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This paper describes a process for evaluating student learning at the course-level. Course-level data is used to inform continuous improvement of program-level assessment. The sample consists of direct and indirect measures related to 101 students enrolled in a principles of financial accounting course. Direct measures indicate that most students meet or exceed learning expectations. Students scored higher on questions related to lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy (1956). Indirect measures indicate students perceive stronger than actual performance. Students not meeting the threshold of performance, cite student engagement as the reason. As engagement is paramount to success in COVID-19 learning environments, results are relevant for informing assessment interventions.

This article analyses the process of reforming the governance of Danish universities, from an anthropological perspective. Observers saw that the assemblage of steering concepts, tools and mechanisms in the 2003 Danish university law could be articulated in two contrary ways: one would make the university into a "power force" with ideas that exceeded the government's imagining of the future; the other turned the university into a tightly steered service provider, quick to respond to changes in political priorities. Initially, the government took the first approach in promoting the internationalisation of research and education. Its strategy provided a framework of opportunities that university leaders and academics used voluntarily to fulfil their own visions for their institution or discipline. In 2018, the government's priority suddenly shifted to de-internationalisation of Danish higher education. To achieve this, it rearticulated the same steering concepts, tools and mechanisms to impose cuts to English-medium courses through "commando-style" steering, and academics and students were disenfranchised. The internationalisation strategy first mobilised the capacities of the university as a "power force." When the government decided to de-internationalise, it turned the same steering assemblage into a chain of command that made the university respond quickly to a changed political priority.

Opportunities to interrogate praxis through professional learning and reflection is common for school teachers but is not straightforward or as frequently practised by tertiary educators, particularly from across different universities. In this article, the authors who are arts educators from various universities explore a framework that focuses on 'quality' visual art education. The aim was to ascertain if an ontology could be enacted to inform our collective knowledges about quality in arts education across our different contexts. Through collaborative self-study and the application of practice architectures common issues in higher education teaching are discussed. Cases are shared from critical examinations of our practices, that also foreground, interrogate and enrich our collective understandings in the practice field. A proposed model is provided illustrating how the intersection of dialogic discourse with art educational ontology, can promote insightful praxis, which is applicable to not only art education, but a range of disciplines.

In this paper, we consider, from critical perspectives, the ways in which research assessment governs the production of academic knowledge and can contribute to epistemic injustices. This issue is examined through a fieldwork study in 2018 of the implications of the Danish Bibliometric Indicator for research in a humanities department of a research-intensive Danish university. We draw on Connell's Southern Theory in conjunction with Bourdieu's work on language and power to show how humanities research in the Danish language is pushed onto the periphery of global disciplinary fields. The paper highlights that regimes of governance such as bibliometric research assessment affect not only what is published and where but also what is recognised as scientific or academic language. Such regimes can contribute significantly to the generation and reproduction of epistemic injustices through limitations on how, and by whom, legitimate knowledge is defined, produced and promulgated. We argue that it is time to recognise this as the colonisation of research.

This study investigates young children's responses to viewing artworks in a preschool setting. Based on the responses of 15 children aged five to six years during five art viewing sessions in a preschool in Singapore, the study examines features of what young children see, think and feel when they view artworks. These sessions were facilitated by their class teacher using techniques from Visual Thinking Strategies. The data obtained from the children's responses were analysed qualitatively using Grounded Theory. The findings revealed that children respond to artworks visually, cognitively and somatically, in that they talk about what they see, think and feel. The children's comments featured content, formal art elements, personal connections, creativity and imagination, affect and vocalisms, with personal connections making up two-thirds of their responses. This study highlights the rich experiences that young children gain from viewing artworks and the importance of including art viewing into the early childhood art curriculum.

This article presents the story of one elementary school teacher's shift in art praxis through her involvement in a research project aimed at facilitating participatory arts-based communities of practice. Qualitative methods and social constructivism informed Professional Learning Interventions (PLIs) involving: (1) a visual arts workshop, (2) facilitations with academics within the teacher's classroom context, and (3) semi-structured discussions to study and curate the teacher's lived experiences. A teacher-facilitator-interviewer triad co-researched the meaning of "quality" in relation to: Learning, Pedagogy, Environment, and Community Dynamics (L-PEC). Adapted from Seidel et. al (2009) L-PEC was a theoretical lens to guide inquiry and action specific to the teacher's (i.e., Ali's) classroom. Ali's evolving praxis served as a source of inspiration for the other Grade 3-4 teachers in her school who formed their own community of practice to support student learning through the visual arts.

This paper analyses the effects of research assessment on the overall research practices of academics. Case study research was conducted in departments from two contrasting disciplines -- the natural sciences and the humanities -- in one research intensive Danish university. The case studies examined academics' and administrators' experiences of a national bibliometric indicator (BFI) used for research assessment. PhD students and early career researchers reported that the greatest effects of research assessment were on their publishing practices. Prompted by further questions, many interviewees reflected on the relationship between research assessment and changes in their overall research practice about which they were previously unaware. We drew on Bourdieu's theory of practice to theorise why there was so little reflexivity, especially among senior researchers, about the relationship between actions to comply with research assessment and changes in research practice itself. We conclude by highlighting some potential implications, especially for mentorship of early career academics.

STEM is about the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To teach STEM effectively, students need practical examples of subject integration. A good example is the use of an electron microscope in teaching physics and biology. An electron microscope is an instrument in which the operation depends on electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, in particular wave-particle duality. In teaching physics, an electron microscope can be used to measure the separation of repeated structures that give rise to interference phenomena. This paper describes the use a tabletop scanning electron microscope to teach physics and biology together through imaging butterfly wings. Students are able to identify structures with a spacing comparable to visible light on butterflies exhibiting structural colour and much larger spacing on wings without structural colour.

Reduced speed of cerebral information processing is a cognitive deficit associated with schizophrenia. Normal information processing speed (PS) requires intact white matter (WM) physiology to support information transfer. In a cohort of 107 subjects (47/60 patients/controls), we demonstrate that PS deficits in schizophrenia patients are explained by reduced WM integrity, which is measured using diffusion tensor imaging, mediated by the mismatch in WM/gray matter blood perfusion, and measured using arterial spin labeling. Our findings are specific to PS, and testing this hypothesis for patient-control differences in working memory produces no explanation. We demonstrate that PS deficits in schizophrenia can be explained by neurophysiological alterations in cerebral WM. Whether the disproportionately low WM integrity in schizophrenia is due to illness or secondary due to this disorder deserves further examination.

EU policies promote mobility as a part of contemporary doctoral education. EU-funded doctoral candidates are expected to move country, establish international research networks; travel for workshops, conferences and research stays abroad; and collaborate across disciplines as well as work in other sectors during their doctoral training. As far as EU policies are concerned, competence in all these 'mobilities' is essential for future knowledge workers in a competitive, global economy. But how do doctoral fellows themselves experience mobility? A survey of 3,410 EU-funded doctoral fellows shed light on their experiences of geographical, sectoral, interdisciplinary and social mobility. It showed that many PhD candidates are excited by the opportunities they see in their doctoral programmes, but they often experience tensions between their professional and personal desires.

This arts-based research illustrates how young children engage in "graphic-narrative play"--a personal fantasy-based experience depicted on paper--while representing imaginary worlds centered on the topic, "what the future will be like". The descriptions show how the children not only made representations, but also manipulated these in abstract ways as they created and recreated images, ideas and feelings. The findings illustrate how the child becomes a cast of one, taking on "multiple roles" (i.e., artist, author, director, scripter, performer and narrator) and selecting when and how to play with all the available voices offered through the multimodal media--drawing, "telling", dramatization, expressive sound effects, gesture and movement. These multiple texts involved "embodied authoring"--layers of visual and physical action, character development, plot scheme, scenery and running narrative working in harmony, simultaneously. Children's open-ended construction of meaning surfaced content that reflected universal story themes such as good-evil and capturing-defending, and their voices often were powerful, humorous, philosophical and reflective. Yet the sequencing of events did not necessarily follow linear structures--instead, the children worked within "fluid structures". (Contains 2 figures.)

After analysing the organisational pathologies and societal ills created by the neoliberalisation of universities, the article engages in an organisational critique of the pseudo-business model currently in use. It poses as a solution the re-creation of universities as trusts, with a model of beneficiary ownership, a matrix form of organisation and renewed relations with society. For inspiration it looks to beneficiary-run organisations on the model of the John Lewis Partnership or the Mondragón University. The article explains why such beneficial matrix organisations are superior to current universities and how they offer an opportunity to recreate universities for the public good.

This article examines the role that drawing can play in enabling children and young people to theorize concepts of time. In two, independent Australian research projects, children aged between 5 and 8 years were asked to respond to the question, "What might the future be like?", while 12-14 year olds were asked, "What does history look like?" There are points of connection and convergence in the analysis of the drawings and the ways in which the children articulate their visual representations of temporality to demonstrate deep and philosophical insights. This research illuminates possibilities for both the value of art practices in learning and the capacity for such approaches in schools. It disrupts narrow visions of neoliberal policy that privileges the teaching of literacy and numeracy in schools and seeks to transform children and youth into particular citizens for the future. We argue that expanding our view of the use and value of visual forms of learning and expression can contribute to a more layered and complex understanding of the capacities of children and young people. Further, this research contributes to better understanding of how students navigate challenging local curriculum and school terrain as they are increasingly posited as global citizens.

Gender differences in children's artwork have been the subject of study for over 100 years. The focus of early research was quite narrow, honing in on issues such as children's gendered subject preferences, or their ability to render spatial relationships or include detail in their artwork. This has led to some stereotypical conclusions about gender with regard to particular aspects of visual representation. This paper speaks back to some of these stereotypes by discussing fundamental principles of meaning-making through drawing, and how the content of children's artworks should be viewed in relation to their form, and the processes children used as the artworks evolved. Using social-constructivism as a theoretical framework, the methodology involved interlocutor-child dialogic improvisations, on a one-to-one basis, as each child engaged in graphic and body-based action while talking about aspects of the artwork and the processes of its creation through a free-form type of narrative. Semiotics is used as an analytical framework to describe three girls' drawings (aged 5-8 years) who were selectively sampled from a larger study that involved over 100 children in drawing "what the future might be like". These girls' graphic-narrative-embodied artefacts are discussed in relation to three key themes: spatial relations and meaning; allegory and fantasy; and metaphor, abstract reasoning and connotation. The findings are discussed in relation social-cultural factors that might influences boys' and girls' gendered identities and, in turn, the content, form and processes of their artistic creations.

This paper explores special issues that a novice, minority researcher encountered at a multi-racial research site. The first author's personal experiences as a female, Tamil-speaking Indian Singaporean shaped the research process and its reception at the research site. In this paper, she observes that, while her ethnic membership operated as a barrier at times, it also shaped the research process in positive and unexpected ways. It invited conversation about ethnicity in a multi-racial setting, creating opportunities for meaningful dialoguing of sensitive topics, culminating in an expansive definition of differences. She also explores the place for researcher subjectivity in qualitative research analysis. The data presented are selected from her dissertation which studied if race and ethnicity affected friendship choices among preschool children in Singapore.

Reconceptualists and poststructuralists increasingly criticize child-centered pedagogy as being overly reliant on outmoded notions of (developmentally appropriate) practices. Reconceptualists believe that developmental theories should be critically examined cross culturally, whereas poststructuralists work from a social perspective to reconstruct views of a child based on his or her multiple meaning making and discourse. This paper shows that the tenor of following a child's lead is a product of three paradigms (child-centeredness, reconceptualism and poststructuralism) and differences in the scopes of understanding of a child and his or her acts of inquiry. Incorporating these paradigms can develop child-centeredness (1) with an expanded scope of view-from the micro layer of schooling to the meso layer of community and to the macro layer of society-and (2) by exacting acts of applying, revising and restructuring. Such a synthesis would result in a deeper understanding of a child's optimal learning and in a broadening of the purpose of pedagogy at the macrosocial level. (Contains 1 figure.)

The authors have been investigating universities in their own countries for many years and are now turning their attention to exploring alternatives to current reforms. As part of these investigations, they spent two days of interviews and meetings at Mondragon, a town in Gipuzkoa in the Spanish Basque Country. Mondragon is at the centre of one of the largest groups of co-operatives in the world and in 1997 set up what is probably the only co-operative university in existence. This highly successful university has a solidary economy, effective methods of knowledge generation and transfer, and is expanding. Over two days, the authors were given a tour of the headquarters of the umbrella organisation for the co-operatives, called MONDRAGON, and met the former personnel director of one of the major co-operative companies to introduce them to the history and concepts of the movement. The rector and vice rector of Mondragon University made a whole morning available to present information and answer their questions with great generosity and openness. They then met a dean of one of the faculties, two lecturers from another faculty, and a lecturer from the third faculty who was also a member of the Social Council. In this report, the authors start with a brief analysis of labour and capital in universities and then give an overview of the co-operatives, and of the co-operative university. (Contains 2 notes.)

This paper discusses how the use of Persona dolls in research is an effective means of enabling children (ages 4-6) to share life experiences openly. It investigated the place of race in the peer choice of preschool children. Two key research questions drove the inquiry: (1) Do four- to six-year-old children know their own racial identity? (2) Do four- to six-year-old children choose friends based on racial characteristics? Semi-structured interviews using Persona dolls were conducted, with the dolls acting as conduits through which the children engaged in conversations with the researcher. Findings revealed that children were aware of stereotypes and discrimination. One minority child showed deep empathy with the posed dilemma of a dark skinned Persona doll and her inability to establish friendships. Implications are shared with regard to the significance of Persona dolls, play and life stories in presenting the views of young children. (Contains 3 tables and 2 notes.)

In 2003 the Danish government reformed universities to "set them free" from the state. Yet ministers are actively trying to shape universities and even set research agendas. How does the government's notion of "freedom" reconcile independence with control? We identify three discourses of freedom: freedom to use academic judgement over what to research, teach, publish and say publicly; a free trade discourse where universities are free to pursue profit; and a modernising state discourse where government steers universities to contribute to the knowledge economy. Danish universities were reformed as part of the modernisation of the welfare state. We explore the assemblage of administrative and funding mechanisms through which the government now steers independent organisations: a chain of contracts for outsourced services, newly appointed managers, output payments and accrual accounting. While responsibility for achieving government policy is passed downwards through the independent organisation, formal lines of accountability run back up to the government. University leaders and academics are set free to manoeuvre within the system, but their economic survival is firmly dependent on responsiveness to centralised steering mechanisms. (Contains 1 figure and 9 notes.)

Young children's meaning-making is a multifaceted, complex experience, where thought, body and emotion unite. Rich and intricate creations are brought to life through children's formation, communication and interpretation of "signs" which stand for or represent something else. The term drawing-telling is used to describe children's use of a range of signs when depicting imaginary worlds on paper, on the topic of what they think the future might be like. Such depictions include an expansive range of signs--narration, gesture, graphic depiction, onomatopoeia--often used in highly interactive ways. This paper illustrates, through examples of young children's drawings and transcripts of their "tellings", the intertextual nature of their work. It foregrounds how adults must be sensitive to children's shifts between various subject positionings and the multiple functions that may be assigned to their depicted objects and events. Similarities between drawing-telling and filmic textual features are featured to assist adults in understanding children's meaning-making. (Contains 19 images.)

This article explores why university reform is central to the Labour government's project to create a "modern" Britain. During the passage of the 2004 Higher Education Act the government created a policy narrative which redefined the role and purpose of universities. It framed their futures as corporations, based more on an economic than an educational rationale, and competing to provide educational services to paying consumers. The government presents marketization as the only possible way to solve the funding crisis and tries to make its interpretation of the future for universities seem obvious and inevitable. Even though critics show how the Act may exacerbate differential access and reinforce disadvantage, and thus work against the government's vision for modern Britain, the policy narrative is becoming authoritative, if not yet hegemonic. The article places the government's discourse within an international context to re-examine the complexity of the concepts and arguments on which the policy narrative rests and open up space to consider alternative futures for universities in Britain and in new world orders.

This article examines the multifaceted nature of pre-primary music teachers' and supervisors' beliefs and practices in music education. It focuses on the general process of creativity (particularly as applied to music education); the classroom setting and how it influences the way music educators approach teaching and learning; and the structuring of music curricula to encourage higher levels of musical thinking in children. The article recommends that regular formal training opportunities in a creative music curriculum should be made available to equip teachers with the skills necessary to integrate music into their current curricula and to improve the quality of education.

A study of 32 women in their later career stages (ages 60-69) elicited their views on life purpose and fulfillment. Themes included the following: quality of life and quality of health, increased loss, coping with death, feelings of invisibility, the importance of relationships, the need to impart wisdom, and the importance of having a purpose and continuing to dream. (Contains 24 references.) (JOW)

An ethnographic study of Kalhor nomads in Iran showed that the government's top-down approach to development and weak local institutions obscure the impact of technology on women and poor people. Despite rhetoric about participation, these groups are not consulted about their needs, priorities, and interests. (SK)

Argues that the arts provide a powerful means with which to promote future-oriented learning because they involve nonverbal, symbolic ways of knowing, thinking and communicating. Suggests that the arts in the emergent curriculum promote central education skills of discovery, pursuit, self-awareness, personal communication, social interaction, perception, skill use, analysis, and critique. (Author/SD)

Describes the role of the rural community development worker in achieving social change by encouraging participatory decision making. Presents results of a participatory research study in which the author, as a community worker, empowers a village with a failed water supply to seek change where they had previously experienced resistance by authorities. (KS)

Songwriter, political activist, ethnomusicologist, gardener, singer, environmentalist, storyteller, woodcutter, history buff, cookieholic...Pete Seeger is all these and more. One has probably heard his name before, and maybe one can attach it to certain songs or political movements. Seeger is 91 years old and keeps active singing, writing songs, organizing events in his community, and writing songbooks and letters. He cuts wood to heat the house where he lives with Toshi Seeger, his wife of 66 years. He also visits the school where the author teaches music, and shares the gift of his lifelong contemplations and many songs with the author's elementary students. This article presents an interview with Seeger about music education.