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Given the intense politicisation of education, many teacher educators are caught in the cross-hairs of government's reform agendas, university expectations and student teacher needs. This paper reports on a study of 28 literacy teacher educators in four countries (Canada, US, Australia and England). This paper reports on the broad question: How is politics affecting literacy teacher educators? Three specific aspects are considered: their pedagogies, identity and well-being. It describes how their pedagogy (goals and teaching strategies) has narrowed because of mandated curriculum and exit exams. It shows how their identity as academics is being complicated because they often do not have time for their research. And their well-being is compromised because of excessive external inspections and as their community in the university splinters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the changes in the recognition of universities made or proposed in England, Australia and the USA since 2004, and posits a broad shift from the permanent designation of institutional types to the periodic recognition of qualification-granting authority. This is associated with increased private funding and operation of universities, which in turn is associated with a shift from elite to mass higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we adopt Bernstein's notion of the pedagogic device to serve as a framework for explaining conflict and change in the field of literacy education across the past few decades, particularly in England, the USA and Australia. Following an overview of the pedagogic device and related constructs, we examine the relationship between the field of knowledge production and how this has been recontextualised into curriculum policy, firstly in the period when 'progressivist' pedagogy was in the ascendant, exemplified by the whole language movement, and then when a more 'skills' orientation took sway, with phonics as its touchstone. We argue that the pedagogic device provides a useful context for exploring how ideology operates both within fields and at the interfaces between fields. In particular, the sets of binary oppositions proposed by Bernstein can be used in crude form to describe the entrenched polarisations experienced in the field of literacy education - or they can be used in a more nuanced way to open up new possibilities for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The losses associated with exile often leave refugees with limited resources to face the challenge of adjusting to a new society. To enhance the successful integration of refugees, it is important to assist them in their efforts in rebuilding and extending their support systems. By matching refugees with volunteers, Befriending Programs aim at creating a supportive environment. Based on information provided by twenty-five organizations that offer befriending programs in Australia, Canada, England, and the United States, this paper explores obstacles they face in the recruitment and retention of befrienders as well as their strategies in overcoming challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In common law countries like England, Australia, the USA and Canada, certain deaths come to be investigated through the coronial system. These include sudden, unnatural or suspicious deaths as well as those which appear to be the result of naturally occurring disease but the precise cause is unknown. When a reportable death occurs in Australia, a number of professional groups become involved in its investigation – police, coroners, pathologists and counsellors. While research has demonstrated the importance of training and education for staff in the context of criminal investigations – with its over-representation of vulnerable and marginalised populations – this is less likely to occur in the context of death investigations, despite such investigations also involving the over-representation of vulnerable populations. This paper, part of larger funded research on the decision-making of coronial professionals in the context of cultural and religious difference, explores the ways in which cultural and religious minority groups – in this case Islam, Judaism and Indigeneity – become differently positioned during the death investigation based upon how they are perceived as ‘other’. Our research raises three issues. First, positioning as ‘the other’ is dependent on the professional training of the staff member, with police and pathologists far more likely than coroners to be suspicious or ignorant of difference. Second, specific historical and contemporary events effect the Othering of religious and cultural difference. Third, the grieving practices associated with religious and cultural difference can be collectively Othered through their perceived opposition to modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Political appetite for neoliberal education policy has problematised teacher education in a number of countries, including Australia, the US and England. In Australia, dominant policy discourses of quality normalise the regulation and standardisation of teacher education and position teacher educators within a deficit model of education reform. Such positioning has been shown to have a deleterious impact on professional status, dismantling complex conceptualisations of teacher educators' work. Framed by key tenets of positioning theory and conceptualisations of policy enactment, this study investigated, using online semi-structured interviews, the ways in which 16 teacher educators in one Australian university positioned policy as "other", and the ways in which they felt they could or should respond. It found that teacher educators position policy, and engage in the policy process, in complex and varied ways. While many positioned policy as an intruder, with the potential to do harm to the profession, others had made choices that positioned policy as a tool for innovative imagining for programme renewal. Findings also highlight the potential appetite for collaborative positioning between policy makers and teacher educators as partners. These findings have significant implications for future approaches to re-shaping the teacher education policy space both in Australia and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 has had an impact on almost every aspect of life throughout the world. The quarantine, limited social life, and fear of contamination have triggered psychological symptoms in societies. The need for mental health services has increased, and online psychological counselling, which provides psychological help with no risk of infection, has become more popular. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 on psychological counselling services and compare the general situation of publications on online psychological counselling before and during the pandemic. For this purpose, 463 publications related to online psychological counselling in the Web of Science (WoS) database were examined. The results were discussed in the context of trends and differences before and during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can there be a generic textbook for the teaching of creative writing that will serve the major English-speaking countries-the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand? The author of such a text must ask a range of questions and, in attempting to answer them, will better understand the institutional, educational and cultural climate in which he or she functions. Some questions relate to content. For example, what local or international authors, critics and theorists should they include? What types of exercises? What commercial considerations might restrict them? Canvassing the types of books available raises further questions about creative writing's position in tertiary institutions. How and why is it taught and who teaches it? Reasons are explored (to support literary studies, to create audiences, to produce new writing, to educate apprentices, to train teachers, to provide creative therapy, etc.) and how they affect the text's pedagogical and theoretical orientation. Discussion of a case study chapter that targets an international audience (writing for children and young adults) demonstrates the problems of creating a book with transnational appeal. Crossing borders to discover other pedagogical strategies and fresh literary landscapes can invigorate the teacher-writer's professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the developmental and professional activities engaged in by 86 female adult soccer players from the senior national teams of Australia, Canada, England, Sweden, and the United States of America. Players completed the Participation History Questionnaire (PHQ) to elicit the amount and type of activities engaged in across their developmental and professional years, including milestones, soccer-specific activity and engagement in other sport activity. Greater specialisation than diversification characterised their childhood developmental activities, including all players starting in soccer in childhood and accumulating more hours in soccer activity than other sports during this period. However, interindividual variation further characterised these childhood activities, with a proportion of players diversifying into other sports and/or soccer play to a greater or lesser degree during childhood when compared to the other players. The amount of coach-led soccer practice increased for all players across their development culminating in an average of 15–16 h/wk across a 40-week season in early adulthood. In contrast, the amount of engagement in other sports and soccer peer-led play varied between players but generally decreased across adolescence to negligible amounts in late adolescence. Findings are commensurate with the deliberate practice framework and early engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many children are requiring tube weaning intervention as a result of increased survival rates of high risk infants and the temporary use of feeding tubes. This study aimed to describe service delivery models and treatment approaches in a variety of paediatric feeding/tube weaning programs. Method: A questionnaire on tube weaning was formulated based on a literature review. Purposive maximum variation sampling was used to include feeding/ weaning programs operating in a variety of settings and countries. Eight feeding teams in Australia, Europe and the USA agreed to participate and completed the questionnaire. Result: All teams employed sensori-motor interventions, with the majority also offering psychological interventions. Six of eight teams utilised hunger induction during the initiation of tube weaning, and in many cases this preceded eating skill development or controlled sensory modulation. Conclusion: A multi-model tube weaning approach is commonly adopted by many centres worldwide. In many cases, psychological theory and theoretical orientation is fundamental to tube weaning practice. Further investigation regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of weaning interventions is recommended to ensure clinical practice is based on sound evidence. This may present as a challenge given many interventions occur concomitantly and the psychotherapeutic experience is difficult to evaluate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Outward appearance is one of the means by which age is determined, and fear of looking old may stem from fears about social identity and death. This study explored how social identity theory and terror management theory may help to explain the dread of looking old. University students from the United States, England, and Australia (N = 1,042) completed a questionnaire regarding their attitudes about aging and older adults. Results indicated that sex, age, beliefs about personal aging, and death anxiety explained 30.4% of the variance for participants’ dread of looking old. Theoretical hypotheses were supported by our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author focuses on the business of trading up institutional leaders in the U.S. and Australia. The relates his experience when he became chief executive at the University of Brighton and Green Templeton College (GTC), Oxford, England where he observed equality issues, like low-wage economy. He mentions the number of students and staff in the two schools which contribute in the reduction of complexity in the institution.

Although high-stakes tests play an increasing role in students' schooling experiences, scholars have not examined these tests as sites for socialisation. Drawing on qualitative data collected at an American urban primary school, this study explores what educators teach students about motivation and effort through high-stakes testing, how students interpret and internalise these messages, and how student hierarchies develop as a result. I found that teachers located boys' failure in their poor behavior and attitudes, while arguing that girls simply needed more self-esteem to pass the test. Most boys accepted their teachers' diagnosis of the problem. However, the boys who felt that they were already 'doing their best' and 'working hard' began to doubt that educational success is a function of merit and effort. I conclude that students learn about much more than the three Rs through their experiences with high-stakes testing, and argue that future research should attend to the social dimensions of these experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on findings from a larger international study and the literature to examine successful principals of challenging high-poverty schools in the USA, England, and Australia. Specifically, this article reports case-study findings for 13 challenging schools, 4 each in the USA and Australia and 5 in England. Findings from this study indicate that successful principals used similar leadership practices and traits to make a difference and improve student performance in very challenging schools. These findings extend previous research conducted in single-nation contexts. The presentation of findings also considers differences in the role of the principal, the school context, and larger national policies. The article concludes with implications for leadership training and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines judicial performance evaluation in the United States, Nova Scotia, England, and Australia. There are three distinct categories of judicial performance evaluation: traditional forms of accountability, including the principle of 'open justice' and appellate review; analysis of judicial attributes; and court and administrative performance measurement. The first two categories relate to individual judges, the latter to the management and administration of a court in an aggregate sense. It is argued that the traditional approaches to judicial accountability are flawed measures by which to evaluate the performance of individual judges. The analysis of judicial attributes, including legal ability, temperament, communication and other generic skills, as conducted in the United States, Nova Scotia and planned in Australia, offers a viable method for Commonwealth judges to engage in judicial self-improvement as part of judicial method. The application of the criteria to Commonwealth legal systems is discussed. Alternative models, such as that of the English District Court Judges' Association are discussed. It is argued that judges have an ethical duty to embrace self-improvement strategies to supplement traditional approaches to judicial accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the articles on modernization in Australia, England, New Zealand, Scotland and the USA demonstrates and discusses the complexity attached to the concept. This also enables a better understanding of the contention and controversy that surrounds the concept and its application to educational policy and practice. Modernization policies in these five countries are then analysed and interpreted within a conceptual framework that explores the locations of decisions and the motivational principles underlying decisions. The analysis proposes four 'ideal' type mechanisms for allocating resources in society. Arguing that a 'mixed economy' model is both necessary and right, the discussion concludes by examining the appropriate balance within that 'mixed economy' if education is to yield both economic growth and social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]