires further investigation. This study evaluates the utility of prospective EI screening to predict progression rates, mean grades, attendance and online engagement in a sample of first-year undergraduate students enrolled on the same degree programme (N = 358). A supportive text messaging intervention was employed during potentially stressful periods of the academic year with a subsection of participants (n = 60) who demonstrated low total EI scores relative to the cohort. Results showed no effects of EI classification on progression rates, mean grades, attendance or online engagement (all p > 0.418). Alternatively, the text messaging intervention was associated with significant improvements compared with a matched control group for progression rates (p = 0.027), mean grades (p = 0.026) and attendance (p = 0.007). The frequency of access to the virtual learning environment also tended to be higher in the intervention group compared with the control group (p = 0.059). In conclusion, this study did not identify any benefits of EI screening as a prospective indicator of student success but provides encouraging indications that a text messaging support intervention could help to improve progression rates, mean grades, attendance and online engagement in first-year undergraduate students. Further research is warranted to develop these proof-of-concept findings.     

Reducing test anxiety among school-aged adolescents: a field experiment

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a multimodal and information technology (IT)-delivered intervention for test anxiety. Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention or waiting list group. Test anxiety was measured pre- and post-intervention and academic buoyancy, a construct that refers to students’ capacity to withstand academic challenge and pressure, as a covariate. In the intervention group, 13.7% of participants completed the full intervention programme comprising six sessions; 25.5% partially completed the programme (one or more sessions); and 60.8% of participants chose not to complete any sessions. Results showed that, after completing the intervention and when controlling for academic buoyancy, highly test anxious students showed a reduction in the worry and tension components of test anxiety, relative to those who did not complete the intervention. The findings suggest that the intervention may offer highly test anxious students a means of reducing their anxiety that does not rely on face-to-face delivery.     

Life skills in educational contexts: testing the effects of an intervention programme

This study examined the effects of a training programme on students’ acquisition of life skills, life satisfaction, life orientation and expectations about academic achievement. Participants were allocated to either an intervention group (n?=?41) that took part in a life skills programme, or a control group (n?=?43). Participants completed the Youth Experiences Scale 2.0, the satisfaction with life scale, the life orientation test-revised and the expectations about academic achievement. Results showed that students who received the intervention reported having more developmental experiences related to life skills, greater life satisfaction and a stronger tendency to be optimistic. Expectations about academic achievement were higher for the intervention group before and after the intervention. In conclusion, there are benefits to providing life skills training to adolescents in educational contexts.     

MenCare+ in South Africa: findings from a gender transformative young men’s group education on sexual and reproductive health and rights

This paper details findings from an evaluation of a gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health and rights group education programme facilitated with young men aged 15–24 years in South Africa. A total of 475 young men participated in the group education programme. A self-administered pre- and post-questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of the participants, and focus group discussions were facilitated. A total of 265 young men completed both the pre and post-questionnaires. Findings from the surveys as well as the focus group discussions showed positive changes in gender equitable attitudes, contraception and condom use. Results indicate that the young men who participated in the group education learned to identify harmful gender norms and actively questioned these constructs both within their personal lives and in the broader community. The intervention enabled some participants to envision alternative versions of masculinity and femininity, thus enabling them to adopt a new way of being, with transformed attitudes concerning household and gender roles.     

Don't lEAP into this: student resistance in labour market programmes

This article outlines how the author's conceptual understanding of a labour market programme in Australia called Landcare Environmental Action Plan (LEAP), and the author's place within it, changed as he engaged in a socially critical action research project. As a methodology, action research provided him with a deeper insight into how LEAP experiences were structured ideologically and materially within asymmetrical relations of power and privilege. Indeed, while the programme was supposedly designed to benefit unemployed youth, the reality was that the participants were often frustrated and angry which manifested in acts of passive and active resistance. As the author engaged the young people in seeking out an alternative structuring of space within the confines of the LEAP, he found that his own liberal beliefs in social mobility and equality tended to reinscribe the circle of oppression and despair he sought to eradicate. In this article the author argues that action research may become yet another normalizing and oppressive practice in itself, if educators refuse to move beyond the need for civility and professionalism     

Evaluating the impact of the graduate certificate in academic practice (GCAP) programme

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and postgraduates in the UK are taking on greater responsibility for teaching, and therefore it has become increasingly necessary to explore the teacher training that supports them in this endeavour. This paper outlines an impact evaluation carried out on a graduate certificate programme primarily aimed at GTAs and support staff at a research-intensive institution. The concept of impact evaluation is explored. This qualitative research establishes impact on the approaches participants took and their understanding of teaching following on from the programme. Interviews with nine participants, analyses of their critical reflective portfolios, and analyses of their teaching observation commentary are reported on. Findings reveal participants felt they had gained particular skills of teaching, were more reflective, and adopted a more student-centred approach to their teaching. It is recommended that training on specific teaching skills be incorporated into the provision available for GTAs and that disciplinary differences accommodated.     

Evaluating the impact of the Academic Enrichment Programme on widening access to selective universities: Application of the Theory of Change framework

Evaluating the impact of widening participation interventions can be challenging. This article discusses some of the difficulties in attributing change to complex widening participation interventions and suggests that the Theory of Change (ToC) approach can address some of these challenges by evidencing the contribution interventions have made to observed outcomes and longer-term impact. This article sets out the application of a ToC approach as a framework to plan and design the evaluation of the Academic Enrichment Programme (AEP) at the University of Birmingham, which aims to support under-represented students secure places at selective universities. The evaluation sought to explore the extent to which the programme impacted on students’ academic aspirations, motivation, attainment and progression to selective universities. It presents the findings of the evaluation, which combined the ToC with a mixed methods longitudinal design spanning six cohorts of students. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected to track students’ progress across their engagement with the programme and into higher education. The results suggest that the ToC programme was largely verified. The AEP seems to promote academic attainment, with AEP students outperforming national and regional benchmarks. The AEP also appears to increase entry rates to Russell Group universities for disadvantaged students, however, the effect seems to be greater when combined with alternative offers. This article demonstrates the value of the ToC approach in strengthening both the evaluation design and the contribution claims of the observed results to the widening participation intervention.     

‘Discover,Understand, Implement,and Transfer’: Effectiveness of an intervention programme to motivate students for science

Considerable research has focused on how best to satisfy modern societies’ needs for skilled labour in the field of science. The present study evaluated an intervention programme designed to increase secondary school students’ motivation to pursue a science career. Students from 3 schools of the highest educational track participated for up to 2 years in the intervention programme, which was implemented as an elective in the school curriculum. Our longitudinal study design for evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention programme included all students at the grade levels involved in the programme with students who did not participate serving as a control group. Mixed-model analyses of variance showed none of the intended effects of the intervention programme on science motivation; latent growth models corroborated these results. When the programme began, students who enrolled in the science elective (n?=?92) were already substantially more motivated than their classmates (n?=?228). Offering such an intervention programme as an elective did not further increase the participating students’ science motivation. It seems worthwhile to carry out intervention programmes with talented students who show (comparatively) little interest in science at the outset rather than with highly motivated students who self-select into the programme.     

‘Come in with an open mind’: changing attitudes towards mathematics in primary teacher education

Background: The relationship between attitudes and behaviour has led to a focus on the role played by attitudes in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Purpose: This paper reports on an investigation into student teachers’ self-reported attitudes towards mathematics in the context of a mathematics education programme. The programme had been developed by the authors in response to a new, reformed four-year undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) for primary teachers in Ireland. The authors aimed to use the feedback to evaluate and develop the course further.

Sample: We report on the attitudes of 345 pre-service primary teachers enrolled in a four-year undergraduate ITE programme. 281 of these participants had matched survey data before and after participating in the mathematics education programme.

Method and Design: Four evaluation criteria were used as a conceptual framework for the evaluation of the mathematics education programme. A multi-method approach was taken in investigating the students’ attitudes to mathematics by using a scale as a quantitative measure of attitude alongside open-ended survey items that provided qualitative insights into changes in attitudes.

Results and conclusions: Results from the survey data suggested overall that the participants’ attitudes towards mathematics were more positive after they had experienced the mathematics education programme. Overall, the written responses suggested that according to self-reportage, participants perceived that participation in the mathematics education programme had affected their attitudes towards mathematics positively. Comments indicated that the ‘small group’ tutorial structure was particularly well received and was associated with opportunities to actively engage, explore, interact and reflect. Suggestions offered by the participants will be used to inform planning and development of the mathematics programme.     

Action learning: how learning transfers from entrepreneurs to small firms

This paper presents research with small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners who have participated in a leadership development programme. The primary focus of this paper is on learning transfer and factors affecting it, arguing that entrepreneurs must engage in ‘action’ in order to ‘learn’ and that under certain conditions they may transfer learning to their firm. This paper draws on data from 19 focus groups undertaken from 2010 to 2012, involving 51 participants in the LEAD Wales programme. It considers the literatures exploring learning transfer and develops a conceptual framework, outlining four areas of focus for entrepreneurial learning. Utilising thematic analysis, it describes and evaluates what (actual facts and information) and how (techniques, styles of learning) participants transfer and what actions they take to improve the business and develop their people. This paper illustrates the complex mechanisms involved in this process and concludes that action learning is a method of facilitating entrepreneurial learning which is able to help address some of the problems of engagement, relevance and value that have been highlighted previously. This paper concludes that the efficacy of an entrepreneurial learning intervention in SMEs may depend on the effectiveness of learning transfer.     

Effects of a Cognitive Acceleration Programme in a Low Socioeconomic High School in Regional Australia

This paper presents research on the effects of a cognitive acceleration intervention in science lessons on low socioeconomic students in a government high school in regional Western Australia. Thinking Science Australia is a programme currently being implemented in Australian junior high school classes. The research was conducted for over two years as a case study in one school with students as they entered high school in Year 8 (n?=?71). Findings show that significant cognitive gains were made, with concomitant improvement in the state-wide testing in science when participating students were in Year 9, aged 13 and 14. Teachers reported changes to the ways they teach and described the challenges in implementing the intervention programme.     

A follow‐up study of the ABRACADABRA web‐based literacy intervention in Grade 1

This paper reports the follow‐up of a randomised control trial study of the ABRACADABRA web‐based literacy intervention that contrasted synthetic versus analytic phonics (Comaskey, Savage & Abrami, 2009) in kindergarten children from urban low‐SES backgrounds. Participants who received a ‘synthetic’ phonics+phoneme awareness training (n = 26) or an ‘analytic’ phonics+phoneme awareness training literacy intervention (n = 27) were tested on standard measures of literacy 1 year later. Results revealed a significant main effect (p < .01) for the analytic group performing better on passage reading comprehension. Modest advantages for children who received the analytic phonics programme were evident. We obtained an effect size favourably comparable with other studies, after adjusting for intervention duration (ES = .41). It is concluded that analytic phonics programmes may provide modest but significant sustained advantages in literacy for kindergarten children from low‐SES backgrounds.