Editorial.

Editorial. Issue 46(1) opens with an article by Roy Nash on peer effects inschooling, which takes us into a key question of theory and method: therelationship between quantitative and qualitative research Qualitative researchTraditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. insociological explanation. Drawing on Bhaskar's realist philosophyof science, Nash provides a clear and original argument. One of the mostimportant contributions to the Australian Journal of Education in recentyears, it is a challenge for both quantitative and qualitativeeducational sociology. Discussing two examples of research on peereffects in some detail, Nash argues for a larger conception of`effects' than positivism positivism(pŏ`zĭtĭvĭzəm), philosophical doctrine that denies any validity to speculation or metaphysics. Sometimes associated with empiricism, positivism maintains that metaphysical questions are unanswerable and that the only allows, and against the derivation ofinstitutional properties from aggregated institutional responses, andfinds that orthodox quantitative analysis Quantitative AnalysisA security analysis that uses financial information derived from company annual reports and income statements to evaluate an investment decision.Notes: , one of the Humean legacies insocial science, tends to the elimination of the very effects it seeks tofind. Nevertheless this does not constitute an argument againstquantitative work per se. Quantitative and qualitative researchers mightneed each other more than they realise. One set of investigators has an effect--actually a proportion of the variance in attainment associated with an aggregate variable--looking for an explanation, and the other has an observed process looking for an effect. The question for those who have discovered a statistical effect is what processes have caused it. And the question for those who have observed teaching and learning in schools with distinctive class compositions is what effect does this have. There is obviously some basis for accommodation here: if researchers in these different traditions can provide each other with the answer they are seeking, their co-operation might be successful. The data on peer effects require such collaboration. The fact thatgroups of students with similar attitudes towards school make differenteducational progress is no more comforting for the standard positions inqualitative research than those of quantitative research Quantitative researchUse of advanced econometric and mathematical valuation models to identify the firms with the best possible prospectives. Antithesis of qualitative research. . Nash alsoprovides an alternative and more complex interpretation of the data:`nothing is as simple as it seems'. The paper does not settle thequestion of peer effects. Rather it problematises `peer effects' inan illuminating manner which has implications for all research on schoolattainment and social difference. We welcome comments, rejoinders andother contributions to the discussion that Nash has opened. Damien Ridge, Jeff Northfield, Lawrence St Leger, Bernie Marshall,Shelley Maher, and Margaret Sheehan take us from theory and method inresearch to school policy and practice. They too are concerned toproblematise one of the oppositions traditional to education. Theirfocus is not on the relationship between quantitative and qualitativeresearch; it is the relationship between health and education. Using 13case studies, taken from a diverse sample of 100 schools, they examinethe implementation of the Health Promoting Schools program funded byVicHealth in Victoria between 1997 and 2000. Against the conception ofhealth education as external to the mainstream curriculum and in timeconflict with it--a conception reinforced by the health sector'ssingle issue approach to changing health behaviours through educationprograms--they argue for a holistic approach holistic approachA term used in alternative health for a philosophical approach to health care, in which the entire Pt is evaluated and treated. See Alternative medicine, Holistic medicine. to health programs. Herehealth education becomes a vehicle for advancing the skills andknowledge that education provides. They conclude that `there needs to bemore ownership by the [education] sector of health programs' with`less reliance on the health sector to fund interventions, packages andkits'. The next three articles embody three quite different ways ofthinking about student achievement. Andrew Martin's approach isconceptual, while focused also on imagined classroom practice. Heexplores the concepts of motivation and of `academic resilience'.He argues that these concepts are complementary but not identical.Motivation is crucial to academic achievement, but academic achievementmust also be resilient in relation to failure and negative feedback. Asense of control, self-efficacy and self-belief is foundational to bothmotivation and resilience. `Self-belief ... is one of the strongestpredictors of achievement and enjoyment at school.' After reviewingtheoretical constructs of motivation and resilience, Martin develops amodel for teacher use, though noting that `there is a need for empiricalwork to explore this model more fully'. Robyn Henderson uses qualitative research within the framework ofcultural and critical approaches to literacy. She looks at what earlychildhood teachers in three North Queensland North Queensland is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the Tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and underdeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and schools say about literacyfailure in relation to the state's Year 2 Diagnostic Net. TheDiagnostic Net is the mandatory screening procedure used to identifyliteracy and numeracy numeracyMathematical literacy Neurology The ability to understand mathematical concepts, perform calculations and interpret and use statistical information. Cf Acalculia. problems. She identifies three broad paradigms ofliteracy and literacy learning: traditional skill/drill/memorisationapproaches, progressivist child-centred approaches that focus onindividual cognitive development, and cultural/critical approaches whichconceptualise v. t. 1. same as conceptualize.Verb 1. conceptualise - have the idea for; "He conceived of a robot that would help paralyzed patients"; "This library was well conceived"conceive, conceptualize, gestate literacy as a social practice. From semi-structuredinterviews, she identifies three kinds of teacher narratives: blamingfamilies, blaming children, blaming no one and focusing on solutions.Many teachers talked in terms of learning deficits, and implied that,for children experiencing difficulties, traditional skill-basedapproaches were appropriate. Henderson argues that schools shouldexamine the institutional, social and cultural settings of literacyacquisition. Like Henderson, Brenton Prosser, Kobert Reid, Rosalyn Shute, andIvan Atkinson accentuate ac��cen��tu��ate?tr.v. ac��cen��tu��at��ed, ac��cen��tu��at��ing, ac��cen��tu��ates1. To stress or emphasize; intensify: the social aspects, but their article is anexamination of policy rather than an account of research. They discussspecial education in relation to Attention Deficit HyperactivityDisorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), formerly called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, a chronic, neurologically based syndrome characterized by any or all of three types of behavior: hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity. (ADHD Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)DefinitionAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder characterized by distractibility, hyperactivity, impulsive behaviors, and the inability to remain focused on tasks or ), the phenomenon of impulsive, inattentive in��at��ten��tive?adj.Exhibiting a lack of attention; not attentive.inat��ten andhyperactive hy��per��ac��tiveadj.1. Highly or excessively active, as a gland.2. Having behavior characterized by constant overactivity.3. Afflicted with attention deficit disorder. behaviours. A growing number of children are diagnosed withADHD. Whereas biological aspects have received much attention, socialaspects remain `relatively unexplored'. They question calls for theinclusion of ADHD as a disability category, which can exacerbate thischaracteristic blindness to the social dimension. Prosser et al. callfor a broadening of disability eligibility criteria to include `anybarrier to significant life activities', and a fuller considerationof the interaction between student and learning environment. The final article by Steve Wilson Steve Wilson can refer to: Steven Wilson, the musician. Steve Wilson (reporter), the reporter. Steve Wilson (baseball), the baseball player. Steve Wilson (offensive lineman), former NFL player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. examines student participation ina coeducational co��ed��u��ca��tion?n.The system of education in which both men and women attend the same institution or classes.co��ed comprehensive government high school in the westernsuburbs Western Suburbs (Wests) is the premier soccer club in Wellington, New Zealand and current holders of the Chatham Cup. The 2005 season was particularly successful for the club with the First Team claiming the Central League championship and the Reserve side gaining promotion to the of Sydney. In a prolonged case study of the site over 25 months,Wilson identified 24 cultural dimensions Cultural dimensions are the mostly psychological dimensions, or value constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture. These are often used in Intercultural communication-/Cross-cultural communication-based research.See also: Edward T. which impacted on studentparticipation. Eight of these factors tended to enhance studentparticipation, and provide the starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting pointterminus a quocommencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for Wilson'sproposals for improved participation. These strategies, he argues,should be centred on student learning as the core purpose of schools and`the most potent means of providing opportunities for studentparticipation'. What are needed are practices which value thestudent voice at every level, form political and participatoryinstitutions within the school and allocate regular class time todiscussions of curriculum, teaching and learning issues. Issue 46(2), edited by Richard Teese and Stephen Lamb, is a specialissue on theorisations and policies in relation to educationalinequality. It includes invited articles from the United Kingdom, Franceand Australia, with some emphasis on postcompulsory education.Simon MarginsonMonash University